Favor to ask

My friend Saska has entered a photo of her barn quilts in a little contest. I absolutely LOVE her photo, so much so I stole it and it's now my wallpaper so I can see it all the time. Anyway, drop over to her blog and look, then go look at the rest of the enteries, and vote... but please vote for hers!

http://oklacookiemaker.blogspot.com/2010/04/participation-please.html

Tomorrow’s mystery day

Yesterday one of the Mysteries For Relay ladies sent me three samples of fabrics to use on the mystery which starts tomorrow. She wanted my suggestions and opinion… So I opened up my Electric quilt and played with her colors, moved them around, played some more. One I set I immediately rejected, too dark. The other two were great looking, but one I liked a little bit better, so I recommended those to her.

That of course, put my mind in quilting mode, and I spent the next hour or so playing with color combinations and lay outs and by time I was done I was so anxious to sew it hurt! Well not physically, but mentally for sure. I long to sit at a sewing machine and hear it humming away, joining two pieces of fabric together and making beautiful things.

But that won’t happen just yet, I still need to get through Relay. This week’s work is pretty much finished, I think. There wasn’t a lot, wish there was more, more money for Relay and more work to keep me busy so I don’t stray off into quilting mode.

Relay comes next… shorting t-shirts and last minute stuff on Tuesday night, bank night and hopefully LOTS of money on Wednesday night, then lots of work on Thursday, last minute stuff on Friday morning, reports etc and then sometime Friday afternoon off to the legion for the event.

THEN, when I’ve finished all the work and when I’ve caught up on my sleep… THEN I will sew. First project, finish Mystery #11, Quarter of a Courthouse.. then who knows, I have a billion things I want to do… a whole year’s worth of sewing to catch up on.

Cell PHONEs?

I believe they are still called cell PHONES? Right? I could be wrong though, and let me explain why…. Recently both John and I ungraded our phones. We had identical phones for the last nine or so years, which worked well. I knew how his worked and he knew how mine worked and we could use each other’s phones. That was especially important when one of us was going out and his phone wasn’t charged, so he could just use my battery and I could plug in and recharge while stuck at home.

But this year we couldn’t agree on which one we wanted, he wanted one kind and I wanted a different one. The one I wanted went on sale (FREE) so I got it. So far I like it, a lot. (He’s hung up on the caller every time he’s used my new phone, can’t get the hang of the slider mechanism.)

When I got the new cell PHONE I of course read the directions, isn’t that the proper thing to do? First it tells you all the parts, plug ins etc… ok, that’s good information. Then it tells you how to connect to the internet… nope, don’t need that, I have a lap top, skip those ten pages. Next, how to send and receive messages, nope, don’t do that either. Next, how to work the camera. No, I have a real camera, and I prefer it, skip those pages. Surely there are PHONE directions in here somewhere. Next, how to play music. Wait… I bought a cell PHONE, I want to know how to use it, not every other gadget I don’t want. Next games, nope, GPS, nope, something else, nope… FINALLY how to make calls.

Three weeks later, I like my new cell PHONE, I don’t need all the gadgets that came with it. It makes great calls, even at home! I have not and will not use the other gadgets.

Finally the other day John’s cell PHONE choice went on sale ($0.00) so I ordered it for him. It’s a flip phone, one similar to the ones we had for the last three years, so shouldn’t be too much of a change for him. I’ve plugged it in so it will be fully charged when he gets home. Opened up the instruction book, something I know he will never do… Phone parts, ok, call functions is next! WOW I am impressed, his phone actually had call functions BEFORE all the other stuff. A whole half a page on how to make and receive calls. The next 600 pages in tiny tiny print are all the other features… ok I exaggerate a little .. the next 169 pages of tiny tiny tiny tiny text. I think I’ll let him figure out his own new phone!

Updates

Knees are doing better, MUCH better, thank you for asking. Today I have absolutely no pain in my knees unless I am standing or walking which is a great improvement over the throbbing pain last week. Today the only pain I have is in my head, I think the pollen is to blame for that, eyes are running but nose isn’t, LOL!

