Quilting on the brain

My brain, my soul, my life is a quilt. There are blocks of every imaginable pattern. Memories and time are the stitches that hold it together. Some of the sections turned out more lovely than I could have imagined, like the guy I met who turned into my partner for life...like every Spring when the daffodils and the dogwoods begin to bloom...

Sometimes the sections are not what I had imagined, at all. The too soon end to loved ones' lives, for instance -- my Dad at the age of 52, my friend, Max at 46, my friend Mike at 39, and just this weekend, my cousin, Jon, at the age of 55.......

Since there is no way to re-print any of the fabrics, I had better work on some new designs to be worked into new blocks. Happy Quilting.

Breast Cancer Quilt, part deux

Can you believe it??? I added this image all by myself---well, almost all by myself. Anyway, this is the photo of the 2010 offering for my raffle for for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day. I will be walking in October. We walk 20 miles a day for three days straight. It is quite an experience. To be honest, after one of my practice walks two years ago (18 miles that day), I flopped onto a chair and told my husband, "Whew. I am glad I signed up for this but it will be the LAST time I do it." Jeez. Maybe that is why I cannot lose weight. I keep eating my words like they were a Paul Prudhomme dessert. This will now be my third walk....

All this while I am in a quilting frenzy. I have three back-to-back shows coming up in three weeks. Before that happens, I have to not only make all of the kits, but go to Alabama to help my 90 year-old mother celebrate her 91st birthday, plus a quick trip to Dallas, plus...hey, I know, I will go make a list, hee hee.

Breast Cancer Quilt

Our local Pfaff Club met, today. I introduced my new "Breast Cancer" quilt and those gracious ladies donated over $350 to my efforts. Only $2,000 more to go, gulp. I always get feelings of panic at this stage of the fund-raising. I mean, if I do not collect the total of $2,300 required, it is charged to ME....more gulping... If you can find it in your heart to help keep my blood pressure in check, please go to this site and GIVE. Thanks, in advance. By the way, I will get that photo of the quilt up and running in the next couple of days, I hope, I hope.....
http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/2010/WashingtonDCEvent2010?px=1838682&pg=personal&fr_id=1474

oops, rejected, again

Oops, I forgot to mention that I got my second rejection, this time from Clothworks. They, again, were very pleasant, but it was a rejection, just the same. I asked for more specific information about "why." It was suggested that I take some art classes, gulp. I guess I did not learn much getting my MFA.....

Quilting, as usual...

As usual, I am in avoidance mode. What has been on our minds here in the Springer household is our daughter, Brandy's, health. Three years ago she had a tumor removed from her liver and more than a third of her liver was removed. Now, we just found out on Thursday that the liver has not only regenerated, it is now three times the size it should be. Her spleen has also grown to about three times its necessary size. We are headed to a specialist tomorrow. Novels could be written about her health issues. This is chapter five, at least.

In order to avoid constant worry, I keep very busy. I have been gathering information about just exactly how much product I need to order to be prepared for my next group of shows. Guess I need to make a list, heh heh. Heck, I am getting so good at avoiding what is on a "to do" list that I don't even need to make out the list to avoid the important stuff. I already started some great stuff, a couple of Quilted Mousepads, some Quilted Clipboards, cleaned a couple more shelves in the fabric closet,....I am even looking at knitting some socks....I am really good at avoiding. Maybe I should write a book????????

Cotton Corner Quilt Show

As usual, I have a list....right at the top of the list is "preparing for the Cotton Corner Quilt Show in West Monroe, LA," held this weekend. If you have read any of my other Threads, you can probably predict where I am heading with this. As usual, I have been avoiding anything that even hoped to make it to my list. I have been working on more fabric designs and I just started another basket. Since I am a newbie to this version of blogging, I will have to check and see how to add images. My "image-maker, a.k.a, husband, just left this afternoon for New Orleans. Yikes, I am on my own, gulp.

