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Recycled and Upcycled Quilting
Sunday, January 2, 2011
not the day i planned
I had planned to finish ralphs birthday present!
It always works this way, i plan a day and then at 9 pm someone comes in and orders lasagna for 80 by noon the next day! lol... so at 7 am i am at zippys making lasagna!! It will be 3 or 4 before i get home today because we have errands to run after that (which im sure wont go as planned and it will be more like 6 or 7)
When we got home last night i noticed the well compressor was running which meant something was wrong... I have no idea how this thing works, ralph has no idea either so we dont have water at home right now and probably wont till tomorrow. I have fiddled with all the thinks i know to fiddle with.... i think im going to have to call a well repair guy! If i get home before dark, i will go tinker with it some more. I think its the pump... everything else seems to be working fine.
We went to lufkin yesterday to get cheese from sams... opps... sams wasn't open on new years day!! But, i did get to go to hobby lobby and i found a new clearance rack they set up!!! I had 7 dollars in tip money and change to spend... lol.. i spent 15! But i have one of the jewel tones for leah's quilt, and some other fabric that will be pretty in the scrap quilts im making (i will cut off a few 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 squares!) I never buy alot of fabric... unless i really love it i get less than a yard. So, i have 7 new pretty fabrics in my stash. (i really dont have much of a stash... im actually trying to get MORE of a stash... give me a year or two and im sure i will be talking about stash busting like everyone else)
Someone posted about their grandparents ranch in california... im sorry i dont remember your name right now... but it made me think about the ranch that we live on and our grandchildren, the memories and legacy that we are leaving them. Ralph is the 4th generation on this ranch and he loves it like his parents and their parents. We need to do more to pass that love on to the little ones growing up right now. We need to start some traditions for them... ive been thinking about that alot lately, with the holidays. I decided next year we will take the grand kids out the day before thanksgiving to cut down our christmas tree and then on thanksgiving day they can help me decorate it. We will pull out all of those ornaments that their parents made for ralph and lydia and the ornaments my family has made me. I think that will be a nice tradition. But... those everyday things that i want these kids to remember about their grandfather... im going to have to work on those. Little things like sunday dinners, helping pawpaw with chores, those things that will be with them like my memories are with me. Right now we are pizza pawpaw and mimi... lol.. id like to create more memories with the horses and with the land for them, i want them to love it like ralph and i do.
Speaking of ralph... in reflecting on the last year... we have lived together for a year now! I moved in to the ranch in December last year. I dont think either of us thought we would work, lol, we do both have tempers and prior to being a "couple" we used to fight like cats and dogs. But, living together... we have found more harmony in our relationship! For those of you who dont know our story... i moved to texas 8 years ago to start a business with ralph and his wife lydia. They adopted me into their family, they were my best friends, it really was a strange relationship, we all three were inseperable! Ralph and I ran our various businesses (we have had 3 since then, the most recent a pizzaria) Lydia worked as a lab tech so she wasn't as involved... it meant ralph and i spent alot of time together... lol.. and we fought ALL the time. Lydia was the peacekeeper. I loved lydia as much as i love ralph. Lydia passed away almost 2 years ago from pancreatic cancer. I miss my best friend more than anyone can ever imagine. But, ralph and i are a couple now. I love him with all my heart and he really is the man of my dreams. We do belong together, dont get me wrong, i would give up this relationship to have her back... but this is what fate dealt...
anyways, the biggest blessing of 2010 is ralph and i figured out how to survive without our peacekeeper. We have found our harmony. lol... dont get me wrong, he still makes me mad and there are days i could strangle him and vice versa.. but for the most part we have found a peace and happiness together that i dont think either of us have ever felt before.
ok... nuf emotional stuff... the lasagna sauce smells fantastic... i have noodles boiling and its time to assemble a 2'X3' pan of lasagna!
