Stella Bella Quilts

Cat Tree in Sepia

2012-01-15T20:02:00.000-05:00

A Friday 13th Finish!

2012-01-13T20:36:00.000-05:00

I just adore the Schnibble pattern for this month's Another Year of Schnibbles. The pattern is "Full House" and I used French General "Le Petit Ecole" charm packs.

Here's my completed top, hot off the ironing board.

I just may get this quilted and bound before the end of the month. Let's hope so.

And because it's not a Friday the 13th without a black cat or two. Here's a Remy photo. He is getting so big

and looooooong.

Remy the Cute

2012-01-10T20:09:00.001-05:00

Hi! Yes I'm Still Here!

2012-01-07T15:45:00.002-05:00

Hi! Long time no post! I am ~~sneaking~~ easing into the new year. After working beaucoup at Starbucks for November and December, I had a four-day weekend last weekend and caught up on some much needed sleep and got completely hooked on "Downton Abbey." OMG this is the best period drama! Season 2 starts tomorrow on your local PBS so if you haven't discovered it yet, you still have time to catch up (if you start right now!)

I also caught up on the Civil War Block of the Week quilt and finished all the blocks, sashes, sewed rows together and am deciding on borders. Between CWBOW and 8 hours of Downton Abbey now you know why I didn't blog last weekend LOL!

Here are some of the blocks I made:

For one of the corner blocks I repeated the North Star block

Christmas Star

New York

Grapes of Wrath

Yankee Puzzle

West Virginia

As soon as I decide on the borders, I post the finished top. I just love this quilt. I think it is one of my absolute favorites and I can't wait to get it completely finished and quilted.

Well now that it's well into January, I am, of course, already behind on quilt projects I want to do. Sinta and Sherri are hosting Another Year of Schnibbles and I am joining in again to make these fun quilts. For January, the pattern is "Full House" and I'm using some hoarded French General charm packs to make mine.

I also signed up for Judy at Patchwork Times' 2012 UFO Challenge. I had a dismal completion rate last year so I hope to improve this year by working on the same list. For January, the UFO is number 5 on the list which is my "Stars of Provence" quilt. Here is one of the blocks I finished back in ~~the Paleolithic era~~ February 2007. Now I just need to figure out where I left off nearly 5 years ago!!!

Last Day of 2011

2011-12-31T18:27:00.002-05:00

Goodbye to 2011. I am ~~happy~~ relieved to see this year end.

Best wishes to all for 2012.

Not a Creature was Stirring...

2011-12-24T18:27:00.001-05:00

...not even a Remy (at least for a few minutes). Happy Christmas! and Happy Hanukkah!

Baking and happy Festivus!

2011-12-23T20:24:00.000-05:00

Finally a day off! I did get some sewing time in and made two kinds of cookies.
These are molasses gingerbread cookies rolled in sugar and orange zest. Wonderfully old fashioned and not too sweet. I'm off to have a couple with some English breakfast tea.
Tomorrow starts 7 days in a row at SBux.
And of course a happy Festivus to all.

2012 UFO Challenge List

2011-12-18T18:59:00.001-05:00

also known as 2011 UFO list recycled.

Well since 2011 was a year that kept me occupied with everything but sewing, my 2012 UFO challenge list is going to look mostly the same as last year (hey, I'll keep it in the same order too). In 2011, I only finished 2 of my listed UFO projects, in #4 April and #2 July, so I'll add new projects for those spaces.

So here's the list for 2012

1. Scrappy Nines
2. Sherbet Pips
3. Tablerunners
4. Bonnie Hunter Double Delight
5. Stars of Provence
6. Clara Barton
7. Firecracker
8. Kaffe quilt
9. 2007 BOM
10. Wild Rice
11. Whittier Crossing
12. 2 Forgotten UFOs

Since 2012 is going to be the most boring and non-eventful year for me ever (and I will love every boring minute of it), I hope to make grand progress on these.

****************************************************************************

Currently, there has been very little going on besides working working working and watching Remy antics. Although today I discovered that you can work but you cannot hide from your quilting buddies when unexpectedly, Karin and Sarah No-Blog appeared at my Starbucks this morning. Yes, they hunted me down and among the four Starbucks within a 5-mile radius, they found me. I LOVE them for appearing with Christmas cheer at my store. It was good to catch up with the latest from Thimbles since I haven't been able to attend in a while. I will get geared up for the next quarter in January though (I'll probably have one of the above UFOs to work on...)

OK time for take-out pizza dinner. Hope to have a few most blog posts before the end of the year.

Shipping Department in Action

2011-12-08T19:14:00.001-05:00

It's December??!!?? Is There Something I Should Be Doing?

2011-12-06T19:12:00.001-05:00

It's week two of December already?!?!?? Oh my. Let's just day I've been working a lot and kinda lost track of things I'm supposed to be doing for December.

Instead of frantically making gifts (most of which I have started and didn't finish last year *cough cough*) and instead of resorting to making dear Max work like crazy =================>

I flexed my online shopping fingers

and BOOM!

shopping done and had everything sent to my elves in Michigan for wrapping. I love my elves in Michigan:)

Tonight I am determined to get cards addressed for mailing later this week when I have a chance to zoom by the post office.

Wish I had elves to do laundry and dishes because I gotta fit those in tonight too.

It's the most non-sleeping time of the year....

Morris & Company & Remy & Company

2011-12-03T15:08:00.001-05:00

I just love Barbara Brackman's William Morris lines and received the latest one in layer cake form. Gorgeous winter colors. Now I need to find a project to match the fabric. Remy is napping with the little lamb toy. So precious!

Remy, Royal Mail, A Gift, and a Block

2011-11-27T19:44:00.001-05:00

A very awwwww photo of Remy with some of his favorite toys just because he is so darn cute and don't you just love those little toes???!!??

I was so very lucky to win a fun blog giveaway from Katy at I am a Ginger Monkey and this wonderful little bundle of mod fab goodness was sent all the way from England via Royal Mail. I LOVE getting mail, especially fun mail, and Royal Mail with a gold sticker well that is even more better. Katy has a really cool, fun blog and she also is one of the designers/writers for the Fat Quarterly e-zine. I signed up for a subscription and have a quilt all planned for these fat quarters--an out-of-my-box bright and solids mod quilt for when winter doldrums hit.

I was so touched when I received a package from a sweet blog reader in south Georgia who sent me the most lovely note of encouragement and these gorgeous Civil War fabrics. Quilters are the most generous thoughtful people ever. A proper thank you is coming and here's a public thank you too!

And to answer the big question, did I get to sew today? Yes I did! After sleeping in for eternity and then I had to hem four pairs of pants (hemming is not sewing! I hate hemming pants!!!) And then I got to sew this one block LOL!

Don't look to close because it's rather wonky with 50-11 set-in seams but here is another Civil War block of the week block. This was a difficult block but it's staying the way it is because I'm not revisiting it.

Well it's back to work for everyone in the U.S tomorrow. Lots of rain and colder weather is headed towards Atlanta, which means it is going to be really hard to get out of bed in the morning.

Briefly Stopping By

2011-11-26T15:28:00.001-05:00

Hello! I am briefly visiting blogland before heading back to Starbucks this evening. Seventh day in a row for me. Making lots and lots of holiday drinks. Have you seen the fun Starbucks holiday website? It reminds me of the Google doodles for different holidays. And those of you with smartphones can download an app and enjoy some techy holiday fun while waiting for your favorite drink.

Not much is going on here. Thanksgiving day was the usual insanity with people stopping in on the way to dinner, people stopping in on the way home from dinner, people escaping their relatives, and people hanging out until we had to please ask them to leave so we could clean up and go home.

Through the magic of the Internets and Skype, I got to visit with my family for awhile. Mackenzie was very excited to see her Aunt Gretchen and the new kitty Remy.

Yesterday, I avoided all the Black Friday madness and lounged at home with a book and black and tabby cats. Then more Starbucks. Today is more of the same.

Tomorrow--finally a day off--and I'm hoping to dust off the Bernina and get some sewing time in. Can't remember how long it has been; it's been THAT long. I need to get some CW blocks of the week done and sashed and maybe start on the new Bonnie Hunter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T10:08:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone has a wonderful time with family and friends.

I have so much to be thankful for this year--mainly just getting through this rough year.

I am so thankful for my family, my cats, my friends, and all my readers in blogland that have been so supportive and wonderful.

I am thankful for having a house and two jobs when many in America have none.

I am thankful that every night in the dark, quiet minutes driving home from Starbucks that I am am sad and shed tears for the loss of my beloved Morpheus cat because we were both so lucky to find each other and have 17 years of unconditional love.

I am thankful that I cried all night last night and am crying now because I miss my grandfather because he was such a great person and loved his family so much.

I am also thankful that my serious health scare biopsy & bloodwork this past week turned out negative and my new (fourth) doctor seems committed to helping resolve my health problems.

Today's Special: Cutemous Kitty

2011-11-17T22:27:00.000-05:00

Paging Dr. Gregory House

2011-11-16T00:57:00.001-05:00

Well not much sewing going on here. I hope to get back to it this weekend.

Please feel free to stop reading now because I really just want to vent.

Really, I'll understand.

Have a great day/evening & I'll get back to sewing or cute cats in the next post. Promise.

Oh and Remy is wonderful, made himself right at home, and loves life here. We love him right back. Thank you for asking. You can stop reading now. Thanks.

OK you were warned......

I hesitated to mention this ongoing, annoying, mysterious health issue I've had but thought what-the-hey, all you long-time readers have followed me through the rest of the Series of Unfortunate Events this year (yes, for all you Lemony Snicket fans I am considering changing my last name to Baudelaire). Also, I didn't want anyone to think that my six (6!!!!!!!!!) months of bad luck had suddenly gone away.

