Bday, BeachParty & Gadgets

Today is my sister Patty's 69th birthday.

She is spending it with her granddaughter. 

Obviously, it's a good day to be a Patty.

Happy Birthday, Sister!

XO

With the freezing, snowy weather here, I spent some time today swirling Barbs beach party. 

(It's early for this hideous weather, even for CNY)

I decided it best to finish obligations before my Claudia (P)fun.

I have one more of Lesas, too. 

I had hoped to finish the entire swirling today, but Alvin started jumping up the walls.

I was sure he would be soon gnawing on a mouse, so I went to Trader Joes.

There is no food in the house.

Herman came to check Alvin & left the fridge open while we were away, spoiling all the food.

My good fortune abounds. 

I waited in the garage for Murray to get home to come inside.

He said there were no mice.

I think he's telling the truth, but can't be positive.

At this rate, it will take forever to get these done. 

Once they're done, it's all play & creativity for me. 

I have this idea to try a little graffiti quilting using Claudia's designs.  

On another note, let me share this tidbit on gadgets. 

In case you have never read my blog before, this is my feeling on binding. 

They're no fun to make, tame, attach, hand finish or machine finish.

On the forum today, I found this link that might make bindings a bit easier. 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/easybindingwinder/the-easy-binding-winder

It's a new gadget, for rolling prepared binding so it's easier to handle. 

It's a good idea, and it will probably sell well in LQSs.

There are so many Gadget Girls out there. 

I already have a system that works great to tame my bindings.

I use this pretty silk bin my niece brought me back from her world travels many moons ago.  (I have a kickass extended family, by the way)

I set it under the ironing board and let the binding drop in as press it.

After I'm done pressing, I move it over to my Bernina and just pull it out as I go.

Works great!

And every time I use it, I think of my California family. 

And I wind up smiling for a minute. 

Until the thought of binding quilts makes me grouchy.

I'm just not that into gadgets. 

Given my 'fabric collection', I bet most folks think I'm a gadget person.

I like specialty rulers for piecing difficult blocks, like LeMoyne & Hunters star or Pineapple blocks.

But I mostly use my omnigrid 8.5x24 for fabric cutting.

I readily admit to a scissors and rotary cutter fetish.

I have & use my Joen Wolfram value finder & color cards for fabric selection. 

I have been known to use 2 longarm rulers when I have no other choice.

(I only collaborate w rulers when absolutely necessary)

I have a TOWA gauge I use ALL THE TIME.

I like my BOHN chalk pencils for marking. 

But these are actual tools, not gadgets, in my opinion.

I guess the only gadget I would buy for binding is a person who would do it for me. 

Veterans Day

I would like to wish a Happy Veterans Day to all who have served.

But, especially, to my 2 favorite Vets in the whole wide world.

One lives in heaven...

One lives in Texas.

Both are style icons.

I miss them both, everyday. 

A better daughter/sister would have pics of them in uniform.

Oh well, Veterans Day is not about my shortcomings.

Be kind to one another.

XO

My Return to Hell

It's tomorrow. 

I have to go back there tomorrow. 

I will no longer be myself.

I will become unstrung.

I will have no concentration.

The simplest tasks will be difficult.

I will continually be on the verge of tachycardia.

My stomach will be flitty.

I will not sleep due to micemares. {Meglish}

I will be startled every 2 minutes, perhaps more frequently.

I will feel things crawling up my legs.

I will veiw every spec of dust as mouse poop.

I will wince when I open a drawer.

I will jump back from cabinets.

I will stand on chairs.

I will scream like a raving maniac. 

I will be afraid to look at Alvin's mouth.

Perspective....

I will see my love, Frannie.

(she will sense my hysteria & commence the customary licking of the feet)

I will see my children.

I will visit my Bubbly at her new house. 

It will be Thanksgiving.

I will return to Lola. 

I will finally have the opportunity to stitch out my Claudia lessons. 

I have all this to take back for Lolafication.

Nope...not helping.

I will not be able to focus on Lola...

I will be completely preoccupied with keeping myself safe from furry intruders. 

I do not want to go there. 

I simply can not.

It's too much for me. 

There have been 10 caught in the past month. 

I'm sure there are colonies living in the ceilings & walls. 

Nests in every nook and cranny.

I suspect they have crawled on my precious fabrics. 

What if they are in the folds of my yardage?

What if they have snacked on my treasured batiks?

Traversed my beautiful Lola?

Attacked my batting?

My thread stash?

My waiting for binding pile? 

Murray has again today met again with his incompetent exterminator. 

They can't find the entry point. 

Why must this man hire idiots?

They assure me they are only in the storage room & no where near my studio.

Do they think I am mindless?

Of course they have been out of the storage room.

Alvin brought one to Herman....IN THE KITCHEN. 

How hard can it be to rid a well kept home of rodents?

Isn't this his specialty?

How can a grown man be outsmarted by hordes of disgusting one ounce creatures?

Usually writing helps me put things in perspective. 

Not today...

I'm overwrought. 

How will I ever board that plane tomorrow?

And why am I regardless of lizards?

But completely terror stricken by the thought of a single mouse?

Heres a link to a NYT article that I found today...proof that it is truly a rag.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/nyregion/white-rat-in-the-curious-incident-is-unexpected-broadway-hit.html?_r=0

How is it these people can entertain a rat in their home?

At least I know I am not the MOST unhinged person alive.

I just can't imagine being back there living the horror. 

Where is my mommy when I need her?

