Wednesday Sewing

I didn't have a cool fabric or sewing picture to show, so here's a random Prince photo, snoozing as he loves to do. Oh Prince, your chin is so gray! This is one sweet dog....

I've been sewing nonstop today, as usual. No house showings today though we had two Monday and another two on Tuesday. The dogs and I hung out at my mother's apartment during those times. I sewed while the dog's sat in Mom's lap. Mom loved every minute of it! Yesterday I picked up her new favorite for her dinner: Firehouse Subs New York Steamer. She had one when we took her to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl on New Year's Eve and she hasn't stopped talking about it. Note to my brother: get her one every so often when she moves to Augusta.

The weather here is glorious! I've gotten out my shorts and t-shirts and sandals. Nice and comfy.

The Colors of the Day

Here are the fabrics I'm working with today - all Kona Cotton Solids. Love me some Kona solids! In fact, two of the quilts in the new book will be made with Kona solids. I took this picture early this morning (too early!), but I didn't have a chance to post until now.

This morning we lowered the price of our house. We had not had a showing in a couple of weeks. I know part of the slow-down was due to Spring Break. But we are ready to get this house sold! So we gritted our teeth and came down in price quite a bit. It must have worked because a couple of hours later we had not one, but TWO showings scheduled for this afternoon. Keep your fingers and toes crossed!

I spent the afternoon at my mother's apartment. The dogs enjoyed having a different lap to sit on. I sewed the entire time we were there. But now my early wake-up time (4:30 am!!!) is catching up with me. I don't know why I woke up so early! I will definitely go to bed early tonight!
As Mom has been packing up the apartment to move to Augusta, she has come across some photos. She gave this one to me over the weekend. This was my paternal grandmother as a girl. The photo is dated 1901. I can see both of our daughters in her - pretty cool. And look at her dress - those are some big shoulder contraptions (click on the photo for a close up). I never knew her. She apparently had some major mental issues, was committed to a mental institution, and ended up committing suicide there before my parents ever married. So sad. If she were alive today, I'm sure she could have gotten the help she needed. You would never guess her tragic future from looking at that sweet face above.

And on another topic, there is so much drama going on in the quilt blogging world at the moment:

1. Pinterest: Many bloggers are deleting their boards because they are worried about copyright issues. In response, Pinterest has changed some of their rules and will be moving towards allowing users to have private boards (no followers). Some bloggers will not allow you to pin their images.

2. Kate Spain vs. C&T Publishing/Emily Cier (author of Scrap Republic): Apparently KS threatened to sue C&T and Emily Cier because of the use of KS's fabrics in a quilt in the book and a tote bag produced by C&T. So many people are lining up on one side or the other.

Oh my. I do not like drama. Why can't we all just chill and get along?

TWO More Finishes!

I didn't take this photo today - it's from another year. It's too rainy to take a good one now. But this is one thing I will miss about this house - the abundance of Dogwood trees in our yard. We also have Redbuds and Azaleas in bloom now, with hydrangeas to follow soon. I have heard that our new house has wonderful landscaping though. I know they have planted a Japanese Maple tree, a Weeping Willow tree (childhood memories with that one), Crepe Myrtles, and lots more.

Last night I finished a table runner for the new book. Yay! Then early this morning I finished a quilt. Yay! Yay! I still have one intricate project (a wallhanging art quilt) to finish, but now I can focus totally on it. My goal it to have another finish by the end of next week.

My Secret Pal

I have a secret pal this year. She gives me little gif ties from time to time. I'm not entirely sure who it is, but she's very thoughtful. She made this pin cushion/trash bag. Lovely, isn't it?
She gave me this wonderful selection of batiks. There is one missing from the pile; it's in one of the quilts for the book I'm working on.
My secret pal also gave me this gorgeous knitted scarf. Isn't she talented? And generous!

Love all your gifties, secret pal. Thanks so much!

