May UFO

The May UFO to work on is my tween daughter's quilt. It's based on a wallhanging design from about.com. My highly artistic daughter had to be the one who picked a pattern off the shelf! (Sort of - it'll be bed size instead, so I tweaked the measurements some and found another pattern for a cat design for another applique.)

I have a LOT of new bits of material to cut the windowpanes from, but I don't use the rotary cutter around the pre-schooler. He wants to do EVERYTHING we do, and rotary cutting just isn't something he'll be allowed to do for a while.

!

Someone who doesn't know me from Adam's cat likes my quilt!!

I ran across this post while browsing:
The Calico Cat

She likes Rocket Ships!
I never thought of it as an I Spy quilt, but I suppose it is. All I know is, the toddler likes it. And someone else!

I know all of us are too hard on ourselves - when I look at my quilts, all I see are the mistakes and things I would do different. This is a reminder that sometimes we should just stop and appreciate our own work.

More quilt show photos

This is the ribbon I have for the iris quilt:


Hanging in the show:


And a close-up of the button in the middle:


And the happy boy who gets the quilt:


In addition to the bits from yesterday, today I bought some needles, a magnetic "magic wand" that will probably go to my secret sister, and this-
Two 9-panel sets of batik prints:


Some yard and half-yard cuts of batiks for a wall hanging:


And...some of my favorite quilts from the show.

My quilt gets to go to Nashville...

even if I don't. They called last night, and Serendipity Iris is in the top 8 for the Guild Challenge. I feel like Sally Field - They like me! They really like me!
Laura doesn't know she won't get this yet:


Most of the pics I took yesterday came out pretty bad - I'll try to do better today ;>)
Me with Rocket Ships! and the recipient:


Laura with a couple of small quilts:


A bigger album quilt:

Quilt show - sorry, no pics

The camera is still in the car...

I had floater duty Friday afternoon and made a quick run-through.

Today [after Pinewood Derby - no luck for the mid-kid, though - and lunch at Cici's] the whole family went. They have a scavenger hunt for the kids, and they wound up finding everything. And Rocket Ships was one of the things you were supposed to look for! They got some little scraps of fabric, then came home and wanted to sew them together (!!).

I won a raffle basket! It's Christmas-themed, and I suppose a Christmas quilt (or quilts) is in my future. I bought two bags of cheap S*E*X* (cheap Stash Enhancement Experience)- quart-sized bags of small pieces that are, well, very sexy (at least compared to what I usually buy).

I'm signed up to help tomorrow with "Kids' Activities" but will likely wind up floating again. I'll go early to vote for my favorites (and am I odd that MY quilts aren't my favorites?) and prowl the vendors' booths.

I bid on a ginkgo print in the silent auction; cross your fingers for me that I get it.

Gratitudes:
1. Quilts, what else?
2. Pizza buffets for lunch - makes lunching out with a toddler SO much easier.
3. My kidlets - they are often fun.
4. chocolate.

Slogging along

I can get most of one chess piece done every day. It ain't fast, but it's going.

I'm looking forward to the show - starts on Friday.

The "F word"

Finished!!

Both Rocket Ships! and Serendipity Iris are done, de-furred, and in bags awaiting turn-in. Since I'm volunteering for turn-in, I don't think I'll miss it.

There's at least some of April left to work on my April UFO:


It's the chess quilt for my middle boy. I need to applique on chess pieces and edge them.

Back from Florida...again

I'm still supremely wiped out. We (my daughter and I) left Maryland Wednesday afternoon about 4, arrived in central Florida by 7 the next day for memorial service #1, took Friday off, had memorial service #2 on Saturday. The services were very nice, just the sort of thing that Cheryl would've liked. My brother seems to be dealing as well as can be expected, but I worry about both him and my mother. Cheryl was the center of their universe, and her passing will live a big, big hole.

We drove back Sunday. In one day. Over 1000 miles. And I went to work on Monday. Clearly, I AM insane. I left work about 2:30 today because I felt sick; probably because I'm too old for this kind of thing!

I worked a LOT on Rocket Ships while I was down in Florida and finished the binding and nearly all of the quilting. I'm now in the process of finishing the quilting with some little silver stars, then I can put on the sleeve and the label. I did the sleeve and label for the iris quilt this afternoon. After de-hairing, it'll be ready to go.

I've volunteered (so far) for take-in on Saturday and floater Friday afternoon. I'll likely also volunteer for take-down on Sunday.

Water! YAY!

It wasn't all a BAD return - these were also waiting for us. The pump guy came on Monday, and only $973 later, we have a brand spanking new pump (which is pretty much essentially the same as the old pump, only new).

More from my vacation goodies. This is my "new" baby. She's not very pretty, but she's been around. My mom got her as a graduation present from high school back in 1953.


Some work is required - this is what the "plug" currently looks like:


Some random Singer goodies:


A few bits of fabric that may or may not fall apart when I wash them:


Some patterns:


Another quilt:


An innocent looking powder box, right?


But open it up, and BUTTONS!