It always works this way, i plan a day and then at 9 pm someone comes in and orders lasagna for 80 by noon the next day! lol... so at 7 am i am at zippys making lasagna!! It will be 3 or 4 before i get home today because we have errands to run after that (which im sure wont go as planned and it will be more like 6 or 7)
When we got home last night i noticed the well compressor was running which meant something was wrong... I have no idea how this thing works, ralph has no idea either so we dont have water at home right now and probably wont till tomorrow. I have fiddled with all the thinks i know to fiddle with.... i think im going to have to call a well repair guy! If i get home before dark, i will go tinker with it some more. I think its the pump... everything else seems to be working fine.
We went to lufkin yesterday to get cheese from sams... opps... sams wasn't open on new years day!! But, i did get to go to hobby lobby and i found a new clearance rack they set up!!! I had 7 dollars in tip money and change to spend... lol.. i spent 15! But i have one of the jewel tones for leah's quilt, and some other fabric that will be pretty in the scrap quilts im making (i will cut off a few 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 squares!) I never buy alot of fabric... unless i really love it i get less than a yard. So, i have 7 new pretty fabrics in my stash. (i really dont have much of a stash... im actually trying to get MORE of a stash... give me a year or two and im sure i will be talking about stash busting like everyone else)
Someone posted about their grandparents ranch in california... im sorry i dont remember your name right now... but it made me think about the ranch that we live on and our grandchildren, the memories and legacy that we are leaving them. Ralph is the 4th generation on this ranch and he loves it like his parents and their parents. We need to do more to pass that love on to the little ones growing up right now. We need to start some traditions for them... ive been thinking about that alot lately, with the holidays. I decided next year we will take the grand kids out the day before thanksgiving to cut down our christmas tree and then on thanksgiving day they can help me decorate it. We will pull out all of those ornaments that their parents made for ralph and lydia and the ornaments my family has made me. I think that will be a nice tradition. But... those everyday things that i want these kids to remember about their grandfather... im going to have to work on those. Little things like sunday dinners, helping pawpaw with chores, those things that will be with them like my memories are with me. Right now we are pizza pawpaw and mimi... lol.. id like to create more memories with the horses and with the land for them, i want them to love it like ralph and i do.
Speaking of ralph... in reflecting on the last year... we have lived together for a year now! I moved in to the ranch in December last year. I dont think either of us thought we would work, lol, we do both have tempers and prior to being a "couple" we used to fight like cats and dogs. But, living together... we have found more harmony in our relationship! For those of you who dont know our story... i moved to texas 8 years ago to start a business with ralph and his wife lydia. They adopted me into their family, they were my best friends, it really was a strange relationship, we all three were inseperable! Ralph and I ran our various businesses (we have had 3 since then, the most recent a pizzaria) Lydia worked as a lab tech so she wasn't as involved... it meant ralph and i spent alot of time together... lol.. and we fought ALL the time. Lydia was the peacekeeper. I loved lydia as much as i love ralph. Lydia passed away almost 2 years ago from pancreatic cancer. I miss my best friend more than anyone can ever imagine. But, ralph and i are a couple now. I love him with all my heart and he really is the man of my dreams. We do belong together, dont get me wrong, i would give up this relationship to have her back... but this is what fate dealt...
anyways, the biggest blessing of 2010 is ralph and i figured out how to survive without our peacekeeper. We have found our harmony. lol... dont get me wrong, he still makes me mad and there are days i could strangle him and vice versa.. but for the most part we have found a peace and happiness together that i dont think either of us have ever felt before.
ok... nuf emotional stuff... the lasagna sauce smells fantastic... i have noodles boiling and its time to assemble a 2'X3' pan of lasagna!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
happy new year!
Ive been reading blogs but since i dont have a battery for my camera, i haven't been posting much... hopefully i will get one in a week or two!
but... its the new year so i thought i would post my quilting resolutions...
its finish a quilt for everyone in the hampton family this year by their birthday! The first is Ralph's in 3 days so im going to finish my plaid shirt quilt. I just need to quilt it and since i only have 3 days... im going to machine quilt it!
The next birthdays are the twins Jan 30th and i have the flimsies for theirs... so i will finish them next week so i can get them in the mail.
