The addiction returns!!!

The day was NOT full of quilting; I was out of the house by 7:45 am and didn't return until 4:30 pm. However, by 6:00 pm, I was heading downstairs after dinner while the girls were relaxing with The Bee Movie.

The outcome -- Pinwheels and Prairie Points top finished (my rename of A Pinwheel Baby quilt, Moda Bake Shop.)


This pattern is AQF!!!!!
ADORABLE and QUICK and FUN!

I did not put binding on Candace's Stars yet, so no "final finish" for June.

However, my goals for tomorrow:

Bind Candace's Stars (My FIRST planned July finish)

Sandwich, quilt and bind Pinwheels and Prairie Points (My SECOND planned July finish)

Finish quilting the middle section of DWR

Finish quilting the 2nd Pillow Sham for DWR (My sorta THIRD planned July finish)

Sandwich the final section of DWR

and THEN....if I still have time and if my patience caves, I'll see about tackling the first step of Lynne's Celtic Knot Mystery :0)

Happy Tuesday!

A NEAR finish; and inspiration hits at 10:00!!!

Candace's Stars (Granny's Stars) is nearly completed. All that remains is the binding, so one good hour should see it completed. Maybe tomorrow night???
However, I won't have much time tomorrow to do any quilting because I'll be at school, sitting on an interview panel for a new JH SS position....

I was finished with all the border attachments and quilting by 11:00 this morning; I should have just bit the bullet to put the binding on, but I sat back and admired a little too long; then lunch hit. 

Afterward, I just twiddled and tidied the sewing room (VERY LITTLE).  I pulled out some recent purchases over the past month and ironed/folded.
While doing so, I was inspired by some of the newly purchased "shirtings," the darkest blue in the pic and the red on bottom left;  I dug through my fabric to see if there were other "civil-war-looking" fabrics and came up with what is pictured.  Now....those will sit together (probably for the next year or so) while awaiting the perfect pattern.

Trust me!  There is something to waiting for that perfect pattern.  I had been collecting those FQ's and Fat-eighths of 30's fabrics for over a year (the ones that went into Candace's Stars). 

And speaking of 30's fabrics...

tonight, after taking some time to do a little more quilting on the DWR (**SIGH**--that quilt is starting to be the new monkey-on-my-back!)

Anyway, I got back into "tidy-mode," and ironed/folded some more of my fabrics that have been sitting for some time!  Then, I came upon my "scraps" of the 30's fabrics.  Golly, that pattern REALLY over-estimated the amount needed.  It called for 21 FQ's----HA!  I DID (amazingly) have 21 different fabrics, but once I started unfolding them, I found out MANY of them were only fat-eighths!  No biggy---I had PLENTY, with quite a bit left over. 

It was nearing 10:00 (PM), and suddenly I was INSPIRED!  I took exactly ONE minute to walk across the room to the exact spot that THIS PATTERN had been lain out, patiently waiting if (and when) I would ever make it.

Clearly, I didn't have any Charm Pack, but with about 30 minutes of cutting, I had all 24 - 5" squares needed, and 64 - 2.5" squares.  AND---what's more...I was given a "sign!"  I had used all of my white muslin up on the DWR and Candace's Stars, so I had to hunt around to see what I had in white.  I pulled a crumpled pile of white (NO LIE!  It was very crumpled from washing/drying MONTHS ago!) from the floor and ironed/folded it.  I had JUST enough for what was called for, with only a little string left.  Yup---it was meant to be!

Anyway---after another 10 minutes, I cut all the 5" squares in half, but really didn't want to sit and sew.  My movie had ended just after 10:00, and it had been so quiet that I didn't want to disrupt the silence with my machine.  All bodies had gone to bed at 10:15, so... it was so peaceful.

Instead, I prepped all 64 of the Prairie Points needed.  Golly!  Those things are TINY!  Can you kinda guesstimate from the pic?  It started as a 2.5" square.  This will be the first quilt I've made using Prairie Points.

This quilt should be easy enough.  It sure would be nice to have another finish by the end of June (umm...yeah...that'd be tomorrow).  But, I promised to take Cassie for a short run tomorrow night;  she'll be running the kid's 1/2 mile at my 5K race next weekend over at my sister's city.

