Category: Uncategorized

There is one common thing that all quilters have.  When we hurt, tired, or want to relax, we quilt or do hand work!  I do not know what I would do without my love of quilting.  It is one of the most rewarding hobby to have and quilting has helped me get through some difficult times in the last 3 years.  I completed all of January’s goals with the exception of quilting Oh Glory!  But she is loaded and ready to go.  I plan on having the quilt finished in the next couple of days.

Quilts to be Quilted:

1. Enduring Legacy
2. Colonial Ladies (Wanda’s quilt)
3. Threads of Memory
4. Miscellaneous small wall hangings

Applique/Hand Work Projects:

1.  A Bountiful Life (BOM)  Prep 4 blocks
2. Margaret Potts (BAS BOM)  6 blocks
3. Stonefields (On-Going)  Complete Section 4
4. Brinton Hall (EPP project)  Sew Hexigons together for Medallion
5. Quiltmania BOM Mystery quilt
6. Snowman in Blue – Start Project (Embroidery)
7. Kathy Smithz BOM Project – Prep and work on Block 2 (Embroidery)

Pieced Projects:

1.  RSC 2017 Monthly Blocks
2. Robin’s Nest
3. Dresden Plates Project

OK – now let’s see how I do.  Applique projects are ongoing each month.  The embroidery projects have not been started yet.   My back brace has really helped me so I know if life settles down and I continue to feel better maybe I can catch up on my projects – that is my main goal.

Have a blessed day and it looks like 6 more weeks of winter!

Goals are great to have as long as we can be realistic!  Easier said than done as we Quilters love to think that we can just jump right in and finish something within a week or so – heck – maybe with a few days!  I have begun to realize that I do not allow for my ‘black cat’ and ‘unforeseen’ requirements’ happenings.  I began more applique projects than pieced projects in 2016 and I really need to make a concerted effort to “get with the program” and become serious about finishing them within 2017.   I am also very behind on quilting my quilt tops and am going to push myself to catch up.

I started full speed ahead in 2014 by beginning my collection of Reproduction fabrics and switching to only Quiltmania and Australian quilt patterns, but life has a way of taking twists and turns that we never would expect.   My step-son Darryl was diagnosed with Cancer in April 2014 and passed in June 2015.  It takes time to recoup from an ordeal like this.  He is missed by me and especially his Father.  He had the quickest wit and would make us laugh when we spent time with him.  He touched many lives during his short lifetime.  In 2016 I tried to play my usual “Scarlett O’Hara” (as my Mother always called me) and jump right back into life and worry about the grieving tomorrow.  This is not how life works in the real world and for the first time it did not work for me.  It takes time to heal, just as it takes time to make an Heirloom quilt, or more advanced more technically challenging quilts.

Yesterday I tried to develop a post depicting each project that needed to be quilted, appliqued, embroidered, and those that were begging for my time. I read a Quilty Folk  post about Kyle and how she is handling her 2017 list.  I quickly realized that I did not need to re-post things from the past and developed my list for 2017.  This is a new year and I will do that as I complete or make progress with my projects.   So here we go:

Nanette’s 2017 Projects List

I will keep my list close at hand to become more focused and productive in 2017.  Clay and I have so much to be thankful for and this is a time of REAL hope for the USA, no matter what Meryl Streep says!  I have lost all respect for Entertainers.  They need to experience the real world like 99% of the people in this country do and realize that without our supporting their movies they would be dead broke!  (oops a little political statement – LOL)

Clay and I  will also take a few trips during the year to “get away from it all” staying in hotels rather than having to load and unload the 5th wheel.  The trips will be so much more enjoyable in our 2nd stage of retirement.  The 2nd stage is the time when one realizes that they no longer want to do all the hard work that we have done all their lives – it is time to enjoy the easy life before we leave this earth.

