Happy Beautiful Saturday!!!

Morning everyone! The day is going to be GLORIOUS! mid 60's, sunny!!!! A perfect day to get outside for some Spring cleaning, which I think is on my hubby's agenda; and I think his plan is to drag everyone out with him. I might go with a small fight, though, because I'm definitely interested in relaxing with some sewing....what else is new, right???

Again, I apologize for the infrequent blogging lately, but I'm sure you all understand how life goes sometimes... Seriously, 4th quarter has come roaring in and I haven't had a moment to breathe!

Caitlyn's birthday last Sunday was much of the same; whirlwind of waking up, eating breakfast and hittin the road for the inlaws (three hours away) to celebrate a Surprise 60th Bday for MIL. Caitlyn's only gift was this fun-looking "bouncy-castle" (oh! and a new armoire from my family). Amazingly, that thing didn't come out of its box until YESTERDAY!!!! at 3:30 PM, no less. I was standing by my words of: "the loft and bedrooms get cleaned before it makes an appearance." Well, mom finally had to intervene yesterday morning at 10:00, otherwise, it never would have gotten done. I delegated; they all picked up; we CLEANED!! And I mean CLEANED! I should get a pic of ALL THE TOYS that we removed; they are all waiting in the entry-way right now to be loaded into my parent's truck to head down to my uncle's house for a garage sale he'll be having in May. The loft is so uncluttered now! Heaven!

I did manage to get two UFO's finished this week! (See, if we all took a week off of blogging, imagine what could be accomplished!!!) :0) The Lake-n-Lodge wall-hanging is already in its new location, above/behind the piano in our living room.



Almost a year from when it started, Oklahoma Backroads has also been finished. I find that I'm a very symmetrical quilter, so I still make an "eh..." face when I look at it. That extra row of blocks just doesn't look quite right, but......it's done, and colorful, and full of lots of good scraps that remind me of Grandma. I have no plans for it at this point; perhaps I'll donate it to my mother's church???

My parents are up for the holiday weekend, and they brought a basket full of goodies for the girls, including the movie, "Bedtime Stories" with Adam Sandler and Courtney Cox-Arquette (sp?). It brought on a couple moments of giggles from all of us; well worth watching with as a family.













At one point, my mom, DH and myself caught a glimpse of Grandpa, and giggled to ourselves. How can THIS be comfortable?!??!!?





Enjoy your day!

Yes, Carol, I am alive....

I received a lovely "motherly concerned" email today from Carol (Cornfield Quilter) inquiring if all was well with me. Yes, Carol, all is well; just a very busy week. Between working Double-Header basketball games, writing drafts of a Technology Acceptable Use Policy, writing drafts of an 8th grade Retention policy, writing a district-wide Mathematical Processing Rubric, researching and writing a proposal for a SmartBoard purchase, playing league volleyball, spending three hours online and playing phone-tag with another tech-lady in our district trying to debug the web-based grading system the district uses, researching volleyball summer camps and drills, and then all the other "normal" daily mom-things such as dishes, laundry, making dinner, bathing children, cleaning house for visitors............yeah........it's been a busy week! Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday.

My load around school has suddenly just gotten really LOADED! I just can't believe how it's been one thing after another this week. One of the biggest changes being that I have applied for and have been the "acting" Head Volleyball coach for the past month. Our AD (athletic director) approached me quite a while ago, and many times since then, inquiring if I would take the position. I coached for 8 years as the Assistant Vball coach under a WONDERFUL lady; but when Candace was born, I turned my resignation in; and the Head Coach did as well. Watching the program over the past three years dwindle has been difficult, and.....long story short, the administration did not ask this season's coach back due to ..... well..... a few things. So, the night of the Sectional Final game way back in October, I knew I needed to get back in. That game was amazing! And I want our district's program to be just that-----a DISTRICT program and not just a VARSITY program. So.......once I voiced this to our AD, he essentially said it was mine, but "official procedure" needed to be followed. The administration posted the "in-house" memo last week and I submitted my letter of application. Together with the AD, we have been finalizing the schedule for next year's season and I've been trying to get all the inventory organized. *shaking head* What a minor disaster. One thing I DO admit and take quite a bit of pride in is my organizational skills and "anal-ness" towards statistics, etc. *shaking head still*....oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..... Trying to make sense of the "stuff" I've found from the past three years has been quite "interesting." Budget looks scary for sure! No new balls have been purchased so I foresee ALL of next year's budget going to new balls, which really can't happen, because new knee pads and shorts also need to be purchased. Not to mention little odds-n-ends for safety and injury issues.......*heavy sigh*.

