FINALLY a finish!

Last night, the volleyball team brought home some hardware and are now the 2011 Regional Champions!!! Being the #3 seeded team, we knew the team had their work cut out for themselves, but the championship was attainable. The match was exciting from the start, and our girls upset the #1 seeded team in three straight sets (25-6, 25-20, 25-16). Waaahhhhhoooooooooo!

Our seniors lead the team with motivation and inspiration last night! Joining in with the picture is Emma, former teammate who switched over to Cross-Country. She ALSO had reason to celebrate last night; yesterday morning, she placed 3rd at the Sectional meet and is heading off to State Cross Country!!! I love the support they have for each other!

"Blue-n-Gold Pride
So, with the Blue-n-Gold fever still flowing in the veins, I awoke this morning with the ambition to finally finish this baby.

Hind-sight is 20-20 and I wish I would have made this a bit larger, but it'll still going to be used and used and used.

Cassie is excited to finally have it on her bed. She's upstairs cleaning up her room right now :0)

Blue-n-Gold Pride & Placemats

Blue-n-Gold Pride has finally been loaded onto the frame, and a few paths completed. The nice reality now.... anytime I have 10-15 minutes, I can go downstairs, turn the machine on, and get a path or two finished. However, a comment from Paul sidetracked me today from further quilting on BnG Pride.

"Cassie, go iron the placemats."

These annoying things!!! Paul bought them a few months ago; we never had used placemats before. I kinda rolled my eyes at him at the time, and said...whatever.

However, I have learned....I really like the benefits of having a placemat.

BUT NOT THESE!!!!!
I've tried ironing them. It didn't help.
I've tried washing them, and laying them flat while drying. It didn't help.


So, I went downstairs and dug around to see what fabric I could find. This chosen fabric is a heavier selection that was buried in one of my many donation boxes; it reminds me of a heavier decorative fabric (upholstery or such).

As you can see---nothing fancy-schmancy at all! Just mere function at this point. Then....later on when I really get inspired, I'll see about coming up with something nicer.

I figured these would be good for now. Orangey-autumn colors (AND I burned through some ORANGE for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge --even those these aren't scraps.)

Speaking of Autumn-----we are having UNSEASONABLY warm temperatures!!!!!! We've had 8 days of 80+ degrees so far this October!!! (The 5:00 news just stated that this hasn't happened since 1953). That is just NOT-NORMAL for us northern states. However, this "borrowed time" will end by mid-week, and then we'll be back to normal (and even BELOW normal temperatures!) :0( So, my half-marathon next weekend will be NOTHING like the Chicago marathon today; temps are predicted for 50s (HIGH), which means.....30s(???) at the start????

Leader-Ender (Jamestown) & Blue-n-Gold updates...

I resisted starting the QOV mystery. At this point, only the fabric requirements have been posted, so I'm hoping I can get some progress done on others before the cutting clue is available. BUT, I am most definitely going to participate. I've done the last four mysteries; and it's always nice to work on a project along with others :0)

Instead, I spent a couple of hours this morning cutting up the rest of my HSTs for Jamestown Landing. 420 HSTs awaiting here, and will be my leader-ender until finished up with Blue-n-Gold Pride.

Yup.....BnG Pride is up next! :0)

While I'm doing that, Paul has potatoes on his mind for today. He checked "pigs" off his list yesterday. And even though he requested that the girls stay inside...."they don't need to watch this".... the girls had other thoughts!!! They were peering out the window, watching him with fascination, so he finally just said "Well, you might as well come out and learn something then!" They were pretty enrapt with how the tendons/muscles worked to move the pig foot. Besides, this is about the only "non-gross" picture I took, and I didn't want to push my luck here on the blog :0)

Blue-n-Gold Pride layout

Yup...Angela was right. It didn't take too long to whip up the missing blocks {{and IF I actually DID make them originally, and IF they decide to show up.....they'll either make some great backing additions OR an excellent pillow accessory.}}

Lunch time; glancing over this picture to make sure all blocks are turned correctly before sewing the rows together into the top.

Homecoming game is this Friday-----oooohhhhhh......push, push, push. Would be so great to have this completed and USED in the cheer section!

Houston quilt center - We have a problem

?!?!?!!?!?

How did THIS happen?????

I've searched high-n-low; did I really fail to make these blocks???????

Always an exciting stage [updated]

With those Blue-n-Gold Pride units waiting patiently all week long, I was anxious to get downstairs this morning to start the FUN-n-EXCITING stage of staring to piece them all together.

Piecing-n-Pressing has been much of my morning

And the first glimmer of a quilt top is enough to keep me pushing along at warp speed :0)

Takin' a small mid-breakfast break; jam-n-toast with coffee.

I see alllll those tomatoes on the table, just a-waitin' to see some processing today. And they will!!! Just a little bit later; after lunch, maybe.

For now.....I wonder if I can get that top together by lunch time.

Hmmm....1.5 hours away; I don't think so, but I'll do the best I can.

12:15 update
Too much of a good thing isn't always good when other things are also pressing in for time! With lunch needing to be made, and an afternoon of processing tomatoes on the priority list, I must set my B-n-G Pride sewing aside for now. The good news, though.......I was motivated and busy last night prepping for all of my classes and grading all my homework papers. Therefore, I have NO SCHOOLWORK looming over me for the rest of the weekend. I'm betting I'll be back with B-n-G later this evening :0)

Happy Saturday!

Somehow, we fit it all in!

As much as I want to get those few extra minutes of sleep during the work-week....once my eyes open on the weekend, I'm UP! Soooo much to do all the time, and quite literally, there is NOT enough daytime to get it all done.

BUT....today, we did pretty good!

