The World Wide Web

With as much evil that there is lurking out there on the WWW, there is still good to be found!

I found my college buddy on Facebook after 20 plus years and we got together this summer...it was just like old times. I'm the one in blue.

Last Saturday, a friend since the 5th grade (at a one room country school) found me on Facebook. The really spooky thing is that while we were driving back from Georgia on Saturday, we were listening to a segment on WGN that brought her to mind. After we were settled in, I fired up the laptop and there she was.

On Mother's Day Weekend in 2005, I found my dog on line at the Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee. I've dated several men that I've met on line....most were good experiences...you can usually weed out the weirdos early in the game. In 2006, I met my significant other on line.

After retiring and moving to Illinois to be with my sweetie, I needed to find women to do things with during the day. I did know a couple of women that were the wives of my sweetie's friends and they are very nice people, but I wanted my own people. So, I went on line.

I looked for women's club in my city and surrounding cities and came up empty. Then I finally came up with the magic combination of words in my Google search to find a Women's Social group on Yahoo. They are very nice (they originally only wanted married women, but I changed that) and I'm still a member of that group. Most of the women in that group were only weekenders at that time, so after I found Meetup.com I started a group for daytime women. I'll tell you, you can find a group for almost any interest, especially if you live near a major metropolitan area. The 50 member group was in existence for a year and then I decided it was time to get ready to move to Georgia if the house sold tomorrow. So, I just recently closed the group and had the active members migrate over to the Yahoo group.

You really don't have to move out of state to find yourself in need of women friends. Most women at some point in their lives (usually after years of working and raising kids) find themselves without a female support system. Your friends from high school and college are long absent. It's a sad situation, but you can change it. We all need female friends because...hey we are just more fun and interesting.

Meet Bubba

This is Bubba, a Brother QC 1000, and my quilting space! Can't wait to get to Georgia!

When I retired, I bought a new Viking Emerald 183, with the intention of making cloths for the Grandkids...not! In December of last year, a friend turned me on to quilting and I quickly upgraded to Bubba.

Someday, I hope to have a mid arm and frame as I can't imagine wrestling with any quilt larger than a lap quilt. Maybe if you were only staying with stitch in the ditch...but hey, not my plan.

Later, I'll post pictures of what I have started. On the table, you can see a practice sandwich for freemotion....I need more practice.

I have to go dry my hair and head out to find a new pair of jeans and start shopping for a dress (haven't brought one for a few years) to wear to a wedding in late November. Then, I'm meeting with 7 or eight women for lunch...I'll post about my internet friends and experiences another time.


Later!

Back From Georgia

Finally, I'm back on to update. We headed down to the house in Georgia for a week after my first posting and put me off my plans. Here in Illlinois, I have very limited quilting space (a Costco folding table) and I don't have the luxury of leaving it set up (the house is on the market). Once we are down in Georgia full time, I will have my own dedicated quilting space...my own creating haven...my own room! Can't wait to be there full time!

OK...I have to go outside now and do doggie poop patrol before the lawn care guys come thru...later!

First Blog Post

Hello out there....Welcome to my blog. It wasn't that long ago that I didn't even know what a blog was! I started reading a few that were mentioned on The Quilting Board and then The Quilt Show mentioned quilterblogs.com. I have my list of favorites that I check on every day. First, I get my cup of coffee, check my email, check the Quilting Board, and then my favorite blogs.

In a way, I think I'm starting this as a means to get me going on finishing the two quilts that I've started and start making blocks. I've studied quilt patterns, stitch patterns, online fabric shops, machine and frame setups, quilting techniques. I've checked out dozens of books and magazines from the library on quilting and watch my DVR'ed and on-line quilt shows.

It's time to put that knowledge to work!!!!

On my next post, I'll put in some pictures of my machine Bubba and the two quilts that I have started.

Later.