Re: Time for another Roll Call?

Welcome Moni. (At least I think you must mostly lurk?). It's great to meet you out in the open, so to speak.! Lovely. Sounds like a job I would enjoy, but shouldn't >g< . In message , Walker Family writes

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

All right, all right. I was trying to avoid it, but you people just don't make it easy for me.

I've been quilting since I don't know when, but not before 2000. My mother made a few quilts and I wasn't super interested (who would when you are using a square piece of wood, a pencil and a pair of scissors to make a quilt?). I did make a few pieces of clothing throughout my life, but my primary love was cross-stitch. I expanded into pulled and drawn thread work and into quilting. My stash has grown considerably throughout the past years, but I still don't have everything I *need* I'm sure!

DH and I have been married for 16 years now, have a beautiful 5yo DD and a 2 1/2yo DS. DS might live to reach the ripe old age of 3, but not if he decides to wash mommy's sewing machine again! And we have one adorable feline QI named Faith who insists on a very thorough inspection of any fabric laid upon the floor.

I live just outside of Washington DC on the Maryland side. Been a SAHM (yeah right, when do we really stay at home?) for a little over 3 years now. Am looking at re-entering the workforce this coming fall, as I am about to finish my bachelor's degree this spring! FINALLY!

I also love exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chocolate is on the USDA guidelines with a required 10 - 15 servings a day...isn't it? As long as it is semi-sweet or dark and not milk or white chocolate! It is best found in chocolate chip cookies though.

Dannielle

Hi Everyone, Most people know me as "the lady who makes the animal blankets", yes that is true. I've been sewing "blankies" for dogs and cats awaiting adoption at about a dozen rescues here in Michigan(northwest of Detroit) for about 6 years, 5 of which, I've worked on them fulltime. I'm 45, have been married for 25 years this fall and we have one QI, Jack, a 9 year old Coonhound/Lab Mix. DH has worked for the same Automotive supplier for 29 years but it's become very scary, if you'll be there for 30. He's very stressed and he feels like vomiting eveyday when he pulls into the parkng lot. I don't think the rest of the country undestands how bad things are here in our state. Well, enough about that. Other than making blankets, I also make alot of raffle baskets for the rescues events through out the year. I'm a good clearance shopper, things always seem to come together. Thanks to everyone that helps me with fabric, batting and thread for my Critter Comforts project. I couldn't do it without you.

Critter Comforts: Quilts for Homeless Animals

Hi, all! I'm LaurieG. from California - SF Bay Area to be a bit more specific. I have been on the group for quite a few years now, not as long as many but more than others :-)

I am a SAHM who has been fortunate to own my own home business. Past life I did needlework finishing and framing (that's when I belonged to RQTN) but now that I have become a quilter (last 10 years), my business is Long Arm Quilting. (I'm in the group database under Finishing Touches!).

I have been married for almost 26 years. I've been trying to get my dh to retire (after 37 years!) but he is going to go one more. We have 2 dd's - one is 30 and is gainfully employed and self sufficient (yay!) and who likes to quilt. The other one is 23. She is a recent college grad (2007) and is going back to school for her Master of Education degree at Harvard. She is semi-self sufficient but no longer employed which fit into her plans to go back to school. She is crafty but hasn't taken to the sewing machine yet. She does share my knitting passion, though. I've been busy knitting neck warmers and scarves! She's going to need them in the Fall......

The girls I have to take care of the most are my 4 legged girls. Two chocolate labs age11 (Sati/Sadie) and age 3 (Ruby). For Ruby it's all about the ball. Beside being outside fetching, she likes to lay on the sofa in my quilt studio and sleep while I quilt. Keeps me company!

I go on retreats with my friends - our best one being a week in Bodega in a huge house!! We usually have 11 of us and we are spread out with sewing machines, cutting tables, etc. We talk, eat, knit, watch movies and laugh til our Depends give out!

I am blessed with a husband who supports my craft as I support his (ballistics/shooting/hunting). Do you know how cold Wyoming can be????? I'm from California!! Not used to 14 degree weather......