Electric Quilt 7. Seems I misunderstood the pricing policy and I CAN discount it, I just can’t say how much I am discounting it. In order to see my price you have to click on the Buy It Now button. If you don’t want to buy it, just X out the PayPal page. Remember ALL of my profits goes to ACS to fight cancer. http://delawarequilts.com/Relay/

And since I mentioned Relay, when don’t I, just ten days away now! Hard to believe that another year is almost over, Relay year anyway. I’m going to slow down my fundraising this summer to catch up on my sewing. SLOW DOWN, not stop… I won’t stop until we don’t need to Relay any more and cancer is a thing of the past.

The winner was

Last week Random.org picked the winning number of 340 which coincided with Cheryl from “upstate” NY and Patchwork Angels Quilt Shop. I hinted for a photo and they actually got the hint, so here is the winner with her box of goodies.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed and for the continued support. Here are just a few ways your donations are used...

• 
  American Cancer Society’s phone lines are open every minute of every day and night to help connect people with the answers they need. Each year, they provide information, help, and support to the nearly one million individuals who call us at 1-800-227-2345. In addition, the Web site, cancer.org, offers access to the latest information and news on cancer and helps people locate programs and services in their area.


• 
  They offer an online support community for cancer survivors and caregivers to share stories and find support.


• 
  They assist cancer patients in need with getting transportation to and from their treatments and offer help with free lodging for cancer patients and their caregivers.


• 
  Through their clinical trials matching service, they connect patients with thousands of different treatment options.


• 
  With sites at hospitals and treatment centers across the country, the American Cancer Society Patient Navigator Program provides one-on-one guidance to people facing cancer through every step of their journey.

Thank you all for making this and more possible!

Sunday

I’m doing much better today, and feeling almost human again… almost. Taking a shower took most of my energy but I feel cleaner and smell better. Only pills I’ve taken today are over the counter, so I think that is an improvement.

I had a lengthily discussion on-line this morning with another small business owner like myself about selling EQ7. She is offering a huge discount on it, and said I should do the same. Yes, I could but I won’t. I will stick to my simple free shipping, and hope to raise some more money for Relay For Life by making a few sales. Every sale is more money to help someone beat cancer, as I promised ALL of my profits go to Relay For Life.

As far as the product itself, I can’t wait to get my hands on it! This line from their email has me anxious to try it out…. Digital cameras will become a quilter's best friend. EQ7 has dozens of ways to turn everyday photos into quilt ­­art images. WOW… I can’t wait to try that! It will end my days of drawing tiles and photos, and hopefully make my mysteries even more exciting!

Speaking of mysteries, we have one coming up next weekend. I had three testers make three totally different looking quilts with this mystery, I can’t wait to see what the mystery ladies will come up with! Still time to join up if you like mysteries, or even if you don’t since you can get the full pattern after the mystery has been revealed!
Maybe by next weekend I will be sewing too, maybe…

Electric Quilt 7 is coming

Yes, I am awake enough to do some business, and in no pain what so ever, thanks to the big white pills!

Electric Quilt doesn’t even have an announcement on their own site yet, but wholesalers have gotten the announcement that Electric Quilt 7 will start shipping in early June.

Of course I will be ordering an upgrade for myself, I’ve been a loyal EQ user since EQ2, those old diskettes things, remember those, LOL!

I don’t think I am breaking any rules by saying that the full program price will be $189.95 and the upgrade (for EQ6 owners) will be $89.95. I am guesstimating that shipping will be between $11 and $13 each program, but won’t know for sure until I get my first shipment.

I will take pre-orders if anyone is interested, please email me. If you’d like more information, email me but I only know what they said in their email.

Remember, ALL PROFITS made by Delaware Quilts goes to the American Cancer Society through Relay For Life, so buying from me will help us win the fight against cancer!
Thanks!

Surgery report again

Nothing squeamish this time, well maybe slightly. Totally different experience than I had in November. Starting right off with check in time, 1PM. Last time I checked in at 3 and didn’t see the Doc until 6. This time I went in right at one and they were actually waiting for me in surgery. BUT first all that prep work. You know, the Bear Paws heated gown, felt just as comfy this time. Then the brushing of the hair off my face, otherwise known as taking my temperature and the arm squish, aka blood pressure, and the arm squish, aka blood pressure, and the arm squish, aka blood pressure..... wait a minute, how many times are you going to take it? Something not right about my bp so they kept checking.

