October - Breast Cancer Month

All of you who have not had your mammogram this year, while you are reading this, pick up your phone, call your dr. and make that appointment to have it done.  I am an 8 year survivor of breast cancer.  Mine was discovered on a mammogram.  I was one of the lucky ones, mine was discovered early.  Statistically  one in seven women will get breast cancer sometime in their lives.  When you go to your guild meetings keep it in mine, that chances are that one in seven in that group could have had or will have breast cancer.   And ladies be sure to tell your husbands, brothers, uncles, cousins and whom ever that one in one thousand men also get breast cancer. 

Hope all is well.................

Mariner's Compass

Mariner's Compass

I am still working on the Mariner's Compass.  It is coming along, but this weekend I am going to have to quit working on it because I have another quilt that I must finish.  It is nearly done still needing a border and a pieced border, a pieced back, batting, sandwiching, quilting and binding.  Maybe it will be a ten day project.  Then I can return to the Compass quilt. 

What is new????  Not much here.  Things are about the same.  Everyone headed out this morning for Market at Houston.  I didn't go.  I am going to miss all the fun, but I am going to be richer.  That place is very dangerous for the pocket book.  For those of you who don't know they have Sample Spree on Friday night.  Temptation, temptation, it will part you from the contents of your wallet. 

It looks like rain, but it is not predicted.  It is still warm here - 83 now.   It would actually be good if we did get some rain.  We have not had more than a few drops all month.  October is usually dry.

For those of you who like English history.  I am reading /listening on CD (while I quilt) to a book by Alison Weir.  It is "Innocent Traitor."  It is about Lady Jane Grey.  It had to be tough to be royalty back in the 15th/16th century.  Those people were cold. 

Hope all is well on your end. 

Visitors, Dogs and Quilting...............

Bob and Julie

I had company this week from Cedar Rapids, IA.  They are snowbirds and were on their way to their home in Texas.  It is always so nice to see old friends.  I have known Bob for nearly all my life (not quite).  He was a roommate of my husband, Jim.  He married Julie many years ago.  Julie and I have things in common, like quilting.  They were in a hurry to get to their home, it was damaged in a storm and they needed to get it taken care of.  Our visit was short, but enjoyable and I may see them again come spring, when they head back north. 

Mariner's Compass

I am working on a Mariner's Compass.  There is four of us meeting roughly every 7-10  days.  We found a quilt designed by Brenda Henning.  It is a lovely quilt and will keep us busy for awhile.  Here is a picture of one of the compasses.  It is not put together, it is still in pieces but it gives you the idea. This pattern is really neat because it has several large pattens for the big compasses.  You pick the ones you wish to use.   The quilt has 5 large compasses and 4 smaller ones.  This is suppose to be my project for when we meet.  I am behind and I will probably always be behind.  I would like to make the parts when we meet and put them together with my Pfaff at home.  I don't drag my Pfaff around unless it is absolutely necessary. 

The fabric to the side, is fabric that I have auditioned for the next compass.  The fabric around the compass is the fabric that I am going to use as background around the compasses.

Jack and Yethi

Winter is coming, I decided that my big dog needed a doggy bed.  She likes sleeping on the tiles, but in the winter they get cold.  She also has a very thick rug (like a wool) she sleeps on.  Yethi is now over 8 years old.  I have noticed lately that sometimes she walks like she is stiff.  I bought her a Simmons Orthopedic bed.  I found a place in my bedroom for it and Jack (the other dog) took it over.  He growled at her if she came close.   I have twin beds in my bedroom (pushed together), Jack has occupied one until now.  I guess I will have to make a trip to Petco and buy another bed. 

Hope all is well with you..................

Sweater and Kitties..........

Front

A while back, like probably June, I wrote in my blog about the yarn that I had bought in Alaska.  I also wrote about me not crocheting since in the early 80's.  After a few times that I tore this sweater apart, I think I probably have the stitch size down. 

The sweater has an interesting pattern.  The border I changed a little bit.  I didn't like the way they had done it so I did it Sharie's way. 

Back

Pattern

The sweater was very easy to make, but it is rather an odd way to make it.  You make a huge rectangle.  Then you measure off a certain amount of stitches across the foundation stitches.  That places the armholes, the lower back and the upper back.  There is no way you can lay this thing flat once it is put together.  You can also make many mistakes and no one is going to know it. 

Not a lot new here, no shop hops to go on.  Houston is coming up soon but I have not made up my mind about going.  It is roughly a three hour drive from here.  The Circle plans on going for 2 nights.  Sounds like fun but I am sure it would be a costly trip and you know what, there is absolutely nothing that I need.  You say go and don't buy anything.  You are out of your mind.  You haven't been to Houston.  There is no way you can go to Houston and not buy lots and lots of things that you don't need.  I have tried not to buy the things that I don't need.  It just is not going to happen.  But don't be surprised at the end of the month, I have decided to go to Houston.

One more picture of my kittie kats.  They are so cute.  They follow me around everywhere.  Smokey is laying on my project boxes.  I was getting ready to go sew.  Both of them (JAC and Smokey) just had to know what I was doing. 

JAC and Smokey

Next blog will have something on quilting.

Hope all is well with you.