Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Needling...

No, not the sewing kind.  This time I mean the kind you stick into your body.  Some of you know that I've been seeing an acupuncturist for about 6 months now.  It's really helped my fibromyalgia (and a few other issues).  I was very skeptical before I went, but with some prodding from Mr. Quilting Bug I gave it a try.  And now I'm a convert.

I'm very fortunate this year that I can get a treatment once a week.  As a matter of fact, I had one this afternoon.  I don't really understand why it works, I just know that it does.  I went in there with a bad headache and came out feeling so much better.

I've been meaning to get pictures - both to share and for myself.  Because all the needles are in my neck and back, I had no idea what they even looked like.

(I hope you're not squeamish about needles...)


He usually puts in a couple dozen needles - concentrating on my neck where I have the most pain.  You can even see how the area looks swollen in the picture.  That's just the muscles knotted up.


These are needles in my back.  He also put some in my legs in spots that are supposed to help with headaches and all over body pain.

Some people have asked if they hurt.  To answer, yes, they usually do (a bit) when they go in.  Sometimes it doesn't hurt when it first enters but he keeps pressing them until they hit the nerve.  But after a few seconds they quiet down.  They stay in for about an hour.  I have occasionally fallen asleep and jerked awake.  That can be painful when your muscles twitch and the needles move.  But for the most part, you don't feel them.

Until later...

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Stash Report Week #2

January 8-14, 2010

Last Friday I went to the Quilting and Fiber Art Marketplace in Sanford, NC.  It was a one stop shopping experience for quilters with 37 vendors from all over NC.  The weather turned out to be good (they had been forecasting snow) and the company was fantastic as always.  I made myself visit every vendor at least once before making any purchases and my strategy paid off.  I only bought a couple of panels and got a free FQ.









I haven't finished anything this week so I have nothing for my used column.  But I'm busy working on quilting my sister's quilt and can hopefully count that towards next week.

So...  for week #2:
            Bought : 1.25 yards
               Used : 0   yards
         Net Total : 1.25 yards

Until next time...
I ran across this quote in a bible study I'm doing.  It's from the book, "Having a Mary Spirit" by Joanna Weaver.

Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

It just struck me as incredibly perceptive.  It feels like everything I've been reading or hearing lately keeps coming back to the same conclusion.  Gratitude is the healthiest emotion you can have.  It has all kinds of beneficial health effects including boosting your immune system.  On the other hand, ingratitude or unforgiveness are very negative emotions and actually hurt you both physically and emotionally.

So if you have someone in your life that you need to forgive - do it today!  It will benefit you and also your relationship with God.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Color Association...

Do you associate colors with certain things?  I know it's a random question, but I've been thinking about it lately.  I'm working on the Camelot Snowman monthly stitcheries and I need to decide what color to use on each one.  I suppose I could have done traditional redwork or bluework, but it didn't occur to me when I started.  The first few months were easy: January is blue, February is red, and March is green (to me anyway). 

(To be honest, I think of January as more of a white, but then the stitching wouldn't show up at all - so blue was a good second choice.)

But what about the rest of the months?
  • April - Pink?
  • May - Red
  • June -
  • July -
  • August - Red or Orange
  • September -
  • October - Black or Orange
  • November - Rust or Brown
  • December - Blue
Hmmm.  Any suggestions?  What colors are these months to you?  I suppose I could look for a fabric that I think represents that month (or holiday) and pull colors from it, but I'm hoping to use my stash as much as possible.

Here's the stitching I finished for March...



I still need to turn it into it's own little wallhanging, but I've got some time.

Until later...

Thursday, January 7, 2010

One UFO down...

Yay!  I can cross my first UFO off my list.  That brings my total down to 43+.



Would you like to see the quilt made with these blocks?  I'm sorry.  I can't actually show it to you because I didn't make one.  There are 9 12.5" blocks in this pile all in the same colors.  They were a BOM that I got last year.  I enjoyed making them, but they're not really my colors.  So I offered them up to anyone who wanted them in my bee.  Hils pretty quickly jumped on them and I'm sure she'll make something beautiful.  Whenever she finishes it, I'll have to take a picture and share it.

But it still comes off my UFO list because I no longer own the blocks.  So as I said, one down...

Until next time...

Stash Report Week #1

January 1-7, 2010

I've seen this on other blogs and thought it was a great way to keep track of how much fabric goes in and out of your sewing room in a year.  I tried to keep track some last year, but gave up after all the trips I took (think Paducah...)  However, if I manage it week by week, I hope I'll be better about it.

I was lying in bed last night thinking about my fabric purchases for this week and I at first I thought I hadn't made any.  I gave myself a nice little pat on the back.  But on closer examination, I remembered the trip I made to Jo-Anns on Tuesday.  Although I used a gift card, it still counts.



I bought 4 yards of the black scroll to use as the backing for my Crayola Challenge quilt.  (So it should show up in my used total in the next few weeks.)  And I bought 3 yards of the batik on the right because I really liked it, it was on sale and I had a gift card!



Mr. QuiltingBug and I want to make some changes to the curtains in our living room so I also bought 1/2 yard cuts of the above fabrics to see how we liked them.  The top one - the sheer - will become sheers behind our existing curtains.  And I think we've decided on the middle one to use for the curtain addition.  I bought these 3 pieces just as samples, but now that I've got them, what can I do with them?  Any suggestions?

So that brings my total intake to 8.5 yards.

Now for what I've used.  I gave 3 FQs for Bee birthdays, 15 FQs to my mom and used 2 more for the calendar blocks - for a grand total of 5 yards.

So...  for week #1:
            Bought : 8.5 yards
               Used : 5   yards
         Net Total : 3.5 yards

Until next time...

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

January's Package

Now that my mom has received and opened her package, I can post some pictures of what I included. 

(In case you didn't know, I'm planning to send my mom a quilting package each month of the year.  It's sort of like the secret sister swap I was in in 2009, but obviously not a secret.  I want her to know how much I love her - and to enjoy quilting as much as I do!)



First, I sent her two calendar wall-hangings featuring her favorite - Snowmen!  These stitcheries are part of the Camelot Snowman series.  Here are January and February.  I made each one to hang individually and bought the small snowflake hanger to display them.



I always tell my mom when I find tools or notions that make sewing easier.  Two of these indispensable items are glass head silk pins and Aurafil thread.  I love the silk pins because you can iron over them and they won't melt.  Plus they're strong, but slide into fabric easily.  They're also thin so they don't leave holes even in delicate fabrics.

Jan introduced me to the Aurafil thread.  The initial cost (around $9) seems rather expensive until you realize how much thread is actually on it.  I'm still on my first two spools - they seem to last forever.  Plus they produce almost no lint.  Definitely less than any other thread I've tried.  And if you should ever need to tear out some sewing (as if!), it comes out more smoothly.



And finally I found this really cute "Snow Days" fabric line at Connecting Threads that made me think of her.  There are 15 FQ's which are enough to make a nice sized throw.  The fabric came with a free pattern for making small Christmas stockings that she could use as well if she likes.

That concludes her first package.  I'd now better get busy on Februrary's - plus all my UFO's!

Until next time...