2019 cards to share

Trying to catch up.  More cards from this year to share.  Used to rep Stampin Up but now just stamp with my Senior group.

Over the

Stamped cards from 2019 coming to inspire you.

Here are the cards that the Seniors made in their classes for 2019 so far. My Seniors have been coming for about 10 years at least.  We've lost 2 seniors over the years.  Doris Biesecker was our last to depart and we do miss her.   She had cancer that took her too soon.     Recently another senior , Carolyn moved closer to her son.    They have been so loyal all these years and we do as much laughing as stamping.  It's a pleasure to have them once a month.

Hang around for 2019, that's almost over

Where does time go.  I had such good intentions to keep up my blog this past year.  Once again I shall try to bring you up to date on all the projects I've been working on this year. 

Marked 2 things off my bucket list.  On the list was to make a King quilt.  Well I made 2.  Stay tuned for them to appear this week.

My Senior ladies are still coming to my house for card class once a month so I'll have lots of past projects to share with you as well. 

Had a Birthday and darn how the heck did I get to 72 with such a sad floppy body, no energy.  Have someone cleaning the house now so you'd think I'd have more time and energy...... nope..... lots of naps and trying to get my sugar under control. 

Hope you will like the upcoming pics of the past quilts and cards.  See you soon.  Hugs for hanging around and your patience with me.       Joan

Just catching up on sewing

Started this 11/27/2018.   Releasing now.  8/30/2019

I have been doing some sewing- quilting since we last met.  Rather than boring everyone with multiple new posts, thought I'd try to list them all.

Grab something to drink while you look at what I've been up to.  Hope you'll take a moment to leave some comments.

It's  been a busy time and I seem much slower at everything.   I'm  caregiver for Mama, 96, 9/21/22.   She is doing great.

I have so been enjoying quilting again.   You know whats funny.  The plan was to start downsizing and use up the fabric I have.   Ha ha.  Of course I needed a little of this and that meaning my stash has multiplied. 

Well I've  made things for me, mama, nap blankets for Pre K classes, Preemie blankets for hospital, lap blankets for seniors, etc.  You guessed it, I haven't made a dent and dents keep filling up with new fabrics too hard to resist.  

That's  the way 2018 has gone....

Here we go.....

I made this quilt I think in 2017.  Recently entered it in our quilt show for the strip side.  It won Honorable  Mention. 

Glaucoma & Mama's B'day quilt Sept 2017

Earlier this year I fell in love with string pieced blocks.   Saw them first on Bonnie Hunter's blog.  Also inspired by Crazy Mom Quilts. 

String piecing is just so much fun.  Once you get started it's hard to stop.  Bright colors I thought would be great for a quilt for our bed.   Sounded good til Don said too bright for him. 

I thought I'd ask Mama.  She loved the blocks.   So the plan was set.    9/21/17 b'day gift for her 95th.

Kink in the plans.  May 12, 2017 I had " Glaucoma surgery on my left eye".  That knocked me out of commission for at least 6 weeks.  I was left with a dilated eye blurred eye.    Droopy eye lid is a side effect that is a bummer.   Finally came off the eye drop that was keeping it dilated.   Surprise...the Prednisolone that I've been on since 5/12/2017 has made the cataract in the left eye jump leaps and bounds.  So eye still blurred, no vision for 6 months.   Sucks to sew with one eye. 

Cataract in left eye to be removed 10/31/2017.

Finally around July-August I was getting back to normal.  I started cranking out string blocks.   Did I have measurements....nope.   Did I know finished size. ...nope.  I cut my paper from old phone books.  I cut 7.5" squares and trimmed down to 7".  Did I trim as I went along....nope.   Did I pull strips of fabric willy nilly...nope.   Did I mix in some Batiks...yep.

Did I check all my seams.....nope.  did I remove some strips that didn't work....yep.  Did I realize that when you do that....the paper falls off.....duh...nope.

Did I know how many blocks I'd need....nope.  I kept taking blocks to
Mama's and laid them out on her bed.    Yep...looking good and she is excited.

Keep in mind my sister Kimaley Johnson normally does the quilts on Mama's twin bed and she is good.  She sews a lot.  https://www.instagram.com/kbcjohn/     She also teaches at Sewingly Yours.

