Another Giveaway

There is another giveaway over at Magnoliabay Quilts. The winner gets a copy of her book on making scrap quilts out of 2.5 inch strips. The quilt on the cover is beautiful. If you tell her I sent you I get an extra entry in the drawing. I shouldn't be greedy though, as I've already won a giveaway this week. Isn't blogging fun?

April Finish

I just finished up the binding on the Welcome quilt. It still wants a label but is proudly hanging in the front foyer. Nancy Hasn't posted a UFO yet for May, so I'll have to assess and think about what is next. I still need to put the words into the Starlight quilt and I have some more happy blocks to make for a sample quilt for the Girl Scout meeting. I've still got the Double Delight out waiting patiently for borders. Hmm, that sounds like enough to keep my busy for a month without a new UFO to add.
Sydney wanted this quilt to be hers. She says it's OK if I make her another as long as it has a curved edge with different colors. She would also like some of the purple sparkly fabric that was in the doll quilt I made this weekend and maybe some flowers like the ones in the corners, but with purple. I guess it is good that she knows what she wants.

I won the giveaway that Amanda was having for her 200th post!! Make sure you go visit. It is so fun to win something. I don't even know what I've won but I'm still happy thinking of little goodies in the mail. Thanks so much Amanda, not only for having a giveaway, but also for having a blog and leaving such nice comments for us all.

Meeting Goals

I am so glad that I decided to do one UFO a month this year. Having a simple concrete goal has really kept me on track. I usually choose to put too much on the "to do" list and then end up getting overwhelmed and ignoring it completely. By choosing a manageable goal, I'm getting more done and I am happier with the results. Yesterday I looked at the calendar and realized April was almost over. So today I sat down and sewed on the binding for Welcome, my April UFO. The hand stitching remains, but I'm sitting down to do that now. Kurt is schmoozing clients for dinner so I'll put something mindless on TV and get it all stitched up soon enough.

Theme Park Day

Today we went to Orlando to use our annual passes for Universal Studios. We showed up right at opening and walked on to every ride with no wait. We did every ride the kids wanted to do, most of them twice, and were done before it started to get crowded around lunch time. It was an absolutely perfect day. We grabbed lunch on the way home and then had lovely afternoon naps all around. I'm sure we'll go back at some point to do the other park, the nice thing about passes is that there is no pressure to get it all in.

After my little snooze, I got the scallops marked on my welcome quilt and cut out the bias strips. Tonight is pizza night, so we are watching Ironman and hanging out as a family. I need to grade some tests before tomorrow so I'm not sure how much further I'll get tonight. I'm hoping for a calm week at work so I can continue to putter along. I think I've managed to put my work worries away, at least mentally. I think it has all been taken out of my hands and I can get back to life as usual.

Oh -- I just saw that Cornfield Quilter is having a giveaway for her 200th post. Go over and say "HI"

Scallops

I have scalloped. My edge isn't perfect, but I think it is acceptable. I am ready to attempt binding my Welcome quilt. Probably not tonight, 'cause we are theme parking it tomorrow and I need to get a good nights sleep.

Two New Toys

I stopped on the way home from work yesterday to pick up a new iron. They were on sale at Joann's for $20 off. I didn't get the top of the line, but it seems pretty good, and it even has a retractable chord. I think they should make more appliances with retractable chords. Then when I got home, my birthday/anniversary present was waiting. It's not my birthday/anniversary until next month, but Kurt was in need of a new phone and ordered us both new iPhones. Mine is white and his is black. So obviously, last night was spent playing with both of my new toys. I've downloaded some cool apps and organized my songs and basically had all sorts of fun. It was a nice diversion after a painfully bad day at work. I'm trying to delete it all from my memory and move on with my life. Deep breath.... moving on.

I whipped up this little doll quilt in order to practice doing a scalloped border before I attempt finishing my welcome quilt. Today I will learn something new! I hope it will all work out well.
This afternoon the Girl Scouts are going ice skating and if all goes well I will have a quilt to finish and an iPhone full of new games to play while they skate. Not a bad day at all. I'm feeling better already.

