Not quite according to plan

My trip is off to a rather inauspicious start.

More later.

Zombie

I'm going to be a zombie in the morning. It is 2 AM and I am still awake, and curiously alert. I know it is because I leave for a 10-day trip in the morning and I don't really want to go. I guess if I put off going to bed, I put off leaving, right?

Of course, everyone else is in bed, so I've been sewing. First, I sewed together some border blocks for my scrappy star quilt, just because they are faster than the star blocks and I wanted immediate gratification.

Yup, I'm gratified. I'm going to love this quilt! Although, after seeing this photo, I may see if I prefer to have the rows with the light stars on a dark background next to the border.

Then I started playing with the un-usable scraps that I've trimmed off my GGG quilt, the ones I can't square up to 2" square. I just can't throw them away, so I thought I'd see what I could come up with by crumb piecing. My first idea was a house block with the GGG crumb pieces in the window and door.

I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it was fun and easy to make. Perhaps I'll come up with some other ideas while traveling this next week. I did not end up kitting something to take with me, because everything was just too big. These additional fees to check a bag are very frustrating. I feel like I am not a good steward of my employer's money if I waste money on a checked bag fee. So, I'm packing super light. I hope I don't forget anything. Like my PASSPORT....OK, I'm back. It would have been a disaster if I had forgotten my passport.

Anyway, I should stop putzing around and go to bed. I'll do my best to post from the road. Get in some extra quilting for me, would ya?

I hope I win...

I brought my soup (leftovers from two nights ago) up to my desk for lunch today. I just had to catch up on some blogs - I feel really out of the loop. You guys do some pretty amazing things and you keep me not only informed but inspired. The happy of quilts of Judi at Green Fairy Quilts always make me smile, so I am thrilled that she is having a giveaway! I hope I win, I hope I win, I hope I win...

I hit the road tomorrow. Tonight, I am thinking of making up some tiny Dresden Plates to take with me. Not that I need to start anything new, but my current projects aren't hand projects, so what is a girl to do? I'm also taking my laptop. At least I should be able to catch up and keep up with all of your blogs while I am gone.

One hour of therapy

You ever just have a day when you are down for no apparent reason? Nothing has gone wrong, per se, but you just can't seem to break out a smile? That was me yesterday. I should have been happy - I got a lot done at work, we sparred in karate (what a great way to get out aggression!), my husband cooked a fantastic dinner and had it waiting when I got home, after dinner I made a pot of tea and curled up in the recliner to finish my book - all in all, it was a good day. But still, I was bummed.

You know what always works, don't you? I pulled out some pieces from my GGG quilt that needed trimming down to 2" size. I gave myself an hour to just press and cut. Normally, cutting is my least favorite part of quilting; actually, no, basting is, but cutting is a close second. But as I cut, I tried to imagine what each fabric was used for back in my Great Great Grandmother's day. Was this pretty print a child's dress or an apron? Were pillowcases made from this soft cotton? I was tranported. An hour later, I had two respectable stacks of squares and HSTs:


The majority of the fabrics are florals - here's a random sampling:


Then there are a couple stripes, and then some rather bizarre prints. Check out the cat with a can or cup of something, the children riding all sorts of animals - elephants, ostriches, and camels - and the men loading (or unloading) trunks on a carriage.


By the time I cleaned up after myself, I could speak civilly again, and I took myself to bed early. Today, I vow to be pleasant all day. Life is too short to spend it moping around!

By the way, for those of you who were wondering, I am the one in the black in the photo from a few posts ago. Cheers!

Ready, set, RELAX!

It is the season of 1-day weekends. I work every Saturday until November 14. After work this Saturday morning, I went to an afternoon of Cub Scout Den Leader training. I became a den leader so I could be more involved in my son's activity, understand what is going on, and influence the quality of the programming. I had no idea how much time I would be committing that didn't involve him. In addition to the training on Saturday, I went to a 3 hour pack planning meeting on Thursday. Ugh! On Saturday night, I had volunteered to work at the drive-in, so I had a chance to come home, change clothes, eat a sandwich and collect the kids, and then I was off again. While there, one of the Board members (our drive-in is the nation's only non-profit community owned drive-in) mentioned that the Board was interested in asking me to serve. I'm trying to think of how many different ways I can say "No." While flattered, I am just so over-extended right now. I am still recuperating from 3 years on my son's daycare Board.

