Saturday, December 22, 2007
Woot!
But here, see for yourself, as appearing on You Tube: (he's the one in the center, white guitar, cool Peace shirt...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICAfAas3zuw
I wanted to put the video here, but I just couldn't figure out how. sigh.
Merry Christmas to all,
Kathygirl
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Another quilt festival put to bed
Oh boy, that old song is coming true. You know, the one that goes:
The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be,
Ain't what she used to be,
Ain't what she used to be!
The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be,
Many long years ago!
Yep. I'm that old gray mare. I can't seem to get my oomph back after my trek across the George R. Brown Convention Center a bazillion times in two days. New shoes please, since the soles on my iron shoes are onionskin thin.
Oh but yes, it was worth it! The colors, the quilts, the fabrics and the people! What sensory overload we had. The hit of the festival seems to have been this new felting craze, plus lots of glitz and embellishments! A close second was the emphasis of getting your quilt done fast. This makes sense, since so many women work full time, where is that precious time to make a nice quilt anyway? Today you can make a quilt that looks like it took just forever, in a very short time.
Long arm quilting machines had quite a focus this year too. They are always present at festival, but it seemed that this year the booths were bigger and there was more attention paid to them.
Lyn and Christine from Kenny's Kreation had a booth this year, coming all the way from Queensland Australia.
Here you see me on the left and Lyn Kenny on the right. Behind us is her Antique Rose quilt. If you would like information about her machine embroidery designs, go to http://www.KennyKreations.com You won't regret it.
Well, did you get to go to festival? If you did, you got to see the new Pfaff, the one with the gigantic hoop, the one with all the breathtaking projects, the one we all want! Yes, there are other wonderful brands and machines, and we all love our machines, it's true. But it just seems that my heart is set on the Pfaff.
Keep sewing,
Kathygirl
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Houston International Quilt Festival
There are well over 1,000 quilts on display, all with perfect stitches and color combinations to stun even the choosiest of quilters.
Oh but the vendors! Everything you have ever seen for sale or advertised in a quilt magazine... yup, it's there! Imagine a football field cram packed full of goodies for sale and quilts to see.
And so YES, I am going again this year. I can't wait. On Nov 2, I get to take my friend who is attending her first festival. This is always fun. That facial expression... priceless. I usually open my guest room for a friend from out of town, but this year there were no takers. I asked everyone I knew, but for one reason or another all were unable to come. So now I look to next year, where I have promises of visits.
On Nov 3 is annual pow wow in Austin TX. Thankfully my daughter lives in San Marcos and that is where I will stay for the night. Pow wow is held the first Saturday of November every year. Sadly, this is usually when quilt festival is also held. So I have to hotfoot it over to Austin either Friday night or in the wee hours of Saturday to get a decent seat. Again, a friend will be attending with me. Not her first pow wow, but her first Austin pow wow. Being Native is finally "in" and I am proud to say I am "in".... a member of the Sault Ste Marie Band of Chippewa Indians. My people are not usually represented at this pow wow, though all tribes are invited.
If you have never been to a pow wow you should attend one sometime. You might be surprised at what you see there. Not to mention the vendors of course.
And needless to say, everyone in the world should attend quilt festival at least once in a lifetime, just to see the wonderful workmanship of quilters around the world.
Maybe I'll see you there?
Kathygirl
Sunday, October 14, 2007
OOOH THAT NEW PFAFF!
I made this reckless statement a few years ago: I said I wouldn't buy another home embroidery machine. That if I was going to get another machine, it would be an industrial 15 needle job.
So here I sit, salivating every time I think of that new Pfaff. Man, this thing is just everything! I love my Janome 10,001... yes it's a real workhorse with never ever a missed stitch. I love Janome! They introduced the first home embroidery machine to the world.. the 8000. The other companies scrambled to get theirs out too. So I always knew I'd stick with the Janome.
WRONG! The new Janome, the 11,000... has an 8"x8" hoop. I love the embroidery arm and the way you don't have a big heavy embroidery module to move around. But this feature sadly limits the hoop size. And we know that size is everything these days.
The Pfaff.. now there's a world in its own. First of all, it has a 9 mm spread instead of the standard 7 mm the other machines have. This extra 2 mm makes an incredible difference when you are stitching a decorative stitch or a satin stitch combination... because anyone who sews can instantly see it's bigger, richer than others.
