Saturday, February 27, 2010

Oh Well...


I'm off once again. Boyfriend & i are headed to Virginia this morning. My Pop-in-law is in a nursing home, and my Mom-in-law is sick so she's not going to see him. That presents a problem for her 'cause she goes there EVERY day, for MOST of the day, but she doesn't want to get him sick 'cause he has enough crap to deal with now.
My PIL has Parkinsonism (some docs say Parkinsons & some say Parkinsonism. I don't know what the difference is...), and he also has brain atrophy. It means his brain is shrinking. With the Parkinsons, his limbs are getting shaky and stiff, and with the atrophy, he's losing the ability to swallow, getting demensia, etc. He doesn't remember his son & daughters anymore. It's really sad...

Every time i go to that nursing home, though, i just wanna cry. And sometimes when i'm sitting there all day, i just wanna vomit.
I'm sorry to be dumping this on you, but i feel like i have to be "the strong one" for my husband, so i try not to tell him about it. I'm sure that if i'm feeling like this, HE'S feeling it WAAAAY more.

...and then i think how, since my Mom has Alzheimer's... one day she not remember who I am.
And now i may start crying.
It's just terrible that the people you hold so close and dear all your life may have to one day face all this horrible shit! I look at my daughters and tell them that if i ever forget them, i want them to know that IS NOT MY INTENTION!!!

Okay! Now that i've cheered everyone up!
I'm sorry.
I started this simply to let you know that i'll be out of town today, and possibly tomorrow.
Plus, i worked a WEE bit on the Blue WaveRunner yesterday.
AND i worked on the label for the 60s Song wall hanging, and i'm really *thrilled* with it. I'll have to "borrow" a camera to let you see it.
I also got a jelly roll to start on a new baby quilt.
No. Nobody i know is having a baby, but it's for the future. =-)

So that's what's up in my little world.
I hope everything is going Great for YOU! =-)


Thursday, February 25, 2010

"Windy" by The Association

Here's my latest creation!


When i was little, there was a popular song by The Association called "Windy". Well, since i was little, and since my name is Wendy (i'm from the South, so it's pronounced the SAME!), i thought this song was about ME! =-)



I was thinking about that song a few months ago, and i had the idea to create a small wall-hanging quilt about that song...


A funny thing happened while i was working on it, though... It somehow morphed into being about my creativity.



There are many days that i don't feel like i have any creativity. I usually rely on other people's art to help inspire me to make something... Something that's a "morph" of something someone else made, i guess. That, or i simply order a pattern with the fabrics already included in the kit.



But with THIS little quilt, the ideas just came to me... and i just sort-of ran with it. The original drawing i sketched for it grew as i was sewing it.



Oh, i'm sorry.


I'm rambling too much.


That usually happens when i've had coffee. I typically don't talk very much, but when i have coffee (*maybe* once a week!), i can't help myself. I just talk and talk and talk. I even talk to MYSELF in public if it's strong coffee! [rolling eyes]



Anyway, here are a few pictures for you...



It's already hanging up in my bathroom. I still need to make a label & sleeve for it:




It's a hill with a small city on top, and a road going through the city. There's Windy flying among the clouds. There are roses on the hillside.




This is a closer photo. You can see it says "And Windy has" "Wings to Fly" 'cause that's in the song... I guess you might want me to post the lyrics... I'm not sure about that... It's copyright-ed, so i'm not sure if i'll get in trouble for posting the lyrics or not... You can Google "Windy by the Association" if you're really interested, i guess. Sorry. Big Chicken, that's my name! =-)






I embroidered this little piece, and the "rock" is a bead. There are 7 scattered about.

The dashed line in the road is embroidery floss. The flowers have floss too. and the beads hanging on the bottom are handmade by me out of Fimo clay. I made them YEARS ago.



So that's my latest finished project!

I'm still working on the Blue WaveRunner (& i use "working" loosely, as it's been folded & waiting patiently for me to figure out HOW to finish it!), and i've started A Tisket A Tasket BOM from Bunny Hill Designs. I'm doing that one "with" my Guild. PLUS i have a Quilt Challenge from my Guild that's waiting on me to get started on...

I'd better get workin'!

=-)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Before & After, Part Two

Well, i lied.

I didn't mean to, though!

I read back in my Monday post, and it said i'd post again next Monday... Well, i decided not to wait, so here you have me, THREE days in a ROW! =-)

I didn't want to drag this organizing/moving stuff out into three weeks, so here it is.

Shocking, i know.

Odd for me, i know.


Hope it's alright with you! =-)


OK! Part Two:


Office BEFORE (the kitchen is through the door on the left):


Office AFTER (And yes! I know it's already a bit messy. I've been in there doing stuff!):



Office BEFORE:



Office AFTER:


Bunny organized all my fabrics for me into color piles, and i put them on the white shelves.

I LOVE IT!

I couldn't seem to do it for myself 'cause some fabrics just don't scream any one color to me, so i had a problem with it, but she did it FOR me. I just love having artistic daughters who like helping me! =-)

And here's another AFTER pic so you can see where i put Boyfriend's bookshelf and my cabinet. He ordered a gun safe, so that's HIS next project. It's NOT staying where it is. This room is already TOO FULL! =-)

So there you have it!

That's all the moving around i've been doing lately. I have the vast majority of my sewing stuff down in the office now, so i should be a little more productive. At least i'm a bit more *organized*! =-)

I'll post again soon about the 60's song-inspired quilt, 'cause

I FINISHED IT!!! =-)

Pix coming soon!

=-)

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Before & After


As i said yesterday, i've been moving & organizing...