My One Monthly Goal (OMG) for January is to complete my quilting projects and work on my hand work in the evening.  Time will tell if the ‘black cat’ or ‘unforeseen requirements’ will get me again or if our year is quiet and boring in order for me to complete projects started the last 3 years.

What is tempting are all the quilt a longs and new patterns that others discuss on their Blog posts, or friends tell you about!  So wish me luck and I will try to continue posting my progress and doing some ‘link ups’ which always help us when we post our quilts in progress or completed.

Looks like we are going back to Spring the next 4 days – then back to some cold weather.  Talk about a roller coaster this winter.  As bad as I do not want to bring on the 100 degree weather, at least Spring and Summer are more consistant.  The changes tend to mess with our bones and bodies for those over 70!  DARN!

Have a wonderful week and hopefully ‘unforeseen requirements’ will not hinder your progress in quilting.

I will be the happiest person to see 2017 arrive!!!  I remember in 1992 I felt the same way and 1993 and beyond has been great (OK, there have been some hiccups).  I love New Year’s Eve because I know the next day is will be the beginning of a new year with a clean slate and going forward!  I do pray that 2017 is going to be a banner year for traveling, quilting, and just having fun!

There are a lot of movies that start off with the ending and then fill you in on the story.  So without having to go into the wonderful details of where I have been since the 3rd and 20th of November – here is the story in a nutshell.  I had my RF treatment on my back (they cauterised the nerves from the waist down – easy procedure and this was my 3rd one) on 3 Nov.  After the procedure I began to experience problems with walking in the morning, more pain, and overall muscle weakness.  My walking finally ceased because I could not walk without pain. Because I have had 4 fusions in previous years, I figured I had some herniated discs and would be headed for surgery.  A new MRI which showed only 2 bulging discs and they are the ones that connect the Lumbar and the upper torso (not good).  I made an appointment with Clay’s  surgeon and he advised me about a surgery that would fuse my entire back by redoing some of the old surgery (ouch) fusing 6 discs, adding a rod to put a “curve” in my spine and those love screws (8 sets).  OH BOY – sign me up! He told me that he did not do that type of surgery and did not recommend it but referred me to the surgeon who would if I was interested!  Based on that information I contacted my original surgeon (retired now) scheduled a visit with him for guidance and he agreed that an intensive surgery like that would be the final choice and that my situation was not at a point where I needed that extensive surgery!  WHEW!

By the time I was able to see the doctors, I was beginning to function again except for the shooting pains at the base of my skull.  I made an appointment with my pain management doctor yesterday who did the RF treatment.  I told him what I had experienced, and he looked at me and said, “out of the 500 or so RF treatments I have done ONLY TWO PEOPLE have had this reaction!!!!!  Well, hello to lucky me – where is that darn Black Cat?   I was relieved because after a while I began to think I was nuts and all of the pain was in my head!  I am grateful to the 3 doctors because they are all conservative in treatment choices and told me only as a last resort.  I now have a plan of action to prevent things from getting worse.  I am now going to have a brace to wear when I do my morning walk which will help hold my back straight, and am going to use a TENS unit (already noticing some good from that), continue stretching each morning, and continue in 5 months with another RF treatment and of course more and more walking!  I am truly blessed!

So now you can understand why I am so ready for 2017.  I look forward to feeling better with my old energy level back and knowing that I will turn over the house cleaning to my new housekeeper.  Shucks!!!  I do hope I find my creative juices flowing again and begin to enjoy quilting again.  While I was “resting” I did finish knitting a scarf that I had started a few years back.  But after taking Circa 2016 apart I have not touched anything that had to do with the word Quilt!