BUT.....I'm optimistic and up to the challenge. The two assistant coaches are wonderful and are OVERLY excited to be working "under me" even though I've told them we will be working "along side" each other. They are co-workers and had a stressful season this year so they are also VERY optimistic for the "new and improved" coaching staff.


On the Quilting front-----(YES, there has been SOME quilting amongst all this hecticity!)....I have completely finished the Oklahoma Backroads top. It will be a nice and full throw/lap quilt, roughly 68"x84". WOW----I didn't realize it was that big until I just looked at the pic to calculate the size.

Bernina update: I was informed on Monday that she was ready. No major damage; just some realignment of the needle-housing and then I also requested a "tune-up." Thankfully.....no severe wallet damage! Whew! My babysitter, who is also my student-aide, is going on a college visit tomorrow. She will be traveling through the town where the shop is, so she will be doing me a BIG favor by picking it up on her way and dropping it off. How lovely!

My DH's brother and family will be visiting us this weekend. DH and BIL will be working on the plumbing of the downstairs bathroom; I guess DH is finally ready to start working on the basement to get it a bit more "functional."
I was hoping to get some quilting done, but I may find myself being more of a hostess instead; at least until they leave on Sunday. Many of the Quiltville followers are doing the StripTwist Superbowl quilting; I had planned on doing this also, BUT have now decided not to. Just too many other projects that have more priority. There is only so much time in a day and week.

So, one more time.....Yes, Carol, I am alive :0) Thank you very much for being concerned and sending such a touching email. Even my husband was surprised and "happy" that there are concerned individuals "out there." :0)

Happy Thursday

"Bernina--We have a problem..."

*sigh*
So tell me.....what do you see missing from this picture?
Hmmmmm.......maybe you need to know that this is my location where I sew.....and that's the table I sew on......
all my sewing supplies are there...the little scissors, extra bobbins, my magnetic pin holder, even little 1.5" squares for my L-n-E Perkiomen Daydreams quilt......

but.....no Bernina.

I started the day very lazy and didn't get downstairs until 8:30. I pin-basted the Country Spirt quilt into two sections so I could start and hopefully finish quilting it today. By 10:00, I was quilting....

I ended up going with my brainstorm of concentric stars pulsating out from the center of the rail blocks. It was a bit tedious, specially once the stars were too large for them to be continuously quilted. Lots of stopping/starting/"knotting"/backstitching. I had three done, each taking about 20 minutes, and was working on the fourth. I don't think I heard a noise, but suddenly.... things were just "weird." My bobbin thread was breaking, so threw in a newly wound bobbin; things seemed smooth for a few minutes at least. Then, when I started a new line of the star, suddenly I realized that my needle was off-center. At least, that was the illusion, but I checked all my buttons and the screen....all seemed fine. ???? So, I sewed a few more lines. A few moments later, when I went to life the foot.......NOTHING! It wouldn't lift! After a moment of tinkering, I got it to lift, but then.....it wouldn't lower. So finally, enough was enough. I took the cover off to see if a spring or screw came loose, but I couldn't see anything. And not wanting to take any chances and do something STUPID on a machine that costs as much as some used cars, I went upstairs and googled for the nearest Bernina dealer to me. I called the shop where I bought the machine, but I'm sure my daily readers remember that it is THREE AND A HALF hours away, so THAT was not an option, but I wanted to ask her what her advice was. In the end, the nearest dealer to me is near 70 miles away.........
Ten minutes later, with machine and girls in tow, we were making our way down to Eau Claire. The trip was uneventful, just long. I was able to get a front row parking spot (woo-hoo!), so Caitlyn and Cass chose to stay in the car to continue watching their movie on the DVD while Candace came in with me. The shop is very small and quaint. There was a nice group of ladies sewing up a storm, and after 20 minutes, I was back on my way home, no machine in hand. *sigh* It will remain in the shop until the technician can look at it on Monday. SO, no Bernina until next weekend when I make the trip BACK down to pick it up.

I called my mom on the ride home to share the day's events, and she sarcastically, jokingly said..."How are you going to survive??! You'll go into withdrawal----one week with no quilting??!?!?!"

