The Week in Review

Which is precisely why I didn't take the hubs with me to the 'lost our lease' sale at the quilt shop in Frederick this week. Yes, I got lots (26 yards or so--most of it Kaffe Fassett) of fabric, and some Aurifil threads (I didn't get there on the first day, so by Day 2 they only had 3 colors left), a 1/4" foot with guide for my Bernina, and a dozen bobbins--but it was still so very, very sad. This is my Bernina dealer who sells all things Bernina for significantly less than anyone else around, and who is an excellent tech. I don't know what I'm gonna do come November when my machine is expecting her annual 'spa' visit. Guess we need to start looking for new places to live. :)
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So, in the spirit of 'Keep Calm and Carry On', I pulled out one of my stash boxes...

And added the new Kaffe to it. I think it's about time I made a quilt (or three). Don't you?

And in the spirit of procrastination, I busied myself with anything but putting borders, hanging sleeves, and labels on the quilts that need to be submitted for the quilt show next Saturday. Just call me 'Goddess of the Last Minute'.

I was able to sign up for two classes at the upcoming MidAppalachian Quilters Seminar in July:

The first class on Friday is to make Gyleen Fitzgerald's scrap pineapple quilt. And I spent all day Sunday organizing scraps and cutting 4 pounds of strips to be used in this quilt.

And in the process, I came up with a couple of jelly rolls. Talk about hazardous working conditions. I was breathing fabric all day, and the fibers were flying with all the cutting. But when I hope in the car to head to that class on JULY 13th, all I need to remember is to grab the basket full of strips and yardage that is prepped and sitting in the studio closet.
(Go ahead, laugh).

And the other class I took was for Gyleeen's Glorified Nine Patch.

Now, I've got to do a little cutting before class, but that's pretty much all sorted out. I'm going to use the South African indigo I've been hoarding now for a couple of years. And because it's manufactured in South Africa (I ordered direct from DeGama Textile Mill), it's only 35" wide, so a fat quarter is just under 18". No worries, I've already emailed Gyleen to see if it would work to just cut more strips, and she's confirmed (and probably thnks I'm crazy asking questions for a class that's not scheduled for 3 months.

So, other than that, I've kitted up and started working on the Aurifil Designer 2012 block, I'm reallly enjoying the redwork-like hand embroidery on this. I've also got a seasonal wool applique banner to work on, and I'm trying to clean up the studio. (Note that I have yet to mention that I've got a class Sunday with Mimi Dietrich and have yet to figure out what I'm going to show her.)

Puppy's doing great. Today I caught him with a pin in his mouth, and it's not a pin I've used recently, so clearly he found it somewhere under the sewing table, embedded in the carpet. When unsupervised, Tucker T (for Trouble), likes to take all of the toys out of his toy basket and make himself at home. Good thing we don't have any big dogs, as at 4 lbs 1 oz (he's growing like a weed!), he'd easily be mistaken for one of those toys--afterall, he does squeak when squeezed..

It's bad enough an owl the size of a bulldog has taken up residence in the back yard, most likely waiting for the little black bunny to venture out unleashed and unsupervised but tonight there was an unexpected interruption to business when something (not sure if it was the owl, a fox, or a coyote) started making some very strange noises at the side of the house while we were out back having our last potty break.  Tucker flew back into the house. (Heck,whatever it was, it scared me back into the house too).

Please stop by over the weekend and leave comments scolding me to get back to work on the Guild Show quilts (Mimi is going to have to listen to some lame excuse from me again this month).

Happy Friday To All!