My first longarmed quilt (pic later)

I wanted to sleep in, but Chris and Michele got up to play with the voices. And hey, I had stuff to do. I checked e-mail, read all about chocolate, and was in my sewing room trying to clear some space, when the phone rang. Cathy was at the Arts and Crafts center finishing up a quilt on the longarm. She said I could bring something to work on too, but I hadn't finished anything. And I had too much to do. But after I hung up, I thought really hard and remembered that I had a quilt top that was only a border away from being finished. And I have all my scrap blocks to be laid out (if only I had a place big enough). So, I slapped a border on the quilt top, grabbed some batting and backing, gathered all my scrap blocks and headed for the AnC center. Cathy was almost finished with her quilt and Annette was helping her, so I used the big table to lay out my blocks. But when Cathy finished, she and her husband went over to the Px. So I got started piecing the batting to fit my top. When I was about to piece the backing, she called to say that the fabric man had a tent outside the Px and maybe he had some 60 inch fabric. So I drove down there. Turns out he had nothing suitable in 60", but I bought some other stuff anyway. Then I went back and pieced my muslin backing. Cathy came in while I was still pinning it on. She helped me load all the pieces, choose a pattern, and get started. Just after she left, the thread broke and I had to call her back. So she stayed 'till the end. We took the quilt off and cleaned the machine. Then we left. At home, I prepared all my new fabrics to be washed. I checked e-mail again, followed some links, and trimmed my new quilt. It is beautiful, but not perfect. I would post a pic, but it'll be better when it's bound.
P.S. I forgot to say that Cathy got hungry at the AnC center and I offered her some dried seaweed. She tried it but Annette wouldn't. But when I explained that seaweed contains fucoxanthin which is good for weightloss, she changed her mind.

Adventure at Sungshin

Chris and Michele got up to play with the voices. I got ready to meet a friend at Sungshin station. I walked into gate 37, took the car to gate 19 and caught the subway. I was worried about being late, but was actually a few minutes early. I didn't see her in the station so I walked topside. I didn't see her there either. At this point I thought maybe I was supposed to call her, but I didn't have her number. I called Chris to check my e-mail, but I didn't have any info there either. I waited around until 10:40, then I decided to go off and explore. The building outside the subway was tall and distinctive, so as long as I could see it, I wasn't lost. I walked through a fish and veggie street market, over a wooden bridge, past some questionable establishments and back to the subway. ALong the way I bought rice balls, dried squid, thick black hose, and a sausage on a stick. AFter 2 hours I was ready to go home. When I got back to the car I had to sit for awhile to collect my energy. Then I drove back to the gate, and walked home. I went into my sewing room to sew, but ended up watching episodes of "My name is Earl" on DVD. Chris went to the office and Itaewon to change dollars for won. When he got back he had a box for me. One of our previous quilters sent me a box of fabric to use for classes. Yea! I also got on the computer to check e-mail and follow links. Today I learned that most vaccinations include mercury and/or aluminum. Not for me. Then my friend, who I never caught up with, called to say she'd had a mysterious pain and gone to the hospital. She felt terrible about forgetting to call me, but I told her I'd had an adventure anyway. This time I programmed her number into my phone. She wants me to give a talk on EFT to her coffee group. I am amazed at how possible that feels.

finishing quilts

First thing this morning I sat down at my computer to make yesterdays post because I went to bed early last night. I also read through all the e-mail that didn't contain links that I wanted to follow. One link took me to a audio file where a doctor explained that the H1N1 flu is actually mild and has killed fewer people than the innoculations (or most other flus). In both cases, the people who died had other health problems to begin with.
Then I walked to the thrift shop. I spent 3 1/2 hours sorting books and re-pricing CD's because there was almost nothing to shelve. Soon after I left, I got a call saying that they had put aside some adhesive fabric for me to look at. Well, no one thought to mention this while I was still there? Anyway, I kept walking. Back at the apt I had a quick lunch and laid down for awhile. Then I got up to put together what I needed for tonight's class. I took all the fabrics I was auditioning for my quilt top to see what other people thought. Unfortunately, I forgot the quilt itself:( I also started writing checks to charities. Back in the states I wrote two a month. But I don't pay the bills here, so its not so convenient. But Chris left me the checkbook so I got started. Then I had to walk to the gate, pick up the car and drive to the chapel. I returned the keys I borrowed from the office on Monday (but there was no one to return them to then). And I opened the storage room and lockers to get out the tools. Toniette came to help. We had a reasonable turnout and Cathy showed us how to make a cupcake pincushion. Some ladies spent the time working on their quilts, but others had finished at home. After class, I drove to the gate, parked the car, and walked all the way around to Gate 52, because my gate closes at 7. I plan to use the car tomorrow to drive to Gate 19 to catch the subway to Sungshin.

