This is block #4!

Rhonda

This is block #3!

Rhonda

This is the second of six blocks that I have done from the Fat Cat Patterns website.

Rhonda

It is snowing!!!! I won't be going anywhere today. Didn't go anywhere yesterday. All due to the nasty weather here in Southern Indiana. We received about 6" snow Monday night. Tuesday we had sleet and freezing rain all day. This morning I woke up to a heavy snow that the forecasters are saying we can get 5" more of.
My DH just came in and him and his brother are heading somewhere to buy generators. I guess suffering through Hurricane Ike was enough for them.

Here is some photos of the snow so far.




I have been getting some sewing done. I started on some applique blocks from Fat Cat Patterns. Here is the first of six blocks that I have done.


Stay warm and dry today!

Rhonda

The weather outside is soon to be frightful!!! We are currently under a Winter Storm Warning here in Southern Indiana. Depending on who you listen to we are to receive anywhere between 5 and 10 inches of snow. Of course, snow wouldn't be complete without some ice also. It is currently sleeting outside. I guess we will just have to wait until late tomorrow night, when this is suppose to end, to see what we end up with.

Stay warm!!!!

Rhonda

Just dropped by to let you know about a Blog Giveaway over at Bitty Bits & Pieces. Please mention my blog when you leave your comment! Good Luck!

Rhonda

I spent a great day with my good friend Joanne and my Mom today. Oh, and I can't forget my step dad Nolan. The plan was to get together to sew but you know how plans are.

This morning we started putting together some fabrics for a quilt that my Mom wants to make for my niece. She didn't really have what we needed but we were trying. While we were looking on the internet for companion fabrics, Nolan called and asked what we would like for lunch. Of course, we couldn't decide so he made a suggestion. His suggestion worked for all of us. We all went to Christies Restaurant in Salem. Absolutely great place to eat!!!! Afterwards, of course, we had to stroll down the block to Craft Town. Craft Town has an awesome selection of quilting fabrics! So we all managed to spend some $$$ in that store. Nolan was so patient and had fun looking at all the gadgets.

I did add my purchases to the right side of my blog. Thanks for the comment Aileen on the previous post. It is not bravery but curiousity!!! lol

On our drive back, Nolan or Mom (can't remember which one) had another great idea. Stopping at McDonalds for an Iced coffee. When we got back to Mom and Nolan's we enjoyed a piece of Oatmeal Cake Mom had made the night before. I need to get that recipe from her.

I think we all had a great day! It is always nice to spend the day with Mom and Nolan but today was especially nice since Joanne got to join us. We will definitely have to do this again sometime.

Great to see you again Joanne! Miss ya already GF!!!

Rhonda

I have been sitting here on the computer for the last hour reading quilting blogs. There are so many out there to read and, of course, look at all the eye candy. I am amazed at how many there are! I wish I could add all of them to my blog list but where do you stop. With work and everything else that needs to get done it would be totally impossible to keep up with all of them. The Just Us Quilters blog is a great place to start your reading. Another great place is Quilting Blogs from Around the World.
So where do you start and where do you stop?

I have been working on some satin stitch applique blocks that have been offered at Fat Cat Patterns. I am going to try and get some photos taken this weekend to post.

On the right side of my blog you will notice that I have been keeping track of all my quilty purchases for the year. I haven't started out very good so far. Hopefully I will do better. I am trying to use up a lot of the fabric I already have. At the end of the year, I will be able to tell how much I actually spent this year. I hope that I am not shocked at the end result.

Hope you have great plans for the weekend!

Rhonda

Just got back from the dreaded trip to the dentist. Only had a cleaning but it is always so nerve racking to go. You never know what they will find. I keep waiting to see if they pull any FQ's out from between my teeth. LOL
Had to make a quick stop at New Frankfort Merchantile on my way home. I had them order me some fabric and they called yesterday to let me know it had arrived.
Last night I got home and my package of quilting stencils had arrived also. Couldn't wait to rip into that package!
I have the weekend off work so I plan to get quite a bit of sewing done. Wish me luck!

Have a great day! I have to get ready to go to work!

