P/A Blossom Progress

Well, here are 12 blocks done...36 to go! This quilt is going to require sunglasses to look at it! LOL...but I'm lovin' how it is turning out. I haven't sewn these together yet...just have them on my design wall.

I'm going to press some fabric now and then call it a day in my sewing room! ;o) It'll be time for New Year's Eve games soon!

Have a safe one!
Hugs,
Laurie

Have a Safe New Year's Eve

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year's Eve. I am still sick, but maybe a smidge better than yesterday. Hopefully as the day progresses I'll feel better.

Today I'd like to press some fabric and possibly work on my P/A Blossom some more. I'll have to see how I'm feeling. I also would like to go to jazzercise at 9:00 this morning. I'm sure that would help.

Our New Year's Eve tradition of 23 years or so:

We play games in the afternoon and drink really good beer!!! Then we fondue. We do a cheese fondue with bread cubes and apples. Then we do a peanut oil fondue with pork, steak, tator tots, carrots, brocolli, and cauliflower. We have a horseradish/sour cream dip, garlic butter dip, and a tomato sauce/brown sugar/steak sauce dip for our main course items. THEN...for dessert we do a chocolate fondue with strawberries, pineapple, and bananas. We have a really good bottle or 2 of wine during this long meal! Then we lay sit on the couch and watch TV or a movie and drink more of that good beer! WE HATE TO BE ON THE ROAD...it is a very enjoyable way to bring in the New Year!

What are your plans?????

I'm sick...and my HOT date

Why is it when a person has great plans for the day that person wakes up feeling like CRUD??? I woke up at 4AM with a HORRIBLE sore throat...it felt like I had a marble in my throat the size of a half dollar. Woke up at 9 and cold hardly talk it hurt so badly. So I showered and went to urgent care. The Dr. said it's not infected yet but she suspects a sinus infection is brewing cuz I have a lot of fluid below my eardrums. So, off to the pharmacy.

Then Kev had an appt at the hospital at 11:15 for his back. He saw a pain guy. We are going to do some physical therapy for the remaining 2 weeks that he is home. He also was told to try Yoga, stretching, abdominal work, and weights to strengthen the back. But as long as he's physically active to expect to have pain. Then I had to stop at Moe's to get Kev's work schedule from Joe so I could get the therapy sessions scheduled.

Now I am waiting for DH to finish lunch and we have to go to the grocery store for our fondue food for tomorrow. It'll just be Dan and us. We're almost back to just DH and myself for New Year's Eve! Things tend to go full circle!I'm not sure what I'll do the rest of the day cuz I'm really wiped out. I didn't even go to jazzercise this morning. I suspect I'll be in bed early though.

My HOT Date was FUN!!! I felt like a million BUCKS and DH dressed nicely too! ;o) The food at PF Chang's was great! I had Kung Pao Chicken! YUMMY!!! Then we went to Old Chicago and met up with our boys and let Sarah wait on us!

And YEPPERS...we still have 2 SHOPPING days left before stash BUSTING begins!!!! HAVE AT IT LADIES!!!

Still Stash Enhancing! LOL...it's only 2005!

I had a gift certificate to my LQS so I HAD to go shopping! Besides...I have a quilt to make for a book! And these are the fabrics I picked out! It was so fun to shop but I don't think I've ever made a 3 fabric quilt before! I sure hope this turns out great!

Laurie Ann asked if I got my brown/pink jog suit...and the answer to that is NOPE! I got a blue one instead! It fits nicely and blue is a good color for me. I did have DD look at that brown/pink one yesterday while we were shopping but she still vetoed it! TOO MUCH PINK on the sleeves! (sigh) I give up! UNLESS it goes on clearance!!! Then it's MINE!

Yesterday DD and I went shopping! It was fun and we did some damage! Sarah spent most of her Christmas wad. She bought a sweater/2 tops/jewelry and something else. I bought a wool, double-breasted jacket (not really a blazer but i guess it is), a brown sweater turtle neck tank to wear under it, a pretty pink cable knit sweater that has the old cowl neck (I wasn't sure about it but sarah and dh said it was gorgeous on me), and a pair of brown boots! SO...I told DH he has to take me out tonight! We are going to go to PF Changs on the Plaza and see the lights tonight. I also said to him that your jeans and OLD sweatshirt won't cut it when it comes to attire! ;o)

Well, I gotta get going! I have a hot date with the DH tonight! WOOHOO!!! Have a great rest of the day!
Hugs
Laurie

An intimate look at our Christmas!

I have enjoyed reading everyone's stories about Christmas and wanted to share more with you! Here are some pics from our holiday! If you click on them they will be larger and you can see more!

This picture above is of my family at my dad's house. That is my dh Steve, myself, and my oldest Joe in the back row. In the front is Kevin, Sarah and Dan!


This is a picture of my sister Linda, dad Joe, sister Jane in the back row. Brother Tim, myself, and brother Jeff in the front row. This picture was taken at my dad's house. Mom died in '92. OH how I miss her at this time of year.



