At a Crossroads

Life often finds me stuck at some crossroad wondering which way to go. Usually, I have no problem quickly assessing the pros and cons of the situation and making a decision. When this is not the case, I tend to get frustrated. I am bothered by indecision, especially in myself. Seriously, who cannot look at a menu and select a meal? Or decide between two pieces of fabric? Or between two possible guilds?

Today is the 4th anniversary of the scarriest and best day of my life. My daughter came into the world in harrowing fashion, scaring me nearly to death. She's a delight of a daughter, well mannered, happy, loving and sweet. We cannot imagine our lives without her.
And lastly, because my blogging has been a bit sketchy lately - here's a quilt I finished recently. She didn't really like the top. It was a mystery top done at a quilt shop class. I think she really liked what I did with the quilting. It's a slight departure, even for me, but it brings a different dimension to the simple layout.

It was cloudy and rainy this week so my pictures are muddy. The center was done to mimic the pinwheels that are in the corners. One of the prints is SO busy that little shows up on it.

And a peek at the border and center of the more neutral blocks. The desigh mimics that which is in one of the fabrics.

So, My Saturday is busy with the guild A quilt show. And then I am sadly back to working 3 mornings a week come Monday. On the flipside, kids are back to school so my afternoons will be clear sailing/quilting!

Weekly Happenings

I spent a day or so's free time preparing for my oldest's 8th birthday party which was yesterday. He had 10 friends to a party at a bowling alley! The kids had fun with the bowling (we have mini or 10-pin bowling), the arcade games and pizza. The biggest hits of the afternoon were the roll of quarters I had to dole out and the re-lighting sparkler candles!
It's been a busy week of this and that, and not a ton of what I really need to be tackling (ie., the quilt below!). I have started it, and spent 3-4 hours on it, but this week I must hit it hard. I have more work arriving later in the week. It's gorgeous applique done by hand and is immensely time consuming to quilt. I have to be SO careful. I thought a couple afternoons of doing piecing and tying up loose ends in my sewing room might give my arm/wrist a break from the continuing carpal tunnel that is creeping in again. Yuck!

Earlier in the week I added the flower at the center of this piece, and today I added the green piping and the outermost deep purple border. This is my piece for the Maine Quilt Show in August. It's 95% finished. I have just a couple things left in mind before I get the backing prepped and get it quilted. I am so tickled how it's changed just by adding the outer borders. I'll get a better picture soon (this was taken in the dungeon where I like to sew).

A month or so ago I went to my oldest son's 2nd grade class and spent an afternoon teaching them about quilts. It was a blast and I am so surprised how interested they all were. We talked about the secret code of Harriet Tubman and the Underground RR, and then had a couple projects. They made these self-portraits using fabric pens. I did a similar project 2 yrs ago when he was in kindergarten - that quilt turned out great. He came home last week with the pile of 6"x6" portraits that I need to get made into a quilt. To date, 19 of them are now bordered and I have a concept for the remainder of the quilt.

I machine quilted a couple banners this week too - one for my business. The pic below is the back of it. I am a guest vendor at a Linus blanket show this weekend. The other banner is for the Linus coordinator. It's simpler but cute.

And a close up of the really quick quilting... It's nothing gorgeous, but then the coordinator wanted this done yesterday.

I spent time this week making a couple of blocks for the Bees Knees quilting bee. April is my month, and I have designed a paper-pieced tea-leaf block. I needed to write a tutorial because I don't know how many people are skilled at foundation piecing. It took a while to do the tutorial, taking a picture after each row of stitching. I think I made the 2nd block in about 15 minutes! I know it's a bit of an odd combination of colors and fabrics, but my EQ6 rendition of the quilt is great!

And lastly, I leave you with a cute picture of my 3-1/2 year old. She's my shining light, and the sweetest thing ever.