RCTQ 2006-2007 BOM

Oh gee, I just found all the fabric for this project. It started in April 2006. I did all the blocks for April and May -- paper-pieced, regular pieced, applique. Then I pooped out!

This block is my favorite. It's called Card Basket by Marcia Hohn. It's available on her Quilter's Cache website.

Now I feel so much more confident about my paper-piecing skills! I'll finish the set of paper-pieced blocks then go to the regular pieced ones. I didn't like my fabric choices for the applique blocks, so maybe I'll start those over again.

Long Time No See

Haven't been here for a while. Lots of things have happened since last March. I've moved back to elementary school, now teaching 4th grade. It's time to think about retiring in the next few years. My hair has gotten long, and there's lots more gray. I turned 60. WOW, the big six-oh! I took advantage of the senior discount at Long John Silver's today.

I'm on a 5-week break. I'm in a year-round multi-track school. I'm on Red Track that has off pretty much of September, January, and May.

So now I'm enjoying the peace and quiet of Christmas Eve. Hoping to accomplish lots of quilting during this 5-week Christmas break.

Merry Christmas!

The Car and The River

My poor car. First it had something wrong with its electrical system and associated computer. If I tried to go for more than 20 miles at a sustained speed of 65 mph, the car shut off. It's real interresting to try to steer a car with no functioning electrical system. Especially going up a mountain, or around a blind corner at the top of an interstate exit ramp.

Now someone has managed to hit my car right in its assigned parking spot at my apartment and knock off the rear-view mirror on the driver's side. Try to drive more than 35 mph, and the mirror flaps and bangs the car door like a dead blackbird.

The car has had to go to the dealership for the repairs. I drop it off and walk home 2½ miles. The next day I walk 1 mile to work, then walk 2 miles to pick up the car. Why not get a ride with someone? Because the weather is too beautiful to pass up the walk, and the scenery is beautiful. It's a safe walk. There are sidewalks or gravel pathways.

Twice I have done this drop-off/walk walk/pick-up routine. And both times I forgot to take my camera. Until today. The car's third trip to the dealership! The third time is the charm. And I finally remembered the camera. The lighting at the end of the day was perfect -- no bright sun's glare.

The photo is the Truckee River as it passes under Glendale Avenue near Galetti. Pretty, isn't it. . . .

Stephanie Plum, where are you?

I love Janet Evanovich's books! She numbers her books with zany titles -- One for the Money, Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, and now she's up to number thirteen.

Stephanie Plum is a former lingerie buyer for a department store. Now she works for her Cousin Vinnie, a bail bondsman. And does she run into some strange characters! How about Ranger? How about Ranger? And Lula is a former "lady of the night" who does filing in Vinnie's office.

The language gets a bit raunchy at times, but the books are hysterical.

Remember The Golden Girls TV show? Estelle Getty played a character that would be just like Stephanie's grandmother. And you want so bad for Antonio Banderas to be Ranger.

I have been on the wait list at the public library for the in-between-the-numbers book Plum Lovin'. I finally got to pick up the book today. It's all mine for three whole weeks!

So what am I doing here sitting at this computer when I could be on to the next Stephanie Plum adventure?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Green beer. Green cupcakes with green icing. Quilt Green!

Memories of St. Patrick's Days past --

Living in Mt. Healthy. Playing UNO with Mary, Sue, and Dave. Drinking green beer. We laughed a lot without the beer.

March 17 was the birthday of Anne, my best college friend. I think about her every year. She died suddenly of cancer when she was 40.

I've never liked green vegetables. YUCK to Brussel sprouts. Don't eat too many green fruits either. Granny Smith apples aren't bad. But green cupcakes with green icing were always delicious! Sometimes white cake was the base. Sometimes yellow cake.

Today is also National Quilting Day, the third Saturday in March. Quilt Green? I'll have to remember that for next year.

