Shop Hop

I went to 6 stores on the hop this year. I was too cheap to spend more on gas to go to the stores in Salt Lake. I figured go to fewer stores and spend more on fabric. I took my 13-year-old, Jaycee, with me and we had a blast! I really didn't find that much this year that I "had" to have. Jaycee got a stash too, so I think she had fun. She gets so creative with her sewing machine making pillows, purses and blankets. I'll have to post some pics of her stuff.


I bought this cool Prairie Point Ruler (we always called them Picots). I tried it out on a pillowcase. It will be fun to use it for a quilt border next. It's neat how it makes a long string of points. I think I'll have to buy the bigger ruler next time.


I'm enjoying the summer -- just wish it wasn't so darn hot!! We haven't hit 100 yet (can't wait for that!). We were hoping to put in central air this year, but it looks like it will have to wait another year. The swamp cooler works pretty good until later in the day......then it gets so hot and muggy and I get cranky! And on top of that we just got a pay cut at work last week, so I'm sure I'm not the funnest person to be around. Some days I think it would be nice to have a job where you got paid by the hour not by how many characters you type. We're told to be thankful we have a job and that they aren't sending it to India. I think I better shut up now or I'll get myself in trouble!

Sidetracked

I planned on finishing the red/black quilt yesterday.........then in looking through my fabric I found these scraps from a quilt I made last fall. I almost tossed them in the trash, then the idea popped into my head for this design. I didn't get a picture before I put it on the quilt frames. I was too anxious to get is quilted. I hate laying the blocks out and figuring what order to put them in. My son loves that part so I gladly let him help whenever he's home. Sometimes the whole family gets in on it -- and it can get crazy switching things around! If I do it by myself I usually get to the point where I just get tired of looking at it and just scoop it up and sew them together.

It' officially summer. I'm getting so frustrated with a skunk that's in our neighborhood somewhere. It seems like every night for the past week I just get in bed and start nodding off when that horrible smell hits my nose!! We have a dairy down the road from us and there are some days when if the wind is just right we get "dairy air" but I'm used to that. Skunks, however, are a stink I just can't stand!

Black, white and red.....

This is my latest project. I have been collecting red, white and black fabrics for a couple of months now, and finally have enough to make this quilt. Hopefully the reds all match. I didn't know how hard it was to match those. I've made a couple of quilts with this pattern in the pinks and blacks, but really wanted to try this color combo. Hopefully I'll have the top done this weekend. I love the paisley print, so I think that will be the back.

You know how sometimes you just have to take a break from quilting.......well I'm finally getting over that phase! I spent a couple of hours sorting through fabrics and looking at patterns, and now I'm feeling inspired and ready to sew all night! I wish someone would invent an "odometer" for a sewing machine. It would be fun to see how many miles we sew on our machines!

Day off

I have big plans for today. I have had this quilt since December to machine quilt for my sister's friend. I had problems with my machine, and then was so busy with work -- and the truth is I am really such a procrastinator! I'm so embarrassed to think that it took this long:( I have a quilt top I started last month that I a hoping to get finished this afternoon. I'll post a picture tomorrow of that project.

I made a list last night of all of my UFO's. Wow -- I'm overwhelmed! Maybe I can make some progress now that I have a list. The Shop Hop is coming up in a few weeks. I have told myself that I can't buy more fabric unless I get at least 3 UFO's done.

My Favorite Quilt

This is a lap size quilt I did about a year ago. I love the colors in it. I tried a new design when I was machine quilting it with a circular pattern (I think you can see it in the first photo). Now it is one of my favorite designs to do when I machine quilt. I freehand it and get my rhythm going. My son, Jon, loves to come up next to me and move his hands like mine, and then move them in crazy ways trying to get me to mess up! My goal is to make a King size similar to this for my bed. Maybe this fall I can get around to it:)

I went shopping this morning for new capris and a couple of summer shirts. You know you're a quilter when you look at shirts and think "That fabric would look good in a quilt." It's so nice to have warm weather finally. We had such a long, snowy winter this year. I don't remember the last time we had snow in May!