Update on the goings-on in my little world...

Today is setup day for AQS Grand Rapids.
If you are there, you'll notice I'm not...

Yes, it is true, as much as I would love to be there, things have happened and plans have changed, and my cute (albeit chubby) face won't be at AQS Grand Rapids or OSQE Pittsburgh.  I would have been showcasing my talents as Quilting Artist in the Gammill booth sharing how awesome their machines are but life happened and crazies have landed and no... I'm not there.  I know this is a bit disappointing for a few of you who I was hoping to meet, but I am sure we will meet soon, at another show perhaps.  I'm not sure where I'll be next, but no worries, I will definitely let all of you lovely quilties know as soon as I do!  As disappointing as it is, it is also kind of neat -- it's like I've found two weeks that I didn't have.  That's cool, I might actually be able to get ahead of myself... hahaha... wishful thinking I know!

But loads of stuff are happening anyway!  Just adding to the fact that I am totally insane so why not just let the pot boil over with craziness?... right?

I'm trying to catch up on client work -- ehhh, that is a never-ending battle.  You get ahead only to fall behind again.  It is good though, it keeps life interesting and kinda keeps me on my toes.  And I do try my best to keep 3M in business with my plethora of post-its!

A quick run down on everything I have going on.  If you don't remember my last accountability post was on June 6 (check it out if you don't remember) -- and... not much has happened since, okay I lie, a lot has:

Kaleidoscope Quilt (aka Dance in the Rain)
I did manage to work on this for a couple of days.  I finished all the strata and started assembling the pie pieces.  Not too bad for less than a weekend's worth of work.  And the good thing is I managed to work on it -- it was stuck in that bad never-gonna-get-this done place, so some work is good!  Still have oodles of stuff to finish on this one.  I love the designs that are happening.  I totally did not plan any of my fabric placements -- just made the strata and hoped for the best.  I will be adding some applique -- the eyes might need a spot to rest every so often!  And, I still need to piece the border - more strata - have to grab some more fabrics from Natalie. Once this beauty is finished it WILL be amazing!  Right now it's still getting there!

H2O Challenge
My project for this years Journeys Thru Art challenge.  I'm calling it Drops.  I am so excited!  I spent a few hours and made some drops.... now to find a gazillion more hours!  But aren't those drops freaking amazing?!!!  I love when I impress myself -- it scares me sometimes when things turn out so perfectly that those little hairs on the back of your neck stand straight up!  IDK, maybe that's just me -- but it happened, they stood straight up and tinglies went up and down my spine.  One of those wow moments!  I can not wait to find more time to finish this quilt!



Martin County Quilters 2013 Member Challenge - Black and White
Just wait until you see this -- it is totally amazing and cool!  It is just about finished being colored and then needs to be quilted.  It turned out so amazing that I actually entered it into MQX Quilt Festival - Pacific Northwest!  It is a wholecloth which I am using fabric markers to color in one of my zentangly doodles that I drew specifically for the challenge.  I'm calling it Down the Rabbit Hole, and this is the only picture I can share at this point -- just wait though, it'll knock your socks off.  Well, unless you don't wear socks, then perhaps your flip-flops will fly?!!  Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my quilting will accentuate my drawing and I don't mess it up!

PSL Crazy Quilters 2014 Member Challenge - fail... I have nothing more than the last update.  The entry deadline is still in November.  My idea board is still blank.  Hoping my last minute magic kicks in on this one!

True Colors - I have drawn out the quilting design and I'm quite pleased.  That's it though, I still need to transfer the main lines to the quilt and then squeeze it into my schedule somewhere!  Soon!!  This quilt wants so badly to be born.

New Un-Named Quilt
Progress!  It has been named - Arachne's Dauntless Spin - why you ask?  Of course it is a long story, here is the short version... one of my besties said it looked spider-webby, which you can't see just yet but yes, some of it really does resemble spider webs.  So me and my little researcher brain had to find a name to match the spider-webbiness of the drawing.  Hmmm.... well..... wow.... not much.  Then I found the story of Arachne and Athena... and hey, the quilt is made of silk and spider webby and and and... there you go, that's how my brain works!  So while I can't share the drawing with you (only a few have seen it -- its going to be a surprise), I will share the fabrics with you -- beautiful aren't they!  I can not wait to work on this quilt!!

