Look How Cute My Cat Is

That's all I wanted to say. James is the sweetest little kitty and this picture taken by the husband shows off his adorable little fangs. He has a bit of an overbite and I am trying to get a pic of how cute it is. The problem is that he likes extreme closeups.

Laying Out Your Quilt

Now let's all pretend we have finished all of our 36 blocks and are ready to move on to our next step. We need to lay our blocks out just like they will appear in our finished quilt and figure out what goes where.

If you used just one or two fabrics, this part is a breeze. They will either be all the same or will alternate. Any more fabrics and you will need to manipulate and move the blocks until you find a pleasing arrangment. I aim to not have two of the same color blocks touching, but will allow for them to touch diagonally since sometimes there is no way around it.

My process is to find a large, empty patch of floor and lay them out. Then once I think I have it right, I take a few steps back and get a good visual from that distance. Once I am pretty sure, I make the Husband take a look. He will usually make a few suggestions, many of which I will ignore and then I will say it's good enough and call it a day.

Once I am satisfied with the layout, I need to get the quilt blocks back off the floor before the cat makes a running dive into them and scatters them. This has happened a few times.

My process it to always start in the top left corner and pick them up in order across the row. You could go down. Do what makes you happy. Once you have a complete row, take a bit of paper and write row 1 and pin that to the stack, pinning through the entire stack to keep it in order. Repeat for each row. This way the are organized for when you are ready to sew them together.

If you are super organized you could make a diagram that is 6 blocks by 6 blocks and mark down your block positions in each block. I used to do this, but found it easy enough to keep track of using the pinning by row method.

You will want to sew each block together row by row, pinning at the seams just as before. Once you have a completely assembled row, you can pin your row number to the far left block and press of the seams you just created to one side.

Once all your rows are completed you can start joining the rows, using your papers marked with the row numbers as your guide. Take it block by block and match up your seams, pinning as you go. Again, press to one side and your quilt top is done.

Spread it back out and admire your hard work. Then take a picture and let me see it.

Everyone should check out Emma's progress. Her colors are beautiful and she is cranking out blocks like a pro.

Warning..There Will Be Cursing

WTF!?!?!?!!?

Read this


Seriously, what sort of pathetic fucktard would have a blog with the sole mission of bashing people they don't agree with? Someone needs to make some real life friends. I contemplated posting a comment, but I really don't think the friendless reject would allow my comment to stay.

You know what Jasper, I am willing to bet you have or will have plenty of children. Because worthless twats like you are always able to breed. The world is full of dull eyed, slack jawed morons who should have been taken care of by natural selection. Only we, as a planet, have become so consumed with being politically correct that we are no longer allowed to just let nature takes it course and let dumbfucks like you die the horrible death you are due. People like you are the reason we have to put warning labels on everything to be sure that some inbred doesn't drink the bleach or stick his head under the running lawn mower. Well Jasper, drink up.

I am guessing by your name that you are what would pass for a man, no matter how pathetic the actual organ really is (and just guessing based on the fact that you are a contributor for the Takedown, it must be really tiny). So how would you know the longing to be a mother? You can't. Just like I can't know the longing of having a dick big enough to use on a real live woman. That must be really hard on you, you tiny peckered little bitch. You should be grateful for ART so that you can reproduce.

And now I am done. I have sunk to your level and got it off my chest. With the exception of the losers who actually read the takedown, I feel safe that the rest of the world can sort out bitter people like yourself who bash those suffering from real issues to make yourself feel better about your lack of a sex life.

Well, it seems that fucktard is not in blogger's dictionary, but twat is. Weird huh?

Anyone Out There?

I have been slowly cranking out the blocks and was wondering how everyone else is doing. Do I still have any quilt along friends out there? I should be able to post the next steps soon and then we will be wrapping up the piecing part of our quilts.

If anyone is stuck or has questions, please feel free to email me or leave your question in the comments section.

Time to Start Sewing

Sorry for the disappearing act, but overtime at work has been plentiful and I am taking full advantage. Gotta add to the adoption fund.

Okay, so we should all have our fabrics cut out and our supplies assembled and it's time to start sewing the blocks.

