Baltimore

I went this week to Baltimore MD. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike large cities (really, anything bigger than say, Ithica) ?
My cousin, who is very much a sister and friend, and I went and picked up her husband from the hospital. I was prepared to stay a week but it turns out they had discharged him. He has ( or is in??) heart failure. His heart does something like 25% of what it should.

They took him off the transplant list, smiled and sent him on his way. I guess he isn't prepared to make the changes in his life that will ensure his continuation. They will not give you a heart you won't take care of, understandably.
I love him, surely I do, I pray (please join me) for his salvation.

He has 4 children that I absolutely adore, children I would and will do my best to protect. And I am very angry at him, couldn't he just give those kids 10 more years? Or do his best to try? My mind says JERK!, my heart says I am sorry he is sick.
And his wife, my cousin? The best I can do is pray, and pray I do. Sometimes love doesn't seem like enough.

Commision quilt

I was able to give the commission quilt to Barb today.

She was pleased with it and thought the recipient will be pleased as well.

It is such a blessing to see someones appreciation for your work, to see how it directly effects others is so cool!

I AM SO GLAD SHE LIKES IT!!!

It so made my day, my week! Barb is a fantastic woman of God and I am glad I know her.

Etsy sale

The children need to eat and the cars need inspecting and registering, not to mention I think our new pup Walter may actually be dating the vet tech ( after new pup visit, deworming, neutering, heart worm, and last week he needed 4 staples in a huge deep gash in his knee ). What does all this add up to you ask? It adds up to an opportunity for YOU!

A 25 % off sale at my etsy store!

Http://fortheloveofcolor.etsy.com

That is 25% off everything in my store, no exceptions, no limits. OK, well no discount on shipping but I can't strong arm the shipping guy.
Hopefully It will fund and generate a whole slew of new items in the store. Unless Walter needs braces :o)

Machine quilting table- take 2

Well, the pool noodles worked, and for 2 dollars you can't beat the price. They did a lot of drooping and were harder to control because of that. All in all not a bad solution,definitely within my price range but I do think next time I am going to try some PVC with some q-snaps. I think that will add stability without a lot of weight. I do like to control the motion of the quilt sandwich side to side and up and down. something that is easily done with a small piece.

Easy, Inexpensive, DIY Quilting table !

I have struggled with a good system for quilting.

I have a Grace machine quilting frame, a Hinterburger hand quilting frame and a mini long arm. I have used these in different combinations with no real success.

Based on a great tutorial posted by a generous and creative woman (I can no longer find the link) I came up with this little quilting surface.

It is made of a sheet of insulation cut and built up to be flush with the surface of my machine. I needed to use a piece of balsa wood to make up the difference in measurement. I then cut a piece of vinyl to top it off to make it slippery and hold it together. (if you want more specific info drop me an email) This surface worked great for small projects. I use it on the dining room table and it lifts off and on with ease. It doesn't take up a lot of room and it cost me under $10.

It seemed my solution had been found. Now I happen to be quilting a larger quilt and am having trouble. Instead of just shooshing across the surface it catches on the lip of the surface and stalls. Not good. More brain storming, and then Epiphany!

Can you guess my idea? Post to follow!!