News.

I feel like I've been on hold for a while.  Months.

Today, I said enough.  Had my haircut, first haircut since surgery.  I was looking pretty shaggy.
  I have been nervous about anyone touching the back of my head.  And to be honest, it has only recently felt good enough to be touched. 

Got my eyebrows waxed.  I was beginning to be distracted by crazy eyebrow hairs sticking out.

Bought new glasses, they should be here by the end of the week.  I used to buy light colored frames, or tiny wire frames, but that was when my hair was COLORFUL.
Now my hair is working its way towards WHITE. ( If you knew how much I looked like my father.
Oh, dear.  It's scary sometimes.)
So I decided that my glasses needed to kind of stand out.
Be noticed.
So I got black, with some bling on the sides.

Today there was some sunshine.  It came and it went.

But little Miss Sunshine always brightens our day.
With her little pink tights on.
I love the way this picture turned out, with O in motion.

It's amazing how sitting under the loom can make her so happy.
I might have to try it one of these days.

I did a lot today, got a lot done, and I am feeling pretty good.
And I have exciting news.  
I found another blogger who also had Chiari surgery.
And you won't believe it, but she lives about 45 minutes away.
We're having lunch on Sunday, and she's bringing a friend, who ALSO had Chiari surgery.
I can't wait to sit and chat with them, because they have been where I've been.  They know how I feel, they understand like no one else can.
I'm really thrilled.

 Yes, O, thrilled.
What a face!

DH is watching an "action" film, and I am listening to iTunes on my laptop.
And guess what, my headache is MINIMAL.
Got that????     minimal

Yes, it's true.  Hallelujah.  And amen.

 

Two away from 400 followers, and I've decided that the giveaway will be a Socketbook.

Your choice.  Any size, any color.

Celebrating the day. Because I can.

 

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Is it a quilt?

 My flannel hexagon top is finally a "quilt".

Maybe it's not a quilt? I used the same technique that I used in my Summer Blankie, combining flannel and voile, sans batting for a light weight, very soft and drapey blanket.

The two layers are held together with minimal quilting. I simply stitched 1/2" on either side of every seam. Quick and easy! Done in a day!

The voile is on the back this time and the "quilt" has a traditional, but machine-stitched binding. These blankets are so soft and very comfy for napping. {I know this from experience}

In other projects, I fell hard for Joel Dewberry's new line Notting Hill. I used the decorator weight for a new Multi-tasker Tote. {The first one given to my daughter}

And a sneak peek at the quilt I'm making using the Poppy Palette. It's making me smile!

. . . Cindy

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Bring me sun

Almost to 400 followers!!  I better get thinking on that giveaway.
I also have to do a January sales newsletter.
Then what's stopping me, you ask?   How about just plain old BLAHNESS.
Do not tell me that isn't a word, Miss Spellchecker, because in January in northeast anywhere, it is definitely a word.
It's cold, it's gray, it's messy and dreary.  If that's not BLAHNESS, nothing is.

The good news is that spring will come, and this will end, as it does every year.  I just have to bluff myself through it.  There always comes the conversation about moving south, but I love the Adirondacks most of the time.
I would go south for a couple of months, but there is much disagreement in this house about that.
DH loves Florida, I do not.  Too busy, too crowded, for me.
I would rather go somewhere not so far south, where maybe it isn't 80 degrees, but maybe it isn't 18 degrees either.
In the end, I probably will not miss one winter here ever.
Depressing.

My cats long for the sun, too.  And green.  So I planted these for them.

 

And I planted a back up for them too, for when these are all chewed up.

I used this container, because I can close it so they don't mess with the dirt, but it has holes in it for air.

 It's perfect.

A little dirt.

 And some wheat grass seeds.

 

 Yes, all the cats at CAAL are SPOILED, inside and outside.

Yesterday both outside cats got treated for tapeworms, an unfortunate part of living outside.
$18 for medicine for 2 cats.
Did I mention that I would be a wealthy woman if I didn't like cats?

