Yeah, you can say it....I reek...

at blogging, currently anyway. My life has been all about school, and I never thought I'd be THAT person. You know, the one person who goes back to school, worries about school, whose whole life is school, and can't seem to have a life outside of school? Well, it's me. And I'm not liking that very much. I wrote to an old friend this week to ask her why she fell of the planet and realized, "Who am I to talk about anybody else falling off the planet?" This week, Hunnybunny had to go to Vegas for business, and I couldn't go with him due school. (Mine and The Pickle's). I had two tests, 2 quizzes, and 4 papers to complete by yesterday. Since Sunday, I may have gotten 20 hours sleep due to the aforementioned workload. I have about 9 days until I go into finals for this second semester, and have spent today getting ready for that last test in OB. Who knew having a baby was this complicated? If someone had told me this whole process in this kind of detail, I NEVER would have gone through with it....especially not 3 times. So many things could go wrong and it's not one life at stake, it's two. So I don't have any ambitions on being an OB nurse. During the midst of the chaos that it school, I got to see Hollywood. Here is his updated picture:

javascript:; It's okay, you can say it...he's beautiful, isn't he? Wearing a vintage tux to attend his junior prom. It's true what they say, "Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man!" I wish I could be down in Tennessee that night to see him off. He's going with friends, or solo, or whatever the term is now. If you say, "Stag" as we did in my day, it could mean something else. I try to keep current with all the slang, but there is slang out there I'd rather not know. Hunnybunny is doing well, and he keeps seeing parts of the United States and I don't have time to accompany him. Maybe we'll get around to Savannah, Georgia again. We haven't been back since our honeymoon almost 10 years ago, with the notorious "Wedding Virus" that sidelined my groom on the second day down there. The Legal Adult? Well, he's still the infamous L.A. you have come to know and love on these pages. His whole life has changed recently with the subtraction of one "Sweetthing" to the addition of another. And he knows how my memory is, so he was kind enough to find a girl with the EXACT SAME NAME as the last two girls he's dated for any length of time. So, practicing what I preach about agnostic dating, I lovingly refer to her as "Sweetthing the Third". Now, none of them are named "Sweetthing", I do that for privacy issues or in case one of them stumbles upon my humble blog. But I really do address her, "____________ the Third". It beats getting close to them and then they break up. He's also moving and moving the week before finals, so I'm out on helping him. I feel bad, but I can't blow this. Hopefully, I will be reporting soon that I have starting quilting again. Sigh...miss it so much. And all of you.

Back to the Sewing Machine, well, at least ONE of them...

Hi. Did you miss me? I've been missing myself lately. We just got back from our yearly jount to FLA. This year we opted to stay at Grandma Hunnybunny's and just go to the beach. We were going to go more than one day, but alas, the dreaded yellow flag was up on the second day. Things have changed with Grandma Hunnybunny; her cast of characters has changed from Aunt Hunnybunny (Hunnybunny's sister) to Mother Hunnybunny, (Hunnybunny's mother). Aunt Hunnybunny has a new little Hunnybunny of her own named Tyler. He is so sweet, and he snuggled me!            

We picked up Hollywood for a few weeks this summer. He made the trip to Florida without being too bored.




And he turned sweet 16! His party of sorts was a couple of friends, along with She who must be Obeyed  and Jerricho! I had fun with her as She is now almost 11! What did we do for kicks? We sorted fabric! That kid was always organizing so I gave her the opportunity to help me cut down my fabric hoard of scraps.  She thought it was great! My kind of kid! 

This week, I've been fairly selfish. While I have been working on The Legal Adult's quilt, I took out a little time to cut myself out a dress. Here's the pattern:

I don't even own a dress besides my wedding dress and if I ever had a special occasion, I'd be in trouble. My friend Robin told me long ago and far away to find a simple pattern and start with that, so that's what I did. I also got my little orphan machine fixed.

 

It was in storage as I used it to make those stitches you see, but then it didn't work at all. I took it back to the Nameless Fix-It shop here in town, and he wanted me to throw more money at it.  I took it to a place where I usually just get fabric, but they had fixed my Pfaff Hobby so wonderfully that I decided to see if they could make this little machine stitch again. It's called the Quilter's Square and they totally rock!