This is my family and our traditional game of hearts on Christmas Eve! It is a TOTAL BLAST!!!!! And let me tell you...NO ONE...I repeat...NO ONE wants to lose! LOL



This is my dad and all of his grandkids and their significant others! What a crew!!! What is truly amazing is that we all still LOVE to get everyone together! That happened this year! WOOHOO!!



This is a picture of my niece on dh's side entertaining the little kids (oh wait, that's my 16yo Dan there too) until gifts can be opened! LOL...they are playing Simon Says!



And last but not least...my DFIL and his cowboy quilt! That is my DMIL in the pic with him! I think he liked it! NO...I KNOW HE LOVED IT!!! It was truly a hit! Another quilty gift delivered and appreciated!

So there you have it! Christmas with Laurie and her family!!!

A fun day is planned!

Good morning! I am in my sewing room with a renewed spirit! :o) I went to Target after jazzercise this morning and bought a drying rack from the laundry section. Someone, can't remember who, said they used one of these to put their strips on for projects. I thought WOW...great idea! Now to fill it up with strips! My goal is to cut strips out of fabrics that I don't have much left after doing a project! SO...it's strip cutting for the Pineapple Blossom for me!

Then at noon I have to wake my dd up. She put in 2 straight days of double shifts at the restaurant she works at (she's a server). So today she wants to do lunch and SHOPPING!!! She has a few returns and a gift card to spend! Sounds like fun to me!

Then, all of my kids who still live at home will be here for dinner! NO ONE WORKS!!!! So I am making Chicken En Cocette. Simple recipe but tasty!

Have a super day!
Laurie

No sign of Christmas...

Well, all the trimmings are put away and the house is back to normal! WOOHOO...Well, almost back to normal! I just noticed something left over that was forgotten! Why does that always happen???!!!

I'm suffering from the post holiday blues I guess. I ate too much, drank too much, and now have to try to get these pounds back off! UGH!! Then for New Year's we fondu so there's more calories...why do the good things in life have to put pounds on this body of mine? ;) LOL

I'm not as motivated as everyone else seems to be. DARN...maybe I'll just read.

Have a great day everyone!
Hugs
Laurie

We made it safely home!!!

I am thankful that the drive to and from MN was perfect. The weather cooperated quite nicely! Christmas Eve morning dh and I went to the cemetary to wish my mom a Merry Christmas. Since there was snow and it was warm enough I made a miniature snowman for mom and put it on her headstone! MERRY CHRISTMAS MOM!!!

Then off to my dad's and boy was the weather inside the house "chilly". I believe my sisters were po'd that I asked to open gifts before eating so my family could try to get to 6PM mass an over to the inlaws lots earlier so the little kids (1.5yo-8yo) could get their gifts done while they were still HAPPY! One sister bit my head off when I was teasin' her bout something stupid! My other sister barely l said 5 words to me the whole time. (sigh) Thankfully, my inlaws house was a LOT of fun!!!Then off to my dsil's place to spend the night. It was too weird cuz we slept in hers and my bro's bed (he left her a while back and has his own place). I didn't sleep well at all. I'm not sure I can do that anymore. The boys asked for hotel rooms again so they could have a bed...as Kev said, can we forego the hospitality for comfort next year?

We ended up not getting to mass on Christmas Eve night so we went to 10:00 Christmas morning. Then we hit the road for home. First we stopped to gas up and get food...gotta love food at the gas station! Once we got to KS we stopped and ate at the Fortune Wok. WONDERFUL FOOD! Then home for our own gifts! Everyone enjoyed their gifts and we share some wine, games, laughter afterwords! It was an AWESOME end! Today dh and I are going to have lunch at OC with Sarah. I have to return a top Sarah gave me for a size XL...(it's spandexy type and I need it a size bigger for these boobs of mine!) After lunch we are going to Borders. I need a wall calendar for my sewing room (didn't get that). Then probably home to veg out.

I'll have to get caught up later! I hope all of your holiday festivities were awesome!

Trish: I sew fabric around my labels to avoid having to stitch thru the Printed Treasures. That stuff is so tightly woven that it is hard to stitch thru! I hope you see this! I couldn't find a way to get to your blog! (waaaah!)

Hugs
Laurie

Merry Christmas to All

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all! We are off to Minnesota tomorrow morning! We'll be back on Christmas night. Enjoy your holiday and cherish the memories that you make!
Hugs
Laurie

4 P/A Blossom blocks done

I tell ya...you guys are GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!! I LOVE the focus in the center and for the pineapple corners...this is going to be a PURDY quilt! I cut some strips but have a lot to go. All the focus is cut but I had to make a few blocks to see if this was going to work! It does! ;)
This quilt was a round robin with my 2 sisters who live in MN. The center was a photo on Webshots and I scanned it and then printed us each a copy using Printed Treasures photo paper. The pink rose was our mom's favorite flower so it was appropriate that we make a quilt using this as our centers. I did the work to the dark green border, right before the black with pink roses fabric squares starts. Then my sister did thru the pink border. My other sister did the green on the outside. I am going to quilt it as it is and use it as a wallhanging somewhere.

