Carolina Crossroads Progress and Here's Bug!

This came in the mail earlier this week..the final block from my the last holdout of my quilt history group swap. Cute! One other gal apparently decided not to make her blocks after all (what?) so since we were told to make fifteen and then we only swapped ten or so I have about 7 extra blocks that are the same. Oh well, they will all go in the quilt either in the top or the back I suspect. Finally remembered to take a picture of Bug. Isn't she cute? She fits in really well here and we love her already! And I have occasionally been sneaking in a Carolina Crossroads block or two but the pile never seems to get smaller! I will have plenty of quilt to get into tops this summer when I have more time to actually sew.

Heating Pad Covers--At Last!

Since my migraines were bad Friday and annoying again today I mostly took it easy today. Seriously. DJ and I did take Coleman to see Red Riding Hood which was decently good. So nice to get Coleman out of the house two days in a row...he is mostly addicted to video games and never wants to leave his bedroom. It was a really good Coleman weekend which was nice. So tonight DJ and I decided to whip up some heating pad covers. She has a bad back and uses her heating pad daily and has no cover for it. Mine is really old (and danguerous since it doesn't turn off automatically) and had a plain cover which I wound up using for a lining. You may recognize the inner blocks here...they are leftover Orange Crush blocks that needed a home! I had a hard time giving that quilt away so I am really tickled to have a few blocks on my bed anyway. I think I like the blue side better than the orange side, but overall just so happy to have a nice and quick cover. Not sure why it took me two years to get around to making that. DJ picked out her fabric from my stash and had a good time learning my craft! She did most of her own cutting and sewing, and after a few hours had a very cool cover!

Hers is also reversible and has a plain white lining. I had a heck of a time trying to remember how to lay all the layers so that it would all come out with the right side out and the lining on the inside. There was some ripping involved. It was expected. DJ watched what I was doing and then patiently waited for me to give up and explained to me how it was to go. Amazing, since seriously I just don't get stuff like that! I want the right sides together but not so much with this sort of thing. So it only took two tries and we were laughing instead of screaming so that was good!

Now we are both on the heating pads...so happy to have got some sewing in, things are looking up.

Oh next post I need to show you a picture of my new Chiuauaua!

Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll Step Three...and Visiting Cave Creek

This evening I decided to try my first string block which is step three of Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll. I did alright--it uses phone book pages and at first I wasn't ironing and pulling as tight as I should have been, but I think I have the hang of it now. I think there are 29 more to go or something like that...haha. Hope to do some more tomorrow!

I threw all of the Designer Block of the Month blocks I have done (two left to cut and sew and two still haven't arrived) to sew how they look together. They really are very unique blocks!

Last weekend we stopped at the Goodwill and I was very excited to find a good size chunk of grey fabric adn some brand new quilting varigated thread! God some good deals there.

Last night we went to Cave Creek and met my mom and dad for dinner at the Horny Toad. Strawberry Shortcake. Need I say more. If you ever get to Cave Creek, go have some. WOW! CJ went with us and snapped this picture while we were waiting for them to arrive.

Today we met up with mom and and dad again as well as my Uncle Dan and his wife and two girls and one of their friends (in town from Wisconsin) for the Tempe Arts and Crafts Show. DJ and I bought this awesome little pot and African Violet. The pot is in two parts so that the water goes in the pot and the the plant is in in another pot which sits in the water. You don't water from the top at all and every few weeks you refill the bottom and put some plant food in there. I love African Violets for several reasons (my great grandfather used to have tons of them and my grandma Nan on the other side had one when she passed away that I tried to take some leaves from to root with no luck) and always have struggled with getting them to bloom and stay alive so I am hoping this pot is amazing! The gal has a website www.theperfectvioletpot.com and if it is a great as it seems I will be getting some for gifts. Finally saw my sister again and got her speaking to me. If you follow the family saga, I put my foot down for the first time in my life and somehow it still wound up I had to apologize over and over and all it did was damage my relationship with my sister. Sigh. I guess the lesson is just to accept people for who they are and not try to demand things from them they can't give you. I am glad to have made up with her...we have never fought in our adult lives and I have to say it sucked. So life is a little more on track. Maybe.

RRCB Step Two is Done!

Last weekend DJ and I went camping to Tortilla Flats. We had a lot of fun, got in some quiet time (no cell phones work there!) and even managed to go hiking...it sort of offset the smores we made.
I also squeezed in some time to finish up Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll step two last week. I am so happy to have made some progress on this mystery. I was hoping to start step three but the camping made that difficult!

I love how the pinks and browns look together!

Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll, Step Two in Progres--FINALLY!

Finally yes, yes, finally I got to sewing on Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll step two! DJ prepped the strips (we used Thangles) and I sewed away and then cut on the lines. DJ then started on the paper ripping. We still have more to go and lots of ironing, but it was really nice to get some sewing done and DJ is excited to learn more and be part of my hobby. Yay for that!