Back to the ordinary

  I've been out of sorts lately, trying to figure myself out. The whole student, mother, employee, thing has been something I've struggled with and I always forget that this is where I work most of it out.:) Aren't you so glad you can eaves drop on my brain?
Undoubtedly, the whole school thing has taken up most of my time this year, and I hate that it has. I have friends that I miss, and blogging friends across the country that have been nice enough to not drop me for my inconsistent postings. It's not that I'm trying to do too much, it's that I'm not a very good time manager. That's a terrible admission for someone who is looking to be in a health field, but true nonetheless. Lately I've looked at that quilt on the wall and wish it were done. Maybe it's not done because I don't know if or when I could possibly start the next project. I've done some pretty lame things during spring break from my school like: watch House, Horders, and pretend I'm watching Being Human with Hunnybunny. (I just don't get that show!) I've also been on Facebook more than I'd care to admit and mostly because it's quick and easy. I've never managed to do the quick and easy for very long without consequences.  And I do like Facebook, heck- if it weren't for that I may have no clue what's going on with my family. It's handy when I want to "talk" to Hollywood down in Tennessee as you know that teenagers stay on it. They'll sit for hours instant messaging you, but fall short when it comes to real conversation. I miss him very much so I'll keep on with it.
The Legal Adult has had his share of growing pains this year, and between work, school, and my crew at home, I've been carving out more time to see him. In fact, he and Sweet Thing took me out for a nice dinner last week. Miracles never cease.

And then there's the Dyl Pickle, who's growing faster and faster, and with all that I'm doing, I don't want to miss it. His birthday falls just as school starts, so we bought him an early birthday present..a new bike! He is riding now without training wheels and it's so cute to see. I think I've mentioned before that The Legal Adult doesn't drive? He actually owns 5 bikes and was generous enough to give me one last week so I could "ride with Pickle".

I wonder what I was thinking when I accepted it...sigh. I haven't been on a REAl bike in 25 years! So, it's kind of like we're both learning how to ride.   

I'm having trouble figuring out the gears. And I don't have a helmet. Do you HAVE to wear a helmet these days?

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I think I'm too old to go camping......

So, we try again with the camping. This time, no moody teen to tell us how boring it is, and why we shouldn't have come. We went south, way south. Away from the oil spill, cell phone coverage, and problems. We went to St. George Island State Park. However, it was not without problems, as most vacations can attest to.

First, there was the drive. From Kentucky to The Forgotten Coast was approximately 590 miles. This trip, while we did not have the moody teen, we did have a new puppy, "Snips".  We adopted him from a shelter that had a display at Petsmart. Knowing we were going to have to leave, we asked if we could pay his fees and pick him up after. Of course, they were terrified that the little guy wouldn't be picked up, so they said they couldn't do it. After a few pitiful attempts at names that would go along with Fiona, we settled on "Snips" because he was always 'snipping' at our heels.

Because the poor little guy had been locked up in the shelter, I just could shove him in a kennel for vacation. So, that's why we took him with us. He did very well on the trip. We arrived at St. George Island in the late afternoon and set up the tent. At 9:30 P.M. was 88 degrees! With the humidity, it felt like 95.  After we spent some time on the beach the next morning, by noon, it was already 92 degrees but the heat index made it feel like 106. I just couldn't take it. My knee had started to swell and I just wasn't fit to be around. We packed it up and headed for Grandma Hunnybunny's. I did get to visit with Hollywood on our way back through Tennessee. He seems to be doing well. Looks like he grew a foot. I don't think his voice was that deep when he left. Time does march on.

