July 31st????? It Can't Be!

I can't believe that today is the last day of July.  This year is just flying by.  So many things to get done on my To Do list and I'm running out of year to get them done.

My poor hostas are so dry but still putting out pretty flowers.  We sure needed some rain today to cool off this horrible heat wave.

 I've been piecing on my challenge quilt and some string blocks for our block of the month at the guild.  I am in charge of the monthly drawing blocks and I chose string blocks for the first one.  They finish at 6-inch.

 We had Bee at Suzanne's house Friday night, always great to sit and laugh with the girls, below is mom admiring Suzanne's President's Quilt from the guild for last year.  Members pieced the blocks and signed their names in the white strip throught the center of each heart.  It turned out beautiful.

It will be a busy week this week as one of our coordinator's is on vacation, so I will be working 60+ hours this week.  Yikes.......and I have to work in my three sessions with my trainer.  Boy am I going to be glad to see the weekend get here.

Keep cool and happy quilting,

Shelia

Guild Challenge Progress

Friday night I was not going to do the challenge, then while sleeping I awoke Saturday with an idea that I just had to do.
Sue and Suzanne came over Saturday to work on a quilt for a friend who has cancer so I had started cutting out pieces for my challenge.
Sunday afternoon I started piecing the quilt on my featherweight while Roger and I watched a movie.
Look how much I got pieced while watching the movie.  This really is coming together fast.

A close up below of some of the fabrics.  I am using yellow and browns for the braids and blacks for the stones.  I think it is going to be gorgeous. 

This morning at 8 a.m I met with my trainer Heather again.  I have just gotten the soreness worked out of my muscles from Friday.  Oh boy did she work me hard today.  But I am truly feeling better so I plan to keep this up.  Next torture....oh I mean workout is Thursday morning at 8 a.m.

I'm cutting out some more yellows, browns and blacks for the quilt.  It is going to take a lot of pieces to get it to queen size, but I think it will be wonderful.  I have to get this done and quilted before our guild meeting in September  So I better keep enough pieces cut and by the machine so I can keep piecing at night.

Hope you have a quilty day,

Shelia

Bee Time

The bee girls came over Friday night and we had a great time.  Mom and Debbie worked on coffee can organizers for the boutique, Suzanne was working on a hand applique project, Sue was piecing a top for a friend who has terminal cancer, Susan was piecing on another UFO project and I was cutting out coffee can organizers for mom to piece.  It was hot, hot, hot!!  We always have a great time laughing and sewing. 
I've got to get to work on my guild challenge quilt.  I'm still trying to decide if I am actually going to do the challenge or not.
Mom and I joined the strip exchange at guild so I have alot of batik fabric to cut up for us.  It should be a beautiful array of fabrics each month.
I spent an hour with my trainer at the gym Friday afternoon.  That girl sure worked my butt off.  I am so sore!  I meet with her again Monday morning.  I sure hope that the soreness if gone by then.
Have a great day quilting.
Shelia

And The Number Is???????????

I weighed in at Weight Watchers this morning and I lost 7 pounds in my first week! 
I was thrilled.  I know that alot of it is water weight, but I don't care, it is 7 pounds less to carry around.
Busy day today as I have charts to code, weight watchers meeting, errands to run, the bee girls coming over this evening to sew and an hour workout with the trainer at 4 pm today.  I'll get home just in time to take a quick shower before the girls come over.  But we're going to have a ball tonight as usual.
Will post pictures later of what we work on tonight.
Shelia

O.K. Enough Is Enough!!

July 13th---I'm backing up a little.  Today I had my blood work, blood pressure, height and weight done for my work insurance.  Yes I was a little hesitant about having it done because I knew that I was overweight.  Some good news and some bad news.  I'm sharing this because I need to make sure that I am accountable for my actions and goals to make this better.

Height:  I'm now 5 foot 1 inch tall, which means I've lost an inch in height....grrrrrrrrr.  Like I had some height to spare.
Weight:  GRRRRRRR!!!!  207 pounds.  I've never weighed this much in my entire life.  And I am not happy about that.
Percent Body Fat:  44.8%  GRRRRR!!
BMI:  38.9%    GRRR Again!!  Although I do not feel like I am in the morbidly obese section, I am.  Now that is a wake up call.
Blood Pressure:  126/83   is within the normal range, but heading diastolic toward high blood pressure.
Total Cholesterol:  232   They want this number to be under 200, but my other cholesterol and ratio are very good, so they are not concerned about this number........YooWhoo.
HDL Cholesterol:  (the good stuff)  60  They want this number to be at least 40.  So I am great in this category.
Total/HDL Ratio:  The ratio of my total cholesterol 232 and my good HDL cholesterol 60 which is 3.9%.  They want this number to be less than 5.  So I am great in that category also.  YIPPIE!!
Blood Sugar:  92......fasting since I had not had time to eat yet......and of course they want that less than 100 when fasting.  O.K. here too.

Now with all that said.........I need to lose weight and get myself in better shape.......and I knew that, it didn't take some skinny 20 year old giving me my numbers and telling me what I needed to do....hahahahaha.  But it was the wakeup call that I needed.

So here is my new plan and goals:
1.  http://www.weightwatchers.com/index.aspx  I joined weight watchers today.  And I am going to do the meetings, not online.  I need the accountability of going to the meeting and weighing in on their scale.

2.    Roger and I joined coop's gym and I have a personal trainer for a while to get me into a routine of exercise.

3.  My first goal is to lose 20 pounds.  Then I will set another goal and an ultimate weight loss number.  But first things first.