If you are still reading this, just know that I consider you all a friend and I share in the prayers......hugs......happy dances with you.

~~~~~~~ Laurie G. in CA

I'm Mary, married to Steve for nearly 41 years. DH is currently working in the hotel industry and I'm unemployed. We have 2 sons by birth ages 38 and

1. We are currently dislocated in Idaho wishing we could get back to western Oregon. I became a serious piecer in 2004 and working on becoming a quilter. The stack of unquilted tops attests to that.

ME-Judy here - aka Judy in Maine

Don't know where the time goes... but haven't been as active quilting this winter/spring... I'm 68 y.o., married (in Aug.) 40 yrs - to the same wonderful guy! Have six kids... only one still at home. We're both retired.... I taught elementary school in Oregon & Japan, then got married to my Navy Guy and we travelled from Japan to Puerto Rico to Virginia to Maine (where we decided to stay put!)

Have 1 Q.I. - a rescue beagle named Gus.... (who loves laying on quilts to check out their warmth!) Been a member of this group for ages, but lately it seems I'm just keeping up with the posts. We did some kitchen/dining room renovations last fall & it took till after Thanksgiving to get all the stuff put back, as DH had four minor surgeries while the house was being "updated" - kinda chaotic, but all went well (2cataracts &2 foot surgeries). Still catching up with projects that didn't quite get done in time for Christmas, and now it's the beginning of garden season.... Heading out to Oregon for my 50th H.S. Reunion next month, so I'll be gone for a bit. One of these days I'll get caught up. Like that'll ever happen!

I've learned soooo much from all you guys/gals - what a fantastic group! Judy

Ok, since Ms. Polly insisted ;-), I'll jump in as well.

I've been rather quite of late, pretty much lurking, but I've been a member going on probably 8+ years now (thinking around 10, but the mind wanders). Our dear Ms. Ginger was one of the very first RCTQ members that I met in "real life" when she and I still lived "up north" of Santa Barbara, near Buellton where my still favorite fabric shop (and owners!) of all time is located. If memory serves me, she was the one who invited me to the local guild show, and for an RCTQ get together where I met, amoung others, our dear departed Queen and her mom, truly brave souls, both of whom have now gone on to the golden frame in the sky. This group really does seem like an informal family, where we celebrate births and weddings with gusto, and mourn losses with support and encouragement. While I remain quiet on the postings, I am always here in spirit.

Having been born in NYC, I lived in CA almost all of my life, but in 2004, my family and I have moved to SW Washington. (We are never going back!) It is absolutely lovely up here. Yeah, lots of rain, but the green landscape and waterfalls are worth every drippy moment! Not only that, but the weather gives me LOTS of time to sew! The oddest thing about moving up here from CA was the change in the daylight hours. Being almost 1500 miles north, the sun here sets MUCH later in the summer - around 10pm, but then again it goes down much earlier in the winter too. DH & I have 4 cats, 1 dog (a pit-lab mix who is thoroughly cat-pecked), 2 boys (13 yo twins) and 1 girl (8). Our girl is actually my niece, who we are raising since I lost my sis to AML in

I'm the member of two local guilds now - a humongous one (400+ members) that is just too huge to be personal, and a little local one up the road that might work out to be more friendly. I really miss the old guild in CA - Quilters Etc. - it was just about the right size and I really enjoyed volunteering with that group. I'm going to take up some tasks in the smaller local group, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm a confirmed "Type A" quilter. Way too fussy on points and accuracy, but on the plus side, it has helped me to develop some cool tricks. Most of my finished pieces are with family, but I did manage to keep a few around the house. My favorite thing now is hand applique, but I'm also a big Thimbleberries and Lori Smith fan. Also, I am craving to do a Dear Jane sometime, but that will have to wait! I do have a Webshots site, if you'd like to see my work:

You can also find me on Facebook, in the directory, and on TeachStreet. I really enjoy this group. You all have gotten me through some rough times and come through with invaluable information when I needed it most. I wonder sometimes what we would do without the "virtual quilt frame". Newbies, enjoy the ride, oldsters - you are more appreciated than you know.

Lorraine in La Center

Okay, I'll be next.

My name is Donna. We moved to NE Louisiana from central Florida in 2003 when my DH of 31 years got laid off. Luckily he found a job in a couple of weeks so off we went to Louisiana! We hope to retire in the next couple of years and are planning to move back to Florida but this time to my hometown, Pensacola. My real job is as an RN in the OR of an eye surgery center and my fun job is at my LQS one or two Saturdays a month. One DS lives in Alabama about 40 minutes from Pensacola with our DDIL and two of our DGK--one DGS, AJ, age 18 graduates in a few weeks and is planning on joining the Air Force and our DGD, Brittany, age 15 plays in the school marching band and concert band. One DS lives in Pensacola and is a single dad raising my DGD, Kaley, age 5 (going on thirty LOL) who graduates from pre-k three days before her cousin graduates from high school. DD lives in St. Pete, Fl with her DH and our DGD, Olivia, age 9 and our DGS, Ryan, age 5. We have one QI--a thirteen pound poodle named Jingles. I am the treasurer of my chapter of our local quild. I have many UFO's and many PIG's and should be in my sewing room right now working on some of them.

