Progess

I quilted this sampler for the Quilt Pink auction. It's overdue, and I wanted to get it donw quickly, so I just stitched in the ditch across the blocks, meandered in the setting triangles, and put a freehand vine with leaves in the border. Hopefully, you can see some of the quitling in this shot of the back:
I did find time for knitting on the Rockin Sock "inside out":
I was hoping for pooling of the colors rather than stripes, but either way it's fun to watch it emerge. Today is NCAA Selection Sunday, which means the next three weekends will be full of basketball and primo knitting time!

Baby K has had a bad rash over her chest and back, plus some diaper rash, so we spent some time in the fresh air. B. installed screen shades on our patio, and that's a shop cooler behind me, so it's very pleasant throughout most of the hot summer. Of course, it's been a beautiful weekend, with temperatures in the low 80s. Our poor snowbirds are in a tight spot...it's getting too hot here in the desert, but it's too cold to go up north!

One toe

I gave up on the swatch, and just started the pattern as written for the medium size. I got 7 stitches to the inch on size 0, and I really didn't want to use 00s for the sole! It fits, such as it is, over my toes, but I'll make a final judgement when I get more of the sole done.

I think (I hope!) I will have more pooling rather that stripes, but again, it may be too early to tell...stay tuned :-)

I had a problem with the pattern for the set-up row...when I finished the 4 repeats of (k2, p2, k1, kfb) I had 7 stitches left! I just repeated the k2,p2 once more, but when I knit my first round of the sole, the stitches were off (knitting the bumps instead of purling them). It certainly doesn't bother me, and I probably miscounted - I was running up and down the stairs since Baby K didn't want to go to bed. We'll see how the second sock works out.

I am soooooo tempted to bring my knitting to work...my students are testing today, but I have piles of homework to grade, so I will be good. The Suns are playing tonight and that makes for quality knitting time! Although I'm torn...I have 2 quilts to put on the longarm. Mom needs them for shop samples ASAP. I will have to set a timer and knit for an hour, then quilt for an hour!

At last!

I am an official member of the Rockin Sock Club! My first kit arrived last night and I am itching to cast on my new socks.

This is the best part:

A little "emergency skein" on a keychain! Just too cute. I carried it with me to lunch, it made me so happy.

Here's the real thing: Blue Moon Fibers' Socks that Rock in the Monsoon colorway.

Hard to tell colors on the computer, but another club member said it reminds her of her military camo uniform. That is a very good description! It's an earthy blend of greens and browns. I saw a green sky once, and it was during the summer monsoon season, so I guess that's a good name. The pattern uses cables, which will be a new skill, but one I have been anxious to try. I am stopping at the shop tonight to get needles - I hope they have the small size I need!! Then I will swatch and probably wait until the weekend to cast on the actual socks... I'll need time to concentrate on the toe-up instructions.

Work has begun on Kerstin's Squares Squared:This will be a very BRIGHT eclectic quilt, LOL. It's kind of small, so I will add some plain accent borders then some piano keys to finish it off.

Cheerful Tootsies

La had some adorable feet on her blog a couple days ago, so I share with you my favorites:

Baby K's toes - (she is standing in her bouncy seat)

And those of Gidget, while hiding in my closet:

I love the orange "freckle" on her leg! In case you haven't seen full pictures, she's a calico.

No sewing going on. B. is attending a job fair on Monday so I helped him write his resume on Tuesday night, and Wednesday is choir practice. I put the Hidden Stars away so I can start on the gifty quilts. I can start cutting bright orange fabric this weekend if I get busy and iron it all tonight! Of course, the iron gets put away and the knitting comes out during Grey's Anatomy!!

So, in lieu of fiber content, I will leave you with a picture of Baby K's new trick. She is discovering all sorts of new facial expressions!

Story Time

We are conducting state-mandated testing at school today, which gives me free time to read my favorite blogs, which creates the need to respond, and therefore supplies my own blog fodder.

Number One. What is up with mean people lately??? Cara and Stephanie have recently been attacked for expressing their own opinions. Sorry folks, free speech is the hallmark of democracy. If you don't like it, find a way to respectfully disagree, or keep your opinions to yourself. We can all get along if we try.

I guess this is where my Libra/balance personality really shines. If I disagree with someone, I rarely argue the point. I have told myself that this is because I hate conflict, but a friend pointed out that I typically weigh both sides, and then make a choice about the issue.

