Back in the groove

It is almost Christmas break at school which means some time off for me. My sweet husband couldn't
think of anything I might like for Christmas so I suggested some wide quilt backing. He had me pick it
out and he ordered it. It is sitting in a box in the living room waiting for Christmas morning. I am so excited
about it, 18 1/2 yards! Wowee.

I took the quilt tops which were stacked in a corner of my cutting table and draped them over my frame to
help reduce some wrinkles in preparation. OH, I forgot to mention that my oldest son is moved out and into
his own home so I moved the frame into his room. I also have a table to cut, as well as my serger. I did finally
figure out how to thread it. It wasn't so bad after all. My son still needs to get some things out of there so I can
really get it organized better. I do have a design wall too. :)

I've been playing around making pot holders. A very quick item to make. It seems they get stained so quickly
that this way I can make them and toss them when they get too bad.

Yikes and sorry

I seriously cannot believe almost 2 months has gone by since I last posted.
Let's see if I can remember what has happened since then.
We replaced my electricity sucking computer (crazy high) with a new Acer mini
notebook. I can't even tell it is working as it makes no noise. The fan on the other
one, which wasn't a laptop, was on most of the time and very loud. Did I mention that
it was also huge?
I guess I could mention that we got a really high electric bill. $135 more than it's ever been.
Woweee. $535.00 will get your attention quick. My wonderful husband bought a meter to check the amount of electricity each thing in the house uses over a 24 hour period. Surprisingly, the hot water heater doesn't use as much as we thought. It was all the little things, especially if they have transformers, that did it. We also switched to peak/off peak usage meter but the jury is still out on whether or not it is going to save us. If not we can switch back.
My son should close on his house tomorrow or Monday and be in next week. Paperwork has been a pain. Everyone has to get their added costs in there.

I went to the Quilt,sew and craft show. Tried out several longarm machines. I have decided that I don't want a stitch regulator. I guess if you start with one you love them but if not well, you get it. The sound of it speeding up and slowing down distracted me from the quilting. A fellow quilter from Casa Grande came by to try out my machine and frame. She went away with the knowledge that her frame has some issues and worked on it to make it better. Not sure what she decided about the machine. She didn't say.

I got about 11" of hair cut off and donated to Locks for Love. Hopefully, next year I can do the
same. Last year it was 9" to Pantene for adult women. Such a small thing to do.

I'll try to do better on posting. Can't do much worse, eh?
We get no season changes here, no beautiful leaves just dirt. It will be under 88 today and that is okay with me.

That dang serger

Remember just a little while ago that I was singing the wonders of my new
serger?? Well, the time finally came that I needed to thread it.. YIKES. All I have
to say is if you are use to a domestic sewing machine it is no small feat to thread a
4 thread sergers. I got mad and gave up but I WILL get it figured out. They keep
emphasizing the order so I'll begin again. Once I have it things will be great with it.

My oldest son is in Anaheim for a few days enjoying Blizzcon. A World of Warcraft
convention. He was lucky enough to get to buy some tickets and will be having a blast!

Where o where have I been?

It doesn't seem possible that I've been away so long.
I have been busy practicing as well as all the usual things that wives, mothers,
daughters, sisters, friends and co-workers do. Life just always seems to get in
the way of fun some times.
My son's house is getting closer to being completed. They called him today and told
him closing and final walk-thru are on September 25th. He is very excited but worried
that he'll be hit with some added financial issues they "forgot" to mention.
Let's see if I can find a somewhat current photo. I'll bet you notice that beautiful blue sky as well. He has amazing views.
What have you been busy doing? Any sewing or quilting? I am working on some Christmas stockings for "Operation Santa USMC" I want to see just how many I can get made. Nothing fancy just some stockings for our fighting men and women. It's the least I can do.

Where o where does time go?

Why does it seem like time is just flying by? No matter what I think I might accomplish on a given day it has about a 50% chance of happening. I really need to work on that.

I have the 2nd practice top on the frame and I'm working on feathers. I need to get the rhythm down and then I feel confident it will be good. Practice...lots and lots of practice.

I used a little of my Laughlin winnings and got a serger. I've wanted one for some time but was afraid of them. I got a Brother 1034D from Amazon. It arrived in just 3 days even with a weekend. I am tickled pink with it. I just finished an edge on a comforter that needed some help. I am really sorry I didn't buy one sooner, so if you're considering one this low priced model might be the one for you.

Back to the quilting as soon as I take my son to the doctors and get some issues taken care of. I am really getting tired of offices never calling back and giving the run around. Very frustrating indeed.