"HA!" I said......little did she remember that I still have my Brother....... Shortly after returning home, I headed downstairs to take the Brother our of her case. Gave her a good oiling and actually did the 1/4" "test" that Bonnie suggests on her site. My GOODNESS! It was no WONDER I had so many difficulties with accurate piecing in the past! My Brother's 1/4 foot is WAY off! A good 1/8 off---seriously!!!! So......

I'm bummed, but yet, everything happens for a reason!
The PROS of this "situation"....
i) My quilting class begins in 3 weeks, so I needed to practice on a "not-so-good" machine anyway so I knew how to assist my "students" (BTW--I was just updated yesterday that I have 3 people signed up so far. If I don't get anymore, I really won't mind! It was marketed as a Beginner's course, so I may have individuals who don't even know how to USE a sewing machine!"
ii) I can continue working on the Scrappy Irish Chain and the Oklahoma Backroads quilts to try to finish piecing the tops
iii) The Bernina was requesting a tune-up last weekend anyway, so......it's due!

The CONS...
i) I don't have my baby, my pride-n-joy!
ii) I wanted to finish the Country Spirit to get it mailed out to Alycia's QOV project by Monday.
iii) I was in the quilting mood and wanted to also tackle the Lake -n- Lodge wallhanging tomorrow.

*shrug*
whadya do?

Happy Saturday!

More UFO/WIP progress...& NIP/TUCK!

DARE I share my sinful side with my blogging buddies?!?? *naughty giggle!*
For those of you unaware of a show called Nip/Tuck, it is rated as a "Mature audience" only (so I BARELY am of age to watch it :0) ... I can't NOT watch it! Tonight is the premiere for Season 5-part 2 (I think the writer's strike last year affected the complete season). Christian (Julian McMahon-left) is a heart-throb!!!!! Don't you think!??!!? Anyway..... I'm updating during commercial breaks :0)


The first day back to school yesterday after vacation was quite pleasing :0) Specially since I was a "good girl" Sunday night and went to bed by 10:30pm. However, LAST NIGHT was another story! *chuckle* I was feeing VERY good last night, and was able to head downstairs at 7:00 once the girls were to bed. (YES! EARLY for them---they needed it!)

I started by piecing the Oklahoma Backroads blocks together, followed by some borders, solid and pieced.....BUT I'm NOT counting this top done YET! I'm actually thinking of whipping out some more blocks and finish this off with a final "larger" border of blocks!! :0) Yup, yup----a bit bigger quilt for a nice FULL lap quilt! I'm too tired right now to estimate the size, but each block is 8" finished.

Then....I moved to the Scrappy Irish Chain. When I finally wrapped up last night at MIDNIGHT *GASP*, all the 9" scrappy block squares were completed. TONIGHT, I've added the "white connector" blocks to the layout. I'm thinking this one will be finished with a simple border---no piecing, but maybe a double-border.



Oh yes----and here is one of the newly organized, nicely ironed and folded fabric shelves that I "put together" Saturday and Sunday. It is SO nice seeing the fabric on the shelf nice and neat INSTEAD of heaped and hiding in a basket on the floor :0)





And finally-----it is the sixth day of the new year, and....*sheepish grin*....I have YET to get my butt on the treadmill! Then, it didn't help my "guilt" when my Runner's World magazine came today, with an AMAZINGLY fit, athletic beauty! (giggle)..*sigh* Okay, Okay......I guess I need to focus on getting back into training shape now! It'll start tomorrow night when DH and I head to season opening indoor volleyball. I have shared our perfect "pair setup" before, but for my "newcomers".....DH is a 6'6" spiker, while I'm a 5'4" setter. We met playing volleyball back in 1994. It was one of those rediculous "friend of a brother of a friend" deals. He was the friend of MY friend's friend's brother (follow that one??) All of us ended up playing on the same summer sand vball team (me , my friend, her friend, her friend's brother, and her friend's brother's friend---that'd be my DH!) Anyway---we flirted the summer away, were engaged after 9 months, married 3 years later, and the rest.....well....we're still writing the rest :0)


Okay...Nip/Tuck is over with a second showing starting. DH missed the first few minutes, so I guess we're watching it again :0) Nah......not me. I'm off to bed with a quilting magazine :0) No finer reading material exists!