Yesterday in the mail, I received the give-away scrap box that Nancy (Patchwork Penguin) graciously gave-away earlier last week. I didn't even open it yesterday with all the tomato fun we were having :0).....

But nothing held me back today. My GOODNESS!!!! The "scraps" were JAM-PACKED in there! And....WOW! So many GOOOOOODIES!

In fact, I put one of the fabrics to work straight-away as I started piecing more 9-patches together -- a blue strip here, a yellow strip there

an hour here....

an hour there....

another hour there.... (working at WARP speed because I just wanted to get all 165 9-patches DONE today!)

And it worked!!!! ALLLLL the units for Blue-n-Gold Pride are now completed. And as BADLY as I wanted to keep going and start piecing the blocks together.....it was already 11:00, and I had LOADS to do yet if we were going to get out on that boat in the afternoon to enjoy the last NICE day we'll probably have before Fall weather really takes over.

From 11:00 - 1:30 ... more canning! 6 half-pints of pickle relish, and another 10 half-pints of salsa. Amidst that time, I also made up some lunch and picked up a friend of Cassie's who we invited to tag along on the boating excursion.

And EVEN though I KNOW Paul would rather have kept working on his yard tasks, (just like I would have LOVED to have kept working on B-n-G Pride.....

We did get on the road around 2:30 to enjoy the rest of the afternoon on the water. As we were heading through town, the Bank's sign was letting us know EXACTLY how beautiful of a day it was!!! 91 degrees! LOVELY!

Now, for those of you in the south, hearing 91 probably makes you say "ugh!!!!!!!!" But, up here, we may have set a record for the latest 90-degree day in September (I'll have to watch news tonight).

As for the water.....

Fa-Reeeeeeezing!

{{alright, alright. So it probably wasn't 32 degrees F, but.....it was COLD!!!!!!}}

But it didn't stop the girls (too much) from enjoying the afternoon. Even I dived in to cool off........and that water CERTAINLY did the job today!!! However, after lounging in the sun on the boat with legs propped up, face looking up towards the sun..... ahhhhhhhhH! It was a BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL toasty warm afternoon on the lake!!!!!

By 6:00, we were rolling back home to make sure we had time for dinner, baths, and getting everything ready for school. And again, amazingly, we got it all in, with the girls climbing in bed by 8:00.

While dinner was cooking and the girls were finishing their baths, I took the basil leaves out of the dehydrator to give 'em a whirl in the small food processor.

Using the words of Judy L, ..... they were pulverized to a lovely fine seasoning flake.

Paul knew what he was doing when he "recycled" some old seasoning jars after we emptied them. Golly...all I'd have to do now is print off an adorable little label, and I could sell basil seasoning for a living!!! ;0) As for the dehydrated tomatoes -- they weren't quite dry enough yet. I'm predicting tomorrow :0)

The most annoying part of the day: MY ALLERGIES!!!!!!! My goodness! The pollen count must have been SUPER-HIGH today! I even took a second 24-hour-time-released tablet (about 6 hours after my first).... and the meds didn't even TOUCH my allergies today! My poor nose! Thank goodness for Puffs Plus w/Lotion!

I didn't do much of any prepping this weekend, but I think I'm set for at least tomorrow since I prepped for two-weeks last weekend. Kinda nice being ahead. :0)

Blue-n-Gold Pride :0)

Lunch was made
Dishes were done
Laundry was started
Salsa got made (10 half-pints)

and I STILL had time to play around with my Blue-n-Gold Pride leader-ender units. Lots of pressing; lots of dog-ear trimming; lots of subcutting for the 9-patches. I only have 1/3 of the 9-patches completed and about 1/2 of the gold/gold HSTs. ALL of the B/G HSTs are completed, and I started piecing some "diamond" units...

I hope to make some quick progress on this now that I'm moving it off the L/E pile so that it can be used yet this Football season! Blue-n-Gold are our school colors.

Happy Monday!

Loaded Sunday...

I'm wondering if I could get by with a post of mostly pictures and very few words??? ;0) It's been a FULL day and my brain doesn't want to get creative...

Pulled out the yellows this AM for some Rainbow Scrap Challenge time. Scrappy Stars has been on my "to-be-made-someday" sidebar, and it really seems like the perfect pattern to use up some yellow. But rather than use purple/yellow, I'll be using Blue-n-Gold, the colors of my school. :0)

Hit the 1.5" scrap drawer and pulled everything I had in blue-n-gold...

Here's a goodies that clearly came from Grandma's stash.

My morning hours were completely used cutting HUNDREDS of HSTs in blue-n-gold (596 Gold, 3## Blue --can't remember exactly how many). But now, ready next to the machine as my next Leader-Ender project until I can hit it full speed :0)

After lunch, it was time to get outside (guilted a BIT by Paul---what a mover-n-shaker he can be!!!!). Besides, I had been avoiding this eye-sore! UGH, right!??!?! So, with the girls' help, we all started removing ALL (MOST) of the rocks....

Four hours, loads of rock, and a sunburn later.....it's ALMOST finished. I need to get some mulch. The reshaping of the top occurred because one of the bushes had perished, and I really didn't to have so much "deadspace."

This is the bottom-view (OBVIOUSLY before....)

And after. If you zoom in, you'll see there's a hole prepped and ready on the left to be filled with a bush being transplanted from a different location. AND, the girls FINALLY were able to play after working ALLLLLLL day for either myself or Paul.

Then, after dinner......I COULD have been done, but I figured I'd do a couple quilting passes on With Heart while the girls were in the bathtub. Although I was ready to be done long before I actually stopped, I persevered and FINISHED the quilting! Tomorrow AM----binding and labeling. Maybe I'll be able to deliver this to Jody tomorrow before she's done with her summer school course.

Okay....NOW, I'm done for the day.