My Tale Of Woe....and Looooser Check In

Home early from a getaway due to the flu/cold!!! Yuck, so much for my flu shot. We weren't due to be home till tomorrow, but it is nice to be home and hunkered down on the couch here....and I missed the blogs. I think a lap top is in my future :-)!!! Enough of my whining.

I worked on my signature blocks. They are all pieced and now to get the trimming done and come up with how I am going to sign them. Thanks to Connie who is hosting this swap, for the wonderful tutorial on how to piece them a bit bigger to trim them to size. They came out perfect!! I can't wait to get this wonderful memory quilt together.

Now a report on looser Monday...I am down 2.1 ....I say that a little reluctantly because I really haven't been eating that much with the yuck, so I figure my rebound week next week might be a doooooozy. We'll see! I have a couple food finds (new to me anyway) to share . First a Weight Watcher buddy got me this Hungry Girl book. It is chock full of great recipes, with lots being single servings. Plus you can go to her web site to get Weight Watcher points on all of them. And this Laughing Cow Light Cheese. How did I miss these???!! 1 point per wedge....so for a mid day snack with a few crackers...yummmmo!!! Then one night I was poking around looking for low fat recipes and stumbled upon Recipe Girl - YIPPPPPEEEE!!! What a wonderful site Lori has for all kinds of recipes (not only WW ones). You could spend hours perusing her site and getting mighty hungry :-)! She also has a great blog here. What a great find. I emailed her asking if it was OK to link to her site and then she gives me a wonderful blog full of Weight Watcher recipes hosted by Gina...........THE MOTHER LOAD OF WEIGHT WATCHER RECIPES. Thanks Lori for the great link!

Well enough gabbing. Time to get back amongst the moving around bodies. Happy week to everyone!

What A Difference A Week Makes!

Last week we were having some near 80 degree temps and all wondering where winter went..... well not to wonder any more!!!! Love the picture of the boys across the street. They had their snowboard out and they were sliding down the front yard. We had so much fun watching them and thinking that Matt and Katie would have been doing the same thing way back!

On to looser Monday...2.2 for me this week. My weigh in days are Thursday, so I have had a bump here and there since Thursday, but all in all I'm doing OK. The next several days are hectic to say the least so I may be a bit absent....and for sure next looser Monday I won't be checking in, but I'm still on it!! Now about some quilting...I am happy to report my Bernina is back and happy as ever and I have started the buttonholing on my little signs. Happy week to one and all :-)!

Some More Happy :-)!!!

Laugh and Giggle are now pieced and fused and waiting to be buttonholed...speaking of that, my sweet, sweet Bernina will be coming home tomorrow all fixed and ready to carry on. Yippee..nothing that a little $$$$$$ couldn't solve, but my handy dandy Featherweight filled in quite nicely. Also, I had some comments about the pattern I used....Country Threads one of my favorite pattern places, and I also included a picture of one of their other sign patterns.

Anne Sutton has done it again. Not only is block number 2 for her mystery BOM ready, but she is offering a free quilt pattern here , to go with her new line of fabric, Chelsea Manor. Oh boy is it ever cute and has pieced blocks with embroidered hearts and bunnies. Now how are we going to resist this one??? Hmmmmmmm!!!

I have been a bad blogger this week. I haven't even poked around much....OK, I have been totally goofing off and playing. Think I might need a time out! Happy Friday everyone!

Some Smallish Quilts & Looooooser Monday

This is just about all I could squeeze in since Tuesday, but at least the top is done and I plan to do some very simple quilting and have it in the finish pile! Sadly I have to report that my Bernina decided it just doesn't want to work anymore :-( !!! I had just finished buttonholing the flower center and then there was a clunk, clunk, clunk and that was it. Very, very sad!!! I pieced this smile wall hanging Saturday and it was next to be buttonholed. I am hoping it will help to pop out some of the letters, but I guess that will have to wait till my hand dandy repair guy gets the old girl going again. The giggle and laugh wall hangings that go with smile are cut and ready to be put together and will hang in G baby's room here at our house. Lots of family time last week. Our girl was home for an overnight stay, and between her being computer support to me and playing Wii with Dad, she was here and then gone..... wonderful to have her home.

So now for the Loser Monday report.......happy to report I lost 2 pounds. Writing every single morsel down seems to be doing the trick. I have been a Weight Watcher for a long time, always thinking I was keeping track of my points in my head....WRONG!!! I have discovered, (hate to admit this), I am a points cheater. Not intentionally mind you, but it seems those tastes here and there I just don't bother to count......well that was before. Now I am trying to be accountable and write everything down. This week we were suppose to give a salad recipe. Going through all my recipes I just don't have a great salad recipe, well Weight Watcher anyway. I thought that I would pass along one of my most favorite websites ..... Dottis Weight Loss Zone. She has a wealth of information about all that is WW!!!! Message boards, recipes, inspirational writings and my favorite, a list of restaurants with points for food. No excuses about eating out!!

