IKEA run…or IKEA RUN!!!!!

Observations of the day:
– Here is block 14 for Amy’s quilt.

You might remember that I made a block 13, but it turned out so badly even I wouldn’t use it. So now she will have 1 through 17 with no number 13. Yay – only three more blocks to go then I have to figure out how to quilt the darn thing! It’s called “Frolic” and you can get it here. I was listening to “Double Dutch Bus” by Frankie Smith when I finished it. I think it’s one of my favorite blocks so far!

– I thought I’d start sharing things that I have found useful in my quilting journey. I will add them to a new page “Stuff in My Sewing Room” so watch for that coming soon.

– My most used and favorite tool hands down is my Tucker Trimmer. I use it for most everything and if anything ever happens to hubby I might even marry it. If I could attach a needle to it, I’d sew with it. It’s a wonderful tool! Here is Deb Tucker explaining her 3 Tucker Trimmer Rulers. Although they are designed to square up pieces with diagonal lines, I use it to actually cut my pieces. It’s so much easier than using a large, unwieldy ruler. The Tucker Trimmer I has full and half-inch increments and the II uses ¼ and ¾ spacings. Oh, if only there was a TT that cut 3/8, 5/8 and 7/8 increments! (But I have found a ruler for that and will talk about it in my next post). The Tucker Trimmer III is her largest ruler and can square up pieces up to 13″. If you want to snag one of these wonderful babies for yourself, you can get them here:

I use my Tucker Trimmer every time I sew. Every. Single. Time! So, if you’re a newbie like me (or even an old hand at quilting) and want to make your life easier, here ya go!

– Hubby and I went to IKEA the other day and I found this:

He wouldn’t buy it for me but I think I need it! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to store scraps or something in??? He also was a bit grumpy because I was all the time saying, “Hey Siri! Open voice recorder” so I could document every funny thing that happened, so I wouldn’t forget it.

– From the voice recorder: As we were walking into IKEA, I had to go to the bathroom. Hubby was walking slowly (as usual) and when I pointed that out he said, “You sure do criticize me a lot!” I responded, “You’re way too sensitive!” (Wait – was that a criticism?).

– When I was diagnosed with cancer, I started humming. It’s totally involuntary and my doc says it’s probably some kind of coping mechanism. It also drives hubby crazy. All the time I hear, “Stop making that noise!” or “Stop that humming!”. One day after he complained yet again I told him that it could be much worse. He asked how that could possibly be. I replied, “I could be singing”. He looked at me and solemnly said, “Truth”.

– For those of you following hubby’s sad tale of trying to get a permit to hike the John Muir Trail this summer, at this point he is still denied. His so-called friends are trying to get him to commit an act of civil disobedience and go without the elusive permit. They are planning protests to “free” him should he get locked up. Here is one of his friend’s preview of such a protest:

It’s amazing what one can do with Photoshop, right? Anyway, what do you think? Are you willing to join the protest and free John (aka hubby)?

– More adventures from my bedroom: We went to bed and hubby fell asleep in a nanosecond as usual. As I was lying there trying to solve the problems of the world as I am wont to do at bedtime, I looked over and saw hubby peacefully sleeping and Zeus AKA Puppylove lying there sleeping as well, covered up like he was a little human. I thought, “I’m so happy to be lying here with two of my favorite guys!” Before the thought could completely formulate in my mind, they BOTH started snoring. I was going to do the raise-my-butt-and-slam-it-down trick to shake the bed, but before I could do it, Morpheus the Dog knocked on the door to come in. I admitted him to the bedroom and got back in bed. Morphy then proceeded to turn around in a circle about ten times before settling down with his signature sigh which sounds like Lurch from the Addam’s Family. Sleep was a long time coming this night…