Re: Time for another Roll Call?

I'll join you Sally - not often two Brits get together here!!

I, too, use loads of exclamation marks. I have decided that just as the French and Italians speak with gestures, we write/speak with exclamation marks. I honestly could get by without them >g<

I live in a very rural part of England - far west, half way up, almost into Wales. We live 100ft up, on a sort of 'saddle' between the two highest points in Shropshire.

I am retired, and sew as often as I can. I try to garden, but we have nearly 2 acres (though much of it is left wild), and the 'soil' is brick-making clay. It is quite a cold climate here, but much wetter than Sally's. She would beat us hands down on cold winds!

I have four beautiful rabbits - two girls and two boys, who live in large homes within a luxuriously appointed 'shed' (said shed had an extension a few years ago so they could have longer hutches!! - shed man said he's never heard of such a thing >gFollowing the discussions on who everyone is, it might be time for

I'll go next -- and I also use far too many exclamation marks. We lived in Arizona until about ten years ago, when I retired and we moved to this area to be nearer to the grandchildren (only one at the time, though).

I used to be a high school French teacher, and DH Mike was the high school principal. In the small town where we lived, there was only one high school.

We have two DDs, almost 35 and just-turned 33. They are both married, though the younger one is in the middle of a divorce, sadly. The elder has three children: boy 10, boy 8, and girl almost 2. The younger DD has two boys, aged 8 and almost 5. The elder DD and her DH are both teachers in a middle school here, and the younger DD does financial planning. Her soon-to-be ex works at Hoover Dam here.

While DH is officially retired, he has a part-time job supervising student teachers through the university here. It keeps him out of trouble. ;) When he's not doing that, he likes to hang out at one of the sports books here, where he can watch a zillion different sporting events at once and relieve me of the sound of the channel flipping. I'm not a sports fan.

We're down to one QI now -- Bisou, our adorable cocker spaniel, will be two in May. She has an unfortunately addiction to leather and has left several of her marks on our leather sofas, but we're hoping that she'll outgrow that with time. Meanwhile, we crate her when away and don't give her the opportunity to misbehave in that way again.

I used to sew lots of clothing for myself (starting when I was fairly young), for the two DDs and even for Mike; but I've given that up in favor of quilting. I started by machine piecing and hand quilting, but I've expanded my repertoire into machine appliqué (a little) and machine quilting (a lot). I'm hoping to add hand appliqué at some point, but so far that's been unsuccessful. Oh, and I do a bit of hand piecing, too, when I want to work on my Quilted Diamonds. At any rate, I've been quilting now for over 25 years, and I can't see myself stopping anytime soon. :) There are so many new techniques to try that the variety keeps me going.

Next?

DH and I are moth retired, but spend the winters in Central Florida, and the summer we are back home in SC. DH used to work with an airline, I used to work with the county with challenged adults.

I have a blind aunt who lives in assisted living who I love to take with me for breakfast and shopping. Her 2 son's spend week end time with her. I make bags for her walker, and also a bag to hang around her neck to hold her hearing aid so she can play balloon games using her hands.

I've been sewing since making my doll clothes, but didn't start making my clothes until I learned in high school and then I took off and made most everything. I have a dauchund QI who is 2, and my son's dog, Troll,a black mostly collie & Newfoundland is a bit younger and stays here most of the time. Both are rescued dogs, and love to lay at my feet when I sew.

In the past few years I made a few lap quilts, but it seems that most of my sewing is for the retirement home. The last 3 years I have taught 5 people to sew. I enjoy passing along my skills. A friend is coming to my house in a couple of days to learn to use her serger.

Next? Barbara in SC

Okay, ya talked me into it! My name is Launie (pronounced Law-knee) and until recently widowed in November I was married for twelve years. We have five kids altogether, his, hers and ours, but usually I just got my order...so there's the oldest, Felicia is 20, Tate (aka Terry) is 20, Ronnie is 19, Zach is 18, and then there is are baby together, Hunter is 9. The only one who lives at home with me is Hunter. Felicia is attending college a couple hrs from here, Tate is starting college this fall (hopefully), and Zach is graduating high school this June and is currently attending college also.