So, 4 minutes to midnight---I suppose I better TRY to get to bed. BUT, #3 (Candace) had a late nap (5:00 - 8:30!!!) and is WIDE awake watching Wow-Wow-Wubzy and eating a bagel. Oh dear.....I'll give her 15 more minutes, THEN I'll tie her down and tape her eye-lids shut if I need to.

Happy Midnight!

A new blog and Monday morning tasks...

Morning everyone! I woke up with DH bright-n-early to get my day started, and jumped online right away (well, after making some coffee and a bagel!) . I wanted to catch up and just enjoy some quiet "surfin'" time and to make up some labels for a couple of quilts that I finished up this weekend.

Well....psht! JACKPOT while surfing! My goodness! If you have a free hour (or more+!) to spare, check out Mel's Own Place. I've spent about half an hour perusing it and have barely touched the surface. HOWEVER, I now have to get to making up those labels if I hope to get them ready and prepped before I need to wake the girls for summer school.


I have been BAD this weekend by spending most of my time downstairs quilting and skipping out on my running. So, I've called up a newly-claimed running & biking buddy (Cheri). We will meet up for a run after dropping the kids off at summer school (she has 2 that also attend.) Candace will get bundled into the jogging stroller (BUNDLED for sure!) The temps are PERFECT for a run; low 60's with forecast high's of low 70's today! LOVELY, LOVELY, LOVELY! GONE is the heat and humidity from last week. However----the wind gusts might give us a challenge!

Okay....Happy Monday!

A Celtic Knot mystery

Photo copied from Lynne's blog

I'm not sure how many of you read emai postings from the Quiltville Yahoo group, but one lady (Lynne) has sent an invite out to the group regarding a Celtic Knot mystery that she is beginning on July 1 (RIGHT around the corner)!
I have been eyeing up some of her sneaky-peek blocks, and the schedule of the mystery seems do-able; two blocks a week.
If you are interested, read over what total pieces will be need (Total squares count post), and follow her "label" of celtic knotwork mystery to other posts she's teased us with.
Lynne threw out the idea to use this as a Leaders-n-Enders project since it's just sewing squares together in a distinct pattern.

Final size: depends on your size of squares. The overall design is 43x43 squares. She throws some math our way if you want the easy way out and don't want to do your own calculations (read more...)

I fell in love with the sneaky peek blocks she shared... her choice of greens, purples and black won me over! I never would have used green and purple together! Now to just find the right black....

Okay, off I go to work on Granny's Stars so I can join in this mystery with less guilt :0)

Count with me...

ONE: Country Spirit

TWO: Double Wedding Ring wall-hanging (34" x 34") (for my bedroom)

THREE: Grandma & Me (66" x 66")

All finished TODAY!

Country Spirit was started on 1/18/09 and was made as a QOV, to be donated to Alycia's (Alycia Quilts) project. I haven't measure it yet, nor do I recall if I used 2" finished strips or 1.5" finished! June's UFO Challenge - DONE!

The Double Wedding Ring wall-hanging was a sample kit I purchased and started on 5/9/09 while on the way back from a Math convention. This is the pattern that my MIL and I are using to make the larger bed-size wedding quilt for a family friend. That one is STILL a WIP.

Grandma & Me started originally as Scrappy Baskets back on 5/11/08, and has gone through a few name changes (including Grandma & Katherine), but I have settled on Grandma & Me, mainly because when I look at it and I think of Grandma. The colors are "grandma," and much of the fabric and thread used was from Grandma's inheritance. THIS has been the monkey-on-my-back, without a doubt! February's UFO Challenge -- FINALLY DONE!

Ahhhhhhhhhhh......
I love seeing progess.

OH! And the most exciting and wonderful news of the day: while rummaging through the stash to find a backing for Grandma & Me, I took a moment to clean out the cutting cabinet drawers. Guess what I found?!?!?! My quilting gloves! Dear Candace must have hid them in their while playing "mommy" one day; I have been missing them for about a month. NOW, the quilting of the DWR will be a bit easier! Whew!

Happy Saturday.

FINALLY! Some "Amy" progress!

I didn't know what else to title this post with, but I felt that last night I FINALLY got back into the "quilting-grove" tempo!