Happy first week of February everyone. Hope there is more quilty business happening in your neck of the woods !!!!

Not so much zippity....

This is all the zippity I got :-)!!!! One thing came up then another and another and that was it for sewing. But I am very, very happy to report that my WW meeting was quite successful and I lost

5.2 lbs!!!!!!!!! I just about fainted and almost kissed the weigher lady.I am a day late for the looser Monday report, but here's my favorite desert snack.

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

15 oz. can of regular pumpkin (solid not the filling)

1 box of chocolate cake mix (reduced fat if you can find it)

Mix pumpkin and box of mix. That's it. No other ingredients. Put the mixture in a muffin pan

sprayed with Pam and bake 350 for about 30 minutes. 12 BIG chocolaty glorious muffins

that are 3 points each. WARNING: After you eat one lock the rest up!!!! Great day everyone.

Zippity Doo Dah........

.........zippity-ay, my oh my what a wonderful day to sew!! Sandy Gervais has done it again. Wowie to this fabric line and I plan on sewing up some Zippity today.

Happy Sunday (and Monday in some places) everyone!!! Tomorrow is looooooser Monday check in. Later gators :-)!!!!

Yipeee, A Finish!!!!

I have my January project of the month done!!!!.....YIPEEE! OK, I only had to do the binding, and it's only a table topper but it's done. I am sure without the Finish A Project A Month Challenge it would have sat in my quilting closet till next year.

Block #8 for The Designer BOM finished!!! We are nearing the finish line on this one, and the BOM for 2009 appears to be just as wonderful and very, very tempting! I am still a little stuck on Valentines, so I made this fast and easy runner for my Singer sewing table. It's a quick turn one, so easy smeasy. My mojo is working overtime now, I guess to make up for being on vacation for a month. This is a row by row quilt I taught over 10 years ago. It was an all day workshop and we went through and made at least one of every block in each row. Pitiful that the teacher never got her quilt together!!!! It was half pieced, and last night I got a wild hare (love that saying) and got the rest together. BIG PROBLEM.......now I can't find the pattern and have no idea what to do with the outside border. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, meanwhile I will continue to search the "library" for the pattern :-)!!!!

There's a fun swap going on. It's a signature swap and if you check over at Connie's she has all the details. There were still some openings as of last night. I had promised to lay low on the swaps for a while so I could concentrate on unfinished projects, but a signature quilt with blocks from fellow bloggers would be wonderful to have.

Then there's the Diet Challenge......I went to Weight Watchers, and hold on to your hats, I ACTUALLY LOST WEIGHT!!!! WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO! I am just a bit excited. Once I get my head in the right place I am good to go. My head hasn't been cooperating for quite a while! .....and one last thing to tempt you all!!! Check out the wonderful Christmas Club going on over at Mrs. Martin's Quilt Shop. How fun to get a Christmas project in the mail each month, because remember, we are all going to be ready early for Christmas next year!

Happy weekend to everyone and hope you get a bit of time to do some crafting!!

Eureka, I Found My Sewing Room!!

There really has not been much quilting going on around here since Christmas. I think it's about this time every year where my mojo takes a bit of a break. In fact Nan and I have been discussing that and decided that both are mojo's were out goofing off together. Ok, enough is a enough and I actually had a bit of production here!!!

When I saw this pattern, well I just had to make it...it had me at the giant rick rack.....tooooo cute!!! The pattern is This Takes The Cake from Sandy Gervais. Her patterns are always so much fun, and this one was so fast and easy, all out of 2 charm packs...actually the pattern calls for one charm pack and some extra yardage. I didn't have the extra yardage so I finagled what I needed from a second charm pack and made my border squares a bit bigger. I plan to do some back art on the back with some of the remaining charm squares and even make a small table topper. There was a piece of wool felt left over from Luke's Christmas stocking, so that's what I used for the heart. Next I finished up block 6 and 7 for The Designer Block Of The Month from Fat Quarter Quilt Shop. Good thing, because this afternoon block number 8 arrived. I have really enjoyed making these blocks. Now I am very tempted to sign up for next Designer BOM.

Here's a Christmas table topper that I pieced and had quilted but never got the binding on. I am planning on this being my January finish up project. We will be watching some football tomorrow so this will be the perfect project for that. May Britt and Kris have this wonderful challenge going to finish up a project a month and I am hoping by Monday to add it to my sidebar January finish!

What a great surprise I had today. I received a phone call from Lorraine in Australia. We had such a wonderful talk. It sounded like she was right next door. I have been a follower of her blog for a long time and to actually have a phone visit was so fun. It was just like talking to an old friend.