The Friday Night Knitting Club

The Friday Night Knitting Club was the March book for the Pat Sloan Good Book Cafe Yahoo Group. I didn't even like the first half of the book. I enjoyed the references to knitting and New York City, but the main character seemed like such a whiner! The ladies in the club are certainly diverse! There is a strange plot twist at the end of the book.

That plot twist led me to some research about quilt projects related to ovarian cancer.

I've seen all the publicity about Quilt Pink. Even bought some pink fabrics and pink ribbon fabrics to make a quilt to honor my grandmother who died of breast cancer about 20 years ago.

I've also seen the turquoise fabrics with small signs about ovarian cancer. I guess there's no foundation to push that one. I'll have to look into who makes the fabric and whether some of the proceeds go somewhere helpful. . . . .

I looked --------

The ribbon is teal, not turquoise.

Blank Quilting is sponsoring the fabric event.

Then there is the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. Their quilt project is under the "Awareness" link at the top edge of the page.

I think I'll make a trip to my local Ben Franklin store today. They have the teal fabrics. I've walked past the sign and looked at the fabrics for more than a year. it's time to make some 12" blocks and send them off!

I won't grow up!

But I gotta go to school -- I'm a teacher! I actually bought this DVD. I just love all the Disney classics.

Remember Mary Martin as Peter Pan? I knew she was too old and not a boy, and that somehow detracted from the TV show. Not only that, I could see the wires that held her up when she was flying across the stage!

But I was captivated by Walt Disney's animations. I loved the brilliant colors. I didn't care whether the stories were true to the originals. And I loved the songs. How about Bippity-Boppity-Boo! And Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid!

I think I need a weekend of Disney animated movies!

March Madness Heroes

It's that time of year -- the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Women play nowadays too, but only men played way back there in the 60's when I was in college.

I graduated from the University of Cincinnati. I attended every home basketball game -- the dorm was just down the street from the fieldhouse. The banners hanging on the fieldhouse wall indicated that UC Bearcats had won some NCAA basketball tournaments.

The player I remember most is Oscar Robertson. He played in the years just before I arrived at UC, but I had read a lot about him. He was always in the sports pages. Where is he now? Serving his community. Donated a kidney (I think it was a kidney) to his daughter. Just still that all-round nice guy he was in college.

Where are our sports heroes nowadays? I try to follow my hometown professional football team. Gee, I think they had 8 players arrested in 8 months. But then I remember Roger Staubach's service in Vietnam. Marshall Faulk's foundation in the city of Indianapolis. Roberto Clemente's death in an air plane crash while en route to Nicaragua with relief supplies for earthquake victims.

So I'll watch some of the basketball games over the next few weeks. I'll wonder who the next heroes will be.

Three Stars Will Shine Tonight

Remember that song? Richard Chamberlain (as Dr. Kildare) sang it.

I have three sets of stars completed for Jessamy's Starry Starry Night Block Swap. They are all paper-pieced. There are three more sets I'd like to make and mail by May 31.

I really like paper-piecing! I belonged to a local quilting guild for a couple of years. One evening we were invited to bring our machines to the meeting. Paper-peicing would be demonstrated, and we could follow along with the demo if we wanted to. I was tired -- it was a school night. But I finished making that one heart from Carol Doak's book Show Me how to Paper Piece.

A year went by. The guild needed to make butterfly blocks for a comfort quilt for a member who was diagnosed with cancer. I picked a paper-piecing pattern and encouraged a fellow novice quilter to pick the same pattern. I thought for sure I could teach her how to paper-piece. We muddled through. Our butterflies are beautiful additions to the butterfly comfort quilt.

We knew we needed help, so we called on the guild member who had given the paper-piecing demo the year before. She was gracious enough to come to one of our after-school sewing sessions all the way on the opposite side of town from where she lives. She raved about Carol Doak and her teaching methods.

So who is this Carol Doak person? A wonderful quilter, designer, author, and instructor who owns the Carol Doak Quilting Group at Yahoo and the Carol Doak website.