Then came the vampires, well it started out with one. She couldn’t find a vein. I explained to her I was a hard stick, and she said she was usually pretty good at finding veins… but wasn’t having any luck with me. Then the anesthesiologist came in to ask me his questions and seeing the problems nurse 1 was having decided to join in the hunt. I gave them each two sticks and then asked for someone else. Two more highly qualified vampires showed up and guess what, they had their two sticks each and still no IV in. Two more and still no IV. The PA showed up next, to see what the hold up was. She didn’t offer to try, which I was thankful for, because she’s not that gentle. First two try again, and at one point there were four people smacking my arms looking for veins. Another anesthesiologist comes in and asks me what the hold up is. I told him and he joined in the hunt. I asked him if he was qualified to do both jobs on the same patient, and he laughed, and promptly found a vein, stuck me and got the IV flowing.

Next thing I know I’m flying down the hallway and into surgery. Doc laughs at me and says it’s about time I showed up, and that was all I remembered until I woke up in recovery. No face mask, they remembered last time, and a cup of ice was sitting there waiting for me. I dozed off and on until they told me I had to give up my space, so they were moving me back to my stall. Back to same day surgery but not for long.. all I had to do was eat the cracker and drink and I could go home. I followed orders and soon was dressed and being wheeled out of the room…

And things went down hill from there. I’m not sure if it was the sitting up and moving part, or the huge bump between SDS and the waiting room. Sure it looked an half inch high but when she went over it it felt more like ten inches and then the room started spinning… I’ll leave out the details, even I can’t handle them yet, but I will tell you I sure had them running around for a few minutes.. get this get that help stop go wait… so much for crackers and water…

But I was out of the same day surgery ward, and that meant I had been discharged, and it was up to me if I wanted to go home or go back… I said home, but I’m not sure I made the right decision.

Let’s get this straight right now, I love my husband dearly, but I’ve explained that he has problems helping people, he helps too much. Good thing in my case, but guess what… I wasn’t who he was helping. He brought me home and put me to bed, and I promptly fell asleep. He assumed since I was asleep I was ok, so off he went to help someone else. So when I woke up and lost more cracker and water he was no where around. I fell back asleep, and repeated this several times until he showed up… I fired him but was forced to rehire him again since he was the only one around. He’s done much better since… except once he falls asleep he’s worthless.

I can’t say the pain is less than yesterday pre-surgery cause I would be fibbing. I actually hurt more today, but I’m sure that’s all surgical hurts, I hope. I can say my right leg, the one who got all the attention in November, is back to almost normal again… Doc gave it a magic shot and drained some fluid, so it feels just fine today. Left leg is still all wrapped from my ankle up and is throbbing with a consistent beat… I get to check on it later, when I wake up from my nap… medicine is wonderful…

surgery day

I’m alive, barely. Let’s just say this one didn’t go nearly as smoothly as the last one

I missed a day, sorry!

Yesterday was a blurr, lots happening and not much accomplished. Drugs kept me down. Work was Relay work mostly and today will be the same. What needed to be done was. Closer and closer to the big day and that means more and more work for me.

Good news, with the fabric raffle and a nice check from the on-line candy sales, the team is now over the $7000 mark. How high can we go? I am so proud of the whole team, everyone really seemed to put an honest effort in this year and I appreciate it.

Tomorrow is my cleaning and oiling aka arthroscopic surgery. I’ll find out later today what time.
Right now I'm going to take my morning nap... it's the drugs. One more day. I hope!

AND THE WINNER IS #340

From NY… yes someone from “upstate” NY won the National Quilting Day Raffle. I will be mailing the box to a certain quilt shop up there and will let them present it to the winner at one of their regular get-togethers. HOPEFULLY I can convince them to send me a photo of the winner with her box. Hint hint!

(To the ladies of Patchwork Angels, when the box arrives, someone who didn’t buy a chance on this raffle needs to stand with a camera in hand as the ladies who DID buy raffle tickets open the box… and the winner will be revealed!)

There was more than one donor from this quilt shop, and for that I want to thank my team member and friend Candy, who just happened to be in the drawing also. Patchwork Angels has been a terrific supporter of our Relay team for the last few years, and this year has gone above and beyond in support. To all of the ladies up there who bought t-shirts, did Relay Mysteries, just plain donated and got in on this raffle I send a HUGE THANK YOU!

And to the winner, I hope you enjoy it all! Thank you for your continued support!

