Where Has this Year Gone?

  I have no idea where this year has gone, I just know that it is suddenly April and I can't remember what I have done the last three months. Well, that isn't completely true, but I have not accomplished the things I had thought I would have in this length of time. I have quilts to make and curtains to make and so many other things I want to get done. I have to keep on my mother and help her too with cleaning out her house so we know what is going to be moved and what is to be sold in the garage sale. We gave them the down payment and they ordered the home, so it is in line for build. When will it be complete, I do not know. They say most likely in early June, which means it will be getting pretty hot when it comes time to make the move. Our daughter is in the same place and her home is in the same line, with about the same schedule for completion. That may mean two moves in one week, or I guess we can take as long as we need to move her since she lives here with us.

  Our daughter and grand children were here from Tennessee last week, and we were busy and had a great time. We took them to San Antonio to the river walk and the Market Square. We rode the river boat tour, and had a great day. Then on the way home we stopped at the outlet mall so she and her daughter could shop.

Sister with niece and nephew.

Grandpa and I were tired and stayed in the car with the baby. He is adorable and we had a great time with him, Since he had been in the car seat or stroller all day I let him stand in the front floor between my legs. He was happy with that for almost 30 min. then he got bored. He moved to Grandpas lap and crawled all over him. He was happier about getting in the car seat for the remainder of the drive home after that. We did so many things all week long and then Thurs. before she went home her sisters and I took them to San Antonio to the zoo.

Now we have a zoo here in Austin, but we have never been to it and we all grew up going to the one in SA. So that was our choice, and it was a great day, I took lots of pictures, but not as many as the other girls did. However I took them on my phone and I still have not gotten savvy enough to move them from the phone to the computer. I am going to give that a whirl before I post , so if I figure it out you will know. LOL


  Well, I started this post last week, before my husband and I went to visit my aunt and uncle in the DFW area. We had a nice visit and before we left I figured out how to save my photos from the phone to the computer.  Now if I can just figure out the ones I have saved from facebook. I can save them, but then can't open them. ;(

  Since the beginning of this post new things have happened. Mother and Aislynn have signed more papers. Now we are looking at delivery maybe as soon as three weeks. That means we have too much to do, and too little time to get it all done. So this week I must complete everything I need to in the sewing room, and around the house. You see while my daughter was here, she opened the blinds in the kitchen and broke them.  My husband has bought new ones and put them up, but while the curtains are down he thinks we need to wash them and replace them. Needless to say that has added a whole round of cleaning to be done. Curtains, quilts, and other things. I know quilts in the kitchen??? well, they are just an aside, not really in the kitchen.
  I have to go this time, but I will be back. I am documenting the clean out and moving, so until next time have a very quilty week.
Tennye

International Qulting Day

Well, I have been so busy working on my body, it seems that is all I have a chance to do. I am trying to get up earlier, so my day has a few more hours in it. That has not gone as well as I thought it might. LOL I do love to sleep. On the other hand I really want to be healthy and feel better, so I will keep trying. Today I actually woke up at 7 and didn't fall back to sleep, Yea!!! Maybe tomorrow I will get out of bed as well as stay awake. I know how lame is that, but it was cold this morning and I just stayed under the covers. I do not miss having a job, but I do miss that I was up and out early enough to feel good about myself. Now it is too easy to stay in bed and go back to sleep with hubby still there too.
  Okay, so I wanted to quilt on Sat. since it was the International Quilt Day, and I never did, but I did take an hour or so to go to the local quit shop. I had to support them with a purchase of course!! LOL I am adding fabric to my stash to make my darling Grandson a play mat quilt, before his second birthday. I browsed all the new books, and patterns, and of course the gadgets, since I am so crazy about those. I do have a very limited income though so I only bought a few things. My quilt store is in the Spring/Summer 2012 Quilt Sampler magazine and I never got it, so they had some on hand and I bought it. They have some lovely star quilt patterns, I want to try. One even showed an option to make it a table runner instead of a full size quilt. That makes it easier to think about adding to my list of things to do. Honey Bee is the store name, and I love the ladies there, and they have a great variety of fabrics. That makes me happy! While I was there I also got the last fabric for the quilt top I am making for my granddaughter, so sad to say I still have not finished her birthday gift. I still need the backing, but I have the last border now and this week or next I will get the backing and get it quilted. I have a quilt for her daddy's birthday started, but who knows when I will get it done. His birthday is of course the end of March, so I should get it done asap, but with my youngest daughter and her children coming Sat. for their spring break, I think sewing time will be limited, and I am still figuring out how to work out every day and get anything else finished. I get lunch cooked and cleaned, and then wonder what happened to the day after I go work out. I think I am just tired right now, and after I get used to it I will not be quit so tired. LOL
   Well, I want you to know things for my mom's new house and my daughters new house are going very well, and they have both been approved for their loans and we just need to give them the down payments and they will start the building of both places. We are hoping to get them moved in some time around June. We are all praying for the weather to be nice enough for the moving. Here in Texas it can easily be in the high 90's by June, and on occasion it gets into the 100's by then. We are asking for the cooler 80's this year. Sorry I have been out of touch, seems like I get the computer out, and have to get off before I can even get logged on. Until next time yall have a very quilty week, and lets hope for some pictures next time.
Tennye
 

