Been away

Boy it seems like forever since I have posted here.  I know that it is something I should do but I just get so busy with sewing, quilting, crocheting and the worst offender is the internet.  I will try to get here more often in the future.
I went to the doctors this week and found out my diabetes is still out of control.  Now more than ever.  I am now seeing signs in my fingernails.  They look like wood that the termites have gotten into and made tunnels in.  I also found out the ridges I have had in my nails for years are from COPD.  Boy it seems like if it wasn't for bad luck I would have no luck at all.  The COPD I  can do nothing about.  The diabetes is another matter.  Only I can decide what is going into my mouth at any point in time.  And I had better make that decision right now or my organs are going to look like my fingernails.
My sugars are all over the place so I had better start with them.  If I am eating too much than I am going to have to inject more insulin.  And that does not make a lot of sense.  So I am going to have to start with my diet.
More on this later.  I promise.

Ouchh Time has really flown.

Since being on here last, dear hubby and I have been on a wonderful vacation.  For the first time in 7 years we went back north to western New York.  A lot of  things have changed, but a lot of things have stayed the same.
Either way it was nice to see old friends and to see all of the kids that we have only heard about since we moved down south.  We even got to see some new places, like Grovers where Guy from Diners and Dives ate.  The food there is totally awesome.   More next time.

It has been a while.

Sorry but life has a way of telling you what you have to do.  And it is not always what you want to do.  Go figure.
Dear Hubby has been sick and don't you just know I ended up with it.  I hate being sick.  And it is a chest and head thing.  Yuck!
On a lighter note.  I have finally finished the 2000 BOM from JoAnns that I started in 2001.  Now, really is 10 years too long to work on a quilt that is completely done by hand.  I am so glad it is done.

I also finished purses for 2 grand daughters this week.  And they love them and are using them.  

I also finished a wall hanging for a veteran at church.
It has been a very busy month.

The weather

Wow what a start to the new year.  It has been really awesome around here.  We have made it through the middle of January and I can hardly wait for summer to get here so I can finally get warm.  I knew we moved to Florida for a reason and I am sure it was not for so much cold weather.  I hope I remember this in June and July when it is so hot.  Ah well you just can't beat Mother Nature....     Stay warm and dry till next time.

sewing and embroidering

 It has been a very quiet end and beginning of 2011.  My baby sister came to visit with her husband and four sons on my birthday, the day after Christmas.  We had a very good visit even though it was not long enough.

I have enjoyed learning how to do embroidery.  I finally have my Futura 250 up and running and I love it.  I have even done FSL.  Now I need to learn how to do embroidery on knit fabrics.  I imagine that it is not hard but I still have that fear of doing new things.

Two weeks and counting

Just think, there is only two weeks left until Christmas Day.  Do you have all of your projects done, or are you scrambling to get them all done in time.   Here is hoping your holidays are bright and shiny.

HAND QUILTING: December Giveaway

HAND QUILTING: December Giveaway is having a giveaway for the Christmas season. Please mention my blog pamspinks sent you.
I also have a report on my stash......
I received a call from a friend who knew a moving company that had been left with some material from someone who had moved and did not want it.  Needless to say being a quilter I had to check it out.    I payed $100.00 for the material and the rest of the things.  So......  My stash has grown by at least half.....   Not that I am complaining mind you.  I do enjoy just looking at it some days.  It also included 2 quilt calendars from years gone by, part of a Handi-Quilter, jelly rolls,  charm packs, rulers, cutting mats and more.
My problem now is what can I make for the nice friend who called me in the first place?
Any suggestions?

retromummy: sweet broderie giveaway

retromummy: sweet broderie giveaway: "Home About Press Patterns and Recipes Upcoming Markets FAQ Contact Me Facebook Twitter
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2010

sweet broderie giveaway
It's about time for another giveaway from my store! So this time I'm giving away a fat quarter in each of the Sweet Broderie fabrics that have just arrived here. That's right, 14 fat quarters and even better I'll pick two three winners!!"
So go here and enter today.

An awesome way to explain how it feels to live with a disability

“The Spoon Theory” at www.butyoudontlooksick.com/the_spoon_theory  Any one that has a family member or friend or even just someone they know with chronic pain should read this.  It is the most enlightening piece I have ever read having to do with dealing with chronic pain day to day.  
On a lighter note I did get the 3 sets of hanging kitchen towels done for church.  And the Fall Festival was a big hit.  
Now, on to Thanksgiving and Christmas and all that they entail.  I love Christmas the most of all the holidays.  Maybe because my birthday is the day after.
Oh well, have a blessed day.

And another giveaway!!!!!

Isn.t this the best

"It's Time for the AccuQuilt GO Giveaway"  and you can enter at

irish muses.com

An awesome week

This week I was finally able to get the Futura 250 Embroidery machine to do exactly what I wanted it to do.  I made 3 sets of hanging kitchen towels for the church's Fall festival.  It took me forever to get them done but they are worth it.  I will be posting pictures later this week of the towels.  And now I wait for the results of the CT scan of my neck.  While moving I lifted more than my 5 pound limit and now I await the results.  More later...

Birthdays all around

Well finally we are past the birthdays.  Whew,  it seems like they are all in a row.  At least now we only have 1 more between now and Christmas.  I love this time of year, not the weather, just the birthdays and getting together to celebrate them.

Awesome giveaway!!!!!

Head over to Millies Blog she is having an Accuquilt Go giveaway.  Here is the address http://milliesquilting.blogspot.com/ .  What an awesome giveaway.  And just think you could win.