Rhonda

Just got finished purchasing some quilting stencils from an online company. I added the purchase at the side of my blog. I did purchase some fabric on Wednesday but it was with a gift certificate I received for Christmas. Since I actually didn't pay for it I didn't think I needed to include it in my purchases so far this year. How are you doing on controlling your Quilty Spending?

Rhonda

I am totally not getting any sewing done this weekend. I did make it to Mom's yesterday but we spent the time playing with her new sewing/embroidery machine. Stopped at Max and Erma's on the way home to pick up dinner.
Today I spent the biggest part of the day gathering photos to send to the boys' new parents. They sent us photos last week via Ohio Children and Family Services. I had agreed to send them photos from when the boys were younger. The boys look really happy in the photos and that is all we have ever wanted for them. Hopefully one day we will see them again. I still wish we had been the ones to adopt them but at least we can tell they are happy and that is what matters.
Tomorrow is back to work for 2 days. My next day off will be on Wednesday. I am already looking forward to Wednesday. I am not making any plans. You know what happens when you make plans! lol

Have a great evening!

Rhonda

Have you ever had one of those days? Well, I had another one today. lol

Went in to work early for an in-service. All of us thought it wouldn't last long. We were wrong of course. 1 hour and 15 minutes. Then we had to start our shift immediately and late. If you are like me, being late makes the day go wrong all together. I was suppose to be on Memory Care Unit tonight but got switched at the start of the shift. No big deal! I got switched to the hardest hall but that didn't bother me either. I love working that hall! The bad part is that the hall has a couple of very needy people. VERY NEEDY!!!! Some days they are quiet but not tonight. lol I guess that is what makes the job interesting. You never know what is going to happen.

I have the whole weekend off so I am going to Mom's tomorrow to do a little sewing. I have been working on a machine applique project. I don't know why I felt the need to start another project but I did. I thought it would be a good project to take with me when I go to Mom's. It is too! I have 2 blocks done. Tomorrow I plan to take the other 4 blocks to work on. I won't get them satin stitched down but I will be able to get them fused to the background. The blocks are free from FatCat Patterns. I am doing the flower pot blocks. They are 16 1/2" blocks and I am doing them in blues. I plan to make a large quilt out of these. She has 6 blocks up right now and hopefully when I get these done she will have put up more.

I still hope to get some of my UFO's done this year. Just too many projects I want to do. lol

Hope you have a great weekend!

Rhonda

Gosh it sure has been a while. Almost a month now since I posted. Yikes! Where does the time go!

I haven't gotten to do much in the way of quilting. First there were the holidays to keep me busy and now it is a full time job that occupies my time.

Our family had a wonderful Christmas again this year. Christmas Eve was spent with my Mom and Dad (actually my stepdad but who is counting). My niece Aimee and her husband, Mike, and their 2 children were here from South Carolina. It had been several years since they were able to make it here for the holidays. It was so great to see them.

Christmas Day was spent with all of our kids here for the day. I fixed a big dinner and we ate, and ate, and even ate some more. lol

I received some wonderful gifts from my family. The best were the gift certificates to 3 different quilt shops. I am sure I will use them. Actually I already used one. lol I am trying to save the other 2 for things that I really, really need. Something like just a need to spend some $$$ on my addiction to fabric is something that I would consider a really, really big need. lol

I got 5 quilts done for Christmas gifts. Along with 5 purses and 4 Wonder wallets. I think I accomplished quite a bit. Hopefully I will get started earlier this year and accomplish more.

I have decided to try and not buy any fabric and quilty items this year. I know it is completely impossible to do that but I would at least like to know how much I actually spend this year. So in order to do that, I have added a section at the side of my blog to keep track of all my quilty purchases this year. Do I have to add what I buy with my gift certificates? I think not, since I am actually not paying for those items.