......and this is how we roll at grandma's house!!! Yes, that is a rope tied to the front!!! Baby Polka Dot loves to be pulled around in the kitchen,...but no worry we don't break any speeding laws. We take it nice and easy!!! I am even teaching him how to jump on the bed, with my assistance of course. What happens at grandmas stays at grandmas!!!!! Wishes for lots of quilting going on here and there for you all. Happy Sunday (and Monday over seas) to everyone!

Fun, Fun, Fun......and opps, The Diet Challenge

Sedona is so beautiful, so amazing and so much fun!!! We had great weather, a little chilly, but nothing that a good warm jacket couldn't take care of!! Baby Polka Dot is a great traveler and it was so much fun to have the whole family together. We had some great hikes, played games every night, and lots of laughing!!! Such amazing scenery everywhere you look. And the colors are just breathtaking. That's Auntie second from the bottom with our sweetie. I love that hat he has on...and here he is with his mommy. We made lots of wonderful memories and even talked of an annual trip to Sedona.

We felt so pampered. The kids arranged for us to stay at the Sedona Summit Resort. What a great condo. Three bedrooms, each with a bathroom to die for and patio views, a beautiful kitchen, and all kinds of lounging areas. Pampered heck....we were down right spoiled. What a wonderful retirement present, and having us all together, that was the best!!!!!

The family had scouted out the local quilt shop for me, Quilters Store Sedona. They were featured in the Fall Quilt Sampler. They have the most wonderful selection of Batiks I have ever seen and not to mention the most wonderful selection of books and patterns. A person can NEVER have enough quilt books!! Sorry no photos - the camera went hiking!!!!!

And now...............it's Diet Challenge Monday, well almost I'm a little early!!!! Also, apparently I am already a rule breaker. We were suppose to put a before and after photo this Monday, but I had posted mine last week very reluctantly!!!

So now Miss Geranium says I have to post it again so here it is......and like I said in last weeks post the before and after of it all!!

Left with Sharon, quite a while back and right with my friend Annie at quilt camp in November. While I wasn't on a really strict "diet" when I was on vacation I didn't go hog wild either.....but now I'm on it Dano!!!

Nothing quilty to report here......too much goofing off!!!! Hope your week gets off to a great start!

And Away We Go!!!

We are off for a four day getaway with all the kids....yipee!! Our bags are all packed now it's off to get some sleep. For our retirement the kiddos gave us a 4 day getaway to Sedona. We are so excited!! It's been long overdue for us all to have a vacation together. There's some hiking planned, playing games, eating and just general fun and craziness!! I will be checking back in on Sunday. Happy rest of the week to everyone. PS: Check out the wonderful FREE Block Of The Month that Anne Sutton is offering at Bunny Hill..and again it's FREEEEEE!!!!

Monday, Monday and Lots Going On!!

It's Monday and that means start day for me with the Diet Challenge and check in day. And if you don't think our fearless leader means business, well just check over at Redgeranium Cottage..... MAJOR BUSINESS and a very, very brave, fearless leader!!! So about my start...OK need to fess up, pancakes for breakfast (just couldn't help myself), my friend I had breakfast with forced me, OK not really.... but I buckled down after that!!! Had a chicken salad for lunch, and a light pasta dinner. And most importantly no CHOCOLATE all day, so I guess I will be going through withdrawals soon:-)!

Now the before and after of it all......Miss Geranium and myself quite a while back, and Annie and myself at quilt camp in November. When I decided to retire I had people warning me watch the poundage!!!! No problem.!!! Well I watched it, creep right back on. So this diet challenge is just what I needed. And I have to vent here a little. People like us peoples (yes I said peoples) who have gained weight......no need for those of you talking about our weight gain to whisper to others or give us the LOOK!!!! Here's a secret...we know we have gained weight, for one thing, our clothes don't fit that well anymore, and for another we also have mirrors!!!! OK, I feel better getting that off my chest :-)!!!!!

Here's a couple recipes from Weight Watchers that I really, really like.

Chicken Fiesta Soup - Serving size 1 cup. Points per serving 4. 1 can corn, rinsed; 1 can chicken broth; 1 can diced tomatoes & chilies; 1 can pinto beans, rinsed; 1 chicken bouillon cube; 1/2 can white chicken; 4 oz. Velveeta Lite. Bring ingredients to a boil (all but cheese), remove from heat, stir in chunks of cheese until melted. (the can sizes are the regular - I think 14 oz.)

Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff - 6 servings. 4 points. 1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, frozen;1 can 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup; 16 oz fat free sour cream; 1 pkg. onion soup mix.Place frozen chicken breasts on the bottom of crockpot. Mix other ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Cook on low setting for at least 7 hours. Stir sauce well before serving. If you serve this over rice or noodles add appropriate points per serving size.

