Printer & Piemaker

Printer & Piemaker - Excellent blog - just wanted to share this post. Definitely check out her entire site. Cool cool woman!!

"She's gotta do what she's gotta do and I've got to like it or not."

"Ready, Set, Don't Go" - I heard this song a few weeks ago when Billy Ray Cyrus sang it with his daughter as a duet (love both versions). This song is about a father letting his daughter go so she can fly into the world and become who she will become. Initially, I thought about my father and what he must have been feeling all those years ago when I left home. I am sure he felt scared, uncertain about my choices, wary of the experiences I would have without his protection and wisdom. I knew of none of this when I left - I just knew I had to go.
I sit here 25 years later getting ready to send my son on his own adventure, and packing my house to move away from my daughter 4,000 miles away to live. I know now what he felt and what he must have experienced after I left. How did he do it? This is the most painful thing I have experienced short of when he passed away 3 years ago. I feel so sad that I didn't get to talk to him about all of this. I mean, I know we talked about it - but how could I relate then? I knew nothing about what he felt and how strong he had to be to let me go.
The twist in this experience is that I am leaving my daughter here and parents aren't supposed to leave, kids do. How will I do this? Everyday brings me closer to that day we will be leaving here - my heart feels like it's going to break into a million pieces. She's gotta do what she's gotta do and I've got to like it or not.

Audrey's Picnic Table

It took me about 24 hours of sanding and a few days to make this child-size picnic table.

Audrey's Table and Chair Set

I made this child's table and chair set from recycled wood from a tv armoire. I started it in early November and finished three days before Christmas. I stained it and then applied a coat of polyurethane.


Audrey enjoying her new table and chairs.

Brian's Changing Table

I made this changing table for my grandson Brian. I started it in October 2007 and completed it the first week of December 2007. I had intended to make it before Brian was born, October 19, 2007, but time got away from me. I used my new Festool plunge saw to make it. The cabinet is made of birch plywood and solid poplar on the facing.


Detail of the drawer and cabinet pulls. Brushed pewter shirt and jeans.

small WWW (world wide web)

I have to tell you all about a new site I discovered tonight - Quiltcetera and I met Bradie, the woman whose site it is on Twitter, a site devoted to mini blogging. She followed me first and then I followed her. She was talking about a mini 9 patch tonight and I asked her what it looked like and she sent me her link to her website. On it, she does a live web show for beginning quilters for free!! I thought it was so cool. She basically goes through the basics and she describes what she is doing every step. Way too cool!

I also discovered another site called etsy - where people who make hand made crafts sell their wares. It's ebay for the artsy crater. I found this site through Flickr and made a contact with MooseandBear and going to her blog and voila! The first thing I thought about was calling my friend Sarah Raffuse, which I did, and telling her I found the perfect place for her to start selling her completed quilts. She already has a webite for her book Crazy Shortcut Quilts , which she co-authored with her mom, Marguerita McMannus.

By the way, MooseandBear blogs about me, I am the connection she made through Rob Williams who blogged about her wenis felt pin, in which I read and responded to as well. Small world this WWW (world wide web).

Can you spell C-U-T-E?!!!

Yesterday I went to the waterpark with my daughter Rachel, my grandson Brian, my friend Sarah, and her daughter Audrey. I just love them!!!

Moving sucks!

Moving sucks big time. It doesn't matter how much I pack, give away or throw away - there's still too much!!!!! I have so much anxiety right now, I just want to go to bed. It doesn't help that my son decided to grace us with his presence last night (and his opinions) so another distraction to deal with. And brings another one automatically, his girlfriend and their drama. YIKES!
He's mad that we gave his sister his old desktop computer (that he never uses) in spite of the fact that we bought him a laptop (which he hardly uses). He's mad that the baby's port-a-crib is in his room (which he rarely uses) even though he stated not two weeks ago that his sister could use his room and he would stay with friends.
I just want this move to be over with - I don't even want to go to Minnesota at this point - just straight onto Kentucky! I know, the cabin will be wonderful and the dogs will love the lake - but I am not sure how much more stress I want to handle and I have a feeling this reunion will be stressful!
Poor me, back to packing.

Rollover Beethoven

I got to witness this first - Brian rolled from his back to his tummy!!! Several times today! Then he started rolling back and forth - he wore himself out! How lucky am I???

