Just so you know

That I have been at least a bit productive...I really have! These quarter blocks are for the second round of the Modern Bento Block Swap and are ready for mailing. In the original swap, I made enough to make a small-ish lap quilt, so when someone suggested a second round, I was definitely in. I love a quilt large enough to snuggle under, so with the 24 quarter blocks I'll receive in return, it should produce something snuggle-worthy...if the right person in my oldest son's life really likes it, perhaps this might become a graduation gift! Not only have I worked on these lovelies, I have also done some hand sewing on my Grandmother's Flower Garden while gadding about Central Washington on camping trips and such!  There are perhaps 4 more hexies to go on one flower and then the 3 main rows will be connected.  Then comes the task of making the connecting diamonds and the borders, still a bit more work to do, but it's getting there and I'm excited! I will post pictures when all the flowers are stitched together, until then, well...school started for the youngest son today, so it is time to herd him off to bed so I can start a new book! TTFN...

Wow...19 years

Has it really been that long? I remember it like it was yesterday...all the preparations, all the anticipation and a lot of stress, not to mention an all night session the night before the wedding, putting all the flowers together.  My best friend Kathy traveling from Alaska to serve as my Maid of Honor, my Mother in the midst of a gallbladder attack and Valium induced, removing half of the beading on one of my sleeves at the church because there just wasn't enough time to finish both...and now that you mention it, my dear, sweet Grandma & Grandpa Soma spending the week before the nuptuals at my parent's house the entire week before to help with everything...and the two of us (Emily and I) sewing beads and sequins on my gown in the evenings...oh, how I treasure THOSE memories.  Then the day was finally here and my Dad and I were standing at the end of the aisle at Richland Lutheran Church, at 2pm sharp and he asked me, "are you nervous?"..."Nope, says I...let's do this!" I distinctly remember anxiously wanting to begin the rest of my life with my new best friend...

DH asked me as we ceremoniously cut the cake, "what do we do now?"..."just start shoving" and so we did....1 year later, I was still picking cake and frosting out of my earrings...19 short years and two kids later, he is still my best friend, the one with whom I love spending time, the one who completes me...wow, who would have thunk it? Me, of course...it seems that I knew the moment I saw him...

Both Sons have quilts, can I have one now?

I'm feeling pretty good right now, having finished two ufo's in two weeks. It has made me realize though, that I need to pay more attention when I add  borders that I cut them on the straight of grain and measure more precisely, rather than wing it like I did this time in the name of getting something finished. That, and I need to work from the middle out in both directions. It was well pinned and stretched on my livingroom floor and I had intended to just do straightline quilting over the entire quilt, but made the mistake of first stitching in the ditch each vertical row before going back to do the other closely spaced vertical lines...major puckering  ensued the closer I got to the end, which resulted in a frustrated and unhappy quilter, but alas, it was another lesson learned and my oldest is happy with it.  My husband, bless his soul, remarked, "you are the only one who notices that anything is wrong with it." I do have to admit that most of the puckers crinkled up nicely after washing and drying. So, now comes the question...what do I make for us now? I'm considering a quilt as you go log cabin like the tutorial/quiltalong done by Sewtakeahike, that looks totally do-able in queensize...And I would only have to wrestle with the beast quilting-wise when putting the backing on (let me explain that my Brother has a relatively small throat, which makes anything larger than a twin a real challenge to mash through the opening) As I ponder my decision further, let me leave you with the pic of the whole quilt hanging on the backyard fence.

Almost...But Done Enough To Show You

My hope was to get this finished last night and washed this morning, but with all of the running around that happens on a Saturday in my house, it just didn't happen. My DH installed a new oven in the trailer (doing the happy dance here...the old oven didn't work and was just old enough that you couldn't get parts for it anymore) but for some reason, it didnt have an oven rack and he had to improvise...a replacement bbq grill and a set of bolt cutters did the trick (at least it wasn't duct tape...hehe!!). While he was working on that, I whipped up a batch of pico de gallo, some ceviche to go with last night's dinner AND a pan of enchiladas for dinner tonight.  My reward was a refreshing mango margarita and dinner in the back yard until I realized that ahem, I could be stitching on my binding if it were machine attached...off went that hat and inside I went to break out the sewing machine to get that done. The sun, however, was nowhere to be seen by the time that it was accomplished...not to worry though, I popped my posterior on the couch and listened to the Sons of Anarchy reruns that DH was watching...the end was in sight...one more corner to go...1am rolled around and this girl just couldn't keep her eyes open any longer....Oh well, there is always today, right?! I can have it finshed, washed and nicely folded for my firstborn to take with him out to the ranch this evening, with that being said, I need to get a move on if I am going to fit in a well-deserved (ok, not really deserved, more like heavily craved) chocolate chip ice cream cone  at the Country Mercantile!!!