I've Got Mail!

Since I started blogging about six months ago, I've blog-hopped all over the world. I've seen a couple of references to the magazine, Australian Homespun that looked like it has some lovely things in it. Since I don't live in Australia, it was cost-prohibitive to buy a couple of issues. However......I now have friends in Australia! So I contacted Maria of Life on the Block fame and asked if she would consider sending me a couple of issues. She very graciously sent me two issues, along with one of her siggy blocks, a beautiful bookmark, a birdhouse pin, and a piece of very fun fabric!



In return, I'm going to send her some fabric. I'll be shopping next weekend, Maria! Thanks again.

Early Bird Christmas Challenge

I thought I had all day to complete a couple more small gifts and get them posted, but I forgot about the time zone issue! So here, just in the nick of time (I hope) is a picture of the dishcloths that I made with one skein of yarn. The really nice part is that these were supposed to be made for a gift LAST Christmas! Thanks to Early Birds, it's a check mark on my to-do list, and I already had the yarn!



More later today, but for now, I must hit the POST button.

Saturday Miscellaneous

It's another nasty hot day here today, so the hubby and I have been a bit lazy in the comfort of the air conditioning. We started the day with a delicious breakfast of grape tomatoes, crumbled bacon, a little cheese, some eggs, and basil. Yummy!




We spent an hour or so out in our yard, battling some Monster weeds that threatened to take over the neighborhood!


The rest of the day has been spent working on a Christmas gift.



I haven't done any cross-stitching for years, but saw a project on Blackbird Designs a couple of weeks ago that I just had to try! And I knew right away that it would make a great Christmas gift for someone on my Early Birds Christmas list.
Hopefully, it won't take too long to complete. I've had to stop and rip out stitches twice now, so I'm off to a slow start, but I think it will get better. I'm just out of practice.

I'm off to do more stitching now. What's up with you?

Quilt Along - The fabric

I signed up for Kelly's Between Friends Quilt-Along, and I said I would be cutting my fabric a couple of days ago, but I haven't started yet. So tomorrow it is! We're expecting thunderstorms, so I should have no excuses. I don't want to get behind, or I'll never get caught up! I decided to use a fat quarter bundle that I bought for a project a year ago, but decided not to make. It was to be my first quilt, but several other inspiration got in the way. So it's time to quit procrastinating and start sewing. By this time tomorrow night, I'll have lots of little pieces to show..........

Christmas Journal

It's not that I needed another new project, but this one was too good to pass up. I joined the Early Bird Christmas Crafting group. These ladies are very motivated to get some Christmas gifts made early, and I'm hoping the motivation will rub off on me. Too often, Christmas arrives, and I think "I should have made a little something for XXX". This is the year!!

Our first assignment was to make a Christmas journal, and start a list of those who we want to make gifts for. Presenting......my Christmas Journal



And now I guess I should get off the computer, start working on my list, and get to work on some gifts!

My Quilting Journey

Many of the Charming Girls told their quilting stories last month. As usual, I'm a little behind, but I still wanted to play so here's my story.

I was invited to attend a quilt Retreat over Mother's Day weekend 2009, to spend some girl time with my sister-in-law. I reminded that her I didn't quilt. She suggested that I attend anyway, and bring my scrapbooking, just so we could spend some quality time together. By the end of 3 days of watching the others make their quilts, and looking at luscious fabrics, I decided that I was going to try a new craft! I've always admired quilts, and I own a few from the 30's, but I couldn't imagine having the patience to cut up fabric just to sew it back together. Once I saw the wonders of rotary cutters in action, I realized that this couldn't be all that hard. And just think of all the pretty quilts that could be mine!!

A couple of weeks later, I bought several fat quarters and decided that I was going to make a crazy quilt. What a crazy idea! I quickly decided that I needed to take a class, and I was able to take one in the fall, and completed my first quilt - a log cabin. Shortly after that, I went on a two-state shop hop and bought enough fabric for several projects. You would think that would be enough, but no............ I also started reading quilt blogs at about that time, and soon stumbled upon the Charming Girls and Guys Quilt Club. When I inquired about joining, my name was put on a waiting list because the club was full. I didn't have to wait very long to be accepted and in the meantime I started my own blog. Since then, I've completed several quilts, (all of which are shown in earlier posts) but more importantly, I've made new friends around the world! And I've got enough inspiration to make more quilts than I could ever finish in a lifetime. Now, it's time to get back to blog-hopping, looking for more inspiration.

Where did May go?

I can't believe it's already June. Where did May go? I accomplished nothing in May, and now I'm trying to get back in the groove. My life has been spinning out of control, and I've been in a funk, only capable of parking in front of the TV in the evenings. Although I set May goals, the entire list will carry over to June. It's time to kick it in to high gear!

Coming tomorrow: My quilting journey.