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.

Out of trouble

I know there's been a sad lack of blogging going on here lately. I have been keeping out of trouble, mostly. I finished a whole bunch of scrub caps for my dad (6!), despite still not having my sewing machine back. Of course, that feat loses something when I admit that I borrowed my sister's machine. Not quite as clever, I know. I've been working on some other unfinished projects, too, and I started substitute teaching. There's nothing like being with middle schoolers all day to make you appreciate a conversation with grown-ups. Anywho, I'm gearing up for a trip out West, so if I disappear for a longer period of time, you'll know why.

Update

It's official. The Focus has passed on to something else. In memorial, here are more pictures:





So I guess I'm in the market for another car. Any suggestions?

Smashing times

Saturday was a night of firsts. . . First major accident. . . first time calling emergency services . . first time having to actually talk to my insurance company.

I'm okay, but the car's not. I'm guessing it's going to be totaled.

Here's a preview:



I'll keep you posted with the details. Fortunately, I'm not at fault for this accident (I got hit by somebody running a red light), but it still makes for a crummy weekend!

In withdrawal

I am in withdrawal. Less than 24 hours ago, I had to take my faithful old Wilma (my sewing machine) in for much-needed cleaning and servicing, and I'm not handling the separation well. It's funny, since I haven't been able to use Wilma for a week or two, but not having her here is making me nervous. My sister offered to let me use her sewing machine (my mom's is having issues and will be going in when Wilma gets home), but it's just not quite the same.

Of course, in the absence of my machine, I have been making progress in ironing/pressing and cutting more pieces for the projects I already have in progress. Seeing as how one of them has a deadline in a few months, it's about time I got the sewn strips cut. In an attempt to channel this domesticity, I have already invited friends over to dinner tonight and made both chocolate chip cookies and seven layer dip. I will start on enchiladas in a couple hours, but in the meantime, I'm trying to deal with too much nervous energy. I guess it's a good thing the sun is shining and the snow is melting. I think I need to go run around the block!

More quilty stuff

Well, since my last posting got such a good response, here are a few more of the quilty things I've been doing in the last few months.

First, I fixed the borders on this quilt. I thought I had this one finished before (especially since I've blogged about it), but it needed a little extra work that involved taking both borders off, fixing the quilt, and sewing the borders back on. However, it was worth it in the end. This quilt still needs a name, so if you think of one, let me know.



Of course, since I had leftover fabric from that quilt, I started on this one:


(the pattern for the front comes from a wonderful quilt maker named Bonnie Hunter and can be found on her website at http://quiltville.com/smokeymtstars.shtml)

I actually finished the piecing of this quilt last June or so and bought the border fabrics in an Orem quilt shop before I came home, but it was only in the past few months that I finally got the borders sewed on. Did you know that there were three specialty quilt shops within a mile or two of my apartment in Utah? Yeah, it was a good thing I had a thesis to write.

I pieced a back for this quilt from my leftovers and remaining yellow stash. You can't tell from the picture, but the strips are in the middle of the quilt I think I like this side, too! I'm still trying to think of a good name for this quilt, so if you have any ideas, let me know.




Of course, with the borders on these two quilts, I needed a new project. So, here is the reason I now have a limited selection of fabrics in my purple stash. I have named this quilt "Purple Patch." It's hard to tell from the picture, but this quilt finishes at 66 x 74 inches. I had a hard time getting enough of a wingspan to hold the quilt properly.



(if you're interested, the pattern is from another great quilter named Mary Johnson [no relation] and can be found at http://maryquilts.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/double-4-patch.pdf)

For graduation in August, my aunt and uncle and their family gave me a gift card. This quilt is what it turned into.



We call this one the Newspaper Quilt, since it's Black and White and Red all over. It's another pattern from Bonnie Hunter (http://www.quiltville.com/starstruck.shtml), and I love it!


Of course, we can't forget the small projects, either. You've seen a few finished ones, but I have one more. Here we have a table topper/wall quilt made with a Disappearing Nine Patch. I'm thinking of calling it "With a Cherry on Top." What do you think?




With all these tops done, I can continue on. My personal rule of not starting a new quilt until I've finished piecing another one seems to be keeping my in-progress pile down to four or five. I'm not going to count; it would be too scary. And yes, I've already begun on the replacements. :)

So what's next? Well, I have to quilt all of these completed tops, for one. Of course, there's always piecing the back for the queen-sized top I finished right around the time Andrew went into the MTC. My sister dubbed this the Caramel Quilt, and, in the unlikely event that I decide not to keep it (not going to happen!), laid her claim on it.



(the leftovers from this quilt found their way into the purple patch quilt. I'm detecting a trend here; are you?)


So, having been this productive, what are my options now?

I could do the actual quilting on this Christmas runner which I finished piecing last May. It's prepped for quilting; I just have to do it.



I could work on the three quilts for which I have pieces cut and/or partially sewn (Remember the pictures previously posted?). I could wash and or cut the fabric for the other quilts I have planned. I could work on the Grandmother's Flower Garden (all hand-done) which is going on its twelfth year of production. I could work on my knitting (that's my entire yarn stash pictured previously. I'm doing well in that, at least) and show you pictures of the dishcloths I've made. I could finish a cross-stitch I've been working on sporadically for the past seven or eight years. I could finish the embroidered pillowcase set I started this summer (I've got one of them done, and the other has been started!). I could start and/or finish any number of projects. I've never claimed to be un-domesticated, after all.

Or, I could pray to find a real full-time job.

Personally, that's my favorite option of all.