Where did the week go?

This week just vanished right before my eyes....poof. I did manage to take a few of those cute nine-patches and sew them together to make a mini. Then, while I was deep into a pile of stuff in THE CLOSET OF SHAME, I came across this sweet "Gracie" fabric. I really liked this stuff because it's cute but also because my husband used to call me Gracie since I was so poised and elegant(not) in my movement. Truth be told-I'm sort of a klutz and it's a blessing that I have strong bones since I can usually find something in my path to trip me or stumble across. I believe that he began by calling me Amazing Grace and from there it went to Gracie. Further truth be told, he's not a lot more graceful than me so we make a perfect pair as long as we remain on our feet. Serendipity.

I went shopping with Terry yesterday. We so rarely get to do much together lately since her job is more complicated lately and takes a lot more time and planning. All in all, no one can make me laugh like Terry. Sometimes I can hardly catch my breath. Terry works at a local public building and, frankly, there's nothing funnier than the public, unless it's the people who serve the public. She also owns a business in town so , again, the public. Good times.

I have a lot of house work to do...dull and boring housework but I don't know if it's watching "Big Love" or what, suddenly I feel the need to be Harriet Homemaker. Since I know this will pass in no time, I should take advantage of the urge. The same thing happens to me when we visit Amish country. I want to come home and throw away every non essential thing we own and polish all the rest till it shines. This, too, passes quickly. The program that really gets me going is "Hoarders" Holy Cow, have you seen that show. It's a revelation and if you aren't driven to throw stuff away by that, you need medication. As gross as it is(how can they eat in those kitchens and bathe in those bathrooms?) maybe I need to watch that more often. I got rid of several grocery bags full of stuff after watching one episode. All of us are pack-rats here. Books, magazines, collections, and other stuff( fabric, closets, bins, etc.)
it so quickly becomes out of hand and overwhelming. Anyway, I'm going to tackle one thing at a time and try not to get distracted by any pretty, shiny, things.
Off I go, talk to you soon.

Found UFOs

A while back I had the desire to try some redwork and found some old patterns through an embroidery site I can't remember. I tried to do it and then some other shiny object flew in front of my face and I was off on another tangent. Adult ADHD. Yesterday I was moving some things into the new room and I came across a couple of these. They were both unfinished(surprise) and along with them I found a whole bag of selvages I had cut from fabric I purchased during the last year after discovering Karen's Selvage blog She has the best stuff on her blog and her book is really a treasure. She made a quilt called Red Zinger out of selvages that is just gorgeous. Have a look see if you get a minute or two. I will put the redwork in a place where I have to look at it more often and it's easy to get to. Yeah...that'll work. By the way, you would have laughed at me a couple of days ago when I tried to use my sewing machine for the first time in months. I forgot what to set it on and, essentially, how to use the damn thing. It took me a little while to get totally comfortable with it again.
I stopped at the video store yesterday while running other errands and picked up the last season of Big Love. It's a favorite of mine and I'm really enjoying it. I have a lot of ironing to do today. The least I can do is provide Roger with some decent looking clothing to wear to work. Things are not a lot of fun for him there right now-hopefully the chaos will smooth out soon. I need to make some pasta sauce for later and get myself organized so I can go off to Tarjay and a couple of other places with Terry later. One of the quilting ladies is away on a trip so it's just us two. We could cancel but the weather has been semi-lovely(for January in NY) and besides...we need stuff. I need to make a list and then I need to remember the list. Sad.
If anyone is looking for me I'll be the one in the laundry room behind the iron. Bring muffins

Tuesday This & That

Two things that have occupied my time lately and one is something quilty. Some of you may remember the quilt I donated to the wounded female soldier at a rehab facility while I was a member of the Quilts of Valor team that Debra got together. Anyway, it's here to illustrate how lovely it came out after being quilted by Deb of Contemporary Quilting. When I received it back from her I almost couldn't bear to part with it. As luck would have it, I was finding many baggies full of scraps recently and came across one containing many nine-patch blocks and pieces to make many more and even a small one that was already together. Many of the fabrics from that original quilt were from collecting civil war fabric and historical fat quarter packs from Keepsake Quilting monthly mailings. I loved those fabrics a bunch and I'm so thrilled that I cam across this baggie. I needed to reacquaint myself with the pleasure of just sitting and sewing after all these months. What fun.

When I was not packing stuff and moving it to the sewing room I fell into this book by Edward Rutherford. It may not be for everyone but since I am a New Yorker and a history buff, it was definitely for me. In essence, it's the history of Manhattan Island told with characters-some real and some imagined by the author. It begins with the first fur traders in the 1600s and continues on up to the falling towers in 2001. Lots of interesting families and some great research by the author. I guess I really liked it best for knowing the places he was writing about. Mr. Rutherford has written several historical novels. A couple are about England and one of those is a novel that goes back to the first settlers of that island. I am looking forward to reading them as well.
If you are a history buff like me, you will get a great kick out of this site The Manahatta Project I advise you to get a cuppa and something to munch because you will get sucked in here. It is the most fantastic place to visit. They have created the island of Manhattan in the 1600s just the way that Henry Hudson saw it on that first day. It's a wonder to see and there is a way to click on any street in Manhattan and see what was there in those days. The maps are superimposed upon current map and when you click on a square it will tell you what existed on that street in the 1600s. I'm such a sucker for this stuff that I'm sure many would be snoring over it but I just get lost in imagining how very beautiful it must have been.

Well I've been playing around enough now and must get something done so I'll talk to you soon..