(I will announce the winner's name as soon as the box is delivered, and will HOPEFULLY HINT HINT have a photo to go along with it!)

Thanks to everyone who donated!

Suspicious email

Account Departament Review : 901327892‏
From: Paypal
Sent: Mon 4/19/10 11:07 AM
Dear PayPal Customer, We recently have determined that different computer(s) have logged into your PayPal account, and multiple password failures were present before the logins . This is a final reminder to log in to PayPal as soon as possible. https://www.paypal.com We now need you to re-confirm your account information to us. If this is not completed by Feb we will be forced to suspend your account indefinitely, as it may have been used for fraudulent purposes. We thank you for your cooperation in this manner . Account Review Departement.

NOW what is so funny about this email? First, notice the from, no return address… suspicious.
Also no To: meaning it was sent BCC to many people.
Notice the date sent, today, ok, that’s fine. But I need to complete it by FEB? DUH…
How do YOU spell Departament? I bet the real PayPal knows the correct spelling.

Also, and this is something that not everyone might catch. The web address shown is indeed the correct PayPal address. HOWEVER when I moused over that address it was sending me to an entirely different web site. I HAVE REMOVED THE BAD LINK ADDRESS FOR YOUR PROTECTION.

Mouse over this link, and look on the bottom of your screen, see how they match? http://delawarequilts.com/

Now mouse over this link, http:DelawareQuilts.com See how they do NOT match! ALWAYS watch out for this kind of stuff when you get email from someone you don’t know.

ONE more day!

No, not to my surgery, one more day to the end of the National Quilting Day “Raffle” I will take all of the donations and put them in an excel spread sheet. For each $1 donation you made you get one chance to win. For each $5 donation you made you get six chances to win. Donate $10 and you get fifteen chances. So if you donated $10 your name will go on the spreadsheet 15 times.

I will let http://www.random.org/ choose the winner. And I will post the winner here on the blog.

So then what? What will be my next fundraiser? Well I do have the Featherweight to auction off… no I have not forgotten that and I do have people who have made donations towards that already, so I can’t back out now. I just haven’t decided which one to donate. I know I have more than I need, but honestly, I get attached to them.

PS, click on donate to get in on the box raffle! LAST chance!

Not so liberated

As a designer who can’t sew right now I am depending heavily on my testers. I know what I write is usually right, but sometimes I can sew better than I can write, so I need them to tell me if my directions make sense or not. I also have ladies who are gooder better talkers and tipers typers typist than I is who correct my grammer. I hope these ladies really know how much I appreciate what they do for me.

A few days ago I sent a new to me pattern to one of my testers and this morning I got a reply from her… the subject line said, “you’ve gone liberated on me” I laughed, and read on.

“Marge, you know that I usually love your quits, most of them. This one just isn’t you, nor is it me, and I’ll ask that you get someone else to test it. I just can’t get into this liberated look.”

OK, maybe it was a little off my normal but I would hardly call it liberated… I agree with Barb that some of those liberated quits just look like.. well… some of them just are not pretty. But they are the rage right now and other people like them. But I didn’t think this pattern fell in that liberated category, not even close. My pattern could be done totally scrappy which would have given it the liberated look, but it could also be done completely controlled making it far from liberated.

I will send it on to another tester, and see what she thinks.

DO YOU?

Do you know anyone at this time who is fighting cancer? Please donate $1 for each person.

Do you know anyone who has fought the battle and won? Please donate $1 for each year they have been a survivor.

Do you know anyone who lost the battle? Please donate $1 for each person. Or if you would like, go to my ACS web page and click on Luminaria and we will light a candle in that person’s memory at the event.
Thank you!

SPAM again

OK, I know I have written about SPAM before, and it is funny. However, sadly there are people who fall for this crap. Or people who do not have the mental capacity to understand what it is and are suckered into it.

I got another one this morning which made me laugh, so full of grammatical and spelling errors it made me think it was written by two kids trying to get money from their parents.

But then something reminded me that maybe it isn’t funny. There are people who fall for these things, and people who are taken advantage of like this every day.

Case in point, my husband’s Aunt who I have written about a lot recently. One of the hardest things for her to deal with in the last year and a half has been mail. I noticed it last January when we first visited her. It was confirmed over and over again right up to recently.