Each block is made up of 4 main fabric pieces and 4 background fabric pieces. We will be sewing each main fabric piece to a background piece to form 4 small squares. We will then join those squares together to form the complete square. The techniques will be different for machine and hand so here is where we split up.

Hand Sewing:
Lay out one of each piece right side up like this. You should have one wide end on the top and one on the bottom so that is will form a square when the seam is sewn.


Take the pieces and put them right sides together, keeping them in the same position they were layed out in. Notice that they do not perfectly line up. This is correct and will for the square shape once the seam is sewn.


Take a pin and insert it at the top left corner at the intersection of the seam lines you marked with your pencil. Make sure it goes through the same top left intersection on the back piece also. Now take your threaded needle (I like to use a double strand of thread for added durability) and make a knot in the top right corner, making sure you are going exactly through the intersection on both pieces of fabric. Then take another pin and put it through the center (you can just eyeball it, no need to measure it exactly) right on the seam line through both pieces of fabric. See the below pic for clarification. This will help keep your seams lined up as you sew.


Now sew across this line using a running stitch. Here is a really basic sample of running stitch in case you are not familiar. I usually stack 4 or 5 stitches on my needle before pulling it all the way through the fabric. This will increase your sewing speed a lot.

Once you have sewn all the way to the other end of the line, make another tight knot (I usually knot twice for added security) and clip your threat leaving about a 1/2" tail. Do this for all four sets of pieces. Once they are all sewn, you can press them with the seam going towards the darker colored fabric. It honestly won't matter too much which way you press, just be consistent and always press to either the main or the background fabric. This will make your final seams lay nicer in the end.

Once they are neatly pressed, lay them out in the block formation like this.


Now you are going to flip the top 2 blocks, right sides together and sew the joining seam. Repeat for the bottom 2 blocks.


Now you will have this.


Now piece the top and bottom blocks together, pinning like this. Be sure to pin right on the intersection of both side when you get to that center seam.



Once you are done, iron your new seams, again towards the same fabric you chose before and when it's done, flip it right side up and give it a good press, straight up and down to really flatten those seams.


Repeat for a total of 36 blocks.

Machine Sewing:

You will be using a 1/4" seam for this quilt. You may have a 1/4" line on your machine that you can use as a guide, but if not, then you can make one with permanent marker or you can tape a piece of paper to act as a guide. Practice on scrap material until you are sure you can sew a consistent 1/4" line. Once you find the 1/4" mark, go slowly and it will work and you will build up your speed with practice.

Lay out one of each piece right side up like this. You should have one wide end on the top and one on the bottom so that is will form a square when the seam is sewn.


Take the pieces and put them right sides together, keeping them in the same position they were layed out in. Notice that they do not perfectly line up. This is correct and will for the square shape once the seam is sewn. Make sure your edges on the side you are about to sew match perfectly


Take a pin and insert it at the top left corner at the intersection of the seam lines you marked with your pencil. Make sure it goes through the same top left intersection on the back piece also. Now do the same for the other end (pretend that is a pin and not a needle in the pic below) Then take another pin and put it through the center (you can just eyeball it, no need to measure it exactly) right on the seam line through both pieces of fabric. See the below pic for clarification. This will help keep your seams lined up as you sew. Once you get comfortable, you may not need to pin for this step.


Now sew across this line. You may want to use your machine's back stitch at the beginning and end of the seam to lock it in.

Do this for all four sets of pieces. Once they are all sewn, you can press them with the seam going towards the darker colored fabric. It honestly won't matter too much which way you press, just be consistent and always press to either the main or the background fabric. This will make your final seams lay nicer in the end.

Once they are neatly pressed, lay them out in the block formation like this.


Now you are going to flip the top 2 blocks, right sides together and sew the joining seam. Repeat for the bottom 2 blocks.


Now you will have this.


Now piece the top and bottom blocks together, pinning like this. Again, pretend that needle in the picture is just another pin. Be sure to pin right on the intersection of both side when you get to that center seam.