Frames or borders

Whatever you want to call them - I call them almost done. Here are two of the quilts I have been working on this past week. I know it seems like I haven't accomplished much, but keep in mind, I am moving and I watch my grandson every day. I consider this major progress!!!!





My friend Sarah has been coming over every Monday for the past 4 weeks and we have been working diligently on knocking out UFOs. It's paying off. Anyhow, next Monday we're going to have a pinning party and we're also going to hand stitch the binding on the quilt my daughter made 1 1/2 years ago. So I am trying to get as many tops wrapped up for the pinning party so next week I could actually start quilting some. More soon!

Brian's discovery

Brian is just over 5 months old and I can't remember when he wasn't here. I babysit almost everyday and I still can't get enough of him. It's exhausting and exhillerating!!! These were about 2 weeks ago and I just love his expressions. Each and everyone of them. He loves that worm cause it lights up and makes all these different sounds. He studies every inch of it.

Gave a room away

This weekend I spent going through stuff, sorting books, fabric, clothes, junk and anything else that was in the way. I boxed books and magazines and bagged fabric and clothing. It's amazing how much stuff there really is here. On a positve note all the yarn fit into three boxes, INCREDIBLE! I packed more fabric and sorted through a bunch to give away - yes sir, yes sir, 4 bags full. I also managed to clear half a bookcase of paperbacks. We're on a roll!


I put aside books and stuff for Sarah and she came over yesterday for our regular Monday mania sewathon. Brad had made a picnic table for her daughter Audrey with some of the wood we still have. Brad salvages wood and makes new stuff from old. Sarah loved it and we loaded it in her truck with some other stuff. Enough to fill a room. Despite that, we still have too much crap!!!!
We had some new neighbors move in down the street and hit the motherlode for boxes - woooohooooo - guess what I will be doing tomorrow ;)

An Angel gets her wings...

Sarah's Loon quilt

...and Sarah finished her dad's 50th birthday quilt!!! Wooohoooo - YEAH!!! I am featuring it here because she and I have been working on UFOs for the past 4 weeks and she has been the primary motivator in my life lately. She has come out here (quite a drive) every Monday and we work on existing projects, she re-teaches me things like binding and sewing machine maintenance, and assists me in helping me to determine when a project is DONE. We have had some wonderful conversations and I have learned so much about her and myself along the way. She is my lifelong friend.

Fat Quarter Frenzy

myFat Quarter Frenzy on my kichen floor

Close up of one of the blocks.

If you don't look too closely, it's beautiful!!! I used 4 different machines on this quilt and my daughter helped me with the last row. It had been so long since the class and I forgot how to do the inner sashings. It's a little wonky and this quilt took 4 years to finish, but it's finished!!!!



The back for my friend.

Working, working, working....

...I have been working hard on finishing projects. I plan to have at least two maybe three to post this weekend. It's been a long slow week because the projects I am working on are tedious. And then yesterday, my sewing machine decided to eat my thread and it took me half a day to figure out where the thread problem was. It's funny, the sewing machine eats the top thread and it causes the bobbin to nest and do very strange annoying stuff. Did a man invent this as well??
So my good friend Sarah was kind enough to indulge me last night and help me troubleshoot the issue. I should be back on track today. More later.

Friday morning

and I have 6 weeks before I must leave this house. First off, this is the best house I have ever lived in, so moving out is sad. Packing it up myself has been a daunting exercise in persistence. I feel like I have been going non-stop and yet I look around and see no progress. I am sure I have, it's just that it's overwhelming to go through everything you own (some for almost a quarter of a century) and decide what to keep and pack and what to give away or throw away.
On a positive note, I posted an ad on Craig's List for free Nat Geo magazines and within a few hours, four people had written. My hubby met the woman this morning to give them to her. But I still have so much to unload. The books are almost done, and the shredding continues. I thought computers were supposed to reduce paper? Seems to me that it's worse than ever.
I packed 8 bins of fabric yesterday, only cleared one shelf. I have two more to go and all the odds and ends as well. I should never have to purchase another piece of fabric for a long time. Who am I kidding? I think I really believe that whoever dies with the most fabric wins! I feel sorry for whoever will have to execute my estate.
Back to moving, I am planning to finish the fabric and sewing area and the books for good this weekend. Then on to our clothing. Way too many clothes for any one person to own. I have a tremendous amount of sweatpants and sweatshirts (used to work in a pool) and they got to go - too hot in Kentucky for all that crap. I think I will also pack up all of our DVDs as well. It's going to be a long weekend.
Wish me luck.

