LTRTCWSA - Leisurely Turtle Race To Christmas With Squirrels Allowed - 2013 Race Results

For the past couple of years -

LindaL and I have played a little game -

We call it our -

Leisurely Race To Christmas With Squirrels Allowed -

LRTCWSA for short - ;))

Instead of waiting until the last minute to begin our Christmas gift making -

We start the day after Christmas -

Work on Christmas stuff all year long -

At a L-E-I-S-U-R-E-L-Y pace -

And then declare the Race a "tie" on November 30 of the next year - ;))

Whatever gets done by then -

Gets done by then - ;))

We work on Christmas gifts throughout the year -

No stress - no pressure -

Just a head start on everybody else -

Especially those who don’t start until AFTER Thanksgiving -

And we get to enjoy Christmas all year long - ;))

We started the 2013 Race on the day AFTER Christmas last year -

And since today is November 30 -

I hereby declare the -

Leisurely Race To Christmas With Squirrels Allowed - 2013

A TIE!! - ;))

Whatever we didn’t finish -

Will automatically carry over to next year’s Race - ;))

We will begin our -

Leisurely Race To Christmas With Squirrels Allowed - 2014 -

On the day AFTER Christmas -

And end on November 30, 2014 - ;))

Be sure to join us!! - ;))

It’s FUN!! - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Happy Thanksgiving - 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's hoping that you have a very nice Turkey Day with your family!

And have plenty of leftovers! ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Wordless Wednesday - 11/27/13

;))

BOB's Tuesday Toast - 11/26/13

Here’s to all of our readers, family, and friends -

May we be thankful for them throughout the year - ;))

===

I may not have told you lately -

But -

THANK YOU -

For all that you do -

And for reading my little blog - ;))



Once again - I'm pretty sure that it’s not just me - ;))

Design Wall Monday - 11/25/13

DESIGN WALL MONDAY - 11/25/13
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. at Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===

The Top Right Corner section -

Of my LHQSQ - Left-Handed Quilter Sampler Quilt -

Is DONE -

And is waiting its turn to be added to the Center Section - ;))

So now ALL of the sections are DONE -

WOOHOO!! -

Just need to get them all TOGETHER - ;))

I was hoping to do that -

AND -

Finish up LAST YEAR’S Bonnie Hunter Mystery - Easy Street - HERE -

Before her NEXT ONE - Celtic Solstice - HERE -

Starts on Friday -

But even if I got around to it -

Easy Street is nowhere near done -

And I still haven’t decided -

What colors I want to use on the new one - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Another wall -

My Other Half helped me put up the felt -

On the other wall in the hallway - ;))

It looked nekkid for a bit -

Until I put up the "Easy Street" blocks -
"Easy Street" (Bonnie Hunter Mystery - HERE )

What I could find without digging too deep - ;))

It's not fancy but it works for me - ;))

I just buy "felt" off the bolt -

It comes 72" wide -

So that goes from top to bottom on the wall -

All I need is a piece the length of the wall - ;))

I put it up with thumbtacks - ;))

I can't pin "into" the wall -

Like you can on some other design walls -

But I can pin blocks to the felt - ;))

I try not to scratch the wall behind it when I pin -

But if I were to take the felt down -

There are probably a LOT of scratches on the wall - ;))

I don't think that they are any worse -
.
Than nail holes from pictures -

Just more of them - ;))

A little Spackle and some paint -

Should make the wall "new" again - ;))

After that was taken care of -

I figured out my "assembly" plan for the Top Right Corner section -

I think it will work - ;))

Because I pre-sash my blocks -

And I'm making this up as I go along -

I have to figure out whether to work from the "center - out" -

Or from the "corner - in" -

So that I don't have a "hole" -

At the end where my setting triangle -

Fits in with the cornerstone -

FUN - FUN - FUN - ;))

I think from the "corner - in" will work -

If not -

There may be some "unsewing" in my future - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

LHQSQ - Rolling along -

.
I was rolling along -

And finished up the Bottom Right Corner section -

Of my LHQSQ - Left-Handed Quilter Sampler Quilt -

The photo went "live" yesterday - ;))