During the brief time we were estranged from her due to another family member’s interference, Aunt took out an insurance policy on her car. Nothing unusual about that except… she can not drive the car, she did not have keys to the car, the car was not tagged and she already had insurance on it. So why did she take out a second policy, because she got an advertisement in the mail that was made to look like a bill. It said she owed $X for better car insurance, so she paid it. So she had two insurance policies on a car she could not drive.

The car by the way is for sale. A 2009 Toyota Camry with just 3012 miles on it. (I drove the majority of those miles bringing her here to DE) And for those who might be wondering she is doing wonderful at the assisted living home. She loves her new smaller apartment, “it’s so easy to take care of.” She has already made friends there, and last night was anxious for John to leave so she could go visit one of her neighbors. She told a niece that she loved it there and was very happy that John and his uncle (her brother) were taking care of all the messy stuff so she could just enjoy herself. The messy stuff is the mail which so confuses her still.

OH I love this one…

This came to me from American Expres. Note the spelling… I think they mean American Express.. which by the way I do not even have an account with. For such a large corporation they certainly do need to get someone with some smarts to send out these notices…

Dear member:Your account appear to be involved in activities that violate our policies. This account has been restricted.To avoid further collections please confirm that you are the right owner of this account by following these steps: 1. Log on to Continue To Online Update Form2. Click 'Continue' button at the end of the page 3. Confirm that the details on file with us are correct If you do not have access your account , please Contact us immediately.
If we do not have your confirmed details, your account may suspended and additionall collections ramedies may be used to bring this account to current.

Sometimes spam can be so funny! Thanks for the giggle whoever you are and may your arm pits be infested with a thousand sand fleas.

No I didn’t forget to blog..

I didn't forget, I've just been so busy today. Just now finishing up a day of Relay work, pre-meeting and then post-meeting, pretty much took up the whole day. And I have a pile of work which will keep me busy a good deal of tomorrow too! And that’s GOOD news. All that work brings in more money to help fight cancer.

Less than a week now until a winner is drawn for the National Quilting Day “Raffle” LARGE priority box. I thought maybe I had dragged it out too long, but today a few more donations came in. Thanks Sandy, Helen and Diane. Now it's bedtime!

First blog mystery quilt

A long time ago, I had to go back and find it to know how long, I did my first blog mystery. This is a quilt from that mystery. Joanne sent the photo and said this about it...

Here is a photo of the first blog mystery that you did. Not the one from last week. As is often the case with quilt photos this quilt has legs. I am really happy with how this turned out. For my light green's I had about 4 different pieces of fabric. The multi colour and the solid blue were the same throughout. I think it worked.

I think so too! Nice job. Thanks for sharing!

Never again

Never again will I start off a day saying I had nothing to do. For the next three hours straight my phones (cell and home) were ringing constantly and both email boxes were overflowing with emails and someone even came to the door. The door was easy to take care of, no thank you, close door. Phones and emails…. Oh I forgot to say faxes too… only problem is I can’t accept a fax when I am on the phone and the person who was trying to send me a fax kept calling me on the phone to tell me to turn the fax on. I took his first call, hung up and turned on fax. Before I could get it on the first fax tried to come in. Then he called me back to tell me it wasn’t on, and of course he got the squealing racket that comes with a fax which proved to him it was. Then he tried sending fax again and someone else also tried to call so the fax didn’t come through again. Then of course he called me back and he got the fax again. THEN he tried again and I got the fax finally. Then I got it again. Then I got it again. THEN I shut off the fax machine.

Things went downhill from there, and I was more than happy to crawl back into bed when I finally got there. But you know what happens when you sleep too late in the morning, you can’t sleep at night. Hopefully I will catch up or at least even out tonight, LOL!

NOT all a bad day though, I got a few nice donations from people who enjoyed the mystery, thanks Liz, Kate and Jane.


And this evening my honey brought me home a nice new shiny cane… a cane… you know like OLD people use… that is a good thing, although darn I don’t want to have to use it but I sure needed it.. sigh.. hopefully after surgery I won’t need it any more… well not for a long time anyway.

Oh heck it’s Monday….

Don’t ask me why I dread Monday’s so much, I really can’t say. Well John goes back to work, but he’s not home that much when he’s off work, so that can’t be it. I don’t have to go to work, I don’t go no where these days (excuse the language) There aren’t tons of emails coming in from Relay so I don’t even have anything to complain about there… although honestly I would like some work to come in, emails from Relay means more $ and more money means more help in fighting cancer.

