A little free time...

What an awesome weekend...I am so tired!!  Our son and his three children arrived Friday evening, just in time for pizza.  My oldest granddaughter, Alexis (14), joined me Saturday morning for the annual trek to the cemeteries.  My parents, grandparents and father-in-law all passed away before she was born.  At each stop we had the opportunity to talk about what kind of people they were, how they impacted us, and funny stories and memories.  She had great questions and we had some good laughs...especially when she asked why there was only one date on the headstone for her great grandma when everyone else had two....think about it!

Kiddos these days are so into their phones and computers.  Needless to say, Jacob and Alexis were not thrilled when I brought out the dominoes.  Less than half way through the twelve rounds of Mexican Train they were into it.  Probably they were humoring me at first but I know they will have fond memories of the weekend.  Do any of us remember the joy of surfing the web or playing a video game?  I think not.

I managed a little free time (while they were occupied with Grandpa, doing yard work) to add some sashing to my Spirit of Sacagawea blocks.  I took a picture with my phone.  It isn't a smart phone and I'm not smart technically so it won't be shared here until I take my camera down to the studio....but I think the sashing looks great.

I also worked at adding a few things to our ages old rake and pitchfork.  I think these may have been our original garden tools of thirty years or more.  They both gave up the ghost this year and are now outdoor wall décor.  A little more to do here, just not sure what.

No excuses...

Quilt show is over, it was great!
I'm caught up on my quilting schedule.
Samples are finished for the class I'm teaching at Quilt Expo in September.
Quilt Market....so much fun...also over!

Back to the Spirit of Sacagawea blocks.  It's hard to believe we're nearly finished with eight of the twelve, time has gone so quickly.  Nancy has shared her beautiful blocks on her blog, I think they are absolutely wonderful, so cheery and bright...happy! 

So here are my Horses.  The photo is a little bland compared to 'real life'.  They'll look better once surrounded by sashing.  Still deciding what to use for that.  My stash might need some help :)

Finished my Mariner Compass block today.  Evidently I haven't taken a picture of my Crossed Canoes block...it's just two colors, brown and tan, not highly exciting.

Our sweet boy, Ratchet, turns two this week.  Happy birthday, buddy!

Mid-Valley Quilt Guild show opens tomorrow!!

Quilt show is most fun when you actually volunteer behind the scenes.  Not only do you get to work with a wonderful group of people but you also get to see everything first.  Yesterday was a long day of judging, I did a short stint as a scribe which means listening intently and writing really fast.  Today was set up and hanging.  By 5:00 p.m. everything looked amazing and I was able to walk through and take some pictures without crowds of people to work around.

Only including pictures of my own today.  I named this one "Ah Ha Moment".  My first original design and the title perfectly describes how it felt when I figured out my "formula".  The name may not stick but it was good enough for now.  It took second place in its category.  First place also took Best of Show, Best Hand Applique and Best Machine Quilting.  I'm good with that since I was the one who had quilted it :)

This quilt I named "October Retreat" only because I had made it during our October retreat...original, ha?  It won first place in its category. 

 

Two days of hard work I'm ready for a break, so I'll just be in the studio quilting tomorrow, switching loads of laundry when I come up to the house, letting the dog run (he'll be happy) and enjoying the awesome spring weather while I try to stay focused on my tasks. 

Such a beautiful morning...

I love spring, almost as much as the autumn.  Crisp air, blue skies, bird chirping...and crop dusters.

Sneak peak!

Alright!  It's finished, bound, sleeved, labeled and ready to deliver to Quilt Depot.

You can see it in it's full detail at the MVQG quilt show at Polk County Fairgrounds in Rickreall, OR April 25, 26 and 27

Had a fun sew day yesterday working on the Spirit of Sacagawea blocks.  Crossed Canoes is finished and almost complete on the Horses block...pictures soon.

First four finished!

 Making progress on the Spirit of Sacagawea project, just in time probably for keeping on schedule with doing two per month.   Too many other things going on in April to worry about it too much though.

This is the fourth block, it's called Deer Fern.  It's too late to rethink the idea of using only from my stash and after twelve blocks I hope I'll think they have a certain charm.  Right now I'm just not loving them, likely because I'm far out of my comfort zone in color and style.  I think it's good to move out of the box and have no doubt that in the end I will have learned many new things just for having gone through the process.

This is what really has me excited this week.  I have all the blocks together now, the borders ready to add, and I'm on my own quilting schedule.  Add to that a cancellation at the exact right time so I don't have to feel panicked about getting it done.  Hooray!!

Major accomplishment...no pics...

Finally...after all these months...I have put the last dot on the last of my sixteen applique blocks.  Began cleaning, starching and readying for trimming them.  Also finished 80 half square triangles to incorporate into the border.  They seem big to me but since they aren't sewn in yet I'm hoping they'll visually shrink a bit.  My blocks will finish 15" and the half square triangles are 3", making five per block, easy math.  I may yet need  to experiment with 2 1/2".   I'm on my own quilting schedule for next week, I sure hope that will be enough time :)