The Jury is Still Out on Thanksgiving

Good old Martha Stewart....she is a life saver. I thought I'd use her turkey roasting method of cheesecloth draped over the bird. Well, I tried, anyway. The idea is that you put a 17 inch square piece of cheesecloth on the turkey and baste it every so often. The cloth keep the moisture on the skin and thus, giving you the juiciest turkey on the planet. However, Wally World was out of cheesecloth. So, necessity being the mother of invention, I improvised by sending Hunnybunny to the pharmacy for gauze strips. Technically, it's cheesecloth with a bit of elastic... it worked pretty well.
The Legal Adult came with girlfriend, and brought a spiral ham. Now, that's never happened before. I had not asked him to bring anything but himself. Wonders never cease. Hollywood had woofed down his plate before any of us, and began gazing at the four pies to choose from. He had his second piece eaten before we had finished dinner.
Grandma Hunnybunny and Aunt Hunnybunny made the trek from Florida to Kentucky, and as if on cue, we actually got a forecast with a chance of snow. Grandma Hunnybunny was not as amused as I was. Nor was she excited to meet Fiona. "That's not a dog, that's a small pony!"
And since a few inquiring minds want to know: I went to the RN meeting at the college. This is where you make sure your prerequisites and paperwork are all good to go before making application to the nursing program. Over 200 candidates were in session. And that was the THIRD meeting. The competition will be fierce with 800 applicants and only 125 spots.
While I was accepted into the college, they had trouble with my high school transcripts. There was no school seal, not signed by the headmaster, my college transcripts were posted with them, etc. So, long story short, I'm accepted pending my high school stuff having the appropriate signage. In fact, I got a grant to go to school! The glitch is that there are very few classes that I need still open. The school is making me retake psychology because it's been longer than 6 years. And I knew I was going to have take college algebra. I'll keep you posted.

Top Ten Reasons Why You Haven't Heard From Me

Every time I sit down for even one minute of me time...bam....I have to get up and see who is screaming; find out if there is blood; and then lose my seat at the computer. But I have missed you all, as you are there keeping me sane. Since Michael Jackson's death, there's been a lot going on. So I'll give you my top ten reasons why you haven't heard from me:

10. The Enter Button is messed up, AGAIN. So, when I push it down, it keeps going, and going, and ...you get the picture.

9. I've been completely mesmerized by the media frenzy associated with the death of the King of Pop. I don't know if it's that I got to watch old videos and reminisce or just hypnotized in the masses. Maybe it was the fact that the guy was all of 4 years older than me and it freaked me out! I even watched the memorial service and blown away that it was on the big 3 networks.

8. I keep falling asleep on the couch every night. With the onslaught of summer vacation, The Pickle has been given permission by his dad to stay up past his regular bedtime. That's all well and good for Hunnybunny, but I hang out with kids all day: it would be nice to know that EVENTUALLY I'll be an adult at least for part of the day.

7. I haven't felt I had anything profound to say. Lame, I know. But awfully true. Some of my old blogging buddies fell off the face of the earth because they felt like they had blogged their last. I didn't want to do that. Technically, blogging is a diary. Maybe I don't have anything profound to say to myself. It wouldn't be the first time.

6. I'm consumed with a wedding. My best friend's daughter is getting hitched in 5 weeks! Guess who's the DJ? Moi. Yes, it's been since 1993, but I think I can do it. The music for this shindig is a little...eclectic at best. Hope I can mix it well enough.

5. I've been kind of depressed. Mostly, because my family wasn't all together. Well, that excuse isn't going to hold water because I picked him up Saturday. A little early, maybe, but I think he missed me.

4. My schizophrenic sewing habits have gotten in the way, too. Okay, I'm most definitely a quilter. But, I've been exploring making my own clothes. Am I doing it to avoid quilting, or just simply need something to wear. Hey, I made pleats for the first time in my life this past weekend! Was I stoked! But I keep wasting time, going back and forth.

3. Exhaustion. Enough said there. I leave the house to go Nanny for Jo-Jo and Idgy at 8:00 am. Sometimes Pickle comes along. Most of the time the Diva shows up. It can be anywhere from 2 to 4 kids in a hurry. I leave around 4:30 or so, but then there's supper to make, or I collapse in a chair, or take out Fiona. See what I mean?

2. So many of my blogger friends have left. This really bothers me. I go to read their blog and read, "Blog not found". Then I worry. Say what you want, bloggers are a tight bunch. We pour our hearts out to readers, and we get into their lives via the Internet. I miss them when they leave. See reason 8.

But probably the biggest reason I haven't been a good blogger:

1. FACEBOOK! How addicting is it to find old college and high school friends and give them a synopsis of what we have been doing for the last 20 year? Or maybe one of those stupid quizzes that we can't seem to stop doing. While I enjoy FACEBOOK, I really love the blogging community more.

The Stars Fell on Alabama quilt...FINISHED!!!

It took me a year of ups and downs to finish this quilt for Grandma Hunnybunny, but it's finally done! I really got hung up on the binding, if you remember. And so many of you came to my rescue with great ideas.
Debra had the best idea: sew it on by machine. While I had considered that, I had never done anything like that. I went on Threadbanger.com to see how to do a blind hem. Jackie mentioned how the blue popped against the white,(everything did, I think!) so I took a crack at invisible thread. That stuff was fine as frog hair, as my mama used to say.

