Lovely!!!

My FNSI started off with a wee bit of shopping. Mom and I went to JAF and bought her background fabric for the new BOM (Hot Flashes) at The Quilters Studio. Then we went to Hobby Lobby to get the knitting needles that I needed.

When I was about 9 or 10 years old, my mom tried to teach me how to knit. I started out with a skein of red cotton yarn and a pair of size 8 knitting needles. I would knit and knit and knit. And after I went to bed, she would try to fix the mess I'd made. I lost interest (if I ever had any) and she gave up on me ever becoming a domestic goddess.

Last month I bought a book to learn how to knit. I started a knitting project (that I bought the needles for). I am not very good at all and, after failing four times to get the first row, I moved on to a different project.

I pressed the panda and bamboo batik fabrics for a quilt that I have had planned for a while. But then I remembered that the fabrics hadn't been prewashed, so I decided to work on something else.

I ended the night working on an afghan that I started a couple of years ago for Mom. I have made one for myself. Mom loved it and wanted one, too. I worked on it and listened to "A Breath of Snow and Ashes" till I was too tired to keep my eyes open.

Lovely!!!

Mom says that I sound just like the little old ladies in "Saving Grace" when I talk about how lovely things are.

Diana - I love Grace. I really, really love her ...
Quentin - Right. Where do I find her?
Diana - In a lovely, lovely house. I love her.
Quentin - And how do I find the lovely, lovely house?
Diana - Up the lovely, lovely hill

from Saving Grace

A Renegade!!!

The second FNSI was last night, and what a night it was. I started early cause I had lots ta do. I have Christmas presents currently residing in front of my sewing machine, so I knew I had to do hand work. Good thing too, because I am several months behind on my candy cane letters.

I traced out the rest of the alphabet p-z and decided that I would work on the outlines only, and see how far I got. I worked on them while I watched the ending of Renegade season 1. Then it was time for the four hours of Without A Trace, so I stitched during the commercials. Then I stitched during the beginning of Renegade season 2. I got the outlines to P and Q done and was starting R when the thread had a hissy fit. My thread kept snapping. After giving it a good tongue-thrashing, I decided to go to bed.

Mom wanted me to skip to U after P so that my post would say P.U.

Since I didn't completely finish any of the letters, I didn't take a picture. I will post them when they are done so everyone can see.

My Birthday FNSI!!!

So, let's start at the beginning. FNSI was on my birthday and, of course, I sewed and celebrated in style. I spent most of Friday morning at the Colorado DMV. Not the best place to spend your birthday, but certainly not the worst. After we were done there, mom offered to buy me lunch anywhere I wanted and she had no input since she wouldn't be eating. We both happened to be sick on my birthday, with different things. I chose the one place that she hates more than anything since she wasn't going to eat anyway. I love Taco Bell. She says she wants a place that gives you an after dinner mint. Well, it so happens that I was given not just a mint, but a peppermint with my meal.

I have the PROOF!!!

When we got home, I got to open my presents which were mostly quilting stuff. 2 quilt kits, some tiger fabric, a panel that I have been wanting, and the Monopoly panel that I need to make up the back of my monopoly quilt. I got a tea towel from Ant Nicci. Nicci also gave me a lighted compact mirror that she embroidered with an eye that looks just like my own. My sister and her kids gave me a lucky bamboo plant and a shamrock ring. Mom also gave me the fifth season of Supernatural on DVD.

Not photoed: Lucky the plant and Supernatural Season 5.

I watched John Cena on The Talk and ate my lunch. After I was done I went into the sewing room and started on my gift to myself. Mom bought me a red hat with black trim about a month ago, but I needed to have my black pea coat cleaned before I wore it. The coat came back from the cleaners, but I still needed a red and black bag to go with my new hat, so I made one for my birthday for FNSI.

After I finished the bag, I got to eat my favorite food in the entire world. My mom made me her lasagna, garlic bread and a salad. After that we ate a very expensive white chocolate raspberry cake. Mom got me colored flame candles and they were so awesome.

I was also given a feather weight sewing machine for my birthday and Christmas for the next ten years. I have named him Castiel, my little angel.

My FNSI was, indeed, very special. I also got the entire series of Renegade on DVD which is really cool and I can't wait to watch it and finally know how the show ends.

Yes, I do know that I am spoiled!!!

Melissa's Day Off!!!

It's not very often that mom and I get 5 days off in a row. So we make the most of it. Over Thanksgiving I had big plans to get things done. But, of course, I put every thing I wanted to get done till the last 2 days.

On Saturday I started to quilt BroBro's quilt. Everything was going pretty good, that is to say not too much cursing at the machine. I was almost at the half way mark when everything went horribly wrong.

