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I hate when stuff changes. 

I have been sick with some weird head cold that is going into my chest and really busy with school.  I should be typing up a 7 page report on Edith Kermit Roosevelt, taking an online test and doing more math … but I don’t feel like it.

I did get my new feather weight Singer in and it works!  I have it at the sewing machine repair shop for a tune up and a check to make sure it is working properly. I have classes for sewing and quilting coming up soon.

And I am not impressed with the new updates on word press.  Maybe I am just getting old.. oh well.

On a different note my new little Gus kitten is now around 4 months old as his teeth are FINALLY coming out.  I thought he was younger than the vet thought he was.  The vet (in the middle of Aug) thought he was 4 months then.  But kittens start losing their teeth at 4 months and he is finally losing them.  I got a tooth last night…. as he was chewing on my husbands finger (teething?) and POP out it came.  Never a dull moment.

As of right now school is going well.  I haven’t totally bombed a test yet.. though I thought I had.  I am just waiting for this cold to finally go away.  Tests are coming up Tuesday!

Wish me luck and I hope you are all doing well!

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But here is why.  I broke my first needle yesterday as I was finishing the sewing of a bag I was making.  I was so proud of this bag….

Someone had given me a gift card to JoAnn‘s fabric, so I decided I wanted to try to make a new bag for me and my books for college as my Vera Bradley bag was about to wear out.  I found some neat quilted material that would be perfect and bought some other things.  Took it home and after 6 hours total of experimenting and playing, I had my new bag just about finished.  My Husband was really impressed as I did not use a pattern and more or less went off the Ver Bradley bag just by looking at it.  I showed him the last parts of the bag…. which was to do an extra double stitch to keep the tabs from the handles down and right about the time I got one side done, the needle broke.  I was pretty upset as I can not find the tools that supposedly went with the machine. 

Well, we went to the AK State Fair and I saw something awesome when walking around the quilters gild area.  A woman had a red Singer Featherweight sewing machine… circa 1954.  I fell in love with it.  So I looked online and *GASP* 500 dollars.  Well, I know I am going to be spending some money and I know that these featherweight are worth the money as they are little power machines.  So I decided to go to eBay, the largest garage sale in the world.  And I found a 1953 black Featherweight for 200.  I will have it serviced with my other treadle singer and my Husbands heavy-duty sewing machine.  Yes, he knows how to sew too.. but he sews manly stuff….. like boat aprons, and boat or ATV seats.  He is really good too.

So, did anyone else go to the 75th Alaska State Fair yet?

This is a Picture of Mt Denali or what many call Mt McKinley before the name change.  This is the highest mountain peak in North America.  I would like to make a quilt with scraps in these colors and have an auction and give the money to a good cause. 

All I ask for are for your scraps.  It doesn’t matter where they came from, who made them, what style they are.  I am not a fabric snob and I don’t put my nose up to anyone willing to help.  All I ask for is your help.  Would you post my blog onto your blog and ask people for help?  To send their scraps to me, here in Alaska, to help with a quilt for a deserving person and money for a deserving organization?  You can send all the scraps you want…I don’t care about the color either.  Anything would help.  I will even post a poll on where you would like to send the money too. 

How about it?  Would you be willing to help?

Image by Cool breeze pics via Flickr

Today was the second day of a long process of putting in a new heater and water heater and HRV (heat recovery ventilator)…. but we had to have them move water and gas pipes though since we had the new water heater (aka on demand) put into the garage.  This is going to cost a bunch, but it was needed as the other heater/water heater was an apollo which went out of business in 1997.  There was no way we wouldn’t have been able to find parts if the thing ever went out.  So I think we are finally done.

But I decided to run away for a bit and came upon a quilt shop in Palmer called “Just Sew”.  It does not have a website nor anything on the web.  It is also the sister company to the Quilt Tree, but the Quilt Tree is more just fabric and yarn shop and a Yarn learn to Knit store.  I was happy to run into this shop as they do beginner courses!  And they are actually very reasonably priced.  I asked the manager, who was very friendly, why did they not try Google Blogger or some free website to get the word out about the shop?  She said that she didn’t have the time.  Hmmm, I commented that some people would enjoy some savings in fabric for trading internet “skillz” and helping out a business…… I think the manager liked my idea.  So we will see.  Easy job for me and I may get a discount for fabric for a few months.  We will see. 

If you ever get to Palmer, Alaska.  It is a beautiful and tiny little town.  People usually remark on the pictures of the old farms around the Matsu area, especially the Red Barn.  The Red Barn is actually in Wasilla on Fairveiw loop but it is still a stunning old farm.  Palmer Colony and Wasilla have some interesting historical information and if you ever wonder, just google about it.  The pictures of the 30′s and 40′s are just unbelievable.

