Red Means Stop

My name is Sharon and I am a fabric-holic. My drug of choice is RED fabric. It all started out very innocently. You need red, it's the color of flowers, it makes things pop, it's a terrific accent color, the center of log cabins, Americana! You can't be a quilter if you don't have red fabric in your sewing room. Innocent enough, yes?
Over the years I've saved my scraps, but not copious amounts that would drown an elephant, just a small bag full of each color that I've meticulously sorted and separated. I've been making scrap quilts recently, each one based on color. I eliminated my brown scrap bag, worked through my blue scraps and thought I'd tackle the reds as my next project. Again, it's all very innocent.
Then I find this.An amazing pattern for Christmas. All shiny and new. I need new reds. Wow, I can work two patterns at the same time. While I'm cutting all my strips for the Christmas Star, I can cut the remaining pieces of fabric into my 2" strips for the scrappy Pineapple red and cream quilt. How perfect is this plan. All this has been decided on prior to leaving on a 5 day driving trip to Stevenson WA with my quilting gal pals, and it's perfect. Now I have a plan and I'm buying for a project, one that will be realized before the end of this year; not just for the sake of buying. I'm excited, I have a specific drug that I will seek out and attain, not to take home and put in a box, but to use. Remember, I have a plan for all this. Yes, I have a plan.......

A few fat quarters here, a 1/2 yard there, a little of this one and some of that. Oh, and I also purchased a few white on white for the Christmas Star. We all know the thrill of the hunt, how our hearts race when we see that "perfect fabric". It's like aliens take over our minds and debit cards. But I'm doing great, I'm sticking to my plan, only purchasing fabric for said projects. (OK, I slipped a few others in but not much).
Now I'm home and ready to get at this. All the reds hit the washer and while they are spinning around in the laundry room, I pull out my bag of scraps and start cutting. I'll cut up all the left overs first and then get to all my beautiful, essential reds that I have just purchased. Except for one thing, this is still left in my bag of scraps,here are the strips needed for the Christmas Star,here are enough strips to make 36 blocks of my red & cream Scrappy Pineapples,


and I haven't cut into ONE piece of fabric I bought while on my trip. Remember? The fabric I needed? The stuff I had to have to make the two projects running through my mind? Remember?
Red means stop! Is there fabric rehab? Can I bring a friend? Paula? Norma? Muriel?
Sew a little red today!
Sharon

Vacation? Holiday?

They both mean time away from work and home and that is what I have been doing. I will get back to my blogging very soon as I have lots of pictures and adventures to blog about. I also signed all the papers for my new home, everything should be final some time today......so sellers, "get outta my house!" :-)
Although I wanted to close before the end of September, I wrote up the offer with an occupancy date of Oct 31. Because the offer was made Aug 29th I didn't want the sellers to panic and feel rushed to be out and then hum and haw about the offer. I don't think they expected to sell the house this fast. Little did they know that the moon and the stars and Jupiter were all aligned perfectly and the right house was put on the market at the right time in the right neighborhood in the right price range with a room big enough for my LongArm machine!
I am thrilled to be buying their home, it will be my home immediately. I could feel it as soon as I walked in. They are the nicest people who loved their home and I told her I would love it as much as she did and that it was exactly the right home for me. My sister and Dad both did a walk through and concurred!
Now....Get outta my house!
Sharon

Another year has gone by

Hardly seems like 8 years has passed since 9/11. I was standing in my living room in my fantastic apartment in Vancouver BC. I had just flown home from Florida the day before. Donnie (my husband to be,)and I had traveled all across the southern US in his big rig and I was seeing parts of the world I had never seen before. All the while, there were people living and eating and shopping in the US who were planning these attacks. How small our world became after this day.
Who knew how our lives would change? And how much has happened in that time. I got married, moved to the US and applied for Permanent Residency. I started machine quilting with the generous help of my Mom and Dad. I moved to a town of 160 people, and was a quilter, married to a long haul trucker. My Mom passed away. We moved again, now I'm living in a border town in the Pacific NW. I say I, because my husband passed away. Now I work full time and quilt part time. I have also become a Breast Cancer survivor since May 14,2009.
Quilting had been my prozac, my sleeping pill, my right arm, my best friend. Quilting has kept my sanity. 9/11 had had me quilt for returning soldiers, I will continue to do this. It feels good, although it doesn't feel right. I wish we didn't have returning soldiers, I wish they could all stay stateside, but I know that's not how the world works that we live in today. And for today, take a few minutes to think about those who are not home, I am grateful for what they are doing, and I'm thankful for those who return.
Sharon

I've been busy

and have nothing to show for it. Not because I haven't done anything, but because I haven't taken any pictures of things. I did quilt a class sample last night and will share that as soon as I get to it. The other things are surprises for peeps who read my blog....so....these things will have to wait.
Oh, and I bought a house! I AM SO EXCITED!
Sharon
who will have a studio for her longarm with a sewing room attached to contain all sewing related items!