Hugs
Laurie

WELL??? Opinions please!

Here are 2 sample blocks I made for the Pineapple Blossom. One uses the focus as the center/triangles and the other uses a pale mint green (it shows more white on here) in those places. If I use the focusx I would probably not use the minty green because it is TOO light. If I use the minty green I might not use the focus (although it does work) in the block and instead us it as the border. I do know that I don't want to sash this one. I like the look without sashing better.

Opinions please...Top block or Bottom one???

Hugs,
Laurie
(I'm off to listen to some jazz music with DH!)

Pineapple Blossom Block...

Well, I wanted to do a dry run on the P/A Blossom block before attempting it with my fabrics for Lancaster. (IF I still decide that is the right quilt for the fabrics!) LOL

As you can see, this PINEAPPLE must've been damaged in shipment to me! ROFL...seriously, the contrast is not high enough. That was lesson #1 learned. Lesson #2 will be in organization! YIKES! That will be the killer part. I just am NOT a scrap quilt person. Love the looks of them, but want someone else to make them for me! (sigh)

The fabrics pictured here are in the dryer and hopefully good to go soon! Now to truly settle on a pattern! I did add some fabrics to the original pile! Time will tell!!!

Hugs,
Laurie

Thanks for the snowmen quilt compliments!

Hi Everyone!
Thanks for the fun comments about my snowman quilt! They are all so fun to read! Laurie Ann
asked how big it is (approx 62x85) and it is from Colorado Quilts. Just scroll down the page that the following link takes you to!!! Of course, mine looks NOTHING like theirs! ;)
Snowman Quilt

Again, THANKS!!!

I've been thinking about the gratitude lists that Jeanne started. Now, I hope no one is offended by my first ever posted gratitude today...LOL...but I have a warped sense of humor! (deep breath) HERE GOES!!!!!!!!!!!

Gratitudes:
1. for justifiable homicide not being an option for dealing with my 20yo daughter late last night!!!
2. shopping and lunch with my youngest son
3. the sound of my 18yo son laughing
4. watching my oldest son mess up my youngest's hair while we were eating lunch
5. my daughter and I waking up with new attitudes today
6. the hard work that my dh does to keep this crazy household afloat
7. the site of 6 robins today (does that mean spring is around the corner???!!!)

Have a great day! I think I'm going to go upstairs and was the fabrics for my pineapple blossom quilt...first thing on the agenda come 2006!!!

Hugs,
Laurie

Snowmen go Tropical!!!-

I finished this UFO today!!! WOOHOO!!! I just LOVE snowmen and when this pattern was discovered I said YEP...GOTTA MAKE THAT ONE!!! But the pattern had it made in tans/reds/blues/greens...BLAH...I said these snowmen have to have some ATTITUDE! So...here they are!

This is a closeup of the sashing/border fabric. I just think this quilt makes a person smile! YES?

DH and I went to the KC Symphony's "Magic of Christmas" concert and it was SO FUN! I thought we were just going to hear the orchestra play Christmas music but there was an adult choir, children's choir, dancers, soloists, one being a 10 yo girl who had an amazing voice...and sing-a-longs! IT WAS TOTALLY FUN!!! We really enjoyed it! Now to top the day off with a family dinner! WOOHOO!!!

Hugs
Laurie

WOOHOO...another one bites the dust!

Here is the label. I use Printed Treasures for my labels. I just LOVE that stuff! printedtreasures The label says: This quilt was made as a Christmas gift for Ronnie Gathje of Rochester, MN. It was made to keep him warm while he watches his western movies that he loves so dearly! Wrap yourself in this and stay warm! Pieced and Quilted by his DIL Laurie Gathje of Overland Park, KS. Fabric graciously paid for by his first born Steve Gathje! Given to him with love by his grandchildren, Joe, Sarah, Kevin, and Dan. Finished December 2005 Love the heck out of this quilt and enjoy!

The last Christmas gift to be made this year is DONE! YEEHAW!!!!!!!! (that was cuz it's a cowboy quilt!) My DFIL is going to LOVE this quilt! I can hardly wait to give it to him!

Hugs
Laurie

My "Lifestyle Change" AKA D-I-E-T UGH!

Bonnie asked how I lost the weight. I have been going to a place called "Metabolic Research Center" since June 1. The people there are AMAZING and know me by name...they truly care!

Basically here is my day of food:
Breakfast:
2 medium eggs OR 2 oz of hard cheese
1 slice lo-cal bread
a protein drink

Lunch:
4 oz protein
8 oz raw veggies OR 4 oz cooked
fruit
protein drink

Dinner:
4 oz protein
8 oz raw veggies OR 4 oz cooked
1 slice lo-cal bread
protein drink

I can add up to 2 more protein drinks/day. The drinks contain 11-12 grams of protein. Amazingly enough I am not hungry on this UNLESS I increase my exercise. Then I add a string cheese stick as a snack if need be.

IT WORKS...and I feel TERRIFIC!!!

A new type of STASH REDUCTION!!!