As for the progress on my fabric designs, I just got my first rejection. I submitted my babies to Blank Quilting and they kindly told me, "Thanks, but no thanks." Today, I emailed them to Clothworks. How about I keep you up to date on my list of rejectors/rejections. I expect the list will grow like Jack's beanstalk....very quickly. I definitely gotta get some big girl panties because I am going to need them -- rejection brings out my inner child for all to see.

Just another beautiful old day...

The title of this blog relates to a quote from a five year old. I just loved it. Today is truly a beautiful day. Anyway, I am so excited about doing this Thread "blog" style. I am Totally New to this so please bear with me. Hey, I am pretty new to quilting and even newer to the "quilting business." I started my company, Dianne Springer Designs ( www.quiltinacup.com ) two years ago and the learning curve has been HUGE. Here, the curve grows and continues with this blog thingie.

This last weekend I forced myself to stop my quilt stuff so I could finally go down to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and deliver my sister's Christmas gifts. It did occur to me that I could leave the tree up and the gifts under it and be all nice and ready for next year, heh heh. NOT. My sister would have killed me and I have unfinished quilts in the closet so that would definitely be a bad thing. Besides, I got to go see her - a gift to myself ! I took her to see "Avatar." It was my third time and I am wondering how many times it would take for me to tire of it. Wow Wow Wow. Creativity runs amok in this production. Do yourself a favor and go see it. This is going to be a trendsetter in the movie business.

By the way, changing subjects, anyone want to be a tester for my new quilt pattern? It is called "The Scrap-o-Lator." I will give you a free pattern and my undying gratitude. Impressed? Please call 318 247-9725 and let me know. Have a Grrreat week and do yourself a favor by checking out the Quilterblogs.com

It was a super quick trip to Houston but worth every second. Not only did we get to claim our hugs from Chris and Kathy, but we met Kathy's best friend from childhood, Jackie, saw Stomp and ate Great Food. At the end of the Stomp performance, two members of the audience, one man and one woman, were brought on stage, presumably to dance and intereact with the performers. Instead, after a few seconds of jumping around, the guy got down on one knee and proposed. The crowd went wild. By the way, she said, "Yes."

My added benefit, I was able to complete my third hooked rug while my husband drove. I hate just sitting and doing nothing so I have these little projects that I save for keeping me occupied while riding. This rug has taken many trips. Now, to finish the fourth, and probably final, rug. After all this, will I actually be able to walk on them??? That remains to be seen.

Hmm. It seems that this is becoming a "Weekly" instead of the daily editions that I had hoped for. Oh well, fewer opportunities to bore
folks, I suppose.

About my "To Do LIst," heh heh. Definitely avoiding it.
In fact, I am seriously considering changing the name
of that list to the "To Don't List." Here are some new
baskets that I have been working on. I ordered five
additional hanks of the cording needed for making
the baskets and I have already used up all five hanks.
Raise your hand if you think these were on the "Do" list.....

My husband, Tom, just called to say it has already
started to snow. This is a major event in the South.
The not too great part is that Tom, Brandy and I are
planning to head out, tomorrow, for Houston. Son,
Chris, and his girlfriend, Kathy, gave us tickets to
"Stomp." I already saw this group once, a long time
ago, and loved it. I hope they have added new stuff,
but, even if it is exactly the same, it will be entertaining,
for sure. Say a tiny prayer that the tickets were not
bought in vain and that we are able to drive in our
seldom-to-be-seen-and-loved-because-school-is-
closed snow.

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day. No worries about a shadow here unless that groundhog has electricity. Majorly dreary day.

Like most of you I am thinking FEBRUARY? Already? Gulp.

Oh well. Did I mention how incredible the setting for the baby shower was? The party was held in the penthouse suite of an apartment
building. The master bath was bigger than my bedroom. Heck, the bathrooms for the other bedrooms were almost bigger than my
bedroom. When something wonderful happens to me, I usually think, "Boy, wonder how the other half lives?" Well, now I see how they
live. To think I was thinking about the "other" other half. Silly me. I should make myself more clear, even when I am talking to
myself.....babbling, again.