12/3/14

Utility Sewing

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Yesterday and this morning, I decided to knock off some of the more boring sewing for the month. It's actually not that bad. It's less boring if I'm kind of in the mood for it. After spending nearly all day quilting yesterday, I was ready for some mindless activity.

The hanging sleeve is attached to the Blooming Sunflower quilt now.


And the label is finished too. Whenever I do blanket stitch by hand, my brain generally goes AWOL at some point during the process. I was going along fine until I turned a corner and then suddenly, I couldn't figure out where to put my needle next. Thank goodness for those little "initial beads" the guild provided for our "Initially Yours" challenge. I sewed mine where my stitching got funky. They covered a multitude of sins.


It seemed like that took forever, but with this quilt going into a show, I wanted that label firmly attached. And now this quilt is all ready for the Stitches in Bloom quilt show next month.

When I talked about this show a few days ago, I neglected to mention that I'd signed up for another two-day workshop. Last year I stayed at the Oregon Garden Resort for a three-day workshop, and it was very enjoyable. I kind of like these overnighters where room and food are included. There were three workshops to choose from, and neither of the quilting workshops appealed to me particularly. Then, they added a wool felting workshop (two actually, and I'm attending both days)



by Heidi Leugers. The first day she'll be teaching "2-D Embellishment and Basic Three-dimensional Needle Felting". On the second day she'll be teaching "Sculpting and Needle Felting Three-Dimensional Figures". Here's a link to the workshop description. Here's a link to her gallery where you can see some of the cute stuff she's made. I've never done anything like this, and so it'll be fun to learn something new.

Also this morning, I made the label for the Peppermint Star table runner.


As I said in an earlier post, I'm labeling all of my projects from now until next summer because I'm participating in a guild UFO challenge. A quilt isn't considered "finished" until it has a label. For now, I'm just fusing the ones that aren't leaving my home for any reason. I may decide to stitch around them eventually, but for now I'll leave them as is. 

A few of you asked about Miss Gracie. She's been spending these cold days snuggled up on the bed. She doesn't often make the blog because she's an old lady and spends most of her time sleeping. She probably has a birthday right about now. She was about six months old when we got her in July of 2002, and so I figure she was born sometime in November or December of 2001. That would make her about 13 years old. Here's a picture of her with her brother George in their younger years right after we brought them home. These two were thick as thieves when we got them. 


Obviously, sleeping is one of her favorite pastimes. She's none to happy with me when I start flashing the camera in her face, but I know the Friends of Gracie have been missing her.


She was happy to oblige her many fans this morning, but more often than not, she's just as happy to stay in the background. 


Besides, she has to keep an eye on that Smitty...even when she's sleeping. He'll lie in wait for her, and that makes her soooooooooooooo mad!!

As for that bad cat, Smitty, just look at that angelic face.


"Moi? Lie in wait? Would I do that?"

Today is going to be a kitchen day. I'm making white chocolate peppermint fudge from a recipe I saw online. Yum...although I haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping for the yum. Also, I'm making turkey stock, and for dinner I'm using up my leftover mashed potatoes to make Cottage Pies...one of Mike's favorites. If there's time left over after all of that, I'll probably go back to my quilting.

At some point before the end of the week, I have to go to my bank branch and get a new debit card. There was fraudulent use of my debit card yesterday in Chicago...three times before we noticed it. Bummer. It's the second time this year my debit card has been compromised. The first time I'd used it at a quilt show and the vendors were using wireless devices to capture the information. That cured me of wireless transactions at those kinds of events. Now, it's cash and carry for me. This time...who knows? I generally only use the card for buying groceries, and I'm not aware of any hacking events at my local supermarket. Maybe they just haven't figured it out yet. Anyway...it means a drive into town, and that makes me grouchy. In fact, the whole thing makes me grouchy.

White chocolate peppermint fudge ought to improve my mood. Wouldn't it improve yours?

14 comments:

beaquilter said...

Oh that's a bummer about your CC, what kind of CC is it- what company? we have very good protection our card, I think maybe a year ago, someone used my card in NV and the CC company caught it and blocked my card and sent a new one, it was blocked the same day if not within hours of when it happened. and I do almost all online shopping different places... I do love paypal btw

Junebug613 said...

I have one finished quilt that I need to label. It's been hanging on the wall in my bedroom for over a year and I agree with the "it isn't really finished until it has a label" thought process. I'm just weird like that. LOL It's nice to see Gracie! Sorry to hear about your card issues. Those thieves are getting worse and worse! I just got internet (and cable) back after not having it for a month. Talk about grouchy! I have a lot of catching up to do on your posts!

Cath said...

Oh, I see you did pink you label! Hope you get the CC sorted. Such naughty people out there.

crazy quilter said...

So glad to see Ms Gracie! And that angel Smitty, I feel that looks are deceiving in his case! Lol sorry about the problem with your card, I agree those thieves are getting worse And worse! They just want something for free and don't give a thought to thw people they hurt. I hope they are caught and go to Jail for life! Guess you can tell it has happened to me too! But the bank took care of it and I had to go get a new card too, makes me grumpy as well! Love your labels!

quiltzyx said...

What a fun label for the peppermint quilt! I want to make the peppermint fudge that Pioneer Woman does. Just chocolate chips & sweetened condensed milk with crushed peppermint candies on top. I need to go to the store too.

Oh sweet Gracie & George! Gracie is very beautiful - give her a treat for me!

Bah humbug on the debit card thieves!

Kate said...

Oh the debit card thing is not fun. I've quit using mine due to all the fraud.

Hope your kitchen day was calming and successful.

Janarama said...

Was great to see Gracie make an appearance today. She's so beautiful. Someone used my credit card three years in a row during October. Each year the bank cancelled my card and sent me a new one. I was holding my breath this year, but I made it through October and nobody fraudulently used my card this year. Unfortunately, credit card fraud will only get worse because it is almost next to impossible to catch them.

Barb H said...

Fudge is definitely needed in this situation! I went through this last year when Target's security was breached. Not fun but a reality of today's life. Give Gracie a cuddle for me--she's so cute!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I've not used my card from early Oct on to the end of the year - seems the time they hit them. I loved seeing Miss Gracie again - Happy Birthday dear Lady. Smitty, respect your elders.

Dana Gaffney said...

I can't tell you how much I love the picture of Gracie and George together. Were they from the same litter?

Lynette said...

Awww - they're so sweet lying there together. :) Man, quilts sit around forever waiting for me to sew on the hanging sleeve and label. I should be better at getting to those in a timely fashion, but there's always way too much work that's far more interesting hollering for attention.

LethargicLass said...

oh that picture of George and Gracie is a cute one!

kc said...

Meow, what sweetness...how you can get anything else done, when they are just begging to be petted & loved is simply beyond me.

Peppermint fudge sounds like exactly what's needed - hope to see the recipe soon! (that would indicate it was, indeed, a YUM!)

Bummer on the cc...we tried to purchase a flat screen TV for our camper one Black Friday, in Alabama, and we were declined. We used our (spare) cash to make the purchase, and before we'd even gotten the TV all the way to the truck, USAA was on the phone telling us our card had been "stolen" and attempted to be used in AL. We did get a good laugh out of that...once we got over being embarrassed because our cc was declined at the cashier's. They apologized, then brought tears to BOTH our eyes for the appreciation expressed for hubby's military service. Emotions rode the roller coaster that day!

Brown Family said...

I love your labels! Gracie is so pretty! We think Smitty is a great cat, too!