Now that I'm down 36 POUNDS...GONE FOREVER...I decided to get RID of all the BIG STUFF in our closet!!!

YES SIREE!!! I even made DH come up and PURGE!!!! One box of shoes, and <6> 30 gallon trash bags filled with clothes that were TOO BIG for ME and too SMALL for DH! I SERIOUSLY have to go shopping again! LOL I got rid of clothes that I haven't worn in years , tshirts from old soccer tournaments, tshirts from school sports that the kids don't do anymore, out of date clothes, and lots of STUFF...our closet is SO CLEAN NOW!!! I should go up there and vacuum it but EH, not today!

SO THAT my dear friends...is a new type of STASH REDUCTION!!! LOL

OH, I also had a person from jazzercise tell me about a store for women called "Chicos". I have a hard time finding jeans that fit me nicely. You see, my waist is very small for my behind! ;o) SO, I went to Chicos and WOW...these jeans fit AMAZINGLY well! There is no gapping in the waist band at all! WOOHOO!!! Also, I had to go buy new undies cuz the "granny undies" that I wore stuck out of the top of the jeans! And GUESS WHAT???? They were a whole size smaller than the ones that I purged! YESSSSSSSS!!!
Hugs,
Laurie

Darilyn...this one's for you!

This is as many hexagons thingies that I will EVER do! Sorry Darilyn...just don't have the same enthusiasm for these as you do! LOL...but isn't it great that this wonderful craft of ours gives us so many options?? ;o)

I tried to find those darn state flower blocks too but do you think I can find them?? I went thru all of my containers of UFO's (goodness...there are a LOT) and they were nowhere to be had!

What should I do with these hexagons that I have assembled???
Laurie

SCREEEEAAAAMM!!!

OK...now that I feel better...sort of anyway...I have spent the whole afternoon working a quilt up in EQ5. I bought a magazine just because I thought it had the right pattern for the tropical prints pictured here. After spending a couple of hours doing that I decided it was way more work than I wanted to do! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...

So, I'm back to square one. I thought about Bonnie's Chunky Churn Dash using the focus fabric and the minty green for the QST's that come together to make square in a square looking background and my bright yellow for the center squares and the purple/pink with the oranges for the rails. I also considered the P/A Blossom of Bonnie's but am not sure about that one either because it would be too much pink/orange!!! I also considered Bonnie's Random Ohio Stars using the focus as the background for the large stars, the mint green for the plain blocks, and the other fabrics to make random small stars . I want this to be a quick and fun quilt.

NOW...I KNOW you quilters out there have OPINIONS! LOL...so let's hear them please! I'm open to other ideas as well!

Gosh, I wish this wasn't that hard!
Hugs
Laurie

Christmas quilty decorations

This was a santa wallhanging that was in a Quiltmaker magazine about 4 yrs ago. When I saw this pattern I immediately sat down to make it! It was simple but cute!
This was a wallhanging that I made using a took called "thirty something". This hangs in the hearth room and is visible from the family room.
My FIRST ever quilt! It ain't perfect! LOL...but it's my first. I don't think it has a label on it though...YIKES...I"ll have to get on that! I use this to dress a small end table as a tablecloth.

This was a simple throw that I am using to decorate my dining room table this year. It was made from a Christmas fabric swap from a now defunct online message board. I wanted something quick and easy! HST's fit the bill!

SO...there are some of my Christmas quilts...just wanted to share!
Laurie

Catching up!!!

WOW...it seems like forever since I posted! I haven't had a chance to get all caught up on everyone's BLOGS but I will eventually! ;)

Let me start with Saturday. My dh and I left to drive to Chicago at 8:00AM. We got about 15 mins from home and I realized I forgot my cell phone! GRRRRRRR...HAD to go get it because DH didn't have his either. That put us 45 minutes behind schedule. The drive is uneventful except for a bit of snow in Iowa. Not too bad...we're Minnesotans and can handle it! LOL But then we get about 30 minutes west of Naperville, IL and snow is really coming down. We are in slow going traffic and then the IL DOT decides to shut down the road to 1 lane and it's DECEMBER...HELLO...no one does road work in Chicago in DECEMBER! UGH...we are not stuck and it takes us 45 mins to go about 2 miles. We call our son (the reason we were going there...for his soccer banquet on Sunday) and say we're running really late. Long story short, we get thru the traffic and then get stuck behind 3 snowplows going 30mph and not doing a thing as far as moving snow!!!!!!!! Another great big GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! By now an 8 hour trip is at 10+ hours...not good. It's closing on in 6:30 and we call DS and tell him we aren't going tomake it to take him to dinner and to see the Christmas lights in downtown Chicago. We are going to our hotel. Fortunately, he's fine with it. We decide we'll go see the lights after his banquet on Sunday.

Sunday comes and I go get Kevin and he comes to our hotel to watch the Division 1 men's soccer final with us. Then off we go to the banquet. It was a great banquet and I was shocked when at the end I was honored as the Fan of the Year!! LOL *VBG* I was given a team sweatshirt for this honor! I was THRILLED!!! BUT...the banquet went too long and we did NOT get to see the lights! DANG...we told Kev we'll have to do it next year.