Busy Day

  Well, the insurance adjuster came by today and took pictures and looked at mothers house. I am sending him the photos I posted here this week too. Then mother and I went out to run errands. I didn't sleep very well last night so I was too tired to do any thing when I got home. I have so many emails and little paper work things I should do and I just took a half hour to lay down. I didn't fall asleep, but it was enough to refresh me for the paper ( computer) work I needed to get done.
  Planning a family reunion seem to have been left in my care. I have help in another state, but I have been made the point person. I will learn not to volunteer to help next time. I thought I was going to help and I am not sure how it went from I will help to so glad you are planning the reunion this year. The hard part is done, and now my cousin who is helping me has the information to post on both face book and emails. I have to admit I would rather be the one finding a location and making the arrangements than doing the emails and postings.
  Now that the reunion is on track I am hoping to get back into the sewing room and do some real sewing. The last few days that I have been able to get in the sewing room, all I got done was hemming the jeans hubby and I have recently purchased. Not sure why we have had to hem hubby's, he is getting a shorter length than he has in the past and they are longer on him than the length he used to buy. I am not a tall woman but seem to have long legs compared to the normal. So I buy tall pants, and hem them. Well, I want to get the quilt for granddaughter done and finish an embroidery job I have had on the back burner.
Okay well I have rambled for too long, and I am going to get back to the things I need to get done. Until next time yall have a very quilty weekend.
Tennye

Things Have Been Happening.

   Hello, sorry I was not able to get back as quick as I planned. I have lots of pictures to show. We had a bad wind storm this week, with sustained high winds of 30 or more mph, with gusts of 50 Mph. We were lucky here, but my mom a few blocks away was not so lucky. Her mobile home is well over forty years old, and the roof, of her porch blew off. Well, part of it at least, the center section, right over the front door.

  We found that section in the back yard. Initially we just went over and got mother and brought her home with us. Later at dusk, my girls went over and picked up some clothes and her meds. We made her stay here over night. Hubby was busy most of the day and didn't get over to her house until late afternoon, to clean up the porch and make it safe for mother to get in and out of her house. She went home then and we feel like she is safe. The wind is still

   blowing, but not as hard and the gusts are down around 20mph and less. They say we may get more of the same kind of weather next week. I really would hate to see that, but we will face it if is happens. The insurance people noticed that the news has said nothing about our wind, but talked a lot about the blizzard in the panhandle. Ironically most of the damage they are getting calls about is from the wind. When they showed the storm on radar, it really looked like a hurricane only on land not ocean.

   We have been praying about getting mother a new house, I guess we got our answer. So much stuff has happened since we lost daddy. The water heater went out, the heater went out, and now this. Hubby and a friend have done some work on the roof to make sure it won't leak if it rains. The place is old and falling apart, what happens next. Lots to pray about for sure.

   Well, one of my faithful followers asked me about the quilt. I am not sure which one she is asking about, but I have posted a little of the progress of my granddaughters birthday gift. I will begin quilting it as soon as I find the backing. I feel pretty bad it is now almost March, and she still does not have it. I have a larger quilt all ready to piece for her daddy too. I won't start that though until hers is quilted and in the mail. I want to go see them soon, and had plans for that trip will have to be changed.

 We are having an extended family reunion at the end of April. That is exactly the weekend I planned to go see them. I will have to make plans for another weekend.