I can do this.  I have confidence.  Don't think, just do it.   Only need how many more blocks? ???   A lot.   Finished size....10  7" blocks by 12  7" blocks.  That's the goal.   Just wing it. 

While at Pineapple Fabrics, I found a great fabric for the back.  At the time I wasn't sure of size so I got 3 yards.   Duh.  Of course it wasn't enough.

Once I could see the end of the string block side,  I  could see I needed more backing.    Well I'll just piece the back.   Heck no.  If I'm going to piece it, might as well do a design.

Well this was an old draft that I was coming back to but then could not get back into my blog. 

Mama loved her quilt.  Her favorite is the multi colored String Pieced side.    I'm so pleased that she loves it and tells me often..   This was the largest piece I've ever made and to make it reversible topped it.    Finished!

This was on Mama's bench out back of her apt. at Creekside Terrace Retirement.

This was on the tables in my stamp room.

When the treadmill leaves.....

The treadmill that would not die. 

Part of my life for more years than I care to remember.  We had it our other house.  We lost our home in a house fire, 1993.   The treadmill was in the basement.  We went back to the house to see what we could salvage.   Beep, beep.... where is that coming from...the dreaded treadmill.  Oh my gosh my house is gone but the D... treadmill survived.  A sign?

Well we cleaned it up and it still worked.   When we build the new house we moved in with clothes on our back, 2 lawn chairs, a card table, crafts supplies from basement and the D.... treadmill.  That was 1993.   Moved into a new house with the Treadmill.   Thinking for sure I would use it, I even made a thing for the top to hold a glass, remote, etc.    What positive thinking.    I made it out of foam core and a piece of quarter round molding and covered with paper.  Attached to the arms of treadmill with velcro. 

2017 the decision was made to part with the Treadmill sitting in the corner, causing me a lot of stress each time I passed by it.  It basically just held things, along with my letter from Richard Simmons saying you grew it so now lift it.   

Good Bye Treadmill.    It left my house on top of a car.  I did take a pic but guess I zapped the pic.  No more memories of the treadmill.   Do I still need to be on a treadmill, more than ever but that ship has sailed.    That corner will now hold more quilting fabric.  Loving it gone.  No love lost. 

Guess now I'll have to get the feet moving outside.  Wake up FitBit.

Hope you've missed me.   

Blog issues

Been trying to get back to my blog but had issues and it would not let me back in.  Hope you all have been well and staying busy.

I've been busy quilting mostly,  Also still Rubber Stamping with my seniors group.    Life in general has seemed busy. 

If you left me, I certainly understand.  I'm back in the blog so here we go.  Will try to catch up with lots of pics since we last chatted.    Cards and quilts to come and of course updates on Mama. 

Best wishes to you today and here's to sunny days ahead. 

Hugs, Joan

Where does time go as you get older....August 2017

Hi everyone.  I appreciate all the folks who have hung in with me thru some ups and downs.

Well it's August, 2017 and after 17 years as a Stampin Up Demonstrator, it's over for me.

Mama was sick in July 2014  with a very bad UTI that her doctor ignored.
By fall I was a caregiver.  She was 90.5.  We gave up her home of 69 years, the only home she had ever owned since she moved from Cuba, 1946.

    She now lives in a Independent Retirement Community and has a small apartment.  

She did a lot of activities in the beginning but has now settled down to her old routine of naps, Andy Griffith and crossword puzzles.    She's healthy and doing great.

Yellow sweater is one of my favorite pics. from late fall 2014.   I liked her hair.

  She has 3 meals available per day in the very nice dining room.  It's a very nice place to live and meet many new people as someone is always moving in.


 She will be 95 in Sept. and is doing wonderful.  It's like she's a new person.  She had no one to talk to living at home.  She had to think about what to fix to eat and many times it was McDonalds up the road.  

It's easy to find her apt. just down from the dining room.

   People often enjoy looking at her back patio

as well as the seating area we created.   I should be so healthy and live to 95.    Don't think that will happen but it would be nice as I have lots of creative things yet to do.    I just turned 70.


Broken Wrist.    Early in the year, 2016,  
I did a dumb thing.