I was starting a new row, listening to music on my little MP3 player. I had the needle in the right spot and I was holding everything steady with my left thumb. I reached over with my right hand and looked for the needle down button.

Unfortunately, I found it. The needle went down straight through my thumb and into the quilt and stayed there. I knew I needed the needle back up, so I hit the needle down button again. And up it came, with my thumb still attached.

I called calmly for help.

"Mom, can you come help me please?" you can never forget to say please, no matter the situation.

"Yeah, I'm coming" she called back.

I was afraid I was going to start bleeding, and the last thing I needed right then was to ruin the quilt. So I called "Can you please hurry?"

"Yeah, what do you need?" she said, half way down the bigger stair case.

"Could you please help me?" there was no other way to say it. "My thumb is stuck on the machine." I was trying to loosen the screw that attached the needle to the machine so that I could get the needle off and my wound away from the quilt.

"Your thumb is what?!?" I could tell that she thought she heard me wrong, which happens a lot.

"My thumb," I was starting to lose my cool head since I had some one else there who was detached from the situation, "is stuck on the needle."

She came down the stairs. I could see from the look on her face that she didn't quite believe it until she saw it. She went to slide my thumb off the needle. I admit that I had to look away. She snipped the thread oh yeah, there was plenty of thread but thankfully someone was looking out for me and there was no bobbin thread. I ran up the small staircase and over to the kitchen sink. With my thumb thread still through it hanging over the sink, I bounced impatiently for mom to get there to finish the job.

"Get it out! Get it out!" I moaned as she reached me. As she started squeezing my thumb to cleanse it, I started to feel light headed. All I could think was, "Am I losing so much blood that I'm going to faint?" I know now that I should have said this out loud. It would have warned mom what was about to happen next.

The next thing I knew was that mom was holding me tightly. She was asking me what hurt. I could think of only one thing.

"My thumb!" I said.

"Anything else?" she asked. It was by this point that I realized I was not standing, I was laying one the floor.

"My head. Did I pass out?"

"Yes, yes ... you did. You're going to be okay."

"I think I'm done for the day." I told her. She laughed a little and then I completely lost it. "I hate that quilt! I really hate that quilt!!!" I sobbed as she held me.

I am so glad that I have my mom. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't been there. I think on my next day off I will take things slower and stick to less dangerous activities.

Tree Quilts and Fairies!!!

FNSI was last night and I had a great time. Yes, Mom, I finished the bookmark a month ago. That will be in another post at another time.

So, what did I work on? Well, I worked on Mom's Christmas present. She already knows that she is getting it and is very excited. About a year ago I made a quilt that I refer to as my tree quilt. As so often happens to me, I had enough extra blocks to make a small quilt which I refer to as mini tree quilt. Mom has no suggestions on a real name for it and I am out of ideas. Last night I started putting the binding on the mini tree quilt. Mom picked the backing when the quilt was still mine. She said it should be a "drinking coffee on a Sunday morning" quilt.

I also worked on the sunflower afghan that I hope to one day finish. I am a novice when it comes to crochet, so I am learning a lot. I am trying to do this without asking Mom a billion questions. You would have to ask her if I am succeeding or not.

I watched Supernatural last night and laughed so hard I had to put the quilt down before I permanently injured myself. Sam and Dean had to battle it out with leprechauns and fairies.

I said last month that Mom had a bad encounter with the quilting frame. This month it was my turn. Last week I was loading a quilt for my brother on the frame and as I bent over to get it on right, my head smacked the frame. The frame is 12 feet long and of those 144 inches, half an inch has a bolt on it. And, of course, with my luck and gracefulness I hit the bolt. It is safe to say I am stearing clear of the frame for a while.

Sun Knot Moon

For my FNSI I read a little and stitched a little. I started a new book recently called The Red Pyramid. Not many people know that I am interested in Ancient Egyptian Mythology. I am really enjoying it, even though I find the sister in the book, Sadie, to be incredibly annoying. The gods' personalities are by far my favorite characters.

This book brings Egyptian mythology to this century in an entertaining way. Since it is the first book in the series, I decided I need a bookmark.

I finished the "Sun" Eye of Horus and started work on the Knot of Isis that I drafted my self.

I plan on stitching the "Moon" Eye of Horus as well. The story goes that Set, Horus' brother/uncle, stole Horus' eye. Thoth, the scribe of the gods, made him a new eye from pieces of the moon.

This is what mom had to drink last night. Hmmm ... "Throwback" ... I thought that can't be foreshadowing at all. Within an hour, mom almost threw her back out trying to take out stitches in the quilt that she is quilting for Ant Nicci.

Wildfire!!!

Even though mom and I are not in any of the wildfire zones right now, we are feeling the effects.

The Slurry Bombers fly right over our house every run and they are very close to the ground and very loud.