Until the next time, I hope yall will have a very quilty week.
Tennye

Happy Madi Gras, and Happy Valentines Day

  Well, I have been busy for a change and not just out of commission. LOL That kind of feels good, but then again I had every intention of getting on here and posting. I have just seemed to get involved with other things thing and forgot. I apologize for that. I had promised my lovely granddaughter that I would have her birthday gift to her by the middle of the month and here it is the middle of Feb. and it isn't finished yet. I feel really bad about that. I do love the way it is turning out though. I will post more pictures soon, but haven't taken them yet. I am not great at applique so it is taking a little longer than it should have. I love it but I am not sure it is turning out the way it should have. The pattern shows using a different fabric for each piece, and I chose to use the same fabric for most of it. I thought the satin stitch applique would make the separations show up, and unfortunately I used a variegated thread and it blends in so well it doesn't. I keep wondering if I should go back and do a small stitch with black so the doors and definitive lines of the car would show better. Some for a customer, and some for hubby and my self.  
   I still have two pair that need to be done, but we are also starting the process of cleaning out my dads out buildings so we can tear them down and get things cleaned out. We also are looking at cars for mother. We had planned to put that off for a few months, however now her car is acting up and we need to make this change sooner rather than later. Everything seems to be happening so fast and yet it also seems to be at a snails pace. She is right now as I write out looking at and test driving a car. She does not need a new one just something that is newer than her 10 year old current car. Daddy got his truck in 2009 right after the 2010's came out. I hope that we can get this done very soon, since we are also starting the process of getting her a different house. Too much too much. LOL I need to have my head on to keep up with it all. I need to go for now, I will try harder to check back in quicker next time. I have some other stuff to talk about, but will save that for later. So until later yall have a very quilty week.
Tennye

A Little of This and That

  Well, I got up this morning with yuk in my throat, and I have been sick too often lately so I got up and took something right away. Well, I have had to take it again and I hate to say it, but I am feeling pessimistic about the prospects of not getting sick. I am trying to think positive, but the throat is starting to hurt. Yuk!!!
  I have started a new project and I am conflicted as to how I will proceed. I am using a pattern, but cutting the fabric at 37 1/2 inches across left a nice piece of the fabric on the ends. Maybe I can make to original pattern and then use those lovely shorter pieces and make my own addition to the piece so it is larger than it is supposed to be. I am still thinking about it. This is for my 17 year old granddaughter and I am unsure if she would like a wall hanging or prefer it be something she can put on her bed. I will continue to think about it. I have a little job for a friend hemming some pants so I will do that tomorrow and then get back to the quilt.
  When that quilt is finished I have a friend from high school who is interested in having me make a quilt for her. She posted a picture of one on face book and asked me how hard it would be to make. It is not a hard quilt, even though I have not made it before, I have wanted to. It is the puzzle piece quilt. At least that is what I call it, the blocks are simple squares, with interconnecting puzzle nubs.
  I love it that some of you are so faithful to comment on my blog posts, so please keep it up. I have book club tonight so I will go have a bite to eat before I go. Until next time yall have a very quilty week.
Tennye

Happy Sunday

  Well the day started out dreary and misty, but has turned sunny and bright. My son is here to get as new tattoo. His sisters old bosses son is his tattoo artist and he comes here for them. He was supposed to be here a couple of weeks ago and got sick. So he made his plan to be here this weekend too. Then he had to work yesterday, so he came in last night about midnight. One of my girls and I stayed up until he got here and visited with him for a while. Just enough time to let him decompress from his long drive. Then he slept almost as late as the rest of us. We had a good breakfast together, then he went off for his appointment.
   I have started a new wall quilt for my granddaughter. Her birthday was in Dec.and I told her I would be late getting her gift made. She is such a good girl and understands that life has been a mess the last few months. I love what it is looking like so far, but I took the pictures with my phone and I have not learned to send them to the computer yet. I bought the pattern and then the store where I got it was having to go out of business and I got two others for 40% off. I will make all of them eventually, and had thought of making her a large quilt with all of them. I only have three though and I am not sure how I will put them together if I do. I guess I could use one of the scenes twice, to make it square. I could even make it rectangular by adding some sashing or pieced boards.  I have thought about this a lot, and I don't have any commissions right now so maybe I should just do that. However I did have a friend ask me if I might make her a quilt. I found the pattern for it and I will message her about it.
  Well, sorry no pictures this time. Until next time yall have a very quilty week.
Tennye