Yesterday we make it home no problem...roads are clear and there aren't any problems to be had until we hit rush hour traffic in KC. (sigh) OH WELL!

Today it was "catch up" day. Clean the house, cleaned our closet and bedroom and bath, groceries, laundry, phone calls, emails etc. Just plain BUSY!

I did get something quilty done while in Chicago though. I finished the binding on my first commissioned t-shirt quilt! That is the pic above!!!

Wine Tasting...

DH and I are back from our wine tasting...it so neat to be able to taste the wine before purchasing. We can eliminate the bad stuff and just buy the ones we like! I used to never like the red wines before but last weekend I told DH to make a spreadsheet of our wines and we found out we had more RED than white! GO FIGURE!

So, we had to go to the warehouse sale and stock up on whites. Bought a few reds too! Also, an almond sparkling wine...it was yummy!!!!! I didn't think I'd like it but it was good!

I packed when we got home and am ready to head to Chicago tomorrow. DH and I are going to our son's soccer banquet on Sunday night. I spent about 3 hours in the kitchen making "kbars" for the boys. I took a batch to every game I went to and they loved them! Kevin said the guys thought I should make them their own batch for the banquet...NOT!!! They are too expensive. But they are each getting 10 bars for themselves! They will be happy!!!

Here's the "kbar recipe" if you want it:

1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of karo syrup
bring the above to a boil and immediately remove from heat
stir in 1 1/2 cup of peanut butter (use your favorite...don't scrimp on this)
then stir in 6 cups of rice krispies (generic is fine)
put the above into a 9x13 pan

Frosting:
melt 1/2 pkg of butterscotch chips and 1/2 pkg of semi-sweet chocolate chips together
spread on the bars

ENJOY!!!
Laurie

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

These are pics from my kitchen window! We got about 12" of fluffy, sparkly white snow yesterday and overnight! I am SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You see, I'm really a Minnesota gal who had to move to TotoLand 4 yrs ago because of dh's job...my first home anywhere but MN! And I MISS the winters there! SO...you can see why I am happy! This last pic shows the sun peaking through the trees and shining on the snow!

Jazzersice was cancelled due to the schools being cancelled...but I got my workout in by SHOVELLING!!! I LOVE to shovel too! My son helped me too so it was faster! Thank goodness!!

Off to the sewing room! WOOHOO!!!
Laurie

Father-in-Law's quilt top done

My FIL is a western movie buff! He just LOVES those movies. SO, when I saw this fabric online about 6 months or more ago I just KNEW it was for him! My original design was to use the focus/black/gold fabrics only. I was going to do gold shasing/black cornerstones and then focus border. But after measuring the focus fabric after washing I only had 38" from selvage to selvage!!!!!!! (SHOCK) Can you believe that? But it turned out to be a good thing in the end because without the rusty/orange sashing this quilt would've been flat. I also did the borders like I did because I thought the black borders looked like a branding iron.

I put the back together tonight after dinner. Hopefully I can get it quilted tomorrow. OH...DH said that his dad will love it so much that he'll probably wrap himself in it in JULY!!! LOL

(the black fabric has ropes on it and the gold fabric is a bunch of overlapping horseshoes)

Comfort Quilt is finished

In an earlier blog I wrote about a comfort quilt that a group of quilters and myself were making for the parents of a little girl who died of leukemia. It is now finished and on its way to PA via UPS. It was a wonderful experience and I hope the parents feel the prayers and comfort in that quilt.

I'm off to get a top finished for my dfil's Christmas present! Look for pics later!
Laurie

Another type of Stash Reduction???

Does anyone else have this problem??? Quilt Magazines that seem to multiply...just like our fabric??? I tell ya...how many quilt mags can a person have?? DON'T ANSWER THAT!!! LOL And like my fabric stash, this isn't all of it...there are mags in my sewing room, kitchen basket, family room coffee table, and in my sitting room!!! It's time to go thru them once again and tear out ones that I THINK I might make someday! LOLOLOL What I do is I tear that quilt and it's directions out of the mag and put it in a plastic sleeve and then into a 3ring binder that holds all of those "Someday" quilt patterns! OK...back to cleaning! Or should I start perusing the magazines for that PERFECT pattern for the fabric pictured in an earlier post??? OH THE TEMPTATION!!! But I will resist! For now! ;)
Laurie

Jazzercise Half-time Debut!!

