No photos today

No photos today. I'm starting to pack for a three day quilting retreat. I've never been on one and I'm very excited! I hope to have lots of photos to share with you when I get back Sunday night.

In cancer news, I'm going to the surgeon this morning for a consultation. I hope to have an idea of what my treatment will be after the appointment. However, I go straight from there to school (for Molly's ballet) and then to work, so I won't have much time to think about it. Tomorrow morning, I will take Molly to school, then pick up Amy to go to the retreat.

In dog news, I never did get around to telling you about Snickers's escape. She managed to get out one morning (a Monday). She was picked up by someone who lives in our neighborhood, and was kept in their yard for the day. She didn't have her tags on because she was wearing her Bite Not collar because she's had a lot of itching due to allergies. Anyway, she managed to escape their yard, too, and was found wandering Hungary Road the next morning by some other people in our neighborhood. They took her to a vet's office and then found my listing on Craig's List. So we got our 14 year old friend back. She had some gastrointestinal issues for a couple of weeks (which required two steam cleaner rentals). Recently, we discovered fleas on her and the cat. We must have fallen behind on applying FrontLine to the dog. So, we've FrontLined the dog and put something similar on the cat. They don't seem to be horribly bad, but I noticed bites on Molly's legs. I sure hope we can get rid of them. I've felt itchy ever since this discovery. Any ideas?

Oh, and Brittany loved her quilt!

New pattern

Molly has a birthday party to go to on Sunday so I decided to try making something. I started on Friday. Did I mention my deadline problem? Anyway, here's an image of it in its compact form:
Here it is opened up.
Still not sure what it is? Here's a hint:
Yes, it's a fold-up tic-tac-toe board using the chalkboard fabric. I didn't like the way the roll-up chalkboard actually rolled. The chalkboard vinyl has no give, so it gets ripply when you roll it. This has fabric sewn in between the pieces of vinyl, so it can fold. The white stuff is elastic to hold the chalk.If I made another one, I'd do some changes. The way it folds, you can't have a full sized piece of chalk in the leftmost holder as pictured or the chalk would break when you fold the board. And I would make a way to make it look more finished. I'm not happy with my topstitching. But it's a prototype. Do you think this would sell at craft fairs? The million dollar question: how much would one pay for such a thing? It's for a girl who's turning six.

Joy in the New Year

I'm joining in the Joy in the New Year challenge at Tallgrass Prairie Studio. I love Jacquie's work. The idea is that you count your UFOs and then, however many you finish by January 1, you get that number of entries for a prize. Join in! If you're like me, you need a deadline!

Addicted to deadlines

I have a problem. I can't seem to get things done (quilting-wise, anyway) unless I have a deadline. Case in point, Brittany's quilt. I missed her graduation because I knew she didn't need the quilt until she went to college. Then, before September, I had a bunch of deadlines at work -- samples for a gift fair, class samples, etc. "Oh well," I thought, "it won't get cold in Texas for a while anyway." I worked on her quilt and had it 99% finished, and I found a flaw that I wasn't sure how to fix (I discovered a seam that had not been sewn together properly, but the quilt was all quilted). So I put it off. Then Halloween (and the associated costume) was looming. And then we lost the dog and I got cancer and things went all to hell.Front and back

I'm ready to mail it. I haven't trimmed all the threads and I haven't washed it (because I don't have a front-loader), but I'm sending it anyway. I'm so sorry, Brittany, that you had to wait this long.
How it looks on a bed.

Does anyone else have this problem? How do you get through it? I feel pretty shitty about it.
Obligatory Molly pose.

Halloween and bad news

Molly's costume came out great! She was Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. I took a few liberties with the costume to make it more wearable for her. Monica from the shop helped me a LOT with the dress and cape.
I've been gone again because it's been busy. I mentioned in my last post something about doctor appointments. I found out Wednesday that I have breast cancer. It's early -- stage zero, actually -- so that's good. I'll know more after I meet with the surgeon next week, but I will probably only have to go through surgery and radiation. I'm hoping for no chemo.

Finally back!

I am so sorry it's been so long since I've posted. My days lately have been so full, leaving before 8 am and getting home close to 9 pm. I've been sewing at the shop nearly every morning (and this week I have been teaching a class each morning). The afternoons have had anything from Molly's gymnastics or ballet, to meetings with her teacher (I'm the room mom this year), grocery shopping, dealing with dog issues, doctor appointments (for me or others), you name it. More on the dog issues and doctor appointments in a later post. I have too much show and tell!

First I have the Molly quilt. It's from the Fat Quarter Fonts book by Atkinson Designs. It's a smaller version of the name quilt. I know I've mentioned how much I love Terry Atkinson books and patterns before. This is great because the letters are machine appliqued on but have no fusible.Next are some Christmas pins I made for the gift fair at the shop a few weeks back. They're all quite small, maybe 2.5 by 3.5 inches or so. There are pin-backs sewn to each one. They could be ornaments or pins to wear.
And closeups. First is the reindeer. One of the antlers has gotten broken off.
Next is the holly.
Last is the tree. I don't like the green outlining, but I felt it needed something to make it stand out. Oh well, live and learn. At least it's small!
Last, my favorite project, Rudy. It's a pattern from Melly and Me, out of Australia. (Speaking of Australia, I recently had a dream that Simon Baker, who is the guy on The Mentalist, was asking me to help him pick out quilt fabric. Rowrrrr!) This little guy is the cutest ever. His feet are wool. I think the pattern wants wool scraps for the eyes, but I used buttons.

Halloween costume and a surprise

I just got started making Molly's Halloween costume. She's going to be Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. Monica is helping me, since I know nothing about making clothes. We're changing her costume a little, to be more kid-friendly.
I also got the cutest thank you gift in the mail from Jacquie at Tallgrass Prairie Studio. If you haven't seen her site, go see it! She gives me lots of inspiration.