Happy Tuesday

Some UFO progress...

Since I have officially made peace with myself for the fact that I have decided to NOT do Bonnie's mystery (at least not at this time), I spent a few more hours this morning tidying up the sewing room again. I haven't taken pictures YET of the nicely organized shelf, two full drawers of FQ's, and bins upon bins of 1.5", 2", 2.5" 3.5" 4.5" strips and squares; shoeboxes of 2" strip cut HST and 2.5" HST. About 30 minutes after DH and Cassie left for ice fishing, I figured I needed to leave the sewing area and spend some time with Candace and Caitlyn, unless I wanted them to kill each other. *(chuckle)* GOSH! Those two just CAN'T play nicely together without supervision :0)

After lunch, we put Wall-E into the DVD player (AGAIN!), and I took that time to pull out my knee-high stack of quilting magazines to remind myself of all the patterns I am dieing to make, but being patient to get to them. :0) However, I did come across a pattern that I think will be perfect for a lap quilt for Julie (running buddy---the one that always threatens to steal MY scrappy blue heart lap quilt everytime she visits.)

By the time DH rolled back home at dark and I had some Chili cooking, I was READY to head back downstairs to unwind my nerves from the "bickering" between Caitlyn/Candace.

I pulled out the Oklahoma Backroads blocks and plugged away at sewing up a bunch more blocks. It is now at a 6x8 setting, and with each block measuring 8" finished, that's already a minimum of 48x64", which I think will be just a perfect size for a snuggly lap quilt. I'll throw on a 2" inner border, a 2" pieced border using the bazillion 2.5" squares I still have, and then finish with another 2" (of 3"?) outer border and call it done. THat would be .... *doing some quick mental math*....60x76 (or 62x78 if I use a 3" outer border) as the final dimensions. The quilt pattern I found for Julie in the magazine measures 44x56", so....I'll make up that one and then let her choose between this one and that.... I might also "adjust" the magazine pattern to make it a bit larger.


I also decide to lay out the Scrappy Irish Chain blocks that I've been piecing as Leaders-n-Enders. I can't BELIEVE how quickly quilts seem to come together when you're not really "working" on it. :0) The layout doesn't match the pattern exactly; it's a bit smaller, but even at this size, it'll be a nice large lapquilt; maybe even a twin size.....let's see: 5 blocks wide with 1/2 blocks on each side, so that's really 6 blocks wide, and 7 blocks tall. Each block measures 9" finished, so 54x63" is current size. Yup---perfect lap size :0) Hey--maybe I'll get all three lap sizes done and let her pick her favorite of the three :0)

And yes...Candace celebrated her birthday rather "uneventfully" tonight. No cake, no fancy wrapping paper, and sadly, no grins from her either! She was grumpy from being awakened from her nap (LATE afternoon nap). We didn't want her sleeping away ONLY to be awake all night!


Tomorrow, all of us teachers head back to the classroom. Cassie and Caitlyn are both excited to get back, but I don't know if that'll be the case for the older kids....
Happy Sunday!

Birthday wishes to me; Quilting photos update; school hierarchy

Today I turn triple-11; my DH already wished me a Happy Birthday at 5:45 am as he was strolling out the door. (Better than what I did for him----I had forgotten until AFTER I had left the house last Tuesday--he turned 37; I was in the car listening to the 6:00am news on my way to my class when the newscaster said the date---I called him straight away). No big plans---for us, our birthdays are just another day. We try to have a little something for the girls' birthdays, but not ours.

It appears that Blogger will allow me to upload my pics now, sooo.....
This is a tablecloth (~48"x48") that DH's grandmother has stitched for a wedding coming up this weekend. She asked her daughter (DH's mother, my MIL) to put it together, but then she (MIL) asked ME to quilt it up since I seem to be "better at it than she is." Oh dear-----I was nervous!!! This is one of those already-marked-whole-cloth pieces, so the quilting didn't take all that long once I started. However, the markings don't appear to be the wash-away kind, so a person can see the blue dots (sigh). But, I guess you could say that I'm pleased with the results. It's hitting the mail today to get to my MIL so she can sew the lace binding on before this Saturday's wedding. I hope it arrives in time (by Thursday??) for her to accomplish her part.


Next, this is a shot of the Fun with Bricks that has come together quite quick.