Then I cut a bunch more sashes -

For the Top Right Corner -

Left some plain and made some with cornerstones -

Before I realized they were SHORT by half an inch -
And had to redo them - ;((

As I was telling LindaL -

My "Easy Street" (Bonnie Hunter Mystery - HERE ) is on the dining room table - within reach - but I HAVE to get LHQSQ off the wall before I can put "Easy Street" up. UNLESS I can talk My Other Half into putting felt up on the OTHER side of the hallway wall - that might be an interesting conversation - haha - ;))

I make mistakes like that ALL of the time. I think that I'm doing it right - and am obviously NOT paying attention to something crucial - like the SIZE - haha - ;)) I write stuff down - but sometimes don't bother to look at it - DUMB!! And then I pay for it and have to redo - you would think that I would LEARN - huh? But when I was sewing clothes for my kids - I learned not to put it away BEFORE I got to the zipper - put it away AFTER I did the hard part - made the rest easy peasy. I still have UFOs - but probably more from boredom than screwing up - I can only plug away for so long before I see something shiny - haha - ;))

Anyway - I decided to bite the bullet and caught My Other Half in the hallway. I asked him - "What you would say if I wanted to put felt up on this other side?" He said - "Well, you were always going to do that anyway - weren't you?" He is SUCH a sweetheart!! He did say that it might feel a bit more claustrophobic if I have stuff on both sides - but then asked where I would get something like that. I said JoAnn's - and he said - "Didn't I just give you a coupon for that the other day?" (We got one in the mail.) SO - guess who's going to JoAnn's to get some more felt? WOOHOO!! - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

One more -

The Bottom Right Corner section -

Of my LHQSQ - Left-Handed Quilter Sampler Quilt -

Is DONE -

And is waiting its turn to be added to the Center Section - ;))

One more Corner section to go - ;))

More fun - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Wordless Wednesday - 11/20/13

;))

BOB's Tuesday Toast - 11/19/13

Here’s to the words “give” and “given” -

May people start using them again - ;))

===

It used to be -

That you would GIVE a gift -

Now you GIFT something - ;((

It used to be -

That you were GIVEN a gift -

Now it was GIFTED to you - ;((

GIVE used to be a verb - an action word -

GIFT used to be a noun - a thing -

So when did GIFT become a verb? - ;))

The same thing with TASK - ;((

It used to be -

That you gave someone a TASK -

Now you TASK them with something - ;((

It used to be -

That you were given a TASK -

Now you were TASKED with something - ;((

TASK used to be a noun - a thing -

So when did it become a verb? - ;))

I didn’t know that you could make a noun into a verb -

Simply by adding “ED” to it - ;))

And if nouns have become verbs -

Can (not may) we now -

GIFT someone with a TASK? -

Or TASK them with a GIFT? - ;))

I know that language evolves -

But if there is no difference anymore -

Between nouns and verbs -

And if they are used interchangeably -

And if adverbs no longer end in “ly” -

As in Outback's commercial -
Live Adventurous - HERE -

Or end in "ive" (as in addictIVE) -

But can now end in "ing" (as in addictING) -

Which used to be an ending for verbs -

How much longer before -

Any word -

Can be any thing -

And we have no idea what anyone is saying? - ;((



But then again - it’s probably just me - ;))

Design Wall Monday - 11/18/13

DESIGN WALL MONDAY - 11/18/13
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. at Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===

The Bottom Left Corner section -

Of my LHQSQ - Left-Handed Quilter Sampler Quilt -

Is DONE -

And is waiting its turn to be added to the Center Section - ;))

Two more Corner sections to go -

Fun - and more Fun - ;))

But I'm not in the mood -

Haven't been for several days -

Paid bills the other day -

Messed with some other stuff -

Had an idea -

Tried it out -

Came out a bit too small -

Have to rework it - ;))

I have the Top Right Corner -

And Bottom Right Corner blocks -

In two piles on my cutting table -

Need to add sashing to some more plain blocks -

Get them all into rows -

And attached to the Center Section - ;))

Maybe I'll be in the mood later -

Or tomorrow - ;))

