Out with the old

Personally, I can't wait for his year to end.

I'm looking forward to 2014.

I'm working on my word for the year....

I've narrowed it down to 3.

When I decide on one, I will share.

Just like I did last year.

But for now, I want to wish you all a Safe & Happy New Years Eve!

In case you over imbibe or are over-served...AAA has a NATIONWIDE Tipsy Tow tonight.

I've shared it with my kids and anyone else who would listen.

And now I'm sharing it with you.

SEE YA NEXT YEAR!

XO

Winding down...

After a nice OTD last night at Asti Cafe, I had a sleepless night.

Ugh.

Today, I took Tootsie for a mani pedi and then to the airport.

It's also Moms birthday.

I think she would've been 95.

Sad...

Sad...

Sad...

The kids gave me I giftie to Mission Rose for Christmas.

Mission Rose is right by the airport.

There was nothing else to do but indulge in a little retail therapy.

Who can resist B&W with Chartreusse?

Not this gal.

My blue batiks were dangerously low.

My dark purple yardage practically non existent.

Well, dangerous and non existent are relative terms.

But I will be heading south soon & I hope lotsa sewing will ensue down there. 

Thanks for the therapy, kids!

Especially John, who braved the quilt shop biddies and actually bought the giftie.

I love you 3 immensely.

XO

Christmas Love

They were here together!  BLISS!

These 2 are pretty sweet, too.

This guy was festive!

Lots of wine, some Jack & B&B.  I hope no one looks in my recycling bin tomorrow!

The Clinton Square skate tradition continues...although the frigid temps mixed with hangovers effected our ice time.

Oh, how I adore these 3.  How they love each other makes my heart go pitter patter.

A hubs worth keeping and 3 awesome kids...fur babies to love...a warm house, good health and all my extended family and friends.  

My heart is full.

God bless you & yours, today & always.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  

INFJ

It's my personality type.

I took a test.

Actually 3 different tests cause I wanted to be sure. 

Same answer 3 times. 

Yup, there's a pretty good good chance I'm an INFJ.

You won't believe this, but this is most uncommon of the personality types. 

(Or maybe you would believe it)

Only 1% of the people have it.

I guess that means that I am weird. 

I always knew I was weird. 

But at least now I can blame INFJ.

Actually, when I read the description, it's pretty freaky how accurate it is. 

Famous INFJs:

Nathan, prophet of Israel

Aristophanes

Chaucer

Goethe

Robert Burns, Scottish poet

U.S. Presidents:

Martin Van Buren

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Fanny Crosby, (blind) hymnist

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Fred McMurray (My Three Sons)

Shirley Temple Black, child actor, ambassador

Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, martyr

James Reston, newspaper reporter

Shirley MacLaine (Sweet Charity, ...)

Piers Anthony, author ("Xanth" series)

Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie)

Tom Selleck

John Katz, critic, author

Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary)

U. S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL)

Billy Crystal

Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury)

Nelson Mandela

Mel Gibson

Carrie Fisher

Nicole Kidman

Jerry Seinfeld

Jamie Foxx

Sela Ward

Mark Harmon

Gary Dourdan

Marg Helgaberger

Evangeline Lilly

Tori May

Magnum & Jamie ...swoon.

Ari, Jerry, Garry & Billy...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA .

Robert Burns, Chaucer &Goethe...huh?

Mama T, MLKJ and Madiba...Wow!

Looks like I'm in good company.

My Murray took it, too.

But he's taken it before at work.

I'm going to analyze him next. 

I bet he'll be so happy to hear what I have to say when he gets home. 

If you google free personality test, you can take one, too.

If you do...let me know what you get!

The APQS Great Long Arm Giveway

As you know...I drive an APQS Freedom Long Arm machine.

Her name is Lola-baby...Lola for short.

I love her and the creativity she allows me. 

Here's a headshot of Lola...

A real beauty..huh?

And, yes, she has tatts.

She's my alter ego.