Once you are done, iron your new seams, again towards the same fabric you chose before and when it's done, flip it right side up and give it a good press, straight up and down to really flatten those seams.


Repeat for a total of 36 blocks

Tip for everyone:

You may want to make a bunch of the first step squares and then iron so you are not jumping up and running to your ironing board every few minutes.

If anyone is confused, gets stuck or just has questions, please feel free to email me or post your question in the comment section.

I will give us a few days to get started on our blocks and then I will post the next step. Don't feel rushed, because I can assure you that I will not be ready for the next step, but a really industrious machine sewer might be and I would hate to keep them waiting any more than I already have.

Cutting our Fabric

Time to cut our fabric. We will be cutting the same shape from our background and our main fabrics. The way you will cut will be different depending on if you are hand sewing or machine sewing.

Hand Sewing :

Lay out your nicely pressed fabric with the wrong side up. If your fabric is light you will be using your mechanical pencil. If your fabric is dark, you will be using your chalk marking tool.

If you have a problem with the fabric moving around while you are marking, you can clip a sheet of fine grit sandpaper to a clipboard and lay your fabric on this as you mark. Just be careful not to move the fabric around on the sandpaper too much or you could damage your fabric.

Keep in mind that our goal is to trace out the actual lines we will be sewing on. This means we need to leave about ¼” around the outside of each shape (so about ½” between shapes).

Make sure your template is right side up (really there is no wrong side up, but you will have to keep your template consistently the same side up or you will not have pieces that fit together.) The way I had you mark your templates in the last post will result in whirlygigs that spin the way I think is the cutest. It just works for my head, but both ways are fine.

Flip flopping your template upside down and then right side up (but never flipping it over) will allow you to get the most pieces with the least waste from your fabric (See my paper example below for clarification). Just start in a corner and place the straight side against the straight edge of the fabric and trace around the shape. Flip and trace until you run out of fabric and then start a new row. Don’t forget to leave your seam allowance between each piece and each row.



The line just needs to be dark enough to be visible when you sew. I trace a bunch of pieces of each color and then start sewing because I am undisciplined and can’t be bothered with doing the logical thing and preparing all my pieces at one time. Do whatever makes you happy.

You will need to cut the following number of pieces for this pattern

Background - 144 (Everyone will need this amount)
1 Color Main - 144
2 Color Main - 72 each color
3 Color Main - 48 each color
4 Color Main - 36 each color
6 Color Main - 24 each color

Once your pieces are traced you will use your scissors to carefully cut each one out, leaving the ¼” border. I cut the rows out and then cut off the pieces from each row.

Machine Sewing:

If you have never used a rotary cutter, please read this quick tutorial.

Lay your pressed fabric out and neatly fold it in half selvage to selvage. Use your quilting ruler and rotary cutter to square up the edge of the fabric that was hand cut at the fabric store. Just take off enough to get a straight edge. This will give you a good clean start. Once you have a nice, straight edge, cut the fabric into 4” strips. You will need the following number of strips:

Background - 8 strips
1 Color Main - 8 strips
2 Color Main - 4 Strips each color
3 Color Main - 3 strips each color
4 Color Main - 2 strips each color
6 Color Main - 2 strips each color

Take the 4” strips and unfold. You can stack 2 or 3 strips as long as you make sure they are perfectly placed on top of each other. Place the strips face down.

Make sure your template is right side up (really there is no wrong side up, but you will have to keep your template consistently the same side up or you will not have pieces that fit together.) The way I had you mark your templates in the last post will result in whirlygigs that spin the way I think is the cutest. It just works for my head, but both ways are fine.

Start at the end of the strip(s) and using your template only as a guide for placing your quilting ruler, start cutting out the pieces. You will flip flop the template from top to bottom, but never flip it over. See the paper diagram below for clarification.



You will need to cut the following amount of pieces from each fabric:

Background - 144 (Everyone will need this amount)
1 Color Main - 144
2 Color Main - 72 each color
3 Color Main - 48 each color
4 Color Main - 36 each color
6 Color Main - 24 each color

Use this method to cut out the main fabrics and the background fabrics, but be sure not to cut your backing or binding fabrics. Once you have your pieces cut you will be ready to start sewing them into the blocks.

