not quilt related....for the fat police

An elderly man was walking through a park and saw a little boy with eight candy bars sitting on a bench. As the boy finished the last one, the man said, "You shouldn't eat all those candy bars, son, it'll make you sick." The boy said, "Sir, my grandfather lived to be one-hundred-and-nine years old..." The man asked, "And did he eat eight candy bars a day?" "No," replied the boy, "But he minded his own business!"

this was sent to me as a joke but if you are on the "fluffy" side--aka fat---then it is a battle cry.  self-appointed do-gooders to the fat population are always lurking, nutritional advice and tsk tsk always rolling off their tongues.   we all know who the fat people are; so many times i feel quite thankful for being quite healthy considering my shape and silently mourn for those who are not.  most of my health issues stem from the botched surgery in 2010....i could brag about my lab numbers but i won't. my diet is pretty healthy but does include some junk food, for which i harbor no guilt.  i'll never be a twiggy, have a ballerina's or gymnast's physique.  i seldom require medical attention--a lot less than some thin people for sure.  so consider this a word to all you who think you are doing society a favor....

and today celebrating my non-anniversary....a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, i stupidly married the absolute wrong man on this auspicious day.  after 11 terrible years, a saint intervened and was soon shed of this mistake.  so now i celebrate this day with glee....

great guild day

here i belong to 2 quilt guilds that have their meetings a day apart once monthly.   that means two days in a row every month are packed with quilty pals and fun.  this month they are both hosting fabric sales....always a challenge for the budget conscious!  nevertheless, at $1 per FQ and one lonely george washington left in my wallet, today caved for this pretty gold christmas print....see the cute reindeer?

it was a teensy, weensy slip with absolutely no guilt...showed it to another quilter who had purchased some snowmen fabric with a bit of gold, so she found another for her project.  it was perfect!   of course there is a free table, and in lieu of dragging home more magazines, opted to take a photo of a couple of things that caught my eye.   these were full size quilts, but thinking smaller versions for quick finishes to add to the "someday sell" pile, or just give away or even keep.  also scooped up some nice wooden spools for my jar.

isn't technology great sometimes?  much easier than more magazine clutter that would only have to be sent along someplace.   the top one uses that chrome-ish yellow for the alternating squares that really gives it a WOW.....and march arrived like a lamb altho a bit cooler than anticipated.  even so, certainly looking more and more like spring with blooming trees and flowers dotting the landscape everywhere.  i just can't believe we had a snow-less winter....bless you Mother Nature!

time flies...a year....

loaded with blessings....it's been nearly a year since the move from north to south.  a home of my own again, a roomy sewing space, new church and community connections, new friends and a new climate....best of all being close to my daughter and my dear son-in-law...priceless indeed!  a lot like these little houses--lots of pieces patched together to make a new life.  alas, the management company of my complex is much like other unethical and self-serving landlords....despite being advertised as a no-smoking building, it is a portion of the lease that is not enforced or viewed as important in a building where there are many with vascular illness only worsened by these scofflaws.  have  complained voiced my concern to every government agency i can think of, yet nobody holds HABITATAMERICA accountable for enforcing its own rules...how idiotic is that????  i am disappointed and crestfallen, especially after the south portland experience, but am otherwise quite content and happy, although am certain my recent illness was made worse by the smoke in the building.  who ever thought the 5th floor would be devoid of constant fresh air???  even so,  have sewn a  LOT, both personal and for charity, said goodby to about 20 pounds (always good), tried catfish and crab cakes, rediscovered fried chicken, jettisoned my frigid winter habits, visited battlefields and located new quilty places.  still lots of places to discover!  financially has been uber-challenging and the budget is still tight--i knew it would be--but that only ramped up my creativity and organizational skills into overdrive, and how to squeak out pricey necessities like shoes requires lots of planning and tweaking.  my little part-time paycheck is sorely missed but God has provided for my needs in many ways.  this move was pondered for a long time and spent hours preparing myself mentally for being further away from family and the familiar for something far more important.  it was the right thing to do, reinforced many times over 365 days.  now on to year 2 and more new experiences and adventures....at home in maryland!

scrappy sewing

one day while still mired in bronchitis, spied this pattern had saved to my desktop and remembered some little 9-patches that got sewn leader/ender and got stuffed away in a baggie....not really feeling like vegetating but no real mojo, so pulled them out and made them bigger and found this leftover yellow for a bright and colorful wallhanging....aka "sunshiny day." 

not quite finished and didn't use up all my mod charm squares (no surprise there), but did make a dent and, better still, emptied a UFO in a baggie.   my gloomy sick days made me think of the sunshine and how vivid colors are when the sun shines bright.  found the pattern on the internet, freebie, by kelly guy that she calls "between charming friends" as it calls for charm squares mostly.  my charms were sent to me my during my gap year between maine/maryland housing.  most of the charms were used in a quilt "cabana daydreams" that is waiting its turn in the quilting pile.  the piano key border needs finishing and there's enough yellow left to bind.  when completed, it'll go in the "hopefully sell" pile for a someday venue to generate funds and bring the sunshine inside for some lucky person.  ***  linking up with "oh scrap" today, so hop on over and see more scrappy goodies!