Snow day!

I'm never sure who is happier about a snow day - the kids or the teachers. But today, DH & I are both happy teachers! I've spent the weekend sewing, so today I need to get something done around here. (Housework? Bleah. Grading? Double bleah! Such is life!) So here is what I did all weekend...

Being a Duke fan, I couldn't pass up this fleece that was 1/2 off. It arrived Saturday and I made a quick throw. (Yay Duke! 2000 wins and on to the Sweet 16!)



Then I made this tote. It is called Mini Bow Tucks by Penny Sturgis. To be honest, the pattern was a bit more involved than I anticipated, but I like the result.

Last but not least, I completed the second block for the Virtual Quilting Bee. It is called Origami Star by Amy Newbold. I really like the pattern.

Time to get something else done! Be safe if you must travel in the snow storm!

Ramblings...

I can't believe another week and a half has passed since I last posted. I guess I've kept busy, I'm also still getting over my cold. Let's see…
-- I've worked on the virtual quilting bee block; I used two solids and a batik. I've also worked on some more children's purses.
--Our quilt club had a display at the local library. We had a decent turnout. A couple people, having attended the library event, even came to our monthly meeting the other night to see what our quilt club is all about. Our quilt club is having a round-robin; there are not too many of us involved. The block I took is very brightly colored and it involves cats - cartoonish cats, but cats nonetheless. The block I received to work on is a flower basket block. I'm not quite sure what I want to do for the border, I'm thinking about something with HST's. I will have to look through my fabric stash to find what coordinates with it.
-- I am helping set up the Facebook page for our quilt club. The name is Towne Squares Quilt Club. If you get the chance, look it up and Like us!
-- I'm hoping to go to the shop hop in Lima, Ohio this weekend. I don't really need anything…when do any of us really need anything? LOL. Nevertheless, it is fun to look around!
-- Tonight, I am chaperoning the middle school dance at my school. Then I plan to go to the scrapbook shop to see what's new, visit people, etc. - just have a good time.
-- Oh! My mother told me that she found two quilts that my grandmother started to make. They are not finished but they seem to have all the fabric and most of the cutting and some piecing done, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with those. She plans to give me the quilts at Easter. It's exciting to see what my grandmother worked on at one time. I think it'll give me more insight into what her life was like.
Everyone have a great weekend. I'll try to get some pictures up soon of what I've been working on.

Dresden Heart

Since the Dare to Dresden blog hop, I have had the Dresden Heart pattern pushing at my brain. I made one in the past and liked how it turned out, but felt the method I was taught to use was more complicated than necessary. Now that I have a little more experience, I modified the "how-to" so that it is more of a paper pieced design. More prep is involved, but I think the results will be better, quicker, and easier to obtain! I really think I would like to make a rainbow assortment of Dresden Hearts; that will be a long term project for me!. Here is my first one - it still needs to be sewn together, (please ignore the striped ironing board cover!) The blues/grays were the first scrap fabrics I pulled together in my excitement to work this through!  I think I am going to take this project to work on at the Towne Squares Quilt Club's display for National Quilting Dayon Saturday at the Greenville Library, (Ohio). What are you doing for National Quilting Day?

Time passes much too quickly!

     Yes, I know it is a Chicago song, but -  wow - it is so appropriate right now! Dan went back to college (break ended), the third quarter at school is up on Friday, and, of course, I've got too many projects and need to prioritize! I've made 9 quilted children's purses in the last couple weeks and I have 1 more to make. I think I'm going a bit crazy with them...most have been gifts, but a couple were made for a fundraising auction for a memorial scholarship.
     I need to finish my March UFO for the 13 in 2013 UFO Challenge that Marti over at www.52quilts.com thought up last December. However, it's late, I'm fighting a cold, and I am going to bed. Goodnight!

No good deed...

...goes unpunished! At least my grandmother always used to say that. So, we woke up to snow and school closings today - and someone plowing our driveway! At about the same time that we were ready to go out and thank the mystery man, he finished and left. As we looked at the cleaned drive, we realized that the kind soul hit our basketball pole! It is now leaning at about a 30 degree angle. I hope the man's truck wasn't damaged! We've been considering taking the pole down anyway; that just made our decision easier. (We found out later that our snowplow guy was a long-time friend who just recently moved back to the area. So much for good intentions!)
     I decided to add a border to the Lil Twister quilt that I just completed. I think it looks much nicer and "finished." I pieced the back, also; I was able to use up a lot of the spare fabric.
     We should be back at school tomorrow. It sure was nice having the day off to sew!

Life changes

Life is always full of change. For example:

1. My oldest son is 21 today. Oldest son & college did not work out. So, for right now, I am not an empty nester. I hope to be one again soon though! Nevertheless, we took him to Galo's in Richmond, Indiana, and had a wonderful birthday lunch.
2. Youngest son is feeling a bit overwhelmed with two of his classes at BGSU. He is used to earning good grades at college. I know he works hard, but he might have to buckle down a bit more/try to find a study group. He got home last night for spring break - and proceeded to sleep for 14 hours straight!
3. I was told last week that my teaching assignment is changing. I will be teaching 5th grade math next year. It will be different after having eighth grade for ten years. Right now, I don't know if I will like the change or not. I am just grateful to have a job!
4. DH is contemplating retirement after next year. It is NOT a certainty, but he is definitely considering it.
5. I worry about my mom. She lives 4 hours away and I am not convinced that she takes care of herself as well as she should. It is difficult to talk to her about everything to make sure she is safe and healthy.

6.  On a positive note, I finished this Lil' Twister top. Now that I have looked at it a couple days, though, I think I will add a border - maybe in a coordinating brown.






7.  My other February finishes include: completed piecing & binding a baby quilt for my new great niece, (a friend quilted it for me); made 5 children's purses, including two for a memorial scholarship fund auction; made my center block for a Round Robin that starts this month; and completed my two BOM.

 

I know that doesn't seem like much to many of you, but for me, it was a busy month! Plus, I went to every store in a shop hop, spent an evening scrap-booking at my friends' shop, and joined the local quilt club! Ohh --- and my Cuttlebug arrived! Can't wait to have a chance to use it! Yay!

So, how did your February end??? Share your finishes!

Winner!

And the winner of the fat quarters is...

     CINDY! From Quilt Doodle Doodles!

      Cindy: I have sent you an email about the win. Congratulations!