Template Cutting Time

Okay, so we are ready to make our template and start cutting our fabric. You will need to know if you are hand sewing or machine sewing at this point, because your templates will be different sizes (for the machine sewing template you will have ¼” seam allowances already added to the template)



Instructions for Hand Sewing template:



Cut a 3.5” square from your template plastic or stiff cardboard ( a cereal box would work great). Take your time and make sure you get a perfect square, because a wonky square will only cause you heartache in the end.




Once you have your square, take your ruler and measure over 2” from the left side on the top and make a mark right at the very edge of the top.

Now make a mark 1.5” from the left on the bottom.




Now take your straight edge and connect your dots until you have this .




Carefully cut along the line and take one of your shapes (you only need one) and lay it out so that it looks just like this.




Now write “ 7" Whirlygig template”, or “this end up” or something on it in permanent ink so that you will know at a glance if you have your template right side up.



Instructions for Machine Sewing template:



Cut a 4” x 4.5" rectangle from your template plastic or stiff cardboard ( a cereal box would work great). Take your time and make sure you get a perfectly squared off rectangle, because wonky corners will only cause you heartache in the end.

Once you have your rectangle,lay it out with the 4.5" part at the top and bottom and the 4" on the sides.

Take your ruler and measure over 2 1/2” from the left side on the top and make a mark right at the very edge of the top.

Now make a mark 2” from the left on the bottom. Sorry for the blurry pic.




Now take your straight edge and connect your dots until you have this .




Carefully cut along the line and take one of your shapes (you only need one) and lay it out so that it looks just like this.




Now write “7” Whirlygig template”, or “this end up” or something on it in permanent ink so that you will know at a glance if you have your template right side up.



Next up is cutting into our fabric.

Quilt Along Ingredients

This is for anyone who decides to do the quilt-along with Danielle and I. We have decided to do the whirlygig quilt. This is the first one I did and it was quick and fun to sew by hand.


I have broken the list down for those who will hand sew and those who will use a machine. The fabric requirements are the same for both, but the tools are a little different.

Fabric: You will need at least one main color and one background color. You can do multiple main colors and alternate them like in the quilt pictured above. The quilt will be made of 36 7" blocks and will be about 42" x 42" when we are done. The number 36 is very versatile and can easily be divided by 2,3,4 and 6 different fabrics.

Background fabric - 1 yard. This would be the white in the above photo.

Whirlygig fabrics:

1 fabric - 1 yard
2 fabrics - 5/8 yard of each
3 fabrics - 1/2 yard of each
4 fabrics - 1/3 yard of each
6 fabrics - 1/3 yard of each (you will have a bit left over)

Batting - 45"x45" piece. I use warm and natural or warm and white. This is available at most fabric stores, such as Joanne's and comes either on the roll (you will need to buy 1 1/4 yards and will have enough for another quilt), or you can buy it prepackaged in the 45" x 60" size and can just cut it down to size.

Backing - can be any cotton fabric. I usually use solids or scraps left over from the front of the quilt. You will need 1 1/4 yards.

Binding - again, any cotton fabric that coordinates with your chosen fabrics. You will need 1/3 yard.

Tools:

Hand sewing -
Pins

Needles (I like quilting sharps)

Thread (Unless working with a really dark fabric, I usually just use off white. Don't get the cheap walmart stuff or any off brand. Coats and Clark is inexpensive and works well. I usually use all purpose or machine quilting.

Thimble (for the quilting)

Mechanical pencil (or chalk pencil for darker fabrics)

Decent scissors

Template plastic or thin, sturdy cardboard

Ruler

Safety pins

Machine Sewing -

Sewing Machine

Pins


Thread (Unless working with a really dark fabric, I usually just use off white. Don't get the cheap walmart stuff or any off brand. Coats and Clark is inexpensive and works well. I usually use all purpose or machine quilting.

Decent scissors

Quilter's Ruler- The 6" x 24" size is a great size for most quilting projects.