It have been a long day and tomorrow looks about the same.  I think my husband is trying to kill me with HIS man cave.  I just hope it ends soon.

Oh she may need some work, such as the laminate is coming off the top and the belt need to be put back on, but I got it.  I bought a 1922 Singer model 66 Sewing treadle Red Eye addition, probably made in Germany due to the decoration on the sewing machine itself.  It even has walking arms for fabric…. which I am not sure if other sewing machines (treadle or not) have them at this age.

Mine also came with the original owners manual and a warranty slip with serial numbers, the original hardware to make hems of many different sizes and it has the original needles.  Nice touch!  The lady didn’t give me much on the history of it.  I think she bought it as a way to make her house look nice and never got around to restoring it.  Either way I will be looking into the cost of putting new laminate on at least and looking for the parts on Ebay.  **If you live in the south, please keep an eye on a “Box Attachment” **

It is too bad my Dad sold my Mom’s old antique White sewing machine.  It was beautiful and ornate.  It had some of the items to fix as well and to sew with, and the owner’s manual.  My Dad was being a jerk when he sold it.

 But this is something I will be playing with to quilt!  Wish me luck!

Someone recently asked me about my animals and where I adopted them from.  To be quite honest, I have adopted most of my cats and dogs from the pound of the last 13 yrs or so. 

Bubba was one I had adopted to help my older kitty Pooge, not be so lonely (who I adopted at a no kill shelter in Seattle).  I thought being that he was older (seven) would help with Pooge but I didn’t realize how sick he was when I adopted him.  When I brought him home, I had to take him right to the Vet and admit him for a couple of days.  Bubba had pneumonia so bad that they didn’t know if he was going to live.  They also thought he was deaf, as he never moved when there were loud noises or any noise for that matter, as he was a large white cat with blue eyes.  He did get better, 1000 dollars later, and come to find out he hears just fine.  But he gave the cold to Pooge and that was another 200 dollars and meds.  Pooge eventually had to be put to sleep a few months later.  She had kidney disease and they were failing.  I held her as they gave her the shot to make her go to sleep…. and cried.  My Husband, who at the time we were dating, came to my house to hold me.  2 weeks earlier we took his dog in to the Vet, and his dog passed away due to a tumor in its brain causing it to have seizures.  We both cried.  December was not a good month.

Eventually I wanted to get a buddy for Bubba.  Bubba is a very social male cat. Loved dogs as well.  Which was kind of odd for a large cat.  So, I asked my Husband (still dating) to come to the pound to help me pick a new friend.  Well, he picked her, not having a clue as to why she was so friendly.  I adopted her and took her home…. a 1 yrs old, flame point Siamese in heat.  God Help us all!  Well, Bubba fell in love with her, but she was not impressed.  Bubba did try to mate with her, but that was disastrous as well.  I couldn’t get her fixed, as she came down with the same crud that Bubba had when we adopted him.  So the Turdy, as what we call her,  had to wait a month to get over her bug and I had to deal with her being in heat and Bubba looking for love in all the wrong places….. I thought I was going insane.

Well, over a year had passed since my Husbands dog had passed on.  I told him we should get a dog together.  Hubby (we were still dating) was not to keen on it as he gets very attached.  Well I let it go until one day I got a call asking if I still wanted to get a dog.  I said sure, but where?  Well Hubby had found an ad on a board about a Lab named Guner who was about 5 yrs old.  I said sure, as long as he is good with cats.  Well the lady who owned him had already gave him away.  Oh well.  But 2 weeks later, some how my Hubby found out that Guner was in the Valley Pound due to being a run away, and the lady who originally owned him was still considered the rightful owner.  Well I got to the pound and adopted him and called the lady letting her know I had Guner, and asked the important question…. how is he around cats?  The reply…. terrified.  And that Guner is.  Since we have had him, we have found he is very neurotic and spiteful if he is not with “Mom and Dad” and will eat and puke up socks in the middle of the night.  I need a sock fund.

Now we have Gus.  I had a dream about kittens and told my husband (now married) about it.  He looked at me and said that the cat had to have extra toes.  Hmm.  Well, that day on the way of doing errands I stopped by the Valley pound and saw they had a lot of kittens.  I wandered around looking at all the cats and kittens and one I kept coming back too.  Gus was cute and fun-loving even in the cage.  But I was gravitating to another couple cats.  Both female… one who had her ear tips frozen off and the other had kittens and still nursing when separated.  I decided on Gus for the simple fact that I wasn’t sure how Turdy would react to a kitten and a full-grown cat.  Kittens are easier to incorporate into a family with older cats.  Well picking Gus was a good call.  Bubba gets along with him and plays as well as sleeps together.  Turdy is now starting to play with him, even if she does hiss and growl at him ones in a while.  And even Guner likes to sniff the kitten, who now rubs on Guner’s legs.  And to think, we just adopted him this last monday.