Let me start out by saying, I have had bad luck with medical professionals in the past so I have a wary, distrust of the medical profession since childhood (except for Dr. House because he is brutally honest, makes no bones about not caring about the patient--only the puzzle of the disease, and usually figures out what is wrong with the patient in a hour. I like that.)

Since late July, I have had a weird allergic reaction to something. I have been to a dermatologist, my G.P. (twice), and a specialist in allergy & immunology. I have been given various strengths of corticosteroids both orally, lotions, creams, and the last time a shot and each time the reaction comes back worse. I have stopped using all my usual makeup, face stuff, shampoo, conditioner, soap, cleaning products, etc. and have rewashed everything in my house with dye/fragrance-free laundry soap (which I use anyway).

It has been extremely frustrating because I look like an EXTRA FROM THE WALKING DEAD!!!!! (that's a zombie apocalypse show that takes place in Atlanta for those of you who aren't up on your zombie pop culture)

Or a CHIPMUNK WITH MANGE (by-the-way Chipmunks with Mange would be a great name for a band please give me 20% of proceeds if you use this name thx.). With a horrible non-itchy red rash everywhere and peeling dry flaky skin.

For the first few months, I got by in public OK but since the beginning of this month with not being able to use makeup (hello) and it getting worse, I have been a recluse and missed days of day-job and days at Starbucks, which is not good. I have also been very depressed and frequently despaired about this whole situation (and everything else that has happened this year...)

Skip next paragraph if you want I digress into dangerous territory....

WARNING: rant within a rant digression here: [Because I now have really crappy health insurance from the state because not only do we not get performance or cost-of-living raises anymore (going on 10 years now), we also get really crappy health insurance--thank you past and now present governors. And this has cost more money than I care to add up and yes I have to work two jobs to help pay for my crappy health care--which is going up in cost next year, and down in benefits]

DIGRESSION OVER

Today, I went the allergy/immunology specialist person who was dismayed that this hasn't gone away and said he didn't have any other ideas except for mega-doses of prednisone (again) and referred me back to the same dermatologist. Sigh.

I am BESIDE myself with this. A friend gave me a referral to another dermatologist that is supposed to be very good. So I hope to get an appointment and get a &^%$#@%$^&** MIRACLE.

I really want Dr. House to be real-life doctor, although I think Hugh Laurie is pretty hot and wouldn't really want him to see me looking like a bloody zombie or chipmunk with mange so that is a quandary. Oh he probably wouldn't be an in-network doctor anyway. Foo!

That is all. And now back to our regularly schedule cute cats & quilting.

Please welcome

2011-11-13T18:10:00.001-05:00

The newest member of my family--Remy, a 2 month old little male kitty. He was adopted from the Atlanta Humane Society on Saturday and is having lots of fun playing with all the cat toys. Gomez, Edgar, & Stella are getting used to him OK.

Veterans Day 2011

2011-11-11T13:43:00.001-05:00

Remembering and thanking all the men and women, past and present, who served our country.

Civil War Block of the Week: Catching Up

2011-11-09T12:34:00.003-05:00

I was surprised to find out I was six (6!!) weeks behind on Barbara Brackman's Civil War Block of the Week. Last weekend, I (mostly) caught up.

Port and Starboard

Union

Right Hand of Friendship

H is for Hospital

Order Number Eleven

I also finished another Hocuspocusville block when I was in Michigan last month. This is block #7. I only have 2 1/2 blocks left to stitch.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival Fall 2011

2011-11-02T15:04:00.001-04:00

It's time for the Bloggers' Quilt Festival again. I am so happy that Amy started this fun and inspiring tradition.

I decided to pick my Eventide quilt that I finished in April for the festival for a number of reasons:
1. I haven't finished many quilts or quilt tops this year (it's been a rough year on too many fronts to revisit)
2. I absolutely ADORE this quilt pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company
3. I absolutely ADORE the fabric by Fig Tree Quilts and am so happy to have found a super wonderful project for it. This is an older line called Fig & Plum and I was hoarding it for just the right project.
4. This was an online quilt along hosted by Thelma of Cupcakes 'n Daisies. Thelma is an extremely talented quilter, wonderful blogger, and just all around fabulous person. If you haven't visited her blog, go take a look and be prepared to be in awe. Make sure you are sitting down when you see her Red and White Tribute Quilt because you will be blown away. I'm hoping Thelma will host another quilt along at some point because it really was a ton of fun.
5. Did I mention that this has been a rough year? April and the Eventide Quilt Along was the last time before the rest of this year spiraled into chaos. Let's just hope for a boring rest of the year and a better 2012.
6. I really just love this quilt and need to get it to the long-arm quilter before the weather gets much colder.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

2011-10-31T12:52:00.002-04:00

Hope everyone has a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

A Boo-thday Party

2011-10-30T17:42:00.002-04:00

Michigan Trip (continued)

My sister-in-law planned the most awesome BOOOOOthday party for me and decorated the house to full effect.

She made the place mats and napkins rings and covered bottles with new labels

And made these really cool pumpkinsAdding balloons, spiderwebs, and creepy crawlies everywhere.

My mom finished her Hocuspocusville quilt and had it on display.

Don't forget the eyeball punch!

Sweet and Savory Bakeshop in Oxford MI makes THE BEST CAKES!!!

It was a great booo-thday party.

A Saturday Back in Atlanta

2011-10-29T21:27:00.000-04:00

Did you think I would never come back? I really wanted to stay in Michigan because I was having such a super fantastic fun Fall time but I did come back Tuesday night.

And was very sad Wednesday to not have this little sweetie around.

She looks like she is in a Smart Car.

If you look close, she has a Starbucks hoodie on. You can only get this kinda cool if you have an aunt who works at Starbucks!

The rest of this week zoomed by and today I finally got around to unpacking my suitcase and downloading my photos.

Packed in my suitcase were the quilty goodies I picked up in Michigan at some of my favorite shops. Mabelena's in Ortonville is a really great shop. Brenda, the owner, is just the sweetest person, and the shop always has wonderful new stuff and shop displays for just about anything you are looking for. As you can see, I found a few things to bring home. Check out the awesome floursack tea towels I found. Aren't the colors just great? I'm planning some funky Halloween stitchery for these for next year. I also picked up the book-azine "Sew Scrappy", some fat quarters, and a couple of half-yards.

We also went to Guildcrafters in Berkeley. I love this shop too and they always have lots and lots of great samples and kits. The best thing about their kits is they have kits in a wide variety of price ranges and a wide variety of projects. I picked up a cute owl pincushion pattern that I hope to make sometime soon. Another cool thing about the shop is their little pincushion kits (I have three from previous trips...). I also picked up a few fat quarters in Halloween & Civil War fabrics.

More tomorrow....

Happy Birthday to me!

2011-10-24T19:09:00.000-04:00

My sister-in-law & mom had a great Halloween costume/birthday party for me. Today I turned the big 4-0 yikes!!! I dressed as Professor McGonagall from the Harry Potter books. More photos when I get back home.

I Spy in Michigan

2011-10-21T14:22:00.000-04:00

My good friend Pat Wys' brand new book at Guildcrafters Quilt Shop in Berkeley. Say hi to Pat at Quiltmarket next week and see these great quilts in person. Not going market? Check your LQS or order from Pat at her website: silverthimblequiltco.com

Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch

2011-10-19T12:07:00.000-04:00

Mackenzie Oct. 2011 age 19 mo. (borrowed from my sister-in-law's facebook page)

I haven't posted in awhile and I seem to have lost my quilting and blogging mojo for a brief time. Hope this will change soon.

Guess who I get to see this week?

Stylin' in her purple glasses.

For a planned trip this time.

More from Michigan soon.

Another Hocuspocusville Block

2011-10-14T20:50:00.000-04:00

Not much happening on the quilting front here. Today is the first day I have felt significantly better so I am hoping to return back to normal soon. I did manage to complete another Hocuspocusville block while watching endless TV. Nearing the home stretch on these blocks.

The cats have enjoyed me be couch-bound all week. I thought this was a funny sleeping pose by Gomez, who was unaware that he was sliding down between the couch and the cushion. He was snoring peacefully so I guess he was comfy.

Tales from the Couch

2011-10-10T00:45:00.000-04:00

Got back from Michigan Tuesday night. It was a very sad, emotionally draining, and exhausting trip.   I was so glad that S. came too and everyone appreciated his love and support. I did get to see all my cousins (10 of us!) and their kids and spouses plus all my aunts and uncles and other relatives. I spoke at the funeral, which was very difficult but I thought it was important and I made it through with a choked up voice.

And of course, I got to see my niece Mackenzie. She is 19 months old and as cute and brilliant as ever (being the non-bias opinion of an aunt you know). She is speaking in complete sentences (!!!!) and said "I want to go outside." And I taught her how to make monster sounds (very important). She also learned how to say my name which is really hard to say when you are young. Did I mention that she is brilliant?

On Wednesday, I came down with the most horrible, dreadful, awful cold virus ever (code name MHDACVE) and was stuck on the couch sick for three days straight. Thank goodness for BBC America, which has saved my sanity from certain boredom. I highly recommend watching the shows "Luther" and "The Hour."     I did very little else but complain about how sick I was to the cats. They sympathized but were unable to make tea or soup so I had to do it myself (S. was out of town for work).

Today I found out from the pharmacist (where I had to stock up on more cold medicine) that the MHDACVE is going around and it lasts for about a week and a half and is just as horrible, dreadful, and awful for anyone who gets it. I called my mom and she has it too. My advice: stay away from people and wear a haz-mat suit!

More Sad News

2011-09-30T12:55:00.000-04:00

Poor Readers, this blog has become nothing but quilt blocks and bad news lately. I'm feeling that way too.