For the last few years, APQS has had a promo giveaway of one of their machines. 

This year, it's a Lucey with QuiltPath.

Lucey is a bit 'less' of a machine than my Lola.

Smaller throat space, no bells & whistles.

But QuiltPath is the new APQS computer. 

That's a serious whistle that rings my bell!

(I've been toying with the idea of going computerized. 

It's so much $$$....even been considering quilting for others to fund one)

Since we just got the FL locale, I dreamed of winning.

With that awesome studio space upstairs...

Natural light...

Private...

WARM...

Not to mention, how awesome would it be to quilt at either house?

Nothing says Happy Housewarming better than a free Long Arm.

Well, the drawing was on Monday.

So, I'm pretty sure I didn't win.

But APQS still hasn't announced the winner. 

Sheesh....it's so much harder to be jealous of someone when you don't know who they are.

That's ok...I can piece in FL & bring them home to Lola for quiltification.

It's all good. 

But I wish APQS would announce the winner already.

What's the hold up?

EDIT...they finally posted the winner...

She's from the Atlanta area...

Really?

There was a mega million winner AND a long arm winner from Atlanta in one day?

No wonder its called Hotlanta. 

A Scrappy Beauty

Be still my heart.

Barb has done it again.

Another delicious scrappy batik quilt.

Yum.

This quilt was a whopper...88x101, if I remember right. 

All she asked was that I put leaves in the brown border.

Ok...I can do that.

I took extra care to keep that brown border 'straight'.

Your eye is drawn to it and any wiggles would grab your attention & look 'wrong.'

I was proud of myself for thinking of that!

Barb isn't a big feather fan, but I feathered this one, anyway.

It gave some movement, and the quilt is so stunning, you don't even notice the feathers in the design.

All you see is that yummy batik goodness.

I love the back, too!

Turquoise...

If she doesn't like the quilting, I'll take it off her hands. 

It's the least I can do.

Nothing tickles my Quilty fancy more than a scrappy batik.

*swoon*

In other good news, this is my last 'customer' job for the year.

So, it's all me and my stuff for a while. 

I can't decide what to load first!

 

Facebook Quilting

I've recently discovered there are Quilty groups on Facebook.

(I love the blogger autocorrect, I just typed faceplace and it told me!

Too bad there's no auto correct in my brain.)

So...of course I joined a few if them just because I love any Quilty eye candy.

How awesome to have quilt pictures in my newsfeed.

But, I got to tell you....

I love it!

It's way more than eye candy. 

It's full of newbies.

I love newbies and their fresh take on things.

They ask questions about Quilty stuff.

Sometimes I learn new things.

Sometimes I answer & feel smart.

(I'm honestly shocked how much I've learned, through osmosis, about quilting)

No one is putting up political, perverted or whiny posts.

It's great!

If you enjoy social media, search quilt.

You'll be glad you did!

This has been a public service announcement.

Happy 27th Birthday John!

27 years ago?

How can that be?

The time is flying!

This kid spent his birthday lunch hour working for the food bank.

He's the cream in my Oreo kid sandwich.

My #1 son.

Smart and patient.

Always my helper.

Kind and easy going.

Funny and thoughtful.

For 27 years, you've made this world sweeter.

I'm so grateful you're my son.

And I'm proud of you, too.

Have a great birthday!

Stay safe XO

'I love you, everyday.'

Relief

Last night on the news they mentioned that Miley Cyrus might be Time Magazine's Person of the year.

I was horrified!

Thankfully, it was not Miley.

Although I'm sure she is a lovely girl, (snort) twerking just isn't a year altering contribution to society.

I've blogged about Popey before. 

He gives me hope. 

I know lots of other discouraged Catholics who feel the same way.

Good choice, Time Magazine!

Box Trot

I love the Box Trot pattern.

It comes together quick and looks good.

I put this one together for a friend who's had a loss.

I used some batiks & Asian inspired fabrics from the old stasheroo.

QD 70/30 Blend batting...cause women our age do not require a lot of extra heat.

