Twilight top done; and an episode of "The Birds"

Twilight (72" x 72")

Despite needing to do some lesson planning and paper grading, I couldn't resist getting downstairs to put the final borders on the Twilight quilt. So....now.....may the lesson-planning and paper-grading commence.


OH....and.....as i was laying out the top for a final pic, I heard this RUKUS something awful outside!!!! It's been awhile since I've seen any Hitchcock episodes, and admittingly, I have never seen "The Birds"....but.....I'm kinda thinking this looks a bit like a scene from that movie!!! These red-winged blackbirds were EVERYWHERE!!! It was quite the spectical.

Happy Sunday

October BOM, Twilight, and Caramel Apples

Double Star Chain

The third October BOM was pieced today. Sometime soon I'll see what I can do with the 17 blocks that I have (recall I made a top with 13 blocks earlier this summer)

My designwall still was showcasing the Twilight layout from a month ago. Sure....why not....I was game to piece it together.

The first set of borders are pinned and ready for sewing, but.....I think that's all she wrote for today. After making some homemade Chicken-Vegetable-Noodle soup for lunch, I wasn't overly inspired anymore for quilting. Rather, I enjoyed soaking in the tub for over an hour, relaxing with the bubbles and reading a good book.

Then, after some pleading eyes from a few lil' girls, I made up some caramel apples for an afternoon snack. {Oh, and I allowed the girls to stay in their PJs all day----going green here; WHY have them dirty another set of clothes only to put their PJs on again 12 hours later????} ;0)

Happy Saturday

Like riding a bike...

Heading downstairs, I really had no idea what I was going to work on. Frankly, I couldn't remember what I had been working on last (before the vball season really took over)

So.....two of the October BOM's saw a finish tonight....

Arrowheads

Turning Star...and I didn't realize this one used set-in seams. With a little coaxing with a hot iron and spray starch, it ended up laying just fine.

Ahhhhhh...........I'm back

Bittersweet

Tuesday night hit every emotion a human person is capable of!!! I don't think anyone would say that I'm not passionate about this sport, nor will they say I am lacking energy on the sidelines. I have been dubbed "the girls' biggest fan!" from some parents; and why wouldn't a coach be the biggest fan?!? {photo via maxpreps---an amazing photographer!!!!}

Tuesday was the first round of regionals; we were the 6th seed playing the 3rd seed with very confident hopes that we would come out on top. Our record hasn't been amazing by any means, but this young squad has made BIG steps of progress from the beginning of the season to the end.

We started on top with a set#1 win: 26-24. Then a set#2 loss: 21-25. Set #3 was a complete flip-flop of set #2 with a win from us: 25-21.

This was going to be a dog fight to the end!!!!!

Set #4 found us with an early lead: 9-5.....and they slowly crept back.....
and then...with the score 21-24, my middle (pictured here a few games ago) went down on the serving line (her knee buckled and flat-out gave out). I needed to pull a sub off the bench, and bless Emilee! With such pressure on her shoulders, she whipped out two back-to-back aces, but sadly, despite being so close at sealing the deal, she missed the next serve to end set #4 with our loss: 23-25. Therefore, the match went into set#5; the first time for us all year. The girls held together as best they could with a new lineup (a freshman stepping into the middle spot and a JV player stepping into the right-side spot), but sadly we couldn't come away on top and ended our season with a 10-15 loss.

We all put so much energy into this match; some blood; lots of sweat......and then the tears after such a hard fight. LOTS of tears!!! This end is bittersweet in many ways. It ended very much too soon to many of us; but....slowly.....we can move on to winter sports and/or our families again. This year's squad will only graduate 1 senior, so we are extremely excited to work towards a winning season next year. However, replacing our one senior will not be easy. She definitely lead this team!!!

So....there ya have it.

Bittersweet.

BITTER:
The season is over.
Ended too soon.
FOUGHT so hard!

SWEET:
We only graduate one player
Family time can return
Quilting can resume!!!


Happy Friday

Days don't get much better!

Yes, it's an age-old cliche, but....SOOOOO true regarding yesterday!