I have five furry butts, but only four are actual QI's. First comes Olive who is a tortoise shell calico and she prefers to be outdoors, then we got Corki who is a two year old Corgi/weiner mix, then came Gabby (tabby) and her sister, Night (black, although in the sunlight she looks more chocolate brown and looks like a tabby too.)

I have lived in this house since I've been with my DH...we compromised and found a house in the middle of where we both lived. It's in the timberlands and I love it. My own little retreat, except for I do the cleaning, cooking, etc....

I do not currently work, although I do plan on starting college in the fall and may have to find a job one day a week or something till I can sell the handicapped van...

I first started out sewing making clothes for myself along with simple tied quilts, then I purchased a rotary cutter, mat such and my stash as increased because I HATE to depart with anything....hence the

1000's of cross stitch booklets I haven't used in twenty years...hey, I might get back to it one day! lol

I grew up as a navy brat, which means I never stayed in one place for over two years and if I was really lucky it would be two years! There are pros and cons to this lifestyle and although I love to travel I also love the idea of belonging somewhere! I enjoy belonging to this group/ with this group...whichever the case may be. I haven't sewed since my DH passed, but am getting back to it, or at least getting closer and closer...

I also love to garden, read, cook, and sleep. I don't know why I love to sleep, maybe the cuddling of my blankets and being warm! lol

Can't think of any more things to say, although I know there's more... Launie, in Oregon

I'll come out of lurkdom to add another brit to this branch of the thread.

I'm Karen, mum of two teens, describes as "an engineer on hormones" by my DH (If he had wanted a domesticated wife he shouldn't havemarried an engineer)

I came to patchwork via a love of mathmatics and geometry and the need for a creative outlet to indulge myself in whilst sitting arround waiting for DDs various activites to finish.

I am definitely in the stash-building phase of my patchwork career... several USOs ( un-started objects) - who am I kidding MANY USOs await the time real-life slows down a bit and i can get some sewing time in.

I'm in outer SW London

My QIs are Rustle & Ziggy ( 2 ginger and white toms - I wanted to call them Sat and Nav but that was rejected as too "clever" by the rest of my family), HRH Sox ( black & white lady cat & ruler of the roost) and Bramble a cavalier king charles spaniel - the wussiest dog in the world.

Chocolate - yes please - preferably with nuts in it.

Teen taming and other domestic engineering tasks fill most of my time...and I spend a lot of time lurking here.

I would love to find a quilt guild around here...

Enough about me...who is next?

Karen

In message , Sally Swindells writes

Hello folks,

I'm still Jo in Scotland, but live in St. Andrews now, not Dundee. It's just "over the water" and through the woods, but going from a city of

180,000 to one of 18,000 is like returning to the village I grew up in. I like the slower pace of life in Fife and the friendly folks. Plus the University has a big presence, a much bigger impact on the population in Dundee, and I feel buoyed up by youth and hope and all that, which is often lacking in Dundee.

I recently combined my two-cat family (Poppy, a female ginger tabby cat, and Daisy, her black-n-white tuxedo sister cat) to Mark's one-cat family (Tara, who is a calico and about 16). Mine just turned 3 in January. It's gone surprisingly well, but Tara does not "play" which disappoints my two kitties. Tara sees their games as pathetic, and looks on them with evident scorn. Fortunately the house has 3 stories and each cat has claimed a level of her own. Hmm. Combining 3 female cats into one happy household is not for the faint of heart!

I finished my postgraduate law course last summer, just as the economy hit the floor, so I'm about to start work as a receptionist at the University. It's not what I hoped for, but it will be nice to be able to walk to work, 5 minutes from the house, and to earn some money. Mmm, a fabric fund (if only - I'll be paying off student debts!)

I have unearthed many UFOs while tidying my boxes (the stash is still not unpacked since the move, in late October) and have done a bit of work on a couple of them. I did complete 2 new quilts for Mark's nephews at Christmas. They were I-spy squares on the front and orange fleece on the back. Bound with black, which turned out very classy. Quick to dry and cuddly. They went down well with the 4-year-old and the 7-month old. I'm making a matching cushion for the younger boy's birthday in early May. I've set up an Etsy shop where I hope to display and quite possibly sell some of my fabric creations. If you would like to have a look, it's here:

Chocolate of any kind is welcome, but I don't like white chocolate and it doesn't really qualify as "chocolate" anyway, since it is a mix of cocoa butter, vanilla, sugar, etc. Mark is allergic to nuts, so I get all the nut-based food that comes into the house.

