I know it's only Friday, but the way my weekends have been going lately - it's better early then never! To see what others are working on - check out Judy's blog at Patchwork Times.
Finished the 3rd and 4th blocks of my Moon Glow BOM. I really like BOM's because I make myself stay caught up - never letting myself get more than a month behind. That way, at the end of the year, I'll have 2 really nice size quilts to get shipped off to a quilter (which, I'm still looking for a replacement for Margaret .... VBS)
Right now the quilt is darker than I thought it might be - I'm hoping when all the blocks are together it might pop more, but I still love the overall look of the quilt. Not sure I'll be able to gift this one when finished.
Judy at Patchwork Times is also hosting a "Show Us Your Socks" - just visiting all the links posted makes me really wish I could learn to knit. One day when the kids are grown and gone, I'll sit myself down with a pair of needles and some You Tube videos and really concentrate on learning how, but until then I'll amuse myself with fuzzy socks, and hand knit socks that I bought from Etsy sellers! I have found some wonderful Etsy sellers lately - that don't even charge extra when having to knit a pair for my oversized 13's !
These are my most favorite fuzzy socks. Fuzzy socks are worn in the a.m.'s - especially in the winter. I get up, slather on some 100% cocoa butter, and then throw on my socks. My heels get a tad bit softer (not too much, comes from wearing flip flops .... even in the snow!) and as a bonus my hands are semi waterproof for the rest of the morning !
First 2 blocks done of my Around Times Square Quilt - done ! I really, really like these colors. This is going to be a large quilt, over 100 x 100 - so once it's finished I'll be able to add all that fabric to my used numbers - but for now - I'm happy to have something to share for Design Wall Monday hosted by Judy at Patchwork Times.
Another swim meet this weekend - Sr. Elite ... so I'm posting this early and will link from the hotel!
Design Wall Monday - hosted by Judy at Patchwork Times - keeps me inspired to sew. Well, I'm always inspired to sew, but the DWM challenge makes me find TIME to sew each week.
This week - I have to finish the block I'm currently working on for my Moon Glow Quilt,
because my first block for the AROUND TIMES SQUARE BOM that I signed up for arrived in the mail this weekend while I was out attending a swim meet with Leenah. Oh, how I hope the hubster decides to go to work early today so I can get these other rugrats on the bus and I can get to sewing ...
No name for this quilt - The hubster asked me to have a baby quilt ready by Friday .... he asked me this on Monday - when I already had 3 sick kids ! By Tuesday, all 4 kids were sick as well as the hubster - yet I still managed to find enough time between Dr.'s visits and ginger ale runs to whip up a cute flannel Winnie the Pooh quilt. At least I have something to show for 2013 already !
I am happy to say that I've got one quilt completed for 2013 ! Of course, the bad news is I ordered the fabric for another quilt. It's a gift for a newly married couple who are both really close to my heart - they both work with special needs children - and are wonderful with Adam. So - even though I have a finish this week and it can go in my used column - I have to add more to my added column - but I didn't order backing fabric yet - so it's almost a wash !
Used this Week: 5.5 yards Used year to Date: 5.5 yards Added this Week: 14 yards (Mandy's Quilt) Added Year to Date: 14 yards Net Used for 2013: Added 8.5 yards To see how others are doing busting through their stash, check out Judy's blog at Patchwork Times
This past weekend was the hubsters and I real anniversary. We usually celebrate October 31st - the day we actually met - instead of the day we got married (yes, we married 2 months after we met - that was 4 children and many, many years ago - so I guess you can say I believe in love at first sight)
We didn't go out to dinner for our anniversary. We did go out to lunch - he went out with some business associates, I went out with Leenah and Adam. I think I had a better time. I got him 3 bottles of EVOO - if I told him the cost ($50 bottle) he'd freak - but he really enjoys it - it's fresh - like only a few months old - including the time it spent on the boat getting over here. It's green, green. And I'll borrow it once in awhile. He didn't get me a gift. Never does. In the beginning - that really bothered me. Now - if I want a gift - I buy it. That way I get what I want ... I still have a wonderful London Fog wool coat he bought me ... I think it was for our first anniversary .... it was about 6 sizes too big. I keep it as a reminder why not to be upset when he doesn't get me anything. He doesn't have a clue. I've been debating on whether or not to buy myself a Kindle Chances are I will buy myself one - just waiting for the perfect sale. Since everyone already bought Kindles for Christmas - I'm sure Amazon will offer a sale price .... soon !
But, I did get one anniversary present - from my son. Most of you know that he was born a micro preemie. Only by the grace of God is he here. My friends all over the world prayed for him when he was born - whether they prayed at home, in a temple, in a church, in a mosque - in English, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish, Chinese - whatever their language - they prayed, and they kept praying the entire 3 months he was in the NICU - and it worked. Anyway - because of his birth trauma - he did have some brain injuries - which have created learning difficulties that we work hard to overcome. One of his problems is retention. He can learn something today - and forget it tomorrow. You can teach it to him a million times, and he still might forget it tomorrow. You can see where this may lead to trouble when learning the correct way to swim. But for my anniversary - he showed me that he can do whatever he sets his mind to. Not only did he swim, but he swam so well that he finished in first place - well ahead of everyone else in his heat. Yes, I give his coaches a ton of credit - the head coach on our team was his first one on one teacher - got into the pool with him, had the patience of a saint, I could never thank him enough. His current coach is the sweetest lady I know. She also knows of his problems, yet never seems frustrated at practice when she's teaching him the same thing over and over. My life is amazing - and that's why a simple gift like this is all I needed for my anniversary
Judy at Patchwork Times often inspires me to become more organized. Will I ever have the neatly labeled food pantries and shelves of color coded fabrics that she manages to keep up with - probably not. But she has issued a challenge to list 4 things that you'd like to accomplish each month - and I think that'll help me get right on track, with sewing at least !
Finish first 3 BOM for Moon Glow Quilt. I love this BOM. I want to stay on top of it, so that when I receive the finishing kit sometime at the end of this year, I can box up the top and ship it off to the quilters !
Hem Adam's pants. As a mom that can sew, I feel terrible when my son's pants are dragging on the ground. He's a tall boy - not real sure why his pants are so long - but I do need to get those pj's hemed !
Work on the color challenge from last year. Judy from Patchwork Times also issued monthly challenges last year to create a quilt using colors from different photos. I did one - designed it, and worked up many of the blocks, but didn't finish. It's a quick and easy block to make up, so I'd like to at least work on it. I'm not putting down that I want to finish it - because honestly I'm not real sure how much is left to do
Start designing a quilt for Amanda. She recently got married to the man who has cooked dd#2's birthday dinner for the last 3 years in a row. I love this couple, and need to design them a special quilt. She likes more muted colors than I usually work with - but I'll make her whatever she wants to match her living room !
Here is the first block from Moon Glow - you can see from the colors why I love this quilt !
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