And here is a birds-eye-view of the Wafer Cookies possible layout (left) and Oklahoma Backroads (right). Upon seeing the Wafter Cookies laid out, I've been playing the mind-visual-game and am picturing some plain white (light) blocks in with the smaller rail-fence blocks. Anyone care to share any other ideas???


Finally, Amanda has asked about our school hierarchy.....
Superintendent is the "head-honcho." He runs the entire District, and being a smaller city (about 1000 people), our District is rather small. One K-2 school and one 3-12 school. Our School Board (consisting of about 10 members comprised of Community members) and the Sup kinda are on the same level. New policies, etc, can't be passed without the SB's vote.
Next in line would be our Principals----we have one Elementary (K-6) Principal and one High school (7-12) Principal. Then, naturally, we have the staff of teachers, custodians, cooks, aides, etc.

I am anxious, yet excited, about the changes we have in administration this year. Brian (our Sup) is VERY MUCH a people person; loves children (he was a 7-12 Guidance counselor when I first started teaching 10 years ago, then became the K-6 Principal about 6 years ago); and WANTS the school to be run from the "bottom up." And I Quote........"I'm tired of this top-down business! It doesn't work." Hence, this is why he has asked some staff to sit in on the 7-12 Principal interviews. This is a new procedure, and the School Board hasn't given him too much of a hard time with it.

Now, our school board....well, THAT's a whole different story! (watch out---here comes my humble opinion)...... Our SB has almost the same unrealistic goals as President Bush with his NCLB and that 100% of all students will be Proficient or Advanced in all areas come 2014 (or some year coming up soon.) Our SB is pushing for all of our students to be college-bound material, but that just is unrealistic!!! NOT ALL STUDENTS NEED TO BE COLLEGE BOUND! Truthfully, if my passion wasn't for teaching, I would have taken a 2-year Technical route for Computer Science and be making $100,000+! But still, our nation can't function without our farmers, mechanics, NURSES!!!, etc; and all of these jobs DO NOT require a college degree!

Whew....well folks, it's 7:30; I haven't had my morning coffee yet; only Candace (#3) is awake. Within the hour, I am predicting that I'll head downstairs for awhile since the sun is going to be pouring through the windows soon. It's going to be a scorcher today! Our AC can't keep up with the heat of the sun coming through our big windows, so being downstairs is very nice.

First week of August update...

Well, we have our whole family in-tact again. We picked up the girls yesterday by meeting up with my parents at a zoo about an hour away, which is smack-dab between my parent's house and mine. Oh my goodness, has #3 (Candace) picked up some words! She's clearly saying "wait", "I a pretty girl", "stop mamma, look!" (when crossing a road or driveway). And she seems to have grown about a full inch!!!

Well.....ummm...I wanted to upload some pics of my recent quilting work, but it appears that Blogger is having "internal issues."

I've been making progress on Oklahoma Backroads, I've laid out a possibility for the Wafter Cookies Quilt, and have begun (and almost finished) piecing Fun with Bricks. FwB has come together FAST! Very quick!!! (It's one of Bonnie's patterns---(see it here).

My two weeks of classes are through, and I still have a bit of work to do since I ended up taking the 4-credit option (the credits were offered free since I'm the Coordinator---I couldn't pass up that deal!!!)

Ummmm......let' see.......
Oh yes, I had a very active Saturday!!! It started with a 5-mile race, which was NOT what my body had in mind!!! As I came to the first mile, I basically said "Okay, body, you win!" I was NOT "feeling" the race at all.....and backed off my pace to cross the finish line at 53:01. Definitely no where NEAR my PR, but I really wasn't going to push it since I had a full day of volleyball yet to come. The temps were already pushing upper 80's at the finish line (9:23 am). I originally intended on literally running from the finish line to the volleyball courts 1.5 miles away, but.......uh-uh! I called up DH and had him pick me up-----JUST in time to make our first game at 9:30 am. So.....from 9:30 - 1:00, we played 4 matches (8 games to 11 points) with very few breaks. From 1:00 - 2:30, we sat (and got STIFF and TIRED). Our game at 2:30, we lost, which put us in to the "losers bracket," (grrrrrrrrr), which meant we were now in the position to play, play, play non-stop until we lost again. Afternoon match #2 we won in three games, Match #3 we also won in three LENGTHY games, and Match #4 we won the first game, but ran out of gas and lost the next two to end up losing that match and finishing the day in 4th place out of 10 teams. (sigh) Disappointment for sure! Other teams were also a bit surprised because we were expected to finish third minimum, but....well......the cards just didn't want to be played that way. It was 5:30 when we finally lost, so we spent the next couple of hours watching three more matches leading to the Championship match. There was some GREAT volleyball to watch!!!