Moved in and not quite!!

Well most of the moving is done and we are in our new rented home, well almost.  The craft room is still totally packed, and boy do I mean totally packed.  We can hardly open the doors to the room. It is really that full.  I can hardly believe we own that much craft supplies.  Even being 2 families put into 1, it is still hard to believe how much is in there.
We are almost totally unpacked in the rest of the house except the garage, and it seems to have stretched enough to hold  our stuff. How come we never know how much we have until we have to move it.
On a lighter note,  my tens machine seems to be working very well.  As long as the weather is good and there are no storms in the area, I can keep it at a pretty low setting and still function as a semi happy person.  However if there are any storms around the machine gets turned up and I am still not a happy camper.  I keep praying that it will get better.  I don't go to the Dr.'s until October 1st, so we will find out then how much better I can expect it to get.
Because the craft room and garage are still not unpacked, I have started a new counted cross stitch project.  It enables me to do something and still sit and behave.  

I won!!!!

Charming Chatter (http://cottoncharmquilts.typepad.com/charmingchatter/)  and Moda had a contest for the best looking Schnibbles.  And I voted for the one I liked and WON a signed copy of Schnibbles Times Two book.  WOW was I excited.  I have never seen a pattern for a Schnibbles, only pictures of the finished quilt, and have wanted to do one because they look so awesome.  Then I won the book.  Thank you to Charming Chatter and Moda and also to CarrieNelson.  Oh and I can not forget Rosie.  I can't wait to get the craft room unpacked and start working on a Schnibbles.

Wow it has been awhile.

Am I ever sorry that it has been so long since I have posted.  So much has happened.  We have moved.  Imagine packing everything you own in 2 weeks and moving it when you are not supposed to lift any more than 5 pounds! Oh yea, I forgot I also have a DH, who while I would not trade him for anything, he will not pack.  He explains he does not know what to do so he will not do it.  So we have moved into a 6 bedroom, 4 1/2 bath home with a living room on the first floor and a family room on the second floor. And, all the kids have their own bedrooms, and DH and I have the master on the first floor and DD and DSIL have a master bedroom on the second floor.
I really hope we do not have to move again anytime soon.  I can sit and recharge my battery and not have to watch what the husband wants to watch.  Now if we could only get the craft room unpacked and in some kind of order.  I know, all in good time.  At least that is what my daughter says.
Well the kids are back in school.  One in HS and the other 3 in Middle school.  We also have 6 grands in WNY that I miss dearly.  The oldest graduated from HS this last June.  Where does the time go.

Any slackers out there?

Hi everyone, is it hot where you are?  It seems like everyday is hotter than the day before, or is it just my imagination.  I have been working on my Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt.  I joined the quilters on the Quilting Forum and we started this week with block 1 and 2.  So far,  I am right on track and have them done.  I have even picked out all the colors for the rest of my 109 blocks, have my templates all cut out and have traced some of them onto fabric.  I guess I am not part of the slackers club on this quilt.
 My Tens Machine is working better than when they put it in. This allows me to control my pain a little better.  

My Son-in-law Is Home

My SIL came home on Monday from Iraq.  He only has a short time at home so he and the family are trying to do as much as possible together while he is home. I hate to think of him leaving again.
On a much more pleasant note,  I finally had my Tens Machine implanted in my back on the 14th of June.  It is a machine that sends an electronic impulse into my spine and stops the pain from travelling along the nerves because they are busy sending the electronic impulse.  I am still getting used to it and how to tune it in for the different weather conditions but, it is something I have been waiting to have done for two years.
I have gotten my quilt almost done.  I have only to quilt the outer border and I will be done. This quilt has been a teaching quilt for me.
I also started a paper-pieced table topper called The Star Table Topper.  I decided to do it in red, white, and blue for the 4th of July.  I got it from QuiltCampus at http://www.quiltcampus.net/ .  Cindy there does all kinds of paper-piecing and boy is she ever good at it.  I found her site when I first got a computer and I sign up for her free projects all the time.

Memorial Day

Did you know that not just the men and women that gave their lives for our freedom should be remembered today!  The men and women that give their time, energy, and talents to keep our country free should also be remembered today!  They don,t have to be dead to be remembered and thanked for their service.  Thank a service person today.
On a lighter note, I have finally started to put a binding on my quilt.  It is giving me fits.  If anyone has any tips out there I for one would be happy to hear them.  I have never done this before and I am not having a good time at this.
Well thats all for now.  I will have pictures when I finish this darned quilt, and I will have a new project that I am working on.  It involves not just quilting but also painting (another one of the projects I love to do). More later.

Scrapbooking

I wonder if the whole world has tried it, or if only those who are hooked on it are just able to put themselves out there more than others.  For those of you who have never tried it, you really should as it is very freeing.  You can put all those pictures that are just gathering dust in a shoe box to work and write about what  was actually going on at the time the picture was taken, or what you were thinking then.  My DD and I scrap with her kids.  And I think it has brought us closer together as a family and also as people.  We respect each others artwork and have learned a lot about each other by what we have wrote in them. 

 You can start with very little as far as supplies go, just scrap book paper and colored pencils would work for beginning.  After that you can budget for other supplies.  One word tho, you should decide wither you want an 8x10 book or a 12x12 book.  An 8x10 is probably easier to start with as there is not as much room to fill up.  However as time goes by, you will probably want the extra room of a 12x12 book.  It is a very rewarding hobby and it can be very expensive.  But , it is also worth every penny.  How else can your great-great-grandkids read exactly what you were thinking or doing on that day and even have a picture to look at with it.