I finished the quilt. The last two blocks didn't take long. The next one is on the machine and ready to stabilize.



I did a combination of line dancing and custom design. The braids got line dancing.

The outside border got a leaf and curl type design.

I did a combination of line dancing and custom design on all the blocks.

The inside border got a pebble design. The sashing got a leaf design.

Another view of some of the designs.

Just as I got started on the next quilt yesterday; the furnace guy called to ask if he could come by and do some measurements. He plans to start working today and wanted to be sure he had everything he needed to do the work. It's probably going to take him 2 or 3 days to finish. The insulation guys decided to wait until the furnace guys finish their work so they are not tripping over each other or mixing up the tools. They will probably start the insulation on Monday.

There's going to be a new air intake vent put here.

This air intake vent will be replaced with a larger one with a drop down filter system. That will make it easier for me to change the filter.

Another outlet vent will be put here with additional ductwork from the furnace to the vent. This will warm up the bedrooms quite a bit. When the work is finished my furnace will be 90 percent effecient. Yea!

My furkids will be happy with the new vent too. This is usually their sleeping spot next to a closed door. I think they chose this spot because warm air would come from under the door. They are so short that they are very close to the cold floor and stay cold all the time.

A different dryer vent will replace this one. Geeze, I need to check behind there more often. Look at the spider webs.... yuck! This vent is the old kind that is open on the outside. It lets cold air come back inside when the dryer isn't being used. It's going to be changed to one that closes when not in use.

I wanted to get back on the quilting machine but realized I needed to move several things out of the way before tomorrow. So while I was doing all the moving around, some things found their way outside ready for the next junk day. This is gone. I decided to get rid of it. It was pretty but I need something quite a bit larger for better storage. Eight inch shelves are just not enough.

In all the moving things around; I also had in mind that I must replace the plastic on the windows before cold weather. I bought these boxes of window plastic back last spring. They were on the discount table marked 50 percent off. The day that I saw them there was also an additional 75 percent off the marked down price. I think that made the price about 30 cents each if I remember right. I bought all the boxes that were there. What I don't use this year can be saved for next year. Yes, I do know it says patio door but size can be changed with sissors. I'll make it fit.

I'm getting the energy efficient work finished just in time. My utility bill came yesterday. I'm on the equal payment plan. I normally use much less in the summer than in the winter so my payments are usually low for about 6 months. Why they don't make the payments the same year round puzzles me. My new payment has been adjusted for winter..... it went up over a hundred dollars. Well we did get warning the utilities would be much, much higher this winter due to the increase in cost for oil and gas over the last year. It was on the news several days in a row.

Now that hurricane Ike is messing with the gulf oil refinery and drilling sites, I'm sure it will be an excuse for prices to sky rocket again. My sons, the guardian angels, must have been looking over my shoulder telling me to get these things done.... and showing me how to rework my budget for it all.

When the kids were little the utilites always got turned off during the summer because I didn't earn enough to pay it all. I would get the bill paid just in time for winter each year. The utilities were off so long one time that my daughter thought it was magic when I could finally turn on the lights again. She didn't remember seeing electric lights in "our" house before. Maybe that's why my guardian angels pushed me to do this work. Without electricity I can't quilt. Without quilting income I can't pay the electric bill.

My friend Marilyn came by and picked up some boxes of scrap batting. Gosh it was good to see her again.... hi Marilyn. I kept 2 boxes to use for my window quilts and incase a customer's batting comes up short. Speaking of window quilts. I really need to start making those. But, I'm not sure when I can. The xmas quilts are arriving regularly and must get finished. I may end up just getting some sheets from the thrift store and quickly panto quilting those as a temporary fix until the rush is over. They can be donated later.

Well, I guess it's time for me to get started working again.