THE PREGNANT PAUSE ELLIPSIS

My friend Susan, who edits books for a living, wrote this in an email to me today:


"You use the pregnant pause ellipsis the running dots at the end and in the middle like you're pondering the idea."

That's exactly what I do, just didn't know it actually had a name until today.

For instance, in thinking about making a difficult miniature quilt again: Hmmm....

It is REALLY hard to get 484 blocks in a 12 1/2" space, and have every single seam come out perfect. First off, when I was piecing these 1/2" blocks, I didn't consider that the point where 5 fabrics would come together (20 if you count that they all came together in one point) would pretty much be a nightmare. I will never tackle an intricate design like this again.. on a small scale. I finally opted to quilt down every other seam line (1" intervals) with clear poly thread. Very boring.. but I picked out the quilting 3 times, and I figured I would just give in and do it this way, and hope that the color placement and design alone would be enough to catch someone's attention. I am getting ready to do the binding. I am going to do piping and then a normal binding. I am letting it hang in my studio right now, because my brain needs a rest from this project.

RAINY TUESDAYS

It has been raining for two days. I guess that we needed it, but it is rather gloomy. I am working on quilting my latest project. I have already taken the quilting out once.. and I may do it again. I like making miniatures, but quilting is the hardest part. I don't like doing it. Because I am never happy with it. I have noticed that some of the people that do intricate piecing on their minatures, run a few lines of nylon thread down the quilt. Others that do applique, leave open spaces for hand quilting. I think it is time for me to take a break and make a normal size quilt. Also,when you make tiny quilts everything has to be perfect. You see every imperfection because your eyes are focused in such a small area. Trust me.. only God is perfect. I'm certainly not. There was one block (one half inch) that was a tiny bit off, I took the seam out a couple of times, but I couldn't get it to go together right. Of course, I see it every time I look at it. Do I need this? Will a judge look at all the work I put in into piecing and color and ignore that one seam? Probably not. Would it be better to make a quilt that isn't so technically difficult and do it perfectly, or make a technically difficult quilt because of the challenge? Of course, if I had any self control, I would ignore the inspiration for these quilts when it comes to me.

Anyway, I've been working, and working on this quilt. That's about the sum of my life at this point. I hope that things are more exciting for you!

COLLEGE TUITION AND FANS

You'd think when you are sending a kid to college and he's majoring in computer stuff.. he would be able to fix your computer. I was having trouble with my computer. It was slow, wouldn't shut down all kinds of things. So I bought a new motherboard, re-formatted and it worked great for a while then it would get agonizingly slow. I noticed that a CD I put in, came out very warm. I asked my son about it and he looked at it and said you need a fan blowing in it to cool everything off.. I asked him, "Where is the case fan?" He said, "Maybe there wasn't one in the computer" .. yeah right.. maybe said son forgot to put it back IN when he changed the motherboard.. Just sitting a fan next to it and letting it blow into the open side made my computer speed up. It was wonderful. It seems to be okay. I would have really been ticked if I had to buy a new computer after spending several hundred to upgrade it. I went to Best Buy and bought a little case fan and installed it. Everything is running well. AND I didn't have to even pay for it, because I still have money left on my gift card which I got as part of the deal when I bought my digital camera. It doesn't get any better than that!

I got Gabrielle's new DVD CREATIVITY ON DEMAND
It just came today and I haven't got a chance to look at it. It has two DVD's and I am sure that if it is anything like her other DVD's it is full of great ideas. I am working extra this week, so I will get to look at them over the weekend.
I just dusted off Ricky Tim's GRAND FINALE DVD and found a great idea for binding. He has a lot of information in his DVD's. I like to get lots of ideas, and adapt them to suit me. I truthfully like DVDs over taking a workshop. Then I can go back and watch what I need whenever I want.
Well, gotta go.. Bill and I are going out to get gas. Have a good Friday!

A CAKE FOR CAT LOVERS

My friend Jean made this cake for her brother's birthday. I haven't got the 'scoop' on what the ingredients are.. looks like tootsie rolls but I don't know what the rest of it is.. all I can say is Ewww...

AQS NASHVILLE SHOW

My miniature pineapple quilt, There and Back Again, will be hanging in a special exhibit of the Museum's "OH Wow!!" Miniature Quilt collection. If anyone is reading this is going to the show next week, would you mind snapping a picture and emailing it? I am hoping that it will be hanging next spring at the museum during the show!

SAM IS HOME

Sam is tuckered out from his hospital stay. It turned out to be gastroenteritis.. he probably ate something in the back yard.. a crunchy bunny perhaps? Anyway, we are both glad that he is home!!