I headed downstairs after dinner and didn't really surface again until 12:30!!!! (I did take a few moments at 9:00 to shoosh the girls to bed since DH was in the tub, relaxing after yet another HOT day of work.)

It was another lovely "one-thing-lead-to-another" evening. I needed to piece some backing for Granny Star's second section, and wouldn't you know it!---I was JUST short of white fabric by about 2 inches!!! So, rather than scappin' it totally, I simply took some of my scraps from sewing the top and pieced an 80" strip by 3 inches wide...and v'iola! A cute, slightly pieced, back! I didn't take pics of it, but it sure is cute. Kinda reminds me of what Crazy Mom Quilts does with her backs (see blogroll on left to visit her site).

I followed SOME of the suggested quilting from the magazine, but not all. The middle of the quilt is finished and even pieced together. It simply awaits borders now; which I just MAY get to today.

But first, I want to see if I can actually finish my June UFO Challenge, which I pulled out last night. You may recall seeing Country Spirit waaaaay back in January! As many projects do, it was set aside with other "to-do's" happened. But also, I didn't have the passion to really work on it much anymore because each block's quilting took a WHOLE HOUR! I was using a walking foot, and I got so tired of stopping and pivoting the quilt for the next "line" of quilting. It was so putzy!

When I pulled it out again last night, a light-bulb hit me----I thought of trying the BSR (bernina stitch regulator) with the "echo-quilting" foot instead of the normal FMQ foot. WOW! Was it quicker (since I didn't need to always turn the quilt in-and-out-and-around the machine bed! The lines didn't come out as "crisp" as they did when I used the walking foot, but.......

....it's DONE! (well, almost!) Binding still needs to be put on, as well as a label, and then I need to hand-sew the connector strip on the back. It is definitely small---a lap quilt, if that. Perfect for a wheel-chair! I missed the goal of getting this to Alycia (Alycia Quilts) by April, but she is already working on a collection for the next "deployment." This quilt WILL get finished today! (Specially since it's raining out right now and is forecast to rain all morning.)

Happy Saturday to y'all!

Blowing off some steam!

I love my children, but...

...
when it comes to "cleaning up together," they really STINK! I did get some time in downstairs for a good hour -n- half and was able to finish up quilting the first section of Granny's Stars and even did one complete row of the DWR quilting before heading upstairs to whip up some lunch. The loft area was surprisingly quiet, so while the Mac-n-Cheese was boiling, up I went to see what they were up to.

It did appear that they HAD been cleaning at one point, but they were all "playing" when I went up to check on them. Mom's reaction: NOT GOOD! I thundered back downstairs to grab three garbage bags; one for actual garbage, and two to throw toys in. It was MOM's cleaning method now!

After lunch, mom continued to clean up; throwing EVERYTHING I saw in sight into one bag or the other. THEN! Ugh! I suppose I shouldn't be too upset at what I found next because I did the same thing when I was a kid (and now I understand why my mom was so upset with me)......their method of cleaning was "toss everything in the closet or under the bed." !!!!

So anyway.....two hours later, it's still not done, but MOST of it is complete. They have the task to finish it all up before mom has to "strike again" and throw ALL TOYS away!
(I don't actually throw all the toys away; rather just "store" them into the bags. Eventually, they may make their way back to the loft, otherwise they'll be donated to Good Will.)

Where does the time go???

Good golly, Miss Molly! You'd think with "summer vacation" here, time would be coming out my ears to get this project and that project done!
Well....time sure is available....it's just getting filled with everyone BUT sewing! Typically my days consist of waking, getting the two older girls off to summer school by 8:15, then Candace and I go out for a run/walk/bike ride until 9-9:30. Home we go for a little snack. THEN I might actually get some sewing time, either that or we head outside for garden-time. Lately, it's been a lot of garden time! By 2:00, back to picking up the girls from summer school, then the rest of the afternoon......golly! I dunno! Time just flies. THEN, once DH comes home from work and we eat dinner, then it's outside for the rest of the evening to work on one garden or the other.

Last night, though....I asked DH if he minded if I "take the night off" of gardening to get some sewing done. Afterall....LOOK! This is the disarray of my basement carpeted area right now!