I have one more night to work and then I will be off one day. So Tuesday I plan to get some sewing accomplished. Wish me luck!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Rhonda

Gosh I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted!
I guess I have just been really busy or very boring!
I did get my CNA/RHHA license back last month. I have done a little job hunting but thought I would wait until after the holidays to look seriously. I put in applications at 2 different places and have heard from both. The first one I turned down the job. Did you ever feel like things weren't right about something? That was my impression of the first place. The second place called yesterday and I have an interview tomorrow afternoon. I think this place would be a good place to work and was where I wanted to hear from of the two.
I spent the day with my Mom and SIL Jan getting some sewing done. Jan and I finished a summer quilt for my Dad and his wife for Christmas. Mom needed a baby rag quilt made for a gift so Jan and I did that also. I was able to finish a batik quilt last night. Finally got that quilted and the binding on. It is now ready to be washed and wrapped for Christmas. I have 2 quilts that I need to get quilted and bound before Christmas. This Santa is running a little behind schedule!
Mary L. is the owner of a yahoo group I belong to. She asked everyone in the group their quilting goals for 2009. I made my list and will try to stick to it!

So here are my 2009 goals!

1. Complete all my UFO's. I know that sounds like a big accomplishment to some but I really don't have that many. Some need borders and quilting and some just need quilting. I think I have a total of 8 of those.
a. Design border, add border and quilt black, white & red spikey wall quilt
b. Black, white & red log cabin quilt
c. Quilt row by row quilt
d. Quilt purple spikey wall quilt
e. Quilt wall quilt made for Wierd to Wonderful challenge
f. Make quilt using Batik Happy blocks
g. Quilt blue and yellow Bag Lady quilt
h. Quilt blue and white star quilt
i. Put binding on scrap quilt
2. Finish piecing my Civil War Love Letters quilt blocks.
3. Continue to watch my quilty spending very closely. So far I haven't used my credit card since September which is a very good thing for me.
4. Keep track of all my purchases and post to my blog. Thanks Mary for the idea! If I post it as soon as I get home it should be easy enough to do.
5. Use up at least 1/2 of the 33 gallon tote of scraps that I have. That should be 2 quilts in itself. I have already made one and didn't make a dent in the tote full.

I got some photos to share with you.

This is a picture of some blocks on my design wall. I won these blocks in the Quilting In Indiana yahoo group. Aren't they great! Big Thanks to all my friends at Quilting in Indiana! This will most likely NOT be the final version. Just wanted to see what they would look like together!


These are photos of a scrappy quilt I have been working on. I used a quilt as you go method that I learned at retreat back in September. All the fabric except the black came from my scrap tote. Instead of batting I used some scrap fleece that my MIL had given me. Didn't know what else to use it for.

This is the front-----


This is the back-----


Hope you had a great day! I know I did!

Rhonda

What a day! I had my first day of clinicals today. 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. I was so nervous today before I left the house. Definitely a case of STRESS! I now know there was nothing to worry about. I guess I just can't help but worry about everything. How do you not? If you know the answer to that one, please tell me. It was actually a really nice day. I got to meet new people and enjoy their company for 8 hours. The Clinical Instructor was so very nice and helpful. Very sweet lady!

I was able to get a little sewing done over the weekend but not much. I made 2 blocks for the Block Lottery on our Quilting In Indiana yahoo group. Now I just need to get those in the mail tomorrow. I had planned to do it today but it just didn't happen. I also got the second border on a lap quilt I have been working on. One more border and it will be ready to quilt.

My DS, Micky, came from Ohio for a visit on Saturday. I had planned to go to my mother's for a while that day. I think she was pleasantly surprised when I showed up at her house with Mick. After we got back from there, we watched a movie that DD, Jill, had rented. It was called The Eye. Interesting movie but isn't one I would highly recommend. Mick and I ended up going to Madison and picking up pizza and a couple more movies. Just like The Eye, they were funny but not hilariously funny like we had expected. It was just fun to spend some time with Mick.

Well, that is it for today.

Rhonda

The last day of classroom training was today. I feel like I have learned a lot and still have a lot to learn. We took 2 tests today and I scored 100% on both. Yeah!!! Monday we start clinical so that should be fun.
I hope to spend some time with my sewing machine this weekend. My plan is to get the borders on the quilt that is on my design wall.

Thank you Jacquie for cheering me on this week! I really appreciate it!

Hope you had a great day!