Rotary Cutter

Self Healing Cutting Mat - doesn't need to be too huge, but a decent size to work with your fabric

Safety Pins

Once you have gathered your supplies and fabric you can wash and iron your fabric or just iron. Either way is fine, but be consistent. Don't wash some and not the rest or you may have shrinking issues once the quilt is done. I personally wash my fabrics but not my batting. This way I get the old fashioned crinkly look when I wash the finished quilt.

Next up is cutting your fabrics and getting started.

Mountain Baby Blankets

A few weeks (months ago) Diane Sawyer did a special on Appalachia. I did not watch this as knocked up 13 year olds and meth heads popping out kids they can't/won't raise properly is just not going to improve my mood, but I do feel for the innocent children born into this life. The ones too young to make a choice and get the hell out of this community.

Apparently among the many other concerns, lack of blankets make staying warm a challenge. That breaks my heart. Cold, hungry babies make me sad. And Rachel of Rachel Cox Designs is doing something about it. Actually, she is enlisting lots of people to do something about it.

This post is her discussing the show and brainstorming about her idea. This post is her decision based on her responses and some info for getting started.


I have been planning to make several simple quilts for the project. When she announced there is no time limit I planned even more. Then I started thinking about people who may not read craft blogs. That is unless they are tricked into it by it being cleverly disguised as an adoption/infertility blog. These are people who will probably have the same conflicted emotions as me (but maybe not so judgy, because I tent to get a bit judgy about the whole thing). I bet a bunch of those people know how to sew. I bet a few more would like to learn or would be willing to in an effort to help with such a great project.

I am reaching out to those people. I was thinking a really simple quilt along. We would do it together. I could have instructions for people who want to use a machine or those who don't have a sewing machine and would like to try it by hand (it's really not that bad and it's a relaxing thing to do while watching TV).

They would not be huge quilts. They won't be expensive. They won't be hard and I will be available to help anyone who gets stuck or has questions. If anyone is interested I will post some pics of easy quilts and we can decide on what we would like to do. Then I will post a list of supplies (many you will already have on hand, even if you are not a quilter) and we can get started.

Any takers?

Show and Tell

This is my first ever show and tell so be gentle. Also go and check out all the other cool things people are showing and telling about.





These are the kids purses I have been making. They are actually just mini versions of my diaper bags, without all the fancy pockets. They are almost as much trouble as the big bags, but soooo cute and little girls love them.

The purple flowers and the pink jacks were actually used by a co-worker as mini diaper bags for 2 soon to be big sisters. She didn't want them to feel left out during the baby shower festivities. She stuffed them with a few newborn diapers, a bib and a few other odds and ends. They can be used as purses once the new baby obsession wears off. The cherry purse if for my partner's little girl, M. I needed something to balance out the tooth fairy pillow for her little brother.

Tooth Fairy Pillows

Here are the tooth fairy pillows I have been making. So far all the kids have loved them. I am giving a custom pillow away in my first ever drawing.

Here's how it works. You can earn one entry for each of the following things;

Leave me a comment on this post
Blog about this drawing
Twitter about this drawing

Just let me know what you did to enter (except for the comments on this post, because I can see those) by dropping me an email at timetoadopt@hotmail.com.

Entry deadline is 10 PM ET on Friday, March 13, 2009.

Once the winner is selected, they will be contacted regarding desired name and fabric choices.

I Did It

I had to. I bought the Shark Steam Mop.

Is anyone familiar with Kohls? They have been around a while, but the Husband and I had never been in one until about 6 months ago. Now we are addicted. They are a mid-range department store that has crazy good sales, and if you have a Kohls charge card (we normally don't do store charge cards, but the special discounts were too good to pass up)you get special coupons and discounts if you use your Kohl's card.

The discounts are a scratch off kinda deal and you usually have the chance of getting either 15%, 20% or 30% off. I rarely get about 15% and never thought I would see a 30%, but there it was in the mail the other day.

So yesterday I head to the store with my coupon in my hot little hand and scored some major deals. The best was the Steam Mop. Normally $99.99. On sale for $79.99. With my coupon it was $56. Way better than the $80 it was at Walmart.