The dining room BEFORE with my sewing & cutting tables (looking from the living room toward the office):



The dining room AFTER, with the Dining table (Novel idea!) looking from the living room toward the office:


The dining room BEFORE, looking from the kitchen:

The dining room AFTER, looking from the kitchen:

I'll be back with pix of the office/sewing room, hopefully tomorrow!

=-)

Monday, February 22, 2010

Moving Around and Organizing

Hello Everyone!
To those of you who've sent me well-wishes for my Father-in-law,
I thank you.
However, he is in the "end stages" of life, with no hope of "recovery". He has Parkisonism and brain atrophy (his brain is shrinking), so he will slowly fade away every day, or something like that. My Mother-in-law still cannot grasp that concept, and she hopes everyday that he'll "get better", and we cannot tell her differently. She gets too upset when we try to talk about it... And we cannot bare to see her cry... So we sort-of dance this dance, and come what will...
On to happier things! (Because Life goes on!)
I've moved most of my "stuff" around and think i'm finally ready to post about it. =-)
My sewing table & cutting table used to be in the dining room, and all the rest of my "stuff" was upstairs in the Art Room. Before i started reading all these blogs, ALL of my stuff was up in the Art Room, but Crazy Mom (indirectly) showed me the error of my ways. In one of her posts, she pointed out that by having your machine in a "prominent part" of the house, you would be more likely to sew in those "in-between moments" (a.k.a: down time). She was right, you know! =-)

Well... I haven't exactly been happy with having *some* of my stuff readily accessible and *some* of my stuff "all the way upstairs". (Sorry. I guess i have become another one of those spoiled Americans!)

Anyway, I've been slowly working on getting ALL of my stuff moved into Boyfriend's office (with permission, of course. He's good like that!)


WARNING:: I DID NOT clean up before i took these pix!!! I'm just not that way. I believe in living in my house, and i don't apologize for it. That's what it's FOR! =-)

Here are pictures of Before:

This was taken with the office at my back:

This next one was taken with the kitchen at my back and the office is just barely visible through the door on the left:



This next one was taken with the living room at my back, and you can see the office through the door ahead. That's where my sewing stuff is gonna go!

In this one, you can see both tables, sewing & cutting. It's a good set-up 'cause i have plenty of lighting, and everything is within reach. I usually have the ironing board where i'm standing, but i have NO idea where i'll put it once i move everything into the office... Still working on that...


These next photos are of the office, Before the moving/organizing:

In this one you can see the kitchen through the door (center-right of photo). Boyfriend's desk is to my left, & the back door is to my right. The bookshelf will be moved so i can put my cabinet there. I know there's not a lot of room, but Boyfriend says it'll work! =-)


In this next one, the door to the kitchen is on the left, and you can see the door that leads outside in the center-right. (Yes, we have 2 dining room sets. I haven't gotten rid of ANY furniture in a few YEARS because my daughters are of an age where they could move out at any time, and i don't want them to spend their first checks on furniture, like *I* had to!) Anyway, this is where my sewing & cutting tables will go.

Next is a shot with the dining room at my back. This is roughly the spot where my sewing table will go. I'll have a clear view of the back yard, and i should have sun streaming in my windows. Yay! (Is everybody ready for Spring? It's been one CRAZY Winter, hasn't it!)


In this shot, I'm standing between the office & the dining room, looking to the right so you get a good look at Boyfriend's desk. I feel like i'll be squeezing him in there, but he sort-of volunteered for this, so he can't back down now! =-)

So there you have it!

That's all the "Before" pictures. I'll be back with the "After" pix as soon as i get everything moved! =-)

Hopefully that'll be before next week!

And hopefully i won't have another week of "unplanned" family circumstances to hold me back. =-)

'Til next Monday!

=-)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

A Day Late...


Well, of course, the "best laid plans" have been "laid to the side".

I had planned to have a post about moving my sewing stuff all to one room, with pictures and everything, and even post about my FINISHED wall hanging! But my husband and i had to leave town, so... none of that today. Plus, I'm a day late 'cause i had planned on posting every Monday, but... Oh well.

My Father-in-law was admitted to the hospital on Monday (the 8th?), and Boyfriend & i went to Virginia on Saturday (the 13th). There wasn't much we could do other than sit around in the hospital room last week, or so Boyfriend thought. So now we are still in Virginia... sitting around in a hospital room...

But my Mom-in-law is happy that we are here and able to help her handle decisions and other stuff. Pop-in-law is doing well, all things considered. He has Parkinsonism, brain atrophy (shrinking), and dementia, as i posted about many months ago.

Anyway, I wanted to touch base with you. Keep you up to date. Let you know i haven't forgotten about any of you. =-)
I'm hoping we'll go back home on Friday or Saturday (the 19th or 20th), finish organizing and moving, and take more pictures, and post about it all for you.

'Til then...
Take Care!!!
=-)

Monday, February 8, 2010

...Who Dat?!

The New Orleans Saints won the SuperBowl last night. I really didn't care who won, but i have friends of the family who live there, so why not root for 'em?

Anyway...



I've been looking around BlogLand and decided if i want more followers, i should post more often. Makes sense i guess. It seems to be what successful bloggers do. =-)

I've also decided i need to re-vamp my sewing area, move it, organize it, and get ALL my sewing-related stuff in one place.

With those two things in mind (blogging more often & re-organizing), i guess i'll post about my organizing/moving stuff.



I'll need to borrow "somebody's" camera, 'cause these posts are gonna need pictures!



Back soon (next Monday, maybe?) with pictures!
In the meantime, here's ONE place where my sewing stuff *used* to be. (I move furniture around pretty regularly...)
I have more stuff now, and I sew A LOT more regularly too...
Just sayin'! =-)

Oh! This *was* in my bedroom...