This morning I just couldn’t get out of bed. My knees weren’t the excuse, but I’m using them. I was comfortable, I actually didn’t hurt at all. First time since the committee meeting last Wednesday I can say that I felt no pain at all. And I know I didn’t take any drugs in the middle of the night, I don’t think I got up until John went to work this morning. I got up, took care of business and went right back to bed… that was my mistake, I should have stayed up. But I didn’t and I was soon fast asleep again. When I woke up a half hour later I felt wonderful, and stayed there. I was actually afraid to move for fear the pain would come back, so I laid there… and went back to sleep.

When I woke up the next time, I’m not saying what time it was, I needed to get up, I had to take care of business again (bathroom business). I stayed up, although I really did consider going back to bed. One good cup of coffee and I’m raring to go… nowhere to go, nothing to do, emails answered… now what?

Some of the mystery quilts

Here are a few photos of the Super Duper Easy mystery. If you missed this mystery, the full pattern is for a $5.50 donation at http://delawarequilts.com/Relay/Patterns4Relay.html

Why did I take the clues off? I did this mystery as a thank you to a group of ladies for their donations to the American Cancer Society. (Mysteries For Relay, and our next mystery starts May 1) I only shared it here so I had a feeling of retreating and had some company while I wasn’t. I said when I started “The clues will NOT stay on line, so if you miss one, it will cost you a donation to get it. (HEY, anything for Relay!)”

And I am sticking to that… ANYTHING for Relay.

Let me ask you something… do you know anyone in your family, your friends, your neighborhood, anyone who has been affected by cancer in some way? Very few of us can answer no to that. That’s one of the reasons I raise money, so fewer people will be affected by this dreaded disease. This is the only way I can help, I’m not a scientist so I can’t find the cure. I’m certainly not a philanthropist who can donate millions. And about the only thing I can sell are my stash and my patterns, so that’s what I do. ALL of my pattern sales go to the American Cancer Society through Relay For Life. (Minus PayPal fees)

Final day of the retreat and mystery

None of us at the retreat liked Saturday, because we knew the next day it would all be over. We would rush around trying to get things that we’d planned to get like that last piece of fabric we needed even if it was all the way out at Sauders. We would get ourselves that promised pretzel from the pretzel shop or peanut butter from Dienners. We would sew like crazy trying to finish up that project we hoped to or needed to finish. And yet we would stop everything to listen to what everyone was saying, because we didn’t want to miss out on any sales, goodies or funnies. Those who weren’t driving home stayed up later and those who went to bed early didn’t sleep anyway, wondering what they were missing.

If you missed this mystery, the full pattern is for a $5.50 donation at http://delawarequilts.com/Relay/Patterns4Relay.html

I hope you enjoyed it. And if you missed any clues, the full pattern is available until tomorrow for a $5 donation at http://www.delawarequilts.com/Relay Make sure you put Retreat mystery in your donation note, so I know you want the pattern. Otherwise I will think you are just making a donation or entering in the Priority Box of Fabric Raffle.

sigh...

While blog hopping I came across some photos from a quilt retreat a lady had attended. She had a wonderful time but I wondered how she got any sewing done at all… there were three ladies sharing one table, two on one side and one in the middle on the other side. Then I came across another retreat report with photos showing two ladies at a table. Again, hard to imagine how they get much done. BUT… looking back at some of my own old retreat photos I remembered that in the beginning we did have to share tables, and we did get a lot done. And of course we had a great time no matter how packed in we were, who doesn’t have a fun time at a quilt retreat?

If we had been retreating this week as was planned we would have had a whole table to ourselves, with lots of room for all of our “stuff”. Some of us would have more “stuff” than others, overflowing to the floor and even to our neighbors table. Some of us would have had a neat and tidy table, and appear as we were doing nothing but accomplishing more than anyone else. Some of us would have had piles of “stuff” which grew larger and larger every time we left the hotel. (Bags and fabric multiply you know, especially in the spring) Some of us would look extremely busy and never get a thing done.

All of us would have laughed ourselves silly more than one time by now and always hesitated drinking anything when certain people were talking, just incase it was something funny… All of us waiting in great anticipation for Joanie’s annual funny… you know she would do something to make us all love her even more and laugh till we leaked hurt over it.