Number Two. *blush* I forgot!!! LOL - I left to have lunch with a friend, and now I can't remember what I was going to talk about!!

But never fear, I do have another story for you. The other day, when I was talking about how I met my husband, I said I had specific criteria - must own his own washing machine and not be hung up on his mother. Here's the REST of that story :-)

I dated a guy who, at age 28, seemed like he had it together. Employed, clean cut, owned his own home and a dog :-) What he didn't have was a washing machine. So, each week, he would drop off his laundry at his mother's house. OK, at first glance, not a big deal. But, he didn't stay to do the laundry. Oh no. Mom would wash, dry, fold and iron his clothes, then bring them back! It was just too creepy to think of her waltzing in whenever her chores were done. Ah well, some people are in your life to serve as a warning!!

Mission Accomplished

I had some time Saturday morning during Baby K's morning nap to sew, and I have two more Hidden Stars finished! Only two blocks to go since 6 of them were finished on time in 2005. Oh, and remember that the points always match on camera!

The expedition to the LQS was a success! I got the fabric for three quilt tops. I knew what I wanted for a friend, and as I explained, I took Elizabeth (graduating senior) and Kerstin (foreign exchange student) to pick out their own fabric. I was a little nervous, because I wanted them to pick out a pattern as well! Imagine your first trip to a quilt store and this lady wants you to make decisions like that. The girls performed an amazing feat. Elizabeth chose the Yellow Brick Road pattern and her colors are green, pink, yellow and blue.

This is Kerstin's color selection:

Bold huh?!? Her pattern is "Squares Squared" by Aardvark Quilts, which will work just fine with a bright scrappy look. Stay tuned for photos of the new WIP!

I'm off to knit on my sweater and watch the Academy Awards. The first Rockin Socks Club kit goes in the mail tomorrow. Maybe by the end of the week I'll have my first STR yarn on the needles?!? Woo-hoo!

Imagination

Over at Red Shoe Ramblings, things have been icy. Deb posted this photo:

She said she saw an man's face with a long beard. Kinda like that optical illusion picture where some people see the young woman and some people see an old lady. BTW, I usually see the young woman and really have to concentrate to find the old lady! Anyway, I saw a unicorn in the same icicle. Since I have no talent for drawing, I labeled the parts:
I might have some more Hidden Stars to show you this weekend...no promises though, because it's my husband's grandmother's 95th birthday. One of those required-attendance events. I don't consider it a chore...we are very lucky to get along easily with each other's families! I just mention it because it cuts into the sewing time!

And I'm trekking down to the LQS with some friends tomorrow morning. They have a daughter graduating from high school this year, AND a foreign exchange student! I got the crazy idea to make them both quilts. Kerstin, the exchange student, will get hers first, since she leaves on June 8th. I figure if Elizabeth's quilt isn't done, I can track her down pretty quick! I have to tell a long story for background...Elizabeth is responsible for my marriage - she was in my Girl Scout troop six years ago and her mom heard me talking about wanting to meet a guy who had his own washer and dryer and wasn't hung up on his mother. (The reasons for these requirements is another long story, best saved for another day!) Anyway, Elizabeth's mom had a friend from high school who was single, so she offered to set us up. Several months later I was at her house to talk about Scout stuff, and they introduced me to a man talking to her husband. I left without saying much only to find out later that he was "the" guy she was trying to fix me up with! I thought she should have encouraged me to stay and chat if that was the case, but it all worked out. In a strange twist of fate, he worked across the parking lot from me, we talked on the phone a few times and have been inseparable since our first date on Jan 20, 2001!

Back to the regularly scheduled blogging...

Baby K says...OK Mom, I'm ready! Let's go go GO!

Hidden Stars

The name of the Marti Michell Block-of-the-Month (from 2005) is "Hidden Star Sampler." These are blocks 12 and 8. Th speckled blue actually has violets on it, very pretty up close! The pattern calls for the star blocks to alternate with fussy-cut roses from this fabric:
Although it's pretty, it's a little too frou-frou for my taste, especially since I want this to go in the master bedroom. DH can tolerate only so much frilliness! When I'm ready to put the final layout together, I am planning on solid blue squares...wonderful blank spaces for custom quilting! I hope I can do it justice.