Un-Named, Yet-to-be-Designed Fantastic Idea for a Quilt
Absolutely no progress on this one at all...
my idea totally matches the Up Up and Away theme for MQS and I think it would be totally awesome.  The only problem I'm having is drawing it out, fabric'ing it up, quilting it... you know... T I M E.  Ahhhhhh, we'll see, this is on the back burner for now.  Even if I don't finish it for the Up Up and Away challenge I will still finish it because it is awesome in my head!

Where The Heck Did That Come From? - new un-named wonder
I have had these fabrics for forever and a day, or two... they were originally planned for something else and well, that something will never happen -- the one block took me an entire day to make.  I don't know about all of you, but I do not have enough time to devote an entire day to one block... ever!  So scrap that idea and the fabrics are now available for this amazing thing that just popped out of my head -- no name for this one yet but it is total coolness!  So again, I can't share the quilt just yet but here are the fabrics.  But here's the weird part.  I am not a print person -- lately I have been trying to rid my stash of all these crazy prints I've picked up over the years.  I think part of it is I like to see my stitches and prints don't always allow that.  But amazingly, this quilt will be using two prints!  Proud of myself in a weird sort of way.

I think that's it... probably not, but I've made blogging progress and added reminders to my calendar not to ignore you wonderful peeps!

Week One (2nd time)

Well, week one has come and gone along with four pounds.  Not much I know!  But, considering what this week was I still feel it was not a failure.

This week was Fourth of July and also my wedding anniversary -- 22 years, holy wow!  I did stray from my diet during the week, but only a little.  On the fourth I enjoyed a wonderful, perfectly grilled piece of prime rib.  OMG!  It was delicious, and not just because I was dieting.  I did only eat half and saved the other half for Friday's dinner.

Now... Saturday was a different story, but 22 years people, that's a big deal!  That's like half of my life!  I was definitely treating myself to some carbs!  We went to my favorite restaurant -- Conchy Joe's.  I started out good by ordering a white sangria... delish!  But then I ordered than darn Big Conch.  This is a drink for two -- seriously, says so on the menu!  Here is a picture of the Big Conch next to a normal ordinary glass of sangria:

Then it all went downhill...
Conch fritters...
Salad with creamy dressing...
Fresh warm corn bread...
Seafood combo (okay, I did order it broiled and not fried)...
Plantains with mango glaze...
OMG... heaven!  I ate it all so fast I didn't even take pictures!
I didn't order dessert.  I was good...

until... I got home, then I treated myself to a Nestle's Vanilla Caramel Drumstick -- it's just like the original Drumstick except it has this wonderful oozy caramel down the center of the ice cream.  Need I say more?!!

Sunday I ate nothing but vegetables... as much as I tried it didn't balance out that amazing meal!
Needless to say, I'll be eating MUCH better this week!

Shocking the System... again!

For those that are new to the blog or those that don't remember -- no worries, I forget stuff constantly, especially all that important stuff I'm supposed to remember!  Anyway, yesterday I started on my shock diet again.  If you have some time and want to catch up on the history (including pictures -- yes, I'm a brave girl) follow the links:

4/4/2012 http://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com/2012/04/weight-lumps-and-hormones.html
4/10/2012 http://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com/2012/04/weight-loss-week-1.html
4/18/2012 http://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com/2012/04/pounds-tests-ribbons.html
5/7/2012 http://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com/2012/05/down-13.html
6/3/2012 http://karenmarchetti.blogspot.com/2012/06/catch-up-not-ketchup-that-would-be.html

If not, here's the quickie version:  I quit smoking, put on 60+ pounds, now don't get me wrong - I did WW -- yep, actually gained weight while counting all those points.  I had a couple thyroid issues so I went to the doctor.  Well, he explained to me no matter how many points I counted I wasn't going to lose weight that way -- I was a carb hoarder, everything I was eating was being stored away for later.  Really?  Later... like when I finally got stuck on that deserted island?  He did a bunch of blood work and decided that a no-carb shock diet would be the best way for me to go.  So for two weeks I ate no carbs,was a crazy veggie-eating woman and lost 13.5 pounds.  I added minimal carbs back into my diet and still managed to lose a total of 20 pounds.  That was about 1/3 of the weight I needed to lose.

