Quilt Retreat

Every spring my quilt guild has a retreat. We have been going to the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center in Mansfield, Georgia. It is such a nice place, and we have so much fun. Last year I made these paper-pieced barking dog blocks. I have since then completed the top, but have not quilted it. I have been stagnant in my quilting life for the last couple of years. However, I am coming out of it. I have been mostly doing some handwork, but have also been venturing down to my sewing studio to work on some maple leaf blocks. I have a gazillion of the blocks, I just need to make them into tops. Yes, tops plural. I have so many of these blocks. I think I can make three tops and one wall-hanging. I am not sure what to do with my barking dog blocks, but I would love to get it finished.

Julie

It's Been a While....

It has been a while hasn't it? Over a year to be exact since my last post. Wow!! I do miss my blog, and still enjoy visiting other blogs. Here are my dear children. My daughter was in the pageant again this year. No wins, but she is still a winner in my book. I have started on a new weight-loss journey. I have quite a ways to go, but I am determined!! It WILL happen this time. I am tired of being overweight. I will keep you posted!
Julie

Pageant Night

The school's beauty pageant was Friday night. Dear Daughter was contestant number 23. I was so proud of her. She did not win, but she is a winner in my book. She is not only beautiful on the outside, she is beautiful on the inside too. What a sweet girl, and she is growing up so fast.
See what a proud Mom I am!
Until next time.
Julie

Wow, Take a Look at This!

Can you believe what I got from Carol at Cornfield Quilter. I signed up for her PIF and THIS is what she sent me??? Wow! It is an entire BOM kit for a bed-sized quilt. I am flabbergasted. I can't wait to get my sewing room up and running so that I can start on it. Maybe this will be my project for retreat this year.
Thank you so much, Carol. You really made my day at a time of my life when I have been down in the dumps.
I have had other good things happen to me lately. Finally, knock on wood, my luck seems to be changing. I finally signed the papers to close on my house refinance. I now have a much lower interest rate, a lower monthly payment, and ...... BONUS...... some money back. I got just enough money back to get some much needed work done to my house. Things continue to improve! Also, I am starting to take better care of myself. Have you heard of Zumba? Wow, is it fun! And I am working out with Zumba at our Community Center with a room full of other women. We are having a ball and getting into shape. My goal, to get into a shape other than round. More on that later.
Stay tuned....my daughter was in the pageant last night. She wasn't a pageant winner, but she was a winner as far as I am concerned. I will be posting pictures soon.
Julie

Hi There Folks!

It has been so cold here, in the Deep South we are not used to temps below 20 degrees F. My chihuahua definitely is not liking it. I cannot stand my sewing room because it is unheated. Normally a plug-in heater heats it up just fine, but in this cold you can't even tell it is there. I am getting ready for my daughter to be in the junior school pageant next Friday. We had to buy a new pageant dress. Sigh.... Every time I turn around, more money. But it is worth it, she will be so pretty. She won 6th grade beauty last year, which totally shocked the tomboy that I have always been. Pageants were not in my realm at all. Although, I did get Prom Queen in 1983!! LOL. But I did not run for it and was quite embarrassed when it was announced. Well, those were the good old days, and these are the good new days.
I don't know if I told you about all the plumbing problems I have had for the past 6 months or so. It seems that they got progressively worse over time after my husband and I split up. Well, a great plumber came and spent 4 whole days working here. He had a "Ditch Witch" tractor over here one day, a hired hand helping him, and fixed so many problems. He even fixed some things that I didn't know about. I was so scared to receive my bill. Well, guess what? The bill was $140!! Now I think this man is an angel sent from heaven. He knew what all I had been going through with my ex, and financially, and he decided to do me a good deed. I have to tell you, when I worked up the courage to open that bill (expecting something around $1,000) and saw only $140 I started crying. I went into my bedroom and boo hoo-ed for quite some time. It was an amazing experience. God Bless that man! I think I may need to make him a quilt, what do you think?
Julie

Cruising into 2010

I am celebrating the new year by staying home with my kids. We will stay up and watch the ball drop in Times Square, then go straight to bed like the party animals we are. This is a picture of me driving home from work. I think I look happy here, and I certainly am happy now. I am in charge of my own destiny and no longer depend on a husband to deal with problems. I am finding this an empowering experience. I am dealing with problems and not letting them stress me out. I am saving money for my kids' cars so that I will be ready when they turn 16. I am paying off bills and improving my credit. I am refinancing my house and getting a lower interest rate and lower monthly payments. Things are great, and I am planning on 2010 being even better. I hope it will be a great one for you too!
Julie

Fairy Rings

I saw in Elaine's blog, Elaine Adair Pieces, that she just completed a quilt called "Fairy Rings." It has, of course, a circular pattern and she used fairy fabrics. It reminded me of some of the fantastic fairy rings we had here in Alabama this past summer. I stopped to take photos of these particularly large mushrooms in front of a lawyer's office building.
Look at the size of these things. I have always really been fascinated by fairy rings, and think they are very cool. When I look them up on the Internet, there are always explanations of ways to prevent them and keep them from spreading. Why would you want to? I would much rather have some dead grass patches here and there and experience the magic of the fairy ring!
As you can see, they are literally dinner plate sized. This one was 10 inches across! So beautiful. I imagine that if there really were fairies, they would have a ball with these giant mushrooms.
I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my imagination, LOL. I guess I am still a kid at heart, well at least I hope I am.
Julie

New Blog is Ready

Leave me a comment and I will reply to you with my new blog's address! I can't wait to see you there.
Julie

Christmas Eve, 2009

Well, sorry about the red eyes, I haven't figured out how to manipulate these photos yet. At least I finally figured out how to put pictures from my new camera onto the computer. It wasn't hard at all, I just dreaded sitting down and doing it.
Anyway, this is a picture of my daughter and son, we are at my mother's house for the Christmas Eve gift exchange. The doggie is our part time dog. He is actually my sister's dog, but stays with us when she is working out of town. I hope you are enjoying the end of this fabulous year. We certainly are. Thanks for visiting!
Julie

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a glorious Christmas. Here in Alabama it was rainy and cold. I enjoyed time with my family and did lots of cooking. It is so nice to spend time with everyone.
On a lighter note, my ex-husband came by to pick up the kids after breakfast this morning. He actually had the nerve to ask me if I had anything he could eat for breakfast. He wanted me to fix him breakfast. Can you believe it? Well, anyway, I said no, of course. LOL.
Julie