Back from vacation

We returned this afternoon from our trip. It was so much fun. I just love the Aquarius Casino & Hotel. Everyone there is very friendly and the room was clean.
The very first day there I won $1200.00 I still can't believe it. I would like much to buy
the bigger Bailey Home quilter but I won't. I have no issues with the 13" so it is silly to spend the money just because I can.
I think I will be buying a chest freezer, it seems we never have enough space in our freezers.
Is it just us? Anyway, we shall see.
I really hope to get back to practicing on the frame tomorrow. I will be going back to work on Wednesday so I won't have much time.

Practice continues

I will assume the more practice I do the better I will be. I know no amount of practice done incorrectly will get me anywhere, so I bought a dvd from Longarm University for their January 09 Mystery quilt program. It came yesterday and I watched about half and stopped so that I can practice her techniques. Since I've done just meandering I'm not use to making an actual design and that is important to know. She first divided the border into 6" blocks and quilts each of those blocks rather than trying to just go across the quilt as I would have attempted. That made it automatically worth the money. Most of the quilting she did was a feather variation. Now they scare the heck out of me. I tried it once and it was not pretty. :) I honestly think..no I know...I can do them now. The fear is subsiding and I am feeling much more confident about my abilities. If a can...so can you...

Tomorrow my husband and I are going away for 5 days. A much needed vacation for
some time alone. We're going to Laughlin, Nv. I'll try to drop in once during the stay to
brag about how much money I've won. LOL.

More practice

I did a lot of practicing yesterday and feel quite comfortable now with loops & hearts.
The flowers work about 60% of the time and the other 40% I'm not quite where I should be.
I do need to remember that most quilting isn't completely visible anyway but I will make a
new sandwich and practice until it is second nature. It's the hesitation that gets you in trouble.

We're invited to a card party/barbecue tomorrow so I won't get much done at home.
I hope you get to spend the 4th of July with friends and family.

Forgot to mention

I forgot to mention that I ordered some dye so I can dye some of my own fabric. It's something I've wanted to do for sometime but never "forced" myself to actually do it. Hopefully, they will be coming any day since I have a couple extra days off. I understand the company has it's annual sale the end of August so if I'm pleased with the results I can get more.

I also joined a BOM from Stitchen Heaven, the Summer of Fun one. I should've gotten that by now too. I did get block one already and block 2 was ordered, geez now block 3 is probably out too. They are once a week for 8 or 10 weeks. I'm doing the black/white one. One of the members of my quilting forum is doing it in red/white. That should be fun to see. Also, another
member of the forum has been doing the set-in seams on a Lone Star I did. I managed to get the first one done but the second was being difficult and she said she'd do them. I should be getting that back very soon too. She said she's done with it. I'm just waiting on that mail person to bring me something fun. :)

A new sunset photo for you

The whole reason behind the name Paradise Quilting is because I feel like I live in paradise.
We stopped out to see how the construction is going on my son's new house and I took some
pictures of the sunset again. I hope you enjoy it.
One of these nights I will catch the reds and pinks. Simply amazing.

Wonderful Wednesday?

Today is the last work day of the week for me. Yippee.
I have been practicing away and now added ribbons to the menu. :)
Have noticed there are many different versions of flowers and some are
easier to do than others. I will practice big time tomorrow, most of the day.

No interferences. My husband has been watching a lot of tv lately, the news type,
and the frame is 15' from him so the noise gets him a little cranky. It sure slowed
that down. Ah well, tomorrow and Friday are all mine!

Woke up to light showers this morning. Something we don't often get here in the desert.
I'm sure it'll all burn off very soon and the heat will be back on.

Promise to show pictures when I'm a little more proud of the work.

Practice

I've been practicing and making flowers is much harder (for me) than it looks.
It seems like my carriage doesn't ride so smoothly sometimes and that jars the pattern, you know? I just finished cleaning the carriage wheels and grooves as well as rotate the two rollers
that it rides on. This is really the first time I've noticed it not being smooth.
I'm also considering adding one knob in the middle to move rather than the 2 ends of the handle.
Feel like I just can't get a strong enough grip to move it where it needs to go.
I certainly am not giving up on this. I know it can be done and I AM going to do it.

Back to the practice.

I do believe I have found my problem. A dust bunny riding the carriage track. I have
removed it and things are rolling smoothly at this moment. woohoo. I hate to take the
machine off and remove the carriage to completely clean it but maybe I should. I have
a Bailey Home Quilter 13" on a Hinterberg Stretch Frame.

Where does time go?