Two weeks ago I listed our Rig (truck and trailer) for sale on Craigslist, and within 2 days we sold it!  Monday morning Clay and I decided to look for a new vehicle – just to LOOK! HA!  Choices were an SUV or Truck so we would have a vehicle large enough for our future trips (and staying in hotels).  We headed to the Lincoln dealership first and then to the Toyota dealership to look at trucks.  We never made it past the Lincoln dealership as we purchased a Lincoln Navigator!  It will be the perfect vehicle for us when we want to take a trip.  Now I just have to learn the Navigation System since we have not had a vehicle with that capability.  It has been a very busy two weeks and we are both glad that it is over.  Clay and I are so blessed that we made the decision to sell the rig because those trips did affect my back issues and it was getting more and more of a chore rather than enjoyment to go on a trip.  A new phase in our lives!

I want to wish each and every one who reads my Blog a Merry Christmas and a very Blessed New Year.  I plan on getting back to quilting in a few days and line up my projects for 2017, most of which will be to finish up 2016 projects and prepare a couple of quilts to enter in the San Antonio show.  I also have a lot of new fabrics that need washing, pressing, folding, and then I will have to re-arrange fabric drawers.  I feel that I have more control over things now and hopefully I will be able to finish the UFOs.

Until the next time, have a great week and week-end and enjoy Christmas shopping.  I am looking forward for more cold weather (at least Texas cold).

PS – I think I have learned something about WordPress, or maybe any blog.  If I delete media from my files affects previous posts – won’t do that anymore!  Live and Learn!

Update on Life:  The month of September and most of October has come and gone and to me it is still too hot.  During this time, Clay and I caught the upper respiratory bug in September, which slowed us down to a crawl.  We were originally scheduled to go to Durant for 2 weeks in August but rescheduled due to the hot weather for September and then the September trip was rescheduled for the month of October.  We were able to leave on the 2nd of October as scheduled and stayed at the Choctaw Casino KOA.  Plans were to stay the entire month, but about 14 days into the trip we decided to come home.  We had a great time going to the Casino (almost everyday) winning and some losing, but it was all fun and so relaxing.

For the past 17 years (since retirement) we have traveled in our “home away from home” travel trailers.  We started in 2000 with a 26′ pull trailer, migrated to a 30′ pull, and then in 2004 we purchased a great 36′ fifth wheel along with a great one ton truck to pull it with.  We have spent 3 to 4 months in Arizona during the winter each year, but the last year we realized that those trips were becoming more of a chore than fun.  So during this last excursion we made a decision to sell the rig and purchase a new truck or Navigator and just pack up whenever and travel with less work and more fun!  We had to laugh when we realized that in 3 or 4 years at the age of 75 or 76 we would be nuts to do what we have to do in order to just arrive at the point where we can drive out the gate!  Amazing how the mind thinks young, but the body says something else!  LOL

Fabric Shopping: When I planned this trip there were 2 quilt stores that I wanted to visit,  HNT Quilt Store in Durant and Happiness is Quilting in McKinney Texas.  Well, HNT has closed their doors and the trip to McKinny (about a 3 hour round trip drive from Durant) really turned into a bummer and wasted day.    I will not bore you with the fun details, but that trip ended up driving a total of 3 hours without even finding the store, or if I could have, it would have been impossible to find a place to park a one ton Dually truck in the old Historic District of McKinney where “somewhere” there is a quilt store called Happiness is Quilting. After that lovely mess, even Clay was ready to hit the Casino to try to forget the horrible experience.  Quilt stores really need to wake up and realize that some customers do not live in their town and need accurate directions.  So it was their loss and my frustration!

Quilting Burnout Resolved:  During the summer months, I was really experiencing some major quilting burnout and just not sure what I wanted to do with my hobby.  It is amazing what a change of scenery and time away from the “same ‘ole thing” day in and day out can do for a person.  Time to reflect and to think about the remaining years on this earth and how to spend them.  One of my answers came when my Kay (my cousin) called one afternoon while we were in Durant, trying to find one of our great Aunts on our Smith/Harrison side of the family.  This was all it took to kick-start me back to one of the things that I love dearly – researching.  Talk about clearing out the cobwebs in the brain – working on family history is so rewarding, inspiring, and for me RELAXING.  I will  set time aside to work on finishing the family genealogy and attempt to document all history for the Cook and Chopin line.