Mark is an IT systems manager, who has a surprisingly good grasp of quilting after his rapid immersion in the subject and can identify various elements such as half-square triangles, etc when quizzed. He recently was given a quilt (made by me) where every fabric on the front features quite realistic spiders. The thing gives me the creeps. It seems to move by itself. The backing is very realistic spiders on black. I keep it covered with a blue bedspread during the day. It's a boy's dream of a quilt. He has been asking me make a quilt with various submarines on it. Erm, I'll just add that to my already massive "to do" list then. But his birthday is coming up in early May, and I'm using next week (he's away in Italy at a conference) to make his birthday present without fear of interruption or discovery. :)

Think that's about all.....

-- Jo in Scotland

I'm a retired software engineer who's been quilting off and on for 35+ years. I started sewing clothing over 50 years ago and have tried all kinds of needlework. I'm pretty much self-taught. I haven't done much clothing or other needlework since I discovered rotary cutters about 20 years ago. I so mostly machine piecing and machine quilting, though I do find hand quilting relaxing and I've recently fallen in love with hand applique.

I've been married for almost 42 years and have a son & a daughter. Both are married. We have 4 grandkids ranging in age from 8-1/2 years to 2 years. We're fortunate to live only about 1-1/2 hr. from them all, so can see them with some regularity.

I have no pets. My favorite chocolate is very dark.

Julia in MN

I currently live in southern NV--over the hump in Pahrump from Sandy in Las Vegas. The Spring Mountains separate us--hence the hump. ;-)

I fell in love with quilting when I was just a kid and enjoyed seeing the different fabrics in my great grandmother's scrappy patchwork. Scrappy quilts are my first love. I actually began quilting as a young adult. At first I was quite traditional and hand-pieced and hand-quilted. I still love the look of hand-pieced/hand-quilted quilts, but having more ideas than I have time for, I've been working on sewing machine skills. I'll start to practice FM in earnest soon. However, there is a quilt that I'm hand-piecing now.... :-)

I've also developed an interest in sewing recently.

I have one QI, a black cat with a white belly named Charley. Every time I lay a quilt out, he has to test it--whether I want him to or not!

I live with my extended family--parents and elderly grandparents who recently joined us. My grandparents are in their mid-80's. I am the "family organizer". I have no children, but the adults in this family keep me busier than I could ever imagine. ;-)

Next?

Best regards, Michelle in NV

OK, I'll play.

I am one of the males on the list (Hi John and Steve). Started sewing back in 92 making kites and bags for the kites. Started quilting 3 years ago. My wife was never so happy to see me start sewing so she no longer has to. Also like to ride my bicycle (helps keep the weight off from too much chocolate lol) I have 2 kids (29 yo son and 26 yo daughter) and a beautiful granddaughter (17 months). Can't wait till she is old enough to teach her to sew with me. 2 dogs, a bichon and a chow.

I am a salesman living in Indiana and traveling all over Ohio, my wife teaches 1st grade. 55 years young. Spend most of my sewing time making purses and diaper bags lately, so can't finish any of my quilt projects.

If the official chocolate inspector is too busy, feel free to send it to me and I will do my best to help out : )

Okay, I'm really puzzled. How did Karen manage to post as our Pat on the Hill?

Okies, here goes:

My name is Sunny. I'm 52ish, married to the most wonderful man on earth, have two sons who are grown but won't get out of my basement (22 and 19). My only QI is my pup Jo who is 8 years old, of undetermined parentage and will steal the food off your plate while you're still sitting there if you don't watch out.