Onto the next thing

One week until the Rockin Sock Club yarn gets mailed! And probably another week to arrive in my mailbox. It's like counting down to Christmas, yipee!! I want to be able to cast on right away when my RSC kit arrives, so I am in the planning stages with the two skeins pictured. On the left is "Stars and Stripes" by Fortissima. I am thinking of a plain ribbed leg and stockinette foot to let the sel-patterning yarn really shine. On the right is my Socktoberfest yarn from Scout. The plan is to create a pair of Halloween knee-highs for October '07. I need to get some contrasting plain yarn for the cuff, heel and toe. Black or purple...what do you suggest?

And the top shows the alpaca yarn for my current project. I started the Left Back of a sweater vest. All knit stitches, so it works up very quickly. The multi-color alternates for a striped vest. After the left back panel is finished, I just have to knit a small wedge and seam the 5 pieces together. Good thing I have lots of TV to watch this weekend...that means quality knitting time. (On the schedule: Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters on Sunday, 24 on Monday)

I wore my Jaywalkers to school yesterday. It made me so happy to look at my feet :-) I will need to adjust my wardrobe to better showcase the hand-knits.

Plans for the three-day weekend...taxes (yuck, but not very painful with the adoption tax credit!). Monday I will run down to the LQS for some backing and batting. Last night I finished the Color Blocks top. I think today I will pull out my 2005 Blocks of the Month...that project got stalled in month 7! It's a Marti Michell pattern, so there are lots of little pieces to cut out with templates.

I want to take a long walk with Baby K today to enjoy the 80 degree weather. My condolences to those of you in the frozen tundra of the Midwest!!

School Spirit

Jaywalkers complete!! Bring on the Rockin' Socks Club!

DH put Baby K to bed tonight and I am going to sew for a couple hours. YAY! I remembered a project that I wanted to finish this spring...a leprechaun pattern by Quilted Quickies. I thought that would be a cute wallhanging to display in my classroom in March. But alas, I can't lay my hands on the pattern at the moment. Time to pull out the bins holding my stash and re-organize. Especially since DH has been in a hoarding mood and is trying to stockpile canned goods in case bird flu strikes and we are quarantined for a month. I don't mind having food on hand, but the pantry is my fabric storage location. A girl has to have priorities ;-)

Sunday Sewing

I won these colorful blcoks at my guild's February meeting. I decided I'd better do something with them ASAP...and it's instant gratification for me, just sew the rows together! There are several duplicates that I tried to separate, but I wanted to keep color families together. I started off with a row of blue, then ended up with "chunks" of the other colors. There were lots of burgundies that I just mixed in with the brighter reds. So, I could have been better on the layout, but it's a fun quickie.

Here's the six month Baby K bunny photo! Hard to believe how fast time flies.

Jaywalker update...I've started the toes, woo-hoo! Hopefully I can share finished pictures in a few days!

Jaywalker update

See, I told you in-progress photos are boring! Here we have 75% of my first pair of Jaywalkers. I think it's pretty cool that, although I knew I did not start with the same color, the stripes look amazingly match-y!! Just about one row off at the very top. Which makes it easy to measure the foot length ;-) Looks like I need three blue stripes before my toe decreases!

B. is out on a walk with Baby K right now. I got out of it because I had to take my car in for its emissions check. I was sitting at a stop light this morning, noticing the personalized plates next to me, when I had that sinking feeling that I had missed a deadline. Yep - a week late renewing my vehicle registration! Only an $8 late fee, not too bad.

Although, thinking of my missed walk, I definitely need the exercise! I am about over my cold, just the drippy nose stage now. SO, next week, I'll be back at the gym. Maybe I can actually make it the recommended 3 times per week! That hasn't happened yet in the year that I've had my Curves membership!!!

Abrupt change of subject - Could Grey's Anatomy have been any more depressing last night?!? B's comment was that, of course, Meredith won't drown, because then it wouldn't be Grey's Anatomy! I wanted to watch Men in Trees, if only to cheer up, but I was about to fall asleep, so we recorded it and we'll watch it tonight after the basketball game...or maybe save it for Saturday since there's generally nothing on then! I'm looking forward to the Amazing Race All-Stars which begins on Sunday.

Quick Finish

Here it is - the Patriotic Baby Steps, which now goes in the longarm pile! Of course, I need to trim the corners, then check if it's big enough for Quilts of Valor.

