Quilt block of the month group

Well today I woke up and relaxed around the house a bit but at 1015 or so I headed over to one of the local fabric shops to see what their Quilt Block of the Month group was like. Today was the last day of the previous years blocks...I watched, I'm one of the youngest girls there but that doesn't matter (means I can learn from other people). Well I did bring my Bargello quilt with to show, and they did have a show and tell time, and the ladies all seemed to really like my work. They all seemed shocked that I have only been quilting for two years. So I decided to sign up for next years Monthly group. It's a value of $150 of fabric and pattern for merely $50. All I had to do was agree to finish my block before the next meeting to get the next month's free. The pattern we are using can be found at:

Lizzie B Cre8ive Designs

If you click on the quilts link on the left it will load a page with images of quilts. The one We are going to do is called Peace, Love and Appliqué. (It should be in the top row farthest on the right).

I'm excited to learn more about appliqué and piecing which the head of the group says there is quite a bit of.

So that was fun, then I came home to veg and think about what I want to work on, on my day off tomorrow. I worked my favorite class today at the studio, with my favorite student, but aside from the kids I had a rough day with frustration at some of the nuances of how the studio is being run. But there isn't much I can do about it, and there isn't much I can do about my emotions except try to keep them in check.

Now I am home, have eaten (good old mac and cheese) am currently watching Jeopardy then Survivor, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and probably Without a Trace.

I love thursday tv...

Project in the works

My boss is adopting a little 18 month old girl from China and she just got the letter of acceptance from the Chinese government and so they are planning to go get the little girl very soon. As a welcoming present and "baby shower" type present, I am making a new quilt for the little girl. I am going to try my hand at a Sunbonnet Sue quilt, in red, whites, and blues. I found the best backing fabric for it too. It's parts of the constitution. My boss's husband is a lawyer, so I thought he might appreciate it.

So that's my goal for my next full day off (Friday). I am going to work hard on these so I can finish it before she comes back from China. I think I have until the first week in June or so.

So that is a major project to finish soon.

Other than that it's been mainly working many hours this week because we are having Spring Break Camp. This means we have quite a few more students coming in for half or full days of doing art and crafts. I worked the morning on Monday and Tuesday and today I worked 1pm to 6 pm. Tomorrow I finally go back to my semi-regular schedule.

If you check out my newly updated Food Experiments blog:

http://kitchenstoriesetc.blogspot.com

It talks about what I cooked tonight for dinner and what I made on the side. I am trying to be more habitual about updating at least that blog to chronicle my adventures in the kitchen. I generally put up the recipes I find or use from my stash so you can make it too, and then I say what I did differently then the recipe because with me I am always tweaking things, then I say what I would like to do differently next time I make it.

Mini Quilt Retreat in Sequim, WA

Friday I packed up my quilting supplies and headed up north to stay at my Mom's Aunt's house in Sequim, Wa. What's great about Sequim is that it's called "the blue hole" by pilots because it's generally sunny there if it's raining in Seattle. To get to Sequim (pronounced Scwim), I drove up to Edmonds, Washington and caught the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry across the water to the Olympic Peninsula. It's so much fun. You drive your car up onto the ferry, park and lock it. Then you head up to the passenger deck and they have a little cafeteria you can by food and snacks at. I just love to get some form of snack and watch as we move across the water. It took about 35 minutes to get across then you drive your car off and head out on the highway. Total Sequim is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours away from Bellevue. But once there I was so happy because My Great Aunt Guadalupe (Lu for short) and her husband live in the woods and have a house that is like going to a retreat with lots of wild animals (mainly birds) that feed in the front yard and a whole room dedicated to quilting with skylights, a separate bathroom/shower, and a small kitchen area for washing up and coffee.

I worked hard on my Bargello Quilt and came up with this:



Then I put the binding on my nine patch quilt and mitered the corners:


This is my Great Aunt Lu and I in her Quilting room:


A picture of one of the Edmonds-Kingston Ferries going across the water:


It was so much fun. Aunt Lu is an amazing cook and we just relaxed, ate good food, quilted, watched Jeopardy and listened to good music. Lu's husband Jerry is amazing too. He is taking classes at the Senior Citizen Center on how to edit pictures in Photoshop! He can run a computer well for someone from his generation. I can't wait to go back up there and stay for more than two days. I had to come back and catch a very early ferry because I had to teach a birthday party at The Studio. Bonus I got cake and a Starbucks Gift Card as a tip! Yum!