Don't Do It

Just Don't. Please don't text and drive.

I'm so ANGRY (and grateful) that I'm crying. Some stupid (exchange with your word of choice) lady almost ran over my baby, my dog and myself while on our morning walk. She was texting and speeding in a residential area. I think she was going about 30-40mph.

Luckily I was walking facing traffic, as I normally do, so I saw her speeding towards me and not moving over. Those of you that have not lived in the South wouldn't know that sidewalks are rare. Asphalt usually meets the grass of peoples large yards. I only had a few seconds to spare after I hauled the stroller and the dog into the grass. She didn't even see us until right as she passed us. Had I been walking with traffic I'm certain she would have run us over and we would no longer be here.

Every time I think about it it makes me so angry and I start crying all over again. I wish I had had something to throw at her car. It would have been self defense right? I also wish I had gotten her license plate but she was going too fast.

Imagine living with the guilt of knowing that you killed a 1 year old a baby, his mother, and their dog. And that you ruined the lives of 2 other children and a loving husband. Whatever you could possibly be texting is not more important than the lives of other people. If it's that important pull over and stop.

I'm so grateful for one more day with my family.

~Norma

A Little Something

Yesterday I didn’t feel like working on my Neptune quilt. So I whipped up 2 little projects that will be added to the shop soon. Here’s a sneak peek!

 

Sometimes you just gotta work on something else.

~Norma

Don’t forget to enter the Heather Ross fish fabric Giveaway.

More Neptune Quilt

It has been slow going on my Neptune quilt. I really need to figure out the best way to make time for quilting.

Here is the second design I put in the white blocks. It’s a loop frame.

There is an outer frame and an inner frame. Then the white space is filled with loops.
~ Norma

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a FQ of Heather Ross Fish fabric!

Blog Hop Party Giveaway

I forgot about the long holiday weekend. I'm extending the giveaway until September 3rd. I'll draw a winner Tuesday morning.

I'm sharing the love by giving away 1 FQ of Heather Ross "Lightning Bugs" Fish print. This fabric is out of print, very rare, and super hard to find!!! Despite what the pictures show the background is a light blue fabric. Soooo, how would you like to take these little guys home with you?

Goldie
Robert - I think he's the "black sheep" of the family.

Andrew

All you have to do is:
1) Leave a comment
2) Follow my blog (however you choose)
3) Post about this giveaway on your blog
4) Sign up for my super "Penny Quilting Sale" (+5 entries)

Each entry is optional do one, all or none. It's up to you. Leave a comment for each entry. If you do entry #4 then leave 5 separate comments for that entry. Giveaway closes on Sunday September 2, 2012 at midnight.
 
More about the Penny Quilting Sale:
I will help you get those tops finished for 1 cent per square inch. That means that a baby quilt that measures 42"x54" can be finished for $22.68. An 80"x90" queen size quilt can be finished for $72.
For this sale there is a $20 minimum charge. You can sign up for it on my Machine Quilting Blog

Have a great day.
~Norma
Don’t forget to check out the Quilty Giveaways page right here on this blog for other fun quilt related giveaways going on right now (like a long arm system form APQS)

Don’t forget to check out Quilting Gallery for all the other giveaway participants:

Swirl Frame

This isn’t the best picture, or the best quilting, but it gives you an idea of what I’m doing on the Neptune quilt. I mentioned before that I hadn’t done any quilting in over a month, and it shows! I can tell where I hesitated or didn’t quite get back on my quilting line. I’m using a beautiful aqua blue thread for the whole quilt (Essential Pro Ocean Mist by Connecting Threads $5.99 for 3,000+ yards.) Yes! Even on the white. I’m living a little on the wild side, or stupid side… depends on how you look at it. At first I was really doubtful of my choice but once I got going I just love it.The blue matches very well with the aquas in this fabric collection. You can’t tell very well from this picture, but there is a swirl on the center print.
*sigh* once I got to the second row of the quilt I realized that my tension on the first row was way off! It looked fine on the top but the quilt back does not. I’ll post a picture later and explain why I have to “frog it.” In other words I have to rip it, rip it ...out. Get it? it sounds like a frog :)
~Norma
P.S. I would love to answer any questions for you. I’m not by any means an expert but I’ll give you my best answer and why I do what I do (usually it’s because I don’t know any better!) Someone asked me about my machine set up so I’ll be doing a post on that shortly.

Super

I couldn’t resist these super cute Little People heroes I found on clearance. Yes, my baby is a boy. He doesn’t mind though, he still happily drools and chews on them. Now I’m on the look out for the other little heroes (Batman, Joker, Superman and The Green Lantern) to complete the collection.

in other SUPER news, the kids start school tomorrow!!! HALLELUJAH!!

Have a super day!
~ Norma

Ruler Work

I’ve started the quilting on my Neptune quilt. So far I have spent more time ripping out stitches than I have quilting. It literally takes a minute to put in lots of tiny stitches and hours to pluck them out. (Even when you have a fancy seam ripper.) I just wasn’t liking the design I started with. The design itself is lovely but seemed like a waste of time since it was hardly noticeable on the busy fabrics. It has also been over a month since I quilted last and I could not get loosened up. I was quilting too small for the space so the stitches had to come out (several times.) Finally I gave up and decided that since this is a quilt for me it doesn’t have to be perfect.

