Home stretch

How are we in the home stretch of 2010? Sheesh, this year went by fast. I hope everyone on the States had a lovely Thanksgiving! I know I sure did. Lots of time spent in sweatpants, eating, sewing, and relaxing.

I got back to find that my work schedule was cut a bit this week (always bittersweet) so I'm planning on being super productive - and have had a good start so far! Diligently working on job stuff AND sewing projects, including my Pillow Talk Swap pillow!! I decided to do some raw edge applique (using Steam 2 Seam Lite) and leave it free of stitching, except for Rapunzel. I then did a few pink free motion circles over the patchwork part and also free motioned some circles around the applique bits. It makes them really pop!


I'm aiming to get this sent out by the end of the week. I hope my partner likes it!!!

Give thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Home

I'm back Upstate where I grew up, here to spend Thanksgiving with my family.

Already been to the local grocery store (and the greatest one, ever, I must admit - if you've been to one, you'll know what I mean.)

The dogs have been at it like they've never been apart. They crack me up!

I have tons of craft projects planned. Oh, how jealous I am of my mom's whole separate craft room!

I may or may not have had cookie cake for breakfast. After cereal, of course!

Wishing you a lovely Thanksgiving (a bit early)!

Life

For those of you who are regular readers of this blog, you already know my current (and unfortunate, if I do say so myself) job situation. While I have an awesome degree from a great school, I have yet to get a full-time job that tests my graduate skill set/knowledge.

Such is life these days, huh?
But. I am healthy. I have a wonderful boyfriend whom I love. I have a sweet dog who makes me laugh. I have family, friends, hobbies, a roof over my head, food on the table, and generally get what I need. I know that these are tough times for so many of us, and we all have different ways of coping.

I try to keep things in perspective. A while back, I stumbled upon this quote and couldn't get it out of my head. Sometimes there are sayings that just stick with us. This one really has become my mantra. So much so that for my first embroidery project (yep, first one!) I made this little wall hanging. The quote is embroidered and then the block is bordered with Hope Valley (one of my all time faves) and simply quilted in the ditch, and bound. I'm going to attach little loops on the back so I can hang it on the wall.


And for those of you who continue to read my blog, even the frustrated, angry, whiny, posts about my troubles, I'm hugging you right now. <3 Thanks.

Unfinished

We all have unfinished projects. You know you do, so don't even pretend that you don't. Are you like me, and need to be working on multiple things at once? This is what leads to the ridiculousness of unfinished projects. Currently, I have 3-4 (I didn't really check) baby quilt tops, 2 finished lap-size quilt tops, as well as the blocks from 2 of my 3 virtual quilting bees. Don't even get me started on my unfinished knitting projects.

It's not that I lose interest, per se, but usually that I don't have supplies (so many quilt tops = no batting and/or backing fabric usually). I wish I could say that I have enough will power to not allow myself to buy any new fabric or start any new projects until all unfinished ones are done. Nope, never gonna happen.

Across the pond

I am lucky enough to have friends all over the world. One place that I have yet to visit, despite knowing someone there, is Scotland. My sweetie met Stephen in college, as they were both recipients of different scholarships related to remembrance and the legacy of the Pan Am 103 bombing. Stephen, a Scot, spent a year in the USA and has kept in touch with my sweetie since his time here! He visited NYC last winter and I hope the next time we get to see him will be on his side of the pond.

Stephen recently became an uncle to a beautiful baby girl named Lauren. He wanted a quilt to give her and fell in love with a top that I had already completed. I was thrilled to be part of such a celebratory occasion, even from thousands of miles away. The quilt features bright colors and fun prints of birds and other animals. Below is a picture of Lauren and Stephen enjoying the quilt! (Thanks, Stephen, for letting me share this adorable pic.)

Sigh of relief

Today was my last day of work for 10 days. My next day back is the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

I'm so happy I could dance - except for the fact that I'm totally exhausted and my feet hurt.

But all is good - I have so much stuff I want to do that I don't even know where to start!

On the agenda:
1. Holiday gifts - both working on homemade and seeking out items to be bought
2. Major job push, now expanding back to DC (more on this later)
3. Baking/cooking/all things food - yay!
4. Restart/start knitting projects
5. Clothes/shoes/bags seasonal sort - time to go through and sell/donate/throw away
6. Movies - Harry Potter is at the top of the list...

I can't believe that a) Thanksgiving is next week, b) There's only a handful of weeks left in 2010 and c) my birthday is less than 2 months away!

What are you up to?

Mid-week musings

1. I go back to my folks' place on Sunday for a whole week of relaxation - I'm already planning what I'm going to cook in their giant (read as normal-sized, I'm just used to my tiny NYC two feet of counter space) kitchen.

2. I'm in search of the perfect tall brown boot. Never one to buy cheap, trendy ones, I'm trying to carefully choose a pair that will last me and can be worn in various settings (weekend, office, current retail job). Here are a few faves:
3. I may or may not have eaten 8 Thin Mints in less than 5 minutes. ;-)

4. Did some applique on my Pillow Talk Swap pillow - pictures coming soon!

Yum

These are my favorites from Tula Pink's new line, Parisville.


Can't wait for payday! ;-)

Progress

I've made some really good progress on my pillow for my partner in the Pillow Talk Swap.


It's not finished yet...keep checking back for more progress, hopefully this week!

Huh?

Why is it that on that days not spent working, time passes crazy fast?!

Uuuuuggghhhh.

Crafting adventures

Woo, it's been a while since I blogged. Sorry about that! Busy, as always. Elections, planning for holidays, new job hours, etc. But all the while I've managed to squeeze in some crafting.

I spent an afternoon a few days ago catching up on my bee blocks...

These are for Susan (Quilting newBEES)

This is for Anita (Fresh Comfort Two)

And these last two are my first paper-pieced blocks! Made for Mary (Bee-Stitched). They were tricky (the second one is definitely filled with flaws) but I had a lot of fun learning this new technique. I've been meaning to try it for quite some time. I'm not sure I'd have the patience to do a whole quilt this way but I definitely like the end result!

A few days ago we were assigned our partners for the Pillow Talk Swap Round 4. I've been playing around with some fabric ideas and patterns. We have about a month to complete our pillows and my partner has great, fun taste. This is going to be a joy to make! Here are some fabrics that I've been playing around with...

I've also been working on my holiday projects (though haven't made nearly as much progress as I would have hoped by this point). They always manage to get done, some how. I've been trying to decide what I want for Hanukkah but can't really seem to make up my mind. My birthday is pretty soon after (in January) so I need to think about that too. In these economic times, I'm trying to think practically so I have a few ideas (but that's for another post).

I'll be heading back to my folks' place for Thanksgiving in about a week and a half. I can't wait! My mom got an AccuQuilt Go! Cutter that I'm excited to try out.

I'm done working until Sunday (when I have a 12-hour day - eek!) and am worried I'm getting a cold so Louie and I are just chilling out for the rest of the day. We're both pretty content to hang out on the couch (especially since Louie loves bogarting the quilt!). It's tea and snuggling for us! And maybe a little sewing, recipe reading (mmm, soup anyone?), job searching, etc.

What are your Turkey Day plans?


Fortune favors the brave. – Virgil