K-4

So mu husband has been a jem and given me a breather. he is doing the Dr. thing for me with our daughter. She is in a care facility and will be there probably till teh end of the week, or so I hope it is only that long...
Anyway. I decided a nice simple block would be best and not anything that was going to frustrate me, I do have to keep my sanity somehow!!

I loved doing this block and Tom and I had a good giggle over me cutting a piece from the center of the material just so I would have the right look for the middle of this block! My Mother always said that was why she was not a quilter! She could not understand cuttin in the middle of a piece just for a small bit!! I just loved the way this one turned out! It was a nice little escape from my tears and nonstop frustrations.
I did add some piece to the edges of the center triangles. That is how the original was done and I kind of thought it added something to it! I know the Brenda Papadakis pattern was not written that way, but I liked the addition.
I hope to continue to work through the tears and am so blessed to have such an amazingly strong husband.
J
Blocks:14
Triangles:0
Pieces:282
Kites:0

A detour

Every journey has a begining, a middle, and an end. Unfortunately some have detours as well. Some of these we can expect and others are not so predictable. I have to take a detour and sit in traffic for a while. My oldest daughter needs me and right now my focus has to be on her. I know that in life taking care of yourself has to come first, but as a Mother it is hard to take care of yourself when your children need you. I expect the delays from my Lillian, but this was a curveball...
I hope all will get better and we will be able to sit and have a little me time!!
Happy quilting,
J

C-4

Lucky #13 I just noticed as I added up my piece total... Holy...I decided to keep this a clean blog!! I think that Jane was off her rocker!! I really do! Anyone who would do a block this small and intricate had more than one person talking in her head!! I'm just sayin!! (My 6 others agree completely LOL)
WOW is all I have to say! I will take this one as it comes and let it speak for itself!!
Maybe another b4 the end of the day,
J (and K&R&L&... LOL)

K-10

Loved doing this one! Even through a drippy nose! This I think was one of my favorite fabrics we picked out! Heck who am I kidding! I love them all or I would not have bougth them!!
More, more, more
J
Blocks:12
Triangles:0
Peices:224
Kites:0

H-1

So my husband said he likes this best so far! I liked how it went together, well truth be told I kind of had to make the second square a little smaller because my first square kind of got carrried away! ooops. hehe It came together nicely and I got it done before the mother of all migranes hit last night!!! So this morning I am feeling a little 'hung over' form my migrane meds!! I had hoped to get one last one done last night and was informed that looking at all those dots probably was not goin to heklp out my situation!! I let him know I was done with the dots, but he was probably right about not trying to concentrate on another one!!

Maybe after some coffee and a swift kick in my pants this morning I will be able to sew together the one I cut last night!! 24 hours without my man and I am coming down with a cold! I do so wish the weather would make up it's mind!! This 80 on Sunday and 35 on Wed is killing me!!
Here's to a better day today!!
J
Blocks:11
Triangles:0
Pieces:185
Kites:0

F-13

hehe so what I thought I would have a hard time with I didn't. And what I thought would be the easiest part...oops!! I decided to do the melons first, I was affraid of those circles, so I got them on and somehow between my placing them and finishing sewing them they drifted outwards!! AHHHHHH

So I had to take a seam down the middle and bring them closer to each other!! Then, after being very disappointed with myself, I began the circles and I flew through them and I did a pretty good job with them!! I amaze myself sometimes!! I am even more proud of this one than the last applique even though I had to 'alter' it! I kind of think it adds character!!
More??
J
Blocks:10
Triangles:0
Peices:165
Kites:0

L-5

So i was able to sneak one in while the extra kids were sleeping (oh, I watch 2 two year olds, and at the end of the summer it will be two newborns and these two will be close to 3) and my kids upstairs 'cleaning', I know that all of us Mothers will have a good chuckle over that one.