Gratitudes:
1. Spring
2. Water!
3. A handyman husband who can replace the plug

Back home again

We came home last night to a busted well pump. SO - no toilet flushing, no dishwashing, no laundry. I swung by Home Depot for a fuse in case that was the problem with the pump (no such luck), by the gas station for gas (TWO!- more pump troubles - the gas pump kept shutting off at the first station after a dollar or two. At least gas was cheaper at the second station.), by the grocery for staples and paper plates, and to pick up the dogs from puppy camp.

We had a good visit.
Easter Sunday we went to church with my brother and SIL-to-be and Mom. It's an evangelical church, and I didn't warn the kids beforehand. NOT what DD is used to from her friend's church here.

Monday was hanging out with the family. Mom lives with my brother, and we were staying at her house, which is about 30 miles away.

Tuesday Mom came over and spent the day going through stuff in the garage. This is Mom and my youngest at her front door, both with their "sympathy sticks."


We found lots of cool stuff in the garage and threw LOTS of stuff away. Lots came home with us.

This is four bags seamed together:


This is a king-size quilt top made by my grandmother, most likely for my Mom's bed. Another item for the UFO list:


A few finished quilts, not from my family, but either from my Dad's mom or stepmom. This is one that I absolutely LOVE. The close-up shows the fan quilting pattern.




Oddly enough, it matches our bedroom fairly well.


Another quilt, using 40s or so fabrics.




The quilting pattern on the back:


A random quilt block, maker unknown:


Wednesday, we went to the beach at Sanibel with my brother and his granddaughter, K. We had a lovely lunch and then couldn't park, so we went to the nature center and toured it for an hour or so. Then we could park and beach for a few hours.

Toddler and cousin K at the beach:


My "little" brother:


The family at the beach:


Another shot of the family:


Not too many shells at Sanibel, oddly, but DH happened on a scallop bed. This is one he picked up and put in the bowl. It opened up and then squirted water at us!


More later - I'm beat! A teaser photo for the upcoming post:


Gratitudes:
1. Paper plates
2. Someone else washing the dogs
3. The new vet - the anti-itch regimen starts today
4. Argentinian merlot

On vacation!

Today was our first full day in Florida.

We left at a reasonable time on Friday, ~11-ish, and drove until about 9:30, stopped just over the Georgia line at a suites hotel in the Hyatt chain (starts with H - I want to say Hereford, but I KNOW that's wrong). Got up, had a YUMMY breakfast, and left a little after 8. We arrived in LaBelle just after 4 pm.

Came over to Clewiston. J & S had bug-bombed the house, so there were dead roaches all over. The tween was freaked, but eventually calmed down.

I made the Wal-Mart run for coffee and Easter supplies. Came back, filled baskets, went to bed.

This morning, got up, went in to make coffee - no coffeemaker. Find out later it was moved to the office (it's back in the house now). Go to Clock restaurant for bad coffee. Kids eat lots of candy and we go back to LaBelle. J & S have brought 3-year-old grand-daughter, K, back with them. K is 6 months older than MY toddler, and they (amazingly) had a wonderful time together all day.

We went to church (other than TMOTH) with J & S in the morning. The International Christian Fellowship church is a pentecostal church but not as holy-roller as I remember the Assembly of God from my college years being. My daughter, who mostly goes to church with her best friend, was a little taken aback. The church at least gives me hope that integration (real integration) will happen in my lifetime. The pastor is Filipino, the youth pastor is Mexican, and the congregation is mixed.

The crowd is coming over here tomorrow, and we'll figure out what to do then. It's been raining - hopefully it'll stop so we can go to the beach.

Spring break!

I'm on vacation!

We leave for Florida in the morning (hopefully morning, anyway).

TMOTH took the doggies to the kennel this afternoon, and the cats aren't crazy *yet*.

About half of my list is loaded into the car. I'm taking 3 quilts - rocket ships, John's quilt in case I get done with Rocket Ships, and my mom's quilt.

The big kids are packed, I *think* I packed enough for the toddler, but I haven't started on my own clothes yet. OR the "stuff" I'll need for the quilts.

Lovely weekend

Saturday was, at least. Warm sunny weather in the afternoon - we played on the playset, dug in the garden, explored the deer skeletons. Good fun.

It was rainy and cold this morning, though, so we stayed in. I've just kept working on Rocket Ships- it has to be done by mid-April.

Slogging away

Not many posts, because not much new is going on. I've made it twice around not quite half of the rocket ships:


The first round is eyeballed about half an inch; the second round is one inch out from the first, marked by pieces of masking tape. I think I'll need another round to get enough quilting in.

I will work on borders for the kitten quilt this weekend, I hope.

I also bought some organizers at Home Depot and need to work on some more clean-up in the playroom.

Gratitudes:
1. Spring peepers
2. Spring flowers starting to peek up
3. Spring break in a week!

I'm Superman!

Although I apparently have some Spiderman tendencies as well.
Thanks, Jill!

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 75% Spider-Man 70% Robin 57% Iron Man 55% Supergirl 53% Hulk 45% The Flash 40% Batman 40% Wonder Woman 33% Green Lantern 30% Catwoman 15%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...