My Birthday

I'm 43 today. Holy smokes, how did I get here? Don't get me wrong, the 40's are fabulous. But I sure don't feel 43. I do want to share a few things I have learned in my 43 years as well as one of my favorite quilts. I love this quilt and it has won me some awards and makes me smile when I look at it. So here is my list:

1. Hank Williams Jr. is right, hangovers hurt more that they used to.

2. Once you have been a food source, NOTHING is as cute as it used to be.

3. That being said, running 15-20 miles a week will make your rear end look like it did in your twenties.

4. When your happily making your way down the road of life and you see crazy coming, step aside and let crazy pass you on by.

5. Having and raising children is both the hardest and best thing I've ever done.

6. Had I known how many brain cell I'd need to raise these children, I'd been more careful about how many I killed in my twenties. (Then again, probably not.)

7. There will come a time in your life when a man doing housework is foreplay.

8. Life can sometimes be a funny old female dog.

9. A handful of really good girlfriends can get you through just about anything this funny old female dog can bring.

10. Count your blessings every day.

11. True faith is moving forward no matter what and especially when your head is bent in prayer.

12. Living a creative life is the "bomb".

13. There is nothing wrong with looking your age, especially if you look good for your age.

14. Quilting makes my skirt fly up. Yipee!

15. Your intuition is right 99.99% of the time, so listen to it!

16. Jon Bon Jovi was a hottie ing 1982 and he is still a hottie!

So, now I'm off to have lunch with two of my best girlfriends and I'm sure we will laugh loudly and often. Cause life may be a female dog at times, but she sure is a funny one.

quilting patterns

Just look at this heart my friend Brook gave me. It is one of those static stickers you can put on a window. Can you see the quilting pattern? Wouldn't that look fabulous in thread on fabric? Thanks Brookie for thinking of me, I appreciate it! You are fabulous!

Ready for borders

Yipee! It is a glorious day to be alive in Austin, Tx. We have clear blue skies and it is going to be eighty degrees today. Yeah! And my quilt is talking to me. I had originally thought I would have an appliqued border on this quilt but now that I am at that point I don't think that is what I'm going to do at all. What am I going to do? Well, piece a border, of course. So now I'm off to cut strips. I feel like I have spent twice as much time cutting than I have sewing on this quilt. I sometimes have to tell myself it is all part of the process, (cause after all God is in the details). So I'm off to cut, with windows open, the music turned up and a big smile on my face, cause it is absolutely a glorious day to be alive in Austin, Tx.

wonder-under

Eeakk! I have run out of wonder-under! How did this happen? I always, always have wonder-under in a few different places. I even looked in my secret spot in the back of the closet and no wonder-under. I don't even remember when I dug that out. So, off I go to Hobby Lobby to get some. Have you ever been to a Hobby Lobby? There is a ton of stuff in a Hobby Lobby. However, I went straight to the back corner (where they keep the fabric) had a nice lady lady cut me a couple of yards. I then walked straight back up to the front of the store, not even glancing at all the crap I passed. I have never been in and out of that store that fast.
The good news is I now have my stars fused and half of them are appliqued down. Maybe I'll get to sew the rest down after dinner, baths and bedtime. And then again maybe not.

Rickrack

So today I'm trying something I have never done before. I'm going to sew rickrack onto my flower fans. I know some of you are gasping in disbelief that I have never used rickrack, but since I don't make garments I have never had occasion to use it before. First I'm pinned (yes, I'm a pinner) and then I took a deep breath and sewed. And guess what! It worked! Yee-haw! Now all my fans are appliqued down and it is time to start on the stars. I think I'll leave those until tomorrow. Happy quilting!

More progress

It has been a good sewing day. First, I got the centers of my flowers trapuntoed. Then, I put the bases on my fan flowers. After that, I sewed the inner border to my medallion center. I now have the center laid out and it is just waiting for me to begin appliqueing. I have done all of this while my children have been gaming, fighting, and "Momma, momma, momma-ing" me. (It is a teacher in service day today. Thank God, they go back to school tomorrow!) So, instead of sewing I think I'll go take a shower. Where the only sound I'll hear is the peaceful sound of running water!

My flowers have centers

My flowers have centers. Yeah! I had originally thought I would piece the centers for these flowers, but after I had them cut out it was obvious that they would not work. Too much going on. They need to be a single piece of fabric so the eye has a place to rest. As for the pieced centers I didn't use? Well, I will probably make some more and applique' them onto the border, but then again maybe not.

Laundry

The only thing I have been able to accomplish today is laundry. That is the bad news. The good news is I am not going to do another load of laundry (if I can) until next Monday. In between loads of laundry I saw the cutest thing on Jacqui's (Tallgrass) blog. It reminded me of this wall hanging I made a couple of years ago. After I finished this I asked my son, "So, what do you think?" His reply was, "Momma, it doesn't have stems." No it doesn't and that is okay. So Jacqui I'm posting this for you. Piecefully yours.

Birthdays

My baby is seven today! I can't believe it has been seven years. It doesn't seem to have been that long since I was hugely pregnant (the size of a barn) with her and crying that I was to fat to live. And I can still remember how bad it hurt when my epidural wore off. It hurt like a m---- f-----! It just doesn't seem that long ago even when I look at her and see the proof. This is her baby quilt I made her that was so big when we brought her home from the hospital. Now, her legs are way too long for it when she lays underneath it. My how time flies when your raising kids and making quilts. Now I'm going to go bake a birthday cake, cause if you can't make a quilt making a birthday cake is a pretty good substitution. Happy baking!