But the hoops! Oh my, the hoops! Now I am not a paid spokesman for Pfaff, alright? But I think the hoop is something like 7.5"x14"... and right there it eliminates rehooping galore! There is a mega hoop you can buy for it too... wouldn't you think this huge hoop would already be the mega hoop? But no! There's a bigger one! Wow!
Okay. What's the cost. Sit down, please! This baby is retailing for about $9,000 US. Yuh. A new car. Two Yugos. And just think, you have to buy thread and stabilizer for life.
But fortunately for me, my sewing machine source is one of the best in the country, so his price is considerably less. And I mean considerably! So when my friend saves enough to buy my Janome, I will be trotting down there to that very shop and getting my Pfaff! How? With a loan from the credit union, of course!
Sew on,
Kathygirl
Thursday, September 20, 2007
College Anyone?
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Goodbye Humberto, we never knew you
Allison came ashore, went back out to gather strength and came in again. We were saturated that week, and when she did go out that second time and threatened to come back a third time, all Christians said "Please God, NO!"
My little apartment took 22" that night. But what happened in the Texas Medical Center was much worse. The heart of Hermann Hospital is in one of the basements, and of course they flooded along with every other TMC hospital, the museum district, the art district, it was all hit and hit hard. Freeways washed out and cars were under water. It was awful.
At that time, I was working at a small, laid back community hospital, and we took as many patients as we could. All the hospitals did, and Houston has more than its share of hospitals. So all of the patients in the TMC had a bed to go to. My patient that I remember was a wonderful gentleman in his 70's who had just undergone open heart surgery the day before. He was moved by backboard down SEVEN FLIGHTS OF STAIRS IN THE DARK. Can you imagine this? He was trached, so someone moved along beside him, bagging him as they went. This still brings tears to my eyes, six years later. It always will.
I learned a lot of things from Allison. I learned that all my possessions are just STUFF. I lost a lot of STUFF. But no one in my family lost their lives. Praise the Lord. I learned that if your apartment take 22" of water and you clean it out within 24 hours, blisters will form on your fingers from the broom. That a half inch of water throughout your apartment will reappear while you are sweeping. I learned that if you don't spray every wall with bleach/water, mold will appear. I learned that even if it is less than 24 hours of flood, doors and cabinets will buckle and warp. I learned that vcr tapes can be saved, thanks to a Mexican National who took my box of tapes from outside my door, only to return them a few days later, all cleaned and ready to view.
Yes, I learned a lot from Allison. But the biggest thing I learned is that I don't want to have to go through it again. I'm in a house now, and this house has never been flooded. The water was nigh to the doorstep during Allison, but the house was spared. Nevertheless, I would not look forward to a test of that.
So Humberto, I'm glad you just skedaddled along and left me and mine alone, this time.
Lord, thank you for the sunshine today, the gentle breeze, and the dry pavement.
Kathygirl
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Are you out of your gourd?
When I moved, I lost track of my friend Joanie.
I found her this week, she is a patient in our hospital.
I'm very excited for her, because she has started a new business.
Joanie is so creative and has so many ideas spinning around in her head. She has started working with gourds. Take a look at this beauty.
If you'd like to see more of her work, you'll find her at http://www.vaaardvark.com/ down at the bottom of the index. It's a website she shares with a friend.
Her gourds are one of a kind. Joanie has perfected her skills in gourd decorating, and believe me.. if you think this looks good, you should see it in person.
It's drop dead gorgeous.
It's like this. You think of a price and then when you see it, you don't care what the price is! But her prices are quite reasonable, especially when you think of the hours she has spent creating each one.
I hope you will at least go take a look, and thanks!
Later guys,
Kathygirl
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Michigan Speaks
Know anyone like that?
I didn't think so.
Patti lives on the outskirts of town in a house taken from the pages of Victoria magazine. She has done everything herself, and her husband Ern has done the woodwork. Ern is so talented in wood. The lifesize horses he has carved! Oh stop me please. He is just outstanding.
Patti is no slouch either. She knows more about Victoriana than anyone I know. She can take something and turn it into antebellum. Here's her new project. She bought an old beat up motor home and has turned it into "Aunt PittyPats Pretty Camper Rose Cottage"... complete with three chandeliers, lace curtains, and roses galore! She has a little porch on it and has painted it inside and out. Putting her Patti touch on it.