I was born and raised in Texas, met my DH in Arkansas where we both had our first jobs out of college, moved to Arizona (DH was from there) and lived for 20 years, now living in a small town in North Central Washington smack between Seattle and Spokane. I never sewed, ever. Was persuaded to take a quilt class with a friend a couple years after I moved here. It was interesting. I never finished the project but managed to drop and break the cheap little sewing machine I bought when I was pregnant with son #1 (now 22) because I thought all mother had to sew. A year or so later I found myself with a medically forced retirement. I wrote for a living -- daily newspapers and later freelance work writing, doing pr, making online stuff and setting up email newsletters. To keep from going bonkers I pulled out the fabric (which I have always loved and always had some, regardless of the fact that I didn't do anything with it) and bought a couple books and decided to start quilting. My mom mailed me a good sewing machine and I was in business. I piddled a bit and then about two years ago I got serious about art quilts. I now divide my sewing time between making baby quilts to give to our local agencies that deal with families in crisis and working on art quilts. I've had one quilt accepted into a juried show that is traveling around right now, heavens knows where. I'm a bit miffed that my quilt is traveling more than I am.

If you want to see my work, it's on flickr.com at this URL:

So that's me in an nutshell and I'm having quite a good time reading over everybody's stories. I also am curious how Karen posted as Pat on the Hill. It's gotta be a good story.

Sunny

Oh blow! I thought I was being so clever getting Karen's post to this thread - and I did >ggg< Karen's post came to my e-mail instead of RCTQ. Well, you know how 'techno geekless' I am, so I had to stop and think of possible solutions. I am getting more success lately with 'copy and paste'. There was no 'copy' on the screen, but I found one under 'edit'!! So I highlighted the post and pressed 'copy', then came to the NG and at the top of Sally's post I pressed 'paste' - and it appeared >g< I was so flushed with success that I forgot to delete my sig (well, let's face it, didn't think of it!!.). . In message , Sandy writes

Well I am a single mom of 4... 3 boys and a cutie daughter who will be six next saturday. I graduated university last year and have been working as a psychiatric social worker ever since, first as a case manager in a temp position, then in January I got a full time permanent one :) I try to quilt in spare time, but I must admit that was easier when I was still a student. I have like 8 tops waited for me to sandwhich sigh.... but the ultimate procrastinator that I am... I am working on two new tops as we speak lol. One I may or may not ever finsh its so repetitive and I lose interest to fast for all those itty bitty picky parts. And the other is from a new ruler I bought at a local quilt show for strip tubing... way too much fun :) I have recently discovered that I, who cant even hand sew on a button, love hand quilting.... So those tops may get done soon, especially if it stays cold out, nice warm quilt on my lap while watching tv sounds lovely :) Anyhow... I am currently living in the lower mainland area of BC Canada, right on the Washington border, its only a few blocks from my house. I was born in Southern Cali though, and even spent time in the US Navy back when I was 18-20. It was during my time with my aunts in . Cali that I learned a love of quilts, though it wasnt until after my daughter was born that I ever picked up a sewing needle. I also make my own soap, and like to do beeswax candles. I can do the other types but prefer the creating of the wax over pouring. And I can crochet. I briefly tried my hand at beading but again with the repetitive nature of it all, I gave up right quick :). I have a webshots albums of my kids and my quilts, but I cant find the url atm and I simply must head for bed, so look me up as elywyn if you wanna see.

Carissa :)

Welcome Karen via Pat - good to see another Brit. I too have a hoard of USO's - I collect the fabrics, sort them all out, think about them, imagine them, and then make myself go back to the UFOs, but every now and then one slips through. I could probably have finished a couple of UFOs while I've been imagining.

Unfortunately I was brought up to be terrified of sums!

Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk

Patti wrote:

On Apr 23, 1:22=A0pm, Patti wrote:

Well, here is another man on the street response; Or should I say man at the sewing machine. I'm John, and I love to make traditional, pieced quilts with a sewing machine. I am 67 years old and married, for lo these 36 years, to my wife, Lois, otherwise known as, Conan the Grammarian. The other corner of this domestic triangle is Maggie, the Happy-go-Licky Airedale, who completes this household. We live in a large, late Victorian House, that I have completely remodeled, since our move here, 10 years ago, in North Central Ohio, in a small village that has mostly wide streets, and mostly narrow minds. Quite a change from our previous lifestyle in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we lived for 45 years and I worked as a remodeling contractor and custom furniture maker. My wife worked as a Editorial Services director, for a Legal publisher, for thirty years. I discovered quilting a couple of years ago when I finally had the space to devote to a sewing room for myself. I had sewn clothes for myself and my wife for a very long time, but always using the kitchen table and other less than perfect environments, to accomplish that. Now that I have a dedicated space, I have finally found my true calling, and have unleashed a flood of quilts to satisfy all the relatives who continue to produce offspring at an alarming rate, and other friends who seem to like what I produce for them. I have recently discovered the need for Quilts for Veterans, and am in the process of engaging in an effort to provide quilts to the Veterans who have given so much of themselves. I spend most of my time sewing something that both gives me pleasure and makes somebody else happy, and that is not a bad thing. I have really enjoyed the interaction with this group, and the diverse and creative people, who provide a window into the larger world of quilting. Being a man, who quilts, is, to say the least, a bit different, here in the American Midwest. This group provides me with a communication outlet in an area that I am deeply interested in, and I value it far more than any other element of the larger internet community. I just want to say, Thank You, for being so accepting and helpful and I hope that I have returned the effort, in whatever way I could.

