Another day...at least it is sunny!

Hello all!  It is a beautiful, sunny day here although a bit chilly. It wouldn't be bad if it wasn't windy! The buds are really starting to show on the trees, so I know warmer days are coming. :-)

Matt had a temp job that lasted about three weeks. I hope he gets another soon and that it can turn into something permanent. Dan will be done with his sophomore year at college in less than two weeks!  This semester has been difficult and he is looking forward to coming home.

State testing begins this week and goes through next. Ugh. Not a fun time for students or teachers.

I have been sewing but have not accomplished as much as I would like, (which most of us say at one time or another!) I finished a Breast Cancer tote for a friend living with the dreadful disease; between now and October, I hope to make another for our quilt guild "shop." (The shop/fundraiser is open during our quilt show in October.) Our guild held an EPP class last Saturday. I have tried EPP before, but that was a self-teaching endeavor. This class was so helpful with the tips & hints. When I got home, I even ordered some paper piecing packs! I wouldn't want to do it all the time, but I can see EPP being my car trip activity!

My biggest news tidbit is...I bought a new sewing machine! Now, it is just a simple, inexpensive machine. I am taking a class next month and didn't have a portable machine. (My sm is a 40 year old cabinet model.) Anyway, I saw a Janome on sale at Hancock Fabrics. The reviews were decent and the price was certainly right, so we picked one up last night! By the time we got home, it was late, so I waited until this morning to read the manual and try it out. I love it! Sadly(?), it is WAAAAAAY better than my main machine. Eventually, I want to get a better regular machine, but I am happy with this purchase. Any recommendations on what to get when I do upgrade my sm? I like this one Husqvarna but now I think I have to check out the Janome line more. Comments appreciated!

End of break

I've accomplished a lot this break, but I am still disappointed that it is over! I made my Virtual Bee block, "crocheted" a ruffle scarf, visited with friends and ate out a lot, but I am most thrilled to have finished a set of pillowcases and a simple wall hanging. One of my students is leaving for her new home at the end of the week. She is being adopted. She is such a sweet girl and I hope she has a wonderful, amazing life with fantastic opportunities - but she will be missed. When she learned she was being adopted, she asked me to make her something. We agreed on the pillowcases. (I know that sounds very forward of her, but the social graces are learned. I suspect she will become more adept at them in her new home!) The wall hanging is plain: a simple white background with the school's initials. I plan to have her classmates sign the wall hanging as an autograph keepsake.

virtual bee block

pillowcases

A short story to remember to make purchases carefully: My son, Matt, came home from work early last night. I had ordered him new shoes but even though the design number was the same as before, the shoes were different. They weren't no slip - and he took a nasty fall. He's banged up and sore this morning. I will have to order him real, no-slip, new shoes; but now he has a nice pair of spare shoes! At least at 21, he'll recover quicker than I would!

April's fool?

There's a lot to mention today! 

• Yesterday, I finished my March UFO for Thirteen in '13 hosted by Marti over at 52 quilts in 52 weeks. I'm just giving it a final wash and need to trim the yarn ties. 
• I need to finish up the border for the first turn in a Round Robin. At least that's not due until March 16th. 
• The next UFO project for Marti is project #2. For me, that is trying out the Bargello technique on a set of place mats. I've had a Bargello book for several years. I have used the fabric that I had planned to use for these place mats, so I guess I have to go shopping. (Oh darn! LOL!) 
• New BOM's for the Virtual Bee and Ten Sisters should be coming out on Friday, also. I love the BOM's.
• I also have a student moving next week. I'm happy for her, she is getting adopted after a long wait. She asked me to make her something and we decided I would make her some pillowcases so she could remember the school. As a surprise, I am going to try to get all her classmates to sign the pillowcases. I wish her well and I hope she has a wonderful, new life.

So am I the April Fool for planning too much? Especially with state academic testing starting in less than three weeks?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Ours was fun. We met on Saturday at my brother's home (about two hours away). We visited for quite a while and had a nice pot luck, (that way, no one gets stuck doing everything). My mother brought down some quilt pieces that my grandmother had started a loooooong time ago. Grandma tried to make six-pointed stars; there are 24 of them! Unfortunately, they were so poorly made, I'm going to have to pick them apart, trim, and re-piece them. I loved my grandmother and she could out-crochet anyone, but I can see why I never knew she attempted to quilt. (I will put some of the blame on the template - it wasn't cut straight.) But the fabrics are interesting and I really want to see what I can make out of them all. There are also just a few "fan" pieces. They don't remind me of any particular pattern, so I will have to see if they can be incorporated into anything else.

Here are my photos:

Purple Kraze quilt finally done! (But too ugly to show the whole thing!)

pre-printed panels made into quilt top

child's purse in new colors

Stars made by Grandma

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!