I did a simple loopy meander, cause done is better than spectacular.

But it still seemed a bit stiff and un-snugly.

Is un-snugly grammatically correct?

I don't know.

Who cares...it's my blog...I can say things however I want to say them.

Anyway...focus...

I'm shooting for soft & comforting here.

So, I tried an Express Wash cycle and a tumble in the dryer.

Much better.

Even Mother Nature approves...this is the first sun I've seen in days. 

Glad I captured it on film. 

Or iPad.

Whatever.

I've often thought I should launder all my quilts before gifting them. 

Then I will be sure there will be no bleeding or construction problems.

And, if its already been washed, folks might actually USE them.

Instead of worrying that they might get dirty.

To me, nothing beats a quilt that's been washed. 

All that wrinkly goodness sets me heart afire. 

'Sets me heart afire'...really?

It seems life is taking a toll on my ability to use era appropriate language.

I think I'll head off to the post office and get it in the mail before I say anything else.

Hope she likes it!

7 years

Hard to believe it's been 7 years without mom.

Sometimes it seems like yesterday...

Other times like ages.

That crazy old bag...I still miss her.

Guess I always will.

SCORE!

Phil & I set out at 7:30 this morning in an attempt to acquire the gaming systems are darling boys would like under the tree.

We were home before 11, with everything their hearts desire. 

We even picked up an extra PS4, in case Kelly wants one. 

HO! HO! HO!

If she doesn't want it, we can always return it.

Or, as Herman pointed out, sell it on eBay for big bucks!

I can't believe the big deal these things are.

By the time they started handing out the tickets, the line was over 60 people long.

And that was before 9am on a Sunday morning.

There were 5 people who SLEPT AT THE MALL to be sure they got one.

Unbelievable!

After they give you the ticket, you wait even longer in line for your turn to buy one. 

Best Buy was well organized.

And our salesperson was a cutie who was Baby's age. 

On a very positive note, everyone in the line was real nice. 

We saw none of that ugliness that has been on the news about Christmas shoppers.

It feels great to be done.

Look who Murray found

Murray had a stuffy Holiday affair at a local bank after work on Wednesday. 

I wasn't invited.

Even if I was invited, I was too tired from my FH morning to mingle and be charming. 

(those of you who REALLY know me, know that charming is not my forte)

Apparently, Sr Colette has more energy & charm than I do.

And, I gotta say, that woman LOVES parties.

Charming is her specialty.

Unless there is work to be done...then slave driving is her specialty. 

This woman could get work out of a corpse & money out of a rock!

I guess that's why she's been so successful at FH.

No one knows exactly how old she is, but she's well into her 70s.

She still rollerblades, exercises regularly, plays the piano and acts in the St Francis charity shows and runs FH like a clock. 

She's hilarious!

Who knows what else she does!?!

But she is an inspiration, for sure. 

A Good Morning

I spent this morning at Francis House. 

I brought the tshirt quilt to Kathy.

Remember this one?

She LOVED it!

She got goosebumps when I first showed her. 

She laid it out in the Common Room and showed it to anyone who would look.

A reaction like that makes me happy I persevered and finished it.

Hildegard made me some German Christmas bread and gave it to me. 

I love my Wednesday Francis House friends...Hildegard, Janice, Kathy, Tony, Ellen & Jeff. 

They are a blessing to me.

A thank you?

I just got this in a text from John.

He often goes home at lunchtime to feed Ozzie.

I don't see the humor.

A repair

Before I started blogging, John bought his house. 

So, I made him this quilt.

I considered this to be a perfect guy quilt and was quite pleased with myself. 

Then he got this guy.

Full disclosure...I love this guy.

But....then this happened.

Ozzie!  How could you?

It's been getting mighty nippy lately.

I fixed it today.

Im sure Ive shared my distaste of binding quilts.

So, you can imagine I did not enjoy rebinding this one.

And, I washed it.

It was stinky smelly.

It shall be returned to Chestnut Street in the morrow. 

