Are we there yet?

I'm off with my family to go visit my grandparents. I probably won't have Internet for a while, so for the next two weeks, no news is good news. We've already driven across North Dakota, but I fear Montana is going to be full of "are we there yet" comments. Seriously. How much bigger can this state get?

I'm finishing projects again (and have a bit of news, too)!

I've been busy for the past few weeks. Here's what I've been doing:


Picking lots of these off of our raspberry bushes and, amongst other things, turning them into
these:

.

I've also been finishing Works in Progress projects, including these two goodies:


A crocheted baby blanket

and



another quilted table runner. The funny thing about the runner is that I had pieced the top and gotten the layers all ready to assemble when I (for some reason) put it away briefly. I have been looking for this thing for several months, and when I found it the other day it was in with my serger. How did it end up there, instead of with my other quilting projects, you might ask? Your guess is as good as mine.

Here's a close-up of the fabric.




I love this runner pattern. It starts with a striped fabric, and has only 5 seams. I think I'm going to have to make some more. It's a good thing I'm trying to finish projects, not start them; otherwise, I think I might have to go in search of cute striped fabric. This particular runner was a test to see how I liked the pattern; I can honestly recommend it highly.

Oh, and don't worry--you probably won't get many more finished project updates from me for a while. I'm finally going to start having real news to post. You see, in the middle of writing lesson plans, class syllabi, and completing new teacher orientation, I don't think I'm going to have much in the way of free sewing time for quite a while. Yup, it's officially official. I have a full-time job for the coming school year. I actually interviewed for it in June and received the offer at the beginning of July, but I was waiting for the actual paperwork to be all signed before I formally announced it. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. Nervous, anxious, thrilled, excited, and scared out of my gourd, but looking forward to it, nonetheless. Anyone have any brillant lesson plans s/he wants to share with me? :)

Comic Relief

Have you seen the Pickles cartoon lately? I got a kick out of them (as did certain members of my family, especially those who happen to be allergic to the fabric store). Please click on the pictures; I can't figure out how to enlarge them without distorting the whole thing.

More of secret project revealed

The aqua quilt gets its closeup.



Taking advantage of the backdrop our new fence provides.



Red quilt hanging.

Both quilts together.

My dad wanted to do these quilts as part of the family reunion last year, but since I was defending my thesis two days after the reunion, I didn't make it to that one. Not to worry, the shirts stayed put, and I just upped my completed project list. :)

The Secret Project revealed

Here is a preview of one of the projects I was working on for the family reunion. Seeing as how they've been delivered to their intended recipients, I think I'm safe now.

I made two t-shirt quilts out of our old family reunion t-shirts and then had family members sign it. This picture is of the one with red sashing. I took this one out for a photo shoot before the reunion. You can see the swing my dad got as a Father's Day gift. It's really nice, but heavy. I made the mistake of pushing it out of the way while mowing the lawn. Yeah, I've got a nice bruise from it, but at least it makes a great background for the quilt. Anyway, more pictures to come. California was fun. It's a nice place to visit, but I don't think I'd want to live there. Too many people and way too much traffic for my taste!

This is what I do for fun

I take a pieced top that I finished putting together a while ago.




I cut backing and batting and then I quilt it on the machine. Then, I attach the binding and sew it down by hand.



The excitement mounts. Since this fabric wasn't pre-washed, there's some uncertainty. Will the colors run? Will the runner shrink? How much?




Low and behold, the colors didn't run (I put a dye catcher in the load just in case, but it came out still white). It did shrink, just a little, but cotton batting will do that.



And there you have it. I'm ready for Christmas in July.

Since I have a card reader and can transfer images from the camera to the computer, here is my favorite image from my recent trip. It about sums up my feelings about driving across Nebraska.

Today's checklist

My to do list looks something like this:

1) Give two weeks notice at job I hate and can't stand anymore--done (this Saturday is my last day)
2) Buy card reader to replace the camera cord I managed to lose somewhere between here and Colorado--done
3) Use card reader to print out pictures of projects (say that ten times fast!) to add to my portfolio--in progress
4) Take teaching portfolio to tomorrow's interview--yet to come.

Wish me luck!

I have a problem. . . .

I wasn't going to do this.

I already have several projects going. Aside from the current projects I have, which include quilts inspired by http://www.quiltville.com/diamondstrings.shtml, http://lovelylittlehandmades.blogspot.com/2009/01/ava-coin-quilt.html, and this one http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2009/05/bento-box-quilt.html (although mine's not king size),

I have a quilt planned based on this one:
http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2009/02/whirlygiggle.html

I already have the pattern for this one, thanks to a clearance sale when I was in Utah:
http://www.americanjane.com/products/AJP205.jpg


I would like to make this one at some point: http://www.suzguzdesigns.com/catalog/i18.html, (also shown here http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2008/12/candy-bar-road.html).

In the meantime, I have two quilts to finish for an event in two weeks (fortunately the tops are done, I just need to tie them and bind them). I also have a wedding quilt to finish piecing for a friend who got married two or three weeks ago (I'm thinking it might end up being an anniversary gift).

So what on earth am I doing, pulling fabric to make the quilt featured here? http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/2009/06/quilt-along-week-4-giveaway-too.html (scroll down to the bottom to see it!).

Or this one?
http://terryatkinson.typepad.com/.a/6a010535dafc6e970c011168a93584970c-pi (the quilt pictured on the front, although I also want to make that bag, too.) It's also shown here:

Clearly, I'm spending too much time online.

I'm also thoroughly sick of filling out teaching applications. Unfortunately, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone, people like me!" is an insufficient answer to a thought-provoking essay question. Rats.

And look, I learned how to insert hyperlinks into Blogger. Look at me, using technology. :) I feel so proud.

One for May

It's always nice when wants become needs. Okay, before anyone launches into a discussion of how to prevent wants from turning into unnecessary needs, let me just start of by saying that my glasses broke yesterday. I've actually been wanting to get new glasses for a couple of years, but since my old ones had been working fine, I'd been putting it off. Well, lo and behold, a month or two ago, I started noticing that I was having to squint and having trouble seeing as far away as I used to. I was still putting off making an eye appointment, though. I took my glasses into the eye office today to see if there's anything they can do, since I have trouble wearing my contacts at work (too many allergens), and the lady there laughed. That's never a good sign. The technicians managed to fix it, temporarily, so I have a short reprieve from my contacts. Of course, I'm also walking around with tape on my glasses, so I'm contemplating investing in a pocket protector, just to keep up the image. All I need now is for one of the popular kids to shove me in a locker and take my lunch money. Of course, given that I'm going to be ordering a new pair of glasses next week, I don't think I'll have any lunch money of which to speak. Oh, well. At least it's not a new calculator.