ebay shipment has arrived

I ordered some new thread from ebay and it came yesterday.....SOME??? Wow, it was like Christmas!
I ordered 20 gross of bobbins in 20 different colors and 29 cones of Signature thread. ALL for $2 each!!! No way could I pass this up.
No way will I ever need thread again, especially bobbins. I think I need a bigger room!!


And this is what I did to my hoodie. I used a Sue Schmidden (sorry Sue if I spelled your name wrong) stencil and 2 top threads. Someone posted on MQR (machine quilters resourse) a quilt she did and she used 2 threads for the birds and I really like it much better than using one thread and going over it twice.

All the tote bags are done and I'm really pleased with how they all came out. Now, I just hope my guild buddy doesn't flake out on me this time.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

Time to make Christmas presents

This year I decided to make tote bags for everyone. I'm getting low on ideas.
The smaller ones I'm making for the women in my husband's office. They are made with 4 1/2" squares with a pocket on the front and one on the side. All the totes have covered heavy cardboard in the bottom for stability. I think I have 4 more to make.
The larger ones are made with 5" squares with ties on the sides if they want to make the bag smaller. These will go to my sister and my best quilting buddy.

My thoughts and prayers go out to my friend Sammi for losing her beloved Maddy.

I hope everyone has a great week.

Wednesday already?

I've been really busy trying to get caught up on customer quilts since I took a few days off......2 to visit my daughter, 3 to help my neighbor with her moving/garage sale and 2 to go to Reno to adopt a new baby boy.........yep, that's what I told John while he was on his hunting trip. After a minute to make sure he hadn't had a coronary, I told him it was a 9 year old TAG (Timneh African Gray)
He is a beautiful, well behaved little guy that can only whistle and say "good night". I've got my work cut out for me convincing him that Timneh's are supposed to be the best talkers in birdland.
And I also got to spend quality time with my friend Sammi.

The babies, Max and Flower, love to dine out but this might be a little too much.














Quilted the 6th of 7 quilts for my Long Beach ladies today. I'm tired so that will be it for today. Back at it again tomorrow.

UFO's

Unfinished objects! I came across a few unfinished projects while I was reclaiming my new sewing room and decided to work on them. I cut this pineapple quilt about 10 or 12 years ago and never got around to making it. I had originally planned to make it a queen size quilt but didn't have any more of the light fabric so finished it as is and will finish it and donate it to someone or something.

John and the guys left this morning at 6 for their 12 day hunting trip. Will go down Saturday and spend some time with my daughter in law and grands. I don't get to spend much time with them anymore.

We have 3 vehicles: John has an F150 and a Kia Sorento and I have a Kia Spectra. My daughter in law has had my car for almost 2 weeks while hers is in the shop for repairs, My sis has the Sorento because her Dodge truck is in the shop and John took the F150 to haul the 5th wheel.........well geeze, what about poor ole me???? So he stopped by my son's work and rented me a brand new Honda Civic. Whoo Hoo! But I need to talk to the boy about not making sure his mommy had a brand new BMW!!! That's what the company supplies him for work. Ah well!

I am going to Arizona tomorrow for 2 days to visit with my daughter. She lost her husband a few months ago and still has some really hard times. Especially when it comes to being a first time homeowner and seeing it's not all fun and games.

My oldest daughter had to be rushed to the hospital last Friday and had gall bladder surgery on Saturday and went home Sunday. I want to thank everyone for their kind words and prayers.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

Seems like Christmas

Christmas came a little early for me today. My neighbors moved and decided she didn't want her room full of office furniture so she said I could have it. Whoo Hoo for me!! Still have to put my room back together but clearing out a ton of stuff tho. I already have 3 garbage bags full of stuff to donate and scaling down my books.....I'm up to 100 so far. Now to sort through all the binders.
I have no idea what I'm going to do with my ironing board. The top on it is 24" x 60".
I had a 9 foot motel dresser that I bought used 24 years ago but was so high, it was hard to sew without scrunching my shoulders which meant a lot of shoulder pain. I have to find a decent lamp of my new sewing area now.
Whoo Hoo I love free!!!!

Busy Busy

I finally finished my Double Wedding Ring that I bought on ebay. The last one I did a gazillion feathers so I wanted to keep this one simple and did a large flower and leaves. Love it!
I also got another table runner quilted and just finished putting the binding on it. Plus I finally got around to quilting the Flip Flop quilt for one of the granddaughters.
I need to get the rest of the baby panel quilts done for the guild by next weekend. So I guess I better get even busier.

Finally finished

My Disappearing 9 Patch that I started on January 30th this year. Our quilt shop sells fat quarters but not the fabric so I had to go to another quilt shop and find something compatable to use for the borders. Love the fabrics I used but not sure if I love the borders with it.
Now to finish the Double Wedding Ring so I can quilt this one up.