My beloved paternal grandfather passed away in his sleep the early hours on September 29th. I found out yesterday at 8:15AM and am still trying to process the fact that he is gone.

He was the most wonderful and loving and fun grandfather ever. I think there was nothing he enjoyed more than his 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. This photo is of him and Mackenzie last year.

His obituary said he was a Master Electrician but he was so much more so I wanted to write down, mostly for myself, the rest of his profession. So please forgive the personal recollections.
My grandfather could fix anything--cars, houses, engines, you name it, including mashed potatoes and breakfast. He loved chocolate ice cream and telling funny stories and jokes. He didn't like pineapple so our family always tried to sneak pineapple in stuff just for fun and to have the grandkids sing-song say "you ate pineapple!" He taught me about the great outdoors, how to fish, how to read animal tracks in the dirt, how to shoot arrows and ride motorcycles. From him, I learned about gardening and composting and the joy of eating carrots straight out of the ground. He loved carpentry and woodworking and made furniture, cradles, dollhouses for all the granddaughters, wooden trains and tractors for the grandsons, dulcimers and beautiful stringed instruments, shelves for tea cups and knick-knacks, and picture frames. I spent most of my childhood Sundays and summer days at my grandparents with my cousins--running and playing outside all day and having root beer floats while watching TV in evening. I am the oldest grandchild and my whole life he always asked me if I would take care of him in his old age and I always assured him that I would. I think I was still waiting for him to get old because in my eyes he was always so full of life and there was so much more I wanted to ask him and talk to him about. Eighty-two years was not long enough and I was so looking forward to seeing him next month.

Recent Blocks for this Week

2011-09-26T20:47:00.000-04:00

Hovering Hawks was the block for Barbara Brackman's Civil War block of the week. I tried to use fabrics that had the coloring of a red-tailed hawk against a blue sky with clouds.

It's kind of busy but that was the thought.

A couple of Farmer's Wife Quilt Along blocks. This is Checkerboard. I just used little scraps of whatever was on top of the scrap bag.

and Whirlpool. I thought this dark blue with dots reminded me of dark blue water with bubbles. The background just had lots of movement.

And this is block 10 of Hocuspocusville. This is the sixth block I've finished so I'm over halfway done.

A Poe Post: Autumn Sunbeam

2011-09-24T15:10:00.001-04:00

Winning (not Charlie Sheen related) and Hermiting

2011-09-21T19:24:00.000-04:00

I was so extremely lucky to win two more great giveaway prizes recently. Look at this fantabulous win from Miss Rosie & Carrie as a prize from the Le Petite August finishes.

I am soooo excited to have a Schibble project bag and more Schnibble patterns (these are Carrie's brand-new ones)and generous chunks (is that a new precut size?) of Carrie's new fabric line.

It is YUMMMMMMMY!!

Carrie wrote a sweet note too. She is just the sweetest and I know she is always super busy so I'm even more touched that she took the time to write a cute note.

I can't wait to dive into this fabric and more Schnibble-y fun.

Big THANK YOU to Carrie and Miss Rosie and Sinta and Sherri!!!

From the wonderful folks at Cloud 9 fabrics, I won some big chunks and scraps of their Forest Friends Flannel.

Cloud 9 makes wonderful organic cotton fabrics and we are all about organic here at Stella Bella Quilts. I am very excited to be able to make a little organic project from this fabric.

Not to mention the OWLS! Very owl-some retro owls.

And bunnies!! And polka-dots.

Doesn't this make you want to run out and get some?

I've been a bit of a hermit lately and even missed my Silver Thimbles sewing group last weekend. I knew I wouldn't be very good company and just wanted to hermit at home. Does anyone else ever do this?
I was still trying to adapt to the loss of Morpheus and feeling really sad.

I also was finally relieved to be over and done with all the house repairs from the May 13th fire (FOUR months and TWO days after the fire). The last tiny itty bitty bit of repairs was a never-ending, drawn-out, annoying saga of bad subcontractors, which I spared y'all from. I finally just told the general contractor that I was done with it all and I would finish it up myself. Poof begone with that! The lesson I learned was to be my own general contractor (as I did for 95% of the repair work the beginning of the summer) and not rely on anyone my insurance company recommended (go figure).

I was also dealing with getting used to working two jobs again. I already miss my Friday night through Sunday night weekends...

Well I feel bad not seeing my friends and I feel bad for not replying to all the emails and comments the past month but I really needed some alone-time. I think I am back now and will be more social. Love to y'all.

Civil War Blocks

2011-09-18T18:12:00.000-04:00

I'm all caught up on blocks for Barbara Brackman's Civil War Block of the Week.

Ohio Star

Confederate Rose

Kentucky Crossroads

Star of the West

Have you seen Barbara Brackman's new blog about the War of 1812 called Quilt 1812: War and Piecing? Next year will be the bicentennial of that war and she is posting about the very few early quilts that date from the first decades of the 19th century as well as design and fabric traditions from the time period. Barbara Brackman is my Quilt Idol--serious scholarship, wonderful writer, and beautiful fabric & pattern designer. Who is your Quilt Idol?

East Cobb Quilt Show

2011-09-17T20:28:00.000-04:00

On Friday, S. and I went to the East Cobb Quilt Show in Marietta, Georgia. The East Cobb Quilt Guild puts on this wonderful juried show every other year and I usually take a day of leave to spend the day shopping the vendors and seeing the quilts followed by a trip to Williamson Bros. BBQ for lunch and then a visit to Little Quilts across the street.

I need to say that S. accompanied me willingly :) He likes looking at the quilts but not the vendors, enjoys me buying him BBQ lunch, and waits patiently (more or less) in the car listening to his iPod while I shop in Little Quilts.

This quilt on the left, called "All Aboard" designed and made by Anne Anderberg, won best in show. She does amazing, very detailed work and this quilt is a collage of some of her travels. Definitely a knock-your-socks-off quilt.

I have a few photos taken on my iPhone of the 350 quilts that were shown. You can see more photos on Karen's blog at sewprimitive quilter and Melinda's blog at Melinda Quilts.

I loved this creative, unique version of a Baltimore Album quilt for the use of colors in the flying geese border and clever blocks including the Baltimore blue crab cake block in the top left, the Baltimore kudzu (far right second row), the Lady Baltimore cake block (first block, fourth row) and Marietta's own Big Chicken (fourth row, fourth block). A very fun take on a Baltimore Album quilt. I don't know why it didn't win any ribbons.

This quilt was impressive for the sheer number of little itty bitty blocks and about a zillion different fabrics.

I liked this quilt for the great use of color, solid fabrics, and modern design. The quilting was gorgeous too.

Here is one of Karen at sewprimitive quilter's quilts. She has a great eye for fabric combinations and use of reproduction fabrics. A very talented designer too, this is one of her designs. Love it! I can't wait for her write up the pattern.

This really small quilt was all threadwork and is based on a vintage photo. Wow! Incredibly detailed and shaded. I thought this was inspired.

That's all the photos I took. It was a great show and if you are taking a trip south in two years, plan it around the East Cobb show :) I didn't do much shopping. I bought a roll of fat-eighths and a stitchery pattern at the show. I spent a lot of time in Little Quilts but only bought a few fat quarters.

Some Farmer's Wife Blocks and a Win

2011-09-13T09:02:00.000-04:00

Three more Farmer's Wife blocks done. I think I have around 20 made now.

This is Bowtie

and Broken Sugar Bowl

and Hovering Birds.

I won a great prize from Bari J at We Love French Knots for completing the stitchery sampler. Cosmo spools of two-strand embroidery thread, a sweet little hoop, and some lovely fabric from the Whitewash line by Lecien called "Vintage Linen". If you haven't checked out Bari J's great website lately, check it out. There are lots of fabulous free stitchery projects by guest stitchers. I've been working away on another Hocuspocusville block. Maybe I'll have this quilt done by next Halloween:)

Gratitude

2011-09-11T17:42:00.000-04:00

A most sincere thank you to each and every one who sent cyber hugs and condolences last week for the loss of my dear beloved Morpheus. I am slowly responding to all my emails and getting back into a routine. Two- and four-legged residents of chez crazy cat lady are learning to adapt. He had a huge personality and all of us are affected. Gomez has been very sad.

I miss him sleeping on my head and sitting next to me as I work on the laptop. I miss him waking me up at 4 in the morning because he was tired of being in the bedroom and wanted me to sleep on the couch (and yes as a well-trained cat-owned person does, I moved to the couch with my pillow and quilt). I expect him to jump in the warm laundry after I pull it out of the dryer. I have no idea what time it is because he is not meowing at the top of his lungs to tell me it's breakfast time, or dinner time, or bedtime snack time. I miss him stretching up on his back legs with his front paws on my legs to pick him up. I miss our silly games. I miss him following me from room to room or always watching me with his big yellow-green eyes.

I especially am having a hard time adapting to the quiet. Morpheus was a talker--he had a meow and a chirp and a mmmerrrfff for everything all the time. I had a running conversation with him for 17 years and now the soundtrack of my life is quiet.

September 11th: 10 years later

2011-09-11T17:01:00.000-04:00

Remembering those we lost and the first responders that searched and rescued the missing. Let us not forget the rescue dogs and their handlers who worked so tirelessly and faithfully.

Wonderful portraits of the dedicated working dogs are in today's New York Times. Many of the dogs went on to search and rescue missions after Katrina and Rita.

10 years later and it seems like yesterday.

Goodnight Sweet Prince

2011-09-04T11:13:00.000-04:00

My dearest Morpheus, for 17 years you were my most faithful and loving companion. You were my most loyal friend and were always there for me in good times and bad. Your unconditional love for me was the most precious thing in my life. I feel very lost without you. I named you after the Greek god of dreams on that rainy night in October when we rescued each other and since then you have always slept by my side or on my pillow watching over me. I will forever hold you in my heart. You were and are the most wonderful, handsome, meowy-est, special cat ever. My soul hurts.