Speaking of Kay she is more of a sister to me than a cousin and will be going in for open heart surgery next Tuesday.  I am praying for her and just know that she will feel so much better when this ordeal is over.  She is such a sweet and caring person and has been special to me all of my life and always there for me, I love her dearly.  She and her husband have raised such a beautiful family and she is the love of their lives.  So Blessed.

Project Updates:  OK – now on to where I left off on my projects.  I believe my last post showed fabrics that I had purchased for Rowdy Flats Library quilt by Susan Smith.  I purchased some wonderful fabrics from B & B Quilt Store in Buda, Texas on the way home from the Austin Quilt Show in September.  My quilting buddy Jan and I left them with some $ and we came home with the perfect fabrics for our quilt projects.  They have a wonderful selection of Civil War prints that I have found in a while.  At the time I was trying to hold off and purchase from Happiness, but am so glad that I bought all those lovely fabrics when I did.

Grammy Squares have been placed in a permanent “never to be seen again” file called Trash Can.  I have never ditched my work in the trash, but I really made a mistake when I did not use a black background for the squares!  It was not going in a good direction and I knew I would never ever finish that project.  WHAT A RELIEF.  I will make the quilt, but will use different fabrics (probably batiks) and a black background to showcase the fabrics!  I have finished more of my mini Dresden Plates, but am now cutting out more and will showcase those at a later date.  I finally finished Block 5 of Bountiful Life in September and have kept up with Circa 2016 until the middle of September.  The final setting was provided on 7 October.  I believe I have 9 blocks to make along with 120 HSTs to make for the border.  I will post a picture of the quilt when I have finished it.  I have really enjoyed working this project and hope to have it finished in the next month!   Ms Potts summer blocks are completed but have not worked on the block for September or October.  I have completed the “replacement” for Block 20.

I thought it would be nice to put the finished blocks on the design wall to see how my colors were blending.  I am pleased.

Leaving on a Positive Note:  I have really missed blogging, but this break in my “routine rut” has really lifted my mood and spirits.  Thursday was a day that provided me with 4 positive changes in my life.  Positive Number 1 was the trip to the Dermatologist which confirmed that my stress level has been too high this summer – my Rosacea is off the charts.  (Amazing what stress does to a body).  This was good news for me better than a pre-cancerous issue.  Positive Number 2 was  the decision to devote time to Genealogy research for the Cook and Chopin families will provide me the mental challenge I have been looking for (better than getting a part-time job – LOL)  and will probably settle me down stress wise.  Positive Number 3 for Thursday was taking time to  check out a yarn store in San Antonio called Yarnivore.  What a wonderful yarn shop, with personality plus and teaching classes/lessons available that will fit my schedule.  Positive Number 4– I had placed an ad in the local paper looking for quilters in the area that would be interested in joining a Quilting Bee while in Durant.   When one lives in the country it can be exciting to find someone who shares your interest.  As we arrived home from San Antonio, I received a call from a lady (Dorothy) who was very excited and interested in a Quilting Bee.  We plan on getting together in November and hope to find a few other ladies that would like to join us.   Sometimes we just have to “getaway” from home to really clean out the clutter in the mind and develop a new perspective on life.   Maybe the last 2 years are finally behind me.

I think I have mentioned in a previous blog as to what I do if a Black Cat crosses my path – I turn around and go the other way – Thursday morning as Clay was locking the gate, my neighbor’s black cat did just that, and I did exactly what I usually do, I turned around and left our subdivision the opposite way – and look at the good luck I had all in one day – of course Clay thinks I am nuts and always has a good laugh on me, but that is fine.  I am convinced that turning around did it for me!  LOL

Have a blessed day and if you have not voted, please remember that it is an honor to be able to participate in the election process.  ME – I am in the Basket of Deplorables!!!!!!