Another day

Ah today is just another day!

Yesterday I started on another one of my wall hangings to get some UFO's done. It's a stained glass that I got online. Thankfully, they don't take much time.
Our quilt guild had it's show last Saturday and it was a really nice turnout. I did manage to sell a wallhanging and a table runner. Whoo Hoo! 2 more off my pile of stuff for sale. Next month is the other guilds show and they told us we could sell whatever we wanted so I am working on some small stuff, table runners and small wall hangings. Things that can be done quickly.

Then I had to go to the doctor to have yet another skin cancer removed. Lord I'm getting old and my whole body feels it.
Sunday, John and I, made our walkway a longer to make it easier to get in and out of the cars and have a place for people coming up to the door without walking in the decomposed granite.

Other than same ole, same ole, not much happening in the Spingler household.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

Loss of a friend

My daughter just had to have her precious friend, Sheba Marie, of 19 years put down.
She got her at 8 weeks old and she has been her constant companion and best friend through thick and thin, the loss of her dad 6 years ago, and the abuse of a step dad. But she was always there, willing to play, chase cats and rabbits and get her belly rubbed and her "becial treats".
Since Nancy just lost her husband 6 weeks ago to illness, this is especially hard on her. I told her that Sheba has loved her unconditionally for 19 years and that it was time to love her unconditionally and have her put down.
She couldn't walk or stand. She would fall when she tried to walk and yesterday finally started going into convulsions so Nancy called the vet and took her in a day early. It was hard to have to wait the 4 days till her appointment. She had gotten that much worse just in 2 days.
She has crossed the Rainbow Bridge into a better place where she can run and play with her dad.
God bless you Sheba! I love you.
Nana

Thought you might like to see a Utube video that my granddaughter put together for Nancy and Sheba.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F519FJXryw0

Works in Progress

I finished my ebay quilt but need to redo the center.....it's awful....looked great in my head but didn't turn out that way. I'm happy with the rest of it tho. This quilt only cost me $20 so I couldn't pass it up. You can click on the pics for a larger image.
Next up to finish was Sentimental Valentine (pattern from the 80's) that I started 10 years or so ago. All was done but putting the corner triangles on. Bout time I finished something!
Been a dead business since June but finally started picking up a little. So I've been working at some of my own things for a change.

Helped Joe and Lisa get moved into their new rental house. I am so glad they got out of that dump apartment. The kids need a place to get out and play, especially a 4 year old boy. You can't keep them cooped up all the time or all hell's gonna break loose.

It's been a while

My daughter, Mari, and two grands, Heather and Jessica, came for a two week visit in July. Mari was supposed to be deployed in Sept but she just found out that she isn't going. I'm glad about that. We went to Imperial Beach for the sand castle competition. That was the first time in a very long time that I had all 3 of my kids and the grands together in one place. That felt good!
Then we took a trip to Knotts Berry Farm for the day. I discovered that I am way too old for all that walking around and sitting while the kids enjoyed themselves.

Last night John and I went over to help Joe and Lisa move into a rental house. I'm so glad they are out of that apartment and the kids have some place they can go out and play for a change. And it also means I don't have laundry to do anymore. Since they moved into the apartment 2 years ago and couldn't use their washer and dryer, I've been doing their laundry for the last 2 years. A lot can pile up in the course of a week with 5 people.


I need some help on this quilt. It's been on the frame for 4 days now. The customer said she wanted circles so in the 15" blocks, I've quilted circles with triangles going out to somewhat replicate one of the patterns in the print but I am totally stumped on the squares and hst that are 7" but there is a 1" flange all the way around.

I hope everyone has a great week.

Another Tink

I just finished this one. Now for the binding. I did this one a little different. I decided to try the curved crosshatching ala Ronda Beyer. Thank you Ronda for the tutorial. You can click on the images to view them larger.

Tomorrow is the memorial service for my nephew. His wife sent out emails to everyone that since Greg loved Hawaii, Hawaiian shirts and shorts are to be worn.


I hope everyone has a safe and sane 4th.

Ronda Beyer class

At the beautiful Pickford House B & B in Cambria, Ca on August 21st to the 23rd.
You can go to Gina Vickrey's blog at http://gina-deargina.blogspot.com/ for more information.
When you aren't having tons of fun with Ronda and Gina (and Rudy and Ginger) you can spend some time at the beach close to the B & B. My husband and I just spent our anniversary there and it's a total hoot. Gina and her husband (sweetest guy in the world) Walt, are the managers of the Inn and they will definitely show you a fabulous time.
If anyone has the time and are close enough, this is a must do.

