Just Us Quilters - New Blog List

Niki from Just Us Quilters and Butternut Street has started a new blog list. You can sign up and be one of the first, looks like fun.

Miscellaneous

My niece and her children are safely back in Iowa and had a very nice vacation, I hope. A couple of the kids told me they can't wait until next year when they can come back, so I think that they enjoyed themselves. The last day they had to get up at 2:30 AM to catch their 6:00 AM flight, so I'll bet it felt really good to get home.

Rebecca read my blog post and the remarks about her home and she sent me this email:

"Dear Candace. I just got back from my dad's and was finally able to look at this email. You have no idea how you and your friends have made me feel. I have tears in my eyes!! Thank you so much for giving me this gift of kind words. Love, Becky Rebecca (either one is fine)"

She made my day with her kind words.

I forwarded the kind and complimentary posts about my brother's ruler rack to him and he was also touched, but told me that if I sent anymore he would get a big head.

The picture above is of the last blocks out of the seventy required for the Crazy Mom Quilts sew along. Yeah! Now, it needs to go back in the box until I get the 6 quilts finished for my grandson and nieces and nephews.

PS I was glad to see when my niece was here that she had brought the little girl quilts with her and the kids were using them. It warmed my heart.

Egg on My Face

Here I am back already, with egg on my face, and my hat in my hand. I was feeling overwhelmed with the holidays coming and life in general, and thought that I could unstress life a little by being on the fringes of blogging. I guess I thought that I could keep one foot in and still enjoy blogs and commenting, but not have mine to keep up with. It hasn't worked. I missed everyone and being part of the excitement of sharing and taking part.
Twice this week I got interesting packages, one from Hancock's of Paducah, and one from Thousands of Bolts, and I didn't even take pictures, as I had no one to share it with.
There is a saying in Florida that people get sand in their shoes and have to come back, and I guess that blogging is kind of that way, too. After taking part, it is hard to stop. You miss everyone too much.

Closing Blog

As much as I've enjoyed blogging, due to life changes I won't have as much time for it, and I've decided the best thing to do for now is to close my blog. I didn't just want to disappear, so I will be closing it in a week or so. I will miss everyone, but will check out blogs when I get the chance. I have met some lovely people, and I wish you all the best.

Picture Posting Help

Just a head's up to others who like me have a hard time making blogger put their photos where they want them, instead of where blogger wants them, Tracy of Fiber Babble noticed my distress and offered to help:

"Coming up: A 3-part explanation of how to insert pictures into your Blogger posts without uploading them to Blogger. (This is for Candace, but anybody who wants to can use it!)"

So, if you are one of the others who I have heard lamenting the same problem, watch Tracy's blog, as help is on the way. Thank you very much Tracy for taking the time to help us with this.

Orange Crush Borders and Flowers

Finally, I finished the thinking stage and got on with the doing stage. I have the borders done on my OC, and am ready to make the binding, sew the back, and piece batting if necessary, and send it off to the longarmer. It is quite large, about 103 inches by 88 inches, so should fit a queen sized bed quite well. I'm now almost ready to get started on the StashMystery quilt.

The flowers my DH (he said DH stands for deadhead) brought home yesterday from the grocery store. I love fresh flowers they really brighten up the house, and I like the colors of these. Sometimes DH stands for darn husband, but now it is standing for dear husband.

A day or two ago DH came in and told me he had read my blog. He was very complimentary, which was very nice to hear. I have shared my blog with my kids and my husband now, and my kids seemed kind of semi-shocked with the blog and the fact that I have a Blackberry, I think they think I'm rather old for such things, but not in a bad way. I know I'm no spring chicken (chook), but I don't think that I am ready to give up gadgets and technology yet. I have always liked gadgets of all kinds, cooking, technology, etc., and I hope that my brain will allow me to enjoy them still for many years to come. I've been semi-coveting an Ipod, but haven't figured out any reason why I would need one. Of course, a few years ago I felt the same about computers, and now I'm an addict, I am thinking maybe I need an intervention. Have a nice day, and enjoy your technology.

Apology and Explanation

Yesterday, I changed the template on my blog, and I lost the Mystery Quilter and Stashbuster Ring links. I apologize for breaking the circles, and I have emailed the leaders to see how to get it back onto my blog. I'm working on it.

Note: With help from Suzette the Stashbuster web ring link is back on here. From what she told me, I was also able to add back the Mystery Quilters web ring link, so I am no longer the 'weakest link'.

Orange Crush Step 4 - Etc.

Step 4 of my Orange Crush is finally finished, and I am so excited to finally be sort of caught up, and to be cutting into my orange and blue fabric. The blocks are kind of subdued, but I don't think that the quilt will be when the other two fabrics are added. I think it will be saying, "look at me".

Also, I just wanted to confess that the missing parts to my featherweight were in the box, but at the bottom of about 2 feet of styrofoam peanuts in a baggie. I think that they were probably taped to the outside of the case and came loose. I haven't tried it with thread yet to see if it works and sews. I see from the featherweight group that I just joined that some sellers don't differentiate between the two in their ads. I guess to them works means that the motor turns on and it goes up and down, but it may not actually sew. I guess that I will find out which mine is. It does work, and I hope it sews.

