Catching Up...

Wow...where does the time go?  It's been almost 4 weeks since I last wrote.  Guess I have not been paying attention.  

Where do I begin?  


I think I'll just take a deep breath and jump in.  I might have lots to say, so get comfy!

My granddaughter, Kaylynn - aka Princess Kaylynn - came for an overnight last weekend.  What a delight that child is.  I do nothing but smile when she is here.  This was her first visit to my apartment.  We didn't do too much...watched a movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks - The Squeakquel"...the one where they meet the Chipettes (who sing "Single Lady" by Beyonce...so darn cute).  ~grin~ 

Made mini pumpkin pies...in a muffin tin...that was fun!

And, they were very good!

Course, Tag and Kaylynn fell asleep together...

I took a lot of pictures...and came up with this one.  I so adore this girl...

The visits with Kaylynn...excuse me...Princess Kaylynn...are always too short.  

Tag thinks so, too.  He thinks she comes just for him, you know.  ~grin~

I took my latest quilting projects to show off at work.  I am always so pleased to receive feedback from my coworkers.  

Let's see.  I seem to recall that I was going to talk about living with a cat.  Yes, indeed.  I have a cat.  Not solely by choice, but rather more of necessity.  Julie's cat.  Kisa.  When Julie was moving, she couldn't find a home for Kisa, so rather than have her go to the humane society or to a rescue, I offered to take her.  What was I thinking?  I have never had a cat.  For a reason.  Because I didn't particularly want one.  Not a cat lover.  Not a cat hater, though.  Sort of ambivalent, I guess you could say.  So...Kisa has been with Tag and I since we moved here and I must say that I am pleased that she has decided to become part of the family.  She is now more a participant than an onlooker as she was when we all lived in the country.  She is a good girl...doesn't climb onto tables or counters...uses her litter box, tolerates Tag (and me, too) and loves to talk.  Little chatterbox sometimes.  Takes her cues from Tag as far as eating time goes...what a nuisance those two are together!  ~grin~

Here are a few photos of her...

That is me under the quilt.  When Tag lays next to me in the big easy chair, Kisa feels that her place is on me.  Funny girl.

If they're not with me in the big easy chair, they're laying on the sofa...Kisa is the indentation on the left...on the back of the sofa...

 

She really is a pretty cat.  A Pixie-Bob.  

OH!  And, I won a giveaway!  I rarely enter them, anymore.  But when Erin, over at Why Not Sew? was having a giveaway for the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks magazine, I had to enter...and I won!  woohoo!  ohmygosh...the blocks are all amazing!  There are several I want to try.  Someday.

                                 

Why was Erin having a giveaway?  Because...she has a block in the magazine!  I am impressed!  That girl rocks, for sure!  Here is her block...can you say WOW!?!?!       

  

 
Other than work and getting settled into my small apartment, I've been working on gifts for birthdays and Christmas.  Nothing to show just yet.  Lots of knitting of face cloths, which are nice to work on before I leave for work in the a.m. (actually relaxing to sit and knit for the last 20 minutes or so before I need to leave) and in the evening while watching tv.  Getting down to "get serious and put your nose to the grindstone" time, though.  Always one to work best under pressure...that's me!

OH!  And, the 2Sheep hooked rug...the current header of this blog...the rug that took me forever to complete?  I sold it!  Yes, I did!  It doesn't really go with my stuff and my friend, Claire, has always admired it...so I sold it to her.  YAY!!     

And, for those of you who are keeping track...I have now read 81 books this year...and will surely surpass last year's total of 84.  Can you believe it?   

I think that is about it for now. 

Have a great weekend!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Swoon...

I have a finish!  woohoo!!!  I started working on this quilt back here...all the way back in January.  It's the 'swoon' pattern by Camille Roskelley of the Simplify blog.  It's amazing and I loved putting these 24 1/2" blocks together  I originally intended to make 9 blocks, which would have made the quilt about 75" square (without sashing or border).  After making 7, I decided to use sashing and a border and use just 4 of the blocks...making a nice lap-sized quilt at about 55 inches square.  The remaining blocks (probably 2 of them, anyway) will make really nice pillows.  Not a priority, but certainly on my 'to do' list.

I have not washed/dried this quilt, yet, so it's not all soft and crinkly.  I wanted to be sure that you could see the quilting on it.  I decided to step out of my comfort zone with the quilting on this one.  And, I have to tell you that I am crazy in love with it!!!

Here's your first look at the entire quilt...  (I apologize in advance for the fold lines...it was folded and smashed in a bag yesterday.)

Orange and aqua...who would have thought that color combination was so fabulous? 

Here are some closeups...

What I did...I quilted diagonal lines in each of the 4 blocks...all going from the center of the quilt to the outside border.  I quilted pebbles - in various sizes -  in the sashing.  Then on the border, I quilted several straight lines and quilted 2 rows of bitty pebbles.  None of this was difficult on my Naomi Janome...and it's not totally off the grid quilting, but it was different for me.  Not perfect, but I am so happy that I did this.  I definitely see more adventures in quilting in my future!

Ohyeah...and here's the back.  Pieced, of course...

 

Can you see why I am crazy in love with this quilt?  ~sigh~

I need to write a long blog post one day soon...on moving and owning a cat and a multitude of other topics.  But, this is all I have for now.

Have a great week!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11