Time for a Coffee Chat, Don't You Agree?

Come on in!  We haven't had a coffee chat in quite a while have we?  In fact, I'm shocked how long it's been myself.  All the way back in October...And I used to be such a good neighbor!  I shall have to remedy my ways, that is for sure.

The dishwasher is running at present, the house neat and nice if not exactly spotless, and John is out in the yard with the man who came to replace his truck's window.  That is the window that poor Samuel broke when it was his truck. I say 'Poor Samuel' because he was working on another repair job, one of those fiddly sorts of things and got aggravated.  So he tossed his screwdriver down onto the truck seat...and it bounced up again and broke the window into thousands of little pieces.  Katie was outside with him at the time and came inside and sat quietly in her chair for a little while before telling us that Samuel was 'a bit upset'. Ha!  Understatement!  We're good at that sort of thing in our household.  Both the making a mess of something else unintentionally and the understatement of facts, lol.

I was trying to think why so long since I last had a coffee chat?  I was ill in November with a tummy thing and then there was Christmas and January I had a cold and here we are in February and it nearly mid-month...

I'm afraid 2012 has not been as productive thus far as I'd like it to be, but it's not been void of accomplishments.  I have done a thing or two.  For one thing, my shed was completely re-organized and my stuff compacted into a small area snuggled off to one side...all so that we could accommodate Katie's furniture when she moved from Tennessee to Georgia.  She's living with Samuel and has been applying for jobs (and gone on an interview or two).  Her dad and I are breathing a little easier over her as we know that she is in a safe place and not spending entirely too much time alone.



Mama is scheduled for hip replacement surgery at the end of this month.  I took her for pre-op labs and such a couple of weeks ago.  John is working his usual shifts and every Sunday as well, so he's been gone a good bit.  This, however, is a mere repeat of last year about the same time. JD and family are looking at homes via internet here in Georgia.  Their move is fast approaching. We hope to be able to lend a hand with the home search but must wait until nearer the time before we can do anything much.   Amie has contacted us several times over the past two weeks.  V and Bryan stay in touch via FaceBook and I have a hard time remembering they aren't right nearby but way off in Texas...I think V and I 'talk' at least 3-4 times a week via posts or blog comments. 

When Katie moved there wasn't room enough in the shed for her dresser, which she suggested I keep.  I've been wanting a sideboard for a long long time to go in the dining room and this dresser almost fits the bill.  It's a really nice size, has plenty of storage.  It now houses all my candle holders, candles, place mats, napkins, table runners and table cloths.  It's so much more convenient for setting the table.  Not to mention giving me room to set flowers, which almost always get turned over if on the dining table.  (You might notice the open window there in the dining room...The weather has been abnormally mild here this winter.)

This pretty green compote was one of the pieces I bought the same day I got the fabric.  (Oh that was a FUN Friday!  I think I need more of those!)  I paid about $3 for it and of course, when I got home I looked it up online...I got a bargain.  I love nothing better than to bring home something like this and discover it's worth more than I paid.

 I loved the white irregular band around the top.  You can see the color a bit better in this photo and see the rim.

 Kay asked about my quilt pattern.  It's not really a known pattern.  Confession: when I was sick I pulled the tab off a box of Puffs tissues and thought "Oh that looks like a petal".  When I felt better, I went into the craft room and played with some of the scrapbook papers I had.  This is what I came up with, though my protoype is the worse for wear after being carted around in my purse for three days while I searched for fabrics.

Here's my fabric version.  I am stopped temporarily from proceeding.  I picked up fusible web the other day while I was out but it was for interfacing, not double sided as I need for fusing the pieces before starting the actual stitching.

I promised to share my fabric stash for the quilt I'm working on.  I know the colors are hard to see.  I tried to get better pictures but it was a no go this week.  As you can see my work table is also my desk, my craft area, and my sit and think spot...

Honestly I like my fabric version even more than I liked the paper piece.  I'll frame this piece out with strips of one fabric and then my plan is to make random long rectangles of patches, not squares...We'll see how this goes.  As said, if I think about it I let the perfectionism bug bite become fatal and then I'll do nothing.  I just want to enjoy the process of learning.  Susan, my friend, who is an accomplished seamstress, took one look at my paper prototype and said "That's awfully ambitious for a beginner..."  The truth is, I've always dreamed of making quilts that looked individual.

I've got to find another fabric for a second quilt I'm planning (I have two pieces and the backing fabric), and I feel a third idea forming. For those of you who quilt...This is normal, right?   The planning of many projects all at once?  The desire to go LOOK at fabric and add to the stash?

Last year I wanted to be more adventuresome and that has carried over nicely to this year, I'm happy to report.  In the past week I've: eaten something I've never had before (Chili Rellenos) in my favorite Mexican restaurant, used a spice I've never used before (cardamon and I think I like it), shopped for fabrics and then started my first quilt block, visited a new to me grocery (Aldi) and meat market (M&T Meat Co). Granted I might not run off to Kilamanjaro next week but this is adventuresome for me.  I'd gotten out of the habit of trying new things, of stretching my wings a bit and these little steps out of the ordinary really do boost my confidence.

I shared about a week ago with a group of homemakers I love dearly, that it's no hardship for me to stay home for days and days on end.  In fact, I think John was a wee bit alarmed during that cold when I happily stayed home for 3 full weeks with outings only to the dollar store once a week for more cold meds.  I recall the fourth week he asked me daily "Did you get out of the house today?"  It's not that I'm afraid of leaving home.  It's just that I can think of so very many things I'd rather be doing here at home!

Inspiration is running strong of late.  You might have noticed the additional posting this year.  Again that's a matter of relaxing and not letting the desire to be perfect affect me so very much.  I lost a lot of followers when I let go of PennyAnn and that bothered me for a bit.  Then I worried that I had nothing to say if I didn't talk about thriftiness all the time...Well I decided I just needed to get on with it and let it be FUN once more, to share what I do and think and not worry about how many followers I have...More of that perfectionism bug biting, lol.  But I have been inspired in writing, in my home, in my crafting, in my cooking.  I think too this stretching a bit and trying new things helps a lot.

Another 'new' thing has been the deletion of the Big Shop from my schedule.  I've wanted to do that for ages and ages.  Have tried several times over the years to do away with it.  I just couldn't shake it any of those times, but for the past 8 weeks I've not made one Big Shop.  And I love it!  I just divide my budget into weekly amounts and look over the sales sheets and get the items I need.  I've gained several hours of time and I say that sincerely.  Most weeks I visit one store, occasionally two, and I'm done.  It's been wonderful.

Well I need to get busy and feed the pets for Shabat so I'd best end here.  But I do promise not to be so lax in being neighborliness in the future.