I request your prayers for my fortitude.

Try to be kind...

Fantasia Fractured

Free patterns are never really free.

At least for me... 

I loved this panel...I only wish I'd photographed it before I cut it up & pieced it. 

Another blogging mishap to add to my long list.

It appears I'm on a panel kick...very odd as I was never much of a panel fan.

The colors on this are fabulous, the composition is aces. 

This should have been a relatively easy one.

And, it would have been if I'd just approached it without the pattern.

But, I didn't. 

Of course, there were 4 different corners...

And they were confusing.

But, I was ok with that. 

Since dither is my norm, it's nice to have a project to blame now & then.

Makes me feel, uh.......reasonably dithered.

It worked out fine with the weaving border effect in tact.

(By this time, I abandoned the pattern and had gone rogue)

What I wasn't ok with was the D cup aftermath in the fractured center.

I followed the cutting & piecing directions to the letter.

I used more pins than a bulletin board attaching the border.

I NEVER pin.

Well, obviously not never...but rarely.

At the quilt shop, she CAREFULLY cut the panel.

(She was so exacting I was rolling my eyes, fearing I may miss Jeopardy)

Still...D cups. 

Ok, maybe C cups.

Either way, cups too big for my boobs.

Did I just say that?

Isn't it bizarre that I write this blog in large part for posterity, yet still allow myself to appear cuckoo?

My lineage will refer to me as 'the one with threads on her clothes & bats in the belfry.'

Remember, things are rarely as they seem.

Again...I find myself adrift...

I did get nice compliments from my IG family. 

& it does look ok if you're riding by on a galloping horse.

(After all, the fullness does not change the glorious colors or completely destroy the composition)

& it kept me engrossed all through the dull football weekend that Mr Bixby finds so amusing.

I guess there's always a bright side...

There's that perspective word again.

Lolafication will be challenging...but I think I can tame this beast.

We shall see how it comes out.

I had intended it to be a wallhanging.

I suspect it will be far too cattywampus to hang & will just serve as a cuddler.

Even after applying perspective, this still enforces my belief....

free patterns are never really free...you get what you pay for.

At least in my universe.

St Vincent not St Francis

As my sister was kind enough to point out....

The movie we saw, and loved, is St Vincent.

Not St Francis as I wrote in my previous post.

It ain't easy being a dingbat. 

Carry on.

Sunshine

If you're here for the Quilty eye candy...skip this post.

There was no sewing today...

There wasn't even sewing yesterday. 

Yesterday, I was sick.

Like..can't pick your head up sick.

Today. I just had a headache. 

So, we went to the beach.

We got in lots of selfie practice.

At the beach.

With our fruity cocktails...

At sunset.

It was a spectacular Fort Myers Beach sunset. 

And the full moon over the pool was perfection. 

I've enjoyed my time with Murray here. 

Rodents, Punta Gorda & St Francis

John went to check on Alvin at lunchtime today.

Alvin greeted him at the door with a mouse in his mouth.

I simply cannot go back there.

But I must go back there and save my stash from mouseification {Meglish}

Plus, I have to make Thanksgiving dinner.

Who wants to eat in an infested environment?

Murray informed me he caught 7 mice in the 2 weeks after I left. 

He hired a pest control guy who guaranteed results.

Where are the results?

How is this man still in business?

Why is this happening to me?

AHHHHHHHHH!

While I understand my reaction is irrational, there is nothing I can do about it. 

Except wring my hands while my heart is pounding, obsessively thinking about mice crawling all over me & feel sick in the tums.

As you might have guessed, these activities do nothing to rectify the situation. 

We spent the rest of the day rewarding ourselves.

I saw some fabric at Gloria's Stash in Punta Gorda last week.

I've been thinking about it ever since.

It's been haunting me....literally.

I woke last night from a dream about it.

Do you think this means I am disturbed?

Nevermind, I already know that answer.

Today, we drove up there and I bought a yard.

(should have bought 5 and made a stack & whack)

It's called Wanderlust...isn't it delicious? 

I mean...please...I NEEDED it.

It was keeping me up at night. 

Even Murray agreed I should have it.

It's all his fault.

(I bet mice hallucinations keep me up tonight)

I didn't do any sewing today...just cutting.

We were hardly home all day.

Here's a peek....

I'm hoping to start sewing in the am.

****Quiltnerd alert****

Tonight, we went to see the movie St Francis.

We both LOVED it.

It was touching, sweet, sad, funny & thought provoking...all at the same time. 

Bill Murray & Melissa McCarthey were so real in this movie. 

The little boy was perfection....I wish I knew his name. 

Even all the supporting roles were awesome, especially Naomi Watts.

There was not one irritating thing about this movie. 

It was just right. 

(Except that we had to sit through over 20 minutes of previews. 

20 minutes...of my time....and I PAID to get in there. 

I find that excessive and think they need to limit it to 5 minutes.

I will admit I liked the 2 minutes looking at Matthew McConaughey during the spaceship one)

****mini rant alert****

Ok...back to St Francis...

Grab your hubz, kids or a friend, and go see this movie.

(& save yourself the trouble by arriving 10 minutes after the listed start time)

I baked some cookies for Pat & Jim.

When I brought them down, Pat said Jim was already in bed. 

He's not feeling well....

Maybe the cookies will make him feel better. 

I just read that ginger is a great healer. 

Only one more week in my slice of paradise...

Lizards are so much better than mice...

Why is that?

Keep it kind...(unless it's a rodent)

XO