My favorite picture of Rachel

In the car right before graduation last May. She is beautiful no matter the setting.

Shredding

is not fun. I am a pack rat and I have saved EVERYTHING!!! What in God's name am I thinking here??? I have statements, bills and JUNK saved from every year we've been here. I have notes, papers with meaningless numbers, advertisements, JUNK! I have my college textbooks, reference manuals for software that no longer exists, manuals for computers that are long gone and just an amazing assortment of JUNK!!
I remember a few days after my dad died, I was sitting in his bedroom and going through his desk and thinking, why did he save this? Why did he save that? It was a mess to deal with but I didn't realize the connection at first. This saving/hoarding problem is GENETIC! My daughter suffers from it as well. You would think after 25 years of military lifestyle and all the moves later that I would have eliminated this problem, but oh no, I have it worse than ever!!!
When we were moving here from North Carolina 6 years ago, I remember thinking I have got to get rid of this stuff. Instead, I moved it here to Alaska, and six years later, it's bred to 10 times the amount.
Waste not, want not. DId I take this literally? What a joke. I think I do save everything for one of two reasons; a. - I might need it again someday, or b. - throwing it away seems wasteful. I must be hardwired for this thinking, hence, the genetics. Well, I have got a load of work ahead, I have been shredding crap all morning and have yet to make a dent.
I wonder if my hubby thought a do it yourself move would finally cure me of my problem? I wonder if he realizes he has the same problem.

It has begun

So after procrastinating for a couple of weeks, but remaining extremely busy with finishing projects, I have started packing. Two boxes to be exact. I figure if I do two boxes a day, I might be able to have everything packed by May 1st. Who am I kidding? The two boxes that were packed yesterday didn't make a dent!!!! I still have stuff in the China Cabinet and I even had a third box for the thrift store. What a joke! How does one collect so much crap in such a short amount of time???? YIKES.
Initially I thought I should bump up the daily goal to three but after yesterday, I need to bump up the give away pile significantly. Bye bye books - not all, just the ones that I know I will never re-read, even though I swore I would - see, there's too many great authors and they keep writing new stuff. I would have to live to be around 150 if I don't pick up any new stuff and I don't think I will live that long any how.
So, I must make a very difficult decision and let go of my personal library fantasy for now. It's not like I have a viable check out system anyway. I don't even have a list of all the books I have. For years, I have relied on my wonderful photographic memory to help me locate any book any time. But alas, like everything with age, my memory is not as sharp as it once was. I am loosing the peripheral vision that allowed me to see the sides and background clearly. So I must seperate myself and let them go.
I had joined a book exchange (http://www.bookcrossing.com/) which members leave books in public places to be adopted by people who would give them a good home. One can tag the book and then look online to see if another member has picked it up and logged it in. Sort of like tracking the Where's George dollar bills. So then I thought, how about loading a bunch in the truck and everytime we stop for food, gas, bathroom breaks, etc (you catch my drift here?) I leave behind a book? My gift to Canada and the Northern US. But where would the dogs sit?
So I will do the next best thing, I will donate my school books (yes, after 12 years I still have them) to the resource library on post. I will donate my paperbacks to the post library for free exchange (I won't take any in return). I will give some away to friends I know will read them and the rest I will take. Please pray for me not to be stingy, or to be a hoarder with them. It's like dieting, I want to shed the weight but I still like the feel of those sweatpants. Books are very comforting to me, if I am bored (which is hardly ever) I can pull one off the shelf and read. Oh I read a lot, I just do so when I should be doing other things.
Besides, I will get my library card in Kentucky and be able to check out any book I want. Maybe save some money too. Yea, right - that's what I said when I was moving to Alaska. I got the card, I just bought most of the ones I read, yu know, just in case I got bored.

Brian and me

I just love him!!!

What a cutie pie!!!

Brian and mommy


Brian and grammy



Brian and grandpa

Stained Glass

This quilt is the product of several mystery quilt classes I took over 2006-07 in order to renew my quilting drive. At the time, I only seemed to be able to sew during class. It really didn't work the way I planned. Who knew all I needed was to quit my job and prepare to move across the country to get the muse going again. Actually ladies, you know who you are. Thanks so much! Here's my rail fence version of stained glass, at least that's what it looks like to me. I plan on putting the borders on this weekend; I am also working on my Fat Quarter Frenzy, Pineapples and June's Quilt. Wish me luck. I will post updates.