I think I now own all of her books and CDs. Even her instructional DVD. I have learned sooooo much. And my points are always pointy now with paper-piecing.

To sleep, perchance to sleep even more. . . .

Boy, was I pooped! Went to bed around 6:00 PM last Thursday. Same on Friday. Slept most of Saturday, and again on Sunday. Thank goodness it's Spring Break. Time for more sleep.

It's Monday morning. I'm awake and alert. Maybe there won't be any long naps today. I've got things to do over this break. QOV (Quilts of Valor) blocks to make. That green and yellow quilt top to actually quilt and bind. More star blocks for the Starry Starry Night Block Swap set up by Jessamy in The Netherlands. And 50%-off Joann's coupons to spend!

So what am I doing here!? It's time to get moving and get working! FUNTIME is here!

Test Drive

The car made it to Q's this evening!!

Q's is a great barbecue restaurant in Carson City, Nevada. The food is delicious! I was last there about 2 months ago, in the beginning of January. It's been a long two months. On the drive from Reno to Carson City back then, the car started choking, misfiring, bucking. Once in Carson, the car behaved normally. Shopped at the Craft Market for quilt fabrics and had lunch at Q's. On the way home, there was a terrible ice storm. The usual 45 minute drive took close to 3 hours.

I tried to drive to Truckee, California over the 3-day Presidents' Day Weekend. The car did the same choking, misfiring, and bucking up the mountain on I-80. I made it to Truckee only by pulling off the road, turning off the car, and restarting it again. I had to do that several times. And once I got into Truckee, the car ran just fine.

Let's try getting home from Truckee. Almost in Reno -- you guessed it -- choking, misfiring, and bucking again. And this time the electrical system just totally shut down at the top of an exit ramp. Steering even that small 1996 Plymouth Neon was REALLY hard with no electrical power. But I got it off the road, turned off the engine, restarted it, and got home just fine.

The Reno Chrysler dealership had to order some parts, but they had my car ready within 2 weeks. Of course, I was able to drive it around town while waiting for the parts to come in. I just couldn't drive for more than 20 miles at sustained highway speeds.

So today was the test. Could the car make it to Q's in Carson City without all that nonsense behavior? YES! And the pulled pork sandwich was delicious.

Peanut Butter

Uuuuummmmm, good stuff!! I have the hardest time keeping peanut butter in the house -- I EAT it! I eat it by the spoonfuls. I eat it by dipping Hershey's Kisses in it. Sometimes I eat peanut butter on celery -- sometimes it has to help the green veggies a little!

And what about penaut butter and jelly sandwiches!?! Soft white bread. What kind of jelly? Grape, or course! Or even orange marmalade with the little bits of orange peel. And strawberry jam.

I guess it's time to go make a PB&J sandwich!

Barefootin'

It was warm enough to be without slippers in the apartment today. That's a sure sign of Spring! I love it when I can have windows open. Aaaah, that scent of fresh air.

Once upon a time when I lived in Indianapolis, I was involved in a church activity where we had to bring something that represented things we liked or wanted. I wanted Spring and the smell of freshly mowed grass. That's when I discovered Yankee Candles. There was a Yankee Candle store in Castleton Mall that sold a jar candle called Green Grass. It's still my favorite candle scent. I burned it for several hours today.

I didn't dare go outside barefoot today. And there's no grass around my apartment. But I could imagine I was walkin' barefoot in the grass.

Tissue Box Art

Have you ever noticed the artwork on tissue boxes? I love the one with all the people on it -- what a display of our cultural diversity! On the bookshelf next to me is a box with carousel horses. Remember the old amusement park carousel with the calliope? My high school students love the box with Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and another Disney princess I can't remember right now. Maybe it's Belle from Beauty and the Beast? There are soooo many different Christmas and Winter tissue boxes each season.

I wonder how companies decide to "retire" tissue box art and whether they have an archive somewhere.