 I tried to step down backwards off the steps.  Don was upstairs and I was on the second from bottom step tossing packs of quilt batting up to him to store upstairs as it was for Preemie quilts for our guild.    Well once we were done, I thought I was on the first step as I backed down.  Oops.  No floor and down I went, swinging around on the stairs post and landed in the hall with my right wrist wrenched against the wall.  I was screaming and Don said, I can't lift you.  Now is not the time to tell me that.....LOL.  I managed to get on my knees and he helped me up.  Yep.... I broke it good.  Right handed of course I could only think about all the things I would not be able to do.    Did you know it's hard to pull up your britches in the bathroom.

 My left hand was only for decoration.  It was not a working limb.    I needed Don for a lot of things..... you know that saying..... for better or worse.    He had to take my night guard out in the am as it was too snug for one hand to get.    It was a very long 4 months.

 Then around early 2017 I realized I just was losing interest in Stampin Up and have way too many supplies.  I'm currently down to one class a month, with some ladies who have been so loyal for about 9 years.    They come to a surprise class monthly where they make 3 projects (cards) for $15 and I supply everything.  My demonstratorship stopped early spring with Stampin Up.    Actually I'm a bit less stressed trying to keep up with minimums.    Now I just do a class a month, we laugh and often snack.  I have some great ladies who come to class.  Class is now 7 ladies as we just recently lost a dear member, Doris Biesecker to that nasty C.    I have enough supplies to last a long while.  I told them, when the card stock runs out, I'm done.

Trabeculectomy   May, 12, 2017.  What we had been putting off for a long time, was in our face....Surgery on the left eye.    I go to Duke Eye Center, part of Duke University, for my Glaucoma.  I found out I was type II diabetic in 2/2007.  It was recommended I check on my eyes.  Of course Dr. Sasser at Midway Eye Center said, I think you have the beginnings of Glaucoma and need to be seen.

 He got me in the next day with Dr. Moya.  I've been there ever since.  It was worse in the left eye.  We treated it for years with many different drops that you need an excel sheet for.    Finally we were at the end of the road.  He said it's time for surgery.  Shame the cataract is not ready so we could do both at the same time.   I spent better than 3 months hardly moving out of my chair.  No bending, lifting, no stress!!!!    Lots of naps.

Surprise, the Prednislone for the Left Eye, has not made the cataract in the left eye grown leaps and bounds.  It's to the point that Dr. Moya and the Retina specialist could not see behind it to see if eye still swollen.  That eye has been blurred since May.    Really can't see much besides fuzzy things, nothing clear.  
   Now we will discuss cataract surgery for later this year.   Of course it's not a normal one but I think 3 cataracts in one.    Just couldn't be simple.

So here we are, August, 2017.  Finally lifting, bending, trying to catch up on things I've missed out on.  My seniors class was this week and it was nice to see the ladies.  We were missing 3 this past week.   This is my stamp room in the basement.

Quilting is a renewed passion.   5 years ago I invited folks to join me for a Quilting Bee named "Busy Bees" and we are still going strong.  We have 9 local members and often it's a full space of buzzing machines.  We quilt from 9 am to about 3:30 and on, every Thursday, at the local Rec Center.
 I've been busy sewing since you and I last visited on my blog.    The blog got put on the back burner. My goal is to come back and share some of the pieces I've made.

Lately I've been working on simple string piecing blocks for a quilt for our bed.  BIG challenge.  Of course Don hates all the colors.  Bummer.  Not  going on our bed.   String block is a lot of strips of leftover fabrics.  I cut phone book pages to 7.5" and sewed on the diagonal.  When put together you can get lots of different layouts.  This is mine to form diamonds.

Well it's ready to layer and quilt once I finish the back.   Mama likes it so will make a twin for her and maybe reversable.   My first attempt at 1/2 square triangles.  We'll see when finished.  I'll share the results.

 My eyes are currently 2D and cutting is a bit off.  Trying to dead head flowers was a lot of cutting air so keeping sewing simple.

Well, I hope I can get back to staying in touch and sharing.

If you need a Stampin Up supply, don't hesitate to ask.  I just might have it.

Feb 2017 Stamp Class

April 2017 class...relax at beach

April 9, 2017 class .
I love this set with the ladies.

 

 the flower

Has been curled to be raised.  Beads 

For the center.