Back From the Quilter and Echo Approved!

I was back in ND the last couple weeks of October working on the house some more and seeing family.  It was a great trip and I have been accumulating pictures for some blog posts with before and after photos of what we have done so far with the house.  Guess I should probably finally post those for my bedroom down here too since I completely forgot about that.  A sneak peek of the bed and one of the lamps is in the picture below.

When I got back from my trip, S's quilt was ready for pickup from my long arm quilter, so here it is, all quality control tested by Echo and ready for trimming and binding.  I am hoping to get the trimming done yet today and the binding attached by machine.  The binding is made, so I should be able to get that done.  I want to start sewing it down while I watch the new Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel tonight.  I just love that channel during the holidays.  It seems to have the best movies.  In my opinion anyway :-).

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, it is my birthday today...43 years old.  I have a thing about the number 3, I hate it, so I told S that I may just tell people that I'm 44 for two years and skip 43 lol.  As a little birthday gift to myself, I bought these yummy batiks from Jackie during her sale last weekend.

Of course I had help with them when I started getting them ready to wash.

Echo simply moved to the pile once I pulled the pieces out from under him that he was laying on in the above picture.

On an unrelated feline note, I have an orange and white cat that has started coming around, usually in the back yard. He drinks out of the pool and hangs out a bit from time to time.  This morning I was laying in bed when I heard the most awful sound.  It was cool outside so the windows were open and apparently Echo and Tyrone were looking out the front window when the orange and white cat showed up outside the window.  To say that Tyrone wasn't happy to see him would be an understatement!

Panels, Books, Patterns & one Kit for Sale

The paring down begins, even if it is only a tiny baby step.  I figure if I start now, I might be about 50% ready to move by the time the move date arrives next June.  I thought I'd put these things on my blog for a bit first before heading over to Ebay or Etsy. 

So here's what I've got for this round.  I have a number of panels, a number of books, a few patterns and one kit.  Prices do not include shipping.  All items are new, in excellent condition, except for one small exception noted below, and they are from a smoke free home.  You already know this isn't a pet free home, but none of these items were harmed in any way by the felines that live here lol.

Please email me at pawsntailsquilts@gmail.com if interested in any of the items.  Thanks for looking!

Monster Machines Panel from Northcott - $5.00 (SOLD)

Jungle Animals Panel - $5.00 (SOLD)

Whimsical Workshop Panel by Heidi Pridemore - $4.00 - note, the upper left hand wrench has a small cut in it

Fabriholics Forever Panel from Moda - $5.00 (SOLD)

With All my Heart panel for Marcus Brothers - $5.00



True Friends by Nancy Halvorsen - $10.00

Shadow Quilts - $10.00

In The Studio With Judy Murrah - $5.00

Quick Cozy Flannel Quilts - $5.00

Garden Club Quilts - $10.00

Scrap Happy Quick-Pieced Scrap Quilts by Sally Schneider - $10.00

Easy Applique by BH&G - $5.00

From the Heart quilts to cherish - $10.00

Turtle Party - includes 2 patterns - $4.00

Candy Hearts pattern - $4.00

Tulips kit - $20.00

Checkerboard Chickens - $4.00





Sassy Strikes Again!

Yes, Sassy has managed to break something else.  This time it was my ancient blender with a real glass container, not the plastic ones you get now days.  You can about guess what kind of mess that made when it met up with the ceramic tile.  She managed to get the thing, which probably weighed as much as she does, all the way from the back of the counter to the front and off the edge.  Here is what part of the floor looked like (you can't see the pile of crushed glass under the counter) and what the pitcher looks like now.

It's a good thing she's so cute or she would be looking for a new home!  Just kidding.  Really :-). 

Hot Off The Sewing Machine!

Lest you think I have been sitting around eating bon bons since my last post on, ahem, August 19th, I assure you that is not the case.  I have actually been sewing!  Yes, it's true lol.  And I took lots of pictures during the process that I intended to post, but obviously that didn't happen.  But I am posting the finished quilt top, so surely that should count for something. 

This quilt is S's Christmas present, and he knows about it, so no worries about spoiling the surprise.  In fact, I was furiously sewing blocks into rows and then rows together when he was here last weekend.  Last night I attached the borders and here is the finished top, which apparently meets Sassy's approval lol.

The pattern is Radio Flyer by Carrie Nelson and the fabrics are a mix of the Moda Java and Bistro lines by Deb Strain combined with creams and tans from my stash.  More backing fabric is on the way, after I realized I didn't have enough, so next up is piecing the backing when that gets here so I can get the quilt to my longarm quilter by October 6th and the bound and finished by Christmas!