It seems like no matter how much time I think I will have to quilt it just doesn't work out. I didn't do anything on the frame which is a disappointment. I use to have difficulty putting the sandwich on the frame but after seeing it done on a dvd the job became super easy.
I will have the usual weekend homemaker chores to do today and possibly go bowling with the
family. We decided it is an activity we all enjoy and gives us some much needed exercise.
We try to go every other weekend.

I'm going to quit typing now and go put the muslin on. I'll take a picture in a little bit just to
show you that I really did do it. I will need to draw "blocks" onto it so I can practice within
that size rather than just all over the top.

Here is the proof. :)

Debbe

Arizona sunset

I just had to share this beautiful sunset with you. I did get that quilt finished, well quilted anyway. I'll get to the binding. I need to make a muslin sandwich and start practicing some different designs. I know I can do them, just need to practice. Wish me luck.

Wow it is hot already

It isn't even 8 am and it is hot already. This is going to be a scorcher today.
We discovered a few years ago if we stopped using the main a/c unit for the
whole house and switched to window units that we could be much cooler and
it didn't cost any more. We had hoped to save money but just being more comfortable
is a wonderful benefit. I'm sure we'll hit 105 today and probably have thunderstorms
this afternoon which normally doesn't cool off anything. They are a fabulous treat
to the nose however, the smell of rain in the desert is wonderful. As the rain hits Creosote
bushes they excrete a wonderful fragrance.

I will finish the pink/turquoise quilt today. It should've already been done but I've been
getting home late and then making dinner right away. With the frame sitting in the living
room it is hard to use it if someone is watching television. All quilting machines are noisy
when you're trying to hear tv. Anyway, it will be done today and then I'll put the muslin
on to play. I'm excited about that.

A small start

I did start quilting on the little top on the frame. I was going to experiment and
after ripping out my error I had a light bulb moment. I am just going to finish this
up with meandering and then put a muslin sandwich on and practice all that stuff that
I know I can do if I just give it a whirl and practice. I hate to try stuff on a "keeper"
quilt top you know? If I just go with the muslin and some batting I can try lots of different
designs and keep at it until I feel comfortable.
Here's a picture of the one I'm working on. Nothing fancy. I just had to sew one day
and put these blocks together. It is bright and cheery. I should get it finished by Thursday
for sure.

Our heat has finally kicked in. I'm not sure what the temperature was today but over 100.
Unfortunately for my son the electricity was off for over 2 hours after a bird flew into a
transformer. I finally talked him into getting into the swimming pool so he could cool off.
For some reason he forgot about the pool. He sure felt better when he got out.

My quilting business

I guess I could mention at this point that I've started a quilting business.
I have a midarm machine on frame and have mastered meandering. I've looked
at many other individuals meandering and feel mine is very good. If you have any need to have a quilt top quilted please email me at desertdebbe@yahoo.com. Please note there
is no i in the name Debbe. My prices are currently .01 cent per square inch. Let's see if I can find a picture of my quilting for you to see. You could also check out my "finally finished" album on Webshots. http://community.webshots.com/user/desertdebbe
Now, I seriously need to get to that quilt top on the frame.

The foundation is down

I was suprised to see that the foundation was down on my son's house.
Behind it is a pile of pre-constructed framing sections. It should be rough framed by next week.

Can't remember if I said that the water faucet was replaced. My back is mighty sore from the position and leaning on something
under the sink. Hopefully it will feel better tomorrow.

I'm looking for a loop de loop type quilt design to practice before getting busy on the pink/turquoise top. Very basic 5" squares. Nothing fancy I just needed to sew something.

Still not quilting

I can't believe that my one week vacation is already nearing an end. ahhhh!
I did get some things accomplished but never enough.
While cleaning the sink yesterday afternoon I discovered the faucet was broken.
I knew the gasket was messed up but it worked pretty good just the same. It would just
allow water to still come out of the faucet when I used the sprayer. Well the gizmo holding
the sprayer onto the sink broke. I went to Lowe's this morning and got a replacement and
got it taken care of. It looks a lot like the last one but hopefully will last longer. It's really
cool that the end of the faucet can swivel. That sure is a dirty job.

Anyway, I'm going to run out to the construction site of my son's new house to see how things
are progressing and then get the top on the frame.

Another warm evening in Arizona

It is another wonderful evening here in the desert. It probably looks dead to you but it's not. Notice how you can see the sky
all the way to the horizon. The most incredibly beautiful place
to live.

I have a backing on the frame for a smaller quilt top. Once I get
it all on I'll take a picture for you. I have a Hinterberg Stretch frame and a Bailey Home Quilter 13". I started with my Juki 98Q on the frame but in just a couple months was frustrated by skipping stitches. It seems to be a common problem with them. I use it for piecing now but occasionally use my Singer Featherweight. I really love the thread cutter and knee lift on the Juki so I prefer using that.

