Life is good when you have friends

A couple of days ago, I went to the post office and it was Christmas in July. I received a very special package of Civil War fabric from my wonderful friend in Canada....Pat. I have never been into Civil War reproductions, but I am in love with them now. Pat sent so many beautiful fabrics, it is going to be hard for me to figure out which ones I want to use for the signature blocks and which ones to save for some special project later on(adding to stash) no stash busting happening at my house yet. So thank you so much Pat for the wonderful package.

Next package brought some really cool fabric from Debbie in Tennessee, right this second I don't remember the name of the team it is from, but I love it and I thank you very much Debbie...it was a wonderful surprise.

Next came a very heavy box from my friend Sandi (A Legacy of Stitches blog). She sent a box FULL of thread for use with my embroidery machine. I can't believe my luck in getting this box. It has many specialty threads that I have not been able to afford to try and metallic thread, rayon thread and the most wonderful colors I have seen. I can't wait to get started using it...hopefully this weekend. That will depend on the heat. If it above 80, I am toast.

So thank you my friends for the experience of Christmas in July!

Speaking of the heat. It is supposed to be 107 here in Portland today. I don't even want to think about leaving my office today. When I left yesterday...it was like walking into a furnace when I opened the door. This is very unusual weather for Oregon. We normally get in the 90's this time of year, but never the 100's. Oy VEY!!!!

Have a great day everyone.....from Anett....where it is already 80 degrees at 6:15am!

Practice Signature Blocks and long arm quilting

These are not perfect, but they are getting there. I love the fabric. I bought it at a quilt show this weekend. I bought a couple of different civil war fat quarters to practice with. I have a very dear friend who is sending me some civil war fabric and it should be here any day. She is a sweet heart for doing this, but I won't tell her that, as she will deny the whole thing. I also ordered a marking pencil to use on these that should be here tomorrow. I am looking forward to making some more of these blocks, but it will probably have to wait until next weekend, as we are in for some really hot weather and I do not do well in the heat. Next Saturday, I am going to have the opportunity to learn how to use a long arm quilter. Dennis, the gentleman that is going to teach me is probably one of the finest quilters I know. Right up there with my friend Karen in Florida. Well, he has a long arm in his shop and he is going to teach me to use it next Saturday. I am so excited, I can hardly wait. I have FINALLY worn him down and he is going to work with me. I have been after him for several years to teach me and I guess I caught him at a weak moment and I am so going to hold him to it. I am scared, excited and pee in your pants happy to have this opportunity!

Wish me luck,

Anett

Fabulous Giveaway

This is a very cute quilt and I would love to win it.

http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com/


Anett

Accountability

This has nothing to do with crafting this morning....it has to do with some personal observations about people and the fact that I hold myself accountable for everything I do, as I was taught to by my grandmother.

When I first discovered Yahoo groups, I immediately joined a ton of them. Over the past couple of years, I have left the majority of them. The few that I still belong to are in the original group I joined and I dearly love everyone of them. This past year, after moderating one of them for a number of years, I was made co-owner of the group. This group has become a very special part of my life and the friends I have gained from it are priceless. On this group, we have always tried to maintain a level of integrity and accountability that you don't see on a lot of groups. We frequently host swaps, which we absolutely hold everyone accountable for completing. We had a member who consistently failed to complete her swaps on time, always had excuses for her actions and after a lot of consideration and thought it was time to remove the member from the group. The e-mails received by this person have been unbelievable....we have been accused of not being christian enough to understand her situation....although we gave her every chance to do what was right and she failed every time. Simple directions were beyond her comprehension and now we are the bad guys for removing her from the group. In addition to removing this member, we had another member quit the group because we were treating her "special friend" poorly. When in fact, in the end it was the member themselves that caused her to be removed from the group....we just tried to maintain a certain standard for the group. We have obviously been successful with the group, as it has grown by leaps and bounds.

I am not sure about how others were raised, but I was raised to be accountable for everything I did....good or bad. I was taught that if you make a commitment to something or someone you follow through with that commitment no matter what. So, I guess it amazes me that others don't have the integrity to do that also. I know circumstances make life difficult at times, but at the end of the day...you still have to do what's right.

I hope when I pass from this life, that what my friends remember about me the most is that I always kept my commitments and that I tried to be a good friend.

Thanks for letting me ramble and we will be back to crafting over the weekend.....those signature blocks are not going to make themselves....dang it anyway.


Anett

Can you say ""TOTALLY FREAKED OUT"

I have always worked on simple quilts...absolutely NO fancy piecing. I have a very dear friend who has been after me for some time to try some piecing. Are you out there Pat!!! So as you know, I went out on a limb and signed up for the signature block swap. I made one block tonight and also tried some half square triangles. I must be having a good night, a couple of Caramel Apple martoonies (martini's) after a really really long day really helped....both blocks came out great. The only problem is there are 70 ladies signed up for the swap. Holy cow dung...I am totally freaked out. Oh well...in for a penny...in for a pound. these are not the fabrics I am using for the signature blocks, they have to be civil war type fabrics. guess what I will be doing this weekend in 100 degree heat....starting on these blocks.

Pray for me everyone...I am going to need it.

Anett

Still on a mission

I am still on my mission to make a pot holder each week until September. This is this week's offering. I made this for my boss, Kathy, she is a flamingo nut. I am getting better at the loop, each new pot holders brings a new technique to doing the loop at the end. I am having so much fun and getting better and better at my binding. This will help with future quilts.


Have a great week.

Anett

Out on a limb

I have gone out on a limb and decided to join a signature block swap. I have never done this and I have always wanted to, so here goes. I found this on this blog
http://cornbreadandbeansquilting.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/sig-block-swap

and I have to say I am very excited about it. I am going tonight to get a Civil war fabric, which I totally don't own and will start my blocks this weekend. There are already 24 ladies, including myself signed up, so I better get busy fast. This is going to definitely test my piecing skills (which should be exciting in itself), so I am off on another adventure. I love the setting of this quilt and will be looking to do mine like this also, if I get enough blocks.

I will say, I am going to look to my friend Karen for some fabric advice, as I know nothing about civil war fabric and I know she does.

Pray for me....I am going to need it! LOL

Happy sewing,

Anett

Totally want to win this one

http://www.quiltqua.com/


Love the fabric.


Anett

Christmas in July Give-Away

Great blog and great giveaway.

http://barbscreations.blogspot.com/2009/07/christmas-in-july-giveaway.html

For the Cat Lovers

Great cat giveaway.

http://sewfunquilts-sewmeow.blogspot.com/

It's a simple thing....

This is a very simple tote that I made on Friday. I had a lot of fun making it and I loved the fabrics. I made this for Beth (my young friend that had cancer) for her birthday. This is the first tote I ever attempted. Since I didn't use a pattern, I have to admit there was a lot of swearing and fun going on with this tote. I used fusible fleece in between the layers, to give it some body and I really like how it came out. I want to do a couple for myself, only a little bigger to use as grocery bag when I go to the store. I try to lower my carbon foot print by using cloth rather than plastic bags from the store.

Have a happy sewing week.

Anett