Well I slowly added real carbs back into my world, which brings us to now.  No, I'm not packing the weight back on -- that was the entire purpose of shocking my system -- to retrain my body not to hoard them, to actually use them, as long I wasn't a carb-crazed woman I'd be okay.

Here comes the bad news... I put on weight -- only three pounds, but I don't want any back.  In fact, I'd love to lose a little more!  I guess if I had kept paying attention to all the carbs I'd been eating it might have made a difference.  But this is where the re-shock comes in to play -- hopefully it'll reboot my systems and possibly retrain my carb cravings just a bit.

So here is the Round 2 Day 1 picture:

I'll let you all know how it goes.  I've got help this time, my son's girlfriend is doing the shock as well!

And it is done...

the raffle quilt that is!

I have been working on the raffle quilt for the Port Saint Lucie Crazy Quilters for what seems like months.  Not really, but it's been awhile!  My time and stitches on the raffle quilt are donated so I kinda have to take little breaks and work on customer stuff in between all the awesomeness.

Here it is -- like I said, awesomeness!

The quilt was pieced and appliqued by several PSLCQ guild members.  They did a fantastic job!  Here's a picture of all of us with the quilt -- it wasn't quite finished in this pic, but still amazing!

We are calling the quilt "Tropical Paradise", and it is a nice queen size, the pattern is Flowers for My Wedding Ring by Judy Niemeyer/Quiltworx.  Marian picked the colors and did an awesome job with the layout.

Anyway, back to the point of a raffle quilt.  You can purchase tickets for this beauty!  They are $1 each and the drawing will be held February 8, 2014 (the last day of the show).  Just a nice warning -- you'd better buy a lot because I plan on buying a lot and I really want to win!  Info on the tickets can be found on the guild website on the 2014 Show Page here just scroll down until you see the quilt.

Hope you buy oodles of tickets and Good Luck!

Friday Fun Day!

Yes, Fridays are my sew day.  My day off to work on my own stuff -- sewing, quilting, fun stuff -- you know the creative fun zone!

This afternoon me, Nancy, and Mari worked on tie-dye shirts.  The shirts are for the red, white, and blue party at the guild next month.  What a blast we had!

We all tried a different folding technique.  Mine is a bullseye pattern, Mari did a chevron, and Nancy did a spiral.  I can not wait to see what they look like.  Outside they go in an attempt to speed up the dry time.

Oh, I mentioned bullseye, chevron, and spiral folds.  If you are interested in doing tie dye just head over to google (or your favorite search engine) -- there is a superabundance of info out there in internet land for so many different types of folds.

While the t-shirts were outside drying I couldn't help myself.  There was still a bottle of yellow dye in the kit just screaming to be used so I grabbed an old tank and a cute curly stencil and...

Do you notice those dark stripes across the shirt?  That was a mistake turned awesome!  Don't you love when that happens?  When I sprayed the dye over the stencil it left a dark line from the overspray as well as a bright white line from the stencil edge.  So where the line-ups were I manually sprayed a dark line.  To keep it looking planned I added several other dark lines.  I think it turned out pretty cool!

Okay, fast forward several hours of drying...  Yes, they are still damp - but we need to cut all the rubber bands and lay them out flat for additional drying before the heat setting.

Here is mine - the bulls eye:

Here is Nancy's - the spiral:

Here is Mari's - the chevron:

It was a super fun day and I think we all did some pretty amazing tie dying!  If you get the chance you should definitely try it (if you haven't already)!

