Whoa Friday the 13th today

[Monique]

Good morning friends from the comfort of my home. I kind of wish I were still at retreat. We had such a wonderful time. Unfortunately, sewing got the best of me. Everything I tried to do was just not going right. The NCW just wasn't working for me. I used my pirate voice a few times. One of the ladies at retreat had actually made one so she gave me some tips, even offered to make it for me. I declined and am determined to make it even if it takes me forever. I just can't see making many of these like all of you do. I stayed until the end yesterday, tried to cut out for a table runner, but no, the fabric isn't working for it. I GIVE UP!! It was very frustrating to say the least. Despite all that I won at strip poker, beautiful batiks. The friends I have made at these retreats are just amazing. And this one was no exception, new friendships got formed. I look forward to going back.

Today I will go pick up my parcel that has been at the Purolater Depot since Dec 22. A friend sent me a parcel for Christmas and I only learned of it last week. It got tracked and thankfully she still has it. I never received a notification either.

On a sad note, the sewing machine is not repairable. He has offered me another one but I have declined. The broken one had fancy stitches too. Sad is me.

It is a blustery and colder day today. It will be a good day to clean the sewing room and get unpacked.

Have a great day friends.

[MRoy]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Good morning! It's a gloomy, rainy day here....but rain beats snow any day! No exciting sewing going on here. I have a donation quilt ready to add the borders and the blocks for another quilt (for me) ready to arrange and sew together into a top.

The legend of Friday the 13th seems to have hit hard overnight. Prayers requested for a friend whose mother passed away and for a neighbor who was rushed to the hospital and needs open heart surgery.

[peggiep]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Morning Monique and everyone who follows

Glad you met some new friends at the retreat but really sorry to hear you are having trouble with the NCW and that your machine is not able to be fixed. I will be cutting my NCW out this morning...procrastinated a bit on starting it and instead worked on (and almost completed) Brenda Miller's "Around the Block" bag. If I can get my camera working, I will take a pic and post it.
I had some issues with my sewing machine too. I was getting serious bird's nests on the bobbin! Was it the tension? ...no; was it the thread? ...no; was it the needle? ...no. I tried everything! Finally, I decided to take the throat plate off and give it a clean. No wonder I had bird's nests...the feed dogs were jammed with lint! Whew! Finally cleaned it all up and my "little brother" is sewing like a dream! Today, I will finish the binding on the Around The Block bag and start the NCW.

Kitchen renovation is progressing but living without a stove and sink is a little difficult.

Prayers and hugs going out to all! Stay warm and safe on this Friday the 13th and enjoy the weekend!

[Sandy Navas]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Prayers going for you and your friends, Myrna!

Stay safe, stay warm, stay happy and keep your dogs clean (right, Peggie?)

[Bubby]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Good Morning,

Monique, sorry your sewing at the retreat pooped out...maybe you were supposed to rest and renew yourself. A made-up word we use in our family is renuvenate, which means to renew and rejuvenate. You were renuvenated at the retreat! There's a lot to be said for renuvenation.

April, Jeff wants me to tell you that you did a fabulous job on my NCW. He looked at every single part of it and gave it a Thumbs Up.

Our ice storm started at 4:45 am with two huge claps of thunder followed by torrential rain. Jeff was going to stay home today but he got called out to drive the big snow plow. I worry that he may not be able to get home later. The Governor elect has declared Missouri a State of Emergency and he has mobilized the National Guard. This is a bad weather front for sure and we haven't had one this bad since 2007.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and safe Friday. Hugs All Around.........

[peggiep]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Prayers going for you and your friends, Myrna!

Stay safe, stay warm, stay happy and keep your dogs clean (right, Peggie?)

You betcha, Sandy!

[Lyndaj]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Not a believer in the Friday the 13 nonsense, but this has been a crappy week for me.

First, I haven't been cleared to run after 5 months off. Very sad about that. Two, I ordered fabric from M* on December 26 that never arrived and despite MANY calls and emails, they couldn't locate. I called again yesterday and told them to cancel. They just couldn't seem to find it. Very disappointed and pretty pi**ed off about that as I needed it for a quilt that I want to make for my friend's bday on February 28. Fabric is older and I can't find it anywhere else, so that's off the list. I just got REALLY poor service from M* this time.

