not a lot to report today...

I'm still fighting whatever I've been fighting for almost 3 weeks now. I just feel congested.
Gave in and signed up for the Pretty Little Pouch Swap.
Chose my design (I think) for the Hoopla.
Handsewed about half of dad's quilt.
Went to the chiro. Finally got praised for not waiting until I was too tense to move.

On tap for tomorrow:
finishing dad's quilt and entering it into the Celebrate Color Sept listing
work on layout for Scrap Bag challenge, test a couple of ideas.
pin baste the Across the Sea QAL

Sat:
get all the piecing/sewing done in the Scrap Bag challenge
Clean
Start grommetting.

Does this seem too ambitious?
I also have to grade a crapload of papers, do laundry, and all those sundry everyday life, non glorious things.

WIP Wed 9.21.11

I hadn't planned on actually sewing today, but I got home earlier than expected from work...and dad's quilt is begging to be done.
So....I pinbasted it.
Then I quilted it...just straight lines.
I stopped for dance class.
Then back to quilting and and sewing on binding (the machine sewing part).
I pooped out before hand sewing.
That's on tap for tomorrow or Friday.
Here it is sitting, calling my name:


I'm trying to keep up with the Across the Sea QAL...but it (and the Skill Builder) may get tabled til I get the Scrap Bag Competition piece finished.
My dance teacher lent me a grommet plier thingie...I'm hoping it might be easier than a hammer.
We'll see...
so far, the design decision is to make each corset belt panel (there are 5) be themed by kind of scrap. Layout planned for tomorrow.

Happy things came in the mail today!
Color Wheel charms:

and a win!

which is totally begging to be made into a kid quilt for charity....

Also, *cough* I may or may not (shifty eyes) have entered the Pretty Little Pouch swap.
I also have a pincushion to make for the Sewn Spaces swap and a hoop for the hoopla.
At least I have a plan for both of them.

It's a Monday.

I started today off by oversleeping.
I made it to work on time, but just barely.

I had to leave work early to go to the dermatologist. New theory. It's eczema. New medicine. Praying it works...so tired of being painfully peely and itchy.

I bought some supplies for the Misfit Quilters Hoopla.
I have yet to ponder a design.

When I got home, I pieced together the girl version of the Across the Sea QAL.
It took a while, but I really like it. I wanted to pin baste that sucker already, but it may have to wait until Friday.


Kraken had fun sitting on it. (She was actually begging for dinner. Bad cat mom was late on a meal.)


I was properly admonished.

I worked on dad's quilt.
The top is totally done, save for pressing.
The back is now pieced, but needs to be pressed and sliced open.
I also got the binding tape made.
See, here are the bits:



I'm actually dying to pin baste it and get to quilting. If I can finish this week, I'm going to enter it in the Celebrate Color show.

On the to do list:
*Finish dad's quilt (pin baste, quilt, bind)
*Baste Across the Sea QAL girl version
*Choose a design for The Misfit Quilters Hoopla
*Choose a design for the Sewn Spaces pincushion swap
*Make the belt pieces for the Scrap Bag competition (I may or may not bother finishing the prototype...I kind of feel this will either work or it won't...plus all those grommets are making me blue.) Any advice?

Playing catch up...

I spent much of the day hand sewing a block for the school quilting group.
I sewed circles til I just couldn't take it any more.
See...they weren't raw circles...we had to turn under the edges and try to hide the sewing.
It wasn't fun.



I think the quilt will be fabulous, and I'll be a raffle ticket or two to try to win it, but it didn't wow me as an introduction to the school quilting group.
I only got to hang out with the ladies once...and the project was a lot harder than it felt like it should be. I know there will be another quilt coming in the winter. Next time I might try to find out the sewing requirements before I commit.

I worked on the blocks for the back of the girl's Across the Sea QAL quilt. I still have to cut them down to size, but they're done.


This one is my favorite:


My plan tomorrow is to piece the back and finish the top and back of dad's quilt.
Wish me luck!

