15 February 2009, 10:10 pm
I have an old friend — really more of an old acquaintance — that I have lost touch with for over a year. It happened so subtly, so easily, days leading into weeks, weeks leading into months. Before you know it, you hardly know each other any more.
And it’s really too bad, because we live so close to each other. I know I’m the one who’s suffering the most from not getting together on a regular basis.
Whenever I would think about reestablishing our relationship, I would push those thoughts right out of my head. Darn it, it’s difficult to take the first step to reconnect, and to connect in a meaningful way, not just a superficial casual meeting that is doomed to fail from the start.
So first thing tomorrow morning I’m going to be the bigger person here (don’t snicker) and make the first move. I’m going to march straight down the stairs, take a left into the (gasp) exercise room, say “Good Morning, B****” to the elliptical trainer. And I’m going to spend, oh, maybe a whole four or five minutes with this lonely piece of machinery until I’m gasping and wheezing and unable to carry on a conversation any more. And if I can still walk on Tuesday, I’ll do it again.
Sue
15 February 2009, 3:32 pm
Okay, we were on vacation two weeks, trying to catch up at home one week, hubby in hospital one week, convalescing another week — I feel like I should add that the dog ate my notebook, except we don’t have a dog! So here goes with a consolidated report:
- Yards IN YTD: 28.75
- Yards OUT YTD: 14.50
- Net for 2009: +14.25
- Goal for 2009: -75.00
In case you’re interested, I purchased fabric for my kaleidoscope quilt filler blocks (which I immediately cut up and added to the mix), bought some fabric for my Minnesota Quilters Challenge Quilt (bought batiks to go with those supplied in the kit), then changed my mind on the background and bought a DIFFERENT background fabric. This is how stash accumulates!!!
Goals for the last two weeks of February:
- Pat & Patrick’s Irish Chain (working on the borders)
- Challenge Quilt — finish piecing
- Quilt & Bind Judy L’s Labor Day Challenge
- Catch up on Judy L’s Star BOM February blocks
- Laundry Start Judy L’s Bears in the Farmhouse
Okay, about the laundry. I probably would have had half a chance to stay caught up if I had never happened upon Judy’s site, but this is a lot more fun!
And I’m not counting gifts of fabric in my Stash Report, but here’s what Handsome Son and Lovely Daughter-In-Law purchased for me during their trip to China:
Each piece is somewhere between one and two yards. These aren’t cotton fabrics, but probably a poly or other kind of synthetic. I can really see a couple of these as jacket lapels or panels of a jacket. The bright red would make striking pillows. Any other ideas to help me along would be greatly appreciated.
Sue
14 February 2009, 8:53 am
Here is the Irish Chain I was working on before I broke my wrist in November. This is a wedding first-anniversary gift for good friends Pat and Patrick. (This is from Eleanor Burns’ Irish Chain book.) The fabrics don’t photograph as well as they look in person.
Last night I went to our guild’s Quilt In they have once a month on a Friday night. I don’t usually go, but was in the mood to go and sew last night, and we had a terrific turnout of 11 or 12 quilters, most with sewing machines. We were quite productive, and I got a lot done on these borders. Because they are pieced, they are turning out to be quite time consuming, but I think they add a lot to the quilt. A bit of work left to do, but it is encouraging to see progress, and I’m closing in on a finished top.
Today I’m off to the Mall of America with Quilting Pals Joan and Cathy (& Jane & Kate). We are going to the Knitting Expo at the mall. I’m wearing sensible shoes.
Sue
13 February 2009, 9:14 am
Judy Laquidara at Patchwork Times comes up with such interesting (and easy) quilt projects and such fun ways of doing them as a group. Her latest offering is Bears in the Farmhouse, and she’s offering it as a Quilt Along. This will be like going to a quilt retreat with your favorite friends that you haven’t met yet, and all working on the same pattern but with your own individual flair, in your own home, PJs and slippers optional.
And she’s only distributed the first step by e-mail yesterday, so I’m sure you could still sign up if you’re interested!
The way this one will work is Judy will e-mail you the next step when you’ve offered proof (photo directly to her or posted on your blog with a link sent to her) that you’ve completed the current step. See? You can participate even if you don’t have a blog. Join in the fun!
I have way too much fabric languishing in my downstairs closets, and as much as I REALLY wanted to do this quilt in a stripe, it would have meant a trip to the fabric store. So I shopped my stash. It’s all part of the adventure! And I came across these squares (just the right size) from the Minnesota Shop Hop two years ago, I believe. (I feel like an archeologist when I go through my fabrics — let me see, these are from the mauve period, these are from the calico era…)
These Minnesota-themed motifs will be the centers of my bear paws, and the burgundies and greens will be my coordinating fabrics, with creamy fabrics as my lights. Thank you, Judy, for another great opportunity!
Sue
12 February 2009, 10:04 am
to those of you who have continued to drop by this site, only to find, yet again, there’s NOTHING NEW!!! I have been amazed though, checking my statistics, that there are people who have continued to stop by www.suehecker.com. I figure they were:
- Looking for a site to file suit against someone named “hecker” (hopefully not me).
- Were really looking for a report on the Suez Canal and mistyped “suezchecker”.
- A friend like Eileen, hoping that I, like the Groundhog, I would pop my head up out of the ground once in a while and greet the world! So Eileen, thanks for hanging in there. Thank you, friends!
If you’re not aware, DH had surgery 1 1/2 weeks ago. He is recovering nicely. Of course he is, he has the most attentive nurse in the world! Well, maybe not, but I’m trying. At least that’s what people tell me, Sue, you’re really trying…
His need for surgery caused us to have a short Texas trip this year (just 2 1/2 weeks instead of 2 1/2 months). Howdy, to all of our Texas friends! We miss you and are already looking forward to next year. And if you’re a reader looking for a wonderful winter get-away for next year (or a little late winter getaway this year), check out the Sandcastle web site. It’s right on the beach and we love it there. But the BEST part is the PEOPLE. We love all our Winter Texan friends.
I’ve been working on a couple of quilts, but don’t have pictures taken at this time. I will have to remedy that! This will be a picture-less post. There have been no birds out my windows, and no quilts on my Gammill, so the camera has been pretty inactive lately.
One more thing I wanted to talk about, and I know I have the wrong, wrong, wrong audience. Our friends’ (Bob & Billie) daughter Julie (aka Lady Jules) is a top-notch b-girl — a break dancer. She’s competing on the team Beat Freaks on a dance show (America’s Best Dance Crew) on MTV. What? You don’t even know what channel MTV is in your neck of the woods? Well, look it up! There’s a repeat of last week’s show at 7:00 CST tonight, and a new show at 9:00 CST tonight on MTV. If you get to see last week’s show, she’s the one doing the head spin. She has short choppy blondish hair, dimples til next Tuesday, and she’s just a wonderful girl. Go, Jules!!! Oh, and she’s our goddaughter! Need I say more?
Well, that’s all for now. Time to get at my nursing duties.
Sue