After that I have Bridgette and Sharon... they are in April. I have about 1/4 of one of theirs done, its going to be a scrappy irish chain. Its going fast and i will either tie or machine quilt them.
There is also leah in April. Leah is tougher... but an idea came to me in the shower. (we have diamond patterened walls in our shower) Im going to do something with jewel colored diamonds with a black background... shes 14 but not girly... i think she would like that. But i want to finish these by March because of may!
May is going to be a busy month. Buck, i have all but the star finished on his denim scrappy quilt... i will finish that by then. Caty... im going to do something scrappy with 2 1/2 inch squares, Waylon will be one... i will finish the baby quilt i want to make him and Trevor. I am going to do something with blue tan and red for him.
I then have a rest in june, July i have harley... ive started one for her, just need to finish it and Jess... i will finish the 2nd denim rag quilt.
September will be the next birthdays. Travis... another denim rag quilt (have it cut out already) Faith, Ive started hers too, it matches her sister Harleys. Dallas, shes another puzzle, im not sure what im going to do for her but im sure i will be inspired by then!
October we have landon and wesley. Landon's i will probably make when i make trevors in may (or at least i will cut it out then) They share a bedroom so i will make them match but different. Wesley, it will be something simple and geometric or if i can afford it something with Spiderman.
In november there is my birthday and yes.... im going to make myself one too! I would like to have the one im hand piecing done by then... or if not there is this 9 patch thing im playing with and making... i will finish one. Jonathan... another denim rag quilt.. already have it cut out!
Then december... the last two are coleman and chris... i have cut out for them denim rag quilts as well... so that will be an easy finish to the year.
So... ambitious i think... 21 finishes in one year from the girl who just finished her first quilt in 20 years! lol
Oh... i also have at least 2 baby quilts. Bridgette is going to have one in 6 months and my preachers wife is pregnant and there is a baby shower next month... thats a wishful thinking one i think! lol.
anyways. have to get back to slinging pizza... ive been blessed this year and i hope all of you are equally blessed in 2011!
but... its the new year so i thought i would post my quilting resolutions...
its finish a quilt for everyone in the hampton family this year by their birthday! The first is Ralph's in 3 days so im going to finish my plaid shirt quilt. I just need to quilt it and since i only have 3 days... im going to machine quilt it!
The next birthdays are the twins Jan 30th and i have the flimsies for theirs... so i will finish them next week so i can get them in the mail.
After that I have Bridgette and Sharon... they are in April. I have about 1/4 of one of theirs done, its going to be a scrappy irish chain. Its going fast and i will either tie or machine quilt them.
There is also leah in April. Leah is tougher... but an idea came to me in the shower. (we have diamond patterened walls in our shower) Im going to do something with jewel colored diamonds with a black background... shes 14 but not girly... i think she would like that. But i want to finish these by March because of may!
May is going to be a busy month. Buck, i have all but the star finished on his denim scrappy quilt... i will finish that by then. Caty... im going to do something scrappy with 2 1/2 inch squares, Waylon will be one... i will finish the baby quilt i want to make him and Trevor. I am going to do something with blue tan and red for him.
I then have a rest in june, July i have harley... ive started one for her, just need to finish it and Jess... i will finish the 2nd denim rag quilt.
September will be the next birthdays. Travis... another denim rag quilt (have it cut out already) Faith, Ive started hers too, it matches her sister Harleys. Dallas, shes another puzzle, im not sure what im going to do for her but im sure i will be inspired by then!
October we have landon and wesley. Landon's i will probably make when i make trevors in may (or at least i will cut it out then) They share a bedroom so i will make them match but different. Wesley, it will be something simple and geometric or if i can afford it something with Spiderman.
In november there is my birthday and yes.... im going to make myself one too! I would like to have the one im hand piecing done by then... or if not there is this 9 patch thing im playing with and making... i will finish one. Jonathan... another denim rag quilt.. already have it cut out!
Then december... the last two are coleman and chris... i have cut out for them denim rag quilts as well... so that will be an easy finish to the year.