I'm back...

still not completely recovered from the trip.
My allergies don't like nature...or apparently, square dancing, as I ended up covered in hives from touching folk wearing cologne.
Ugh. The dancing part was fun, the post dancing itching, not so much.
I'm sorry I don't have any pics to show you, but I didn't end up seeing the sunrise as I had camper duty on those who didn't want to go.
And my phone kept dying due to trying to find a signal.

I got home to find these things waiting for me:

My swap package from the For the Love of Solids swap:


I LOVE the colors, the pillow cover, the squirrel...the miniquilt. I giggled with delight. Seriously.


My scrap bag for the scrap bag challenge:



I started working on the prototype today:


The idea is to make a bunch of these and then lace them together.
What I've learned thus far: setting grommets sucks. It took almost 2 hours for 12. My prototype will have 40, as will the final project.
I also learned from my skill builder block (see below) that making fabric is fun, but that I'm going to have to be SUPER careful when making the actual belt's fabric out of the scraps.

I tried to catch up on Skill Builder today:


Still to do:
The school bee block (due Mon or Tues)---lots of handsewing on hand tomorrow
dad's quilt (fabric is here, going to try to finish the top at least tomorrow)
back of Across the Sea QAL (may table one and just try to finish one on the deadline set)
Mosaic for pincushion swap
Research design for a hoop swap

Debating the following:
joining SewHappyGeek's miniquilt swap
joining a bee that just lasts for Oct

Glad to be back, but, man, do I feel behind and that the catch up has a time lag.

Also, in other not so happy news, I'm personally not a huge prayer, but if you are or feel like sending happy thoughts to a friend, my dance partner of many years is facing surgery to see if she has lung cancer or not...not good...please send any healthy wishes/prayers her way. She's one of my favorite peeps and is the mama of two girls.

Heading to the Carolinas...

Tomorrow.
To camp for 3 nights.
I'll be on duty with my students for 24 hrs for 4 days.
I am NOT an outdoorsy gal.
It's pretty look at and all, but I don't want to sleep in it. My skin is already a mess without mold allergies factored in.
I have chosen to live in major cities for most of my adult life.
My knees don't like hiking.
Again, I'm NOT an outdoorsy gal.
Blarg.
So...I'll be offline til Fri. I'll miss y'all.
I'm hoping some luscious packages come in my absence.

My poor kitty's bald spots on her feet bottoms are getting bigger.
:(
Poor itchy girl.

How am I going to sleep without animals and the Pirate smooshing me?!

And no sewing for 4 days. I may go nutso.

I still have to finish the handsewn block for the school bee quilt...it's due next week.
I think I'll be doing a LOT of sewing this weekend.
What with having to finish the backs for the Across the Sea QAL x2 and that block.
Plus dad's quilt.

Blarg.

thinking about family...

I spent part of today thinking about my family.
See, 10 years ago...my parents were flying to visit family abroad. My brother was flying across country to meet them.
And I was headed out to the camping trip with my kids.

I didn't know what had happened til I got there.

And then I didn't know where any of my family were...or if they were safe.
Thankfully, someone else took over for my class...and another teacher (the one who teaches next door whose daughter I've danced with and loved as she's grown up...the one who is now really good friends with the Pirate) stayed with me until I could get a hold of someone.

That took several hours. And that someone turned out to be my mom.
They were on the tarmac when the planes hit and all the flights got grounded.
But they were all ok.

I didn't get back to home until Friday, when the trip ended. It took me until Saturday to track down all my friends in NYC. (I lived there for several years.)

Anyway, I thought about my family today.
And it seemed like a good day to work on my dad's Xmas present.
So I sewed.
Here's what I've got so far:


It's a disappearing 9 patch (my go-to favorite lap quilt).
He likes reds and purples. The colors make me feel like fall.
It's going to have a black border and back.
(I still have to get some more fabric.)
I'm going to do a mixed batik binding. If I have enough batik left, I'm going to do a strip of blocks (like stacked coins) on the back.