I received lots of written advise as well.
It was greatly appreciated. I think I will try another shot at sewing it on by hand, but with a much smaller project.




I'm not sure if it's supposed to look this way, but it looks as close as I can get it.




Hunnybunny did the honors of holding it up while I got a few shots. I love the colors in this and hope she will, too!






Having put it in FedEx this weekend, I spent yesterday and today cutting out the next quilt. This is for the Legal Adult's 24th birthday. I bought the Beatles fabric way back when, and never could really get into using a panel for a medallion type quilt. He waits until I've bought the fabric to inform me he wants a queen-size! Gee, thanks, Son....
To the left is the rough draft placement of fabric. The pattern I'm using calls for some 4-square type diamonds in between.

But the colors and prints are so bold and busy that I decided on a harlequin type look. In between the diamonds, I'm going to attach some black rick rack to give it a stained-glass effect.

Here's the great label that Debra made for me. (I'm not beyond stealing a picture off of her blog. I don't think she'll mind!;) She did a great job, and I believe in the sentiment: "Finished is better than Perfect." Thanks to everyone for all their input and help! I'm sure I'll be asking again as I've not tried a quilt on this scale before. Just one month until his birthday, so I'll do my best not to be a strict perfectionist. But I make no promises.

Stars Fell on Alabama borders quilted!

Since a couple people have asked, and I'm more than thrilled to have a reason to use my new Sony Cyber-shot, I decided to show you how I marked it. First, let me say that my hat is tipped to those of you who can mark a quilt with chalk. My art teacher told me to stay away from art implements as a child as I just can't draw. What you see here is your garden-variety quilt stencil, although I guess any stencil would work. I made sure there was enough clearance for my binding strip which will be put on next.
What I have in my hand is a Quilt Pounce. It looks like a big eraser, and has dust in it. The dust is a kind of corn-starch material. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it turned out to be just that.
I run it over the smooth side of the stencil so the rougher side can "grip" the fabric. The best part of using a Quilt Pounce is that if you mess up, it's easily corrected. Maybe you move the stencil slightly causing a double-vision: just take out your iron, and it irons completely off! You just gotta love that....











And there you go. And that's not you..I have a little double-vision aspect going on here. So, do not adjust your eyes. This pattern is a little forgiving, so I think I can follow it.

Thanks for asking. Now we'll get into the squaring and binding next.

Working on the Stars on Alabama Quilt...Still

With all the snow and ice, I've actually had time to work on Grandma Hunnybunny's quilt. All that's left is quilting the borders and binding it. The tension just wasn't right every time I tried to do a sample. I played around with it yesterday and managed to get it perfect, (after a few mishaps and some ripping was involved) so I may be ready to bind it this weekend. Then there's the label to think about. Last time, I wimped out, and had my friend, Debra,do a beautiful label for the Boyscout quilt. I may try to do one, or just get her to help me out again. She did such a beautiful job! By the way, she's working on a special project, the Homeless Teen Project for Willis Independent School District in TX. She's taken it upon herself to provide a twin sized quilt for each teen. If you would like to contribute to the Project, she will gladly pay postage for the supplies or swap embroidery. Just put a note in your box. Email her at debraspincic@yahoo.com. As quilters, we should get behind this very gracious lady and send her some donations of
* Miscellaneous Blocks or Quilt UFOs
* Thread
* Backings like Sheets, Shower curtains, Curtains, Tshirt Knits, Wool blends
* Batting (or Pieces), Bedspread, Wool Pieces, Fleece
* Any Sturdy Fabrics
Debra has a heart as big as the state she's from, and she organized projects where we got Quilts of Valor into soldiers' hands, and quilts for a children's home.
This picture is for laughs. My crazy boys, Hollywood, Dyl Pickle, and the Legal Adult. The Legal Adult and roommate were guests at our house while awaiting their power to be restored. It's always good to see him, and since he's grown up, even more so.

Time flies when you're .....having fun?