Morpheus Update

2011-09-02T21:05:00.000-04:00

We are waiting on blood work results to come back and right now it is inconclusive why he is not eating. It could be several things, none of which are good (chronic pancreatitis or lymphoma). Morph is on medication for the long weekend to hopefully get him feeling better so he will eat. He is scheduled to see a specialist on Wednesday for an ultrasound and aspiration for the possible lymphoma.

Thank you so much for all your kind comments. It really means a lot to me. I have had a rather difficult summer and feel rather exhausted and overwhelmed. To top everything off (or really because of all this and more), I am starting back at Starbucks as a second job next week, back at the store I worked at for 8 1/2 years. I am so thankful to be able to go back.

Hope everyone in the U.S. has a good long holiday weekend.

Blogging Break

2011-08-31T16:43:00.000-04:00

I am taking a blogging break. As if this summer hasn't been horrendous enough, Morpheus is not eating and is looking very frail and thin. I bought him a roast chicken today and he ate just a few bites. I have a vet appointment on Friday and I'm hoping it's something that can be solved but I just don't know. Will try to post if anything changes. I am not handling this well and please understand if I don't respond back to emails and comments in a timely way.

Hurricane Irene with 100% Chance of Flurry

2011-08-27T19:36:00.000-04:00

image of Hurricane Irene from space courtesy of www.nasa.gov

Hope all East Coast residents (two- and four-legged) stay safe and dry in this monster of a hurricane. Sounds like extreme rain and flooding is headed your way.

I hope everyone has their disaster preparedness kits ready and stocked up on water, food, manual can-opener, Starbucks Via, pet food, and if you have cats, cat litter.

I am sad that Irene bypassed Georgia without sending some rain bands our way. We really need some rain.

I am a big weather nerd and have been listening/watching the coverage all day. (S. is not a weather nerd and has no interest in watching windbreakered reporters standing in wind & rain shouting into the camera for hours on end.)

Since there was no weather event here in the ATL (still hot low to mid-90F and sunny), I worked on the le petite project for this month and finished it up. The pattern is a Schnibble called Honeycomb by Miss Rosie and the fabric is Flurry by Kate Spain for Moda.

I love working with these cool, icy, wintery fabrics while the A/C is running, running, running.

This Schnibble was fun to make and the hexagons were easier to make than I thought they would be.

Stitcheries and Kitties

2011-08-24T21:30:00.000-04:00

I finished my embroidery sampler and learned lots of new stitches courtesy of Bari J at We Love French Knots. I love this website!!! And her videos are the best. I actually learned how to do French knots, chain stitches, and bullion roses (yes, I have amazed myself). I am a very novice ~~embroideryer~~ ~~stitcheryer~~ ~~needleworker~~ (so novice I don't even know what the latest hip term is...).

Previously, I knew how to do cross-stitching and back stitches and that's about it.

Back stitches, I can do. Here's my latest Hocuspocusville block and the fifth one I've finished.

Random cat photo just for fun. Stella was on pillow duty again and Gomez was keeping watch for more earthquakes, hurricanes, or who knows what.

Is it me or has August just been weird???

Weekend Blocks

2011-08-22T18:23:00.001-04:00

I worked on lots of blocks this weekend for CW and FWQAL.

Civil War Block of the Week--Indiana Puzzle

and Rosebud

Farmer's Wife Quilt A-Long--Postage Stamp

Snowball (love this indigo-y purple fabric)

Spool

Temperance Tree

and Weathervane

Edited to add: I found a new-to-me blog by Lori Holt that has great tutorials for some of the FWQAL blocks. Check out the tutorial for Weathervane here and her other tutorials by clicking on the "Tutorial" drawer on her sidebar.

Pets on Quilts 2011: Time to Vote

2011-08-20T16:28:00.000-04:00

Please visit SewCalGal's blog and vote for your favorite Pets on Quilts on this post. You can win prizes just by voting. How fun is that?

Voting takes place today (Saturday) and tomorrow until Sunday midnight PST.

PS: Morpheus is # 81 and he thanks everyone for all the sweet comments about him.

Pets on Quilts 2011

2011-08-18T19:46:00.000-04:00

With four cats, when are pets not on quilts around here lol! I also have at least 50-11 photos of the cats on various quilts so it's difficult to pick one cat let alone one quilt to highlight. But choose I did and here is my entry in this year's Pets on Quilts Show hosted by Sew Cal Girl.

Morpheus and summer quilts

This is Morpheus, my dearest, sweetest, black kitty and shadow. Morpheus is 17 years young and I found him as a stray all those years ago. You can read more about Morph's story on one of my early posts here.

As you can see, Morpheus has a very comfy life. Here he is on a pile of three summer quilts on the couch.

I usually have lots of quilts on the couch and chair and switch them out seasonally.

This quilt is one of the first quilts I made. I just adore this quilt made from the Gingham Rose line by Moda. The fabric is so soft and buttery feeling and the colors remind me of strawberries and lemonade and bright green early summer leaves.

The pattern is an early version of Strawberry Pie by my friend Pat Wys of Silver Thimble Quilt Co.

The corners are rounded to give a soft feel to the edges too.

Click on the Pets on Quilts button on the left sidebar and check out all the entries and vote on your favorites.

With all the dreary news, pets and quilts are guaranteed to make you smile.

Miscellaneous for Monday

2011-08-15T21:22:00.000-04:00

After a horrible, terrible, no-good week last week (mostly because of work), I was busied myself this weekend being busy. I ended up finishing things after starting about 20 other things including putting this quilt top together.

The pattern is from Moda Bake Shop (here's the link Christmas Table Topper by Rachel Griffith) and I made mine with two charm packs of the Max and Whiskers line by Moda and changed the sashing to 2-inch finished instead of 3-inch finished.

The blocks are disappearing nine-patch blocks that I made the last time I was in Michigan. I couldn't find any sashing in my stash that looked OK so ordered a little of the blue print for sashing and binding.

I'm thinking that this would be a good quilt for Edgar Poe. I think the retro colors and playful styling match his personality. What do you think?

I also completed half my Honeycomb Schnibble (is half a schnibble a schnib?) I am diggin' this quilt and hope to get working on the second half this week.

On my way home from work today, I ran some errands. A trip to Target yielded the usual Tahhrrrrr-jay stuff and I couldn't resist some new ~~school supplies~~ pens (love love love shopping for office supplies). And I popped into the nearby bookstore for a copy of the new Quilts and More magazine.

Quick photo & post

2011-08-14T20:57:00.002-04:00

Very quick photo and post of a top I finished up this weekend. Better photo and details tomorrow.

I Can See Friday from Here

2011-08-11T21:50:00.000-04:00

Oh hurry up Friday, I am done with this week and ready for the weekend. Here is the second of my two-part July UFO that I really finished in August.

The pattern is "Civil War Scrappy" from my one of my favorite books Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott.

This is my second completely finished quilt from the book. I have two tops done, one started, and four in project-in-bag status. I really love this book.

Here's a detail. The fabric is "Heritage Collection for a Cause" by Moda.

Tomorrow is Friday. Yeah!!!

July UFO Challenge in August

2011-08-11T08:00:00.002-04:00

Bet you thought I had ~~forgotten~~ ~~given up~~ fallen behind again on Judy's UFO Challenge. That's OK, I thought the same myself. July's challenge was #2 on the UFO list so I did work on bindings (in the middle of the hottest blasted summer ever and then the A/C went out which kind of delayed having quilts anywhere around). Even though it is August, here is one quilt, binding all done, and being held up by Quilt Holder S.

and here is another photo with Stella trying to see what is holding ~~her~~ the quilt up.

The pattern is called Friendship Crossing by my friend Pat of Silver Thimble Quilt Co. I think I bought this kit way back in 2004 and finished the top a couple years later and then had it quilted and then it sat and now finally it's finished. Hooray! Just like fine wine--it needed some resting time.

The quilt now has a purpose too. A friend and former Starbucks co-worker of mine is moving to Germany with her husband and young son for 2 years while her husband works on his dissertation. In honor of her super sweet, wonderful personality and the fun and friendship of working together. I'm going to give this quilt to her. The colors remind me of Starbucks too. The endless green and white cups with red thrown in during Holiday. Hope they enjoy this quilt and it helps keep them warm in the upcoming winter.

I'll post the 2nd July UFO tomorrow.

Guess It's Wednesday Night

2011-08-10T21:54:00.000-04:00

Well this week is flying by. I thought I posted since Saturday but I guess not lol! I did get some sewing done this past weekend as well as going to see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2." Loved the movie and very sad to see the series end.

Here's my Civil War blocks. Carolina Lily

and Empty Spools from the week before.

I started working on Honeycomb (a Schnibbles pattern). I was really worried about sewing these blocks together into a row because there is a lot of bias edges and potential for wonky blocks is pretty high (like at least an 8 on the wonkiness potential scale). I think I'll keep my eyes closed and my toes crossed that this little quilt turns out OK.

Under my ironing board. Stella found a box that was a bit too small for her. I'm getting a box of stuff together to send to my mom so maybe Stella wants to visit Grandma? Well I think Grandma will have to come visit Stella because it doesn't look like Stella is going anywhere anytime soon.

Looks like I'll have to find another box to mail too.

Le Petite Plans for August

2011-08-06T11:22:00.001-04:00

Although I still haven't finished Le Petite from June? May? Whatever month Recess was the pattern. I am ready to dig into some Flurry charm packs (anything to speed cooler temps along.)

Simple Times Quilt Along Reveal!

2011-08-04T08:00:00.016-04:00

Ta da! Here is my version of the Simple Times Quilt Along quilt hosted by Carol at Brown Quilts and Kelly at Charming Chatter. Check out the links to see the parade of quilts. This was a great quilt along and I love the pattern. Thank you both so much!

