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Sunday, July 8, 2012
I hope all of you are surviving in the heat of this Summer.  Those of you on the East Coast have really been getting a dose of the hot weather and with the humidity, yuk!!  It has been hot here in the 90's and 100's, but we don't have any humidity....so can't complain.  However, my favorite person in the whole world is the man (or maybe it was a woman) that invented air-conditioning.  I don't like hot!!

I made this my Background on my Computer
Just to remind me how lucky I am!!!
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I haven't been very productive in the sewing department this last month..... I don't get much done after work and my week-ends have been busy.  I helped my youngest son move - visited a close friend one week-end and hung 5 mini-blinds and shortened them in one of the properties that I manage. And,

I did finish my quilt block for QSQA for the month of June.  That was a BIG accomplishment for me.  I have to say, this was my very least favorite block that we have done so far.  There were sooooooooo many little triangles....I don't know how many......but the instructions had you cut a zillion and then put them together in sections......at first 32 sections and then 16, 16, 16 until you end up having 16 little squares.  I did  all of that which took me an entire day and a half because all the little bitty points have to match (rip, rip).....I then took these little darlings to the kitchen to lay them out on the table to arrange them,  and guess what!!  There were only 15.....I had counted each step and could have sworn on anything that I had 16....why wouldn't I, right?  So then, I looked all over for the missing square (another hour) and couldn't find it anywhere.  So then, I had to make a complete little square all by itself (another hour)....that was loads of fun!!  So then, I was able to lay it out and sew them together finally......that worked!  At this point, I felt since I had so much time into this, I was going to layer it and quilt it so I could hang it on the wall and worship it.....but, couldn't decide how to quilt it because it was so busy!  So I decided to do some meandering on it.......well, that turned out awful!  So about 3 rows into it, I stopped, ripped that out, and had to do something else (another hour).  I ended up just stitching in the ditch around the 16 squares, put the binding on, made some little hanger thingys and hung it up.  It was not fun!!!  I am not a tiny piecer!!!

Here is the little "award-winning for the longest to put together" quilt square...........




By the way, that was June 29th that it was finished, and I still haven't found that little square (I'm not a neat-nick, but my house isn't that bad).  I do have a theory as to where it may have gone.  My precious cat "Cali" likes to lay on the sewing machine table behind the sewing machine while I am sewing, as you can see in this photo.  Well, that day she was just loving me being there all day and didn't want to get down.  I was afraid that I was going to sew her tail or paw, so I made her get down......which isn't easy because she just won't go when you tell her.....I had to try to pick her up carefully so she wouldn't knock all the little pieces in the floor at the same time....(if she doesn't want to move, she will try to bite me).  Anyway, I think she stole the square and hid it somewhere really good in retaliation for making her move.  If that's the case, no telling where it is!
 That's her paw to the right of the needle......silly cat!!
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Oh yeah, I have been doing another thing......I bought Bonnie Hunter's book "Leaders and Enders" and have been cutting up my scraps and organizing them into 1-1/2", 2" & 2-1/2" squares and strips.  That's a good feeling!  I have a long way to go, but it will be worth it in the end.  When I did the chain piecing on this last block (as above), I did the leader/ender thing that she explains in her book...that works great to keep the sewing going and to have something else in the process.  I think I will just keep sewing them together into 9 patches, and then put all of that together someday.
Here is a pic of the little drawers that 
Wally World has to keep the little squares and strips in.......works super!!

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Well, when I started this blog this morning, I was thinking "what will I write about", and it all just came rolling out when I started typing.  Thanks for reading about my trials and tribulations of "tiny piecing".  By the way, I prayed that our leader "Jo" would pick an easier square for July......but the pattern set that we are working from doesn't really have "easier" ones......so July looks pretty challenging too.  My problem is that I said I would do this, and I feel that it is an obligation or commitment.  So I will do them all, and the best part is that I will probably learn something!! That is a really good thing!!

 QSQA Patterns
Quilt Squares #4
this month, we have our choice to do
 either the bottom left one or the middle right one
I haven't decided yet

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Do you read Bonnie Hunter's blog? She is just amazing.......I can hardly get one blog out per month, and she sometimes puts 2 out a day in addition to everything else she does..........amazing!!

Another amazing person is my daughter, Michelle......have you been to her blog to see what she accomplished this month.....she was practically in tears over that quilt repair, but she finished it and did a beautiful job.....I think she learned something with this one.

Here is a bit of trivia to cheer you up - there is only 170 days until Christmas.....eek!!  I have Christmas presents to make and I want to make a Halloween Wall Hanging, and Michelle gave me a Monthly/Calendar Block pattern that I want to make and so many other things....so much to do, and not enough time!! I bet you all know what I am feeling!!!

Thanks again for visiting!!

Happy July everyone!  Keep Cool!!