Let me give you some more details of yesterday. We get there and have practice for about 90 mins...there lots of CRABBY people, one in particular who wanted to BOSS me around...:freak:freak You're going too fast...stay in line...I'm thinking THIS LINE IS SUPPOSED TO MOVE FORWARD...DUH!!! So, I looked at Del standing next to me (she and I had been crabbin' about this gal) and said, I'm not moving from this spot. She laughed. SO...I bet I moved about 3" forward...IF that. After that Mrs. Crabby said OH, THAT WAS PERFECT! I looked her square in the eye and said, "I NEVER moved and this liine is supposed to move forward and back." She said, "Whatever! It was perfect!" Del said IGNORE HER. Well, get this...when we did it for REAL...WE MOVED! And MRS. CRABBY stayed WITH US!!! Oh, God is good! ;)

We had a lunch in a heated tent...burgers and chicken sandwiches...nothing special but we were all starving after the practice. Then off to the field.
We walked thru the tunnel past the Chiefs/Broncos and where the teams run onto the field...TOTALLY COOL! Next we were on the field walking past the Broncos endzone where they were warming up. Let me tell you, THOSE GUYS ARE HUGE!!! HUGE I TELL YA!!! Then it was game time...21-21 at half.

SHOW TIME!!! We line up and the announcer does a GREAT job. He tells the crowd that we all had to raise a minimum of $250/each in order to perform and that as a group of almost 300 we raised $90,000 for the Chief's Children's Fund. There is still money coming in too so that number is LOW.

SO, we run onto the field and begin the routine...and it is COLD out there. I look up to the stands to see if anyone is watching...they are! But the funny part, one guy about 350LBS and his buddy of about 300LBS were in the front, along the railing standing there mocking us. I wish he knew how much that CRACKED me up! I thought, "Buddy, you look ridiculous!!!" Next thing I knew we're done with our 6 minute routine. I messed up a little bit, nothing major, but eh, no one's perfect! And the cold really put a burn into my throat and lungs...I didn't feel normal for about an hour.

SO...that was my halftime debut! I'm not sure if I'll do it again or not...but it was fun and I'm glad I did it!

"STEPPIN'" out of my box

This is not quilt related...but I wanted to share my plans for the day!!!

My plans are this and only this...STEPPING OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE and performing a 6 minute jazzercise routine with about 250 other jazzercisers at the KC Chief's Halftime show!

Thank goodness I have lost 34 lbs though cuz these jazzercise pants are SKIN TIGHT to the knees! I have the biggest wedgie ever! I HATE WEDGIES!!! I will take my handy dandy sleeping bag to keep me warm, break out the winter coat, hat, mittens too!

I'll leave home at 9:30 and head to Arrowhead stadium for a 90 minute practice from 11-12:30. (we get there early because we need to get our credentials to get us into the game) After practice we are fed lunch...sure hope it's HOT!!! Then on to the field we go. This is a big game (at least that's what everyone is saying) against the Denver Broncos. We sit on the sideline behind the Broncos...I bet those guys are HUGE!!! SO...will I really see much of the game? LOL "HEY! HEY! #56 DOWN IN FRONT!" Cant' ya just hear me yelling that to the Bronco players???!!! ROFLMAO That one cracked me up!!!!! Sorry, I know it's rude to laugh at your own jokes!

So, that's my day...no quilting for me!

Is this better?

I added a soft green and a purple that picks up the dark/lighter tones of the purples in there...gosh, i'm starting to get excited about this one! :-D Especially now that Tracey said she was going to hold me accountable at Lancaster! YIKES...she's one tough roomie! ;)
Laurie
PS(I think this pic shows the colors better...they are truer than last night's)

Hanging Head in SHAME! LOL

OK...I said I would do it and I'm a woman of my word! Here are 3 shots of my stash in my sewing room! YIKES...it's WAY TOO MUCH...All of those plastic bins...UFOs. I also have fabrics wrapped in the focus or background fabric along with the pattern for ADDITIONAL UFOs...HELP ME! I need a 48 hour day to get this done! Maybe I should've skipped getting my makeup done and stayed home to quilt! LOL...

Hi, my name is Laurie and I'm a fabricoholic.

BUT...as Dr. Phil says, "You can't fix what you don't acknowledge!" I've FINALLY acknowledged it...does that mean I'm FIXED????

WARNING...sunglasses recommended!!!

Here is the fabric that caused my shame in the laundry tonight! (sigh) LOL Every year now for the past 3 years I have gone to Lancaster to "Quilter's Heritage" quilt show. I meet up with friends from PA and MI and sometimes CA! It is a blast and I always enjoy my time with these gals!

Last year I found the above fabrics and everyone was saying, "OMG, WHAT are you going to do with THOSE?" I just kept petting it and saying, "Make a quilt!" There faces there that were silently saying, "EW" "SURE THING LAURIE" and then someone said, "You HAVE to bring that back next year!" I said, "OK, you're on!" Well, the show is in April...I better get going figuring something out!

Aren't these fabrics GORGEOUS???? I'm thinking that there needs to be a splash of purple in there too!!!

Laurie

I THOUGHT I had it under CONTROL!!!

WELL WELL WELL...after reading several posts about everyone's stashes I thought to myself...Hmmm, posting a pic would be easy. Just go downstairs and take a pic of my fabric closet. Then...I went to the bathroom, which is by my laundry room. I was thinking about some fabrics that I needed to find for a quilt I want to make (another blog to follow). I have "some" (or at LEAST what I thought was "some") fabric to be washed in the laundry room and decided to check in there before heading down to my sewing room and checking for it there.