I used my 1930s stash for this quilt and have fabric pulled to make a scrappy backing. I had wanted to get it put together, quilted, and bound for today but it's way too hot to be doing all that.

Extreme Heat Project

2011-08-03T18:29:00.003-04:00

While I was (melting) at home today waiting for the repair person, I worked on this embroidery sampler from welovefrenchknots.com. I love this new pen called Frixion by Pilot that Melisa at Sweet Home demoed last month. The ink disappears with heat from an iron. Way cool. And it comes in different colors like purple (my favorite). I am using Valdani variegated 3-strand thread in blue-green colors (maybe because I watched Shark Week on Discovery Channel til 3am last night.)

The A/C is on now and we are all starting to revive now. Back to quilting soon.

Morpheus & Stella

2011-08-03T15:06:00.002-04:00

Time passes slowly waiting for air conditioning repair...

Just in time for 100F weather

2011-08-02T16:02:00.001-04:00

My air conditioning died last night. It is 89F in the house. Repair people came, part is ordered & hopefully it will be fixed tomorrow or next day. At least I have fans and cold drinks and ice. It may actually be too hot to sew.

Morpheus on Monday

2011-08-01T17:41:00.001-04:00

Too hot this weekend!

2011-07-31T19:00:00.001-04:00

Four Blocks for Friday

2011-07-29T21:15:00.002-04:00

Four FWQAL for Friday. Easy ones too. Clockwise from top left: friendship star, churn dash, calico puzzle, and homeward bound. Another extremely hot & humid weekend forecast so I'll be inside sewing thankyouverymuch global climate weirding.

Wool for Wednesday

2011-07-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

I got caught up on my Henrietta Whiskers block of the month just in time for next week to bring another block.

Block 6. These squirrels remind me of Edgar and Stella chasing and jumping.

Block 7. Wow that door looks crooked now that I see it online. Let's pretend it's straight ok?

I Can't Think of a Title Tuesday

2011-07-26T18:15:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling under the weather this week so I don't have much to say. Here's what I've been working on:

Gomez helped me finish the Simple Times Quilt Along Quilt . I'll be posting the completed top with the rest of the parade on August 4th. I doubt I'll get it quilted and bound by then but I might.

Barbara Brackman's Civil War block of the week. Peterson's Flag and

Railroad Crossing.

FWQAL Big Dipper (left) and Broken Dishes (right)

FWQAL Box (right) and Bat Wing (left)

Master of Disguises

2011-07-23T18:29:00.001-04:00

My Thoughts are with Norway

2011-07-22T22:51:00.000-04:00

I am so deeply saddened by the senseless, horrific events in Norway today.

My heart goes out to you.

More from NC Trip--Places to Stop

2011-07-20T21:47:00.000-04:00

On the way to Snowbird, we always stop in Franklin, North Carolina, to have lunch and do some shopping in the historic downtown. Franklin is a great little town. We were very sad to see that our favorite restaurant, The Frog and Owl, had closed and a sandwich shop and gift shop called Rosebud Cottage replaced it. We ate there and the sandwiches were good. We also found out that the owners of the Frog and Owl had opened an Italian restaurant (Rana Rinata) just outside of downtown so we'll have to try that next time. Some of the antique stores had closed. The wonderful yarn shop, Silver Threads & Golden Needles, was still on Main Street. There is a great bookstore called Books Unlimited with new and used books and a bookshop cat. I picked up a Dr. Seuss book for Mackenzie there.

Franklin also has a great quilt shop called Deb's Cats n Quilts. The shop had expanded and added an addition since I was there in March 2010.

In the lower level addition, there was a huge selection of reproduction and Moda fabrics, lots of samples, and a huge classroom space.

The shop also is a participant in the western NC quilt trail program. We saw lots of other quilt blocks on barns as we traveled to Snowbird.

I highly recommend a stop by the shop if you are in the area. The staff is friendly and they have a large selection of cat (and dog) fabric.

Of course I *had* to help out a local business. Here are my purchases--on the left, all of this was from the sale area (bonus!) and on the right, some Civil War reproductions for the FWQAL & CW BOW I'm working on.

On the way home, we stopped by a great big farm stand north of Gainesville, Georgia, called Jaemor's Farm. I loaded up a cart full of peaches, blueberries, blackberries, lady peas, cantaloupe, and mayhaw jelly. Some peach fried pies to take home and some of the most super awesome peach ice cream rounded out the trip.

Glorious Weekend at Snowbird

2011-07-18T21:04:00.000-04:00

My favorite place to escape to is definitely Snowbird Mountain Lodge in the North Carolina mountains.

Here is why: I love the historic inn (built 1940) with its cozy exterior and gorgeous chestnut paneled interior; all the rooms have beautiful views with big beds, lots of pillows, and layers of blankets; the fabulous, seasonal, locally sourced food--breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided; the no TV/no kids/quiet/peaceful/contemplative-ness; the cookies and coffee in the lobby in the afternoons; the wonderful library of books for browsing; the grounds and nearby National Forest for hiking; and the views for just looking.

I loved the overcast, cool weather after blazing hot summer weather in Atlanta.

The Smokey Mountains are always hazy.

View from the lobby/library from a comfy leather couch.. We spent some time rocking in the chairs watching clouds go by too.

A funny spot to rest in the garden.

A Weekend Away

2011-07-17T16:08:00.002-04:00

S. and I escaped the heat & humidity of Atlanta for the cooler mountains of North Carolina. We stayed at our favorite place, Snowbird Mountain Lodge and had a great time. A report with more photos soon.

A Saturday Post

2011-07-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

We may be taking the day off here at Stella Bella Quilts :)

Recommendation: We Love French Knots

2011-07-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't found this website yet, visit

http://www.welovefrenchknots.com/

for a wonderful series of videos on how to do embroidery stitches.

I have always had problems with French knots. I will learn how to do it, make one or two then forget again. Although, I may not "love" them yet, Bari J's video really helped me figure out how to do these (again!) and I went back to a stitchery UFO and added all the French knots. I also learned how to do a chain stitch and finished some more of this UFO. Only one block left to stitch. Woo hoo!

In the Works

2011-07-14T20:36:00.002-04:00

Lots of projects in the works.

Working with the soothing colors of Sherbet Pips offsets the horrible heat & humidity of this summer.

(Aside: I made up a new word: SMOGMIDITY-- a meteorological term meaning the combination of smog & high humidity in Atlanta that makes it feel like you are walking through dirty bath water).

I prepped some more Hocuspocusville blocks to stitch.

A new step for the Simple Times Quilt Along was posted today so I'll work on that too.

More FWQAL blocks to do.

I better get busy

One of the Best Things about Summer in Georgia

2011-07-11T21:13:00.001-04:00

Peach cobbler.

Stealth Stella & Some Blocks

2011-07-09T17:40:00.000-04:00

So happy that I caught this photo just before she pounced.

That's my Civil War block of the week quilt she is hiding behind.

And yes, she wrinkled it all up but that's OK.

Here's last week's Civil War block called Irish Chain.
I used a poison green fabric with shamrocks to reflect the name.

This week's block is called Next Door Neighbor. I'm not entirely happy with my fabric selection but that's OK.

Another FWQAL block. Block #4 Basket Weave. Love these fabrics together and I'll probably use this combination in another block.

Resistance is Futile

2011-07-08T19:38:00.000-04:00

I caved. I really did. I tried but I couldn't resist. Not when Carol, Michelle, and Thelma and a gazillion other bloggers and non-bloggers (like Sarah No-Blog) have these little six-inch blocks everywhere.

It's like the plague.
A quilter's plague.

Yes it's the Farmer's Wife Sample Quilt Along.

I have the book.

I printed out the templates from a wonderful quilter named Liz Arbaugh who put them on Scribd and they print out grouped on pages.

I did some maths and measuring and penciling in the book and on the templates while watching movies.

I told myself "Self, you do not need to start another project."

I asked Karen at sewprimitive to help me resist starting this.
And I talked with Kristie, who reminded me I still have all the info to make a Dear Jane quilt.

I made Block 1 Attic Windows

And Block 2 Autumn Tints

And decided that I just can't resist a quilt along.

Recent Reads & Simple Times Quilt Along

2011-07-07T23:15:00.000-04:00

Gomez as Library Sphinx

I didn't get much sewing done over the long holiday weekend as I thought I would. The weather was intolerable with high heat and high humidity so I stayed inside in the air conditioning and succeeded in not being very productive. Although I did read two books so I guess that's something. I read Marie Bostwick's latest book Threading the Needle and Tina Fey's Bossypants. Both were enjoyable and perfect for long holiday weekend couch reading.

This week I did get caught up on the Simple Times Quilt Along.

1930s fabrics just make me smile.

Having a short week at work also makes me smile. One more day and it's the weekend again woo hoo!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T06:00:00.001-04:00

Holiday Weekend

2011-07-03T17:58:00.000-04:00

Everyone here at Stella Bella Quilts is enjoying a long three-day holiday weekend.

Happy belated Canada Day to all my Canadian readers!

And I hope everyone in the US is having a great 4th of July weekend.

Morpheus is resting up from taking lots of naps, I think.

It has been horribly hot and humid here in Georgia so my original plans to scrape and paint porch posts is canceled.

I have been sewing and watching DVDs. I caught up on my Henrietta Whiskers blocks.

And caught up on reading blogs.

And am working on a couple of other projects.

Love lazy holiday weekends :)

Giveaway winner!

2011-06-30T20:29:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to #17 Scottylover aka Ms. Sandy A. Please email me your address and I'll get the goodies right out to you.