Why did I just say in the morrow?

I'm strange. 

Tshirt quilt

What's the only good thing about making tshirt quilts?

Finishing. 

I made this for one of my FH friends granddaughter. 

It started out as me teaching her how to make it. 

I'm not sure how, exactly, I wound up doing the whole thing.

But, I did....

And, it's done.....

And, I still do not enjoy the process. 

I did, however, like using all those yummy purples!

Attitude...

Is everything.

I'm posting this so I can retread it when life gets hard. 

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud woman, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally

blind, moved to a nursing home today. 

Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. 

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walkerto the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, Including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. 

"I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having Just been presented with a new puppy. "But wait, you haven't seen the room yet." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied.  "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged...it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it..."

She went on to say, "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.

I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I 

have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and

be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my 

eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored

away...just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account...you

withdraw from what you've put in...So, my advice to you would be to deposit

a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories, so when you go over it

a second time, you can enjoy it again."

Turkey Day Recap

Thanksgiving Breakfast of Champions...beer & pancakes.

Football...I could've lived w/o this part.

But not w/o this part.

The food turned out well.

The boys loved the sausage stuffing. 

We played Monopoly & Trivia Pursuit.

I won both games...Lucky game day for me, indeed!

We wore Ozzie out. 

I missed my girl, but was thankful for Meggan's familys generosity. 

Hope you enjoyed your gratitude day.

Phil & I are heading to the Manlius Theater to see Philomena this afternoon. 

Who would want to go shopping?

When family time is so much better.

Not to mention, you could sustain serious injury. 

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm counting my blessings today.

There's Murray...

Kelly, John & Jim...

My 3 seesters and all their peeps...

& my brudder & his peeps...

The in laws...

My wonderful friends & neighbors...

All the great kids in my life (many are adults now)...

Cousins, aunts & uncles...

Fun memories of those who have gone...

A warm house on this snowy morning...

And of course, good health...

I could go on & on...

But I've got cooking to do!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Well...

I'm sorry if I offend anyone with this 'humor'.

But, right now, I find it spot on.

Sexiest Man Alive?

It is undeniable that Adam Levine is a hottie...

But Justin Timberlake is smokin' hot.

He is more versatile, more proven, more talented, and, MUCHO CUTER.

What were they thinking?

I feel this is an injustice.

A crime against (female) humanity.

People Magazine is wrong.

I may not even buy this issue. 

Ok.... I probably will.

But just to see who else is in it.

Thank you for listening.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/adam-levine-dubbed-sexiest-man-alive-2013-article-1.1523128

A special finish

I'm always surprised by random timing.

I've been procrastinating Barb's sampler for eons.

I finally just loaded it in an attempt at ending my inertia.

Something about this quilt was harder than any others. 

It was a chore to make myself work on it.

I wondered if I was losing my enthusiasm forlong-arming?

 

But as I plodded along, the work got easier. 

This quilt helped me nail continuous curve. 

My classes with Deloa and Dawns 'build a house' advice clicked all at once. 

I totally can look at a block and cc the snot out of it in one pass now!

But another, way more special thing happened, too.

As I worked, I realized this quilt is very similar to a quilt I had planned to make for my mom.

She passed away before I even cut into it.

I had a small Christmas flimsy I had made for her that took me years to finish.

Once that was done, I donated most of the fabrics I had set aside for moms other quilt. 

It was just too painful knowing I never got it done for her.

(I saved a soft pink for a future granddaughter, just in case)

The guild was full of older women who would put those fabrics to good use. 

I'm glad I donated those fabrics, I don't want to make that quilt.

But I'm also glad this quilt came to me.

Working this quilt, I could feel Mom around me, as I often do.

In my mind, I heard her saying, 'pink is my color, dibblies & cups of tea'.

She was so silly sometimes. 

A job I was 'getting through' had turned into one that I never wanted to end.

😳

I took the long Florida break and got back to it Sunday night. 

She was still there with me.