In addition to working on this quilt and preparing tax returns for the tax deadline that was yesterday, did I mention that S and I bought a house while I was in ND in July and that it closed escrow on the 8th of this month?  No kidding.  So we've had a bit going on with that and now that he has taken possession this week, next up are flooring changes and painting.  Lots and lots of painting.  I will be heading up there to help in the near future and on my to do's for today is a trip to Lumber Liquidators to look at the laminate in person that we picked out together online last night.  If it's a go, then he will get it ordered so it is ready for us to install during my October trip. 

This weekend is the big move for him so he can get his house on the market ASAP.  My big move will come early next summer.  Since our real estate market is so poor down here, we figure the best move is to rent my house for now.  Anyone looking to rent in Phoenix starting next summer?

So that is what has been going on in my neck of the woods.  Oh, and killing scorpions.  I'm getting kind of sick of that, but hopefully scorpion season will be over soon.  I will spare you the pictures of those.  Suffice it to say that in the last week I have not only seen the smallest scorpion I have ever seen in my house, but also the largest.  Yuck.  And I have a new pet.  Stuart.  As in Stuart Little.  Yes, it is a mouse.  He lives in my garage and I did buy a trap with which to humanely kill and dispose of him, but then I read online that mice eat scorpions.  He seems to be a bachelor mouse, so as long as that is the case, he gets to stay, provided he eats the scorpions, which I think he does since the dead ones I leave in the garage seem to disappear by morning.  That seems like a win/win to me.

Pets on Quilts Show

The 2011 Pets on Quilts Show is underway and hosted by Sewcalgal. I have not entered the show in the past, but decided to this year since I have plenty of both pets and quilts lol. So here is my entry.


I am currently owned by three fun, feisty felines that love to "assist" with my quilting.  All three were rescued from shelters here in Phoenix.  Echo and Sassy came home with me on the same day in October 2009 from the Arizona Humane Society and Tyrone was adopted in November 2005 from Sun Valley Animal Shelter.

Echo is by far my most reliable helper and can be counted on to be around nearly every time there is some quilting activity going on. 

He has a rather unhealthy obsession with cardboard boxes, so he is generally the first to show up to inspect a new box of fabric that has come in the mail.

He also loves to supervise the cutting and pinning of blocks.
 

He helps squish the fabric down so the lid fits on the container.

 
He rearranges blocks when the layout is not to his liking.
 

He makes sure that the quilting is "just right".

He checks finished tops to make sure they are soft and cuddly.

 
He supervises the basting, although he can't be left unattended with the pins as he has an unhealthy obsession with those too *sigh*.
 

 
And finally, he checks the finished quilts to make sure they are all ready to go.
 

 
Sassy is also a pretty good helper, although she is more selective about the activities in which she participates. 
 
One of her obsessions is the iron and she will get as close as she possibly can without getting burned.  She will often lay on one end of the ironing board while I am pressing on the other.  Goofy cat.
 

 
She also really likes to help me prewash and dry fabric.
 

Then she checks it again once it's dry to make sure it will be acceptable for our quilts.

 
On occasion, she will also supervise the actual sewing.
 

And sometimes she is just too exhausted to be any help at all!



Tyrone is my oldest assistant and now that there are younger workers available, he tends to take it easy and generally doesn't show up for work most days lol.  But here is in his glory days helping me to attach the binding to a king size quilt.
 

He also helped sew on a label one time.

As I said, Tyrone is pretty much retired these days from his quilting helping, at the ripe old age of 6!  What a life!  But no worries, as you can see, I've got two other helpers that are more than willing to pick up his slack lol.

Still Here...

This summer has just flown by!  I have so many things I planned to blog about but got so busy doing them that I didn't get time to write about them. 

I was back in North Dakota for two weeks in July and had a great time with S and his kids.  We got to take a little vacation to dig for fossils in Montana and I also got to see my dad, my sister, his parents and one sister, as well as an old friend while I was up there.  All in all it was a great trip.  There was one big unplanned thing that happened towards the end of the trip, but I will save that story for another post as I'm short on time right now.  Surprise, surprise lol.

After I got back and got caught up a bit with the house stuff, I started working on S's quilt that I am making him for Christmas.  I'm using Carrie Nelson's Radio Flyer pattern.  Lots and lots of cutting and piecing, but I'm having a blast with it and it is going fast.  I have been putting in a lot of sewing time and have a lot to show for it, but again, pictures and details will have to wait for another post.

Oh, and I sold the Texas ranch property and that sale closed this week.  I will miss it, but it is time to move on.  And further north as S's sister said lol.

Until next time, keep on quilting!