I didn't quite finish the quilt I'm working on today, tomorrow I will for sure. But first I have to take my car to the shop for some brake work. Fun, fun.

Are any of you going to see The Hunger Games this weekend? I read the books and I'm dying to see the movie. But I have to finish writing this quilt book first. Maybe by then the crowds will have died down.

The Doggy Fabric Details

I should have given this info yesterday, but better late than never. For those of you who want to find some of these cute pooches for yourself, it's by Timeless Treasures.
Hopefully a view of the selvage will help in your search!

I had another productive day. It's Spring Break for our schools, so showings of our house have come to a halt. That's okay by me since I've been able to hunker down and concentrate on sewing.

The quilt I'm working on is almost done - yay! I hope to finish it tomorrow. I thought it would take MUCH longer.

A little birdie told me that our Auburn home is getting sod tomorrow. Most of the other plants and trees are already in place. The kitchen cabinets are in place, along with the bathroom cabinets. Some of the rooms have been painted. I like that I only see it every few weeks; it makes for big surprises.

Today's Fabric

I saw this fabric at Hancock's a couple of weeks ago and it begged to come home with me. I bought the rest of the bolt - about 7 yards! Couldn't resist.... Love the little doxie with the heart sweater! It's the backing for one of the book quilt and will also make an appearance on the front of the quilt, too.
And speaking of doxies, here are mine this morning. Can you tell I had to wake them up. They are so sleepy! Prince couldn't even hold his head up for the photo. Okay guys, you can go under the quilt and go back to nighty-night land!

A Weekend Recital

We had a fabulous weekend! We traveled up to Greenville, SC, to attend Daughter 2's Senior Clarinet Recital at Furman University. WOW! That girl can play! As her teacher said, "You smoked it!"
After the recital, her sorority sisters circled her and serenaded her with a song.
Here she is with hubby and me.
Afterwards we went out for milkshakes. On the left is Daughter 2 (now changed into jeans) and on the right is Daughter 1, who did her hair and makeup before the recital. Proud of my girls!
I sewed in the car all the way there and all the way back, of course. Today I'll be stitching with this fabric - reminds me of Spring cookies!

The Winners.....

The giveaway winners are:

4 1-yard cuts of fabric: Diane E W

Pre-cut diamond scraps: Spindotty

Please email me (juliacwood@mac.com) with your home address within 48 hours!

Congrats to both of you, and thanks to everyone who entered! This was fun - I'm looking forward to getting to know my new readers and hope you'll all stay tuned.

Busy day here, but that's nothing new. I spent a couple of hours cutting more fabric, an hour doing housework, and the rest of the day was devoted to sewing. I sat in my recliner, doggies in my lap under a quilt, and watched TV while I stitched. Tough job.

I'm pretty much bored by daytime TV, so today I watched a movie - Eat, Pray, Love. I have not read the book though I knew the story is about a woman who travels around the world looking for balance in her life. It got me to thinking. For several years, I felt like I was searching for balance. But today I realized that at this moment I have found it. Life is good. My work is fun, creative, and inspiring even though I'm putting in lots of hours now to meet the book deadline. I have a wonderful husband who supports me in every way possible. I have two fabulous daughter who continue to amaze me in their beauty, intelligence, and talents. We'll be moving to a cool house in a wonderful little city soon. I'll get to make new friends and keep the old. Life is good.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Another Quilt Top Shipped!

After sleeping on it, I decided to add a border to the quilt top I finished yesterday. It was the right decision. Then a quick trip to FedEx to ship it off to the quilter. I'm getting there. I spent the rest of the afternoon cutting pieces for another book quilt. It's one I've started, but there is still a lot of work ahead on it. I think it may become one of my favorites.

You cannot imagine how frustrating it is to write a quilt blog and not to be able to share photos of all these quilts! I absolutely cannot wait for the book to come out so I can FINALLY share with you! I'm having so much fun making these quilts!