Can you tell where my head is today and my heart too. I miss the retreat, but even more I miss the retreaters. I miss each and every one of you, lots. Debbie, Candy and Mariann, Barbara, Joan and Laura, Denny and Carol, Janet, Alyssa, Suzi, Jennifer, Doris and Carolyn. And you too Sandi, even though you’ve never retreated before, I’m sure you would have fit right in.

Clue #3 to the No-Spring-Retreat project/mystery

If you missed this mystery, the full pattern is for a $5.50 donation at http://delawarequilts.com/Relay/Patterns4Relay.html

Hopefully those of you following along got the easy part done and finished up your four-patches. (Cathy, Sandi?)

Yesterday was a sort of stressful day for me. Something I could do nothing about but something that hung over my head for hours. I think it bothered me for the last few days, but it wasn’t until yesterday I knew what was stressing me. A dear friend of mine’s husband was having Ife threatening surgery yesterday, and I think her worry was worrying me. Almost as soon as I got up I realized I didn’t know what time the surgery was. Then I realized I couldn’t call her. And the more I thought about her the more I worried. I kept sending good thoughts to her, hoping she was staying calm, and trying to imagine myself in her place. I would have been a wreck. I thought about emailing her, yea right like she’s checking email. Those three hours on the phone with India watching someone else work on my laptop from miles away didn’t help either. I had to just sit there and watch things happening I had no control over and wondering about her, how was she doing and how was he… I prayed a lot.

Finally about 8 last night she called. I knew as soon as she started talking everything was ok. I felt her happiness. Thank you God.

Clue #2 to the No-Spring-Retreat project/mystery

I almost forgot to blog today, sorry! Been an insane day here.

If you missed this mystery, the full pattern is for a $5.50 donation at http://delawarequilts.com/Relay/Patterns4Relay.html

I had a Relay For Life meeting last night and was unable to get on line, technical issues. This morning I called Dell and after three hours on the phone with India the problem is fixed. Yes it took forever but it’s done, and I’m using my air card now to post this, so I’m happy.

Relay is less than one month away now…

Clue #1 to the No-Spring-Retreat project/mystery

I got a phone call yesterday from a gal who was supposed to be at the retreat also. She was unfortunately the first one to back out when she lost her job. She called to say she would be starting a new job next week, finally. She also said she since she was still off this week she was going to sew all week, which she decided when she found this mystery here on my blog. She begged me to send her the full pattern so she could start working on it, and I did. (Thanks for the donation!)

This morning I found this email from her… “I have made half of the four patches I need for my queen size mystery and am thinking of cutting back to a twin. Now I understand why you always recommend people start with a lap quilt when you do a mystery. I’ll be dreaming of four patches all night long.”

If you missed this mystery, the full pattern is for a $5.50 donation at http://delawarequilts.com/Relay/Patterns4Relay.html



PS, here's another springy photo from my yard

No-Spring-Retreat project

Today was supposed to be Day one of the Spring Retreat. But due to the sucky economy and so many retreaters struggling financially we cancelled it. I don’t want a retreat to be a financial burden for anyone, I want them to be fun.

I really enjoy the Spring Retreats, I enjoy them all but over the years the Spring Retreat has become my favorite. I get to really sew and relax and I always come home with so much accomplished. This year as it turns out I wouldn’t be doing much, and if I hadn’t cancelled due to the economy I may have cancelled due to my knees.

ANYWAY… since I’m not retreating and since I’d love to be sewing and since I’d sort of planned on a mystery this week to keep me company, I’ve decided to share a No-Spring-Retreat project with you all. Yes, it’s a mystery, one the Mysteries For Relay ladies did last month. It’s very easy, Super Duper Easy.

I will give you a link to clues, one each day, starting right now. The clues will NOT stay on line, so if you miss one, it will cost you a donation to get it. (HEY, anything for Relay!) $1 per clue and/or $5 for the full pattern. And if you want the full pattern and not a mystery, $5 will get it this week only. Donations may be made at http://www.delawarequilts.com/Relay but make sure you put Retreat mystery in your donation note, so I know you want the pattern. Otherwise I will think you are just making a donation or entering in the Priority Box of Fabric Raffle.

If you missed this mystery, the full pattern is for a $5.50 donation at http://delawarequilts.com/Relay/Patterns4Relay.html

Step one will be posted tomorrow, and then one per day.