Anyway!! Not to bad a square!! Came together pretty easily. still thinking about redoing the one corner. But for now I will put it in my box mark it as done and see how much it bugs me when I take it out in another week or 2!! Oh, Yes I have begun to rip one of them apart already (no mention of names, simplicity) oh me oh my!! What a lot of funny things go by!!
It is cold and gloomy outside and I am going to sit with an applique piece and see if I can't get that done before nap is done and hubby gets home!!
Family game nigth and I have deemed it a PJ day in my house!! Maybe there will be hot chocolate with game night!!
Have fun with someone you love,
J
Blocks:9
Triangles:0
Pieces:159
Kites:0

Spring break

So with the kids on spring break trying to get out my sewing has just been impossible! I love my children, but one would think that at 9, 10, adn 15 they would be a little more able to take care of themselves! Nope!! I have been cleaning like a madwoman!! (and I DO NOT clean!!) So spring break, unfortunately, is all about cleaning the house! I even made my 15 year old daughter clean the fridge!! When she was done I told her that the fridge doesn't just look like that! I MAKE it look like that!! I know that I try to instill on my children a little bit of self reliance, but wow!! I realize how much they do not do for themselves when I hve them sooped up in the house for a week!! After arguing with my daughter most of Monday my FB post read : For sale: 15 year old Daughter, does not listen, does not follow directions, has a mouth you would like to wash out with soap, and is an all roud pain in the ass... wait I changed my mind... FREE TO A GOOD HOME: One worn out Mother... Must have no children, no pets, and a live in maid!! Please respond ASAP!! I love my children, but wow Mommy was right!! They are A LOT of work!!
Maybe I can sneak in a square... well tonight is Band rehersal, my husband has a test for work...Wed Game nigth at our house...Thursday, yes Tom will be working 24 hours! I will have time to myself after bathing the kids and puting them to bed!! Thursday is mine!! Is it wrong to feel that way?? Well, my allotted time to sit for a moment is done! Now to scrub the kitchen floor!! 
Hope the weather is nicer, hope my nerves hold out, pray like crazy that I make it through another spring break! LOL
J

B-5

I have to say I am pretty proud of this one! I know it is an easy one, but other than my diamonds looking a little more like melons...darn points...I think I have to pat myself on the back for this one!!! I don't however know what in the world I was thinking when I picked out the material!! I love the gingham don't get me worng!  But that was the thinnest in the whole wide world! I decided to leave the white on the back after reverse appliqueing the diamonds to give it a little more stability!!

I also took a little 'artistic interpritation'... I know that there are several blocks that have a border, but I cannot make them 2-1-1 when it comes to lenght of sides... if it was like a log cabin look maybe, but I have to either go with a 'chaser' effect or 2 and 2!! I decided this is a nice precise square and it deserved the 2 and 2! I am happy with my choice and stand by it for now! hehe
Maybe one more today!!
J
Squares: 8
Triangles: 0
Kites: 0
Peices: 137

L-9

Probably my favorite so far! I only had to pull 2 parts apart...well really one! I pulled one apart and then realized I had it on there right in the first place!!  Grrrrrr. I hate it when I second guess myself!! I know I am no fab quilter! But I think it is coming back to me and I am getting a little better!!

J-11

My applique was much better in this one I do have to say, with the acception of the growth in the middle somewhere, but I think I covered most of it up with the overlaying peice!!! I am kind of proud of myself for this one!! Yay me!!
J

M-6

Simplicity my but!! I did this square twice!! Although there are things about the first attempt that turned out much better!! And then my Iron pooped some dark drippings on it!! Not haveing the best day in the whole wide world!! But I tell you what....this is my story and I'm stickin to it!!!
J

March 16th

So today is always a hard day for me. There are times I am jsut fine and for what I think is no apparent reason I break into tears.  March 16, 2004 I lost my mother. She was a very strong and amazing woman. She was a nurse by trade, but her passion was sewing. There was nothing that woman could not sew!! I remember times I would give her 24 hour notice about needing a special item and wouldn't you know it in the morning there it was, like the little elves in the elves and the shoemaker!!
       I was not the best teenager in the world (if you can imagine) and she put up gracefully with everything I brought to her.  When I told her I was getting married just before my 18th birthday she was leary but very supportive. She welcomed Tom into our family with open arms, sometimes I think they liked him better than me!! LOL  Three months later, when I found out I was pregnant (and not going into the service, oops). When I found out my second daughter had a birth defect and was not going to make it, she was the one there for me. And when I spent 10 days in the pediatric ICU with my, 5 day old, third daughter she called every day to check up.
      Her last years of life were trying. She was diagnosed with a rare disease and given 18 months. She showed them!! That was Jan of 1997!! 7 years she fought. Her body failed, but her spirit never did!! She made it through the births of my 3rd and 4th children, in 2000 and 2001, and that was all borrowed time!! Through it all she did what she enjoyed most. She spent time with her family, and she sewed. In 1998 my husband and I moved in with her (and my Dad) and it was a full house! But she was there for special times with my oldest. There for PT and OT with my Middle. And there to clean outwash my sons dirty, dirty hands (that boy produced dirt!!). She bought the big beast of a sewing machine (a Memory craft something or another) and my brother drove her to the lessons an hour and a half away on the weekend to learn how to use it!! We each took a little more time and I think we all learned to appreciate the time we had.
   