On a sad note, my 27 year old nephew passed away Saturday night. He and his wife of 3 years were sitting watching tv and he just stopped breathing. Paramedics couldn't revive him. An preliminary autopsy didn't find anything wrong with his heart. He was the only son/child of my youngest sister in law. I can't imagine the hell she is going through right now but my heart and all the prayers I can muster go out to her.

A big thank you

To Gina and Walt for the fabulous anniversary vacation last weekend. Our 36th anniversary was the 9th so we went over to the beautiful coastal town of Cambria on the 6th to stay in their fabulous B & B called the Pickford House. If you have the chance to go over to the coast, staying with Gina and Walt is a must do! I've known Gina for quite a few years but finally had the chance to meet Walt. He is kind, gracious and attentive.
We got to go to the beach a few miles from the Inn. I discovered I'm getting to old to walk in the sand. Then that evening we all went to Pismo Beach to watch the sun set and look for collectables......sand dollars and shells.
It's a vacation I will never forget. A big thank you and hugs all around to Gina and Walt.

My daughters step daughter in law called and asked if I would make quilts for her 2 little ones. The boy is 3 and the girl is 18 months. She wanted Tinkerbell for the girl and cammy for the little boy since their dad is in the Army (due home Saturday for a weeks stay from Iraq) So yesterday morning I enlarged Tink and designed a wholecloth for her and got it quilted. I used flannel backed satin for the top and flannel for the back. I think it came out pretty awesome. Now I have to go shopping for some cammy.

Finally a panto!!

I am so tired of custom quilts!! It feels so good to get a brainless panto once in a while. The only hard part for me is deciding which one to do.
Sorry, I should have added that this one is done. It's for this woman's friend, a woman, so I did an old panto that looks like a tulip.
This is the last quilt I have to do before going to visit my friend, Gina, who has graciously invited us to Cambria for our anniversary. We leave here first thing Saturday morning and come home Wednesday, the 10th. However, I have to deliver a quilt tomorrow and meet with a potential new customer.

BOM

Stands for block of the month. Our quilt guild has a BOM every month. There is a person in charge of what block we do and what fabrics. She makes up a kit for each block and cuts all or part of the block and any one that wants to make one, takes it home and brings it back the following month. Tickets are sold and a winner is picked to receive the blocks that were made. I happened to win these blocks. There were 20 of them but I was only able to use 12 because some were so poorly done that I was unable to use them all. So this is what I came up with. I finished the last of the borders this morning then I will quilt it and offer it as a donation or raffle quilt at the next meeting.
I like it but it's just not me!

My oldest daughter is in the Army and being deployed in Sept so is planning on coming home in July to visit before she has to go. Thankfully it's only for 6 months and since she is a nurse, it's unlikely she will be in a hot zone. I knew as soon as she said she was going back in that the chances were pretty high that she would go, but I still hate to see it coming.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Snuggle quilt

I used some of the left over blocks to make this snuggle quilt for my daughter......the one I made the king sized quilt for. And I still have 69 blocks leftover!!!

Busy weekend

This weekend I managed to finally get the bindings on 3 wallhangings and my daughters king size quilt. On hers, I used a 4 oz poly batt because it seems neither of my daughters can keep warm. I still have plenty of blocks left over so I am going to make her a snuggle quilt for the couch. I am going to get started on that one today.

In the last post, I posted a selvege (I know I spelled that wrong) purse that I made and didn't like so I made a new one. This one I like.

I hope everyone has a safe Memorial Day.

Wednesday

I have been busy this last week working on my Dresden Plate. It is 116" square with 25 plates, 25 blades in each plate. Now for the binding.

I also almost finished my new purse. I was able to find the cotton clothes line rope with the poly core at Ace hardware in Arizona while visiting my daughter. I used some of the selvages I've been saving. Now to come up with some kind of closure.

I hope everyone has a great week.

New yard update

The crew just finished my front yard and I am so pleased with it.


On the quilting front, I've had a severe case of lazy the last 3 days and haven't sewn or quilted a thing. I need to get my rear in gear and do something.......even if it's wrong.

New yard

Since we live in the high desert of California, we get really high winds which blow in from the west.....and our house faces the west. We have a ball park across the street and they are supposed to start building a middle school there in October. Our front yard was gravel with 3 trees. Because of the winds, our yard was always covered in sand. Looked really tacky all the time no matter what we did.
Last week we had a crew come in and take down all the trees which left a bigger mess than we started with and they are back today to start my landscaping. Today they have the tractor and are stripping it down to nothing, then will come back with golf course sand and put in a dry river bed, 6 desert plants and some curbing to contain the sand. He assures me it will look awesome.

This is what we started with.

And this is what we ended with.

I will post pics of my fabulous new
yard in a week.

Rose of Sharon is done!!

Whoo hoo!! And it only took 2 full days! I figured on at least 4.