Nanette has done a wonderful job of getting the list going for tons of handmade ideas. Here are a few more to add:

*from Janet a really cute tissue cover link

*from Bonnie my non blogging friend, a really cute tutorial on cookie mix in a jar... cute jar with some painting and a great label;

*a super easy ironing board cover tutorial

*from me really, really cute mini notebooks from Spoonful of Sugar. Actually just look for back posts on Lisa's blog. She has tons of wonderful ideas, great recipes, and beautiful pictures. A wonderful mother/daughter blog!

There are so many wonderful ideas out in blogland for getting motivated to get projects done. May Britt and Kris have a wonderful challenge going to tackle those WISPS we all have hanging around...yeah, you know you have em'!! Part of the challenge is to put a link on your sidebar listing all the months for the next year and as you go add the completed item to the list. What a great IDEA!!!!!!!
....and then I stumbled upon this great, wonderful

idea.....Calendar Quilt Challenge. I have the button on my sidebar that links to the challenge. In a nutshell, piece a quilt top from your stash, bit by bit, every day for the next year!! Rachel who is running the challenge, credits Pat Sloan with this idea and she sells a wonderful book over on her site, Favorite Techniques, that gives more info on Calendar Quilts. Rachel is taking sign ups for this challenge till the 7th... so why don't you come on and play with us!!! A no rules quilt, that will be so fun and so personal, and what a remembrance of 2009!!!

Well there has been way too much thinking, and signing up for challenges in Polka Dot world for any quilting to be happening. Oh, there has been a couple bindings and some time spent with Baby Luke.....and dare I mention I am still taking down Christmas decorations!!!!! I don't know about the rest of you, but I am definitely inspired by all I have been reading......now let the production begin :-)!!!!!

I've Got A New Attitude!!!

Look at me all spruced up thanks to Becky at The Cutest Blog On The Block!!! One very, very late night of me trying to change my blog on my own, only to have it disappear for a few hours, scared me enough to turn it over to a professional!!! I know there are a lot of you out there that seem to have this changing the blog thing down, but not me....and after almost hyperventilating over thinking I lost my blog I learned my lesson!! And Becky, I can't say enough good things about her. So patient with me and all my computer dumbness!!!

Christmas 2008 has passed, so hard to believe. But as usual I was left with some feelings if only I had done this and started early and got this other thing done. And then there were emails from some bloggy friends saying the same thing. Nanette and I had written each other, and she said that for quite a long time she had been thinking the same thing and was brewing up an idea to get us all motivated for 2009.....now I am excited, because Nanette is a great organizer!!! Some of us are thinkers and some of us are women of action, and boy Nanette sprung right in to action with a great plan for us all......for us to post gifts/ornaments that we made for this year that worked out, and also items we wished we could have made..and there are a ton of wonderful tutorials out in blogland to utilize here!! This gathering of ideas will go on for two weeks, and then we will have a wackadoddle list of items we can be making ahead for Xmas 2009. You can leave your ideas here or over at Nanettes and then we will both compile all the ideas in to one list that will link back to the Great Ideas for a Handmade Christmas 2009 button. That button is so wonderful and it was made by Terri at Purple and Paisley, another woman of action!! So let's get those ideas rolling in. No limit on the number you submit and you don't even have to have a blog to play along. Just make sure you email one of us all the particulars on your idea. And don't forget to add the button to your blog.
Here's a few ideas I will start with:

***Pat's ever so cute Christmas Bag tutorial

***Terry Atkinson's Best Press bottle cover tutorial..so quick, easy and cute

***Connecting Threads Seasonal Tissue Box Covers

and, I have a list here somewhere of other tutorials I have seen here and there and everywhere, so I will be adding to my list. Come on and play with us, this is going to be fun and think how ahead of the game we all will be. Thanks Nanette for getting the ball rolling on this!!!

Oh and then there's this subject of you know what. The what that I seem to have to deal with every January. Well Ophra and me anyway.... well and maybe a few others.... well may be a lot of others!!! Miss Redgeranium Cottage has a Diet Challenge going on. So if you are one of the others come and join in. There will be lots of sharing of recipes and tips and who knows what else Sharon will come up with!!! And no way Jose am I saying how much I weigh Miss Cottage girlie :-)!!! So come on in join in and look at that cute button you get to put on your blog!

There has been so much thinking going on in Polka Dot land that not much quilting has been happening. I do have block 6 & 7 cut out for The Designer Block Of The Month quilt and that will be on my list for tomorrow.

January is a time to start off fresh with new ideas, and a new attitude. Can't wait to read about all the ideas the rest of you are thinking of. Happy January everyone!!