Are They Serious?

Look what just came in the mail. Oh, where shall I spend it? The Bahamas? Cruising?

Of course it took a 33-cent stamp to get it to my house.

Mr. Cactus informed me that it takes $25 in business handling fees to mail out a refund check. He thinks I should write the Laboratory Corporation of America and let them know we have a suggestion that would save them a lot of money in the future. Most corporations have a computer system that kicks back checks under a reasonable amount.

To make this situation even more ridiculous, this refund is from a lab test I had taken a YEAR AGO. (They should pay me interest on that penny!)

I'm a little nervous. Void if not cashed in 120 days.

Textured Tote

I just finished making Annie's Textured Tote out of Texture Magic.

I call this a Texture Magic friendly pattern because all of the math (to allow for shrinkage) is included in the instructions. Annie's patterns are well written and easy to follow.

This is Annie's version of the tote. To order Annie's patterns go to http://www.byannie.com/

Other Texture Magic friendly patterns designed by Annie can also be ordered through Superior Threads. http://www.superiorthreads.com/

I made mine out of an Amy Butler print.

The pattern suggests using 1 inch grid system when stitching the Texture Magic to the fabric.

A button /loop closure.

For my lining fabric I used a vintage piece of fabric that I have been holding onto for just the right project.

One of the things that is unique to Annie's patterns is that she has you quilt the lining onto headliner foam which gives more body to the purse. I really like this product more than interfacing or batting. One of the places you can purchase headliner foam is at Joann's. I found it rolled on a long bolt hanging on the wall in the Decorator Fabric section.

I DO NOT LIKE THEM SAM I AM!

Some of you may remember my post of 8/20/09 and the trauma I have felt over finding scorpions in my house. It has gotten better. Really it has. Richard, my pest control guy who I have on speed dial, has become my best friend (whether he wants to be or not). We chat all the time now. He comes by my house or calls quite regularly and I have not seen a scorpion in weeks. I have given Richard gifts of homemade strawberry freezer jam for his kind attention and he has been ever so gracious.

Living with our backyard next to a desert has had it's challenges. We have a pool and all the critters consider us their ideal water source.
Consequently, we have also had a mouse problem too. Richard put mouse traps all over the house, caught a few, and we thought everything was Okey-Dokey.

One of the reasons we have been mouse free is because Richard has placed Bait Stations all around the perimeter of our house. Yeah Bait Stations. You are my best friend too.
(*If you get queasy at the sight of rodents, you may want to click off right now.)
Today I was sitting at my sewing room and casually looked out the door to the courtyard by my front door.

Past me ran this BIG GUY with a section of one of our plants in his paw. He went into the flower bed and started gnawing away. This was not a little field mouse. In fact, I'm still not sure if he's a mouse or a rat. I don't EVEN CARE. He was big. Too big.
You know that Bait Station? He had his tail draped across it as he chewed away.
Fortunately Mr. Cactus was in his office and became my Knight In Shining Armor.

Mr. Cactus grabbed a cage he keeps in the garage and placed it by the front door with a few cashews inside.
I stayed behind the safety of closed glass door of my sewing room and took pictures.

Within minutes we had him.
I quickly picked up my phone, hit speed dial and called Richard.
I really don't mean to be high maintenance, but I was kind of hoping Richard would be the one to ...um...dispose of the BIG GUY.
Richard answered the phone, and informed me he was in Salt Lake for the weekend. Oh no.
He loves his job and found our conversation exciting.
He asked me "Do you think it's a mouse or a rat?"
Me: "I have no idea."
Richard: "Go look at his feet. A rat has bigger feet than a mouse."
Me: "Uh, I'd rather not look at his feet, if that's OK with you."
I'm sure Richard was a little disappointed in not being able to solve the mystery, but he understood.
(I guess I could have grabbed my quilting ruler off the table and went out for a measure, but I'm not sure if the BIG GUY would be nice enough to hold still while I placed his paw on the yellow grid marks.)

In fact, the BIG GUY was rude enough to start pooping and peeing all over our courtyard.
Richard called one of his co-workers who came over immediately to help us out.
Meanwhile, I think I'd better get back in the kitchen and start making more jam. Do you think Richard and his crew would like raspberry or peach?

Disappearing 9-Patch Swap

Jane of Janes Fabrics and Quilts has been hosting a swap.

There are 100 of us participating in the 2009 Disappearing 9-Patch Swap.
I've even been with a few of my friends as they picked out fabrics for their blocks. Theirs look so different than mine, that I knew this was going to be fun.

We were asked to make 25 9-Patch blocks out of red and turquoise. Love the colors.
This was a realistic swap for me to join because I felt it was an easy assignment.
The finished blocks measured 12 1/2 "

We were then asked to cut the blocks down the middle each way.

Which gave 100 blocks total.

Mine are all done now.

They are not due until November 2nd, but with a busy schedule, I knew I wanted to get them off in the mail.

Thanks Jane for hosting this fun swap! I'm looking forward to getting my 100 swap blocks back, and I've been putting on my thinking cap to work out a setting.

Fall Sunshine

I understand from friends that it snowed yesterday in Northern Utah. When the weather starts to turn cold up North, people start heading to Southern Utah for the beautiful sunshine.

I love it because I get to see family and friends who come to St. George for a visit.

My friend Janean is in town, staying at her condo. We've had some time together the last few days to work a little on our quilting projects.

She is in the process of appliqueing a lot of these baskets out of civil war fabrics.

She also brought several editions of this magazine Quiltmania for me to look at. She said she got them at JoAnns but they are produced in France. The articles are written in English but many of the ads in the back are in French.

Janean carries her projects around in this cute basket.

Janean knows how I love covered buttons. In fact, she knows I'm addicted. Look what she brought me.

It's a pin/ covered button with my initial on it. Great idea!

But now I'm in trouble even more than I was because I have new ideas for my covered buttons.
Heaven help me.