Monday, January 9, 2012

Starting Out In 2012


Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. 
~Hal Borland

Happy New Year!  I'm back and ready to get back in to posting and reading all of my favorite blogs out there.  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  Our was a little quieter than normal but I'm certainly not complaining about that.  Our New Year's Eve was not what we had planned.  We spent over two hours at the emergency vet.  Little Weasley had over a two hour episode of focal seizures.  He has a history of infrequent seizures during the past three years (usually not longer than 15 minutes in duration) but nothing like this.  We had to leave him at the vet's overnight :(  Happily, when we checked in with them the following morning they had good news - no more seizures, he was able to walk again, and had eaten breakfast.  We immediately picked him up and are so glad he is back to normal.  Poor little guy's body was worn out after such a long episode and he pretty much slept the day away.  He had another short seizure last Friday (about 5 minutes) but was back to normal and running around within 20 minutes.  Certainly makes you realize how precious life is.  Okay, enough with the drama, it's time to get going with 2012!

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LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY


I just couldn't come up with one topic I wanted to share today.  As a result, you will now be blessed with some truly strange and completely useless facts:
* Tiger shark embryos fight each other in their mother's womb. The survivor is born.
* Bone is five times stronger than steel.
* Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never telephoned His wife or mother because they were both deaf.
* It would take 1,200,000 mosquitoes, each sucking once, to completely drain the average human of blood.
* "Bookkeeper" is the only word in English language with three consecutive Double letters.
* Over 4 million cars in Brazil are now running on gasohol instead of petrol. Gasohol is a fuel made from sugar cane.
* 315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.
* 40 percent of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
* The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning it's head are the rabbit and the parrot.
* Elephant teeth can weigh as much as 9 pounds.
* Giraffes can not swim.
* In the late 19th century, millions of human mummies were used as fuel for locomotives in Egypt where wood and coal was scarce, but mummies were plentiful.

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A GARDENER'S JOURNAL

While I wasn't blogging I was getting some sewing done.  I put together all the pieces of the
Gardener's Journal - and there were lots of small squares in this one.

All of the little squares were cut at 1 1/2" each and there were 210 of them.  The, of course, there
were large squares and rectangles, too.

Of course, once all of the pieces were sewn together, then I had to quilt it.  I took the longest time trying to figure out how I wanted it quilted.  I finally decided on stitch-in-the-ditch.  Then I had to decide what color thread to use.......cream, black, blue, green?  I ended up using a clear nylon thread for the top and a dark cream for the bobbin.  That way my mistakes are glaring and everything matched.  I did use a smoke nylon thread on the borders to hide it a little better against the dark fabrics. 

Now to put the binding on and a label and I can call it FINISHED!  I'll post a picture when I'm done with it.  It will be finished in time for our local quilt guild's quilt show - I even submitted an entry form on Thursday!  My first show ever.......I'm very nervous.

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BLOCKS RECEIVED

Over my Christmas break I received 6" blocks from my swap partner, Maria, in the 6" Block Swaps Australia.

Aren't these such happy blocks?  They will work great for the eventual Loving Hands quilt I will create.  Thanks, Maria!
 
 
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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I hope to have most of the binding finished on the Gardener's Journal quilt. 

===========================

GIVEAWAYS

Primitive Betty's is having a giveaway.  You could win a pin box with the top covered in some beautiful primitive cross stitch.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, January 11.

Hawthorne Threads is having their weekly giveaway.  You could win a layer cake of Sunny Happy Skies.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, January 11.

Our Busy Little Bunch is celebrating her birthday with a giveaway.  You could win a fat quarter bundles of Patricia Bravo's Bespoken fabric line.  This giveaway ends Monday, January 16.

Cat Patches is having her weekly Fun Fact Friday Freebie.  You could win a fat quarter just for answering a question.  The winner will be announced Friday, January 13.

Blacksheep's bit of the Web is having a giveaway.  You could win a very San Francisco-esque Collection of things.  This giveaway ends Friday, January 13.

KD-Quilts is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Electric Quilt 7 (EQ7).  This giveaway ends Wednesday, January 11, at 8:00 pm EST.

Love Affair With My Brother is having a giveaway.  You could win a sample pack of Aurifil thread.  This giveaway ends Friday, January 13, at 11:59 pm PST.

Inch Worm Fabrics is having a giveaway.  You could win one kit including the pattern or one pattern by Bejeweled Quilts for a heart table topper.  The winner will be chosen Thursday, January 12.


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FINAL THOUGHT



33 comments:

beaquilter said...

love your post!! such a nice long one.... entered a few give aways :-)
agree with the quilters brain- too cute.
Nice quilt you are working on.
fun facts too, didn't know that about sharks! EWWW.
hope you little pooch is better!

krisgray said...

Welcome back! Glad to hear all is well with your doggy. Love the quilter's brain - no wonder I have a hard time getting focussed on projects - LOL!

Sunnybec said...

Welcome Back! Glad to know your little doggy is doing okay, they are a worry. Your Gardener's Journal is looking lovely. Linda x

Barbara said...

You didn't need a topic to share with that incredible Gardener's Journal quilt! I love it! Cute brain cartoon!