My Quilt Guild adapted my stash idea, although the focus is now on using scraps. And I won the raffle blocks!! Now I have three sets...maybe those should move up on the UFO list soon?!?

Thursday night in front of the TV...time to work on the Jaywalkers! I'll take a picture soon...knitters know that a few rows per day does not make a very interesting photo shoot.

Up from the depths

I found a UFO that I didn't have on the list last week. A sure sign that I need to finish these up!

The pattern is called "Baby Steps," a simple rail fence block set with plain squares. I chose red, white and blue, planning to donate this quilt to Operation Homefront Quilts or Quilts of Valor. My biggest oops was not pre-washing. I have leftovers so I can test the reds especially to see if they will bleed...then it's into a Retayne (tm) bath with lots of prayer!

Prewashing is one of those eternal quilting debates. I learned to quilt form my mom, and she doesn't prewash. I also worked in her quilt store, where I would show up in the morning, see all the new fabric, pick out all the supplies for a project and have it cut out by the end of the day. Instant gratification was the name of the game! (And "shop sample" is perfect justification for starting something new!!)

My last start-to-finish quilt was the batik Strip Club quilt, and I did take the time to prewash. I try to do all the charity blocks for my local guild, and those need to be prewashed also. It would seem that I need to spend some time washing my stash! Some people worry about fabric shrinking, but I am more concerned with dyes bleeding. Of course, reds and blacks are the worst offenders, especially when set next to white. Thus, my fear with the current project!! I guess if it turns into red, pink and blue, I could donate it to the local animal shelter as a doggie blanket, LOL.

As I was working on this last night, I thought of Bonnie's leader-ender project. She has a basket of squares that she keeps by her machine to piece in between her current project. When she has enough 4-patches or whatever, then she sets them into a scrappy quilt. Great idea, but it doesn't work for me! I can't just do a "few" of something. I need to have the whole project in mind before I start. So, I'm more attracted to something like Judy's Hour-a-Day stash-buster project, where you raid your stash to get all the fabric together and then I'm fine with working on it a little at a time in between other projects.

I like the idea of cutting my stash/leftovers into usable pieces. I started cutting one night, but didn't get very far, LOL. I'm thinking of suggesting this to my guild program committee - have the topic be "Tame Your Stash" and everyone can bring some fabric and cutting tools and start to get organized! Or have an "exchange" project, like log cabin blocks, where everyone brings lots of strips and we all share. OK. my mind is spinning, time to send these ideas to the committee!

As promised

The latest photo of Baby K. Yep, sitting up by herself! She is such an extrovert that she HATES to take a nap...no time for sleep, she might miss something. She's not crawling yet, and actually, her daddy is fine with that. Since he's home with her all day, he knows that life will be very chaotic once she's mobile.

I'm home from school today with a cold. I figured it was better to take a day off and try to rest than to push myself to exhaustion. Of course, the baby decided to wake up at 5am, an hour earlier than normal!

The gussets are almost done on Jaywalker sock #2! We're heading to the home stretch...

I haven't decided what quilting project to pull out of the UFO pile next. Some of the candidates: an Underground Railroad sampler, a bargello, a Marti Michell BOM from 2005, the peek-a-boo cats, or a blue storm at sea. Probably not today though, I'd have a guilty conscience since I brought some tests home to grade!

Finished!

Everyone asks for the bad news first, and unfortunately, the Phoenix Suns' winning streak came to an end tonight. I usually don't watch men's basketball until March Madness and the NBA Finals, but the Suns are just awesome this year! Steve Nash is on his way to a third MVP award. Hopefully we can win the Western Conference and get to the Finals this year.

OK, enough sports talk. I know you're all here for the quilts! (Except Aunt Gretchen, Ty and Jean...so sorry, I'll post baby pictures tomorrow).

This is one of the wall-hangings I am giving to our small quilt auction. I used left over Stack-n-Whack blocks. I had fun using ALL the scraps from the original project! I just bought some more of the blue background...it's basic enough to use in something else. Here is the second bit of leftovers. I had some of the full "treasure box" blocks finished, so I just made a smaller version of Bethany Reynold's original design.
BTW - you should really try taking photos of your quilts-in-progress. These kaleidoscopes look pretty neat on my computer screen! It's like a reducing glass, you can get a better feel for the overall balance of the quilt and the colors if you snap a quick digital photo.

