Spring has Sprung

I am worried about the political divisions in our country and the potential for a flu epidemic. But, since those things are beyond my control, I will focus on the happy things in my life! I love to visit blogs and see pictures and read about everyone's life...those sneak peaks into the ordinary moments that fill our days. I have been an infrequent blogger for a while, and I realize I don't say much! For someone who dreams of being published someday, that's a sad state of affairs, which I will try to change - starting now.

I've dedicated most of my quilting time recently to Quilts of Valor. Last month, I quilted a beautiful top for a lady in California. A few weeks ago, I sent off a quilt to be presented to soldiers in Colorado (read about it here). And, I put borders on my Boxy Stars, so it's ready for quilting.As I was browsing around the QOV website, I noticed a link for a mystery pattern. (Instructions here.) I raided my stash (and my mother's stash as well!) and I'll start on that as my next project. I have piles of quilts in every room of my house, so I need an outlet for this hobby!

We're enjoying gorgeous spring weather after flirting with summer temperatures early last week. Baby K loves to have picnics, so we took some fresh strawberries outside for a snack.

3 years and counting

Friday was my 3rd blogiversary! It's been a fun way to journal my crafty projects and Baby K's daily adventures...thanks for tagging along.

She had a fun Easter Egg hunt last week at church.

I finished the first half of the April assignment for the Quilt Show project:I finally loaded a new project on the longarm. I thought of you Samantha! Fun nine-patches with Kaffe Fassett fabric:

Sunday Sewing

To satisfy my quilting urge, I started a scrappy project using Bonnie's Boxy Stars pattern. I personally have issues with totally random scrap quilts, so I made the main star potion of each block in similar colors...of course, once I took the picture I can see that my values (light and dark) are way off! Oh well, that helps with the scrappy feel.
I am going to add more red and blue stars and send this to Quilts of Valor. They are trying to collect over 1,000 quilts by May 31st to present to a Marine Battalion that is returning home. I have some other blocks ready to assemble into a top, so I hope to contribute several finished quilts to this effort.
Some quilters have trouble with their cats laying on their projects when they are trying to take pictures...I have an enthusiastic little girl! I asked her to help, and first she rolled among all the blocks, then started throwing them in the air.
This next photo is just proof of my insanity: When I trim the corners of the Boxy Stars, I have half-square triangles, already matched in lights and darks. They are about 1.5inches square. My mom and I have had this conversation for years. It seems like such a waste to throw all these scraps out, but really...when are we ever going to sew them into something useful??? Well, I'm making a dedicated effort to use them as leader/enders when I chain piece, and I promise blogland that I will find a pattern for HST and work on it this summer! Maybe Broken Dishes?

Linky Loo

Thursday Thirteen...random thoughts

1. Hey Blogger, why is uploading photos hit-or-miss these days?!? Very irritating.

2. I started the book Emerald a couple weeks ago. Did King Edward and Wallis Simpson have a child? If so, what was her life like? It's been a great read so far.

3. I joined a sock knit-a-long with some other folks on Ravelry. I am using some Socks That Rock yarn to knit the Shur' tugal pattern.

4. The pattern inspiration came from the novel Eragon, which I checked out from the library on Monday. So now I'm reading two books at once - one at home and one during lunch at school. It feels weird, I am usually a monogamous reader!

5. This is an area where my brother and I have completely different attitudes. I will read books many, many times. The Little House on the Prairie series was in endless rotation for much of my childhood, and now I revisit Harry Potter every couple years. Ty, on the other hand, thinks there are too many books in the world to waste your time re-reading anything.

6. I am in more of a quilt piecing mood than a longarm mood. Mom brought me a king size quilt to finish, and she had very specific ideas about the quilting. Now I'm nervous to start on it!

7. I am mulling over some ideas for a challenge. The theme is "Geometry" - perfect for a high school math teacher, right?!? I'm leaning towards the Fibonacci Sequence.

8. My other idea, not necessarily for the challenge, is a Sudoku quilt. It will be fun to arrange the nine fabrics nine different ways!

9. I am continuing with the Sue Garman Block of the Month at The Quilt Show. I think my polka dotted background makes it very busy, but rather than abandon the project or buy a bunch of new fabric, I'm just going to continuing using my stash.

10. Hubby and I have been discussing gardening. He'd like to build a raised garden in our yard. I think it would be great as a family project...I've shared how baby K likes to dig in the dirt and water anything and everything! The drawback is that I know it takes almost daily upkeep to tend a vegetable garden, and with his schedule, I'd end up with those chores. I'm not too thrilled about that! Since planting season is several months away, we have time to decide.

11. Another decision that always crops up at the end of the school year is job-hunting. Hubby works at a charter school, which doesn't pay into the state retirement system or count as experience for public school seniority. For these and other reasons, I'd like him to get hired in a public school. Unfortunately, with the dire state budget we are facing, that is unlikely to happen for next year. We're hoping he can at least switch to regular school hours and get home in the early afternoon!

12. Speaking of school, several teachers and I were comiserating about the lack of motivation in our students. There is a significant percentage of my students who seem to take pride in doing nothing. They don't even bring a pencil or paper to class! So, President Obama, please don't push "merit pay" on me until you figure out a way to hold the students accountable for their actions too.

13. On a happier note, I was thinking ahead to summer vacation. One option is a trip to Minnesota to visit my new nephew, but I am leaning towards a trip to the beach and Legoland! Ever since I heard about it, I've been anxious to have a child who would enjoy it, and Baby K loves to build towers and bridges.