Needled Mom said...

It's so nice to have you back. Welcome!

That was certainly NOT the way you expected to bring in 2012. I'm glad all turned out well for Weasley. Did they find a reason for the siezures?

Your Gardeners Journal is just wonderful. There really are a ton of pieces, but I love the looks of it. I am glad you have decided to enter it.

It looks like you are up and running in swaps for this year again. It will be a fun year.

We missed your great posts while you were away. I always enjoy the facts and you did not disappoint today!

Snoodles said...

LOL I do so love that Quilter's Brain graphic! Too true! Good to see you back - hope your pup is on the mend now. :)

Cheryl said...

Welcome back! Your gardener's journal is going to be fab.

Barb said...

I love love love your Gardner's quilt!!!

Little Penpen said...

So sorry to hear about your little dog; hope he feeling well today. Your quilt is wonderful! Don't be nervous about the show, be proud... there will be many people ooh'ing and aah'ing over it!!!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Great to have you back! Oh, how exciting - good for you in entering this piece, it is a delight. And the quilter's brain is a hoot!

Megan Harmeyer said...

You're back! I'm glad I wasn't just ignoring your posts. LOL I like the Gardener's Journal quilt - lots of pretty colors and interesting blocks. And the quilters brain looks a lot like mine, only my brain isn't packed full of quilting stuff. :)

sew.darn.quilt said...

I was thinking about you the other day and found I was missing your blog :) so happy to see you back :)
thank goodnes your little family member is doing better :) I'm just smitten with your Gardener's Journal quilt, the colours are scrumptious and the adorable blocks are the cat's pyjamas :)

Carolyn

Maria said...

Pleased you had a nice holiday season but sorry to hear of the start to 2012. Hope Weasley is getting better now.
Loved reading all your facts. Have missed them.
WOW what wonderful colours you have choosen for your Gardeners Journal... looks fabulous.

Kathy H said...

I love your gardeners quilt. Glad you entered it in the show. are you using a busy back? I heard that is a good idea when entering a show. Good luck. Looking forward to seeing it done.

Mrs.Pickles said...

great looking quilt. I loved all the strange facts too

Barbara said...

Welcome back! I can't wait to see your finished quilt.

quiltercaroline said...

Great to have you back. Sorry that you have had some dramas but happy that all is on the mend now. Your Gardeners quilt is looking amazing and I look forward to seeing it in all its finished glory soon. C

Kris said...

Linda - Happy to see you here in the new year!! I am soooooo glad Weasley is doing okay - they are like our kids, aren't they!! And your Gardener's Journal Quilt is fabulous!!! I got the pattern from Annie and one of these days I am going to get it started!! Yea, sure, she says!!! oxox Kris

WoolenSails said...

Good to see your posting again, always enjoy reading your posts and seeing what new things you have made. The journal quilt came out beautifully. My dog went deaf, so he had to visit the vet today, but she said it is temporary, allergy to food so hoping he can hear soon, he loves to be talked to. Then he needs an operation for an anal fissure, so hoping that goes well, they give us so much love, hard to see them suffer.

Debbie

Raewyn said...

Welcome back Linda - may 2012 be a great year for you after the bumpy start :-) Good on you for finishing your GJ quilt. Now my husband has a chance of understanding me- I printed out the funny for him!!

Linda in Calif. said...

Oh dear, so sorry to hear about your little dog. I do hope there are no more long seizures. Your quilter's brain is too funny. Your little quilter with all the little squares sure turned out cute.

rubyslipperz1052 said...

It's such a heartache when our sweet animal-babies are sick or hurting. I'm glad that it turned out ok.

Your garden quilt is FAB-tab-YOU-lus!! Handwork that = ARTwork!

Great Block Swap blocks =)

hugZ...AND SEW GLAD to have you back!!

hugZ,
annie
anniesrubyslipperz.com

Fiona said...

welcome back.. glad weasley is okay and I do love your quilt... such pretty colours
Hugz

Impera Magna said...

Happy 2012!

I'm having a hard time getting past the embryo sharks fighting in utero...

Lynda said...

The mummy fact was a little weird.

Your quilt has turned out beautiful. I am always blown away by people who can machine quilt and have it look so good.

Glad to have you back.

Cheryll said...

Good to see you back in blogland! :)

Melissa said...

Welcome back to the bloggy world - I hope Little Weasley will be ok! Happy New Year :)

Angie in SoCal said...

Always like your posts. I bet Gardener's Journal wins a prize. It's beautiful!

Richard Rose said...

And a Happy New Year to you too! I read that quilters brain and automatically started to substitute crochet bits ine there. I wonder how many other crafts it could adapt to.

primitivebettys said...

Good morning Linda! Thank you for sharing my giveaway :-)

Janet said...

Good for you entering the quilt show. I bet that lovely quilt will stand out!

Staci said...

Hi Linda,
Glad you've had a lovely Christmas time!
Your quilt is so much fun! And you are so brave entering it! Yay for you!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Sorry about your doggie. We had a dog that had seizures when I was growing up. It was scary. One of my dogs had a seizure about a year ago. Only seizure ever, thank goodness. It was scary, too. Love that quilters brain.

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