Sewing Time

We finally have a regular bedtime for Baby K! 7:30pm, which gives me a couple hours for sewing and knitting in front of the TV. Mondays and Thursday are couch potato time (24, Grey's Anatomy and Men in Trees are must-watch shows).

Last night I finished this block for an exchange at my guild:

I don't know the name, but I love pinwheels, so this pattern goes in the "make more later" pile! Everyone was instructed to use red, gold and black, then the blue area will be multi-color/quilter's choice. I had fun digging through my stash for colors! I have a green picked out to make another block.

Still plugging along on bindings and the Jaywalkers and counting the days until the first Rockin' Sock Club package arrives from Blue Moon Fibers!

Finished

in the nick of time, LOL. I planned to use the rest of the bobbin if the spool ran out while I was doing the binding! But, it didn't come to that. It was the perfect week to curl up on the couch under a quilt...I mentioned the record lows here in Phoenix, and yesterday was rainy and 45 degrees. More of the same this weekend, and I have about five projects waiting for binding!

Here is the front of the quilt. I did not make the top - it is being donated to the Quilt Pink auction. I just offered my longarm services!

Awake

Do you know this cute guy?? Josh Groban - AWESOME singer. I fell in love with him 2 years ago when my mom got us all concert tickets to see him. I had his second CD on constantly for about six months! About a week ago, I was watching a Suns basketball game, and they had a scrolling banner announcing Josh's next concert. I immediately went online and got tickets for March 25th, then went out the next day and bought his latest album "Awake." There are more english-language songs this time, but so far, I like his earlier stuff better.

School news...I am teaching AP Government this semester, and it's been off to a rocky start. Imagine - I actually expect my students to do daily reading (5 - 10 pages) and understand most of it on their own!!! So far, about a third of the class dropped out. Their first test is today, so tomorrow the class may be even smaller. As one of my teacher friends says, a smaller class of the brightest kids is NOT a bad thing :-)

And, I coach our school bowling team. We have two more weeks of competition. The boys are number one in the region with a pretty good chance to go to the state tournament. Once that is over (mid-February) then I can go home right after school every day and do more quilting and knitting. Woo-Hoo! I thought about bringing my socks to work on during the test period at school, but I guess I'll just catch up on grading.

As a reward for slogging through details of my boring life, here's the latest Baby K picture:

We stayed bundled up this week since there were 4 days of FROST warnings! Our low on Monday night was 22 degrees - in PHOENIX...that's the lowest low temperature in 30 years! I'll have to remember that when it hits 115 this summer... either way, you just stay inside.

Bunny Picture

Baby K at five months old:


The back of my leftover kaleidoscopes:

I'll show the front again after I get the bindings on. Can anyone explain, or send a link to instructions for applying straight bindings? I usually use mitered binding, but I'm using leftover strips and I don't have the excess to turn the corners. Although, I just bought some more of that blue background to make the hanging sleeves, so I could add more to my binding strips... Now it's just a debate over machine binding or hand stitching!

Next up on the longarm - two charity projects for the Quilt Pink auction! I had hoped to get the first one done over my Christmas vacation, but I was waiting on thread. I prefer PermaCore for the longarm and my favorite store was closed when I needed to order, so I used a different vendor and the shipment got delayed over New Year's Day.

Another question - does anyone save their excess batting? I end up with long strips that are only 6-8 inches wide after I quilt something on the longarm. It seems such a waste to throw that out, but I hate fiddling with leftovers trying to whip-stitch enough together for another project. If any of my quilt-blogger friends can use these scraps, let me know and we'll work out a swap!!

what do you see?

There is a cat stand in this picture. Unfortunately, that is NOT the place that Gidget decides to perch!

I've been quilting the kaleidoscope leftovers and knitting on the 2nd Jaywalker, but you've seen those before...I guess we're done here, LOL. I joined the 2007 Rockin' Socks Club from Blue Moon Yarn, so there will be lots of pretty yarn and many socks in the near future...the first installment arrives in February.

OH - exciting news - I bought Josh Groban concert tickets! He will be in Phoenix in March. Yay!!

Happy New Year!