Yesterday was our final season tournament, hosted by us, with six total teams invited. I am SO excited how the girls played yesterday! We are finally clicking! The outcome of the day made all the running around and organization of the tournament worth it. We placed third, behind two larger division schools; having taken a game off the Tournament Champs and going 25-27 with the 2nd place team. I am SURE the girls slept well last night; they played HARD! So, with a season record of 3-21-3 (YIKES???), this young inexperienced team is going into the tournament season the best possible way---with hard fought wins and closely fought losses.

Then, getting home after the tournament, Paul had cleaned up the yard and garage (Fall cleaning, ya know)....and we had a huge bon-fire.

Of course, we needed to roast marshmallows and have some s'mores, but that bon-fire was simply tooooo hot! So....enter "small fire" soley for the purpose of s'mores!

With Regional tournaments beginning on Tuesday, I don't have much else on the mind besides Volleyball. For round #1 we have a coin-toss chance of moving on. Both teams are very alike (on paper), but my girls have finally found "it". On Friday, round #2 follows, with the finals on Saturday evening. We have a chance if we play like we did yesterday because all the teams in Regionals are our size and division (no bigger schools).

After next weekend; volleyball may slowly start dwindling from my mind.

I know I'm busy when...

...my latest Quiltmaker magazine has remained, untouched, on the kitchen counter since Saturday afternoon---and it's already Wednesday!!!!!!


Enjoyed some bonding time tonight at the local pizza place with m'girls! Oh golly---I never (EVER) realized SOME girls can be so naughty, crazy, immature, and piggish when clustered together in a plywood palace of pizza!!! But we sure had some fun......

....from praying happily together ....

.....to having eating contests.... This bunch of girls sure enjoy each other and have great rapport! The season end is nearing....a handful of contests left.

Coaching DOES have its moment of rewards!

October BOM (sorta)

I know I don't need to tell any of you that "life is life" lately and that I haven't been able to do much in terms of quilting.

I haven't forgotten about the BOM, but I must admit that I need to take the easy way out this month and utilize someone else's instructions. Besides, these three blocks have been my eye-candy for the entire year and I knew eventually they needed to be made!!!! Plus, Marcia Hohn has done such a wonderful job with her own BlocksGalore website, I figured I'd give it a shoutout. In the event you haven't come across her site before, it's definitely worth bookmarking if you want LOADS and LOADS of blocks!!!!

I have been able to cut out most of the pieces for the three blocks for October, but haven't been able to scrap up much time to actually sew them together.

Enjoy October!!!!!


{{links take you to Marcia Hohn's instruction pages for each of the blocks}}

Arrowheads

Double Star Chain

Turning Star

First Frost 2010

The sun has already been up for a few hours, but signs of the first frost are still hiding in the shadows. DH said the temp at 6:30 was 30 degrees.

A slight haze hanging in the air, and not too easy to see the trees in the background.....

..but the reds, oranges, and yellows are nearing their peak color around these parts. Over the next 2-3 weeks, they will reach and surpass their peak, which only means winter is getting closer and closer.

Despite the temps this morning, the forecast for the week isn't a typical northern Wiscsonsin forecast for the end of September. 70's everyday and clear; so it's going to be absolutely GORGEOUS!

My plans for the day: prep for Statistics
DH's plans for the day: gather the last of the tomatoes that survived the frost; check potato plants for harvest; can whatever needs to be canned.

Linda canned spaghetti sauce, but we've gone the "lazy" way this year and simply cannd the tomato puree. We will make the sauce "fresh" as the year goes on. DH also picked a couple pails of apples last week with the girls and took care of making applesauce and the by-product of apple juice. YUM! Throw in a stick of cinnimon, warm it for a few seconds in the microwave.....mmmmmmm. I am SO thankful DH takes over with the gardening/harvesting during volleyball season!

Okay...time to get to my Statistics. I am actually quite motivated to get downstairs today after catching up on a few blogs this AM.

And the quilt was a hit---of course! ;0)

Happy Football Sunday!