John

Hey John! Did you see there's a Paducah winner 9-patch? Thought that would make you smile. Polly

"John" Well, here is another man on the street response; Or should I say man at the sewing machine. I'm John, and I love to make traditional, pieced quilts with a sewing machine. I am 67 years old and married, for lo these 36 years, to my wife, Lois, otherwise known as, Conan the Grammarian. The other corner of this domestic triangle is Maggie, the Happy-go-Licky Airedale, who completes this household. We live in a large, late Victorian House, that I have completely remodeled, since our move here, 10 years ago, in North Central Ohio, in a small village that has mostly wide streets, and mostly narrow minds. Quite a change from our previous lifestyle in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we lived for 45 years and I worked as a remodeling contractor and custom furniture maker. My wife worked as a Editorial Services director, for a Legal publisher, for thirty years. I discovered quilting a couple of years ago when I finally had the space to devote to a sewing room for myself. I had sewn clothes for myself and my wife for a very long time, but always using the kitchen table and other less than perfect environments, to accomplish that. Now that I have a dedicated space, I have finally found my true calling, and have unleashed a flood of quilts to satisfy all the relatives who continue to produce offspring at an alarming rate, and other friends who seem to like what I produce for them. I have recently discovered the need for Quilts for Veterans, and am in the process of engaging in an effort to provide quilts to the Veterans who have given so much of themselves. I spend most of my time sewing something that both gives me pleasure and makes somebody else happy, and that is not a bad thing. I have really enjoyed the interaction with this group, and the diverse and creative people, who provide a window into the larger world of quilting. Being a man, who quilts, is, to say the least, a bit different, here in the American Midwest. This group provides me with a communication outlet in an area that I am deeply interested in, and I value it far more than any other element of the larger internet community. I just want to say, Thank You, for being so accepting and helpful and I hope that I have returned the effort, in whatever way I could.

John

I am Val. I am an old broad who lives in the far Northwest corner of the USA. If I were any further northwest-er I'd be a Canadian with wet feet. I'm not allowed to reveal much more about my identity since I have been thrust into a very closely monitored Witness Protection Program. That happened because those who have actually witnessed any of my quilting demanded protection. ~hanging head and mumbling~ .....and sometimes I am over come with envy and do shameless, albeit fruitless, begs for purple quilts and swipe little packets of M&Ms from the Halloween bags of sleeping children.

Val

I am Polly Esther, also part of the Witness Protection Program and we don't know where we live. Hurricane Katrina washed away the old land records but we believe we're either in Alabama or Mississippi in the Swamp. You can't get there from here. The Swamp is populated with 8,500 gators, give or take a few including 50 known escapees during spring break. There is only one QI here. Our Yorkie - Yogi - was raised by a senile Tom cat. He carefully inspects anything within his reach for optimum nappability. Ironing anything that hangs to the floor is simply out of the question. DH and I have celebrated or ignored all anniversaries on record and still enjoy each other. Just yesterday, he asked me to get him some butterscotch soap. No problem. After more than 60 years together, I knew what he meant. Cocoa butter. With generous support from friends, I stitch nearly a hundred quilts a year for needing babies. I try to make every one of them special; the babies are. Polly

"Val" I am Val. I am an old broad who lives in the far Northwest corner of the

I did indeed. Makes a body proud, to know that there are still some of us traditionalists are still competitive in this Art Quilt world.

John