Anyway, I wanted to run Sunday morning, but my body sarcastically said "are you completely out of your mind?!?!?" I was just a weeeeeeeee bit sore....*chuckle* At 7:30 am, DH and I headed out to get some grocery shopping done instead. I then putzed with some sewing before leaving to get the girls a bit after noon.

I haven't run yet today either. I will give myself until tomorrow, but then I MUST run! I have a half-marathon coming up this Saturday. This typically is a fun day since I run it with Julie (running buddy that graduated college this year). It's a Marathon-relay; I run the first half and she runs the second. It's such a fun day with LOTS of spectators; besides Julie and I meet up with each other every couple of miles to cheer each other on; supply each other with nutrition or ice; and LOTS OF photo ops!
My half is the "hill-half" and her half is typically the "hot-half." I'll have to get a pic of the elevation levels of the race so can see just HOW hilly this bad-boy is!!! Seriously, from mile 5 to mile 9 it is just ONE LONG UPHILL!!!! Mile 12 is the BEST though----imagine all the elevation that is climbed from miles 5 to 9---THAT is the elevation that is "lost" in mile 12! A GREAT coast coming into the 13.1 mile "hand-off." Julie and I have both run each half at least once; we both are running our "favorite" parts this year. I wanted to go for a PR this year on my first half (I ran 2:11:30 last year), but I realllllly don't think that's going to happen this year! I just have not been "into" my training this year....*sigh*. But I spoke with her last night and she's backed off her training too, so we're just going to "kick back and enjoy" this year----smile a lot for the camera, get a t-shirt, and enjoy the scenery.

Okay, let's see....is that about it???
Well...not quite. I spent three hours at school this morning talking with our somewhat new Superintendent (he's the old K-6 Principal----AWESOME leader!!!) Our 7-12 Principal just resigned three weeks ago, so Brian (our Sup) has been getting in applications for the position. He's asked me to sit in on the interview process----I guess it pays to be the person at school who can never say "no" to anything----at least all my extra-curricular events are getting noticed. Anyway, I met with him and some others who will be sitting on the panel to go over the questions we want to ask the interviewees. We have 6 coming in; 4 on Wednesday (5:00pm, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00pm) Could you IMAGINE having an interview at 8:00 at night!?!?!?!?! Yikes!!!! But, Brian wanted to be sure to have our School Board members at the interviews, so they needed to be in the evening.

I at least have two more whole weeks off yet before our inservice. Summer is ticking away.....I'm still holding on for awhile yet, though.

Well folks, sorry for no pics.........It's a lot of text, but hopefully it wasn't too boring.

Some new progress: Stars n Stripes

I did indeed sew for a bit last night, but only an hour. By 9:30, I was cashed! These "Block #1's" were half completed, so I was able to whip them out in no time tonight. (18 of them)

I really didn't think I would get all that far because I didn't start sewing until 7:00 tonight, and I wasn't overly motivated. Besides, these blocks may be small and relatively quick, but they can be putzy.

I needed to cut up some more 1.5" strips from the white and red PJ's before I was able to begin the Block #2's.

The 2nd blocks (17 of them) surprisingly went together rather quickly; maybe in a little over an hour. I took some time to lay them out, and I truly had all intentions of stopping once I snapped the picture of all of them laid out, but.......we know how that goes.....

Upon seeing them finished, and knowing it was only 9:15, I figured I would take a little time to attempt some of the sashings. These two sashings were done lickity-split! And naturally, I wanted to get an idea of how large the quilt is at this point, so I took some time to lay out all the blocks and blue squares, leaving room for the sashings yet to come.

With some borders, this is going to be a great lap-sized quilt for my Dad (if I decide to give it to him.) I'm torn between this one and the Oklahoma Backroads quilt that is still spread out on the floor too. Realistically, I think I can finish both within the next two weeks before his Retirement party, so maybe I'll take both of them and have Mom decide. Or, heck, maybe I'll just gift both to him!!! :0)

Catching up and "Treasures found"

WOW! It's been since Tuesday!
I headed to Mom's on Wednesday and didn't arrive until late. Then, had to get up EARLY Thursday to get to my math workshop 2 hours from mom's house. *sigh*.....I was disappointed in the workshop, but did learn a few things.