Big thanks to everyone who commented and entered!! I wish I could send something to everyone but never fear, I'll have another giveaway soon. And let's all hope it is in celebration for something fun and not for surviving a crazy house electrical fire.

Giveaway ending today

2011-06-30T09:47:00.001-04:00

Little reminder that my giveaway ends today at 8:00PM EST. Please comment on Friday, June 24th post! Thanks!!

Sent from my iPhone

Recession Garden: Year Three

2011-06-28T22:46:00.001-04:00

It finally cooled down to the high 80s so I spent some time cleaning up and weeding the garden beds.

I have harvested a dozen or so Roma tomatoes, 2 yellow squash, and a cucumber.

The catnip is growing like crazy. Gomez loves it.

This is the first year I've planted cucumbers and I had to disentangle them from the okra. They were growing up the okra plants. The cucumbers have now escaped the beds and are headed east. Watch out friends in Gwinnett County! Guess I'll be canning pickles this summer.

Weekend Sewing

2011-06-27T19:26:00.000-04:00

Because it was another hot, humid weekend, I stayed inside and sewed (well except for Friday night when we had a BIG thunderstorm and lost electricity AGAIN for about an hour or so).

First up was the Civil War Block of the Week. I've always loved this block--it's called Barbara Frietchie Star--so I picked some of my favorite fabrics to use.

I decided to start sashing the blocks together in the order that Barbara Brackman has released them. I had bought some sashing fabric but then decided it didn't work so I dug through my sash until I found ooooooodles of a great purple print. I was going to use this as borders and backing for another quilt. I think I have enough to still use for borders and will find a different backing for the other quilt.

The fabric was designed by Barbara Brackman several years ago for the Conestoga Calico line and I bought oodles of it because it is the Perfect Purple.

Not too dark, not too light, not too red, not too blue. Perfectly purplely in every way.

Morpheus, who is Perfectly Purrfect in every way, enjoyed helping me lay out the blocks.

Here's another view. I used one of my favorite shirtings for corner squares--it's a slightly grayish off-white with black design and a tiny speck of red to reflect the sashing fabric--subtle yet interesting.

Morpheus is usually not subtle (he likes everyone to know he is around and always has something to say) but he is always interesting and always interested in what I'm doing.

I also started and finished a project that I was supposed to do before all the house repair craziness. Carol at Brown Quilts asked if people would help out a friend of hers and make pillowcases for servicemen and servicewomen. I am more than pleased and honored to help out with this worthy project. I sewed these up and off they went to Carol this afternoon. Love and gratitude in fabric form. Perfect.

It's a Special Friday

2011-06-24T06:00:00.034-04:00

Today is the day to comment if you would like a chance to win the

We Survived the Crazy Electrical House Fire of Friday May 13th, 2011 Giveaway

If you are just tuning in, I had a super crazy-pants, ongoing insane, endlessly frustrating, but we-are-all-happy-to-be-alive-and-in-one-piece experience that you can read more about here and here and here and there's more if you are interested.

To celebrate nearing the end of all the repairs, phone calls, yada yada yada... I am having a giveaway for you, my blog readers, whose wonderful comments helped me through all the craziness and kept me company in the endless 90F degree days and not-much-better dark nights for 25 days.

Now for the details:

Giveaway is for nine bright happy fat quarters, three 1/2 yd cuts of pink fabric, a Moda Quilt Pink charm pack, five or so patterns, and the book Clever Quarters, Too.

Drawing via Random Number Generator on June 30th at 8:00PM EST.

Comment on this post only.

Since I am all about disaster and emergency preparedness, please leave a comment on your plan for getting your family, pets, loved ones, and/or yourself through an emergency or what you have packed in your disaster kit (if you don't have either one of these, now is your chance!!!)
If you need some tips, here's a link to the ASPCA's disaster preparedness info for your pets.

Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your profile is set to "no-reply."

That's it. Be prepared and be safe!

Henrietta Squirrel Block 3

2011-06-23T21:08:00.000-04:00

Block three of Bunny Hill's Henrietta Whiskers Block of the Month (yes I am three months behind...)

I just adore plaid wool, especially hand-dyed like the scarf and squirrel tail.

I hope to get caught up on this BOM before the July block is released.

But don't count on it:)

Don't forget to come back tomorrow to help me celebrate...

Fun Stuff for a Monday

2011-06-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

Weekends go by way too fast. I have too many things I would rather be doing than dragging myself to work for another week. But of course, work pays the bills so I will muddle through.

Here are some random fun quilty things that will keep me entertained this week.

Minick & Simpson's Charlevoix fabric. I have a project in the works with this and I just love this summery wonderful fabric. It reminds me of Michigan and how much I wish I was there for the summer instead of hot-lanta.

Charlevoix is a resort town on Lake Michigan in northern Michigan. Michigan is famous for its cherries and the National Cherry Festival is held in northern Michigan in July.

This fabric also makes me hungry for cherry pie.

I am in LOVE with this pattern by my good friend Pat Wys of Silver Thimble Quilt Co.

Log cabin blocks on point with alternating blocks. This quilt is stunning in person with a large assortment of scrappy reds, pinks, and creams. I am planning a different colorway for mine and am pondering whether to start it now or be good and finish some projects I have in the works already. Oh I can't decide!!!! What do you think??

As if the possibility of starting that quilt wasn't enough, I also have this pile of wonderful new project goodness hanging out and tempting me. Some friends of mine and I do fabric swaps. It's a great way to make a really scrappy quilt with a large assortment of fabrics. This is our fourth swap and it's for the Bonnie Blue Quilt pattern called "The Long Road Home."

Please don't ask to see the quilts from the other three swaps because well...I haven't ~~finished~~ started those yet....

We traded fabrics on Friday at Silver Thimble club. I loved seeing all the different ways we each packaged up the trade. Look at the cute paper bag with the little fabric tie. Some bags have all the pieces separated into other little bags. Some of the fabric is folded so you can see all the different fabrics. My package is on the bottom left. I like to recycle plastic bags--most of my bags were from Fat Quarter Shop purchases. Hmmm what does that say about me? LOL!

What I Wanted to Post Yesterday....

2011-06-19T11:16:00.000-04:00

Georgia Power is not improving their standing in this household that is for sure! We did have a line of severe thunderstorms roll through metro-Atlanta yesterday evening. However, this happens every summer at least once a week if not more so it shouldn't be a big deal....

About 7:00PM, the lights flickered and I heard the transformer up the street go WHOOOOMP. I will not repeat anything that was said in my house last night because it was NOT NICE.

Even though we lost power, S. and I made fajitas and sauteed plantains because I have a natural gas stove that works great (when the gas line are not electrified and threatening to blow up your house....)

But I digress. As the night dragged on...in the dark...I was hoping that I wouldn't lose all the groceries that I had just bought to replace the ones from last month....

Seven hours later....

At 2:30AM (yes I was up), the power came back on. Grrrrrrrr....

Here is what I wanted to post. Simple Times Quilt Along. The first sewing step was four of the framed four-patch blocks and eight of the stars with four-patch centers. I sewed some of these at Silver Thimbles on Friday night and finished it up on Saturday. I spent more time talking and laughing than sewing which is exactly what I needed after all the frustrating insanity at my house. Laughed until I cried and it was awesome!!

I also made my Civil War block for this week. An easy block although tricky measurements for a nine-patch to make a finished 8" block. I used Barbara Brackman's Civil War Reunion fabric for the dark and medium fabrics and found an unknown 5" floral in my box of 5" scraps. Hope it's correct to the period. I am trying to use only reproduction fabrics from the mid-19th-century as much as possible for this quilt.

Hello from Ironic-land

2011-06-18T21:37:00.000-04:00

Guess what? We had severe thunderstorms in Atlanta this evening.

Guess what else? What area has no electricity because of the storms?

If you guessed my street, you are correct.

No power for 2 hours now.... We are decidedly unhappy.

Sent from my iPhone

Simple Times Quilt Along Catching Up

2011-06-17T14:31:00.000-04:00

This week has been chock full of catching up. Catching up with work, catching up with housework, catching up with errands, catching up with grocery shopping. I also need to catch up on everything in blogland and quiltyland and who knows what else.

I am also catching up with the Simple Times Quilt Along. I decided on fabric and began cutting and now...yikes they are already making blocks. .

I am using 1930s fabrics and decided to use this cute cat fabric as the focus fabric and some of the background pieces. It was hard to cut into this fabric because I have been hoarding it since.....before they put dates on the selvages apparently....but decided to bite the bullet and cut it up.

This is what I told myself as I was cutting up this fabric I have been hoarding since the beginning of time:

They make more fabric.

Really they do.

Every year at least twice a year.

And I'm sure I will find more fabric that I like out of the hundreds of fabrics that come out every year.

At least twice a year.

So that's two-times-hundreds of fabrics. So I should just sew with it already!
There now that wasn't so hard now was it?

I had less difficulty cutting up the rest of the fabric because...well I have oooooooodles of 1930s fabrics.

And I know this because cutting fabric for the quilt didn't put a dent in my 1930s stash.

If anyone is still interested in my saga of house repairs, it is still ongoing but nearing the end. I did experience an EPIC customer service fail with my phone and internet company. And by EPIC, I mean EPIC. Borderline on Georgia-Power-customer-service-fail EPIC. Needless to say, the only way I can resolve the issue is by getting a new phone and Internet company because I am not wasting one more iota of a second on the phone trying to sort out the problem. Take that AT & T!!!

As of next week, AT & T is fired and they better not try to charge me anything because I'll have to go all Scarlett O'Hara-as-God-as-my-witness on them.

OK deep breath.

I have Silver Thimbles Sewing Club tonight so I'll have something actually sewn together to show tomorrow. Oh and tomorrow is also Civil War Block of the Week. Can't wait to see what this week's block is.

If you made it all the way down this far, I'll tell you a little secret.