Over-Extended and Under-Timed (also known as everyday)

I feel the urge to share every single project I'm working on right now including all of their deadlines.  No, not for the need of bragging.  More of a need to holding myself accountable!  And unlike a little paper list, I can't lose my blog.

Kaleidoscope Quilt aka "Dance in the Rain"
This was started about a year ago, and I've already missed the two intended deadlines.  Still making strata, still cutting pieces, still need to piece pie shapes, still needs a lot... need to get more fabric from Natalie for the borders.  Yes, this beauty consists of 9 levels of her hand-dyed fabrics!  Anyway, I have hit the brakes on this one, can't even force myself to work on it... why, not sure.  I love this and can't wait to get it ready to be quilted.  It's just not in the creative front seat.

H2O Challenge - "Drops"
This years challenge for Journeys Thru Art (my art group) is H2O.  I chose this photo - "Rain" by Adam Hart-Davis -- with permission for reproduction in fiber form.  I can not wait to get started on this.   I have already purchased several fabrics along with organza, Angelina fibers, and other interesting things in an attempt to create the rain as well as the intense light glow in the background.  Should prove to be fun as well as trying.  Drops deadline is this fall... I'm shooting for the end of October.



Martin County Quilters 2013 Member Challenge: Black and White
Well... I have nothing.  Nothing to show you that is.  I have a couple of ideas in my head -- will they come to fruition?  That is a good question.  Deadline: November 14, 2013.

PSL Crazy Quilters 2014 Member Challenge: Palms in Paradise
Entry Deadline: November 2013 - must be finished by February 2014.  Ideas - none, fabrics - must use FQ provided.

True Colors
No, this quilt is still not done -- it has already missed multiple deadlines and it is still not done.  I did finally finish all those little applique circles!  But, it needs to be quilted, and well, I'm kinda busy quilting all over the place at shows with Gammill, as well as customer work.  And it really needs the quilting designed and then quilted... a little different than just quilting it.  You can read about the history of True Colors here.  The good news is I've actually pulled this quilt out and thought about the quilting design, so that's technically progress!


Un-Named New Quilt
This quilt was just drawn out a few days ago.  Well really it was drawn out several different times over a two-day period -- I stopped at drawing number 4.  I am super-duper pleased with it, it is screaming to be born, screaming!  Right now it is getting all my creative attention.  NO, I can NOT share a picture just yet.  I can tell you that it will be done entirely in dupioni silk (one of my favorites).  I can also tell you that it will use the lavender and white dupioni yardage cuts that I purchased in Jersey a few years ago.  It will also include several other colors.  It will consist entirely of applique.  Yes, I kinda like applique -- no, it will not be hand applique!  No specific deadline on this one, except that I want to finish it first!

Un-Named, Yet-to-be-Designed Fantastic Idea for a Quilt
This is my possible idea for the 2014 MQS Theme of Up, Up, and Away.  Can't share, but I've got a fantastic idea.  Fingers (and eyes) crossed that what I see in my head looks that good in fabric!  Deadline - before MQS 2014 entry deadline, which is ??

Mari's First Quilt
No, I'm not actually working on this.  Mari is!  Mari is my son's girlfriend -- she is a super adorable fun-loving full-of-life spirit that is crazy excited to learn quilting.  She went through my stash and picked out some fabrics.  I'm teaching her piecing - she is loving it -- she's starting with some simple strip piecing.  I am so super excited over this as well!  Once she is done piecing her quilt she'll then learn how to use the Gammill and she will quilt her very first quilt all by herself!  And no, absolutely no deadline on this one, just had to share!!!



So I think that's everything for now... probably not, but close!

Gammill and MQS 2013 - Wichita, KS

I landed in Wichita... a small airport, yep, tiny... 

no, this is not an exaggeration -- okay, I'm sure there are smaller airports, but you know!  The only thing between people in the process of exiting the airport and people still to go through security are a few stanchions... seriously.  Oh, and there are only two baggage claim thingies.  And... it was 92 degrees when I landed (hotter than SoFL) -- obviously the peeps in this airport were chilly at 92 degrees - they are all wearing coats, okay almost all of them.