So... ambitious i think... 21 finishes in one year from the girl who just finished her first quilt in 20 years! lol
Oh... i also have at least 2 baby quilts. Bridgette is going to have one in 6 months and my preachers wife is pregnant and there is a baby shower next month... thats a wishful thinking one i think! lol.
anyways. have to get back to slinging pizza... ive been blessed this year and i hope all of you are equally blessed in 2011!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Before i post the pictures
Let me just say this about it:
It is made entirely from a box of scraps given to me. The person who gave me the scraps makes lap quilts for the VA hospital in houston. So... i made one for her out of them. It was kind of a challenge, i decided to make one entirely out of the box that she gave, binding and all.
It is the first quilt i have finished in 25 years!!! I have started a bunch but never finished them!!
It is the first thing i have machine pieced in about 10 years!!
It is the first item i have ever machine quilted!
It is the first quilt i have made where i made the binding and didn't buy it!!
lol... so needless to say it isn't perfect!!!
I will post pictures later today when i have the camera... im just tickled i finished something and i cant wait to take it to her and give it to her! Im calling it "giving thanks" since its going to the veterans and since i finished so close to thanksgiving!
It is made entirely from a box of scraps given to me. The person who gave me the scraps makes lap quilts for the VA hospital in houston. So... i made one for her out of them. It was kind of a challenge, i decided to make one entirely out of the box that she gave, binding and all.
It is the first quilt i have finished in 25 years!!! I have started a bunch but never finished them!!
It is the first thing i have machine pieced in about 10 years!!
It is the first item i have ever machine quilted!
It is the first quilt i have made where i made the binding and didn't buy it!!
lol... so needless to say it isn't perfect!!!
I will post pictures later today when i have the camera... im just tickled i finished something and i cant wait to take it to her and give it to her! Im calling it "giving thanks" since its going to the veterans and since i finished so close to thanksgiving!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
a whole box of scraps!
I was at the quilt store in lufkin yesterday. I was talking about the scrap quilts ive been working on and the woman working there gave me a big ole box of scraps! there are several little tiny pieces that i loved loved loved which im putting into the little square quilt im making.
People give her scraps because she makes lap quilts for the American Legion... so im going to make a couple out of them. I started a string quilt today... thats harder than it looks. I really wish i had a camera to take some pics... gonna have to see what i can do to expidite getting a battery!!
I washed bucks quilt for a 2nd time. I am finding holes where i either snipped to close to the seam or the seam ripped. I am going to do the rest with a zig zag stitch. Ive been able to fix all of the holes so far... i hope i dont find too many more!
I am having trouble deciding what is going to go on the back of the big plaid quilt i made for ralph and i. I have some of it pieced but i was planning on a large peice but i dont have alot of large peices! I am going to figure that out tomorrow.
today i work a double.. i have been in soup mode. I made really yummy cream of mushroom yesterday and today ralph and i are making 15 bean soup to sell at the store. Soon it will be time for gumbo! Dont know what else we will make, we like to have a couple choices but i keep selling out of one before i get a 2nd one made!
People give her scraps because she makes lap quilts for the American Legion... so im going to make a couple out of them. I started a string quilt today... thats harder than it looks. I really wish i had a camera to take some pics... gonna have to see what i can do to expidite getting a battery!!
I washed bucks quilt for a 2nd time. I am finding holes where i either snipped to close to the seam or the seam ripped. I am going to do the rest with a zig zag stitch. Ive been able to fix all of the holes so far... i hope i dont find too many more!
I am having trouble deciding what is going to go on the back of the big plaid quilt i made for ralph and i. I have some of it pieced but i was planning on a large peice but i dont have alot of large peices! I am going to figure that out tomorrow.
today i work a double.. i have been in soup mode. I made really yummy cream of mushroom yesterday and today ralph and i are making 15 bean soup to sell at the store. Soon it will be time for gumbo! Dont know what else we will make, we like to have a couple choices but i keep selling out of one before i get a 2nd one made!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
what ive been up to....
I still dont have pictures... but i have completed alot of the little square quilt... i think im going to name it 6543 or something like that... there will be 6500 squares plus when i finish it! Im going to name it that so i can remember how many dang little squares i sewed together BY HAND!