I am a Slow-Poke Quilter -

And I REALLY want/need to get it off my wall -

I'm getting bored with it -

And have other stuff I want to play with - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

BOB's Tuesday Toast on Thursday - 11/14/13

Here’s to all of those who sign up for a Google Account -
In order to be able to leave a comment to enter a “give-away” -

May they not miss the last step - ;))

===

A lot of blogs have a contest or a “give-away” -

At one time or another -

And usually all you have to do to enter -

Is to leave a comment - ;))

The blogger may even encourage you to get a Google ID -

If you don’t already have one -

So that you can leave a comment as a “Registered User” - ;))

And they usually add that -

If you are a “no-reply commenter” -

And he/she is unable to contact you -

That you cannot win - ;((

I checked some comments left on a recent “give-away” -

And found that quite a few commenters missed the last step -

They don’t have their email address enabled -

And they cannot win - ;((

That part about "One account. All of Google." -

Seems to be a little misleading - ;((

===

Did you know that even though you signed up for a Google account -

• And even though you have a Google ID -
• And even though you are a “Registered User” -
• And even though you are able to leave a comment -
• That you may have missed the most important part?? - ;))

Did you know that there is a SEPARATE part -

• That determines whether or not -
• The blogger - whose blog you visited -
• Is able to reply back to you?? - ;)) -

Did you know that unless you DID that separate part -

• That whatever “give-away” you thought you signed up for -
• Is not signed up for at all?? - ;))

Did you know that when you created your Google Account -

• You set up your “Google Profile” -
• But that your “Blogger Profile” is a SEPARATE thing?? - ;))

Did you know that unless you actually went into your “Blogger Profile” -

• And set it up to show your email address -
• The blogger - or anyone else - will NOT be able to contact you?? - ;((

And if that’s the case -

You pretty much have a snowball’s chance -

Of winning anything - ;((

If you are new to Google -

And don’t have a "Blogger" blog -

You may not realize that you even have a “Blogger Profile” -

Or where to find it -

And you miss that last step - ;((

===

I don't want to insult your intelligence -

Or sound like a know-it-all-

Because I certainly am NOT a computer expert -

And I don’t have Google + - so I have no idea how that works -

But on “Regular” Google -

Here’s one way to check your setting -

1 - Go to the comment that you left on the blog with the "give-away" -

2 - Left-click on your name to see your "Blogger Profile" -

3 - If you see - "Contact me" in black - and “Email” in blue -
You’re OK -
If you can see the link to your email address -
So can the blogger - ;))

4 - If all you see is - “About me” -
And “On blogger since Month/Year” -
And “Profile views - #” -
You missed the last step - ;((

===

Here’s one way to fix it -

1 - “Log in” to your Google Gmail -

2 - Left click on the little grid of dots at the top right next to your name -

3 - You should get a drop-down box with icons for various Google “Products” -
That's the part about "One account. All of Google." - ;))

On mine I have -
Google + - Search - YouTube - Maps - Play - News - Gmail - Drive - Calendar -

and - at the bottom - “More” - which takes me to the next page -
Translate - Books - Offers - Wallet - Shopping - Blogger - Finance - Photos -

Left-click on the one for “Blogger” - the white “B” in the orange box -

4 - I have a blog - so I get my "Dashboard" page -
A page listing my blogs - with my name in the top right corner -

You are looking for your "Dashboard" -
Left-click on it -

5 - You should get a drop-down box with your name in it and a line that says “Blogger profile” -
Left-click on it -

6 - You should get a page with your profile info -
At the top right should be an orange box - “Edit Profile” -
THIS is what you are looking for!!! - ;))
Left-click on it -

7 - You should get a page that says “Edit User Profile” -

Under PRIVACY -

• Check the box next to “Share my profile” -
• Check the box next to “Show my email address” -

Under IDENTITY -

• Enter your Username -
• Enter your Email Address -
• Enter your Display Name -

8 - SCROLL THROUGH THE REST OF IT TO GET TO THE BOTTOM -
Enter more information to complete your profile - or not - your choice -
But the next step is at the very BOTTOM of the page -
So you have to scroll down to get there - ;))