And it's kinda nice when you arrive after everyone else and most of the hard work is already finished.  Not that I am required to set up, but if you're there, you help!

Power lunch before the opening of the shows shopping frenzy -- I am so happy and honored to be part of the Gammill family!

And here's the big entrance thingy...

And look who I get to stitch on again!

And there's Outta the Loop hanging beautifully!

And some creative signage... this place was closed down, but after speaking with some locals it is just a bad-luck spot, everything that has been there closed down.

And back to my purpose, the - more all over feathers - my absolute favorite!

Since I was quilting away so fast, I took a little break and tried some stitches on the Charm.  Yes, I am stand-up quilter who moves the *pencil*.  The *paper-movers* have nothing to worry about with me... kinda proves I'm human, huh?!!

In my defense this is only the second time I've actually stitched on the Charm.  Its not too bad eh?  I'm pretty sure I'll stick to standing up and pushing my giant pencil to stitch!

Not that quilting isn't fun, but sometimes you just need to visit the local sites.  We were told we needed to see the Keeper of the Plains.  What, you ask?  There is an enormous statue and every night at 9pm they light it up.  So, we all pile into the Yukon (yes, that's pronounced Yuck-un - LOL) and drive down the street -- okay, we took a minor detour to Gander Mountain -- to see what all the hubbub was about.

And on my last day at the show I finished the quilt -- totally awesome!  I just love that silver-grey dupioni!  Don't forget to follow Gammill's website for info on when these beauties will be auctioned!

And I finally got to meet Claudia Pfeil.  We talk a lot on facebook, but this was our first face to face meeting - she is just the sweetest - and super talented too!

And during the banquet Linda Taylor received the Lifetime Achievement Award -- Mr. Stafford (Gammill) gives an admirable speech highlighting Linda's 20 year relationship with Gammill Quilting Systems.

And of course, Ricky Tims provided wonderful entertainment!

To sum it all up -- MQS was a blast!  

Catch up between Quilt shows!

Somewhere between MQX Manchester and AQS Paducah my Mom came for a visit.  A much needed, long overdue, absolutely necessary visit.  I miss her, even though we talk on the phone at minimum three times a week, I miss her, the chats over coffee and cookies, the giggles, the scrabble marathons... you know the special things. Well, she was only here for three days so it was quick, but I did manage to snap a couple of pictures during our one day of relaxing nothingness:

 

 And just to keep our Saturday mornings fun and entertaining, here is Mari (my son's super adorable lovable girlfriend) playing with some dry ice.  We are weird... in a strangely fun way!

And I totally managed to do this -- even if only for a short while:

And two nights we had a critter on the concrete out front:

I know, you're all repeating it in your heads... red next to black is my friend Jack, red next to yellow is a deadly fellow.   And silly bat... wings are for flying!

And then it was Mother's Day - psst.... I ordered my gift early.  I saw this wonderful vendor in Paducah who made these totally awesome bracelets from vintage typewriter keys.  Guess what? ..... .... .. it just so happens that I collect vintage (cool word for really old) typewriters!  Anyway, there was a bracelet that said 2QUILT4$ -- wow, really, cause that's kinda what I do.  BUT... I didn't buy it.  I got home and kicked myself because I really wanted it.  Turns out I'm a strange sort of detective because I found that very same vendor on Etsy!  Guess what?  .... ... .. I ordered my very own personalized bracelet -- cool beans huh?

Mother's Day started with a surprise breakfast for me as well as Mari's Mother and Grandmother.  Then the kids took me to Downtown Stuart for a nice afternoon of shopping.

My hubby took over for the evening part:

 I had a wonderful super full-of-love day!

And then... the mower died.  Well, it didn't die, it just needed some expensive attention from the repair peeps.  You really use your mower a lot in Florida -- darn grass grows ALL year long!

So... hopefully you feel full of information and totally caught up.  Quilts?  What... who has time to quilt?  LOL, no really, oodles of stuff coming up -- and another post in a few days sharing all the wonderfulness that was MQS!