Whoo Hoo...Twice in One Week

Ok, get your minds out of the gutter. I'm talking about the fact that I have posted two times in one week!

I finished all six sets of pink and brown blocks for my swap and they were mailed out this afternoon. It will be fun to get the other blocks and put the quilt together. Here is one of each of the 6" blocks that I made. I worked early this morning (5:30 - 10:30) and then had a lunch meeting at 11:30 that lasted until almost 2:00; but when I got home, I spent a little time going through my fabric to see what I want to work on next. I decided that I want to get the guild BOM done before the next meeting. If we have the top together we get a prize, and even though that is not a big deal to me, I think I had better get it done before I end up putting it in a tub for nobody knows how long!

Guess what! I have a couple of pictures of Quinn to share. First of all, she loves her swing in the tree. Jack and Lynn put this up a couple of weeks ago and I love to put her in it. It is great entertainment for her as well as us. I don't think Nikki has been here when we've had her in it, so I have to make sure that we use it the next time she is here because she'll get a kick out of it.

The child really works up an appetite on the swing and I think she could just about eat anything. If this isn't a sign that she's teething, I don't know what is! Actually, I figure that I could just smear her food on the edges of the high chair and not even bother trying to feed her with a spoon. This seems to be much more efficient, don't you think?

If you haven't had the opportunity to read Judy Laquidara's blog today, you really should. It is quite an inspirational entry today! Follow the link on the left to her blog and enjoy.

I'm off to sleep. Enjoy whatever you do!

I really do complete some things....

I know that I may not post very often, but I do get some projects completed every once in a while! I've been working on some UFOs and am finally seeing some progress. I completed an old BOM from a couple of years ago (ok I'm sure it's more like 5 or 6 years ago, but who's counting?). This was a Quilts and Kreations BOM and it was all in batiks. I really liked the project when I was piecing the blocks, but I put it aside until I decided what layout I wanted and then it was put aside to decide how to quilt it. I finally decided to do an all-over meander and be done with it. It is bound and already given away (as are all the quilts that I am showing here)!

The next two quilts are king sized and they were really fun to make, but I knew they would be a pain to quilt so they just got set aside. There was no real destination for them when I started, but of course once I got them out to work on again, the decision was easy. A friend of mine belongs to a church which is raising money for their maintance and repair fund. I sold these to her to sell in the auction. I was really pleased at how well they turned out and am sorry that I don't own them anymore. Oh well, I know they were used for a good cause.

The first quilt is a single block Carpenter's Star, which was very quick and easy to make. The second quilt is just a couple of blocks that I liked together. I don't really have a name for it, but I like it. I know the pictures are not great, but I was home by myself and couldn't figure out any other way to take the pictures. I don't have any place to hang something this large (106" x 106") which is what I can do with some smaller quilts. Does anybody have suggestions on better ways to take pictures of really large quilts when you are alone?

The last quilt here is the one that I made for Jack's son David and his fiance Rachel. I gave it to them at the shower this past Saturday. This one is large also, about 101" x 101", and was quick to make. They had registered for a comforter that had the same colors as this one, but the one they chose had circles on the fabric. I decided that I didn't want to work with circles, so I went with squares instead. I knew that Rachel wanted a quilt but that she didn't want one that was too feminine looking. I think this design is pretty "gender neutral." I like this design and I think I will make one for me to keep. Now I just have to decide on colors!

I have taken the plunge and decided to enter a swap. (Thanks Kare. It was your exeriences with swaps that made me decide to do it.) The swap is for 6" blocks made in browns and pinks (no 9 patches). I have four sets completed and can do as many as 6. I will decide after updating this blog if I'm going to do more, but I probably will, since I don't really have to have them mailed out until Monday.) I'll take pictures of my blocks and post them later.

Ok, I'm off to look at my brown and pink fabrics and decide what I'm going to do. Or maybe I'll just go watch the rest of the Indians game. They just scored 6 in the 5th inning and that was fun! I always find this time of year a bit sad because the baseball season is coming to a close and I am not a fan of basketball.

Have a great night everyone!

Catching Up

Ok, I admit it. I really suck at updating my blog!!! I have a few minutes here, so here's a little bit of what's been happening. Unfortunately, it isn't much sewing, though.

The 3-Day Breast Cancer walk was AWESOME!!! I don't have my pictures edited yet, but will soon and I'll post some. It was really hot Fridayand Saturday (90's), but Sunday was really pleasant (low 80's and only 15 inutes or so of rain). I met some really neat people and it was great to walk with Lynn and have Jack at camp when we started out and returned each day.

I previously told you about our Fundraiser Bake Sale at Bob Evans and below is a picture. We had at least 3 times as many items as you can see on the tables and we made over $550! Lynn is in the center of the picture and the lady to the left works with Lynn. Her name is Anita and her mom, Louise helped also. These two women were wonderful! Not only did they donate a bunch of food, they also stayed and worked the sale all day! Thanks Anita and Louise:)!!

The Melon Festival was this past weekend and I helped sell raffle tickets for the guild. I didn't work as much as I have in the past because I had to work Saturday morning, a party Saturday night and people already working Sunday and Monday morning. I did work a long shift Sunday night and the last shift Monday. It was fun to visit with lots of people while working!

I was really busy Monday morning and evening. Before I worked the festival, I froze 10 dozen ears of corn while Lynn was cleaning beets for me to can. I didn't start canning until after the festival because I didn't want to have to stop once I got started. As it turned out, I didn't get started until late, but I did stay up until I had 24 quarts pickled and canned! I probably have just as many to go, but I decided that I need to get some sleep. I know, I'm a wimp!