9 - SAVE PROFILE - to SAVE your changes - ;))

10 - View your updated profile -
If you see - "Contact me" in black - and “Email” in blue -
You’re OK -
If you can see the link to your email address -
So can the blogger - ;))

===

So now if you were to go back to recheck your comment -

Your email link should show -

And you should have a much better chance -

Of winning that awesome 'give-away" -

Which is the whole point of this very long post - ;))

And why the comment section doesn’t say -

Select profile - BLOGGER -

Instead of - GOOGLE -

Is beyond me -

I think that would be much less confusing - ;))



But then again - it's probably just me - ;))


NOTE -
I missed BOB's Tuesday Toast this past Tuesday - 11/12/13 -
because it was such a TOTALLY COOL DATE and needed a special post - ;))
I decided to post this week's Toast today instead - I hope you don't mind - ;))

Wordless Wednesday - 11/13/13

;))

11-12-13

ELEVEN - TWELVE - THIRTEEN


What a TOTALLY COOL DATE!!

I LOVE NUMBERS  –

Even more than I LOVE FABRIC!!

The beginning of any new century always has some really cool dates -

01/01/01 - Contrary to popular belief - the first day of any new century - ;))
02/02/02
03/03/03
04/04/04
05/05/05
06/06/06
07/07/07
08/08/08
09/09/09
10/10/10 – Monk’s favorite, I’m sure - ;))
11/11/11
12/12/12

and then there’s -

01/02/03
02/03/04
03/04/05
04/05/06
05/06/07
06/07/08
07/08/09
08/09/10
09/10/11
10/11/12
11/12/13 - TODAY!!
12/13/14



Talk to you later – gotta go – gotta sew -

Design Wall Monday - 11/11/13

DESIGN WALL MONDAY - 11/11/13
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. at Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===

The Top Left Corner section -

Of my LHQSQ - Left-Handed Quilter Sampler Quilt -

Is DONE -

And has been added to the Center section - ;))

Three more Corner sections to go -

Fun - Fun - and more Fun - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

LHQ - REVIEW UPDATE - BROTHER SQ9050

Last year about this time -

I did a REVIEW on my new sewing machine - HERE -

Brother SQ9050 - Computerized Sewing and Quilting Machine -

Made by Brother - here -
Made in China

I named her SuzieQ -

And now that I have had her for about a year -

I thought that it was time for an update - ;))

Last year I said -

Summary -

I have only had this machine for a very short time -
And I have just scratched the surface in terms of what she can do -
And I have some more testing/playing to do yet -

And some reviews have said that she develops tension problems about six months down the road - so we’ll have to wait and see about that -

But -

From what I have seen/done so far -

What it can do -

And - especially - for the PRICE -

I think that it’s quite a cool little sewing machine!! - ;))


Would I recommend this sewing machine?

YES

Since then -

I have made two Edit Updates -

Both related to tension issues -

EDIT UPDATE - 8/29/13 -

As I told Miau in the comments below - HERE -

YES - she still does a good job!! - ;)) I use her mostly to do my piecing - and use Method #2 described above - Stitch #43 with the zig-zag presser foot "J" - and my stitch guide. Her tension messed up on me ONCE - I simply turned her OFF for a second - then turned her back on - sort of like re-booting your computer. When I turned her back on - all of the tension settings had re-set to the defaults - and she was fine - ;)) Would I still recommend this machine? - YES!! - ;))

EDIT UPDATE - 11/6/13 -

Today I was having some tension issues - loops were showing on the back of the fabric. I turned her off - re-threaded both the top thread and the bobbin - turned her back on - and she was back to normal - ;))

So -

Yes - I had tension issues on occasion -

But the solution was simple -

Turn her off for a second -

Re-thread her -

Top AND bottom -

Turn her back on -

And she was good to go - ;))

Would I STILL recommend this sewing machine?