I have found time to complete quilting one (of the three) sections for the DWR. But, since I'm seeing stipples in my sleep, I decided to take a break from it and return to Granny's Stars. Last night, I was able to put all the rows together and will be quilting it in two sections. The first section was basted after piecing some backing, and still remains under the machine.

When I finish this post, I'm off to downstairs for a couple of hours. The girls have the task of cleaning up the loft area if they want to go to the Library later this afternoon---it's the deal we worked out. G'ma and G'pa might be coming up this weekend, and the loft is a disaster!

Happy Friday AM!

Ah---the days of Summer! Part 2

At least when God tag-teams up with Mother Nature to give us grueling muggy days like this, he also gave us beautiful beaches! I have taken the afternoon off from sewing to take the girls to the beach. It was PACKED! But then again...with 95 degrees and heat indexes of 101, why on earth wouldn't everyone be at the beach!!?!?

Here's hoping that the heat subsides after dinner so I can get in a 4 mile run......

Happy Tuesday everyone.

Ah---the days of Summer!

Holy buckets! .........
Actually, if I had 'holy buckets,' they wouldn't be able to collect all the sweat dripping off of me! Seriously! Anyone who has lived through humid conditions, you understand me completely when I say.....'I'd rather have 100 DRY degree days than 90 HUMID degree days! Ugh! Going for a jog yesterday morning, I couldn't breathe! It was like having a wet washcloth over my mouth and nose and trying to breathe! So, this AM, I just went out for a simple mile WALK......drip, drip, drip! It's crazy!
So, now my game plan is to catch up with everyone's blogs while having my feet up, relaxing in the AC house! (Hmpf! Even with that, our living room has HUGE loft-size windows and will be in the full sun until about 2:00!) Therefore, in a short while, Candace and I will head downstairs (in the basement!) and hangout---I'll quilt and she'll play or watch a movie with me.

Last night, the girls and I made the handprint shirt for 'dad' since we hadn't had a chance to prior to Father's Day. I didn't get any pictures of the girls actually making it, but please imagine if you will....three girls with hands squishing on paper plates, ONLY needing to make their hand-print ONCE for dad's shirt, but....NOOOOO.......we need to make more prints Mom! Out comes the scrap paper. Ten minutes later, it was time to call it quits to clean up the paint off of the table, hands, clothes, face, chest........*sigh*.

Happy Tuesday AM!

Sewing, Sewing and more sewing

Bright and early (okay...so maybe not at the crack of dawn), but by 9:00 am Saturday morning, MIL and I were hittin' the sewing machines with a large goal at hand: finish all 56 DWR blocks and the 30 half-blocks. We had a lovely assembly line going at one point; Caitlyn brought a stack of prepped blocks over to us, Candace refilled our yellow corner triangle stacks, Bonnei (MIL) and I sewed them on...

... and Cassie ironed them over. By 11:00, everyone was ready for a short break, so we made up some brunch of left-over spaghetti hot-dish and toast. Afterwards, DH packed the three girls up in the car to head over to do some work for the father of the groom; he also took the DWR wall-hanging with him so Paul (father) could work on the custom frame. With uninterrupted sewing time, MIL and I were able to finish up the full block by 12:30. Needing a little break, we headed in to town to pick up a few things at Walmart, and NATURALLY I needed to check over the fabric section. THIS is one Walmart that has a SUPER selection of "budget-priced" fabric. I came away with 7 yards of fabric spending only $14.00 on it; LOVELY bright colors (sorry, no pic yet).

Through the rest of the afternoon and today, MIL and I have finished all blocks, sewed rows together into three sections for me to quilt, and we even prepped for two pillow shams. During some "down-time" last night, MIL and I worked as a tag-team on my yo-yo's for Granny's Stars (Candace's Stars). She cut out the circles, and I sewed the yo-yo's. I have 28 of 36 done. (Sorry, no pics of those either.

When walking outside yesterday, Cassie saw this butterfly on the porch window. Only after taking the picture, did we realize the tiny blue sections of the wing; but we actually wondered if the butterfly's wing was see-through in those pieces, and we were actually seeing the window frame. ?????

Finally, on the running-front; I did not run yesterday :0( One excuse: I was tired in the morning. Then another excuse: it was HOT all day! Then the final excuse; dinner was DELICIOUS (and late) last night, so I was too full to run before the sun-light disappeared.