For the past 4 months these have become my everyday shoes. They are easy to slip on and off to take the dogs out on leashes. Then I leave them just inside the front door when I come in so I won't track pine straw, grass, pollen, etc., through the house while it's for sale. But as you can see if you look closely, they are filthy! If you click on the picture you can actually see the yellow pollen. So today they got a nice spin in the washing machine - hope they dry soon. I miss them.

There's still time to enter my fabric giveaway! Leave a comment!

Working Wednesday

Welcome to all my new readers! I love your comments! I haven't had a chance to reply to many of you yet, but I promise I will. Sewing madness going on here.

Late night last night. I stayed up past midnight sewing! Then up and at it again this morning. The good news: I finished another quilt top for the book! Happy dance! Tonight I'll work on another book project that is well underway, but I'm going to bed at a more reasonable time.

I forgot to mention here that last month I happened to be in Auburn on the night that the Cotton Boll Quilt Guild meets, so I visited. It took all of two minutes to get there - very different from Birmingham! The members were welcoming and I'm sure that I'll feel at home there after a matter of months. BUT, I'm going to maintain my membership to the Birmingham Quilt Guild and hope to drive back to an occasional meeting.

Below is a show and tell quilt from the Cotton Boll Quilt Guild - pretty isn't it?

And for my own show and tell, below is the fireplace in our new Auburn home. It's a two sided fireplace - the backside faces the back patio.
And here is the reclaimed lumber that is going to be the hardwood floors. I think it came from an old corn mill. They started laying these floor boards this week.
Don't forget, you can leave a comment on my blog any day this week (until noon on Friday) for a chance to win 4 1-yard cuts of fabric or a lovely pile of scrappy diamonds. Also check out the giveaways at Pipkin House and Blackberry Creek Home Arts.

A Fun Guild Meeting!

I had a great time at our guild meeting yesterday. I hadn't been able to go for a couple of months, and I don't know if I'll make it back there again before we move. Our Blogging program went well, and hopefully some folks who have never visited a quilting blog will now dive in and enjoy!

Don't forget, you can still enter my giveaway through Friday, March 16 at noon by leaving a comment here. And be sure to sign up for Lisa and Susan's giveaways, too!

And now for show and tell:

This is the Caldwell Memorial Quilt made by many women in our guild to honor two of our members, a father and daughter, who tragically died in an automobile accident three years ago. The quilt will be presented to the American Village in Montevallo later this week and will hang in the President's Home there.
The period reproduction fabrics came from all over the country, some from other countries.
The hand quilting is absolutely exquisite!
This gorgeous appliqué quilt was made by Damie Brown. Lovely!
And Lura made this adorable bag. Love it!

I've been sewing this morning since 6:15. I have a lot I want to accomplish today, quilting-wise. I'll take a break this afternoon to vote, though. Then back to the needle and thread!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Are you ready for some fabric? 'Cause that's what I'm giving away. In fact I have two prizes in the till. The first is four 1-yard cuts of coordinating fabric in lovely spring colors. 4 yards!!!
The line is Heaven Can Wait by Ro Gregg for Northcott.
The other prize is a huge pile of precut scrappy diamonds. Charm quilt anyone?

So there will be two winners! To enter, simply leave a comment on my blog or on my Facebook page (I'd love to be your Facebook friend) telling me you'd like to win. Do this by Friday, March 16 at 12 noon Central time. Easy peasy. No, you don't have to be a follower, though I'd love it if you were! And only one comment is needed per person. The winners will be announced Friday afternoon/evening.

This giveaway is in honor of Lisa, Susan, and myself speaking to our guild about blogging on Monday, and we are all having a giveaway. Be sure to go to their sites to enter for their prizes!
And for your doggy pleasure, here are Mickey and Prince playing with hubby at the dog park yesterday - we hung out there while our house was being shown.

Productivity Abounds!