Also, if you have visited my blog, you may have noticed that with the help of

Helz from Blue Shadow Pony (I love her blog and it's name) I went to:

http://www.pyzam.com/bloggertemplates and got a new template for my blog. I like the looks better, but now I need to scour around and try to find my little buttons or widgets, or whatever you call them, for the sides. It may be a day or two though, as I hope to at least do some cutting today on my OC.

Share the Love

Amy on Memoirs of a Mommy has shared the button for her personal challenge of not just reading the same blogs and going on, but leaving comments and also visiting new blogs and leaving comments. She is aiming for 10 a day, but has left it for others to set their own goals even if it is just 1 a day. Being a fairly new blogger, of only 1 month, I thought that I would join in, too.

Google Reader

I had good intentions (isn't there a rather unpleasant road that is paved with those?) of getting busy on my Step 2's for the OC today, but I started off doing a little surfing, and was reading back on MaryQuilts blog and she mentioned that she was surprised more bloggers didn't use something like Google Reader.
Quote:
"The biggest advantage in my opinion is that I don't spend time visiting blogs that haven't updated since my last visit....a disadvantage is that there's a delay between a new post and the update on the reader service."
Anyway, I set up an account, and spent about 5 or 6 hours going through blogs I visit, reading through them and looking at pictures and adding them to Google Reader. I will still use the Mystery Quilter and Stashbuster rings, but will also be a regular visitor of Google reader, as I sometimes get a little frustrated with the rings. Sometimes, I think that people may have joined but taken off the link, so I look and look (either that or I am just missing it) and then have to backtrack.
Anyway, I think that this will save a lot of time, and be a better way to keep up with blogs that I have become interested in.

I've Been Tagged

I've been tagged by Wendy to give you 7 Random or Weird things about me.

Here are the rules:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3 Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Here are Seven Random or Weird Facts About Me:

1. I only have 2 children, but they both believed in large families, so I have 14 grandchildren. My daughter has 6 children, 5 boys and a girl, and my son has 5 by his first marriage, 3 girls and 2 boys, and 3 in his second marriage, a step-daughter, a stepson, and a baby girl who is 2 now.

2. I spend way too much time on my computers, I have a desktop and a laptop. I read and read about quilting, and don't get nearly as much done as I should because of it.

3. I'm scared of dogs. My mother was terrified of them, and passed it down to me. I didn't want my children to have the same fear, so I tried to hide it, and so they have a respect of them, but not a fear. There are so many animal lovers who quilt that I'm sure that seems awful to them, but I can't help it. I like them, I'm just afraid of them. I even like to watch the Westminster dog show on TV.

4. If I am down in the dumps and see a baby, it cheers me up and makes me happy. Even the pictures of grandchildren and nieces and nephews on my screensaver can do the trick. Their cute little innocent faces make it hard to stay grumpy or sad.

5. I buy too much on HSN and QVC. I am not out of control, but I have to watch myself.

6. My mother lived with me for 20 months and wrote about 30 poems, which I feel are kind of a legacy, and gave her a way to get things out of her system, but I have never written a poem. I don't know if I have one in me.

7. I used to have quite a few family (extended family, too) parties, and enjoyed it, and hope to start again. Unfortunately though, I have a pattern.First I want to have it, then when I am in the thick of it, I think why did I do this, then I enjoy it again. I don't like to hurt people's feelings, but somehow I always seem to say something that I am afraid may have. So the last 2 steps are usually laying awake worrying about it, and then calling them on the phone to apologize and explain.

I am now about to become the "dreaded" blogger, as I have to find 7 people to tag. I can see that I will be lying awake worrying if I've made anyone mad at me.
Also, I'm feeling proud of myself. I just did my first link.

I am tagging the following people:

Renee who just got a great new Bernina with BSR.
Angela who is a runner just like Wendy who tagged me.
Donna who is a new blogger like me.
Suze who is the same age as I am.
Linda C. who is also the same age as I am, but is much more experienced at quilting and needle work.
BitnByAQuiltingBug Regina, who has beautiful quilts and delicious looking bean soup and home made bread.
Roslyn who has cut and organized her fabrics. They look beautiful, and I hope to do the same.

Learning Curve

I guess I'm not doing as well as I thought at this new blogging learning curve. The last post was supposed to have a picture of my Bargello Bowl, so I'll try again.

New to Blogging

I have been resisting blogging. I have enjoyed all the blogs that I have visited and am not sure that I am up to snuff, but have decided to give it a try. I am neither a prolific writer or quilter (crafter), but I enjoy the process and I guess that there is no time limit to come up with something wise or helpful to others (or just to rattle on).
I retired from a large companies business office back in March of 2006, and in September of 2006 my mother, who had been ill for about a year or so with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) agreed to come and live with us. She lived in Iowa, which she loved, and we live in Florida, which she doesn't love so much, and it was hard for her, but became necessary as it was harder and harder for her to live by herself. She has grown progressively weaker, and now my brother, who retired this year, is staying here indeffinitely to help. My mother loves having him here, and my life has become easier, as my husband was willing to help, but her modesty prevented it. Now, I will have more time to quilt and to blog.
I have been married to DH since June of 1964, which is probably before much of the population was born. We have only 2 children, but they both believe in big families and so my daughter has 6 children and my son has 5 from his first marriage, and 2 stepchildren and a now 2 year old from his second marriage. My blog won't be a specialized just for quilting blog, but will be about quilting and family and a little bit of whatever comes to mind.
If I get the nerve to actually tell anyone that I have a blog, thank you for coming to visit and putting up with my learning curve.
This could be fun.