Also, am taking a class on Saturdays called Secrets of a Patchwork Pro where they promised to teach all kinds of neat tricks. So far, it has been a math lesson and math is not my forte. Tried to work on the blocks this week, but keep getting stuck at the math. This is a quilt that has downloadable templates, but we're to figure out what size the pieces are. I also have no way of using the cd to download the templates. Honestly, if I had of known this was going to be a math class, I wouldn't have signed up.

Rant over. Have a good weekend everyone.

[shirleyknot]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

And I sit here with a black cat on my feet.

[pcbatiks]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Not a believer in the Friday the 13 nonsense, but this has been a crappy week for me.

First, I haven't been cleared to run after 5 months off. Very sad about that. Two, I ordered fabric from M* on December 26 that never arrived and despite MANY calls and emails, they couldn't locate. I called again yesterday and told them to cancel. They just couldn't seem to find it. Very disappointed and pretty pi**ed off about that as I needed it for a quilt that I want to make for my friend's bday on February 28. Fabric is older and I can't find it anywhere else, so that's off the list. I just got REALLY poor service from M* this time.

Also, am taking a class on Saturdays called Secrets of a Patchwork Pro where they promised to teach all kinds of neat tricks. So far, it has been a math lesson and math is not my forte. Tried to work on the blocks this week, but keep getting stuck at the math. This is a quilt that has downloadable templates, but we're to figure out what size the pieces are. I also have no way of using the cd to download the templates. Honestly, if I had of known this was going to be a math class, I wouldn't have signed up.

Rant over. Have a good weekend everyone.

Good morning everyone. Lynda, you might check Etsy for the fabrics that you're hunting for. I found some from an Etsy seller when I couldn't find it any where else. Hope you find the fabric.

[shermur]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Freezing rain here....not going anywhere!

And with that stated....I resigned from my new job today. After 10 days of attempt to learn the new position with limited training, no structure and inept work flow....I decided yesterday that my mental capacity was more valuable!

So, on to looking for a better job, in a better company. UGH! Hopefully in the next few days, I can finally get my sewing room unpacked and I couldn't resist to order this new wall hanging pattern!

flower wallhanging (500x666).jpg

[JCY]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Cloudy here, too. We had a light dusting of snow last night, but most of it had melted by this a.m. Our Rocky Mts. have been getting hammered with very deep snow. A conf. center bldg. at Breckenridge (ski area) collapsed under the weight of apprx. 3 ft. of snow. Fortunately, no one was in the bldg. at the time. Avalanche danger is very high. We might get another 1-4" over the wk.-end.

I had frustrations with my quilting yest. afternoon. I couldn't get the stitching to look right. I have a section where I need to rip it out & start over. Of course it's in the border where it really shows. I set it aside & will give it another try today.

I was excited to learn that Karen McTavish & Angela Walters are coming as guests to the local quilt guild this year (not at the same time). I plan to join the guild so I can take advantage of the expertise of these 2 quilters. I have Karen's book & DVD and I have 2 of Angela's books. I've used their patterns. I've been wanting to make a whole cloth table runner using Karen's McTavishing quilting technique.

I mentioned previously that our tax preparers both are facing major health issues. He is going on hospice this mo. for terminal cancer. She is having aortic valve replacement open heart surgery on the 19th. They have done our taxes for 38 yrs. I found a lady at my church who is a CPA & has a home business doing taxes & accounting. She's accepted us as her client & is reasonably priced. Prayers answered there. Now it's time to start collecting all the data for filing. Always a big job.

[Sharyn J]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Good morning to all. It's still freezing here and we have sheets of ice on the roads, parking area and covering the cars. I live on a school route so the plows go down the street often so the street looks great, until you get out there and find out that all the other roads are ice.

The ants have arrived again! Don't know why but they got into the bathroom, utility room and even found some in my pantry! I wanted to sew but have been spending my time killing ants and tossing opened boxes in the pantry. This has happened in the past with the extreme cold weather. I just wonder, where were those ants all this time?

Sending prayers to all in need. Stay warm and safe.

