Happy Birthday, dear sis, Patti

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PATTI
I hope you are having a great day today and wish I was there to bake you a cake and blow out your candles with you!!...much love and hugs, Lorraine

I am busy but nothing right now to show and chat

I wanted to let you all know that I am still kicking it up..lol
I have been busy pinning, basting and machine quilting..I am not down to 5 quilts to be machine quilting..than we have that binding..oh this takes time..if any of you have a easier way to do this by hand let me know..lol not by machine it looks ugly in the back.
I have finished one quilt..my winter bargello without the fractures, this I will send to sis..I added snowflakes with the cross and x's..to the border..lol an easy one..
Than I traces some beautiful snowflakes for my winter fractured bargello and now it is ready to sew, binding.. I also did the spring..in case I do not get back to the others, my spring can go up when it is spring time..need to sew the binding that is pinned..so now I have two to sit and watch TV and bind away.
I am now machine quilting my oriental baby faces from Karen Combs Treasure Boxes I did about 4 years ago..I am stitching in the ditch, well not exactly..about 1/8 of inch away from that and it has taken me a very long time..as it is patchwork..gee I did not remember doing patchwork but guess I did, not the greatest as the lines do not match in every square and I am not going to point them out to you, lol
Computer:
I am still waiting for my computer..took it in 2 weeks ago Sat..called Sunday and they said I lot of spy ware and could cause some problems..now how did I get that much spy ware when I only used my computer for two weeks..he mentioned Trojan horse and etc..I want you all know this is not covered in the warranty and we have to pay #130.. my dh said yes to do it so I have a great working computer..well, called Monday they were still scanning..called Wed and they had been scanning..and was at 18 percent..they are doing all types of scanning and getting rid..now what guarantee do I get that it does not come back..oh well, just want my computer back..
A Grant I applied for:
I applied and payed to get a grant. I talk to the person for a long while yesterday...I paid $69.99 for this..well what I want to do is build a building for my studio in the back of my home..so I am not using up a lot of the rooms here..and do not know where my son will end up..still no job.
I told them I would need some help in setting it up and doing a 5 year plan..well. after she took all my finances and personal info and making sure I have never applied for a grant...she told it would cost me $4,300-$8,300 and it all depends on what I do..I would need to spend 5-10 hours a day by myself doing a plan..than get their advice and need I tell you all, I am still not approved for the grant but would guarantee if accepted to even do any of this..Now we do not have credit cards, they are paid off and yes we still have a couple each...I told I do not have that kind of money and did not know if I wanted to put it up till I see a guarantee first before I do..well I could not get one..and she also said they take credit cards...I just came out and told I will not use my credits cards as we got rid of them so I would not have during our retirements in about 5 years.. She tried again and told her no..and than she, than this program is not for you..and I said, you are damn right and too bad I had to pay to find out about it..so fair warning to all..I bought that book that is advertised about 20 years ago and it did not help us at that time either..and I know I won't bother with it again..so a grant is suppose to free and it is but no one told me I had to pay to get it!!
Dryer:
I did get a new dryer..but guess what, the door on the dryer is so large we can not open it with our bifo doors..boy that door is huge, you have an inch on each side..so now I wash on Fridays and take the door down and put it back up when I am done washing, till I figure out what to do..It is the utility room, only enough for a washer and dryer off my dinning room and you know I do not want to look at it..it is ugly..so now we suppose to be discussing what is the alternative will be but all we are doing is fighting about..not worth it..So I told him I will settle for the bamboo shade and can pull it up and let it down..than I can paint something on the bamboo..now this sounds like fun..I can not put a the doors that were there as I can not have my baker's rack on the wall..the door would not open..I thought of accordion doors, dh does not like it, than sliding doors, he does not like it either-how lazy, you have to slide the door to get to the dryer..well, who does the laundry..he does even so often, when I am mad at him and I will refuse to do anything for him..yes, I do this..childish but it works..lol Anyway I am curious what we will end up..just think this is where I put all my Christmas cards..
So today I am hoping with what time we have left they will call about my computer..Soon I will have photos to put on my blog..lots of hugs to all and have a great afternoon and evening. Lorraine