BUT, tonight, I dutifully tried to at least make the best of it by running a aerobic-interval workout; it ended up being 3 miles.

So...I now have my hands full of quilting projects: DWR, Granny's Stars, and a third project that my MIL wants me to quilt for her. It's a lovely Grandmother's Flowers-like top; pics will make their way on here tomorrow.

Hopefully you all had a lovely weekend!
Happy Sunday.

Granny's Stars progress...

Oh yes, we have progress! I suppose going a night without sleep shouldn't affect me too much???? **wink**
Nah.... BUT I did forego my run yesterday (and today) :0( I will definitely hit the pavement tomorrow and Sunday while up at the farm.

We will be heading out to the farm soon. Pizza is in the oven, all laundry is almost done (one more load in the dryer), luggage is packed as well as the sewing machine and quilting supplies for tomorrow's quilting-day with MIL. We hope to finish all 56 DWR blocks (and 30 half-DWR blocks) and sew rows into three sections for me to quilt over the next week or so. We are ahead of schedule :0)

Back to Granny's Stars (ie: Candace's Stars) I have the border applique and yo-yo fabric packed for the trip up to the farm. I figured we'll have light the entire way there, so I might as well make use of the near 2 hours travel time. I've never made a yo-yo before, but my trial turned out just fine. (pictured in the right of the photo). My MIL has her yo-yo maker up at the farm, so I'll see if that goes any quicker. I have freezer-paper "ironed" on for the leaves and petals; however, I won't be turning any seam allowances over. I tried a sample leaf with seam allowance, and it's just too down-right putzy! I should have used paper-backed fusible, but instead I'll just put a dab of glue (washable glue-stick) on each piece to hold it in place while I applique it---this way there won't be ANY stiffness due to use of any fusible.

Okay---pizza buzzer just dinged. See you all back on Sunday!

TEMPTATION! I-could-not-resist!

Oh dear....oh dear. Pay NO attention to how many UFO's and WIP's I have listed on my side-bar!
Today in the mail, my Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine came, and the quilt on the cover chanted to me while I strolled back to the house, sifting through the pages----"make me! make me! make me!" Now, who am *I* to ignore a whimpering call like THAT?!?!?!? It was seriously 15 minutes after walking into the house, and I was downstairs, shoving aside all the
Perkiomen Daydreams strip-sets I had been dutifully working on earlier today (and was clippin' along SO WELL!!!!) I mean....LOOK! There are an additional 100 blocks in the making right here.........*sigh*





But, nope....I dug into the stash and found EVERYTHING I need to make this quilt. So, a cut, cut, cutting I went, right up until the moment I needed to dash out the door for volleyball tonight. I am PUMPED to jump right in tomorrow morning after taking the girls to summer school, and after running 4 miles with Candace (in the joggin' stroller). I LOVE this quilt and am glad I have finally found the perfect pattern to use of the stash of 30's Reproduction frabrics I've been saving up. The name of the quilt in the mag is Grandma's Stars, but mine will most likely be called Candace's Stars, since I think this one will be made for her. She is the only one who hasn't had a quilt made from Mom yet.....

I am not feeling TOO guilty at diving into a new project, because even though I have a ba-zillion other projects going on, I HAVE been quilt-busy the past couple of days....

The Double Wedding Ring wall-hanging I'm making for the family friend is as complete as it'll get from me. It is ready to be handed over to the father of the groom for a custom frame to be made for it.






Also, I have been working on some PIF projects. Naturally, I don't want to show the entire projects, but here's a sneaky-peek :0)





HAPPY Wednesday!

Another lovely weekend...

This pic is actually from a couple of weeks ago, but we've used the little picnic table a couple of times already this Spring.

I did NOT run this AM; I rolled out of bed around 8:00 and it was already sunny and warm, so....I waited. I spent most of the morning downstairs working on the DWR wall-hanging. No pics tonight, but it's nearly finished; about 75% quilted. DH drove to pick up two Pear trees we bought yesterday and planted them. It was the first HOT day for us; DH is sportin' a LOVELY pair of red shoulders and arms. Goof-ball! I at least put on sun-screen (well....SPF 8 anyway :0) )

After dinner, Cassie and I headed out for a 3-mile bike ride, and when we got back, I laced up for a 3 mile jog. I'm kickin' back right now with some ice on my shins trying to stave off the shin splints that I feel coming on. 9 miles in 5 days; my legs aren't used to the pavement pounding yet.