Now it has been 5 days since I started my new goals and I am already feeling better.  Can't wait to weigh in this week and see how I am doing.  I worked out at the gym Friday morning for 30 minutes on the treadmill and Saturday morning 30 minutes on the treadmill.  I have my first 1 hour session with the trainer Monday afternoon and I am sure I will be tired after that.

Haven't had time this weekend to quilt with work and family, but this week hopefully I will be working on the kaleidoscope quilt again.
Happy quilting,
Shelia

Proud Mama.....and Daughter Too!

Below mom got to show her completed quilt at our guild meeting.  Susan on the left and Suzanne on the right held the quilt up for mom.  PROUD...PROUD...PROUD.  Mom is 75 years old and still piecing away.  Wonderful memories we are making together.

 Mom is on the right in the picture below.

 Our oldest grandson Roger III came over Monday evening to have his grandfather help him change his oil in his mustang.  I can't believe how tall he is 6 foot now and will be 18 in October.......there is something wrong with that!!  They grow up too fast and I'm not ready for him to be grown.  Although he is a wonderful young man and I am very proud of him.  But he could have stayed little just a while longer.

Hope to be able to work on my kaleidoscope quilt this weekend.  We'll see how things go.

Happy quilting,

Shelia

Drum Roll......For The Next UFO Project To Complete

And the next UFO to be worked on is...........

........Brown Kaleidoscope!

 Wow......As I pull this package out of my stash of UFO's, I see the label where I started piecing these blocks in 1995!  That is 16 years ago.  I would say that this is a really old UFO.  I had only been quilting for about 3 years when I started this project.

Now for my questions.  1-Do I still like Kaleidoscope blocks?  Yes.  2- Do I still like the colors that I was piecing the blocks with?  Yes, and I already have 20 blocks completed and more pieces that could be made into additional blocks.  3- So do I want to keep this project and complete it, trash it, or give it away?  I think I will keep it and complete it.

 Now let's put some of these blocks on the design wall and see what I've got.  Hummmmm.  One thing I love about kaleidoscope blocks is when you squint your eyes you can see circles in the quilt.  Kinda neat.  I have 20 of the blocks up on the design wall.  Now to decide if I stop here or piece some more blocks.

Now to see how much of these fabrics I have left and decide on the number of blocks and the border layouts. 

Happy Quilting,

Shelia

Bee Night

My bee girls came over Friday night and we had a blast.  Only one peep missing......Sue we hope you have recovered from  your travels.  Suzanne was working on the ribbons for the Blueberry Festival at Roper Mountain Science Center for the quilt contest.  Susan was working on a double irish chain UFO from years ago, Debbie was working on a sunbonnet sue block, mom was stitching the binding and label on her Bonnie Hunter Roll Roll Cotton Boll Quilt which she named House of Many Colors and I loaded my corn & beans quilt into the longarm.

 I was able to complete the quilting on the top and Sunday I got the top squared off, binding sewn on and a label made.  Then I was able to stitch the binding down while spending some time with my honey.  Below is my "helper"

 Surely he does not think this is really helping does he?

Nothing like fighting to get each stitch sewn.  He was sound asleep in the rocker across the room when I sat down to start working on this binding.  Roger says that Whiskers can smell a new quilt a mile away and just has to put his "loving into it also".  What a boy!!
Below is the finished, quilted, bound and labeled UFO!!!!!!

Below is the freehand quilting that I came up with.  I kinda think it looks like the husks and silks of corn plants. I enjoyed quilting this design.  Now I need to put this into my sketch book before I forget what I did.

This is the label I printed for the quilt.  Thanks Ruth for some beautiful blocks.

Now I need to get back to work and pull another UFO out of the basket.......so what will be my next project?????  More later.
Happy Quilting,
Shelia

Houston........We've Made Real Progress!!

I admit it......I'm not the math major.........When I initially calculated the number of border pieces I would need I counted the seam allowance.........dah!!  so I was a lot short of pieces.  So what is a quilter to do when she has no more of the "said" fabric to finish the border.  Buy fabric.........well maybe, but I chose first to dig through all of the strips in my 2 1/2 inch strip bin and 3 inch strip bins to find some strips that might come close to the same value as the fabric I had used.  and I found a few, but still didn't get as close as I wanted.

 So I decieded to try a little fabric manipulation.

 Good old tea dying.

 And after a little time in the tea bath I was more pleased with the fabric values.  Then I unsewed some of the border strips and inserted three other alternating fabrics to complete the borders.

 Then it was back to sewing the pieces together into the borders.  I love sitting in the livingroom with my hubby and piecing away on my featherweight.  She sews like a dream.

 The top is completed!  Seems like there is never enough room to lay a top out on the floor and get a good picture, but here goes.  Hope you can see enough of the entire layout of the quilt.

 This evening she goes into the longarm and hopefully I will have it completely quilted by tomorrow so I can get it bound to take to the guild meeting Monday night.

 NOW THAT CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION!!!  ANOTHER UFO TOP IS COMPLETED AND ALMOST A NEW QUILT.

Roger Jr. sent us this picture from his fishing trip this past Sunday.  Wow what a catch.  He said it took him 20 minutes to get this one in the boat.  

Better get busy I have Teresa coming over today for lunch.

Happy Quilting,

Shelia

Catching Up Again

I'm still working on the corn & beans quilt top.  My goal is to get it into the longarm by Friday evening so I can quilt while the bee girls are here.  A lofty goal I know, but doable if I keep busy working on it. 

Been busy this past week with my brother who had another heart attack.  He is doing better now and is back home.  Thanks to everyone for all of their prayers and support.  Especially my wonderful husband who helps me keep my own sanity while dealing with all of the family happenings. 

The weather is cooler today, a much needed relief from the sweltering heat we've been having. 

Off to do some piecing on the border.......so I'll post pictures later.
Happy Quilting,
Shelia