Not surprising, the day didn't improve until I stopped at a quilt shop near the convention. I hit a jackpot of scraps! I picked up 5 Gallon-size bags of scraps for $1.50 each (one was larger and was $3.00). Pictured here are all the scraps separated by darks and lights. I can using these on the Oklahoma Backroads for my dad.


Also, this piece was in one of the bags of scraps. My gosh! It's practially finished! The quilting motive is already chalked into it for me! I'm thinking of finishing this one with hand-quilting. It's small enough and I have so much better stitches by hand than by machine.



Once I arrived back at my mom's house, she informed me it was the "City-wide" garage sale weekend. Well...golly gee! I know I don't have to tell you what we did the next morning!!!

It is quite comical how "quilters" see garage sales. Take, for instance, this stack of men's plaids. Jackpot at one sale!!! Each shirt was $.50 - $1.00. My mom said "oh...did you find some shirts for Paul?" I simply said...."Nope! I found some great fabric for my next quilt!!!!"

Here are some other finds.....
Lovely purple/blue flower "Scrubs." $1.00. I'm SURE I'll find a nice project for this fabric. How cute!





Plus, I'm all about color-coordinating (as long as a project is NOT meant to be scrappy.) These are also purple (but difficult to tell from the photo.) And these are also HUGE! You can't really tell how HUGE they are, but I could easily put both of my legs in one of these. These were a bit more expensive, but worth the fabric. Easily a yard and a half here! $2.50




Amazing deal here!!!! TEN CENTS! Then again, WHO really would wear this?!?!? But, there is SO much fabric here! Easily over a yard!









These "Grandpa PJ's" were at one garage sale for $1.00 a set. (The white and red are each a set of a top and matching shorts.) The navy blue is a short-sleeve shirt, and the bottom red fabric is a pair of "relaxing" pants. The reds are actually burgandy, and I thought they would create a great Red, White and Blue something-er-other.




Well, off to the local Florist for some plum and pear trees. Maybe some potatoes, strawberries and rhubard bushes too.

Progress, progress on UFO's

No OC tonight! I'm still only 30 blocks into OC#2, but, I figured----"eh....the pieces are all cut and bagged, so they'll be easy to transport to dear ol' 'Mom's,'" so I'll finish them up when I visit Thursday-Saturday.

So instead---it was a night of UFO's!!! First on the list, which WON'T be a UFO for long, is the Oklahoma Backroads (OB). (Yet another Bonnie pattern). I have decided to make this for my Dad for his retirement. It only makes sense (to me). I have to complete it in three weeks, so do I realllllly want to start something from scratch??!?!? Hmmmmmm....NO! So......I added 6 blocks tonight. I'm thinking 8 more blocks will finish it off, in addition to some borders. It'll be a perfect "lap-snuggler" quilt for all his daily naps!!!!

The "cool" thing about this pattern, is that I can create 2" Half-Triangle "off-shoots." So, after I ran out of 2.5x4.5 bricks for the OB, I figured....."hmmmm...it'd be a good time to square up the 1/2 triangles." Then, naturally, once they were square, I played with possible layouts....oooooo...the wheels are turning!

Then I pulled out my "Leaders-enders" box and pieced some of them into 4-blocks. A nice collection so far.........GOSH! I love what Bonnie has done to me!!!






Oohhhhh....and that makes me think about these Crumb Blocks. HA! Before December, these little pieces would have been in the trash, but not now. I "played" tonight with some of the scrappy crumbs I had from OC#1. I pieced this lower "wonky" 16 block. Then I took some scraps from my Kaleidoscope quilt and pieced the other crumb block in the picture.

Speaking of Kaleidoscope, I pulled those out tonight and squared them up. They are a bit smaller than the pattern needs them to be, but at least they are all the same!!! 9.25x9.25". I'll probably keep this to a crib size, or at least a small twin for my youngest.

Next.....this "Rolling Rock" block has been sitting half-complete for a couple of months, so I decided to attempt to complete it. Whew.....it HAS earned the "three thimble" rating! Yikes! I'm amazed it turned out as well as it did. My M-I-L had a wonderful idea of using a Yo-Yo as the center of the blocks! NEAT! I've never made a Yo-Yo, but it'll be a great opportunity to learn something from my MIL.