Is anyone else out there as far behind as I am on this quilt? I almost just gave it up, but then I saw the finished quilt tops and decided that I would keep plugging away on it even it takes me all summer!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A Couple of Blocks and AQG Show

Lately I have been waking up and finding myself unable to go back to sleep...this is really odd for me because I am SO not a morning person. So this morning I got up and did some work in the quilting studio. This little block was the result. This is block eight of the Designer Mystery BOM designed by Margot Lanuedoc called "Welcome to Our House" and I thought it was a little more challenging then some of them or at least as challenging. I like how it turned out though...slightly tipsy looking :).

About two weeks ago I finished block seven called "Warm Wollen Mitten" from the same BOM (I am still two behind, one arrived in the mail yesterday to light a fire under my touche) and this one was designed by Pam Buda. It is one of my favorites so far and was very doable!

Saturday Randy, DJ and I met up with BJ and two of her friends (Donna and one gal I can't recall her name, man I am getting old!). We didn't really get time to chat and get to know each other because we were moving through the show and we were separated through some of it but still it was nice to see BJ and meet some of her friends and introduce her to DJ. One of our favorite quilts from the show was this one:

Loved the colors in it and it was just so appealing! We saw several quilts from gals in my guild as well as many of the gals from my guild. I haven't been to any meetings in forever since I was working on Tuesday nights but now I may be able to make some of the meetings if I want since one of the classes I was doing is over. Sometimes my other job I work that night now though. I tend to want to stay in once I get home at night and have to be dragged out even though I enjoy going....strange! I miss Becky though and that is when I mostly got to see her.

I did purchase a few things. I absolutely couldn't resist this little kit that I really didn't need! It has directions and fabric to make two little wall hangings and a recipe too. I just really liked it and so I had to have it, nuts!
I am always on the lookout for cute baby fabric becasue I make a lot of baby quilts and DJ and I both fell in love with these ducks and umbrellas. I have other fabric that will work well with them so I am sure I will be making a baby quilt or two from this soon.

Here is DJ and Randy's back as they admire the quilts.

Here is BJ and her friends as they admire another quilt.

DJ and I loved all the rainbow quilts, of course. This one was a favorite!

It was nice to take the time to go even though June and Herve were unable to meet us due to a last minute glitch and Ros was out of town! Maybe next year we will all be together again!

Still Here

I know, I know I haven't posted in forever. Well I mostly haven't sewn anything in forever so since that is what I post about I haven't had must to say. I have done a little hand sewing on my hexie quilt and hand binding on another quilt but other than that seriously no sewing!
I went to quilt history class last month and we exchanged our blocks (all except two people who didn't have their done in time even with the one month postponement, need I say more) and I have been meaning to put them up on the wall and take photos to post so maybe this will motivate me to get to that! Ok it took a few days, but I took the photos. This first picture is my favorite block...I have to embroider the propellers on (the gal supplied us with the pattern but ran out of ooomph since she did so much detail on so many planes!) but love this block.

And here are all the blocks I have all together (minus the two I don't have yet). You may notice there is one block that is the same. Ya, that is because we had to keep it a secret which block we were doing and so me and one other gal did the same "broken sugar bowl" block although we used the colors in different placements. I have to say I am not crazy for the black that only one person added. It would be okay if more people had added it I guess, but only the one did so it seems out of place. Maybe I will use black in the sashing or cornerstones to bringing it together.

I am still at about 56 pounds weight loss. I have been hanging out around the same weight the last few weeks but haven't given up!
DJ and I went on a mountain hike to Usery Windcave on Sunday which is a moderate hike and was a bit of a challenge for us. I think it was just what I needed to remind me how far I have come and how far I still have to go. The hike up was gorgeous despite the rain and fog (and all the people coming down!) and the exertion I was feeling. I seriously wasn't sure I could make it up there about three fourths of the way up it seemed like the top was getting farther away (the snakiness of the path can be quite illisionary) and we were wet and cold and just wanted to sit down and eat our picnic by then!
We accidentally went past the cave and started around the mountain...it was so foggy and we were a bit lost and confused and no one was up there to ask! Eventually we realized what we had done and turned around and went back. We had our picnic at the cave and took some pictures before heading back down.
The first third down was the worst. My left knee was killing me (hasn't been right ever since the car ride to Wisconsin last summer when I pinched a nerve or something) and the steepness of the descent was tough. DJ's hip and back were hurting her too. After awhile it wasn't quite as steep and it was better but we were in a hurry because we had to pick up CJ from his group and time was running out. In the end it all worked out fine. Next time we decided not to take on such a challenging hike but we both were glad we did it anyway. If there hadn't been the cave at the top to lure us we both might have turned around sooner. I hope I am about fifty pounds thinner the next time I hike that trail...it will be much, much easier!