Have fun!

Bear Ladies

I was on the phone this morning with one of the Bear ladies who I used to sew with occasionally. She isn’t in Bear anymore, but way out in California where her husband is working. She was up early because she is afraid to go to sleep because her bed keeps shaking… and her husband isn’t in it. She said the two things she can’t get used to living out there are the earthquakes and the people.

Since she was up at 4AM in the morning and didn’t have anything to do she decided she would call some of the Bear ladies to chat. She started with another Bear lady who isn’t in Bear anymore either, but in jolly old England. They had a chat and for some reason started talking about me… uh oh… seems the British Bear lady has been reading my blog recently, and filled the California Bear lady in on recent happenings with my life. Then, since I’d posted already this morning and she knew I was up, she suggested the California Bear lady call me next, which she did.

We had a nice chat and then the California Bear lady passed on a message from the British Bear lady saying that I needed to get back to quilting on my blog, since it had been months since I wrote anything about quilting at all. …. WELL… I beg to differ British Bear lady, I blogged about bed sizes on March 23 and that was quilt related. But I understand what you are saying, so I will get back to more quilty posts soon.

And while I’m at it to both Bear ladies, thank you for your donations and good luck. If you win you will get a BIG giggle out of some of the fabrics, left-overs from the group quilt we made… no I haven’t done anything with them and by giving them away I’ll be done with them, finally!

An idea whose time has come

Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I HATE politics. How much, you won’t believe me if I tell. I will walk away from any political discussion if possible and if not, I will rudely ask them to change the subject. I normally automatically delete ANY political email, regardless of who sent it. I do not allow political discussions at the retreats, at least when I am in the room. Why is simple, politics only creates problems. Don’t tell me we need it, I know that, I just hate politics.

ANYWAY… I got this email today and for some dumb reason I read it… too early in the morning.. not awake… coffee hasn’t kicked in yet…

An idea whose time has come
For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform that is being considered...in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come.

Have each person contact a minimum of Twenty people on their Address list, in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution
"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."

Something to think about for sure… and if you agree pass it on, if you don’t, thanks for reading. I am forwarding it to you and my political people too, because they need to know what people are saying about them. And don’t think I don’t have political people. I may hate politics, but I am an American citizen and I care and it’s about time more of us tell those people in Washington DC and our state capitals what we think … and it’s time we send these emails to those politicians so they know we do give a damn.

Easter traditions?

Bonnie from Quiltville asked what Easter traditions we have… and I will admit… I really had to think about it. Sadly these days Easter is just another day for us. John is busy taking care of his Aunt and there isn’t a lot of time for anything else. Things there are changing and settling down some, and hopefully will be better soon.

Easter as a child was all about the new dress I didn’t want. Every year Gram would take me shopping for an Easter dress and recommend one after another I didn’t like. She wanted me to have a nice frilly dress like all the other little girls would be wearing, and I didn’t want any part of frilly. She also wanted me to wear a hat to church on Easter Sunday, only that one day a year, and I usually gave in although reluctantly. It wasn’t until eighth grade I got the dress I really wanted, something that was my style and not frilly like all the other girls had… a plain white shirt-dress. I loved it and wore it to every special occasion I could, Easter Sunday, eighth grade graduation and even a wedding.

Another Easter tradition we had as kids was the Easter parade on the boardwalk. No floats or bands, just people walking the boards showing off their finery… it was fun if the weather cooperated.

And of course we went to church, I loved the Easter services. I loved seeing how everyone was dressed, LOL! All those frilly dresses and it tickled me silly watching the girls who were wearing them and how uncomfortable they were. And all the old ladies in their fancy dresses and furs and of course wild hats. Back in those days there was a lot of blue hair, and that got me laughing too. I know more than one time I was disciplined for looking the wrong way during the service as I checked out all the people.

I don’t remember any BIG Easter baskets or presents, but we did get a small basket with a chocolate egg and or a bunny. We tried not to overdo the baskets with our boys when they came along too. But they would get a present of some kind along with their baskets. When they got older we made it a game, like a scavenger hunt, with clues all over leading them to their present and basket. I think they enjoyed it.. I’ll have to ask them.

PS the pictures are from my yard, front above and here's some of the back yard, showing off the lovely spring colors we so enjoy.