Shhhh... just for those that read my blog and have been living through my crazy house crisis with me....

I'm having a "We Survived the Crazy Electrical House Fire of Friday May 13th, 2011 Giveaway" of some random quilty good things. Come back next Friday for details.

Sewing: It's Good for your Soul

2011-06-12T19:07:00.000-04:00

Today I officially took a day off from all house-related events. I have a ZILLION things to do and follow up with and people to call and..and...and... But I officially said out loud that I was not doing anything more strenuous than sewing, watching TV, and taking a nap.

And that's what I did.

Sometimes you just have to make an announcement to the universe in order for it to be. I highly recommend it. That sounds like a very Zen-Budda-Fortune Cookie statement doesn't it? Or maybe Oprah...

Anyway...I finally got to sew and catch up on the Civil War Block of the Week.

This block is called Underground Railroad. I thought the blue fabric referenced train tracks.

This is called Blockade. I love the really weird green fabric. I think it's a Jo Morton and I bought it to use in this quilt since I think these scrappy blocks need some weird colors.

Everything can use a little weird (how's that for another Zen-Budda-Fortune Cookie-Oprah phrase?)

This block is called Illinois Roads. I fussy cut the red to get a traveling feel to this block.

This block is Ladies' Aid Album. Even though I used some odd colors together in this block, I think it works.

And this one is New England block. I really like how this block turned out.

All caught up. I can't believe I missed five weeks of Saturday morning sewing. I definitely feel much better. Back to dealing with the universe tomorrow.

Houston, We Have Air Conditioning

2011-06-11T07:47:00.001-04:00

And the cats are overjoyed to not have to lay in uncomfortable positions melting into window sills (Gomez looks so grumpy in this photo).

The past two days I have had to concentrate on my job & get through a big meeting & two presentations in which I pretended that I have done nothing else but prepare but in actuality, I put them together, wrote it all out & just did it without practicing or even re-reading through it. The key is to sound like you know everything & you have it all together even when you don't.

So life is getting back to normal slowly. I have cable TV, A/C, and groceries. Today I hope to have phone lines & the Internet (oh how I miss the Internets!!!) & stove fixed.

Many more little things to get done but today I vow to work on my Civil War blocks & see if the Bernina works.

Our Sponsor

2011-06-07T22:33:00.000-04:00

Look at poor Stella Bella. She is zonked out under the ceiling fan & not helping me. That's OK. She's had a stressful 25 days too. We now have electricity & hot water. Everything else is scheduled. No air conditioning yet but we are digging the ceiling and table fans. Life is returning to normal.

Thank you to everyone who commented & lived through this ordeal with me. You all are truly wonderful fabulous people!! BIG thanks to Karin & Becky for the use of their laundry. And SUPER BIG thanks to mom & dad who took many a phone call & helped me survive this. And thanks to Grandma for sending me my mom's b-day money. It really helped me through a rough few days. Hugs all around.

Day 25 at 2:35 PM. We may actually get electricity...

2011-06-07T14:36:00.001-04:00

Simple Times Quilt Along!!!

2011-06-06T22:39:00.000-04:00

OK house stuff on hold. Let's get to some super-fun quilty goodness. I am joining in on the fun with Kelly and Carol in the Simple Times Quilt Along. If you are not yet a follower of Charming Chatter or Brown Quilts, just click on the super-cute bear button in my right sidebar and it will take you right there (or click on their names above).

Kelly and Carol are so wonderful that there is even two different sizes that you can choose from or do both and have a Momma Bear and Baby Bear quilt along.

During my recent cleaning and sorting of my sewing space, I noticed that the top for my box of 1930s fabrics didn't close as well as I remembered it did previously. What is up with that? Plastic bins shrinking?!? I know it happens with clothes but bins? Anyway....I'm gonna use some of my 1930s stash to make a Momma Bear version. Fabric requirements are up this week. Big quilt on Carol's blog and little quilt on Kelly's blog. Cutting instructions are next week. Can't wait to see all the wonderful fabric choices.

Oh good grief!

2011-06-06T17:54:00.000-04:00

I just checked my blog and the long loooooong text about how I still don't have electricity didn't show up just the photo of my hydrangea. What the what? Anyway......

Short version. After calling GA Power at 9AM & being told 3-5 business days there is nothing we could do yada yada yada. I called the state public service commission (PSC) which regulates utilities & filed complaint. PSC sent complaint to GA Power marked urgent. 2 hours later GA Power calls & says they will reconnect TOMORROW.

There's a bunch of long boring tiring needlessly annoying stuff but that's the short version.

Sent from my iPhone

It's Monday How About a Flower Photo?

2011-06-06T15:44:00.000-04:00

And Now for a Moment of Levity

2011-06-05T10:44:00.001-04:00

The latest fashion here at Chez Crazycatlady sans Electricity is this ever-so-helpful hands-free light source. Suitable for everyday wear, business casual, day into evening, and night out on the town, this hip accessory recalls the headband craze of the Roaring Twenties Flapper Girl and the Can-Do Attitude of Rosie the Riveter. Updated technology provides a variety of light sources including LED spotlight, flood light, and task lighting. Available at your local hardware and discount stores. Don't forget extra batteries.

Gomez Chillaxing

2011-06-05T10:26:00.000-04:00

Things I Learned on a Hot Friday Afternoon (continued)

2011-06-04T11:11:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the delay. Morpheus had a vet appointment for his annual check up so we got to take a ride with the A/C cranking!! He is doing great & still meowed all the way there and back even though I told him to enjoy the A/C.

Ok so here is what I learned:
1. My patience only lasts 21 days. It may last more if it is not 97F outside and 88F inside. I don't know. Let's not try it OK?

2. Every person at GA Power will tell you something different which may or may not be entirely truthful.

3. Corporations with a monopoly do not care (and don't have to care) about customers.

4. If GA Power causes the initial emergency which causes your service lines to be cut, they don't consider it an emergency to reconnect your lines 21 days later.

4 1/2. In fact they will tell you the following:
A. The person that processes those requests leaves at 4:00pm and there is no one else to get the fax from the city & enter it into the computer.

B. A supervisor told me that it takes 3-5 business days to process those requests because "an engineer has to come out and survey the location and determine the length of the line before they can send a truck out to reconnect service." When I asked why during storms or when trees bring down lines, they don't waste time with engineers & whatnot & just string lines back up, he did not have an answer. When I stated that the old line is laying in my front yard & they can use it for length, he did not have an answer. When I said that they should know the location of poles & lines & whatever else because an Ga Power lineman was out twice on May 13th & surely there are reports, he did not have an answer. When I asked that the reconnect be expedited given everything that happened including the fact that GA Power tried to charge me THREE times the amount of my actual bill this month when I haven't had electricity since 5/13, he said 3-5 business days.

C. When S. called & talked to a different person, that person said that if the request is in & processed on Monday she will send a truck right out to reconnect service (no mention of silly engineers or line measuring).

D. The fact that you have been without power for 21 days through no fault of your own & no act of nature but because of negligent maintenance of service lines at a vacant house that nearly caused your house to blow up or burn down or kill you & S. & the cats or lose everything you own & cause you to use up all your vacation time dealing with this (which you can never get back) & cause you to have to file a claim on your homeowners insurance & pay a deductible, makes no difference to a corporation who has a monopoly on a service you can't do without & who could give a flip about a customer who always pays on time but who is not rich or important or on the corporations board of directors or a political figure or whatever.

5. It takes 21 days for me to lose my patience and post run on sentences!!!

Note: this rant brought to you today by GA Power. We now return to our regularly scheduled blog....
Sent from my iPhone

Things I Learned on a Hot Friday Afternoon

2011-06-04T09:02:00.001-04:00

Oh I had my hopes up for the weekend. My electricians worked so hard to get the major work done. Electrical inspector was scheduled, came out, passed the inspection, took it to city hall, & said let's get you power for the weekend. City hall did their job & sent info to GA Power. It was 4:30pm. I called GA Power to get truck to come out and hook up the lines.

Guess what happened?

Have you guessed that this is not a happy, perfect ending yet?

Have you guessed that my dreams of having a refrigerator, hot coffee, lovely cooling fans, and my sewing machine for the weekend did not happen?

Have you guessed who's responsible?

To be continued...

Sent from my iPhone

Judy's 2011 UFO challenge

2011-06-01T15:55:00.001-04:00

Yes I have failed again! My May UFO is not done. Score is UFOs: 4
ME: 1
Although it's not really my fault because I haven't had electricity since May 13th. That's 19 days peeps if you are keeping track!!! (oh and I for one am keeping track)

I know I should really quit whining about this but it's either this or how blasted hot it is today. Neither topic is fun so let's see what else is new.

Recession garden is doing good will post photos when I figure how to do it from the phone.

Cats are fine. They are stretched out trying to stay cool.

I have a very hip new fashion trend to regale you with (photo needed too)

I did not finish or even start the Le Petite for May:(

Oh and June's UFO is in a messy pile under lots of stuff (maybe I'll post a photo of that too!

Sent from my iPhone

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T11:00:00.001-04:00

A day to remember and honor the brave men and women who served our country and are currently serving.

Missing Normal

2011-05-29T20:25:00.000-04:00

Well everyone at Stella Bella Quilts is missing our normal everyday life.
We are still living like mole people in the dark (well not the cats cause they can see perfectly fine in the dark thankyouverymuch).
We are completely sick of eating every meal out and having to drive to get food and having to drink Starbucks Via in cold water, which is better than nothing....

and better than chewing on coffee beans...

and definitely better than me not having any time of caffeine in the AM (see image right )

Not much else is new.

I did receive two great new quilt books in the mail. The first is Fat Quarter Winners by Monique Dillard.