I should have the pink/turquoise top finished up in no time but I need to practice the loop de loop, flower pattern I am hoping to accomplish. I think I'll go put the batting and top on now so it will be ready to go first thing in the morning.

I forgot to mention that I have two forums. One for general quilting: www.quiltangels.proboards.com and the other strictly for the Bailey Home Quilter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Baileyquiltingmachines/

Do you like homemade soap?

One day I may learn how to make my own but in the mean time
I am going to be buying all my soap here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7339966

You just have to give it a try.

Having a productive vacation so far

I'm officially on vacation even though I'm not really going anywhere.
I just needed some time to focus on quilting and not trying to squeeze it in
at the end of every day.

I managed to get my Disappearing 9 patch top completed. Picture? sure.
I wouldn't have used brown again for the border but it was just "right".
Although no one else will know it is actually hanging upside down in the picture. I planned the reddish block in the upper right to be in the lower left.
Think the colors flow better that way.

Need to get this one or another one on the frame. Why do I put it off?
Love the frame, machine and quilting. I guess it's just the time it takes??

Trying to talk myself out of going to get a little something to eat. I live in a rural area
so anywhere from here takes me a 25 minute, one way drive. I only make one trip a day
if I'm leaving the house so I have to plan everything out.

I'm sure you're tired of seeing it

Here is the finished top now that the final borders were added. It is on a king bed but will fit a queen. I thought I had wide backing fabric but the 2 I have won't match the top. I'll have to find that really soon.

I've decided I want to teach myself to dye fabric. Heck, I've got a week vacation why not do something different, eh? I need to order some dye and get to it. I bought 10 yards of white quilter's fabric so I will just need a few more things. I doubt I'll actually get any done this week but I can pretend.

I am going to put a small, lap quilt on the frame so I can practice some designs. I love doing the meander but not all quilts benefit from that design. I know I can do it. What are you doing?

I went to be at 11:30 last night, so why am I up before 7 today??
One very loud and persistent male cat named Fat Boy. He felt he should
be fed. What a pain. Of course I could've just gone right back to bed but
I thought I'd just check in on the computer. Here it is 30 minutes later.
As soon as I'm done writing this, it's back to bed for me.

I got no cutting or sewing done yesterday. Ah well, life goes on. I did order
fabric to make two kids size quilts. Of course there will be pictures after they
are finished. Once the laundry is started I'll try to get to finishing up the Emerald Forest
shown in the pictures. I need to add large borders so it will be queen size then I can
get it on the frame and actually finish it.

The disappearing nine patch still needs to get the right look so I can sew the blocks/rows
together and then look into whether or not it needs borders. Too many started and not
finished. Focus Debbe, focus. :)

Friday again already

I can't believe it is Friday again already. Wow, time flies by some weeks.
I am on the first day of 10 days off. I seriously hope to get some sewing, quilting
and cutting done.
On Twitter yesterday I found someone talking about free soap on Etsy. I am on up
on Etsy so I went to check it out. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7339966
Sure enough she will give you a bar of homemade soap for Free!

I finished piecing the disappearing 9 patch, I'm not impressed. It seems every time
I see one they look great but I just don't like how mine looks. I think if I had stuck with
the same 9 fabrics all over it I would be happier with it. I guess I'll try that next time.

Off to feed the cats, grab some coffee, throw on some shorts and get sewing.

Terrific Tuesday

Well it's back to work today. Just 3 days this week so it should go by
fairly quickly.
I made 8 blocks for the disappearing 9 patch. I need a minimum of 20 so
I need to pick it up. The fabric I ordered from Hancock's was shipped yesterday.
They are SO good with customer service. That isn't easily said these days.
Way to go Hancock's.
I just noticed sprinkles on the pool. Of course I noticed the clouds when I got up,
funny to live somewhere that you actually notice when its cloudy.

Off to work and then I should get a few more blocks finished this afternoon.

I figured out that when I'm not logged in the blog doesn't show the most recent posts.
Odd, sorry there are duplicates on the last. I don't see a way to delete.

missing post

What the heck?? Yesterday I posted and included a picture and today it is gone.
Let's see what I can remember. I was saying how beautiful it is here in the Arizona
desert. The sky is so blue and so big it is incredible. I can see to the horizon in all directions.
With the occasional electric/phone line and pole it is clear. I sure wish they could find away
to bury them but I'm sure some animal would dig into them.

I got the "Emerald Forest" top done but decided it needs another border to make it big enough to go on a bed.
I'm trying to post this again but just noticed a could not contact Blogger.com at the bottom. hmmm. not liking this. I ordered the additional brown fabric that I need but
for now I'm going to start on a disappearing 9 patch.