I know this is off the quilting path, but thank you for letting me pass a little of my mother on to you if only for a moment!!
Getting through today,
J

M-8

This is why I call it insanity!! What was I thinking!! Who in their right mind puts 35 pieces in a 5 inch square!! I had a time getting this one together! I am not quite that intricate! Oh, well! after I trim it up and get it next to all fo the other crazyness noone (but other Janers) will see that my itsy bitsy teeny tiny triangles in the corners are all but gone!! LOL it is all a learning experience!!

A-8

Zip and done! I liked this one! Quick and easy!!

A-6

So YAY I got my 'new' machine today!! It was an adventure we had to try 3 times to catch the lady!! She was here and there and every where!! LOVED IT!!! Nothing fancy just a basic Singer, with a case and a table! The lady was SO nice!!

Any way Yay!! Got another done!!
Well kind fo messed the last little square, only left 1/8th inch seam allowance on the one side!! I'm sure it will work its way out in the end! LOL
More, more, more!!
J

D-3

So yay!! Well my Machine is still not fixed (but I am getting a newish one on Sunday) I do have 2 that are applique. Now that being said I am NOT the strongest hand sewer in the world!! And it has been a VERY long time since i have even picked up and kind of hand stitching (other than hemming my daughters homecoming dress).
I will say this is supposed to be one of my purple ones and wow does the blue background really POP, but I still like the material!!
I do hope this weekend will produce at least one if not 2 more squares!! More if I get that machine and get to play around with it!!

Bouncing with Anticipation,
J

Found all of my 'purple'!

So my Husband knew how upset I was over my seing machine! So... this past weekend we spent one day running around to different fabric stores and fabric hunting!! I had a blast!! I had only picked up about a dozen or so pieces that I wanted to begin with and he asked how I was gonna start. So I told him I have to have some kind of logical method!! I was going to do all of my 'purple' squares first. (he knows how wierd I am about doing things a certain way) I told him the other colours we were looking for and if one jumped out i was not going to turn my nose up at it, but for now the quest was purple!!

He was amazing!! I said my plan is to have 12 of each colour and 13 of purple (because of how I laid them out) He kept count on what we had and how many we needed and picked out several of them himself!! I love that man of mine!! After 4 (well 5 but one was a bust) We picked out all of my purple and most of my pinks, a few yellow, a few brown, and one of my greens!! I could not believe he was so helpful!! He turned his nose up at a few of them and really fell in love with some of the others! This is the guy who asks me if an outfit matches when we go out!! I cannot wait to get my machine and show him what these are gonna look like! He has not looked throught the book! He is more of a hands on kind of a guy!!
Wishing for a machine SOON!!!
J

sewing machine issues...

So with the best of intention I began to cut my first 2 blocks!! I was sooooo in the mood... and then disaster!! My sewing machine (which was my grandmothers) died!! I cried!! It is a Necchi (made in Italy) that was purchased July 3,1968 (for $350 how awsome to have the original purchase reciept)!! I have done minimal sewing on this machine in the past and it is nothing fancy, but it works well untill I REALLY needed it to!! Sooo it looks like this afternoon I will be running into my local sewing center and finding out if there is anyone out there who will work on it!!
Or maybe I can talk my Honeyman into an upgrade!! Till then, I guess I will cut a few more squares and do the prep work!!
Well, I was hopeing to have a pic to post, but till I get my machine repaired, I guess I work on hand sewing, I have kids clothes to repair! Not the 'fun' I was looking forward to! But for now I guess it will have to do!
Still in limbo!!
J