Holly Leaf quilt is Finished and chat

I finished machine quilting with meandering small stitches to puff up the holly leaf and it does. I finished this last night except for the binding which I did this morning. I will add plastic white hooks to the back and use a brass or gold rod to hang it...if I was going to enter this in any shows I would add a sleeve, but when I do not have I do not..lol I hate doing them and the binding part of the quilting process, but always nice when done with the binding..I used Yemet gold/green metallic thread for the meandering. Fairy Frost mint is the back ground fabric. A ribbon type fabric is the binding..I ended up having to cut these by hand so I could match the lines. I love this type of quilting. This a class from Ruth Blanchet http://www.arbeedesigns.co.nz/

Below is a closeup of the meandering...This is so glitzy and pretty. Turn of the lights and it sparkles...wow..

Dh called Best Buy this morning and they were working on my computer and already had changed the memory chip, video card and do not know what else..but they will call when they are done..so looks like I might have my computer back next week sometime...

I now have to get ready as my dryer motor went out and going to buy another one..SEARS of course..they have always been great for fixing things when they go wrong..not sure if it will be a Kenmore and will buy a 5 year warranty too. lol have a great afternoon and evening, hugs, Lorraine

Christmas Couch Throw and Digital Script Pen-chat

I just finished machine quilting this couch throw for Christmas, in the making for over 3 and half years..now I know why it never made it to be machine quilted..I will never make another traditional quilt for any bed or couch again. I had to wrestle this thing and have the shoulder, wrist and arms with pain..boy..It took me all of two days..and I am not good at stitching in the ditch either..never done that before.. Pinning was a chore too....gosh I am just glad it is done...and believe it is not of my best works...but will say it comes close to the second bottom of my list..but it is pretty where it is..for the holidays..I wash all my fabrics before using them and with this red backing, my gloves are a tinted pink.. I noticed that with my green too did the same thing with the fan art quilt I did below...of course I did not watch it washing and did not it still would have run..oh well..This will be washed before putting it away..and it just end up being a holiday quilt for Suzie...lol One more to go..my Holly Wreath and I have accomplished what I wanted to get done before tomorrow..I should that little quilt machined quilted tonight..I hope any way..well I still have all day tomorrow..I have a house to clean and some baking to do...before Thanksgiving so I need to start now..I use to be able to do these domestic things in less time but not any more..My mil use to warn me and now I do know what she was talking about.

I bought this because I am always sketching and have so many journals and sketch books and I just do not have room for them so I bought this as a gift for me for Christmas..lol You do your sketching or writing on any pad and than download it to the computer..

Chat..

Haven't heard a word about my computer..Best Buy has not called us yet and when dh gets home I will have him call them.

My dryer died and my son came and picked up my on load that I did..today is usually laundry day for towels and sheets and maybe a load for me..but only one load done..so that means it will pile for me unless my son doesn't mind picking up my clothes and drying them for me..also have my youngest and we have a key to his house..lol I think it is the belt as the dryer won't move at all..and forgot I had in on and about an hour later I heard it click..so it sounds like the belt to me..dh can fixed that.. Have a great evening..lots of hugs, Lorraine

Holly Leaf quilt finished in the middle with Ruth Blanchet

I could not sleep last night so I finished my Holly Leaf quilt middle section. I use some trim I have had for over 8 years on the edges of my bows..looks like some I have in my drawer stash of ribbons...I used Angelina fibers with red tulle for the red balls. Than I couched red candlelight as the outline of the balls. It was so much fun to do and it is so sparkly and pretty.

A closeup of the trim and Angelina fibers, red splash, with red tulle and the trim I used around the bow..

