Saturday, February 20, 2010

Friday Night Sew-in Results

Last night I napped for a tiny bit. But that just gave me more energy for the Friday Night Sew-in. I pieced together a bunch of my Half Triangles. Now I have enough pieced to put down on the floor and decide on a final layout. While I was sewing, I thought how nice it was that I was sewing "along" with many other quilters from all over. Even though we can't get together, we're doing something together. We're all taking time out from our busy lives to be Creative. I like being creative and being able to show something I've accomplished. Today my best friend from college stopped by. She asked how my crafting is going. I brought out a lot of my projects to show her. And the look on her face when I showed her my Thanksgiving Tablerunner was great. She was surprised at what I've accomplished. And honestly so am I. I think everyone should be proud of what they are able to create. 100 Books in 2010 12. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

Friday, February 19, 2010

Friday Night Sew-in

Did you hear about the Friday Night Sew-in? I plan on joining. I'll try and finish my sewing machine cover & watch the Olympics. Sounds like a perfect Friday night to me. Hopefully nothing will change. It's been a rough week at work and I could use a nice quiet night all to myself.
100 Books in 2010
10. Heartbreak Cafe by Penelope J. Stokes. This was my February Book Club selection. It was a good easy lighthearted book. I like that the lead character was a strong woman that got a lot of help from her friends. My favorite part was the beginning where her cheating husband dies and she buries him in the clothes (including black silk undies) that he was found in.
11. The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan. This is our April book club selection. I already read it since it was 1/2 price at B&N. It really makes me want to go to Niagra Falls and the history woven into the story was really interesting.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Are these Olympics cursed?

Did anyone else feel that these Olympics are cursed. First, the tragic death of Georgia's Luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili. I was really upset that the news showed his accident and then of coverage of him in the ambluance. I liked that his country had a black ribbon on their flag and walked in calmly with black armbands. Don't you think every country should have a black ribbon on their flag and all Olympians wearing an armband? It really could have happened to anyone. Then, during the opening ceremony, the torch thing didn't work properly. Such a shame.
I did love K.D. Lang's performance of Hallelujah. Absolutely beautiful and simple. Shows you don't need to spend millions to inspire. Also, Shane Koyczan's poem about Canada was great. I could listen to his voice all day. That man should become a great public speaker. I also enjoyed the mountains with the skiiers and snowboarders in read. Again, simply elegant.
I'm looking forward to the Figure Skating and the Biathlon. What are you looking forward to watching?
Go USA!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

snow day!

Today I did a happy dance- it was a snow day from work! I hate the S-N-O-W. I can't even bear to say the word. The only nice thing I can say about it is that it's nice to see all the neighbors help eachother shovel the snow. We probably have 18". Yuck. Sorry no pics. I don't want to remember it. We'll see if I have work tomorrow.
I worked on trimming my squares for the Turquoise and Chocolate Quilt. I didn't get to work on it much since my Brother-in-law came over to our house since he was supposed to fly back to Alaska. His flight got cancelled so he might be staying here for awhile. At least he helped shovel us out.
We watched Twilight. One of my fav books. It's so sweet and romantic. I can't wait for New Moon to come out on DVD.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

finally pictures

I've broken out the camera and taken some pics. They're not great pics, but hey, something is better than nothing. I should take pics somewhere else besides the basement.
Here's my Black, White and Red Tester. My first quilt. I'm so proud.
Here's my Thanksgiving Table Runner. I know you can't see the runner too well, but doesn't my table settings look great. That's my wedding china (Pearl Platinum by Lenox). I used a panel "Pumpkin Glenn" by Kim Schaefer for Andover Fabric. I cut up the shapes and used Kona Cotton solids as borders around the leaves and larger squares. For the quilting, I used straight lines randomly along the short side.

Next, my current project - Turquoise and Chocolate. I've created the half square triangles. I've used the one square makes two units. You can see my sewing lines in brown - it matches the other side which is tonal brown.

And this is a preview of what it should look like. Next, I need to trim the corners and sew some blocks together.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Scams

I think that people are getting really desperate with the economy and are sending out a lot of scams. It's sad that there are so many people out there trying to hurt and take advantage of others.
100 Books in 2010:
9. One Day at a Time by Danielle Steel. nice and easy read. It made me look forward to summer at the beach even though we had an inch of snow this morning.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

the "s" word

I don't say the "S" word. If I say it then it happens. So instead I'll spell it. S-N-O-W. Yuck. We have gotten about 2 inches. I don't like driving in it. Don't like shoveling it either. And I know I won't be getting a S-n-o-w day anytime soon. I've really been working on a quick and easy new quilt. I'm calling it Turquoise and Chocolate for now. For only one week's worth of work, I've cut all the fabric and I've sewn quite a bit too. Hopefully I'll get out the camera and take some pics. I really should read the manual to the camera since usually the quality sucks. I promise I'll learn one day. Does anyone have good photography advice for quilters? After I finish piecing the Turquoise and Chocolate quilt, I must finish piecing a baby quilt for my Mom's BFF's daughter. The baby is due for tax time. Tonight, Hubby and I went out shopping for a new water pitcher. What is up with all the ugly colors in the Kitchen items? I'm not a huge fan of the lime green and road construction orange. I would much rather have White. Last week Hubby and I finally bought our Kitchenaid stand mixer - and yes it's White. Sometimes simple is better. 100 Books in 2010: 8. Committments by Barbara Delinsky. It was a good premise, but the ending was really short and not at all what I wanted. So far I'm really happy w/ my progress for reading 100 books in 2010. I may accomplish this New Year's Resolution - a first!