Quilted

I'm sure you are all getting good and tired of seeing this quilt by now. But, as one of my running partners says, I'm terribly chuffed with myself. I've just finished the quilting on the Welcome quilt -- simple diagonal grid in the center and wavy lines flowing around the letters outside. My machine was acting up a bit and skipping stitches. She's due for her well baby exam soon, I'm sure that will fix it. Next on the agenda (deep breath) is attempting a scalloped border. I'm terrified of messing it all up, but I have scallops in my head and want to give it a shot. I think I'll save it until tomorrow, because the first step is to cut bias strips, and that might require some planning and organization. I saw the quilt in a day lady do a thing with freezer paper cut to the right size and then folded again and again to make a template. I think I'll try that to get the spacing just right. Then she marked it with a sharpie marker, and I'm not brave enough to try that.

Ooops, I forgot to mention that Amanda is having a giveaway for her 200th post. Go over and check it out. Leave her a comment and tell her I said "Hi".

Welcome Flimsy

I have officially gotten my Welcome quilt to the flimsy stage! (For my non-quilter friends, that is the un-quilted top.) I sincerely hope that I didn't misspell anything else. It's all fastened down now, so it would take some work to undo. There are some potential backing fabrics auditioning on the family room floor right now. I went crazy buying this fabric for my Elm Creek Sampler quilt, so there were plenty to choose from. I added in some fat quarters that I won in a giveaway a tiny bit ago, and I think they mix together happily. The tub isn't even close to empty yet, so I'm thinking of adding in some of the lights and putting a wonky log cabin on the someday list. I am patting myself on the back for starting this one and getting it to this stage in just 20 days. Thanks to Patchwork Penguins UFO challenge, I'm doing well on my list. I guess spring break had something to do with my success, but I'm still smiling from ear to ear.

I just got back from the Girl Scout SUM (service unit meeting). I dropped off my Buttons and Bowties quilt for donation. It was my March UFO and I just never quite liked the color combinations on that one. It was much easier to say goodbye to that one than the Scrappy Irish Chain last month. I worked forever on that one as leaders and enders and was super happy with how it turned out. I need to start thinking about the Happy Blocks project again and try to put something together before the next SUM which is the last before summer. I got some more of the sock monkey fabric in from Fat Quarter Shop, so I should be able to put a sample together to show everyone the plan. After I come up with a plan of course.

OK, I just spent half an hour putting in all those links. Somebody please follow them so I don't feel like I've shamelessly squandered my time:). Fringe is on TV and I watched a Hulu marathon of it this weekend. I had never seen it before then, but now I'm feeling attached to the characters. I think I'll watch while I plan out the Welcome Back and scrounge for some batting. Happy Tuesday everyone. It's almost hump day.

Ooops

Late night quilting can be hazardous to your sanity. I should have gone to bed last night instead of trying to connect the letters to my quilt. I didn't do any ironing thankfully, because when I looked at the photo I had snapped, I realized that welcome had a few extra letters. Unlike the time I put the "A" backwards in the Yes We Can quilt, I didn't attatch it. I did however, take it as a sign to call it quits and head to bed for the night. Dyslexics of the world untie!

Grades are due today and it is the first day of gymnastics for Sydney. Maybe tonight I can commit to these letters and get them attached so I can layer the quilt. I'm a little anxious to see how the quilting process will work with the fusible. Maybe I'll just quilt around the letters? Amy has finished up yet another quilt and her beautiful work has inspired me to get this one checked off the list.

Girl Scout Monday

Tonight was the night for our Girl Scout Troop to take a tour of the pet shop.

Look at the adorable hats we got.

We worked on our Caring for Animals Badge. The ladies who work at the store did a very nice job of telling us about all of the different animals and what kind of care each needed. The girls were so excited to hold and pet all of the animals.

I had a little time last night to work and started putting together the letters for Star light Star bright. Looking at the photo, the top of the second S seems to have disappeared. I still need to make two more blocks for the bottom. I'm always surprised at how long a twin sized quilt is. This will be another donation quilt, so it needs to be the right size. I want to spend a few minutes puttering away at the welcome quilt, but I need to get to bed early. I've been up until midnight too many evenings recently and I am in serious pain from lack of sleep. I even tried to take a nap this afternoon, but Sydney prevented that from happening. I spent all afternoon at school finishing up grades and preparing for an electrophoresis lab tomorrow. The kids are all counting down the days, so getting anything done is like pushing jello up a hill.