Hopefully your weekend treated you well!
Happy Sunday!

Baldwin BoosterShot 5K

The weather was as perfect as it can come for today's Baldwin Booster Shot 5K run. Julie and I met up around 7:30 am, and race started at 8:15.

WE TOOK OUR TIME :0) Coming in at 32:10 (around 10:22/mile). I hadn't realized how much of a rolling course this actually is (PROBABLY because normally I head to this race in shape, and those rollers aren't much of anything then.) We finished smiling, and enjoyed a little catch-up time during the run.

We also chit-chatted about our racing schedule and goals over the next 8 weeks until we meet up again for the annual Paavo Nurmi Marathon-relay (August 8). There was paperwork at today's run for some upcoming "local" races, and we may decide on one or more of these: (just making note for my future reference)

Lumber Jack Days (10 mi, 5K) - July 26
14th Apple River Walk/Run (10K, 5K, 2 mi) - August 1 (contact: Dave Belisle 247-5995)

---

While uploading pics to the computer tonight, I found this gem! Dear Candace (#3) must have snapped it when I was weeding the other day.






Okay---game plan tomorrow: start the day off RIGHT with a 2-4 mile run (all depending how I'm feeling, but I should start packing on some EZ miles, so I'll shoot for 4.) THEN, I don't think I will work outside (although DH might persuade me to head out), but I'd really like to see a finish to SOMETHING, so maybe I'll pull my Shades of Green (formerly known as Marching Greens) out to prep for quilting.

Race Day tomorrow- HA!

Tomorrow is the first race of the season for me. I was out searching for a graphic to post, and this one made me chuckle! NO, I'm not running the race in the pic; it's just quite humorous! I am amazed at how many races have BEER and other drinks at the Post-Race parties; usually at the end of my races, the LAST thing I want is some sort of alcohol. But, I'm not much of a drinker anyway (**saying calmly as I take a sip of DH's Smirnoff Ice: Raspberry Burst**). Nah, really; I don't drink much; not since I had some lovely alcohol poisoning back on my 21st birthday (12 years ago). T'wasn't a good night, nor the week following it! I was in the hospital, severely dehydrated! Now, I keep my drinks to a minimum (2-3 max at a time); but usually don't drink all that much at all.

Anyway---back to running. Yeah, first "race" of the season tomorrow. HA! Let's just call it a training run where I cough up $15.00 for a "free" T-shirt. :0) Besides, Julie and I have run this 5K race for the last three years; it's kind of a ritual "first-kick-in-the-butt-of-the-season." And this year, that is EXACTLY what it will be----a SWIFT kick in the butt for both of us. She also (thankfully) has not been running. BUT, we both know that after this initial race, it's time to get serious if we want a PR on our Marathon-relay coming up in August. (read about last year's race... Paavo Nurmi 2008.)

So....it's now 9:35. Time to hit the hay. Tomorrow will be a stress-free run; neither of us have any serious goal other than gettin' out there and run. (In my mind: 31:00 sounds JUST fine to me! (that would be a 10:00/mile pace)).

Happy Weekend

Well, if you were to read the previous post (from this morning), I certainly did NOT live up to many of those expectations (of heading downstairs), BUT I DID RUN! Shortly after posting (like, seriously a few minutes), the clouds parted and were completely non-existent after another 5 minutes. So....OUTSIDE I went!

I spent almost 2 hours mowing the lawn and then headed in for a morning snack for me and the girls. And since it was so nice outside, I shooshed them all outside while I decided to weed the rock-garden. I haven't had a chance to work on this one yet this year, since most of my outside-time is dedicated to the garden.


I don't always do a pre/post, but Angela inspired me to do so because of her pre/post kitchen photos yesterday. It sure is nice seeing the change though----even when the change only took about an hour to accomplish.




While I was weeding, the girls decided they wanted to make up a dance / cheer routine. When they were finished, I needed to judge the final routine. Well, um.......I love my girls, but they sure are not choreographers!!!