I finished it today. 😢

I teared up as I laid it out for one last inspection. 

I know she was looking...and approved. 😍

I'm lucky that I still feel connected to my parents. 

And I never know when they will pop up! 😉

Thanks for stopping by!

TOWTOHC

Airports

I flew home yesterday..thru Chicago, O'Hare. 

The flights were so crowded.

Why are the seats so small?

Anyone who isn't fashion model slim is cramped. 

And, if you're tall, it doesn't matter how svelte you might be!

I'm not terribly uncomfortable on planes, but I really feel for those who have trouble fitting. 

And why does everyone want to carry their suitcase on board?

I don't get it. 

It takes about 5 -10 extra minutes for baggage claim. 

Check the friggin bag and make your life (& mine) easier!

And why is all the food in airports revolting and so expensive?

I ordered a chicken sandwich & el presidente margarita from the OHare Chili's during my layover.

These people should be arrested for what they did to my beverage. 

And the sandwich...well, it sucked, too.

I was out $23. and all I got was disappointed. 

When will I learn to stick to Snickers, water & pretzels when I fly?

All this whining is not nice, let me say something positive.

I took my Dramamine in time so the airsickness didn't get me this time.

If you've ever been airsickness, you understand what a BFD this is!

Today's been a quiet day.

Herman came by earlier.

He seems great.

I love having him back in our lives more regularly.

After he left, I hit the studio.

I am almost done with the custom I have on the frame...

A few more piano keys in the border and its a wrap.

Hallelujah!

Next up...a couple of mindless RWB quilts for Murray's honor flight friends. 

No plan...no stress...just fun!

I'm glad to be home.

But I can't wait to back!

It's COLD here. 

If Lola-baby wasn't here, I might really have trouble returning. 

a winter haven

Don't get me wrong.

I like living in Central New York.

Especially in summer & fall.

The hills & lakes & trees are gorgeous.

My #1 son lives there & I love having him nearby.

But, ugh, the winter.....

it's cold...

& snowy...

& NOT sunny.

Actually, it's downright bleak!

And it's sooo loooong.

Before CNY, we lived in Michigan.

Which is just as bleak, a little less snowy & colder!

Enough with the miserable winter climate, already.

Phil wants to retire somewhere that he can play lotsa golf.

I like warm, sunny weather and beaches. 

So, even tho retirement is still a few years off, we bought a place in Florida. 

It's a small place.

Perfect for the 2 of us.

Phil wants to spend his vacation down here this winter. 

I'm planning on spending most of the winter here.

I'm hoping I get visitors so I'm not lonely.

I've been down here almost 2 weeks now, trying to get things going.

No TV...Not bad.

I've been sleeping on an air mattress...Bad.

No Frannie...HORRIBLE.

She is definitely coming with me for the winter.

It's an older house so there are some repairs/changes that need to be done. 

But, it's coming along.

Did I mention it snowed in CNY last week?

It was chilly here, too....In the mid 70's.

Like Phil says, if we don't like having 2 places, we can always sell.

Janice & a rag quilt

A quick rag quilt for Janice's new granddaughter, Caroline.

I wish I had time to make her a real quilt.

But I just don't.

Rag quilts are usually a hit with young moms.

They don't wear well, especially if you launder them a lot.

And making them is BORING. 

But, they are quick & easy.

And done is better than perfect.

Especially in my world right now.

Busy busy.

I volunteer with Janice at FH.

She's had some ups & downs recently.

Of course the new baby is a major UP.

I've seen pictures of baby Caroline.

BUTTERBALL...CUTENESS.

Janice lost her golden, Cooper.

She really loved that old dog.

I took Frannie out to her place and we walked them together.

He really was a sweetie. 

I understand her sadness.

When you're home all day, your dog becomes your bestie.

Progress...

One thing's for sure.

No one needs to tell me to slow down.

Once I actually make myself work on it, it goes fine.

Getting myself there...

Well...

I got another row done.

That's something, isn't it?