This is what we did on New Year's Day:

A 500-piece puzzle of the Mission San Xavier del Bac, which is jsut south of Tucson. We thought it sounded like a fun New Year's EVE project, but we went to bed early and forgot about it. OOPS. But it was perfect for New Year's Day with the Rose Parade on in the background. Some of the sky areas were pretty tricky. My method is to leave then come back to it throughout the day. Puzzle strategy - I look for colors that should be in the piece I want and then pick from the remaining pieces. B. picks up a piece, grabs the box top, and tries to figure out exactly where that piece goes. I guess it takes all kinds ;-)

Gidget has become much more active and friendly since she is an only-cat now. Here she is inspecting my thread box. She even made an appearance while my parents were over babysitting! It's the first time they've seen her in several years!

An example of bad math At my first Quilt Camp in the Pines a few years ago, I took a class from Sharyn Craig called "Half Log Cabin." I tried to re-create it here with 2.5" strips, and I ended up with a rectangle! I guess I should try a bit harder to dig out the original instructions...

And finally, here are the blocks I made for our guild meeting in February. Each month we get a new block pattern, and you get a raffle ticket for each block that you bring in the next month. The winner takes home all the completed blocks and is ready to finish a top! I've won two sets of blocks over the past 2 years, so I suppose I should put them together one of these days! (See, Susan, I *do* have UFOs!!!)