FInally, I didn't do any work on "Grandma's State" quilt, but I wanted to bring out all my UFO's and see the status of each. This....ooo....THIS is the MONSTER! Last summer, sure...I "inherited" all of Grandma's fabric stash and other quilting supplies. BUT, thats' ONLY because I helped my parents clean out her apartment and get things ready for auction. These "gems" was lurking in her quilting area. Who KNOWS how long they have been sitting???!?!? Then, the day after I came across the blocks, I found the BOOKS!!! All of these blocks are "State Patterns" from the Workbasket magainzes from the 80's. Grandma had finished 8 of the blocks, and I have completed 8 so far. They are a bit challenging because of how the patterns/directions are explained. The last block I worked on was in early January, and pictured here! It's my FAVORITE so far!!! The pink "flowered" pattern is actually cut from one of Grandma's shirt. This block ALONE took me about 12 "clock hours" from start to finish!

Soooo....that's it! I do believe this is ALLLL of my UFO's sitting around......
Ooooo....nope! Forgot about "Deer Camp," but I'll save that for another evening. I'm done with the top of that one; just need to sandwich and quilt away!!!


Happy Sewing!!!

The weekend is over...

Well folkies, after a short snooze with the girls, I spent some time browsing through Bonnie's site in search of a pattern for my Dad's retirement quilt that my mom has requested. I'm liking the "Fun with Bricks" pattern the best, with "Chunky Churndash" second in line.

I've been working on another of her patterns: "Oklahoma Crossroads" and I layed it out today to see how it was looking so far. I figured I could give that to my Dad, but....eh......there's something about it that doesn't fit him. But the "Fun with Bricks' layed out with the diagonal pattern seems to fit. I'm already thinking of a name...."The path of Retirement"....not sure yet.




The ironing is on hold! When I need some fabric, I'll iron it. Otherwise it's just going to sit until I feel in the mood again.
Poop! I wanted to take a picture of some fabric I came across today in the stash that might be a great border fabric for the CC I'm making.

But I did come across two other fabrics that wouldn't be my first choice when out shopping, but I kinda like em!
First of all, this strawberry pattern is screaming to be made into a "Strawberry Shortcake" quilt. Gonna keep my eye out for the perfect pattern...

Also, this rose pattern is SO PRETTY and ELEGANT! It doesn't fit in my house, but.....??? It'll be one of those fabrics that'll sit until that PERFECT MOMENT!







So anyway.....tonight, I finally got back to working on the CC. I started cutting a few more strips of Browns and Greens for part 3 around 6:00pm.
Candace fell asleep on her Dora couch, so Cassie and Catilyn joined me downstairs, plopped a movie in and relaxed after their baths. Meanwhile, I was sewing the strips together into the 3-grouping sets. At 8:00, I shushed them off to bed, read them a story, and then came back downstairs to sew some strips together.

Once I had the strips sewn and cut, I figured----DONE for the night. But..hmmm...it's only 8:50...it shouldn't take that long to sew them together, right??? So, off I went.
30 minutes later, I had only sewn 2 sets of 3-patches together. I wasn't about ready to put another 30 minutes in tonight to finish them up. SO, they will await until tomorrow to get the final pieces together for step three.

It was eerie downstairs tonight, alone. DH is gone for the weekend, fishing with buddies. So after I put the girls to bed and went back downstairs, I didn't turn the radio or TV on. I wanted to hear the girls if they needed me. It gave me time to hear my thoughts....and my first thoughts were..."What am I going to call this quilt? Am I just going to keep it Carolina Crossroads? Should I use the graphic Phyl shared with the group? What if my quilt is found in an antique shop 75 years from now---whoa...that would be weird! If that label is on there, it might be a Collector's item....wow...I wonder if anyone else has thought about that....?"

Then my thoughts moved to --- "Hmm...this would be a great gift to my mom for Mother's Day. Okay....that's about 4 weeks away...that should be enough time to finish this and quilt it. Ooo...but then will I have enough time to make Dad's quilt before his party the first weekend of June?...oh dear...."

I can't express through the right words what joining this group has done for me. I read the posts daily, respond personally to some, but learn so much! The links being shared are great!