Step right up ...

Get your feed bags right here, folks! If you want to make a tote (see previous post), send me your address. Or, if you're in the guild, just e-mail me and I'll bring feed bags and instructions to the next meeting. Let's make it fun! If you make one, e-mail me a photo and I'll put your name in a drawing. The prize will be a free day in the studio at Patchwork Garden. You can use the time to learn how to do longarm quilting on my machines (for newbies), or to quilt a top while you're here (for previous customers).

If you want me to mail you a kit, find contact info at www.judequilts.com -- send me your address and postage ($1.50 for one, $2.00 for two). You can use PayPal thru the web site. Lessee ... we'll need some rules, right? Photos must be received by March 30th to qualify for the drawing. Prize cannot be exchanged for cash or any other product or service. That's it, I guess.

I've HAD it with those plastic bags!

Has this ever happened to you? I find it ridiculous that a plastic bag from the grocery store cannot be expected to hold more than one item before they burst or the handles break. I am so, SO sick of those stinking plastic bags. Oh, and yeah, some of them actually do have an odor that I find repulsive. I've actually stopped shopping at one of the local fabric stores because I cannot, WILL not, be in the place with that stink. It just makes me think, "this can't be good."

On a seemingly unrelated point ... We used to be able to return empty grain bags to the feed mill, but no longer. They tell me that since the scare of mad cow disease, the vets have discouraged them from accepting the bags back because one never knows what they've been exposed to. Okay, so I have mountains of empty plastic feed bags to get rid of. I hate plastic grocery bags, and am too cheap/stubborn to purchase sturdier ones from the stores for anywhere from $1.99 to 2.99 apiece. If you could ever have followed me on my monthly outings to procure supplies, you'd understand how that could get expensive. (Did I mention I hate shopping? I force myself to go about once a month. But not in winter. I don't go between Thanksgiving and March 1st except in absolute desperation. I can do without a LOT if it helps me avoid grocery shopping!)


Can you guess where this is all leading? I am making tote bags this morning, from recycled feed bags. It's actually kind of fun. I tossed a few of the grain bags into the wash and let them dry over the backs of chairs overnight. In a mere 15 minutes apiece, I've made a couple totes to experiment. It took very little actual sewing -- just enough to make them flat-bottomed so they would stand up, and then added a pair of handles. Simple, simple! I added a pocket made from an orphan quilt block to dress one of them up a tad. Not being a very patient or creative sort, I was very pleased with the outcome.

Nothing!

The seed packet said "germinates in 4 to 7 days." This is day 3.5, and look:















Nothing yet. (sigh)

Moving on ...
Here's a little something I found in a resale shop a couple of summers ago:




















If you look closely, you'll see it needs some repair work. I'll try to decide how to quilt it while I complete that task. Feel free to make suggestions.






And THIS is yet another project I'm about to embark upon:














I rarely use blue, but decided on this combination of fabrics for the class I'll be taking with our guild next month. I feel so proud! I actually have my fabrics washed, pressed and cut in preparation nearly two weeks in advance. Let me tell you something ... THAT doesn't happen often around here.

Oh! I forgot to mention ...

The shoes are on sale for 149.95

Be still, my heart ...

Oh, joy! Look what I found I can purchase online! And if you'll swear lifelong allegiance to me, I'll send you a link so you can get yourself some, too.

Just what I need! This was sent to me by the company from which I purchase shoes under the "diabetic/sensitive feet" category. Me. The one who just last week was on a tirade about women's winter boots having high heels. As IF. Must be they think I should live it up a little, eh?

More earth-shattering news: I've started some onion, leek and Alpine strawberry seeds inside, ever hopeful that things will be different in the garden this year. (Last year was the worst! Waaaay too much rain here in the Northeast.) It seemed like I waited an eternity for my Alpine strawberry seeds to arrive. As soon as I had hit the "send" button to place my order, I started fretting over how long it would take to get them. What?!? Like you don't do that? Alak! and Alas! Matters were made worse because I ordered them the Friday before a Monday holiday. Ugh! I hate days when there's no mail service. Checking my mail is one of the highlights of my day. Sad, eh? Maybe I should think about getting the shoes.

What's not to love?!?

Doesn't the little guy on the right look like he's puckered up for a kiss?

Here's what else I've been doing lately:


(I do longarm quilting; it's a customer's quilt -- her first quilt top, pieced many years ago.)
It's a very large quilt -- glad I don't have to do the binding -- that could take a while.

I rent time in my quilting studio to quilters who come, learn how to use the machines here, and then go on to finish their own quilts.

The gals in the next photo finished ten ... yes, you read that correctly! ... TEN quilts between them while they were here for a 3-day quilters' retreat. I tried to squeeze them all into the photo, but hey! That's a lot of quilts!












How's THAT for a bit much?!?

Lessons from the lambs ...

Stay warm (wear wool).
Keep your friends and family close.




"How lucky I am to have known someone who was so hard to say goodbye to."
-- originator unknown

Hence, the name ...

WHAT is a bit much? Life. Or should I say some of the things that happen in life? Things I see. Things I hear. Things I am expected to believe. Or endure. Sometimes it's all too sad. Sometimes it's all too complicated. Sometimes it's all just too funny. And sometimes, I just get rambling on and on until it's a bit much for YOU to endure. Two great inventions in modern life: elastic waistbands and the "delete" key.