Chat:

Last night my dryer make such a racket and than did not work. Dh turned the circuit breaker off and turn it off again..it has some sort of protection thing on it..It came back on and still made the racket..So he did some turning on the wheel and it worked..I was going to wash a couple more loads today but will wait till he comes home just in case..I can wait for the year 2009 to roll in..It has been on large roller coaster ride for us this year...Have a great evening, hugs, Lorraine

Finished my Baltimore Basic quilt by hand

I finished this tonight and it was fun to say I really like hand quilting when you just do not want to sew on the machine. I took this class in 2005. All I had to do was hand quilt it...I did not put a border on it. Below is a close up. I was so excited today when I did the rocking motion and did two and three stitches together...I keep with the two stitches as the doing 3 was hurting my palm with the hoop..I think it made it more fluffy than the middle when I did just one stitch at a time..One day in the future I just might make about 4 of them with different themes on them..I believe I have a book on these types of quilts. I am just going to add white plastic hoop on the back, I usually do when a quilt is this small. It measures 15 and half square.

Finished Fancy That Christmas Art Quilt and closeup

Finished this tonight. I added 4 hoops on the top and will use a gold rod to hang this up..I had this already in my computer and with dh wanting the computer, I decided to put the bottom on. I had a hard time working with this thick felt or whatever you call it. but to me it looks good. I used fabric red and gold ribbon and folded in half and sewed it on the machine. I was very very close to the backing..I use the same type of fabric for the hoops but in red and sewed a couching stitching on the sides..The hoops are about 3 and half inches wide. whew. another one done..lol

Chat:

Gee I do not have to go anywhere to have some news..lol so much happens around here and there are two of us living here!!!

We received TWO video cards yesterday and the computer only worked for about 15 and dh turned it off and restarted it about 20 minutes later..it came on but was doing horrible..then it went..turn it off and waited another 20 minutes and this time he did a diagnostic on it and it said it was the memory card..we have 3 of them on my computer..So he took the tower to Best Buy and guess it has a warranty and they will fix it...I could have taken his new gun to his head for not doing what I wanted to do..I told him next time this happens I will hail a cab and do what should be done..take it back to where you buy it!! Anyway it is over and in about 5 days I will soon have my computer up and running..I think..it might take longer for them to fix the tower..but they will be able to tell me what is wrong with it..

Dishwasher is hooked up and it has a little tiny leak and he will fix it tomorrow. This is the longest running dishwasher we ever had. The full load runs one hour and 45 minutes and the load I will use runs an hour and 15 minutes..oh well, I love it anyway and we have a 5 year warranty on it..lol have a great Sunday...hugs, Lorraine

Finished Christmas Table Runner

The first photo is a little bit closer..it was hard trying to get a really large photo of the table runner..maybe if you click on it, it might not sure..the second photo is the whole table runner..It is really pretty..took long enough to do the binding..

Chat:

Received two video cards and it still does not work for me to use it..dh did get to to run it long enough to do a diagnostic check and it says the memory chip is gone..wow I wish it would make its mine up..anyway it is going to Best Buy tomorrow..

My dishwasher is still in the middle of living room....kinda hard to walk around...

I am now working on the large Fancy That Christmas quilt with the scene in the middle..I could have done it instead of the binding but had to think on how I am going to machine quilt it..I do not want that much stitching showing on the green where it might take away from the quilt pattern itself..so decided today to do an echo around the wedges in the middle and corners..and probably put some sort of design in the middle of the sides where there will be more green showing...so hopefully I can have most of it done tomorrow...You all have a great weekend..I know I am going to try...

Award given to me by Lynne

I wanted to show you all the award Lynne gave to me and I love it. Thank you Lynne.

Machine quilting Ripless Christmas Tree Skirt

The above it s a close up to my machine quilting. I did it freehand as I wanted a curly or swirly look and it did not if it all matches...I like it better than if it did. Anyway did not fill like drawing the pattern..I used YLI gold metallic thread with Bottom line green for the bobbin.. I will be doing the border the same way.

This show the half way mark. I have a puddle of fabric in my lap..yucky to work with..but I am managing. It is so pretty with the gold..it really does not show up in either of these photos..I love to do this. This is the first for me in machine quilting a table runner. it is 72 inches long..for my side board..I might do the same thing with the wall quilt..I love the squiggles..lol

Chat:

My dh found somewhere to email HP..he got a message saying that for sure I will receive the digital card yesterday, well it did not show up..so now I know they just tell customers what they want to hear...dh wrote him again last night. but he is going to send me the URL so I can post it every where they, people can read all the complaints about this company, Hewett Packer...enough..dh will take it to best buy this weekend..he is working late again and no time to bring it in..about a 40 minute drive for us..maybe tonight..but doubt it..

