Back in the saddle again

I finished 2 more blocks of my Civil War Classics Web Sampler quilt.  So now I have completed 8 of the 12 blocks - the finish line is in sight!  I dropped out of the official challenge with Perry, Cindy, Nicole, Beth and Carol, so I harbor no illusions of finishing this by their September 1 deadline, but it will get finished before I start something new.  The blocks have so many pieces and take a really long time to cut out and piece!  But I do like the fabrics and colors in this quilt.

Progress!

I still haven't figured out which quilt project to dive into next, so in the meantime, I decided to work on 2 of my BOM projects.  I finished Block #3 of the Designer Mystery BOM from Fat Quarter Shop.  And I completed the first 5 blocks of my Let's Go Dotty/Mary Engelbreit BOM from Inbetween Stitches in Livermore, CA.  The blocks are cute and I like the ME fabrics, but I am disappointed that the shop is making a lot of substitutions that are *not* Mary Engelbreit fabrics.  I took a photo of the quilt when I was there and made an 8x10 print of it, so I am able to see which fabrics were used in the shop sample and replicate them with my stash.  Still, I am receiving and paying for fabric that I will not use and it chaps my hide that this quilt was misrepresented.

So now both BOMs are caught up until my September blocks arrive.  Whee!  This is the first time I've ever been on top of a monthly program and I feel almost giddy!  Since I still don't have a clear idea in mind for my next project, I'm seriously leaning towards finishing my Web Sampler quilt - GASP!   Stay tuned for that one!

New accessory!

My DD got braces yesterday!  Things have sure changed since I was a teenager and had braces.  Now they start them much younger (she's only 8).  And it's not silver bands surrounding the entire tooth like in the 'old days.'   She even gets to pick the color each time she goes to have them adjusted.  She started out with her favorite color - blue - and is already planning her seasonal orthodontic wardrobe (orange & black for Halloween).   She already has a winning smile, doesn't she?  :)

A little bit of sewing

Well I can't say my enthusiam for sewing is back completely, but I did a little sewing this weekend, and I thank everyone for their suggestions of things I could do to spark my interest again.

I did get a new collection of fat quarters and I have a new quilt project cooking in my brain, but I need some background fabric before I can begin cutting it out.

In the meantime, I made the first two blocks of the Designer Mystery BOM from Fat Quarter Shop, using Moda's Peace on Earth fabrics.  The August block should be arriving any day, and I also started work on a Mary Engelbreit BOM that I signed up for in April when I visited In Between Stitches with Nicole.

Oh and I did sneak in a few hours at the APNQ quilt show in Seattle last Friday.  The show was very inspiring - the quilts featured are a real work of art, nothing I could ever hope to accomplish with my ordinary quilts!

There is No Joy in Mudville

Here is a "near finish" - my Fig & Plum Jelly Stars quilt.  I say Nearly Finished because I will need to wait until our Fig & Plum bolts arrive in the shop in September so I can choose a border and add it before this goes up on display.  After sewing two back-to-back shop samples, I find myself in a huge slump.

None of my gazillion piles of fabric or patterns is inspiring me right now.  I had planned to resume work on my Golden Memories Sampler, but I have no patience right now for cutting out a fafillion log cabin strips.

Last night I started to assemble the first of my Designer Mystery blocks from the Fat Quarter Shop and managed to finish half the block, but even found no joy in that, although I love the Peace on Earth fabrics.  Maybe it's the weather - much too hot for a delicate Pacific Northwest flower such as myself (snort!).

Here's hoping I can find my Quilting Muse, and soon!

Exciting new website!

Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Company has launched her website with a blog soon to follow!   I know her site will be well received - the majority of searches on my blog are looking for Miss Carrie, so I know she has a lot of fans.  I am a huge fan myself!!!  Go visit her site and tell her Lisa sent you!

Welcome home!

My Roman Holiday quilt made it back from the longarm quilter and I am just thrilled with the work she did.  It's very detailed and each star has a pretty spiral snowflake pattern in the middle - that's 36 stars!  It's more beautiful and detailed than I could have imagined.  The pattern is Opening Day, another terrific pattern from  Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.  Despite the number of pieces, this one went together in a SNAP - truly.   Everything fit together perfectly - no pulling or tugging to get the borders to fit.  Really, I promise.

I  met with a new longarm quilter today to drop off my Portobello Market quilt - another Miss Rosie design called 4OT.  She showed me some amazing samples of her work so I let her have free rein with the quilting design.  I am anxious to see what she comes up with.

But for now, enjoy these pictures of my beautiful Opening Day quilt.