I also scored a bathroom rug for like $4 and a pair of sterling silver earrings for about $5 (they were 60% off and then my coupon).

So I used it last night and it's pretty cool. I am ashamed at how nasty the pads were when I was done.

The reviews said the cord was in the way and that the handle was flimsy. I thought the handle seemed very sturdy and the handle has 2 cord holder things that you use to get the cord up and out of the way. Maybe they have made improvements, or maybe the people writing the reviews are morons, but either way, no complaints here.

Felt Food Obsession

This is my current obsession during the down time at work. I have been making them for my co-worker J's kids and also for my friend M's son. I am having so much fun that I might have to put some on my Esty site. I really need to put something on there.

Here are the breakfast items I have so far. Pancakes with removable syrup and butter pats and an omelet are also in the works.



Here is the sushi roll and a few random strawberries. Just some odds and ends that will have coordinating items soon. You can't really tell in this photo, but there is a pink blob above the green and orange blobs.



This is a selection of cookies. Lots of sweet ideas floating in my head right now.



Here is a set of chicken nuggets complete with ketchup and BBQ sauce for dipping. There will be crinkle fries and apple slices coming soon to complete this set.



Now I am off to finish my pasta sauce to go with the ravioli and bow tie pasta set.

Why the Husband Doesn't Let Me Watch Infomercials

I'm a sucker. Not for every single thing sold on infomercials, but occasionally I see something that I just have to have.

The most dismal failures have been the pet hair roller thing (several years ago) which was covered in cat fur after the first rotation and had to constantly be rinsed in hot water and dried to get the job done.

The most recent was the Peticure. I was fully prepared to slowly work James up to it, but he apparently had watched the commercial and freaked out and ran as soon as the Husband pulled it out of the box. It didn't even have the batteries in it and he had decided that it was the enemy. I worked for a week trying to get him to let me near him with the thing. I actually had him eating treats right next to it while it was on, but the minute we picked it up he lost his mind and became a boneless feline who could wiggle out of any grasp. It is now sitting on the bottom shelf of our coffee table, taunting me with the possibility of blunt cat claws that lie just out of my grasp.

So the Husband doesn't even allow the temptation in our house. If an infomercial comes on he distracts me or changes the channel. I still want the Shamwow, but I fully realize that they will probably suck, so I just don't think about it when I walk past them at Walmart.

Well, despite the Husband's best efforts, he can't control my infomercial viewing at work. I didn't mean to watch it, but my Partner had the remote and had left the room and I was too lazy to get up and change the channel so I got sucked into the Shark Steam Mop commercial.

At first I was skeptical as always. It always starts that way, but then they tell you about how it's only water, no chemicals. And the pads are washable. Well, that's environmentally friendly isn't it? I love environmentally friendly. And it would mean really clean floors for when our baby starts to crawl (see, I managed to work the baby into a mop purchase). But I hate to pay shipping, so never mind. But I bet they sell it at Walmart. Maybe I should just check the Walmart website. Hey, it's only $79.88. And no cleaner to buy. And it has 2 pads, so when one is in the wash, I have a back up. It has 4 out of 5 stars, not too shabby I rationalized. Let's read the reviews, bad ones first. Flimsy and cord gets in the way. I can work with that. I have a Swiffer and it's not the most sturdy thing, but no problems so far.

So should I do it? Does anyone have one and love it? Or hate it? Will it really make me want to mop? Will it break the first time I use it? Enable or stop me people.

Look what I found while looking up the link. It's just getting worse and worse.

Doll Quilt Update

The quilts went over even better than I expected. P, the little boy, is a major blankie lover and was very excited. He kept running around showing everyone and spreading it out on the ground to look at it. My partner said he has carried it constantly since he got it. I am going to call this project a success.

Next up is the tooth fairy pillow project I have had on my mind for a while. I gave M hers the other night since she is already in the tooth loosing stage, but I ran out of white fabric and could not finish P's yet. I didn't think it would be a big deal until he looked at me with those big eyes and said "where's my piwo." So sad. I am working on his now. I also have orders for 4 more from another co-worker. I may end up putting them up in my Etsy site.