100 things about me

1. I was born on October 13th.
2. I was born in Lakenheath, England, so I had dual citizenship until I was 18.
3. I think I am a fairly typical Libra...looking for the balance and happy medium in all situations!
4. I have one younger brother.
5. My dad was in the Air Force so we moved alot.
6. As a child, I lived in England, Florida, California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Arizona.
7. I went to 3 different high schools.
8. I played flute in the marching band at all three.
9. I was on the swim team at all three.
10. My best events were the 100 backstroke and the 200 freestyle.
11. I went to the US Air Force Academy for college.
12. I walked on to the Varsity Swim Team as a freshman.
13. I quit swimming my sophomore year because a) I was slow and b) I had problems with my shoulder.
14. I was in two choirs in college: the Protestant Choir (we sang at chapel services) and the Chorale, which performed across the nation.
15. The Academy Chorale was on TV twice. First was the 1992 Country Music Awards and we sang backup for Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" in the finale. The second time was at the 1992 (?) Miss USA pageant.
16. I now sing in my church choir as an alto.
17. I belong to St. John's Episcopal Church in Glendale, Arizona.
18. I was in the Air Force for 5 years as an intelligence officer.
19. I was stationed in Texas, New Mexico, South Dakota and Idaho.
20. I was married for four years to my college boyfriend, who became a B-1 Bomber pilot.
21. After getting divorced and being single for five years, I met my husband. We were introduced by a mutual friend.
22. We got married 6 months later, on July 4th, 2001.
23. My husband and I are both redheads, although he is a true carrot-top and I think of myself as "strawberry blonde."
24. We struggled with infertility and over a year of monthly injections before deciding to adopt.
25. Our daughter was born on Aug 11, 2006, and the adoption was finalized on Nov. 18, 2006.
26. We plan to keep in contact with the birthparents.
27. Our only pet at the moment is a female calico cat named Gidget.
28. I had a male cat (Walter), and my DH had a male cat (Bert) and female dog (Sheba) when we got married.
29. We had a black-and-white male cat named Tony, but he ran away a few months after the baby was born.
30. All our cats (Walter, Gidget and Tony) came from friends at church.
31. I am a high school teacher.
32. I mainly teach math (algebra and geometry) and one government class.
33. This apparent dichotomy stems from my major in Political Science plus the many required engineering classes at the Air Force Academy.
34. I have a Master's degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in technology.
35. While I enjoy academia, I really don't have an interest in another degree.
36. My number one hobby is quilting, which I started in 2003.
37. I did not learn to sew until my mother opened a quilt store.
38. My parents live about 30 minutes away from me in the metro Phoenix area.
39. I have attended Quilt Camp in the Pines for the past three summers, and hope to return for many more years!
40. In March 2006, I purchased a longarm machine to do professional quilting.
41. Shortly after taking up quilting, I learned to knit...Mom carries yarn in her store too!
42. Completed knit projects include one sweater, one pair of socks, one handbag, and many scarves.
43. My first quilt used a Terry Atkinson pattern called "Lasagna" and focal fabric from Alexander Henry that had jungle animals on it.
44. I collect giraffes.
45. While sitting at the computer, I can see one painting of a giraffe, 5 stuffed animals, and 7 china figurines.
46. I also collect Santas. I have about 12 table-top Santas, including one in a kilt from Scotland and a wooden carving of St. Nicholas.
47. I love to visit new places, but I don't care much for the process of travelling.
48. I have a tendency towards motion sickness.
49. Duties in the Air Force sent me to England and Egypt.
50. Family vacations have taken me to Hawaii, Canada, Mexico and Scotland.
51. DH and I have been on three cruises. The first was a 3-day Mexican cruise for our honeymoon and the second was a Christmas trip in Hawaii with friends.
52. The third cruise was another 3-day Mexican cruise, supposedly a high school reunion for DH. But, there were only 2 other people from his high school!
53. I have never broken any bones.
54. I had braces twice - the first time on my bottom teeth only, then a full set in junior high.
55. My wisdom teeth were pulled when I was in 8th grade.
56. I had my gallbladder removed in 1999. It was outpatient surgery, so I have never spent to night in the hospital!
57. I have spent lots of time in the hospital with my husband, because he broke his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2002.
58. I learned to ski as a kid. We had lots of family ski trips, mainly to Brianhead, Utah.
59. The best day of skiing I ever had was at Brundage, Idaho because of the long runs and short lift lines.
60. My favorite color is blue.
61. I think my husband would agree that I am "low maintenance" - minimal makeup and jewelry.
62. My "beauty routine" consists of eye liner, mascara, and Chapstick!
63. I always have on my wedding ring and an emerald ring that DH gave me for my birthday the first year we were married.
64. I usually wear a pair of sapphire earrings.
65. I rarely wear a watch...as a school teacher, I live by the bell!
66. I started wearing glasses in college, although I can get by without them.
67. I wore contacts for about 10 years, until one scratched my eye and I decided I could live without the daily hassle.
68. I read faster than anyone I know...about 100 pages an hour if it's fiction!
69. I rarely have the chance to read for pleasure, but recently I enjoyed "The Historian" and the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency series.
70. As a kid, I read the Little House on the Prairie series about once a year.
71. I was in Washington DC for President Bill Clinton's second inauguration in 1997.
72. I am a die-hard Republican - I was there for the historical experience ;-)
73. I visited Germany in 1989 after the Berlin Wall came down. It was a weird feeling walking through East Germany and touring Checkpoint Charlie.
74. Even though I have no desire to hold a formal dinner party, I have twelve place-settings of Lennox china. The pattern is Charleston.
75. I inherited a player piano from my grandmother.
76. The only way I play piano is by pushing the pedals and letting the player work its magic!
77. I like dark chocolate.
78. My favorite flavor of ice cream is Mint Chocolate Chip.
79. My favorite food is lasagna...my mom's recipe which is actually from Betty Crocker.
80. Before I discovered quilting, I was an avid rubber stamper.
81. I am still a demonstrator for Stampin' Up! (contact me to place an order anytime!!)
82. The spare bedroom in our house is my stamp room.
83. I also scrapbook. (one of my best friends is a Creative Memories consultant)
84. We took 75 pictures of baby K during her first month home!
85. My first car was a 1980's Datsun sedan.
86. My parents let my best friend Eliza drive it when I went off to basic training and college.
87. My brother eventually inherited it, and wrecked it by crashing into a brick wall. I think the story was that he swerved to avoid a pedestrian.
88. My dad bought me a Honda Accord while I was in college, and I drove it for 10 years.
89. I bought a Honda Civic in 2000, and it's still going strong!
90. There is very little food in my pantry...half of it is my fabric/yarn stash and lots of candles from PartyLite.
91. I don't burn the candles very often, but I like the accessories!
92. I like Pepsi better than Coke.
93. I have season tickets to the Phoenix Mercury, a WNBA team.
94. One of my lifetime dreams is to see the Olympics in person. I had planned to go to Australia in 2000, but the timing didn't work with my teaching schedule. Maybe London in 2012!
95. I started blogging in January 2006 when I joined the Knitting Olympics, started by Stephanie.
96. Some of my favorite blogs to read are Knotty Girls, The Panopticon, january one, Red Shoe Ramblings, and Crazy Aunt Purl.
97. One of my lifelong dreams is to write a novel.
98. I have a bookcase full of books about writing fiction, but very few pages of my own writing.
99. I went to the International Quilt Market in 2005. It's an awesome show and lots of fun to see the new stuff vendors are offering! I'd love to go every year.
100. I won "Rookie of the Year" honors from the Arizona Longarm Quilters Presidents Challenge in 2006.