Also, I haven't shown a pic of Nikki (our babysitter) receiving the Double Delight quilt for graduation. I sure love all the wonderful patterns that Bonnie shares with us!




Finally, YES, I RAN! (and it humbled me!) Oh.....all the fitness that we lose after sitting idle for so long.
Ah well...one little step at a time, and anything is possible.

Time to share one of my favorite quotes, and I have it inscribed in my Road ID bracelet:
Progress, not Perfection.
:0)

I'm heading up to the farm for the day tomorrow to deliver the DWR rings to MIL. We'll talk over what our next steps will be, visit for the afternoon, and then I'll be back on the road to home tomorrow, late afternoon.

I do declare....

I WILL OFFICIALLY START MY TRAINING TODAY!!!

Whew--there, now that I have declared it publicly, I WILL, WILL, WILL get my butt motivated and get going! My latest Runner's World magazine came yesterday and got me a little pumped. There were 2 articles (training programs, actually) that caught my attention; one was for your First or Fastest 5K, and the second was a training program for a Marathon.

The 5K article inspired me because on July 11th, I will be running on the course that I currently have my PR on (25:05) and it sure would be nice to break that before I get too old. HOWEVER, I am also sane enough to know that I went into that race (back in 2003) in EXCELLENT condition, so chances of me beating my PR are pretty slim.

The Marathon article inspired me because it was set up by Bart Yasso, an amazingly talented runner. But also, Amby Burfoot is joining in the "challenge"--he has a run/walk method where you run a mile, then walk a minute before running the next mile, etc.

Linda (Lines and Loves) has joined the blogging world this week and has been busily catching us up on some of her recent projects. Linda was a "student" of mine for Class Act, and she has dived head-first into "obsessive quilting" like many of us have done at one time or another. Kindly head over to her blog if you have a moment and drop her a line :0)

The weather is a bit gloomy out right now; maybe I'll head downstairs, even though this is perfect weather to head out and get some gardening done (cool temps, no wind, no hot sun). Nahhh....... I'm more of a SUNNY gardener! Downstairs it is!

Happy Thursday

Oh yeah...one more thing. It won't be a Happy Thursday for me!! Eww, ickky.....DENTIST TODAY! Ugh, ugh, ugh! I have one tooth that started hurting last week; in I went for a check up on Monday; in I go today to drill out some silver fillings and prep for a Crown. UGH!!! I SERIOUSLY DO NOT LIKE the dentist!!! I'd rather be tarred and feathered!

Tuesday's accomplishments...

Ya know...I could really get used to this "stress-free-vacation-time." How old do we need to be before we can retire????? *wink*

Yesterday morning brought the 2nd (and final) day of non-official volleyball practice; it wasn't as great as Monday because the girls' defense skills weren't up to par. But, oh well----they play tonight (Wednesday) for the first time; I'll be giving them a call tomorrow to see how things went.


I worked a little on the DWR (double wedding ring) yesterday afternoon, but my blisters started breaking open a little and the water was trickling out, so I took a break until after dinner. Besides, I was tired and really was self-disciplining myself to "keep going." Hmmmm...... that's not too good when it comes to quilting!

But then, after dinner, I was ready to head back downstairs. I wasn't "feeling" the DWR. Instead, I printed out these directions (Pin cushion / Thread catcher). I didn't have any play-sand, but I've been around long enough to know that you need to make every pattern your own, which I did here as well. We have LOADS of 4" tiles in the basement (left over from making our shower 5 years ago), so I wrapped one in scrap batting pieces, bundled up other batting pieces and stuffed it all into the fabric instead of using sand. It worked out just fine. This project really went quick, so I can foresee making another and gifting it to my MIL when I see her on Friday.

I'm not sure about your children, but my girls LOVE the camera. "Mom, take a picture of me....." "Mom, let me take a picture of this...." Yesterday was Princess Day at the household....

The girls have a "friend" over today, so they all will be hiding upstairs and outside for most of the day, I think. She's the daughter of my husband's contractor; her mom and brother are gone for the week, so she'll be spending the days with us for the rest of the week while dad if off working.

Okay, time to start the day!
Happy Wednedsay.