Nikki and Lynn LOVED pickled beets when they were young. The first time their dad and I told them they could each have their own garden area and that they could grow whatever they wanted, they both said they wanted to grow pickled beets! That year I canned 85 quart jars of beets and they barely lasted until the next year. I have a deal worked out with my ex-in-laws. They grow the beets and I pickle and can them. George loves to grow the produce, but every year Pat dislikes canning more and more. We started this arrangement about 3 years ago and it has worked out great! As you can see from the picture below, it is only a matter of time before Quinn starts eating beets! (I bet you thought that I wouldn't add a picture of Quinn to this post, didn't you?!?) In case you can't read what Quinn is saying here..."These peaches are ok, but when can I get some of those pickled beets?"

Ok, I have alot to do before I go to work this afternoon, so I'll continue later - maybe tonight, maybe next week. Who knows!

Today's the Day

We are leaving in about 1 hour for the walk. Jack has to be there for "crew training" and since we didn't want to take 2 cars, Lynn and I are going with him. We'll help set up for the opening ceremonies, sort T-shirts, etc. Jack will have to be at opening ceremonies at 4AM so I'm sure we'll all TRY to go to sleep early tonight.

Pray for good weather (cool and no rain, please) and I'll update early next week!

Here's a Quickie!!

The bake sale was a huge success! We had a ton of food and even though it was a fairly slow Saturday for Bob Evans, we sold a lot. We started selling a little before 9:00AM and were scheduled to stay until we sold out (we assumed that would be around 2:30 or 3:00). There was so many items donated that we were there until around 4:00; but we did sell out. As usual, I met a lot of interesting and fun people! I don't have my camera here to download pictures, but I hope to do that tonight.

We are getting close to the 3 Day event and I've checked the weather forecast. It is supposed to be cool in the mornings and evenings, but hot and humid during the day. Also, there is a chance of rain on Sunday. Of course! Oh well, as you all know I'm not made of sugar so the rain won't hurt me. It sure didn't last year!

I'm both excited and anxious for the event. My foot has been giving me some real trouble lately and I worry about that. I guess that I just do what I can and not put myself on too strict of a schedule. I have 12 hours each day to complete the 20 miles so I don't have to be back in camp within 7 hours! I will take my time and get there when I get there.

Lynn has been babysitting every day this week and won't be home until tonight so we haven't really had any time to organize ourselves yet. We'll have to get the packing done tonight and make the final decisions on how we are decorating the tent. Since we are each allowed 1 bag at 35 pounds, we have to do some constructive packing to get everything that we need to take. Our shoes (2 pairs each) take up a lot of room! We know that we over-packed last year and hope to avoid that this year. Jack is also allowed 1 bag and I doubt that he will exceed the 35 pounds, so he should be ok. Anyway, we are getting excited.

I have binding to add to two large quilts. I was hoping to work on them before the weekend, but I don't think that will happen. That will give me something to do next week, while I recover. I'll also post pictures.

The Melon Festival is coming up fast and I will be selling raffle tickets for the guild quilt. It is pink and brown and I love the quilting. Check out Karen's blog http://karensquiltingbarn.blogspot.com to see a picture.

Baking up a Storm!!

Well my house smells great and so far I haven't eaten a single cookie, muffin or brownie!!! Lynn works at Bob Evans in Norwalk and they are hosting a Bake Sale for us tomorrow. Of course we are baking alot, but what is really neat is that a lot of the employees are donating baked goods as well.This is the last organized fundraiser before the 3-Day walk so I hope it is successful. I am pretty near my goal and with the Pampered Chef donation I should be good. Lynn still has a little bit to go, but I'm not really worried about it.

Anyway, I will take some pictures of everything we bake and at the sale tomorrow and post them. I will also post the picture of Devon's quilt. Speaking of Devon, he is getting stronger and doing well. He is getting breast milk through his feeding tube and has stopped losing weight. I think he is now up to 1 lb., 7 oz.!!! Lisa was able to hold him (in the incubator). She was so nervous, but so happy. I see a bright future for this little guy. He's a fighter!

I better get going so I don't burn any of the cookies!

I'm Back

I was told by my friend Karen that I needed to post here, as it has been quite some time since I've written anything. Of course I always listen to Karen, so here is my post!!

As usual, things have been very busy here. Lynn and I had our second garage sale and that went pretty well. We also had a fundraiser Pampered Chef party and that was fun. The party was an ice cream social and we had about 20 people attend. We had over $1000 in sales and we get 15% of the total donated to our 3-Day fund. Yeah!! I also sold raffle quilt tickets at the Basket Festival and that was really good, so we've given our 3-Day fund a retty good boost lately.

Speaking of the 3-Day...we are less than 3 weeks away from the event. I am getting pretty excited, although my foot has been giving me some real problems. I guess I just have to "suck it up" and deal with the pain!

This past weekend, my niece Lisa (from the Dayton area) was visiting my sister Ann in Canal Fulton and she ended up delivering her baby early. Devon Michael was born Monday at 11:15 in the morning and he weighed 1 lb. 15 oz. It is amazing to see him. He is 14" long, but so tiny. He is hooked up to a ventilator and he has an IV going in to his belly. It is amzing to see him. The doctors have been doing lots of tests on him so at this point everything is pretty much a "wait and see" situation. I have faith in modern medicine and I'm sure in a couple of years you'd never know that he was born so early and small. Of course I've made a quilt for Devon. I have to hand stitch the binding to the back and I plan to finish that before work tomorrow. I'll post a picture soon.

Ok, it's 3:05AM and I'm getting tired. I'm off to bed for the night and I promise to try to post more frequently!