Bill has three of our bookshelves finished, and the track lighting up. I have moved most of my books to the shelves, and I still have some left, so I guess I will have to buy more books! I will put up pictures later after they are all finished, and the trim is up.

I forgot to tell you that my weekend movie was "World Trade Center". I must say that it is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. The movie made me remember the terrible events of September 11, but it also helped me remember the wonderful feeling of Americans from all walks of life coming together to help each other. Thankfully, the two police officers featured in the movie survived to tell us their stories.

Back to work tomorrow. I didn't work on my quilt today.. yet. I have several rows finished, and they are more difficult than I anticipated. I am having a good time with it though.. and I am learning a lot. I hope that you all have a good week!

BREAKING MY RULES

Today, I broke my rule of not going to a destination that doesn't have an interstate exit. I went to an outdoor quilt show in the southern part of the county that I live in. It was a beautiful day.. mid seventies, sunny, and a wonderful breeze.

I was planning to stay all day with my guild friends, but my dog Sam was up several times during the night, vomiting, and I had to take him to the vet, who kept him. I'm waiting to hear back, she was worried about an intestinal obstruction. I actually had to find a new vet just this morning. I really like my vets, they have a small practice, and are always good to me and to my dogs, but, they are never available when I need them. I called this morning, and there isn't a vet on Saturday. So as long as my dogs only get sick during offices hours, We are okay. But Sam never gets sick during office hours, and he is the sickliest dog I have ever owned. So I called a larger vet clinic that is closer to my home. They are open until 5 on Saturdays, and have a doctor on call for off hours. I'm really hoping that he is okay. I really love him.

This picture indicates why I don't like to drive in the country..

There is my New York Beauty, hanging top row, second from the left.

Of course.. the farm cat can't stand NOT getting on a quilt.. I missed the part that he was digging in.. I think these quilts are just for ambience..

I went out to the show, and was going to stay a while, but I didn't have a signal on my cell, and I was waiting on a call from the vet, so I came home. But it was a really nice show. It was at an area Elk Farm. I didn't see any elk. They were out somewhere, and they were doing rides out to see them but I didn't have the time. Maybe next year...

JACLYN AND MEGHAN TURN 21

My youngest, my daughters Jaclyn and Meghan turn 21 in 3 hours. They are really excited for some reason. Can't see any difference coming except that I have the added worry of them drinking. But, they are officially 'adults' even if only in age. Don't tell them, but I think the measure of a true adult is the ability to live on your own, so your mother can have a studio with windows... I'm just sayin....

I was told by my friend Beverly that she looks forward to reading my blog every day, and that she misses it because I am not writing as often.
I don't have a lot of reasons for it. I have been busy putting my new quilt together. I work on it several hours every day. I worked this morning, then met some friends and helped put 2 quilt tops together for our guild auction. Then I got finished at guild, came home. Mind you, I have been up and moving since 5am and it is now after 9pm. I'm bushed. I came home to a empty house, I don't know where everyone is. Meghan's Marine came home on leave for his brother's wedding, and I think that she and her sister are planning on ringing in their birthday together. Me.. I'm taking a benadryl so I will sleep soundly all night. Tomorrow, I have to piece the back for one of the quilts I did today so that another guild member can hand quilt it. Sue volunteered, isn't that nice of her?
Then on Saturday, our guild is taking part in an outdoor quilt show at of all places, an elk farm! I will take pictures and post them on Saturday.
Right now, I am going to put another block together for my quilt, and then I am going to bed. ZZZZZZZZZZZ

TWO INCHES

This is 8 blocks out of 484 blocks that I just finished for my new miniature. This section, sewn together will make a finished 1 x 2 inch section . Which prompted me to have my second "What was I thinking" moment. I was so excited to finish all of the blocks, and then I started sewing them together. It is going to be a nightmare of matching seams and not cutting off points. And all of this just to have someone tell me they don't like it.. What WAS I thinkig?

I started knitting my pretty alpaca yarn, and I have also decided I don't particularly like working with lace weight, and I don't particularly like how it looks either. I got nine rows finished, started working on the pattern, and several stitches slipped off of the aluminum needles. Let me tell you, I have knitted for a long time, and even I couldn't figure out what to try to get back on my needles. So I started over, and I went out to buy bamboo needles. Which aren't as slippery. They work well. I have knitted several rows of the pattern, and I still don't like it. I started a new scarf with a worsted weight wool. It will be bigger, warmer, and I figure the lace pattern will show up well. I will keep you all updated.

Must be a storm coming. I feel like someone has taken a hammer to some of the knuckles on my hand. I have to scoot out to a meeting. Later..