[Star lover]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

We had the same problem a few years ago. There was a crack in our brick outside wall and they decided to make a new home in the fall and moved into our attic. Never knew until January and they showed up by the hundreds! They were carpenter ants and looking for water and food. I was trying to figure out where they were coming from and they were falling everywhere - into my hair even! When we discovered where they were coming in, we set out poison and they were gone within 2 weeks . . . Never to be seen again! So now we set out ant poison all over outside every spring-fall, hopefully it will continue to work. It was like a horror movie! Yuk.

[Anna Leigh]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

Hi Everyone!

What great stories y'all have this week. I do love this type of thread/postings. Its nice to read what others are up to each week. Better than the blogs that are out there. Anywho. This past week I am glad to see it behind me. It was the first full week back to work and I and my co-workers came to the realization that our jobs are grueling. Our muscles ached, and tiredness just set in. Mind you we had two weeks off from work. I realized when I got home last night that I forgot to turn the heater down in our department. Yikes! I am hoping that some one will come in there and turn it down. It s supposed to be 55 degrees in there at all times. I asked the cook to to raise it up to 65 degrees before he left because I was the only one in there and man it was cold. Even layered and bundled up it was still cold. Because when it is cold outside it gets colder on the inside. I guess y'all can imagine that the cold does not bother me as much, and you're right it doesn't.

As far as the weather here. Its been cold, dreary, dark and super rainy for the last couple of days. Today however, is sunny with clear skies. Cold, yes, but much more pleasant with no snow on the ground. The down side. Yes, there is a down side. Is that I woke up with a dry sinus headache that still has not gone away yet even with the humidifier on.

I was reading that someone had an ant infestation in their home. And some one else answered to spray around the house with a pesticide come spring and fall. Believe them they are correct on this one. My parent's house has the same problem. The house was built on a sandy soil, and ants seem to thrive in that kind of soil. When the ground is wet or over saturated they go anywhere just to seek shelter. When the soil is dry they leave. How do my parents deal with this? Well spraying pesticide does help, but my mom keeps her house clutter free and every food item in sealed containers. Nothing is ever left on the kitchen counters. Those little buggers can find their way into everything and anything.

Speaking of homes, I have casually started to look at houses again. I'm not really thrilled of what is out there but it is nice to look. I have some interest in one but the price need to come down about 10 to 15 grand before I would even consider it. The darn thing need some work done to it, which I am not afraid of. Nonetheless it is in my daughter's school district even though it is not listed as so. I'm wondering though since it is a foreclosure and bank owned if they would accept an offer that low.

I did put an order in online for some fabric to match a Frivol I bought and I thought it was odd that my order was not sent. This store is great about getting orders out quickly. Midweek they ended up calling me to see if it was okay to send me two different cuts of the same fabric. I was good with it, and now my order is on it's way. If I ever have an issue of not finding an older or out of stock fabric, I usually turn to Ebay, Etsy or Amazon. There are some online stores that buy up out dated or older fabric lines just for that saving grace moment. You just have to know what line you are looking for. Chances are it is still out there. Good luck hunting!
***Just got that said online order in the mail just now...yay!!!

Sewing and quilting wise is still not happening. I have no mojo to sit at my machine to sew. Sad I know. I have picked up my English Paper Piecing (EPP) with little enthusiasm. We've (my mom, and I) have come to the conclusion that this house stumps creative growth. It is small here and there really is no place to spread those creative wings. I know that is why I am look for a place of my own too. I need room to spread out my stuff. C'est vive.

In all school starts back next week for me and with good timing. It gets me out of the drama fest being caused by two band mom's who want other parents to gang up against the band director at next week's booster meeting. All because according to these two moms the director is taking over booster meetings. Petty drama. Glad that their kids are seniors this year.

Hope everyone has a good week to come and happy sewing!

Anna

[Patsquilting]

Re: Whoa Friday the 13th today

OH, it is a dreary day. No rain here, yet, but it is threatening. Rain is OK - don't want any more snow and glad too warm for the ice. Good luck to those in the areas of the ice. Prayers to those in need. Took a trip this morning to the Bush Beans General Store and Museum. Very interesting. Very innovative people when all first started. It's in Chestnut Hill, TN. OK, trying to get into the sewing mode myself. Finally started the hand quilting on my granddaughter's quilt. My fingers feel like pin cushions - have been trying to wear a thimble and just can't get used to it. Maybe I'll find one that works eventually.

Have a safe day all.