Killing Time

So the Husband and I have made the decision to wait a few months until we start to see a little improvement in the economy before we proceed with the next step in the adoption process, which is forking over a large chunk of cash.

This is more his desire to wait than mine, but I see where he is coming from and I know that we both need to be on board completely for this major life decision. We have discussed that it will just be a few more months at most (unless something horrible happens that we don't foresee) and then we will proceed. I guess that in the grand scheme of things, a few more months is really nothing compared to how long we have been trying.

So, in the mean time, I am keeping myself busy, but not in a way that totally avoids the thought of adoption like I see so many others who are at various stages of the waiting game trying to do. For me this has meant working as much overtime as I can and crafting.

Due to the fact that my thoughts are still very much on being a mother, most of my crafting has centered on this fact. It's a little hard for me to make too much in the way of our own child since we have no idea when this child will arrive or what sex he/she will be, so I have been testing my ideas on co-workers and friends.

These are some of the results. These are doll quilts. They are the perfect size for a small child to wrap their dolls in and are very cute if I do say so myself. These two in particular are for my work partner's 4 yo daughter and 2 yo son. They are a perfect way to see if I enjoy piecing a pattern before committing to a full sized quilt and it turns out that I really enjoyed both of these.


This 9 patch is for M, the 4 (almost 5)yo girl. Like most human females her age, pink is her favorite color. This quilt was made completely from scraps, right down to the batting (pieced from previous project scraps) to the pieced backing. My machine quilting was not the best on this piece, but in my defense it was late and I just wanted it done. Actually, that's not really a defense. More of a pathetic excuse.


This whirlygig is for P, the 2 (almost 3) yo boy. I was anxious to try this pattern and it turns out I do love it as much as I though I would. In fact, I have about 5 more quilts in this pattern planned out in my head and one in the works (baby sized).

I am giving them to the kids tonight, so I hope they love them and enjoy them.

GO STEELERS!

It's Super Bowl Sunday and the Husband is firmly planted on the couch, wearing his new Roethlisberger jersey and periodically yelling at the TV. I am about to join him to do a bit of hand quilting and watch the commercials. I think it is safe now, since they just scored a pretty amazing touchdown.

I had big plans for the game day menu, but I am just getting over a stomach bug and the Husband's stomach is not feeling too hot either, so I just tried a few different recipes I have been wanting to make and we munched on and off throughout the day.


First up was this salsa. I love All Recipes for recipes because they have reviews and people always give great tips for changing it up too. The Husband didn't think it had enough heat, but I really liked it (total wimp about spice here). I need to figure out a way to up the heat because the roasted green chili peppers in a can that I bought seem very mild. I even added a bit of fresh jalapeno (very finely minced) and it didn't do much. I did it in my food processor and it is not chunky at all, but more smooth like the stuff you get in Mexican restaurants. I could have made it chunkier by processing it less, but we like it like this.

Next I tried these bacon wrapped little smokies, also from All Recipes. They were quite yummy, but learn from my experience and cut the bacon into thirds like they say. I cut it in half and had a hard time getting it crispy enough because it was wrapped around the smokie more than once. I also recommend saving part of your brown sugar back and once the tops look good, flip them over and sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar on the back sides and let them get nice and brown too.

The final recipe is one we have had many, many times. Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp are amazing. We have also done it with chicken and steak, but into bit size bits. Very yummy. As I mentioned before, I am wimpy when it comes to spicy so I decrease the cayenne and the Old Bay when I make the shrimp. The chicken and steak don't seem to absorb the heat like the shrimp do, so I use the normal amount for them.

Adoption Tax Credit Due to Expire in 2010

I had no idea that the adoption tax credit was not a permanent thing. I have a feeling this may be a shock to many adoptive families. The tax credit is often the only way a family is able to adopt due to the expense. I am personally scared that the credit will expire before we are able to take advantage of it. We are really counting on this credit to help absorb some of the huge financial burden our adoption will be.

I am in a bit of a freak out but found this site that explains the situation and links to listings for your Congressional Reps and Senators. I have a list of people who will be receiving letters from me very soon. I am also asking my family and friends to take the time to write or email on behalf of anyone who has ever or will ever adopt.

I am also asking that anyone who reads this, even if you are not personally involved in an adoption situation, would take just a minute to help those of us who really need this.

There are even sample letters that you can change to fit your situation.

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to write.

Anemic Again

I can't remember if I have mentioned it, but I have been having problems with my asthma. After the adoption physical I made an appointment to talk to my new Doctor about the asthma and to review the new patient blood work she ordered.

Of course, in my usual style of procrastination, I didn't' get my blood work done until yesterday, just in time for my two week follow up appointment for my asthma.

At the last appointment, she had put me on Symbicort to treat my asthma. I was diagnosed with mild asthma about 8 years ago, but suspect I have probably had it all my life. Until recently it has been controlled by the occasional (couple times a month) use of a rescue inhaler. For the last four months I have been using my inhaler at least once a day and often more than that.

It started after our new cat, James, was diagnosed with a skin condition and had to be dipped in a mixture of lime and sulfur once a week for about 5 weeks. The stench of the dip felt like it was burning my lungs and likely irritated them to the point that they are having a hard time healing themselves. It was getting better since the dips stopped, but it was taking so long and was starting to really worry me. The Symbicort is a long lasting medication that will reduce inflammation and allow my lungs to heal. The point of this part of the story is that I am now on Symbicort for the next six months and we will decide what to do from there.

Now back to the actual point of this post. My blood work somehow managed to get back in time for today's appointment. My cholesterol and all associated things are very good. My thyroid is actually being over medicated still, so that level is being dropped again. The only real problem is that I am anemic again.

I was first diagnosed with anemia about 2 years ago, shortly after we moved back to Florida. It was kind of a shock because I had never been told I was anemic before and anyone who has been through infertility testing knows that they check for everything. The nurse practitioner who gave me the results sent me for a colonoscopy (that was fun) which came back normal. My follow up appointment was with another nurse practitioner who announced in a cheerful voice that the colonoscopy was unnecessary since she could tell from the blood work that the anemia was not from blood loss, but because my red blood cells were small and pale. I really wish someone had caught that before I had a giant tube shoved up you know where.

I took prenatals to correct the condition since we were trying to get knocked up anyway and never thought much more about it until now. Now I am mildly anemic again and the Doctor has ordered more blood work to confirm it is an iron deficiency. Hopefully with will be the problem and a simple pill will fix me right up.

All in all, it was a pretty good appointment and I am still relatively healthy and in no immediate danger of keeling over from anything that we know of.

Wow, that was long and boring. Sorry to anyone read to the end of this one.

Finally Finished

I promise this won't become a craft blog, but I have realized that if I only blog about adoption and babies that this is going to become a very slow blog. Crafting is a huge part of my life and since this blog is about adoption and our life, then crafts will naturally be a part of it.




This is the quilt I made for my Mother-in-law for Christmas. We are going over tonight to give it to her. It has actually been done for about a week now, but still way past the Christmas deadline. I have a habit of doing that. Assuming that I can get something done by a certain day and failing to take into account the rest of my life needing attention. That is the reason my Mom's quilt will also be late. Luckily, close family and friends know me and kind of expect it. The best of intentions and all.




This is the back of the quilt. I have always wanted to try a pieced back but never did. This time I realized that my back piece would be bigger than the width of the fabric I used on the front. If I was smart I would have bought the extra wide quilt backing material they sell and use it for the front parts too, but I always forget. Luckily I had extra bits of the fabric used to make the stars and was able to piece this together in a pretty cool fashion. I really like it and hopefully she will too.

The fabric used for the stars is from a jelly roll type thing they recently started carrying at Jo-Anns. It had 18 strips, with two strips of each of nine different fabrics that all coordinated. The strips were 2.5" x 44". I had to buy extra from the bolt (they had some of the fabrics from the collection on the bolt and they also had fat quarters and charm packs from the same collection)for the binding.

They had 2 different fabric collections and they seem to have sold well, so I am hoping they will continue to carry this type of packaging option.