Conquering my applique slump

Thank you Tonya and Lisa for your comments. I made the shadow top a few years ago before I found out that you can break the rules and the quilt police do not come to your house to arrest you! Lisa - as soon as I can get some pictures, I will take one of the shadow quilt. I was thinking after I wrote my blog that I should have a picture of it to go with my story. I have to get organized and find the camera, and figure out how to do the picture and get it into my blog. I know it is not that difficult, but I have not taken the time to accomplish it. I thought that this weekend I could get some good pictures. I should have done that yesterday when the sun was shining. Today it is a little rainy (only sprinkles) and overcast, and cold. My youngest (the computer techee) just stopped by for a visit with his wife. They are such a darling couple. She is so sweet, and he is so sweet, it is hard not to hug them every minute. He came by at a good time. I had him check my computer since it has been working so slow. I need some more RAM, and a new processor, and something else I don't understand. When I purchased this computer (because the youngest married and moved out taking the computer with him!) I wanted to get EQ5 and install it and learn how to use it. Now there is EQ6 available. I saw EQ5 demonstrated on Alex Anderson's Simply Quilts show. But I think I would need more storage/working space on my computer to get the best use out of a program of this type. So Bud is going to help me get updated. Well, Bud also helped me find out on Blogger where I can edit my side bar. I have been wanting to add links, and I want some cute stuff there. I don't know how that can happen yet, but tiny steps, tiny steps. I need to get pictures going first. I also want to discover how to link a name in my blog to a website, or blog spot. I see links in blogs all the time. I like that. I can go to that blog/website and see what the blogger is talking about, then return to the blog and continue reading. There is so much about this computer stuff that I need to learn. It is fun learning, but it is frustrating when I want to do something I know can be done, but do not have the knowledge/skill to make it happen. I am not a patient person, and I want it all NOW! Last evening I went to a meeting of our chapter of The Applique Society. I have not been appliqueing much the last couple of years. I have 5 or 6 big applique quilts in progress. I want to get back to them and get them finished. I thought that if I joined TAS, then I would be around quilters who applique, and that would motivate me. I have attended four meetings, and have taken hand work with me to each meeting. I am hand sewing another charm quilt with the apple core design in red and green (not for Christmas). I have taken that project, or one of my embroidered Periwinkle Lane blocks, to the TAS meetings to work on. I decided last evening (about 30 minutes before the meeting) that I should take some applique to work on since it was, after all, an applique meeting. I started looking for one of my oldest projects to work on. I thought I knew where it was, but it was too much trouble to get to it in my crowded sewing room. I started looking around for something else to take. I finally found my Hearts and Flowers applique project. I made six of the twelve blocks year before last. I took it last evening and drew out the pattern for block seven. I feel like I have conquered my applique slump finally. If I am taking a class, I am more motivated to get the project done. I discovered last evening that there is applique fever abounding in the TAS group, and I have caught the fever again! If I think of it as a class, then maybe I can get a block a month done. In six months I will have finished the blocks and can work on the border. There were some beautiful projects displayed on the walls at the meeting. Today I am sewing up more blocks for the Carolina Crossroads mystery. Well, I think it is not a mystery anymore since the revealing has happened. It is a mystery to me why I did such a poor job on my nine patches. I am unsewing, then resewing nine patches so I can get the blocks done. I am anxious to get my top all together. Tomorrow is a holiday. This will give me another day to work on my sewing (or at least part of the day). Lisa and Tonya, I promise I will take a picture of it, and try to get it in my blog. Sunday Stash Busting Report No fabric, patterns, or other quilt related items purchased this week. I am still using fabric from my stash to sew my Hearts and Flowers blocks, as well as Bonnie's "no longer mystery" quilt. So, not much loss, but no gain either. Thanks for stopping by to visit. Have a quilty day.