I order a bendable light for my machine so I can do away with all the lights around me...I hope anyway.. Have a wonder afternoon, every one, hugs, Lorraine

Finished satin stitching with the gold thread

I finished the gold satin stitching today. I really did not know if I would. The pain on the left hand is awful but I managed. I will maybe my Brazilian beads embroidery thread around the bow. than I think I am done with this quilt...lots of hugs, Lorraine

Holly Leaf satin stitching started

Above is the overall look of the quilt and you can see the gold metallic stitching. Below is a close up...I love doing this but had to stop as my wrist was so sore..could be all the hand work I have been doing and sitting here working on EQ6...It probably will take a few days to finish it...than I can continue on to the table runner from Ripless class. I also have a bed quilt, 6 place mats and a quilt from Fancy That I want to get done before Thanksgiving...I should get them all done...
oh an apron...lol I had to order more thread, gold-YLI metallic today as i did not think I would have enough to finished it with...Have a great day tomorrow..hugs, Lorraine

EQ6 Lesson 3-chat Hewett Packer and Best Buy

There were more but put these up..the top is the label we make and the bottom is the bonus excersise..It is so much when you know what you are doing..getting frustrated is always something I did not read carefully...but once I knew what to do it was so much fun. I am not sure what is in store for lesson 4 but I bet it is going to be a bit tougher than these others..lol Of course you see I used my favorite colors..lol

Chat:

Hewett Packer has not sent anything for an up date..can not even talk to anyone with our order, the same info every time..

We did go to Best Buy and talk to a wonderful person named Ryan. He helped us a lot. We are taking my tower to Best Buy to have a diagnostic done. He talked dh out of buying a video card, as he thinks it might be the mother board. They do this for free. Than dh asked about retrieving my info from my computer. He told dh what to buy and what to do..They do it for 90 or more...not spending any more money. dh did by the box and it cost another 50 dollars..so he is in the process of doing that. It can take as little as a few hours or as much as 3 days..I have waited all this time. I can wait. He also said if it is the video card, he will let us know but if its the mother board, they will force HP to fix it or give me another machine..Yeah...I will just have come into this smelly room, the mess and all..for a little while longer...but do I have stuff to transfer to my computer...

We bought our new dishwasher Sat..it will be here on Wed. We will take our out tonight and put out front..any appliance disappears in the front yard..we never have to worry about carting it away..lol

I bought a lot of supplies that I am running out..it was good to get out. Of course i bought stuff that i did not need either..always do..lol Have a great evening. I am going to sew on the machine today as it is time to play with my new baby...Janome 6500 here I come..lol I also want to get some of these quilts out of my way...hugs, Lorraine

EQ6 Sampler lesson 2-Video Card-Hewett Packer HP

These are the two projects we worked on in lesson two...Fran gives great direction....so when I kept on making some mistakes, I though it was my computer only to find out it was me..I did the top one 3 times..before realizing what I was doing wrong..but at least I found it myself..I love this and it is fun

Chat: Hewett Packer has not sent my video card yet, so dh called them today and let me tell you all , we have date of Nov 12...my dh got so mad and told them what are they trying to do here and why the part has not come in..Than they told my dh to take it back to the store... He wanted to speak to someone else higher than this person and he got a lot of excuses and no phone number..they are beginning to sound like other discount stores that does the same thing..I will find out some how or another...but the best I can do is added to my blog and let others know how they do their customers..Than my dh called Best Buy and guess what, they would NOT have helped me either..you only have 14 days to return something that is broken or does not work..after that you have to go the manufactures..my computer broke 2 and half weeks after we had it..so now what are going to do..we have to buy one video card our shelves after purchasing a $1,000 dollar computer...This is not right!!!