You may have seen the blog hop for this book last month with Thelma of Cupcakes 'n Daisies
Lisa of Stashmaster, Nicole of Sister's Choice, and of course the author/designer herself Monique.

I love every quilt in this book! Really fabulous designs that would look great in any fabric type. Good clear directions and different sizes for each quilt. I highly recommend this book.

The second book is Jelly Roll Sampler Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott.

This a another great book by my favorite jelly roll quilt designers! Along with the 12 blocks from the Jelly Roll Sampler Block of the Month that I made for Mackenzie (image at left). There are additional blocks, different size blocks, and different sampler quilt ideas. Another highly recommended book.You can even do a block of the month from the book with your quilting friends or challenge yourself to use up some of those stacks of jelly rolls (and I know you all have stacks of jelly rolls....)

I really hope to be back up and interwebbing and blogging as usual soon. Although I'm not commenting much, I am trying to keep up with everyone's blogs on iVan the iPhone.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend in the U.S.

Good Thing I Stocked Up on Extra Fortitude

2011-05-21T11:17:00.000-04:00

I'm back. Briefly. I missed you all and have been trying to read and catch up on my iPhone. Thank you for all your sweet comments, especially *karendianne who I need to get back to.

Where to start with the events of Friday, May 13th, 2011...

Things that had a high probability of happening that day but did not:

No one (human or cat) hurt or even singed
No one (human or cat) electrocuted
House didn't explode
No major smoke damage
No big flames

Things that did happen (short version):

I took Friday off of work because I was tired and stressed out and needed a mental health day. Day did not turn out as planned. I had a house fire caused by crossed Georgia Power service wires at a neighboring vacant house. The positive and negative wires crossed, sending electric current through the ground along natural gas lines and water lines to my house. Smoke. Melting electric wires in my house. Got two of the four cats out of the house. Fire department came and could not stop current, kept gas lines cool with water as the lines were burning white-hot until Georgia Power came and cut my power lines. Current still traveling through the house. More Georgia Power people come, finally figure out problem and cut service at vacant house. This stops the current from electrifying the ground, my house and everything touching the ground at my house, and some electrical surge problems and fried wires in the neighborhood. Total elapsed time of event: from a little after 12:15PM until 8:30 or so PM.

S., cats, and I are fine. My insurance is taking care of everything. Everything is fine and will be returned to normal. We were very lucky and very thankful that nothing horrible happened (see list above of what could have happened--no exaggeration).
*****************************************************
Public Service Announcement Portion of This Post:

(I have all the following and it really helped in this emergency)

Please make sure you have an emergency or disaster plan and supplies for yourself, other people, and pets.
Make sure you have fire extinguishers (even though in my case this didn't help much but maybe helped a little).
Make sure you have good house/renters insurance.
If you think there is a problem, call the fire dept. and police immediately. They are there to help you and are the best people (who should be getting paid a lot better than they do)
Keep your phone by you at all time and know where your keys are.

*********************************************************
For those of you who want a long version of the event of Friday 13th:

I really needed a day off of work so mid-last-week I decided to take Friday off and stay home, watch Dr. Who and sew. About noon or so, I smelled a weird smell. Edgar Poe did too and we both were looking under the couch, thinking it was coming from the air conditioner. Nope. Lights flickered, TV flickered, and I went into the kitchen. An electrical outlet for my stove was smoking and sparked. Whoa! I grabbed a pot holder and pulled out the plug (note: you are not supposed to do this...). I took off the cover plate (don't do this either) to see if there was flames in the wall or anything. Nothing but still smoky so I called 911 for the fire dept.

Got cat carriers, grabbed purse and keys, and Morpheus and Gomez into two carriers and took them out to my truck into truck they go. Go back into house (you are not supposed to do this). Smoke alarms going off. Looked for Edgar Poe and Stella. Stella had crawled under the dust cover in the box spring and was up inside my bed. Saw Edgar and picked him up. He was WAY scared and bit my right forearm hard. Dropped him and he disappeared. Fire dept comes roaring up (from 4 stations with 5 trucks) and I have to get out of the house. There is smoky haze in the tall crawlspace under the house (at some point I had unlocked the door to the crawlspace and opened it up but I don't remember when).

Firefighters go through the house, up into the attic, under the house, all around, no flames, just light hazy smoke, they turn off all the circuit breakers and determine that it is an electrical problem and tell me to call electrician. House is given the all clear. They leave. I go into house, call S. (who is out of town), and call electrician. Cats get carried back inside and let out of carriers. My arm and shirt are a mess of blood so I wash it off and put some antibiotic ointment and a bandage on it. Change shirt.

Electrician comes, changes out outlet by the stove, the stove electric cord is melted. He checks the circuit breakers and checks the voltage coming into the house. Voltage should be coming in at 120 v. Voltage in my house is coming in at 202 v. We go outside and check meters. Voltage is too high. Electrician calls Georgia Power to come out and he notices that the neutral service line from my house to the power co. pole is snapped. Electrician resets the breakers that are OK at 120 v. and leaves.

Georgia Power guy comes and splices a repair to the neutral line. He checks voltage coming into meters. I asked him "Is it now at 120 volts not at 202?" He says "yes" and he leaves.Call S. and tell him story. S. is on his way home. It is around 3:30 or so. Maybe 4PM

No sooner had his truck disappeared down the road and I go back into house then all craziness happens. The wires in the closet with the circuit breaker boxes are melting and smoking. OMG!!! What the #$@%^#*!!! I grab fire extinguisher and spray the wires (note for future reference: fire extinguishers are filled with very fine yellow powder that makes a huge mess and gets all in your lungs--don't breathe at all if you use one in a closed space!) Alarms going off again. I run outside, S. drives up, I say "you need to help me" I give him the phone and I open the crawlspace door again. He goes into house and calls GA Power main phone # back. Smoke is coming out from under the house and I smell burning wood. I go back into house and say "call 911 the house is on fire" S. hangs up with GA Power and calls fire dept. I go to find cats. I find Morpheus (who was asleep bless his heart) and Stella. Into carriers they go and back out to the truck. Go back in and can't find Edgar or Gomez.

S. gets a hold of the GA Power guy that was at my house and tells him he has to come back. The guy says he'll be here in 30 minutes. S. says "I don't have 30 minutes! My house is on fire!!!!" (I love him for this!) Fire dept. (same guys, same trucks) come roaring up. They see natural gas lines are glowing white-hot and don't let us near the house. They turn off the gas at the meter and keep water on the lines to keep them cool. I am hovering and wringing my hands because Edgar and Gomez are still in the house. I call the electrician to come back to the house. Time gets very slow. Firemen go in and out of house. All the circuit breakers are off and there is still electricity coming into house. More wires are burning. The firefighters spray water in the closet with the breaker boxes. Electrician comes. Much puzzling on what is happening with the house.

Georgia Power comes and cuts the lines from my house to the pole. Wires laying in my yard are still live (this definitely should not happen). Electricity is still traveling along gas lines and water lines. GA Power guy calls more GA Power guys. Firefighters go door-to-door telling neighbors there is a big problem. At a school two blocks away, there is a telephone pole that is supported by wires and the wires are red-hot and melting. The electrician says that there is a problem at a neighboring house that is causing all this. After much time, Georgia Power discovers the crossed positive and negative lines at the vacant house and turn off the power to that house.

Current stops. It's now 8PM or so. Most of the firefighters leave. Electrician leaves. GA Power leaves. I call insurance company. The last firefighters leave and we are given all clear. I clean up mess in the back hall and bathroom. We get flash lights and bottled water. Go to bed exhausted with scared cats. I realize that if I had not been home, I could have lost everything. I realize that at any time seriously bad things could have happened--while we were sleeping, while we were watching TV, while we were at work. I don't sleep very well.

Saturday--I think I was on the phone all day. My insurance is taking care of everything and will try to recoup my deductible from GA Power as GA Power is responsible for their service lines and maintaining them. By Saturday evening my cat bite is infected, my arm swollen and red, and I feel feverish. I probably should have gone to the emergency room but my health insurance won't pay for it, so I wait and go to urgent care Sunday AM.

Sunday--get tetanus shot and antibiotics. I think I was on the phone all day this day too.

Monday-Thursday--phone calls. Insurance is taking care of everything. Phone calls. All wiring needs replaced. All gas lines need replaced. Once electricity is back on, heating and air company needs to come check systems. Insulation around ductwork melted off and needs replacing. Who knows the status of all our appliances, electronics, my Bernina(!!!), etc. until electricity is repaired. I visit Becky and do laundry. I visit Karin and do laundry. My friends are wonderful. I take vacation days from work all week. Cats recover. I clean out my sewing room for something to do. I don't have hot coffee in the AM and drink Starbucks Via in cold water. I am quietly stressed out all week and just try to deal with the zillion of things that need to be done.

Friday--electricians start work removing all wiring. I am angry at the elderly lady who has been in a nursing home and left her house vacant for the past 8 or 10 years with the electricity on. I am angry at whoever are her relations for not selling the house and letting it deteriorate. Georgia Power guy says maybe squirrels chewed on the wires. I don't care what happened to the wires, they should have been maintained. I nearly lost everything. I go to Thimbles sewing group but I am headachy and my allergies are horrible from breathing dust and smoke and fire extinguisher powder. I get some ice cream on the way home and S. and I eat melted ice cream in the dark in my kitchen. This week deserves to end with my favorite Bruster's ice cream (chocolate raspberry truffle) melted or not.

The End

Blogging Break--Back Soon

2011-05-15T18:20:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! Well I am dealing with a household emergency that started with a very lucky, unlucky Friday 13th. I am fine, cats are fine, S. is fine. Everything is OK; I just won't have electricity and internet for awhile. I'll post when I can and I'll be doing some hand stitching this week.

Hope to catch up with everyone via iVan the iPhone in the next couple of days:)