Australian tour of Dongdaemun Fabric market

This morning I went to the thrift shop since I didn't go yesterday. After an hour I had finished putting up all the books so Chris picked me up and we went to the travel agent in the DHL to see about arrangements to go somewhere for Thanksgiving. We now have reservations to go to Hongkong just before Thankgiving. Nancy and Rick invited us to their place on the day so we accepted. Chris drove me back to the thrift shop. The book bin was full again, but in another hour I had emptied it. We got a LOT of sci fi and fantasy. Then Cathy picked me up there and we went to Gate 19. We caught the subway to Dongdaemun to meet the group of Australian women that we'd met yesterday at the quilt festival. We showed them our favorite places to buy fabric. Because quilting fabric in Australia runs $25 a meter, they thought ALL the fabric places in Dongdaemun were bargains. There was time left before their bus came to pick them up, so we all went to a coffee shop to have a hot drink and wait. They bought us tea in appreciation. When they left, they also gave us some pieces of Australian fabrics and some souvenirs.
Chris and I were looking into maybe taking a trip to Australia for Christmas, so the ladies were giving us tips, like come when you can stay longer and see more. They were so nice we felt that we'd known them forever. They are flying to Japan on Friday for another quilt show. Wish I were going, too.
I tried to upload all the pics I took of the quilt show in town. I wanted to create a Picasa album, but that involves downloading software. Then I tried creating a Facebook album. But that involves uploading the pics one at a time, and checking a box that says I have the right to upload the pics (which I don't). So far I have about 30 uploaded there.
When I got home from Dongdaemun, it was 6pm. Chris arrived shortly after. We had a quick supper then went to bed. I was exhausted and he had to go back to work from 10pm to midnight. I don't think I noticed him getting up again. I slept until morning.

Seoul International Quilt Festival

I wore my new gray pants because it was cold this morning. The cleaning lady said to me yesterday "Chew-eye-oh" which means cold. (I thought 'chupda' meant cold but apparently that is the infinitive. Yes, they conjugate adjectives here.)
I packed my camera, water bottle and won. Chris picked up Cathy at her place, then picked me up at the gate. He dropped us off at Gate 17, where she and I caught the subway to Samseong station, at the COEX mall. We had a bit of trouble finding the right building, and then the exhibition hall. There were plenty of other events going on. In fact, for an international event, it wasn't very big or well attended.
I took over 100 pictures. I cannot show them all, or even select one as the best or most representative. They were all beautiful. We met a group of ladies on a tour from Australia. Cathy gave them her number in case they want us to take them to Dongdaemun tomorrow. Their tour guide wants to take them to a palace instead. There were vendors there, but the fabric prices were high and the stuff mostly not what we were looking for. I did buy a package of fat quarters for 10,000 won. Cathy wanted to buy a thimble but the only person having one, was taking wholesale orders, not selling piecemeal. Finally we left, having seen everything. Downstairs we spied the Red Cross bazaar. So we went in. There was no entrance fee and lots of vendors selling anything you can imagine: food, clothing, trinkets, etc. Then as we left there, we saw flowers outside. It was the fall flower show. Lovely mums, marigolds, pointsetties, etc., some a little frostbitten. We eventually found our way back to the subway station, and back to post. We were near the Self-Help place, so Cathy stopped in to get some lightbulbs. Then we walked to her house to look through quilt magazines, etc. She lent me her collection of Alex Anderson DVD's to look at. When I got home, Chris arrived soon after. He had flyers for trips we could take over the Thankgiving holiday. Due to college, Michele would have to stay here. I did a lot of internet searching to find out if either of these places had fabric shops (Taiwan, Hongkong) and what else there might be to do there. We also looked into Jeju island, but this might be the wrong time of year for the best experience of the place.

Getting closer to that longarm

It's the first Monday of the month, so we had our Block of the Month raffle. Participation was good, but it took people a long time to drift in. I showed the next block, a Christmas Dresden Plate. We also had show-and-tell. We started cutting fabric for the middle school donation quilt, but had to stop early to go over to the Arts and Crafts Center. We all gathered there at their invitation, to go over SOP's for using the longarm and pricing. We talked them down to $5 an hour usage fee. Thread charge will be $3 and batting will be $5 a yard. Not bad. The staff promised to have the grand opening by mid-November. It is long-awaited, I assure you.
Most people went home then, but a few of us went back to the chapel, had lunch and finished cutting the fabric. Then we went home, too. I finished the pair of pants I started yesterday. I also answered e-mails and watched a movie with Chris and Michele. I re-wrote my directions for the dresden plate and uploaded it to the yahoo group so that those who didn't come today would know how to make it.
I went to bed early because tomorrow is the International Quilt Festival!

New shelving system - NO cardboard boxes

We overslept, again. I worked in my sewing room cleaning up. I read e-mails, and watched video segments from a quilting website. I made new folders on my computer and filled them with files to make things easier to find. I spent hours making and printing templates for the Block-of-the Month I want to present tomorrow. I have done this one before, why don't I have full-size templates somewhere on this computer? Argh! Then Chris and I went to post. First we stopped at the Arts and Crafts Center to get two shelves cut. Then we ran in the commissary for a few items, including a pumpkin. Coming into the apt building, we passed a couple that needed their car jumped. So Chris went to get his car while I carried the groceries up stairs. Took me two trips.
Here is a picture of the shelving system I made with PVC and the shelves to store more fabric in my closet without making any holes in the walls. I am so happy. Now I can buy more. Ha, ha. After supper we watched a movie - Bulletproof Monk. Then I started making a pair of grey pants. I changed the back crotch length. I hope I don't have to change the front to accomodate that. But now it is bedtime so I will have to finish them tomorrow.