It doesn't run. It isn't supposed to. Its mission in life is to sit there in the yard and be a gracious little getaway, so to speak. To sit in the evening cool, listening to the grasshoppers and the swaying trees, to watch the sunset and feel the breeze on your face, to let the day's worries waft away.
Good work Patti, my hat's off to you.
Kathygirl
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The importance of family
Anyway, I enjoy genealogy and have posted my tree on the internet. I use my yahoo email just because. Last week I went there to clean out the spam, and I had one email out of 1,192 that was a personal one to me. The subject was "family tree maker info" and I almost deleted it along with the others!
This wonderful email was from my cousin Di. Now what's the big deal there, you say?
I lost contact with this cousin in 1969, when my mother passed away. The last time I saw Di was at the funeral. Di is a lot younger than I am, because I'm the oldest of the oldest. So I'm more like an aunt to her in age talk.
I knew she was somewhere, but not spelling her married name right hindered me from ever finding her. She found me! But here's the really cute part. She didn't know who I was! Now isn't that nifty?
I am thrilled beyond words. This cousin has always been very dear to me, and we grew up having the same grandma raise us, and at the same time. Di was a toddler and I was a teenager then.
I know that the Lord had to orchestrate this. He is so generous. Thank you Lord for Di, and for putting us together again.
Kathygirl
Thursday, August 23, 2007
ONE OF MY TALENTED SONS
He took it at the arboretum here in Houston last month. I don't know where he gets this talent, but he's an excellent photographer, don't you agree? No website yet but there's one in the works.
Take it easy. I have three grueling days of work ahead of me, starting in the morning. Twelve hour shifts each day. But still, I thank God for my job. Things could be worse.
Have a wonderful weekend! I'll check back Sunday.
Kathygirl
Buy My Son a Tree
My son Ken has his own blog. Hey, it's a pretty good one. You will enjoy it if you go on over there and take a look.
He came up with an idea. Instead of the "If you like this post, buy me a beer" he prefers a tree.
So I added a link down on the left of my blogspot so you can give this guy a tree. Go take a look and if you need any advice, you can Ask Ken.
May we hav tree pleez?
Kathygirl
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Finally getting to the quilt
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Our quilt wings its way to Saskatchewan
Why can't everyone do something like this? Are you in a group in the neighborhood or on the internet? Round up some people and have them send in blocks. People LOVE to do this stuff.
Put them together like I did and then finish off the quilt. It brings a lot of joy into someone's life. I have a luv quilt myself that I received from an internet group. To say it's special is a total understatement.
Life is short. Make a difference in someone's life.
Think about it.
Kathygirl
Welcome to my little cyber space in the digiworld
So why a blog?
You tell me! What's the big deal about blogs? Who cares what a stranger thinks? Who cares what I think?
Well, maybe someone does. Or maybe you just need a smile every now and then.
What's my focus?
SEWING!
MACHINE EMBROIDERY!
TRICKS OF THE TRADE!
and other musings.
What about the Dreaded Netherworld... CLUTTER!
Excuse me while I go gag.
Speaking of clutter. Where does all the space go? When I got this house, I loved how BIG my room was!! Now it's MINISCULE! Okay. I have unfinished projects, lovingly called UFOs... several block of the month sets that I just had to have and I knew that I would certainly finish them. NOT.
You know that darling fabric that shouted out BUY ME!!! Yuh, I bought it and it's sitting there and goodness knows what I'll make with it.
I got this brilliant idea. Go to Goodwill and get jeans to make a rag edge quilt. The day I went, jeans were fifty cents each. I got the 12 largest sizes I could find that were in good shape. I haven't even cut them yet. BUT THEY'RE THERE IF I EVER DECIDE TO.
Now I am to the point where my books are taking over. My friend Cora, who tells it like it is, even ruthlessly.. says "But do you need it?" So I went to half.com and found out that some of the books I was going to get rid of were selling for over $100 each. So nix on that idea, Cora. Then she came up with a really good idea. Make bookshelves under the window. She said her father used those glass cubes for the spacers and boards for the shelves. This is workable. So this is my project. As I look at the area lovingly called "the floor" but in truth is "the books" I can see them all orderly in fancy boxes on my new shelves. First I have to price the glass spacers. I suspect they are not cheap. And so maybe they will be something other than that, but they will be SOMETHING... and I'll actually see my floor again. The good side of this is that the carpet looks like new under those books. Yes!
I'll keep you posted on this project.
Kathygirl