Rhonda

Day 3 of 4 is done!!! One last day of classroom training for my CNA license. It seems to be getting easier. Another 100% on my test today. Tomorrow it will be 2 tests! Yikes!
Clinical training starts Monday and goes for 2 weeks. I am really looking forward to it. It is really hard to just sit and listen to lectures for hours each day.

Fall is definitely here! The cooler weather makes me want to wrap up in a quilt and settle in for the evening but too much to do. I have dinner in the oven, if you can call it that. Another quick meal out of the box. I knew it would be hard for me to go to class all day, drive an hour home and then cook a meal. So when I went to the grocery over the weekend I picked up a few meals in a box.

I haven't had time to sew all week. So the quilt I have on my design wall will probably stay there until the weekend. I just need to add 2 of the 3 borders. It is really turning out nice!

Time to go and find that quilt I do believe!
Hope you had a great day!!

Rhonda

Wow! I made it through my 2nd day of CNA class. Two more days of classroom training. We had a test today over what we learned on Monday. I got a 100% so I was quite happy. I guess the studying I did this morning helped. Yesterday evening I thought I was a lost cause. So much to learn and so little time!!!
Doing this leaves me no time for sewing. I got home at 6:30 this evening. Hurriedly fixed one of those Complete Meals by Betty Crocker (I think). Did the dinner dishes and folded the towels that were in the dryer. Started a load of wash. Answered emails.
Now it is almost time to go to bed so I can start all over tomorrow. Test again tomorrow! Will study in the morning!

Hope you had a great day!

Rhonda

It has definitely been a great day! I finished my first day of CNA class and only 3 more to go. Classroom days of course. Then the clinical weeks begin we I am really looking forward to. I should really be studying for the test I have tomorrow. I hate reading though! Maybe it would be better to do it in the morning when my mind is fresh.

We got great news in the mail today also. Jill has been accepted at Hanover College for the Fall 2009 semester. She is so excited! Of course, I am too. When she applied a couple of months ago, I thought she would be disappointed. But the application at the time was free, so why not try anyway. Hanover College is very hard to get into. It is compared to Harvard and Yale. Today the big news came.

Here is a portion of the letter:

Dear Jill,

Congratulations! On behalf of the campus community, it gives me great pleasure to offer you admission to Hanover College for the fall term of 2009.

Since our founding in 1827, our college has been a close, tight-knit community, very much like a family. With that in mind, we are very careful about who we invite to become part of the family because we are not just admitting a freshman class, we are admitting our future alumni. Based on your academic record and your contributions to both your school and community, we feel you would be a great fit here at Hanover.

In the meantime, I am very pleased to welcome you to our community and look forward to you joining us on campus as a member of the Class of 2013.


I am so proud of her I could bust! Now, the really hard part comes. Paying the tuition!

CONGRATULATIONS JILL!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you had a great day also!!

Rhonda

It has really been quite a while since I posted. Since the last time, I have done so much I don't even know where to start.
The retreat I went to was the greatest. I have never laughed so hard in all my life. What do you expect though when you get together with good quilty friends.
We had a paint chip challenge for the retreat. From the beginning, I called my challenge project Root Canal. Root Canal went home with a good friend of mine at retreat. Shannon now has that ugly thing, well I think it is ugly. I thought I had a photo of Root Canal on my computer but as usual couldn't find it. Oh well, it wasn't exactly something I wanted to show. LOL

I start CNA (Certified Nurses Aide) training tomorrow. One week of classroom and two weeks of clinical. I am really excited about it. I have wanted to do this for a while. I actually even enrolled earlier in the year, but had to withdraw because we started the process of trying to adopt our boys. I really miss them and think about them a lot. I hope they are happy in their new home.

In our attempt to adopt our boys, we became a foster home. We had our first placement a couple of weeks ago. A little girl that was 3 years old stayed with us for 12 days. I am so glad that is over. I don't think we will be taking anymore foster children. Maybe we just had a bad experience but I don't think we will do it again. I have a lot of respect for those that do it continually.

That is it for today. I will try to get here more often to post.
Have a great Sunday afternoon!

Rhonda