Now you know…. and FYI most people do not keep their cats out in Alaska.  It is quite often that you will see a cat in a pound or a rescue with their ear tips frozen off.  It is sad and it makes me angry, but you can’t do much about it at the moment.  And if you are wondering, all my cats are inside animals.  My Dog is mainly an inside dog as well… he likes to stay close to us at all times.

Here is the start of my first ever quilt.  Not to bad, bright to dark.  And if you look close enough, it has kitties in it.  Oh yes…. I am in kitty heaven at the moment.  This is small, but I may make it larger… not to sure yet.  But I thought I would show everyone.

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Oh yes, as I was checking on my tomatoes and tiger beans, I saw something at the bottom on my stalks of corn that captured my eye.  It was oddly colored purple, with a tad bit of fringe.  OH! OH! OH!  I have Ears!!!  I checked all my stalks and at the moment I have 3.  I was so excited, I ran in to tell my husband, who thinks I am a dork and funny because I have 3 ears of corn.  When he came out to inspect them, he was pretty impressed. 

I am not the perfect gardener.  But when I grow something that many others here have tried and failed at, but always try to make me feel inferior to them, I always say I grew it and leave it at that.  People who try to constantly needle at me usually are jealous or want something from me.  I have yet to figure out why they act this way.

Such as Sarah Palin.  Just because I know something other do not know, and I not talk about it, doesn’t make me evil or someone who is holding a grudge or trying to go after her.  It is information I just don’t feel needs to be talked about.  Most people don’t seem to understand that.  Oh well.

At least I have my corn…

Image by BoneDaddy.P7 via Flickr

One day it may be done, but that seems like it will be years.  This coming week, it is going to be a hectic one.  We have some guys coming out to frame the garage (this is just the frame), we have a big delivery of trusses(roof), and we are getting in out heater and hot water heater as well as the natural gas plumed to the garage and they also have to make it a larger line for gas flow.  This is all happening Monday 6 am sharp.  We still have no poured concrete for the floor of the garage…. that should be the week after, I hope.

I am also tired as heck.  I can’t seem to shake this fatigue. And it is annoying me to no end.  Especially since I can’t get a good nights rest either.  Ugh.  The next time I wake up, without the kitten attacking me in the middle of the night, I am just going to go sew and make a pot of coffee.  Maybe I can get some serious sewing done and get my quilt done in a few days…. minus the bind. 

In other news it has been seriously rainy and depressing.  But the thunder yesterday morning was interesting.

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Oh man, my garden it looking rough. 

If you know me you know I am a hardy gardener and will try to grow anything in this Alaskan clay soil I can.  Well I have 8 corn stalks, but no corn.  That is still awesome that I am growing it but I was really hoping for an ear…just a little one.  As for my Tom’s (St. Lewis, Glacier, Lemon boy, Purple Cherokee and Orange Jublie) well 50% are doing well and the tomatoes are turning a beautiful red as we speak.  If only I could keep my husband out of the damn hot-house and not eat them!  I also had a great year for broccoli and cauliflower.  But they were bolting fast this year and I didn’t get to them all in time.  That is okay, broccoli smells nice when it flowers.  I am still waiting on my beans to mature… tiger beans and they are getting HUGE! But I will be throwing my squash away.  They just didn’t do well this year.  Too much sun and then too much rain, makes the whole plant go bad.  But the strawberries that we transplanted from our house that we sold to the new one we bought, have grown huge. I actually got over a quart out of my patch and I will have to thin them out next year.  I am completely impressed with them.  Did I mention all of my hot peppers are doing wonderfully!  I will be trying to overwinter the jalopeno, just to see if I can. 

But I have taken up the quilting bug.  I would call myself more a scrappy kind of person.  The scrap is more dear to me as it represents hard-working people, who used scraps to keep themselves warm.  And first thing first, I am making a couple quilts for our house.  Only problem is that the classes I had paid for are falling through.  So I am stuck in a rut and do not know how to do some of the basics and no one I know, quilts or sew other than my mom.  But my mom works nights, so that is a bust.  *sighs*

I will be breaking up my hobbies… I have so darn many of them.  Summer is strictly outside stuff, even though college classes got in the way this summer.  And this winter will be over 15 credits, but I think I will put Saturday as a hobbie day for peace of mind. 

Any advice would be appreciated.  Even the pattern I was looking at is gone (should have printed it)….. maybe one day I will get this down.