My mother-

  I guess it is time for a Mother’s Day blog.  My mother passed away when I was only 16. She had lung cancer, and by the time they figured out what it was it was too late. It was my junior year in high school- and I really hid my head in the sand and did not want to think about what was going on. I would occasionally hear my dad cry- which was not easy to hear as he was a big guy that did not let on he even knew how to cry. I would escape to my best friends’ house- thank you Pen, Deb and all, or escape with my band friends- thank you Michelle, Carolyn and all of the rest of you, and I made my share of male companionship mistakes – well only one real big one-while looking for comfort. (There is a seedy blog story there but I will tell that another time).

Mom, Dad, my two sisters and older brother.

 So, Mother’s Day to me has pretty much sucked my whole life. Now that my kids are older they have their own lives and who gives a crap about the woman who put up with all of their dirty underwear and smelly socks over the years??  Oh well- I know they love me in their own way. Or until they need something. HAHA

  I do have good memories of my mother- baking me the chocolate cake for my birthday that she called the pain in the ass cake because of how big of a pain it was to make, being my assistant Brownie leader, being our girl scout troop’s Cookie Mom, hosting sleep overs for all of my friends, feeding me, keeping the house clean and making sure my clothes were spic and span. (Although she constantly bitched at me in high school because all I wore was jeans and t shirts- I showed her. My job at the moment has jeans and t shirts as their dress code- HA HA.) The companionship mistakes in high school did not seem to mind the jean and t shirt thing, either. So there- who needs dresses and high heels? Not this chick!

Mom is on the left in the back row. I am front and center!!

 

  I did not get my quilting gene from my mother. I have no clue where it came from.  Adopted maybe?? She did enjoy hand embroidery and needlework, which I do also love. I guess quilting is just an extension of that. I do have a few of her things that she stitched- and I cherish those.

   I am so very grateful for the years, though not many, I had with my mother. I moved 2,000 miles away the year my dad died, which was 3 years after my mom died. Moving to Denver at 19 with no family and knowing only 1 person was insane, and I am glad I did it then because I would be way too chicken to do it now. I guess my parents gave me the chance to do this crazy thing by not being around.  I got shoved out of the nest before I was ready, but I landed on both feet here in Colorado and never looked back. I am grateful to my parents for making me the stubborn, independent, bull-headed almost 50 year old I have become. My husband may not be so grateful for some of these traits- right honey??

On a lighter note, I did get this card last year on Mother's Day.  I must have done something right during their formative years!

 

  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend- whether you are a mom or not, have one or not-you are all special and should be treated as such every day!

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             THE BEAN SOUP DEBACLE

 My wonderful hubby made some very delicious homemade bean soup for dinner last week. It was amazing! However, it did take me back to a warm, hot summer night in June in 1982.

The Beans
 

  My mother’s bean soup had never been a favorite of mine. My mother’s recipe was a tad on the creamy side- not clam chowder creamy but definitely more to it than just broth. So, I used to add ketchup to it. Now, as an adult that sounds totally gross, but as a kid you did what you had to do to stuff down dinner. If you didn’t like what was on the table, tough shit- there were no options. You ate what was on the table or you didn’t eat at all.

  That hot, muggy summer night was a night of partying- imagine that. One of my dear friends was graduating from high school. She grew up across the street from me, so my dad sent along with me a giant pot of his home made bean soup to the party. Now this one pot could have fed all of Philly. Well, what a party it was. Swimming, drinking, food and boys! After the party was over, somehow I talked a certain jock I had a crush on to let me give him a ride home. I am sure he was a bit tipsy for this to happen. Well, I sat the pot of leftover soup on the back seat and took him home. He lived in the neighboring town- it was about a 2 mile drive on winding, curvy roads. When I got back home, I got in the back seat to grab the pot of soup and guess what- the damn pot spilled all over the back seat of the car! From how much soup I tried to scoop up, the guests at the party must have had the same taste in soup that I did. I have no idea what I used to get the soup up off of the seat- I am sure I was trying to be quiet as it was wayyyy late and I didn’t want to wake my father- or the neighbors. We all slept with our windows open- only the rich people had air conditioners.  I wiped it up best I could and took the mostly empty pot into the house. 

No use crying over spilt beans!

 

   The next morning, I was up at the crack of dawn- or before- to leave on a trip with my sister to visit my brother in Missouri. I was so hungover I could have cried, but off we went. ( I know- no pity for the under-age drinker with the hangover) My dad dropped me off at my sister’s house and that adventure began. Another blog story – I promise!

   Several days later I got a call from my father- he was not amused. Now remember- I grew up in Pennsylvania which has nice, sticky, humid, hot summer days and nights. Evidently, I did not clean up all of the bean soup. He had been taking some guys back and forth to work with him that week and the car had started to smell. He said it got so bad they had to stick their heads out of the windows and wear gas masks. I can just picture 4 burly construction guys driving down Interstate 81 with their heads stuck out the windows like dogs!

