How many times have your turned your quilt frame yet Bonnie? - asks my Dad..

Anyone out there remember the day I posted about this quilt?? Way back in February...Well I'm sad to say, not much has been accomplished on it since that weekend that my dad was here and helped me put it in the frame he made for me. :(

I seriously had high hopes to be ale to sit and stitch on it at nighttime after the kids were put to bed... but who was I foolin? With the mini swap I'm hosting all year and the emailing and board posting involved... It much easier to spend all of my nights and free time on the computer. Not to mention I love blog hoppin :)

....ahhh if only I had the super power to "freeze time" so that I could get done what I want to do. ...and I'd promise not to abuse it, let me only have that power to once a week! LOL


Well it's been sitting behind the sofa in our den since then and every time I talk to my dad in KY he can't help but ask me "Have you turned your quilt lately?" and every stinkin time the answer is "are you kidding? NO, I've got kids, have you forgotten!" :P LOL

Well one day last week I was in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher when heard a lamp fall over in the den where the twins were watching a video "out of their car seats" - I thought I could trust them....for just 10 minutes while I was in the kitchen.... turns out NO I can NOT!

So I go runnin in to find that Olivia had knocked over the lamp - and good thing b/c Paul Thomas was up on TOP of my QUILT FRAME ROLLIN AROUND trying to sit up!!! AKKK! It's a wonder he didn't RIP the fabric!

So needless to say, I will be removing it form the frame ASAP and putting the frame away until another year... *sigh* not a big deal b/c I hadn't even loaded thread in the quilting needle but a hand full of times if that many...

and later that same night, I discovered a topic over on the HGTV Quilting & Needlework message board that I had missed shortly after IKE b/c I was evacuated in KY and not on the boards. It seem that needlecrazy is heading up an IKE Relief fundraiser project. Several of longarmers from the board have volunteered to quilt a simple meander on any quilt sized up to 100" for a donation of minimum donation of $50.

The quilting will be simple--no ruler work or pantographs, just an all-over
free-motion meandering design. This is a chance to get a top you've had lying
around quilted and help out some very needy folks at the same time.

And I'm not sure the mos recent amount but it is already somewhere over $2000!!! Isn't this great!?@!#! I know there are three longarmers involved so far and many spots filling up. I asked if it was too late to get in this deal... and was told by my friend Quiltaholic that she'd go ahead and include me in her group, expanding it to a "bakers dozen" but that none of the tops she has volunteered will be quilted until after January.

I don't care when - the only hurry I am in is to get it taken out of the frame and out of the living room so I don't have to worry any longer about Paul Thomas up on top of it rolling around! *sigh*



Now all I need to do is rip out my hand quilting - which won't make me shed any tars much since there is not much to take out.. *rolleyes* and then rip the backing piece and square up and then resew more fabric to it to make it large enough for the longarm - which Quiltaholic asked for it to be 10" longer both sides than the quilt top. Shouldn't be a problem. ;)



I'm so glad I happened up onthe IKE Relief fundraiser thread - b/c it was the answer to my problem! ;) and getting my "Texas Treasures" Round Robin quit longarmed next year will be such a treat! I can actually enjy using it while we live in Texas!!! Who knows how many years it would hav remained in that quilt frame waiting to be hand quilted. ....and besides, it was way to buy of a pattern for hand quilting to show up on. An overall meander will work just fine ;) don't cha think?



Love from Texas!