Shopping trip

Minnesota had a heartbreaking loss in the Insight Bowl, but Baby K is still a fan!



I went shopping today:

From left...the blue crackle fabric I want to use as a filler for the kaleidoscope leftovers, 3 batik Christmas prints (snowflakes, holly and poinsettias) for the "Turning Twenty Again" pattern, and self-patterning sock yarn called "Stars & Stripes." I know, I still need to finish the Jaywalkers, but my anniversary is on July 4th, so I'm a sucker for patriotic stuff.

We don't have any big plans for New Year's Eve, so I may get some more quilting done this weekend! I have my mom's One Block Wonder to put on the longarm, and I'm enjoying some time at the small machine. I am trying to think of a pose for an annual New Year's Day photo...maybe just the middle of the back yard. What are your traditions? I refuse to make a list of resolutions - too boring: lose weight, exercise, finish those UFOs ;-)

Old Mystery

(For baby update, scroll down!) This is the backside of a quilt I just finished on the longarm. I used meandering curly-cues to outline the blocks. The fabric is a new line with Beatrix Potter designs.

I dug out a year-old UFO...Jackie Robinson's "3 Ps in a Pod" mystery quilt. This was a 2-day class at the 2005 Quilt Camp in the Pines. My 3 Ps are pink, purple and polka dots. I am fairly close to having all the blocks done. I need to assemble the parts you see in the photo for the last 40 blocks, then find time and space to lay out the queen-size quilt and finish the top.

This is my "cheat sheet." I highly recommend this to anyone working with more than 3 or 4 fabrics...especially if you are busy with several projects (or life!) and your quilting gets interrupted. I cut a small square of each fabric and pin, tape, or staple the swatch to a master list of what the pattern calls each color. For instance, the bottom pieces are named "peach 1" and "peach 2" since that's how jackie Robinson refers to the colors in the instructions. This is a lifesaver if, like me, you don't follow the color scheme that the designer did!

Baby News: We were wondering if Baby K would crawl first or cut a tooth.

The answer is B!! I felt the sharp edge of her first tooth this morning! She is 20 weeks old today, in case you lost track ;-) This picture was taken a few days ago when she started blowing razzies. We're off to the store for Anbesol!

Finishing off the leftovers

I showed these leftover stack-n-whack blocks about a month ago...

I started to add another border, but since I was working with scraps of the blue background and some green, it just didn't work out, and I decided to leave it as is. The pattern is "Treasure Boxes" from Bethany Reynolds' Stack-n-Whackier Quilts.

I *still* had leftover blocks, plus the extra border strips that were supposed to go on the Treasure Boxes (until I got bored!). I came up with this:

I need some more of the crackle blue fabric to fill in, and this will be the end of the stack-n-whack blocks, just in time for the Small Quilt Auction in March. I used the rest of the kaleidoscope print as the backing for the first small quilt, and I'll go stash-diving for the back of the second one ;-) It's nice to start off the new year by emptying a UFO bag!

Family Portrait

Our first Christmas with baby K: We had a wonderful time with family...B's side on Christmas Eve, and my side on Christmas Day. We came home with lots of pink outfits, LOL. Baby K's new trick, which she debuted on Christmas Day, is blowing rasberries with her tongue. It sounds like "bbbb" instead of "bzzzz", but the way she sticks out her little tongue is so adorable! Of course, all us adults look pretty silly making faces trying to get her to "perform"!

The quilt-bloggers are starting to list UFOs to finish in 2007...I have 3 tops waiting to be quilted before I go back to school on Jan 3rd...yikes! Luckily, I can use a pantograph and get one done in a day. I also have grand plans of finishing a block for my guild exchange - if I can find the pattern, of course.

One...one..one

complete Jaywalker!

And one little ball of leftover yarn. I have fun winding up the remainder for my stash. I'll have to start knitting "dominoes" or some such thing to use these remnants. Maybe Barbie clothes in a few years when Baby K is older?? I know...I'm insane for even typing the words!