Our dear friend Bill Engvall would say, "Here's your sign!" if he looked at this. I've been with the Hunnybunny family this past week as Grandmas (Great and Daughter of Great) came to see us. It would have been a good time if not for a family crises, (not our immediate family) and extreme cold temps. Poor Great Grandma Hunnybunny nearly froze her hiney off as she is from Miami. Wouldn't you know it, Kentucky had the coldest temps in 5 years the ENTIRE time they were here!
Oh, and I ended up going to the doctor before they got here. Turns out that the barking cough that I conjured up WASN'T normal. They put me on an inhaler and Advair so I could get the inflammation down. And the doctor suggested that asthma might be the culprit. She correlated the dates on my chart and noticed a pattern. Every November, seems like I come down with some type of barking cough.
"But aren't I a little old for that, Doc? I thought little kids got diagnosed with it." Turns out there is a thing called a "seasonal asthma". Who'd a thunk it? To the left is my RX for myself.

That being said, I'll be by to see you this week. Hope you'll forgive me for not being around as much. But you were always on my mind.:)

Kids, Colds, Quilts, and the Winds of Change

Did you miss me? Well, I stayed away from the keyboard to avoid transferring any cold germs. I keep getting the hacking back, but no fever. Sorry I'm whining. I just don't have time for this.

Halloween was fun as the Pickle and his pals went trick or treating together. The Diva was a different princess this year, Sleeping Beauty, and it was my first time doing little girl hair. The Pickle turned into Batman this year, even though his whole room is Spiderman.

Another reason you've not seen me around is that I'm running out of time on "Stars Fell on Alabama" if I intend to get it quilted before we go to Florida for the holidays. Unfortunately, "Stars" has a ton of white on white. Ever tried to stitch in the ditch when the quilt is white on white? I was/am completely "snow blind". Don't laugh too hard at my solution. Blue painter's tape. Yep. I needed to see where the edge was, so that's what I've been doing. I'm sure there was an easier way, but you know me. A friend told me to use the tailor's chalk, but I still couldn't see it.

I found out that I really should be wearing glasses. It reeks to get old, doesn't it? But I already knew that I should be wearing them. It was 2000 when I got my Rx changed last. I've been getting by with readers from Walmart. But I'm cheap when it comes to anything but fabric. So paying through the nose for frames just didn't appeal to me. I found this site. This guy had enough of paying allot for specs so he created this site to deal with it. My eye doctor is young. When I told her that I intended to fill my Rx online, she actually told me what numbers to put in! Some of the sites actually talk you through your Rx so you can make heads or tales of it. I got a single vision Rx, lens included, for $25! I'll let you know how it works out. There is a 2 week waiting period.

In the meantime, the world theater has changed allot, hasn't it? We have a new President and he seems eager to hit the ground running. This is not a political blog, nor has it ever been. But I will say that I have committed to praying for the President-Elect and his cabinet everyday. Especially in light of the fact he hasn't even had time to grieve for his grandmother yet. That has to be hard.
Hope you all are doing well. I'll be around to see you!

"Stars Fell on Alabama " Top Finished

Sorry for the fuzzy picture, y'all... seems my picture-taking teen broke the zoom button, so I'm stuck with crummy pictures until Christmas. Anyway...

I probably wouldn't have chosen the blue border, but Grandma Hunnybunny did, so she can definitely have what she wants.

I picked up backing material tonight. Nothing special, just white, Wal-mart variety fabric. And of course, I forgot to pick up batting, so hi-ho, hi-ho, it's back to the store I go.

The goal is to get-r-done BEFORE Thanksgiving. We're making the bi-annual Mecca down to the Emerald Coast to see her. Sort of early Christmas for her.

The Stars Fell on Alabama Last Night

Moonlight and magnolias, starlight in your hair

All the world a dream come true

Did it really happen, was I really there

Was I really there with you

We lived our little drama, we kissed in a field of white

And stars fell on Alabama that night

I can't forget the glamour, your eyes held a tender light

And stars fell on Alabama last night

Chorus:I never planned in my imagination, a situation so heavenly

A fairy land that no one else could enter

And in the center, just you and me, dear

My heart beat like a hammer, my arms wound around you tight

And stars fell on Alabama last night

Chorus:I never planned in my imagination, a situation so heavenly

A fairy land that no one else could enter

And in the center, just you and me, dear

My heart beat like a hammer, my arms wound around you tight

Ah, stars fell on Alabama last night ...

This quilt is named for this song, made famous by Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. This is Grandma Hunnybunny's quilt top without borders. But at least I finished sewing this together today. It amazes me how much I can get done when I pop a movie into the computer...or in my case, back to back movies.