I could tell by the end of the first row that I was more relaxed and my movements were more fluid. I don’t have a whole lot of quilting time. The baby has been a little sick and the kids are still home. They were supposed to start school on the 6th but there are budget issues and school has been delayed “indefinitely.” The best case scenario is that they might start school on Thursday. Maybe then I can steal more than 15 minutes of quilting time. Until then, I’ll take what I can get.

~ Norma

PS. The ruler I am using is the 6” Fine Line Ruler I’ll post a review on it later

Ready to Go

I finished this quilt top a few years ago. Almost 3 years ago to be exact (procrastination much?) I even had it spray basted for quilting via the push, pull and then pull out your hair method.

I had a pretty good idea of what I want to quilt and thought I could achieve better results on the table than on the frame. At least I thought that 3 years ago. The machine I have on the frame doesn’t give me a whole lot of quilting space. I’m still dreaming of a “long arm” machine. I’m thinking 18” would be perfect for my short arms especially since I plan on doing all free motion work and have no desire for a computerized system. However I refuse to go into debt (even if it is a business purchase) for any item. Especially for one that I can’t drive to the store for groceries yet costs as much as nicer used car than the one I currently drive!

I’m setting out to prove to myself that I can achieve those same results on this little machine. I already know I can do it with the machine on a table, I just don’t enjoy it as much. In the process I’ll be saving my pennies for a dreamy long arm. I haven’t decided which one I want. Each brand has it’s own set of bells and whistles and price point. I’m almost certain that I will go with a used machine as this will save several hundreds to thousands of dollars. I’ll be going to as many quilt shows as I can drag bribe my family into going to. I’ll share my insights on the different machines with you. I’ll also share with you tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way for using your short arm machine on a frame.

~ Norma

By the way, I hope you are still visiting the “Quilty Giveaways” page for fun quilt related giveaways. (There’s always a link at the top of the page.) There is a fantastic giveaway for an APQS Lenni long arm machine!! I don’t mind if you just skip it so my odds of winning are better!

Tools of the Trade: Havel’s Seam Ripper Review

I recently purchased a new seam ripper that blows my old seam ripper out of the water. In all fairness most any deluxe seam ripper would be better than the standard mini seam ripper that comes with all sewing machines.

A couple of weeks ago I was reading Angela Walter’s blog and she posted about this fantastic seam ripper. Knowing how much quilting experience she has, I decided to buy one of these seam rippers myself. I did some research and found the best price on Amazon. I paid $12.28 with free Prime shipping. The price has since changed and doesn’t have the free shipping but it’s currently $13.02 with shipping. This is still a better price than I found anywhere else. This is the price for the Ultra Pro II which includes 1 handle, 4 seam ripper blades and 2 button hole blades.

Angela was right, this seam ripper is fantastic! It slices through seams with minimal effort. Like buttah! Yes it's super sharp (basically it's a scalpel) so if you're not careful you could poke a hole in your fabric. It works great for ripping out those tiny stitches. You only need to apply the slightest tension to the seam with one hand and then just barely touch the seam thread with the blade and those stitches pop right out.

Have a great day!
~ Norma

Heebie Jeebies

Need I say more?

Not impressed? How about if I tell you that I’ve lost track of how many I have killed since moving into this house a month ago. There have been several babies, several in be-tweens and 2 or 3 of these larger ones. I’m getting so paranoid that I’m having spider dreams!  OK more like nightmares. I hate having the baby play on the floor it makes me even more paranoid!!!  Plus they LOVE hiding in shoes! That’s it, I’m only wearing flip flops until I’m satisfied that they are gone from the house.

I’ve been cleaning, vacuuming, and spreading Diatomaceous Earth around (it’s an all natural insect killer) all day long. Later I’m going to buy a bunch of glue traps.  In case you think I’m being overly cautious, that’s a Brown Recluse or “Fiddle-back” spider which are very poisonous especially to little children. If you go doing a Google search be warned of very disturbing images of what this spider’s little bite can do to human flesh. Yeah, I’m creeped out! (yes, I know that’s not a word)

 

Have a spider free week!

~ Norma

One

I haven’t done much quilting in the last few days. I’ve been stuck running errands for “Back to School.”  Lucky me, I got to spend lots of time at the health department trying to get all the immunizations transferred over from Alabama state records to TN state records. (Long, boring, story.) I can’t believe school starts on Monday in the Nashville TN area. My poor kids got their vacation cut by a couple of weeks because of our move. It’s a good thing they are still young enough to 1) like school and 2) don’t really care about the calendar!

Besides school stuff I spent yesterday baking a cake for my cute little mop head who turned 1 yesterday. I can’t believe how the time has flown! So much has changed in our lives in the last year and it’s been one super busy year for me. I’m glad I’ve got this little guy to keep me company while the other 2 are at school ALL DAY! I can hardly contain my excitement :D  (Don’t’ get me wrong, I’m sure I’ll miss them… in a bout a month.)

Now if you’ll excuse me there’s Black Forest cake calling my name.

~ Norma

Plugging Away

I’m making progress on my Tulip Patch quilt blocks. I only need 2 more blocks then I can work on the setting triangles and sewing the top together. I love having the design wall right in front of me as I work. I am able to see what changes I need to make and every now and then I get a “light bulb” moment and think of an easier way to do things. Here’s a peek at my work area:

The only thing missing is the giant tub of honey wheat pretzels and my bottle of water, gotta keep yourself fueled!

~ Norma