Ah, what's money anyway?
I think it's overrated most of the time.

There was sun eventually today, and I loved every minute of it.
It was good enough to do a little photo shoot.

This is  a preview of a new page on my web site.  These are my new Paper Birch rugs.

 

They are all in shades of white, black and grey. 

They are thick and absorbent, and make great bath mats.

 

I have two sizes, 24x36, and 32x48.

  I am working (still) on the acceptance thing.......the truth is that I am not yet past doing  just half days....at the studio, and pretty much half days at life in general.
I have found that I no longer wake up with a screaming headache, just the dull ache that is always there........I go to the studio, I do STUFF, eat lunch, and by 1pm, I am done like toast.  Neck aches, and ultimately, pretty serious headache.
Ah, but there's good news.  NOW, unlike before, I can deal with it. 
I come home, take some Motrin, have some tea, lay on my wonderful, heated herb/rice pack sent to my by namesake Hilary, rest a bit...................and Voila, success.  Relief.  Then the rest of the day is pretty much fine.

Life is good, and I am grateful.
And that's that.

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Bags and Blocks

I made a few bag/pouch gifts over the holidays. They were a little late getting out, but I can finally say they're with their recipients. The first is a great little lunch bag - pattern from Sew the Perfect Gift. It had some nice details and was fun to make!

 I also made 4 zippered pouches (Gina, I forgot to get a picture of yours!) from Elizabeth Hartman's Perfect Zip Bags pattern. I can't say enough good things about this pattern! I'm really not very skilled at these kind of projects, but this one is fun, easy and turns out perfectly every time - even with a zipper to install!

 My to-do list this week also included making Rene's block for our Redbird Bee. I love this block!! She used Elizabeth's Patchwork Wheel block tutorial but changed it to a whopping 20 inches. It's just gorgeous and I'm ready to go out and stock up on some more Cameo!

And finally, I'm on target with my Lucky Stars BOM. This was our practice block for December. I'm really happy with it, but realized when it was finished that I'm in a color rut. So I'll be redoing this one in my new palette...

I'm sticking with the navy, but switched to a brighter aqua and changed the orange to cerise (a purply, pinky, red). These were so much fun and I'm ready to do the next one!

I'm looking forward to our St Louis MQG meeting this weekend. It's always an inspiration and a few laughs! Hope your weekend is creative! . . . Cindy

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Balmy.

NOT.
I heard this morning that it was -17F below zero locally.
I didn't need to know that.  Altogether TOO much information.
It's cold.  Really cold.  Putting a number to it just adds insult to injury, if you ask me.

Next and Nuff have a big box in the loft of the barn, which L has surrounded with bales of hay.  It has a blanket, and a heated cat pad, to bring their body temp up when they lay on it.  They scoot under the door and up the stairs, where hopefully, they are safe from predators, and reasonably comfy.

They also have the heated water bowl, food all day, canned and dry.
They have their solar house, in front of the barn.

When the sun comes out, they are in it.  Well, they have issues.  If Nuff is in in first, he lets Next in and they lay together, but if Next is in first, even though he is the runt of the two, he will not allow Nuff to come in.  So Nuff sits outside the solar house, looking in.

 

Think we need one more.

And they have a ratty old box on the porch, that they have  claimed as theirs.  We put a blanket in it, and covered it with some old rugs. Even though the sensible thing in weather like this would be to stay upstairs in the loft, on the heated pad, that's not where they want to be in the daytime.
Have you ever tried to reason with a cat???
I tried this morning, and succeeded, in getting them into the inside porch, where it was cold, but not nearly as cold as outside.  I fed them there.  They didn't like it.
When L came a while later, and opened the door, they bolted.
Unbelievable to me, but they do not want to come inside.

So, a trip to the pet store was in order, unless I wanted to keep worrying about it.  And I didn't.

 So.........they're spoiled.
It could be worse.

