Sunday, November 29, 2009

Worst fears

Time to stop procrastinating and face the facts. I have my photos stored in Picasa and Adobe (somewhere) and can't figure out how to upload to my mac. I guess it is time to take a class so I won't be so frustrated.

I'll take photos again and store them where I can reach them. More to follow. No pugs and kisses.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Sickness

Sickness has three meanings. I'll be brief because I don't feel well.

1. My baby Bianca was really ill. She was shivering, vomiting and diarrhea for 3 days. We were at the vet twice and I was doing 4 loads of laundry every day. It could have been a cold; no. It could have been something she ate in the backyard; no. It was a reaction from the phenobarbitol we were giving her for her seizures. How did we know? When we resumed giving it to her she was sick again. It is wait and see for awhile. She is allergic to her dog shots, grass, and other things.

2. As I alluded earlier, I'm not feeling good. No migraines! but extreme fatigue. I caught it from my husband who got it from his friend. Thanks! That means no sewing tonight. It was all I could do to work my 10 hours.

3. We had to buy a new computer since a virus did us in. I think I mentioned that we bought a MAC and it is nice. The ill part is trying to find my pictures I had in my old one. You know that saga. So, I know it saved in photoshop somewhere. I never registered for the full one. I know there are some pictures in Picasa, but I have to find them too. I'll take more pictures to show on my blog and hope for the best.

Pugs and Kisses

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Epilepsy and a dead computer

Last weekend, my pug, Bianca, had three seizures in a row. She goes stiff and has no control of her bladder. Two years ago we thought it was her leg, but now the seizures are more pronounced and closer together. So the vet prescribed phenobarbitol. She will sleep alot for two weeks until her body adjusts to the medicine. She is more hungry and thirsty as the vet said. Just when she lost two pounds, now this. It makes our family very sad.

Then yesterday, our computer went wacky. It turns out to be a malware virus. This isn't the first time we've had a virus and spent hours on the phone. Once the Dell tech talked me though lots of things, we had to do a system restore. The computer tried to start with Windows 95 in stead of XP. I told Dell I didn't get a restore disc, I have a piece of paper that said so. I said yes to buy another disc and Norton AntiVirus. Well,we are tired of all the headaches we have been having.

So my daughter, Angela, went on line on her Notebook and ordered us a MAC. Years ago we had a Mac and I was very happy with it. My husband only understood Windows. Now we can use a window version on the mac and we ordered one. It is a good thing we have a lap top.

I was paniced for moment fearing I lost all my pictures, but they are saved in Photoshop and Picasso. Yeah!

Back to sewing. I made two Wheels of Chance, one for me and one for the Block Party. I put on a binding and now I'll do my Thimbleberries block of the month.

I'm off work until Thursday and looking forward to exercise, blogging, and quilting. I hope my migraine goes away. Pugs and kisses,

Monday, November 2, 2009

My Quadrant Quilt











Here are the four quadrants I made for a scrap quilt. I have been working on this quilt for two months. 144 half square triangles per quadrant. Add those to my pinwheel quilt, I don't want to see another half square triangle for awhile.
I'm going to put this away while I ponder upon how to put it together. I know I will not use sashing between the quadrants. Do I need a unifying border? In a cream color? What color binding to use. I'll use scraps, but do I match the color? I bought 3 yards of backing on sale, but since I didn't measure and think about the size before buying, I need 2 more yards. Do I buy something or look in my stash. (That is probably what I'll do.)
Tonight is my Monday quilt group. I'll work on the backing for the wedding quilt and get help on putting together my shop hop quilt. Pugs and kisses.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

A new quilt and a dead iron

Wednesday I took a day off of work and attended a class from Linda Ballard, "Canine Stars." I did not even make one block! I knew going in that paper piecing was going to be involved. My last three tries did not go so well. I was thinking positive thoughts all week.

Linda gave us a choice of three ways to paper piece. I listened and tried not to block it out of mind or leave class early. Linda thought I would. I practiced on two and managed to make one perfect one. The way I chose was with freezer paper; not the kind on a roll from the store, but "JC" (?) brand. Once we traced the pattern on the paper, we creased the lines and sewed. All the creases made it more concrete for me.

I knew from the start I was only going to make two squares for a table runner. I could not see making a wall hanging or making it bigger. In Friday class at the end of the month, I will finish it with some help of my friends.

My iron is ready to go to heaven. I've had this Rowenta for ten years and has served me faithfully. It quit producing steam and the water level never changed. I used a dry iron for two weeks, and just could not continue that way.

Off to Costco I went this morning and bought the $70 Rowenta. It looks like my old one, but it has a few more bells and whistles. When I ironed this morning, it was like night and day. I didn't realize my old one was so bad. I'm a happy camper now. Pugs and kisses.