Maybe it's time for me to make a collection of tissue box art. Occasionally, I've cut up the boxes, scanned them, and used the saved graphics as wallpaper on my computer.

What would it be like to print tissue box art on fabric? . . . . I could make a tissue box art quilt. Or a jacket.

Where have all the geese gone?

The park sure has been quiet this week. All the geese seemed to disappear after those high winds last week. I do think the Canada Geese are beautiful, elegant, and sleek. Running through goose doo is another issue! I think the county transports excess geese to more friendly environs in the Fall. All winter long there were noisy geese on all the ponds in Paradise Park. Sometimes I'd find them just sitting on the asphalt. Or eating in the huge grassy area. Does this mean I don't get to see little goslings this Spring? I think the city has a law now that says people can't feed the geese. That keeps the geese from just hanging around and multiplying like crazy here. They can find food on their own further south.

Once I belonged to a quilt guild that made a raffle quilt with geese. It's an adapatation of a Pam Bono pattern. She gave permission for the changes. Isn't it a beautiful quilt! I actually made 8 of the Flying Geese triangles. I think I have a copy of the pattern in a book by Pam Bono. Maybe I'll try my own version.

Meanwhile, I'll try to find out what happened to the geese in the park.

Peep, peep, peep, peep . . . .

No, it's not a submarine. Or a smoke detector. And I haven't fallen asleep at the computer with my forehead on the keyboard.

It's me, popping marshmallow Peeps into my mouth! They are only 32 calories each, and now they make green ones! So can I classify Peeps as green vegetables? I have disocvered over the years that the different colors have different flavors. My favorite has been the original yellow.

Last year, Wal-Mart carried Easter cards with Peeps on them.

Need to know more?
Head to http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/.
Or better yet, read Peeple magazine!

Every 15 Minutes

This program is going on today and tomorrow at the high school where I teach. The program apparently targets juniors and seniors.

There is one particular teacher that I certainly hope was outside watching the "event" taking place on the street in front of the school this morning. At the beginning of the year, she's the one who went through the hallway bragging (or maybe complaining?) that she got drunk only two nights that week.

Snow. . . . about time!

No, this is not a skinny Hawaiian Applique . . . .

Thought we were going to be missed by snow altogether this year. We got dumped on last night. But no shoveling!! Hurray!! I had my share of shoveling after snowstorms in the Midwest and on the East Coast. I did have to clean my car off this morning -- a little layer of ice with blobs of fluffy snow on top. But no shoveling!!

School was two hours late. That's OK. I went anyway and had a nice long, morning work session before students arrived.

Hummmmm, why couldn't that be a Hawaiian Applique . . . . .

A Good Iron

I had one of those expensive irons for years. The thing would never steam. It had a burst of steam -- a burst of cruddy stuff coming out of the vents. No amount of "cleaning" helped. I put up with it for 7 years!

Then I got the Seven Year Itch. . . .

So now I have an iron that looks like the iron my mother has had for decades. It's heavy. It gets HOT. It steams. And I love the way my quilt seams looks when I press them.

Time for Quilting

The quilt top that was the mistake -- last year about this time, I made one heart block for a block swap. Me and quarter-inch seams just didn't know each other very well then. The block turned out waaaaaay too big. So I made another block, an accurate-sized one for the block swap.

What to do with the one heart block that was to big!? Make three more that are too big!

So today I'll pin the layers together. Hopefully I'll go to my quilting friend's house on Thursday and start quilting.

It's a new day!

Welcome to my blog!

The BearCat also says hello!

He was a shelter cat from Indianapolis. Maybe he is a Turkish Van -- kind of looks like a small version of a Maine Coon cat. He has been here for about 8 years now. He was an abused kitty. Had to have his partially cut ear stitched up before he came to live with me. The scar hardly shows. It took him about 4 years before he purred. He is now also quite the QI (Quilt Inspector).