Here's the box.

 After we put the heating pad in it, we put the sides and the top down the way they were, and plugged it in.

They seem fat and happy.  Their fur is thick and shiny.
I think I am doing all I can do for them, and what's right for them.  I really hope I am.


Sydney says:  (oblivious to anyone else's concerns)

Does this rug make my legs look short????

No, Sydney, your legs ARE short.
But you're a beauty, nonetheless.

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Catching Up...

You may remember I was trying to finish up some projects and start the new year with a clean slate. Well, the slate is still a little dirty, but I do have a few more projects that actually were bound at the very end of 2012.

My Ruby Strings quilt is done!

The back has some leftover "strings" and a nice red and gray fabric found on sale!

My Chevron quilt was nicely quilted by Annie, a friend from our St Louis MQG. You've seen this before, but it's nice to have it done. She quilted lovely, various designs in all the chevrons!

The back is again some leftover strips and I thought this zig zag fabric was a perfect choice.

And finally, this block made from Summersville got a border and some quilting to finish it off.

I also wanted to share my new cabinet with you. As you can probably guess, quilt storage is badly needed around here! I'm so thrilled with this cabinet, from Crate and Barrel. I've already put 7 quilts in it and there's easily room for 5 more. I just love a stack of quilts!

And you know one thing leads to another when you add something to a room. I decided to sew up some new pillows and used one of my absolute favorite Amy Butler fabrics of all time!

We're almost caught up! Next I have a few bag/pouch projects that were gifted. Then we'll be all caught up!  . . . Cindy

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Day 1

Yes, it's cold out this New Year's Day, but Roy and I took a long walk anyway.  I love the new hat I made for myself.  It's actually the second one I made, but youngest daughter really, really coveted the first one I made from the handspun that blogging buddy Shiralyn sent me.
And you know I couldn't refuse her.
It is a  really easy hat to knit, and quick.  It looks somewhat like a helmet.  It is long in the back, which covers my neck, and my ears.  I really love it.  I am going to make more.

 And yes, my nose is red.  IT'S COLD.

We are 9 followers away from a giveaway.  But what to give away?  What kind of a giveaway should it be?

Don't you love "Day ONE"?  Doesn't it make you hopeful?  doesn't it make you feel that anything is possible.

I've been asking myself some questions.  Here are my questions, and answers, and you can comment with your own answers, if you want.

1. What am I going to do for myself this year?  JUST FOR ME.

 I'm going to make a date with ME every single week, to spend in the great outdoors, kayaking, hiking, just sitting on a rock somewhere with a book.  Because when I was a kid, I knew then something that I have tended to forget as an adult........being out in the serenity of nature makes me happy.
 Here is an old picture I found.  This is a place where I spent a lot of time growing up.....see the X?  That's where I used to lay on my back and look at the clouds.
One time, in the winter, I rode a toboggan down that hill.......and looked up too soon.  It is hard to see, but there was a barbed wire fence close to the top, and I have the scar on my temple to prove it.

2.  What do I feel the urge to get done this year?

I want to be more minimalist.  I have started already, down sizing clothes, and books, and cleaning closets.  I want to extend this throughout my home, and my life.  I want to live simpler.   It isn't a resolution, I've already started to do it, I just want to do more.  I want it be become part of who I am.
For instance, yes, all the coats drastically reduced in the Land's End flyer are marvelous, but I don't need a coat.  Not really.  Need vs want.   I am going to pay more attention to that.

3. What would I like to learn this year??

I want to weave more complicated patterns this year, and be a better weaver.  I want to spend less time "producing", and more time "creating".

4. What is the ONE thing I want to do this year, NO MATTER WHAT.

Spend some time on a pond in Maine.  Listening to loons, being still.

5. What was the smartest decision I made last year?

The smartest decision I made last year was to trust my gut feeling, and also to trust my doctors,  and have the surgery that gave me hope for the future.


And don't forget, I need giveaway ideas.

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