YES



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

QJ - Double Wedding Ring

QUILT JOURNAL - DOUBLE WEDDING RING

Machine Pieced
Machine Appliqued
Machine Quilted
Wall hanging
Started - January 8, 2000
Completed - April 2, 2000

Made as an Anniversary gift -

I got a gift certificate from a local quilt shop as a Christmas gift -

So I bought myself a new "toy" -

A 15" Double Wedding Ring Ruler by Mary Russell (c) 1995 - HERE - 

I used the new ruler and a variety of muted taupes, browns, tans, and greys with a little light blue and pale yellow thrown in to match the recipient’s color scheme.

A pre-quilted muslin piece was perfect for the background because it provided a diagonal grid to help with the placement of the arcs and corner pieces.

Each of the five rings represented five years of marriage -

Happy 25th Anniversary -

On the label we wished them another Happy 25 Years!!

QJ - 2000

Wordless Wednesday - 11/6/13

;))

BOB's Tuesday Toast - 11/5/13

Here’s to telemarketers -

May they soon realize that constantly annoying their potential customer base -
May not be the best marketing strategy - ;))

===

It seems that around the first of the month -

My telephone rings off the hook -

With telemarketers - ;((

Not that they don’t call -

During the rest of the month -

But they seem to be especially annoying -

Around the first of every month - ;((

Asking them NOT to call me -

Is a total waste of time -

They call anyway -

But -

They don’t seem to realize -

That just because the phone rings -

Doesn’t mean that I‘m going to answer it - ;))

I have caller ID -

I know it’s them - ;))

And I do believe -

With all of the advertising -

On TV -

And online -

And basically “in your face” -

That if I ever wanted to buy -

Whatever it is -

That they are selling -

I’m pretty sure -

With today’s technology -

I could probably figure out -

How to call THEM -

Except now -

They’re on MY -

DO NOT CALL LIST -

And -

I WILL NOT CALL THEM -

EVER - ;))



But then again - it’s probably just me - ;))

Design Wall Monday - 11/4/13

DESIGN WALL MONDAY - 11/4/13
Check out all of us who link up with Judy L. at Patchwork Times on Mondays.
We have some awesome stuff on our walls!
Well, THEY do - ME - not so much sometimes - ;))
===

Friday I posted a preview/sneak peek -

Of the borders that I am working on -

For my LHQSQ - Left-Handed Quilter Sampler Quilt -
See tab/page above - ;))

It's about time to get this thing -

OFF MY WALL -

And since I am not a big fan -

Of long borders anymore -

Because they are too hard for me to handle -

When they get past a certain size -

I thought that I would try to avoid them this time -

And just add another couple of rows -

Of plain blocks -

With sashes -

And cornerstones - ;))

I stalled for the longest time -

Not wanting to cut the side setting triangles -

And the corners - ;))

I have charts and all of that -

But I wanted to cut them over-sized -

And didn't want to miscalculate -

And run out of fabric - ;))

Good thing I waited and thought about it -

I forgot that I needed some fabric for BINDING -

Gads!! -

Anyway - I finally bit the bullet -

Did one last calculation -

Cut them all -

And have some fabric left over for binding and insurance -

WHEW!! - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - ;))

TUSAL - 11/3/13

I have joined hundreds of other stitchers in Daffycat’s TUSAL 2013 - HERE -

It's a Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long - ;)) -

To play the game -

I have to fill my glass container -

With saved thread clippings -

Or ORTS - Old Ratty Threads -

Fabric trimmings -

Stitching cast-offs -

And then -

On (or about) the New Moon -

Take a picture of the ORTS in my jar -

Post it to my blog -

With a link back to her TUSAL post - HERE -

And label the Totally Useless posts with “TUSAL” -

It's EASY -

It's TOTALLY USELESS -

And -

It's FUN!! - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

My 800th Post -

Can you believe it?

This is my 800th post - ;))


I hit 600 around Christmastime last year -

And 700 around the end of May this year - ;))


Once again -


Who would have thought that I could write SO much -

In such a short period of time? - ;))


Who would have thought that I could write SO much -

And meet SO many interesting/wonderful people -

From ALL over the WORLD? - ;))


Who would have thought that I could write SO much -

And have SO much FUN doing it -

And that people would actually read what I wrote? - ;))


THANKS, GUYS! - ;))



Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

LHQSQ - Border Preview

So -

Do you want a preview? -

Well, OK -

If you insist - haha - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -