Prize package!

Here it is! Three fabrics lines: Annalee, Season's Best - Winter, and Poppy Modern! There are over 150 charm squares and 15 fat quarters. It is such an awesome prize that I cannot decide what all I will make.  I will have to think on it a while! Now, I need to drool over look at the fabric again. Thanks, Andover!

Woohoo!

 I am excited to tell everyone that I won this week's Andover stash contest! Here's the link

http://blog.andoverfabrics.com/

Andover has already shipped the prize package! I will give you all the details after it arrives.

Two more days with students and one workday. Busy week, with lots to do - some fun stuff, too. 

After school on Tuesday, three of us made a batch of soap. On Thursday, four of us are having

dinner at the Melting Pot. Have a great week everyone!

Shadow box quilt happiness

So...here is a look at my shadow/shadow box quilt in progress! It is actually turning out as I imagined and I am really pleased. I have three more rows to go, plus the sashings and border. I am planning a plain white border to match the sashing, but haven't decided on any additional border(s). I'm considering a thin gray strip to mimic the "shadow" on the blocks, but don't have a clue what I would use after that. (The charm material is Kim Schaefer's Tic Tac line for Andover fabrics.) Any suggestions???

Excuse the cat, Zorro, in the background. He is always so helpful! And the pool table was the easiest place to spread out the pieces. Not very elegant but it works!

Good grief!

     I can't believe I haven't written a blog post in so long! I have just been so busy at school, at home, and in general. I have managed to work on some projects -- mostly by neglecting housework. LOL. (Although my husband doesn't think it's funny. ) The school year is almost done so I hope to be back to blogging regularly in the near future.
     So what have I been up to? Well, work and state testing of students' progress, for starters. Plus, there have been meetings after school to help us prepare for the transition to the Common Core standards next year. I am also moving from teaching 7/8th grade math down to 5th grade math. I have to change rooms and move all my personal items, (the custodians will move file cabinets and my desk). I think I am in for a big adjustment! But, at least I have a job. We reorganized at the end of last year and it looks like they are still making adjustments.
     We have also been pushing son #1 to find a regular job.   He starts a new job tonight. He's a bit nervous and that's understandable, but this is a step toward achieving independence as an adult. It is definitely time!
     Son #2 came home from college about two weeks ago. He had a miserable semester and there was some fallout with his grades. These things happen, he just has to get straightened out and try harder next semester.
     As for quilting/sewing, I am still participating in two BOMs. (Okay, so one is a block of every two weeks.) I also managed to make a set of Bargello placemats. They are for my sister-in-law. The placemats are not a perfect Bargello, but I'm glad I tried the process. It doesn't seem nearly as intimidating now if I decide to make a full size quilt. And I learned a lot - next time I will pin even more, use loads more starch, and take more time. I was so excited, I rushed myself! That's never a good thing - my seam ripper became a good friend to me. Let me apologize for the photo: when I took the picture, I didn't realize how well the fabric colors matched my Berber carpet. Also, this was before I quilted them and I am just starting the binding.

     Besides the placemat binding, I am working on a new project. I have a full set of the Tic Tac line (by Kim Schaefer for Andover) in charms. I set them in color rows as best as possible and I am starting a shadow quilt. I'm excited because I love the look so far!

     I'm also excited about two fabric lines, one that I have seen and the other to be released soon. The one that I have seen is Edges by Laura Gunn for Michael Miller. I love all the geometric patterns and colors. The other is an upcoming line by Andover based  on the Downton Abbey series. I have a niece that loves the series. It should be pretty and I am ready to see it now! Anybody waiting for a specific fabric line?

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