Mickey says hello to all of you! Can you tell he is sleepy and wants in my lappy for a nappy?

Oh, I am so happy today!! My hard work is paying off! Since I last posted, I finished the quilt top I was working on, I have prepared the backing, made the quilt sandwich, and I'm almost finished with the quilting! Yippee! Daughter 2 saw it while she was here and said it's her favorite quilt I've made for the book. Another yippee! She also said it looks like it should be sold in her favorite store, Anthropologie. Yes, another yippee. The irony of it all is that it was the quickest and easiest of all the quilts - go figure....

And on the subject of needles....

We all know we should change our sewing machine needle on a regular basis since they do dull quickly with lots of use. My machine starts making a clunking sound when my needle gets dull - a not so gentle reminder. However, I've been doing TONS of hand sewing for the book, and it never occurred to me to change my hand sewing needle until a couple of days ago when I was struggling to push the needle through a few layers of fabric. I tossed my needle and got out a new one. Oh. My. Goodness!!!!!!!! I could not believe the difference! So don't forget that ALL needles dull over time and use.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a giveaway!! I don't do giveaways very often, but it's high time. On Monday two of my quilty friends and I are going to speak to our guild on the subject of quilt blogs. All three of us will have a giveaway this week in honor of said speaking engagement. Tomorrow I'll explain the details and share links to their blogs.

Working My Fingers to the Bone!

Yes, I found my camera. But, no I don't have any pictures to share - sorry. I'll try to do better next time.

I working NONSTOP on quilts for the book! All day long. Until bedtime. Up early to start again. Making progress.....but, much more work still to be done.

I had to make a trip to Auburn Sunday/Monday to meet with the closet designer for the house. That was fun - it's nice that the builder included me in that meeting. I don't think I'll have to go back in the foreseeable future - more time to sew, yay!

While Daughter 2 is home for her Spring Break, she has a boat load of studying to do. So she studies, I sew. Works out well. I'm hesitant to cook because it would smell up the house and you never know when someone would like to see it. So we either go out to eat in the evening or nuke a Lean Cuisine.

The dogs love having another lap to sit in, and they definitely take advantage of that. Mickey is still doing well after his major back surgery. He's running and playing again, though I don't think he'll ever be 100% the way he was before. He still has a bit of a limp on his back end, though it's very minor. The surgery was definitely a success.

I haven't mentioned my parents in a long time. With our relocation, they are going to be moving to Augusta, GA, where my brother lives. My brother has lined up an apartment for my mother. And as soon as they arrive, they'll decide on an assisted living/nursing home for my father. I have taken care of them for around 9 years here in B'ham and now my brother is stepping up to take care of them. Thank you to him. I know it will be a huge transition for my mother at age 81, but hopefully she'll be happy there. I'll definitely go visit them often.

Better put down this computer and pick up my sewing! Have a great day!

Camera: MIA

I've misplaced my camera. I know it's around here somewhere - just had it a couple of days ago. It'll turn up soon I'm sure.

Yesterday I had a marathon sewing day, waiting for the dangerous storms to come. We were so lucky here in Birmingham. Everything went around us. Prayers to those affected....

I am almost finished with the quilt top I've been working on this week. Hopefully I can finish it this morning. Then a trip to the grocery store. Daughter 2 is coming home today for Spring Break!!!

What are you working on today?

We Have a HOUSE!!!!

WE DID IT! We found our new home. I feel like a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders. I can now visualize where we will be. If you can be in love with a house, I'm there. It's totally different from anything we ever thought we'd find or buy - a bit contemporary, a bit rustic, with a bit of glam. It's still under construction so we won't move in until summer, but if our B'ham home sells before then (and we hope it does!), we'll put our things in storage and move into the condo. A big thanks to our FABULOUS Auburn real estate agent, Karol Kirby, who has been with us through thick and thin. Karol, you are the BEST!!!! Love you!

Sewing continues. And continues. And continues. Much progress today!