Another beautiful day in the desert

Everyday in the southern Arizona desert is beautiful. I grew up

in southern New York and never realized just how large and blue the

sky could be. We've been here since 1979 and I am still amazed every day

at just how beautiful it is.

I worked on my Emerald Forest quilt top. Trying to make it bigger so it is more than

a wallhanging. It is currently 69 x 72, still too small for a bed. I just ordered some fabric

so I can add one last border to it, the dark brown and then it will be large enough for a

queen bed. Hopefully then I'll be able to get it on the frame and get it quilted. The quilting process itself goes fairly quickly, it seems I need a push to get them on it though. Anyway, the

fabric won't be here for a few days so I'll go back to working on another top which is the same

pattern but bolder colors.

No work for me tomorrow, yippee.

Its Friday, one of the best days of the week. It was a day off work for

me so that is always nice. I took Monday off as well so I sure hope to get

a quilt top on the frame and get it finished. It takes me so long to just do it

but once I do it goes really fast and I enjoy it.

I spend way too much time in front of the computer. Just reading or typing.

I should be doing something constructive instead.

I did go to my local LQS today and got some fat quarter blenders.

Just look at the beautiful colors. Aren't they just yummy?

I should get some more you can never have too much fabric now can you?

Where did yesterday go?

I had all intentions of writing yesterday but my son decided that I needed
to watch hours of gaming shows on tv with him. He'll be moving out in a few
months and I won't have that opportunity again. I'll enjoy it while I can. I think
we watched the Nintendo and Sony stuff on E3.
Didn't get any sewing done either. I did print off a pattern or two. I must have hundreds
of them now. I use to put them in a notebook but now just my quilting designs are
in a notebook. The patterns are clipped together with those binder clips. I do look
thru them from time to time. :)
Hopefully, I will look for fabric to put a wide border strip on a top I made. Hmmm
how do I post a picture?? sorry it is a little blurry.

Getting ready to leave for work. It takes me 30 minutes on a good day to arrive.
Actually from my house it takes 30 minutes to get just about anywhere one would
want to go. For the month of June I'm working a grueling 4 day- 7-hour a day week.
Hopefully, by the end of next week all the paperwork will be finished and I can get
to work on the next year. I work for a school district. School ended on May 22nd this
year. It will start up on August 6th.

I got the 2nd cupcake pincushion done. It looks much better but I need to figure out
how to cover the upper edge so it doesn't cover the whole "cup" part.

Off I go. Later

cupcake pincushion

Up a little earlier today. I love to sleep in but it seems my body won't
allow it. I go off to bed imagining sleeping thru the night and after waking
up for the 5th or 6th time I realize it isn't going to happen. I did actually
sleep all the way thru one night about a month and half ago. I was shocked when
I woke up. Anyway, I'm up and caught up on all things internet. I'm trying to
figure out how to make a pincushion shaped like a cupcake. I did make one last night by totally winging it. HA. I used the cap from a can and glued
fabric to it, not bad but everything is too straight. I did find a pattern posted
by a wonderful woman so I'm going off that. First off, I'm just going to flatten a cupcake
paper and copy that. I mean why not??
I need to do some laundry and vacuum as well but sewing comes first.

Finished the quilt top

The top is done with the exception of sashing and borders.
I don't understand why no matter how much fabric I have on hand it is
never the right fabric when I need some. Grrr.
Now the top will sit until I get some solid colors to go with it. Pink and Turquoise.
Think I'll do pink sashing, maybe 2 1/2" wide and then a border of 4".

Figuring things out

My son helped me get the Twitter link on the page. What a smart man he is.
I currently have 12 (yikes, did I say that out loud?) unquilted tops stacked on
my cutting table. I did manage to get 5 quilted but I made 6 more quilts during
that time. I am working on a new top. Nothing fancy, I needed to sew something so
I just pulled out some precut 5" squares and started putting them together. I ran out
of the fabrics I was using so now is the time to sew those rows together.
It's rather bright, pink/white and turquoise blocks. I need to be sewing and
not blogging.

Follow me on Twitter

I can't figure out how to add the little twitter emblem but you
can follow me on Twitter if you like. It is under Desertdebbe

1st post

This being my first post of my first blog, wow, how exciting.
My passion is my family and then QUILTING!! I love to piece and
quilt tops on my stretch frame with my Bailey Home Quilter.
I have two forums. One is just for the BHQ which
is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Baileyquiltingmachines/
The second is a quilting forum. We do get off topic from time to time but
isn't that what friends do?

Hope this comes out correctly.
Desertdebbe