When I stepped into the laundry room there was the fabric I was looking for...and MORE fabric that I had "forgotten" about! ;) And there was MORE and then MORE and then MORE...I had to get the camera...

Me thinks me has a problem? YES? (slapping forehead) I guess there's a day's worth of fabric to be washed in there. OH, and there was stash I had forgotten I even bought! Do you ever do that? NAH...it's just something I do! RIGHT? Please say I have company on this one!!!

OK...at some point I'll post a pic of my stash in the sewing room...OH WAIT...I just remember that I have about 6 yard of fabric in our sitting room, which located in our master bedroom(GULP)...good grief...how many other places in this house is fabric hiding and how DOES it get there? LOL

Laurie
(starting to come out of the closet on being a stash queen!)

I AM A SURVIVOR & A QUILTER!

I CELEBRATED ME TODAY! LOL...saw these at the grocery store and couldn't resist!!!

7 years ago today I was told I had breast cancer! That was NOT a good day in my life. I was alone, holding on to a phone, saying OK, OK, OK, OK to all the things the phone was saying to me. I hung up and tried to call Steve (dh). He wasn't at his desk. I tried to call my sister, she wasn't home and doesn't have a cell, I tried to call my dad, but he was having coffee with his "cronies". I tried to call my best friend but she wasn't home either. I WAS ALONE. I FINALLY called Steve and pushed "0" for his secretary. I got him out of a meeting and told him. There were 2 people who loved each other holding on to phones, unable to speak.

LIFE HAD CHANGED. Life was strange for a long time after that phone call. It was a series of Drs. appts, all of them asking the same questions and poking at the same spot on my breast. The oncologist, the surgeon, the radiologist, the plastic surgeon...they all did the same thing. By the time I got to the radiologist I was paralyzed for words. DH had to do the talking for me as I sat in a chair with silent tears streaming down my face. Telling 4 little kids was probably the MOST DIFFICULT thing...I remember little Dan, just 9yo saying "are you going to die, mom?" OH, that ripped my heart out. My oldest, Joe was 15 and said nothing. Sarah, 13 screamed and sobbed. Kevin, 11 said...hmmm...OK.

The FIGHT began. I had a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction on 12/13 after much FIGHTING to get an appointment. They wanted to wait until after the first of the year because lots of people were having elective plastic surgery since they had reached their deductible! But I KNEW I could NOT wait that long and told my regular surgeon that if some chick who wanted new boobs for New Year's Day was keeping me from saving my life she could "go to hell". He said, "I'll brb". He came back and said, "Would this Saturday be ok?" The day of surgery was that Saturday. The plastic surgeon was on call and my surgeon came in on his day off! YES...ON HIS DAY OFF! NOW that's a caring Dr.!

The recovery was brutal. I couldn't stand up straight for a month and exhaustion was overwhelming. A month later I began a rigorous chemotherapy treatment for which I qualified for in a study. I went every other Friday for 8 treatments. In between those 2 weeks I was given a shot by my neighbor every day for 10 days. The shots kept my white blood cell count up so I could stay on track with my treatments. I did so well that my oncologist cancelled my last 10 shots after my last treatment! HALLELUJAH!!!! I remember wanting to have my hair for the 2nd treatment. I did...BARELY...it was falling out but I plastered it on with hairspray. The nurses were AMAZED I had hair for that treatment! I didn't tell them my secret! LOL

Well, that Sunday, my head hurt so badly that I had the kids shave my head....what an EMOTIONAL day that was. I SOBBED and SOBBED and SOBBED. NO ONE TOLD ME HOW HARD IT WOULD BE TO BE BALD!!!! As far as I am concerned that was the most difficult part of the whole adventure. There were a lot of check ups after that. A few scarey times where I had a brain scan and another time when I had a bone scan...both negative.

I am still here...7 years later and CELEBRATING LIFE!!!!! You see, I'm a FIGHTER...I told ALL of my doctors that I wasn't going to let a little breast cancer take my life...I was too young, 38yo at the time, and my kids needed their mom for a LONG TIME!!!

My DH was WONDERFUL through all of this. He went to every Drs. appt with me and every treatment. He held me the day I sobbed like a small child into my pillow trying to make the gazzillionth decision in a nano-second. He always told me how beautiful I looked and was sad when my hair started coming in. "I kinda liked your bald head" he said as he rubbed the newly forming peach fuzz!!! We also found out how many people in our community in MN loved us. Meals were brought EVERY DAY for 8 SOLID WEEKS! It was a good thing it was a cold winter because our porch become a freezer! These were 4 course meals WITH dessert!!! AMAZING!!! A gal came and cleaned my house every week for us. People carpooled the kids to their various practices. People came to take me to lunch just to get me out of the house. It was INCREDIBLE to feel the LOVE!!!SO...the story started out bleak and has a happy ending! I AM A SURVIVOR!!!!!!!