So, I vowed that nothing would get me out of the house yesterday. I was going to RELAX. It started by sleeping in until 9 AM. I didn't know I COULD sleep in until 9 - guess I was tired. After fixing a big "guilty working mother Sunday breakfast" and cleaning up, I settled myself on the porch with some coffee and a book. Aaaahhh! I love porch sitting! Each of my cats took a turn curling up on my lap, and I was "peaceful" personified. I was reading Jane Peart's The Pattern, the first of her 3 book American Quilt Series books.

It certainly isn't classic fiction; the characters are not very well developed and the whole thing reads as if it is designed for 13-year-old girls, but that's OK. That means there's no killing or swearing or gratuitous sex - how refreshing! There is not as much quilting in it as I had hoped, but perhaps books 2 and 3 will have more. After getting my fill of reading, I filled the crockpot for dinner, and settled in to sew. Here's what I got done on my scrappy star quilt that I am actually not working on, since I don't need to start anything new right now. ;)

While sewing, I listened to a Dick Francis book on tape. In addition to these blocks, I finished two more GGG blocks - I think I now have 10 or 11. I also managed to sew some patches onto my Cub Scout Leader uniform. (Not my favorite kind of sewing, mind you, but I felt guilty neglecting something that was supposed to be done while doing something that I wanted to be doing. Luckily for me, that guilty feeling didn't spill over enough for me to tackle my dirty floors or bathrooms.)

My only concession to motherly/housewifely duties yesterday (besides meals) was helping the kids clean and vacuum their room. Honestly, though, that isn't really work. They are old enough that all they need is some direction and they can get the room clean lickety-split. Then, I vacuum while they shriek and tumble and attack the vacuum with swords. It's actually quite fun! Then, after bathtime and bedtime stories, I wrapped up my sewing, tidied up my sewing space (I can't WAIT until my sewing studio is finished!), and slid into bed with a sigh. What a wonderful day!

I fell in love, again!

No, not with a person (my husband is lodged so deeply in my heart that no one will ever usurp his position there) but with a quilt. I made several calls to Costa Rica yesterday to finalize my trip. Each time, I was on hold FOREVER while they tried to find the person to whom I needed to speak. I kid you not, one time I was transfered 8 times! That's OK, it is a perfect opportunity to catch up on blogs, right? Well, I was cruising along Vera's blog, and came across this quilt. It was love at first sight.

Now, of course, I have no business starting anything else. So I just made one of each block so I'll remember to make this quilt. At least that's what I told myself starting out. After all, since I have so many scraps pre-cut into various sizes, there was no cutting involved. In fact, I already had a bunch of four-patches for the star centers, so I didn't have to construct those. It is just TOO EASY to start something new!

I am just itching to work on this some more. Unfortunately, I have to go to work this morning (yes, it is Saturday, and yes, I worked all week. I am working every Saturday until November 14 - ugh!). Then this evening I am volunteering at the drive-in again. Maybe I can get some sewing done this afternoon? We'll see.

Where does the time go?

I swear I just posted on here, but in fact, it has been nearly a week. I need to post more often because so much happens between posts. Last Friday, my office went out for a team building kayaking excursion before we all started travel season. It was a perfect day for being outside on the water - you can read more about it and see photos here on my office's blog.

Then, after work, I put the final border on my Kitchen Sink quilt (aka Pick and Choose). I was so happy to have something to share at Show and Tell at the quilt guild meeting on Saturday morning. And it turns out nearly everyone in the guild had something to show - it was one of the biggest Show and Tell's we've ever had. I get so much inspiration from these wonderful, creative, talented women! And that's not all I get - one of the ladies brought in a bag of scraps, my version of winning the lottery. I was not greedy, and only took a few pieces, some just small snips or strips of fabric. Here's my take:



I couldn't stay for the workshop, making little baskets something like these that I made back in February,

because I had to go to the airport to fly down to Atlanta for a few days of work. My twin sister was down there at the same time visiting her college roommate - a fact that I was aware of but she wasn't. She was SO SURPRISED when I showed up out of the blue to join them for dinner and a comedy show. Here we are enjoying a frozen margarita - can you tell which one is me and which one is my twin?


I'm back in town for about a week before heading off to a national conference and then my trip to Costa Rica and Ecuador. For those of you who followed my last blog, remember that last year I found time to go to the equator. This year, I am hoping to find the time to take a trail ride on horseback up a volcano. After all, all work and no play makes Erin grumpy!

Before I leave, I hope to make some more progress with both the flannel juvenile quilt that I am hand quilting and my GGG quilt. Stay tuned for photos!