Hi Ginger: you and I seem to have come to the group around the same time, and to have started quilting the same year. In fact, I started in Paso Robles, CA, but only lived in CA a few years. Small world, eh? PAT in VA/USA

oh, yes, this is a small world, made warmer by friends made around this cyber-frame, and in real life!

Paso Robles is a nice area. Hobo Karen lives up near there, now.

Have a peace-filled/piece-filled day, G> Hi Ginger: you and I seem to have come to the group around the same time,

On Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:53:01 -0500, Sally Swindells wrote (in article ):

Living in Springfield, IL and working for the State.

Dear Sweetie David is a lobbyist. We live in a 6 flat building and I get the basement apartment (can't be rented out because of fire codes) for my "studio". Currently a giant mess because the cable company is rewiring the building and everything is out of the closets--I'll be having to weed stuff out before I put it all back. Just got back from Paducah so I have all that Hancock's fabric to put away as well.

No children, but two feline QIs. Katie Mae, who is on the verge of moving in with the neighbors--I think she only comes home to eat, and Maggie Belle.

I learned to sew from my mother and from high school home ec. Started quilting about 10 years ago and now have a giant laundry basket full of half-finished projects. My excuse is the number of friends and family who keeping having babies, so I never get to finish my own things.

My photo page at .Me is up to date or nearly up to date.

Love chocolate in all shapes, colors, forms, flavors. Which of course leads to weight gain, so I've started trying to walk a lot more. My neighbor pushes me onward, so now we just need some nice weather. We've had a week of rain and I don't like to get wet!

And now I'm officially late for work.

Maureen

Well, not me exactly. But I thought some of the oldies (long-serving members of the group, not older persons) might like to hear some news from Ruth in Happy Camp. I got this from her sister and thought it worth repeating:

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"Subject: Happy Camp Wildlife Day

Right now I've got at least a dozen Goldfinches on my deck. When I stood up to gape, I also spied three deer in the yard.

Strange thing: I hung a Hummingbird feeder about a week ago, and gradually have got several hummers feeding (I'd not had one up for a few years). Yesterday I noticed a small bird--looked like a finch--seeming to try to get at the nectar. That led do a search for birds that drink nectar: mostly hummers and Orioles, of course, but there are a few others. None looked even close to my little bird.

A few weeks ago I stumbled across a niger seed feeder in the garage and a (very old) bag of the seed, so I put it out on the deck. No customers, but I've not put out any kind of seed for so long the birds don't look for it anymore. Also, I thought maybe the seed was too old to attract birds.

This morning, I spied three American Goldfinch on the Hummingbird feeder and thought "Aha! that is what I had yesterday--a little female." Then I looked over at the niger feeder and there they were, jostling for position. (The top hole was missing the little "plug" and seed spilled out when I filled it. Now the only places to get seed are right at the bottom, allowing only 2 or 3 birds to feed.) That's when I spied the deer. There might have been more; they began, one by one, to go over the back fence while I watched.

I've been thinking of trying for tomatoes and peppers again this year, but now I know I'll just lose them to deer if I try. They munch the peppers right to the ground, then destroy the tomatoes trying to find an edible bit."

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So Ruth seems to be happy - apparently she is also active in an Art Group there too - but has lost Newsgroup access.

Oh, and me? I quilt (when I can). A late starter at any sewing - I didn't start till I was nearly 50. And RCTQ has taught me pretty much everything I know. Long-term married. One child. One dog. Happy.

Cheers for now Tutu

not to worry Doc! we have the state covered! amy in CNY

Thanks for the update Tutu. I've often wondered how she was getting on. Good to hear she is staying busy and in just a lil bit of trouble trying to keep deer from her garden. Here we have rabbits that CAN climb chicken wire to get the lettuce..but haven't figured out how to get over the inside wire. YAY!

Butterfly ( I now have lettuce--enuf to share with a coupla neighbors :)

Retired from desktop publishing jobs, currently teaching quilting and knitting on occasion, and recently completed a western Canada tour presenting one-day seminars and trunk shows in conjunction with my best friend who is a gospel singer.

Have one very moody orange cat, two adult sons, three gorgeous grand daughters. Thought I'd get back to smocking and clothing sewing now I finally have girls in the family, but it's not to their mother's taste, so I'm happily starting [and occasionally finishing] quilts instead.

Next?

Thanks you SO much for posting this. I've wondered for years where she went. So glad all's well. Gen

I am mostly a reader not a poster, living in IL with DH of 47 yrs. and a very spoiled QI. Have 2 boys both married, 2 grands and 1 great grand. Been quilting for 20 yrs or so. Applique is my fav. Finally learning to free motion, I am getting better but will take more practice:) Even if I dont post much each prayer request is given spepcial concideration. This is indeed a unique group.

lyn

So many wonderful stories...

(just thought i'd post something...thought we needed to get to 100 on this one!)

amy in CNY