OH, also, this brought me to quilting! My sisters quilted when their kids were very little and were getting back into it. One sister dragged me to a quilt store several times to help her with a project. Eventually, both sisters and I were at a LQS and I said, "I CAN DO THIS!" And I did! They are jealous of the time I have to quilt but they LOVE my longarm!!!

I miss them immensely. You see, I lived in the middle and had one sister a mile either side of me. WE QUILTED together and SHOPPED together...until job loss brought us to KS...someday I'll go HOME!!!

The Holiday Blues

AH, the holiday season has once again reared its ugly yet beautiful head. This time of year is a difficult time for me because it's a season that my mom loved so very much. You see, my mom has been gone for 14 Holiday Seasons. She died of ovarian cancer in May, '92. And ya know, I still miss mom, but especially at the holidays.

What do I miss about mom? LOTS!

• Like the smell of her after she took a bath and lathered herself in Estee Lauder's White Linen lotion.
• Or seeing her on the couch, glasses on, totally engulfed in a book.
• Shopping! Shopping! Shopping! Mom LOVED to shop!
• Our vacation to London that mom took me on. It was the BEST vacation because we had each other's undivided attention and there was no one else to worry about. I am so thankful for that because a year after that trip she died.
• Her calling me "darlin" whenever I'd call
• Our long talks about everything and nothing on the phone!
• Spur of the moments trip I would make to see her "just because".
• She was such a kind and loving person.
• I miss mom's great cooking! SHE loved to cook and she had a GAZILLION cookbooks! That's no joke! There was a closet at the end of a hallway and it was JUST cookbooks! And at the other end of the hallway...another closet...and YEP, you guessed it...COOKBOOKS!
• OH, that reminds me...mom used to read the phone book! LOL...this really brings a smile to my face! I'd come home from school and there she was on the couch with the phone book. I'd say, "Mom, what are you doing?" She'd say, "Hi Darlin! I'm reading the phone book!" I'd say, "WHY?" She'd say, "Oh, I wondered if so-n-so still lived in their house. Then I thought of so-n-so and had to check on them too!" This went on for a long time sometimes! The phonebook...who would've thunk someone would actually READ it except to find a phone number!
• I remember mom telling me after my tennis matches that she was SO nervous. I would just laugh and think...HUH? How can you be nervous when you aren't even playing? But now that I have kids who play soccer...I GET IT! I just wish mom were here to tell that to now!
• I miss her being a grandma to my kids. They have missed out on such a great person for a grandma...but they hear stories about her all the time! So, they "know" her!
• I miss seeing my dad pat mom on the rear and kiss her 3 times when he came into the house and left the house. It's hard to see dad grow old alone.
• I miss mom at the holidays. The site of her in the kitchen, apron on, always bustling around to get the meal put together and wanting to be sure we were all happy.

That's what makes the holidays a blue time for me, yet I love them too. I'm sure there's more about mom that I miss...but for now...that's what came to my head!

Wine Consultant Quilt...it was a HIT!!!

Here are pics of the quilt I gave my DH's and my wine consultant! Lori LOVED it and couldn't wait to show her DH and lots of other people! I think she loved the label as much as she did the quilt! The company is PRP...notice the label!!! This is why I LOVE to quilt!!!

A Busy Day

WOW...today sure was busy! It was a great day though! I started out my day by going to jazzercise. Then there was laundry, cleaning the kitchen 3x, making 2 homemade pizzas for dinner, and working on a comfort quilt! It was SO much fun to sit down and quilt without a care in the world!!!

This quilt top is a culmination of blocks from CA to PA!! 9 different quilters participated in this. I have the top together except for the borders. I want to try to jazz it up a bit with the border. So that will be another day's project!

The comfort quilt is for parents of an 11yo girl who died of cancer on 11/1 of this year. This same group of quilters made comfort quilts for the girl and her sister, who donated marrow to her sister, at the time of the bone marrow transplant. We felt that the parents, in their time of grief needed a comfort quilt for them to snuggle under.

I have the binding to work on for the wine consultant's quilt. She will receive that tomorrow! Sure hope she likes it! ;)

OK...time to bake the pizzas so we can eat!

Wine Consultant Quilt

This quilt just came off the longarm! Now to trim/label/bind it! I made this as a gift for our wine consultant. My DH and I belong to a wine club that the wines are not available retail! Sheesh...you guys must think we're drunks! LOL...but we're not! We just enjoy a good beer and a nice glass of wine! Anywho, our wine consultant will get her Christmas gift this Sunday! I am excited to present it to her! I just KNOW she'll love it and be so surprised!

You know, your family members expect a quilt...but people like our wine consultant...well heck, she doesn't even know that I quilt! Those are the fun gifts to give!!!

Tshirt Quilt

This quilt was made for my DH and myself. We are members of the Old Chicago World Beer Tour and several times/year Old Chicago has mini themed beer tours. For example, right now it's the Holiday Tour and the beers are seasonal to winter/holiday beers. It's a lot of fun and when we complete our mini tour, usually about 10-12 beers, we get a cool tshirt. We have a TON of these so my DH and myself thought a tshirt quilt was in order! I just LOVE making tshirt quilts!