Random

  Happy Thursday y'all!  I'm happy it's Thursday because it means our internet data plan started again and I have all the data I could want to spend today online.  Okay, not really, but after putting myself on an all-internet-fast to prove I could for the last 3 days, it's nice to be able to check my email, scroll through instagram, talk with y'all here, etc.  :)

So...what have I been up to??  Well, softball and karate keep us busy most afternoons.

Seriously--she didn't even know I was taking pictures.  She was just so excited to play.  And those are Chris' sexy legs in the background.  My two favorites on the team in one shot!  ;)

I made two more blocks for Oren's Star Wars quilt.  I called them ninja stars but Chris said he wasn't sure.  Technically they're variations of the Friendship star, but ninja sounds way cooler.  Especially for a 7-yr-old boy's quilt.

I finished up my bee blocks for That Stash Bee.  Sweet Valerie chose to make her month be about someone else.  She has friends who just lost their young son to cancer.  She's making them a cheerful quilt of rainbow colors, stars, and words like hope, love, peace, etc.  She asked for bright colors, any stars we wanted or pieced words.  I've never done words, but here's what I came up with.

My heart goes out to this family and many prayers were said over these blocks while sewing.

Two of my favorite Europeans, Lucy and Nat, have started a new project blog called Le Challenge.  Each month on the 15th they'll offer up a challenge for any interested participants.  The details are all here, but it's open to anyone and any project so long as it fits the theme.

This first challenge was "Geometric."  I had all kinds of ideas--really great ideas--but ran out of the time to make them.  So last night I was looking at some old blog posts I had up on my computer before the "internet fast" and saw this post by Rachel about string quilts.  I saw her zig zags and was hooked.  I LOVE string quilts for both their clever use of scraps and their amazing visual weight.  So, I decided to make Rachel's rectangular string blocks my own by using black sashing, a different-sized block and turning the strings into diamonds instead of zig zags.

Long, long, long way to go...

I'm just getting started so I'm not sure if I'll make the challenge deadline or not, but my rule for participating in projects/challenges/quilt-a-longs is It has to be something I'd do anyway/like anyway/use anyway.  And so far, I'm digging this one, so I'm happy.

Other than quilting, I've been running more.  I ended up taking about a month off after my race to just decompress.  I waited for the urge to run.  I waited till running was fun again and so far, so good.  I've only been running short distances (2-3 miles) at a time, a few days a week, but this month marks 2 years I've been running and I honestly really do love it.  I may never be fast, or graceful, or pull off a fast time at a race, but I do it for me and I love it.  That's what matters.

I also mentioned that I've got an imaginary summer wardrobe all planned out in my head that I'm going to sometime make into reality...well, I've got a few dress patterns bought and one printed out and ready to sew.  Now I've just got to pick out some fabric and get busy.

So, what have you been up to this week?  Tell me your random daily goings-on.  Or better yet, link up with Cindy and tell a lot of us!  I am.  :)