Dad and his co-workers heading to work

 Finally, my dad got in the back seat and lifted the seat up and found- maggots. Tons of maggots! It probably looked the Body Farm in there! The little critters loved the bean soup, evidently. Good for them, I thought- they can have it. He said I was damn lucky I was 1,000 miles away or he would have wrung my neck. And I bet he would have! I was sure glad I was in Missouri- and had another week before I went home and he had time to cool off.

 

   I never took bean soup to another party- and frankly kind of lost the taste for it at all.  It is a good thing my hubby’s doesn’t even look like my dad’s version!         

Yummmmm!!!
 

  

    Have a good week everyone!

                                                  Spring Retreat

  Well it appears I have survived another quilt retreat with my girls. What a wonderful weekend we all had! I find it interesting that this time I was wayyyyy less productive than I usually am, but I had the best time ever! I made myself not be glued to my machine, and visited, ate, drank and laughed myself silly.  And not necessarily in that order.

 

And thank you Brooke, for staying out of the hospital this time! Now I won’t have to kick your ass when I see you in June.

  Terry was kind enough to chauffer me up the hill to our retreat. The first plan was to stop at the casino that I discovered that had Coney Dogs! Now, those of you who have never had a Coney Island coney dog in Pottsville, PA have no idea what you are missing. I knew this dog would not be the same, but I had to try it anyway. It was not bad! There was not enough grease in it, but it worked!

 

   Of course we had to play a bit on the machines before we left and headed to the house. I, of course, won nothing. Terry did ok, however, and off we went.

   We arrived at the house and got all unloaded, then we all headed back down the hill to dinner. We decided this year we would all eat at a buffet for the first night so we all would have a chance to visit. Well, due to some crack ass law we could not take our 4 month old guest retreater to dinner at the one casino, so we walked across the street to another. I know he looked pretty shifty in that stroller and all, but good lord. Screw you Monarch- there are plenty of buffets that will have us! Bastards.

   Now- it is time to party!

Beerguaritas!

CHEESECAKE!
 

                                                                                
   Sometimes we bring little treats for each other- here is what I brought. I saw these little mug mats on Pinterest and thought they were cute. I was able to use parts of a lone star I screwed up. Glad I saved the pieces!

   The next day we started to sew. And some finished their projects that day as well.  Showoffs! I confess- I had some of my blocks pre-cut before we got there. Here is the start of the quilt show-

My Triple Barn Store
 

 

Terry's Triple Barn Star

 

   A few of us ordered these shirts a few weeks before retreat. Unfortunately Judy’s came in the wrong size and they did not get the new one shipped in time. Of course she got it the day after we got home!

  

  That night was wine and movie night for some of us. Serial Mom cracks me up every time! The prank phone calls are the best. If you have not seen it I highly recommend it. It does have some foul language in it, but if you are reading this blog that should not surprise you.

                       

    We were lucky enough to have 4 generations joining us for this retreat- Kayden was a lovely special guest. He had a great time! And we all did not enjoy holding him at all - Just kidding!

Me and Kayden
 

 

Terry and Kayden
 

 

    Saturday the machines were humming- and in between the snacking of the homemade hummus- thank you BOB- We did get some work done.

Randi finished up this charming little quilt-

 

Roxanne was finishing up this sweet chevron top-

 

  Susie, one of our resident fabric designers completed this bag using her fabric. We love it!

 

Val and Randi worked on their bargello tops and got them all done. Boy- it was amazing watching these come together! We were all amazed!

This is Vals-

Here is Randi’s-

     I did manage to get a jean quilt top done for a certain someone. He probably does not read my blog so I will post this picture but I will leave his name out on the off chance he sees this. Holy crap is it heavy! It came out to be 72” x 96”. What in the hell was I thinking? I hope it will keep him warm on those cold Pennsylvania nights.

 

   Rae got this beautiful butterfly top done- such lovely colors!

 

  Jan made this wonderful little Betty Boop top for her mom- so fun!

 

   Michele was a busy beaver as well when she wasn’t working on that big bottle of wine. Is that a pussy willow, Dottie?? She made this sweet little dress for her daughter and this awesome top from Missouri Star.

 

  A few of the gals stayed up late a/k/a after 10 pm haha and Rae taught those night owls how to make these great zipper bags- so fun!

 

 Laurie brought this wonderful quilt that just came back from the quilter. She did hand applique on it as well. It was lovely!

 

    She was also working on a top from Hell. She got a kit and all the fabric was not there. We hate when that happens! I think sometimes fabric companies design these patterns but never make the quilts to test the actual pattern. Dumbasses. She did call the company where she bought the kit and they are working with her to get her the fabric she needs.

  Terry made this lovely blue and brown top from a kit she purchased. This fabric is so much fun! Love the dots!

  LUCY made this great bag- we all wanted it when she was done! She is our other resident fabric designer and has such an eye for color. I have learned so much from her and Susie- and they are so willing to share their knowledge. Thank you guys! (Ignore the bitch in the polka dot pj's- looks like the beergaritas ran out!)