I have finished one of the denim scrap quilts... well, ive sewed it together, im in the process of clipping all the seams so i can wash it... that is a project that i work on while ralph and i are watching tv... I have been putting this off because it was just too hot to sit under it while i did it... after last night that will not be a problem, it was in the 30's... normally the season change is more gradual.
But... since im not going to finish 6543 in time for christmas... i started another quilt yesterday. Im taking the plaid shirts i have been collecting and cutting 10 1/2 in squares... im just going to sew these together, by machine, back it with a sheet... and give it to ralph for christmas. This is really going to be a quick utility quilt out of necessity. i have no idea why... but we have a queen sized bed and 90 percent of our bedding is for a full size bed... it barley covers the top of the bed and when you get our bodies underneath... it never fails... my butt ends up exposed and cold! so we WILL have a new quilt that covers the bed and THEN some by christmas (actually i have the day off and i hope to get most of it done tomorrow)
so... what happened??? well, the cord on my laptop caught fire and its 90 buck to replace that, ralphs harddrive went out on his laptop... both at the same time. We also had a desktop at home with satellite internet but... ralph got mad that his sons girlfriend spent all of her time on the Internet and decided not keep it because it just irritated him so much... At the same time things at the restaurant heated up... we almost doubled in business and we had a period where we couldn't get enough employees to stick so ralph and i were doing 12 hour shifts everyday! We just didn't have time to deal with the computers and decided to go 3 months cold turkey without any internet! We actually went thru alot less withdrawl than i expected.
We finally got some good employees and were not working as much and we decided we needed internet for business reasons and i finally fixed this computer. lol how much time will we have on it i dont know... were about to open a 2nd restaurant in a few weeks! lol.
I have finished one of the denim scrap quilts... well, ive sewed it together, im in the process of clipping all the seams so i can wash it... that is a project that i work on while ralph and i are watching tv... I have been putting this off because it was just too hot to sit under it while i did it... after last night that will not be a problem, it was in the 30's... normally the season change is more gradual.
But... since im not going to finish 6543 in time for christmas... i started another quilt yesterday. Im taking the plaid shirts i have been collecting and cutting 10 1/2 in squares... im just going to sew these together, by machine, back it with a sheet... and give it to ralph for christmas. This is really going to be a quick utility quilt out of necessity. i have no idea why... but we have a queen sized bed and 90 percent of our bedding is for a full size bed... it barley covers the top of the bed and when you get our bodies underneath... it never fails... my butt ends up exposed and cold! so we WILL have a new quilt that covers the bed and THEN some by christmas (actually i have the day off and i hope to get most of it done tomorrow)
so... what happened??? well, the cord on my laptop caught fire and its 90 buck to replace that, ralphs harddrive went out on his laptop... both at the same time. We also had a desktop at home with satellite internet but... ralph got mad that his sons girlfriend spent all of her time on the Internet and decided not keep it because it just irritated him so much... At the same time things at the restaurant heated up... we almost doubled in business and we had a period where we couldn't get enough employees to stick so ralph and i were doing 12 hour shifts everyday! We just didn't have time to deal with the computers and decided to go 3 months cold turkey without any internet! We actually went thru alot less withdrawl than i expected.
We finally got some good employees and were not working as much and we decided we needed internet for business reasons and i finally fixed this computer. lol how much time will we have on it i dont know... were about to open a 2nd restaurant in a few weeks! lol.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
A long vacation
Sorry i have taken such a long vacation!!! Our computers both broke and my only time online has been at the library... cant post pictures here!
I have finally sent one to the shop... it should be back soon and so will I.
Meanwhile i have finished one of the denim quilts, only 5 more to go!!!
and the little squares are now 54"X54" (entirely hand pieced!! I cant wait to post a picture!!)
I have finally sent one to the shop... it should be back soon and so will I.
Meanwhile i have finished one of the denim quilts, only 5 more to go!!!
and the little squares are now 54"X54" (entirely hand pieced!! I cant wait to post a picture!!)
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