 

   Susie was also working on this applique top- her machine applique is amazing!

 

  Terry showed off her mystery quilt that she organized on our Quilters and Sewers Only Facebook Page - isn’t it lovely?

 

Randi also was putting binding on this lovely- I adore cardinals. She is lucky she made it home with this quilt!

 LUCY brought this beauty to bind. It is a special gift for a wonderful event coming up. Eileen quilted it for her- isn’t it something?

 

   There were several other projects going on- I promised to be better this year at getting pictures but I am still lacking a bunch. I know Judy was busy all weekend and I only have one picture of a quilt she finished. It is a Quilt of Valor. Judy is prolific making these quilts. We are truly humbled by her dedication and support of this organization. Please go here http://www.qovf.org/ to learn about this wonderful organization.

    Here is pic of Judy in her apocalypse shirt after she got home- isn’t she adorable?

 

  We had beautiful weather and we did manage to get some walking in although it was quite breezy. I had to do something to work off that wine and cookies and cream chocolate! We had a most wonderful time with each other as usual. Thank you for the laughs my dear friends. Can’t wait til September! Love you all!

 

 

                                                    Selling a machine- again!

  As you know by now I splurged and bought a new machine. Yes, I was probably on crack. I am trying to get over that habit but it is not going well. To help finance this little venture I figured I needed to sell my other machines.

  I (actually Bob did all the work) put my old 7530 Pfaff up for sale on  a few Facebook pages and on Craig’s List and got ready for the onslaught of scammers. He received a notice from a sweet woman from up north (still here in Colorado- just a bit north from where I live) after it was up for only 6 hours! We went back and forth a bit with info and I met her 2 days later. She loved the machine and bought it right then! No problem at all!  I am sure she will take good care of that machine and use it well. It was a perfect match and totally meant to be. I will miss the old gal but I am loving her replacement!

GOOD BYE OLD FRIEND!

 

  My friend LUCY had Bob put her machine up for sale since my sale was so successful. And poor Lucy- all she has had is one scammer after another. Hopefully that will stop soon and she can sell hers as well. (Lucy keeps bitching at me because I often mention her on here so I changed her name. LOL). That is part of the price for being my friend-haha.

  Then I put my Bernina 630 up for sale. It has been a great machine as well, and though I will not have a sturdy back up if something happens to the new one it is more important to pay the new one off. I have to keep telling myself if the new one goes out, or when I take it in for service I have plenty of other hand projects to keep me amused. And it is not life-ending being without a sewing machine- it only feels like it. Bob is a tad nervous about this machine leaving and me not having a  back-up- evidently I get a tad bitchy if I don’t get in my sewing room for a while every day. I decided to sell the machine with the embroidery unit and their cases, a bunch of embroidery stabilizers, 2 boxes of Isacord embroidery thread, embroidery hoops, several USB sticks of software , the BSR Stitch Regulator, a walking foot, a ¼” foot, extra bobbins, a ruffler attachment and of course the accessory box- which we call the Barbie Case- total copyright infringement. I was getting ready to go on a quilt retreat with my homies and mentioned I was selling it to them. And, lo and behold, one of them bought it! No Craig's List, no listing on the internet, nothing! I was over the moon, and I know she will be as well. Goodbye to you as well, my dear friend, You have served me well!

 

  I have been making dog collar covers like mad- 490 to be exact I also started this quilt by Hickory Stitchery Dock while spending the day with my sweet friend, Terry. See Lucy- she doesn’t make me change her name LOL. (not yet anyway). She made the most awesome beef and barley soup for lunch. YUM! She even sent some home with me for Bob, as she knows I am a big slacker in the cooking category. Of course I screwed up part of the directions- my own fault, not the pattern, so I had to finish piecing the blocks at home. I almost threw the pieces I had left from pre-cutting in my bag to take with me, but I was cocky and thought- “Oh- I won’t need those”. I should have freakin known better.  DUMBASS. Here it is in all of it's glory. I really love that fabric line.

    I also made some little quilted treats but I cannot share any pictures of those yet. I will share those pictures in a few weeks.

  On another note- I pulled another dumbass move. Shocking, I know. On the way to Terry’s, I thought I should finally wash my car. I do love to go through the automated car wash bay, but I am paranoid I won’t get the tire in the groove thing that it is supposed to guide you in. So, this time I pull up into the thingy-there has to be name for the stupid thing but darned if I know what it is- and the light comes on to reverse a bit. I pulled up too far. FUCK! So, I put the car in gear and tried to go back bit- the car would not move. Oh shit- now what do I do? I actually got stuck! Do I gun it and try to pull ahead? What if someone is behind me? I just lost my $5. CRAP! So, after what seemed like 20 minutes (but probably only 10 seconds) I look down- I had the damn car in neutral!!!! Good lord- some days I should not even leave the house!

  I will get my act together and post retreat pics soon- I promise! I just need to get the rest of the collar covers turned and ironed.

Have a good week my friends!

 

 

HAPPY EASTER FROM CHIP AND DALE!