I'm alive!

Hi everyone!
  So, so sorry to take such a long blogging break.  It was unintentional but couldn't be helped.  As you know if you follow me on instagram, I found out that my back pain and numbness in my leg was more than just a herniated disc.  That particular disc was completely shot and practically nonexistant.  What little of the disc was left had broken and a piece of it was pushing my nerves all the way back on my spinal column.  So, the only real answer for me was spinal fusion surgery.

I had it done on March 13 and am at the 3-week recovery point today.  I am feeling much better and while I still can't do everything I want to do, I am up, moving, driving and walking almost like normal.  I can't bend, lift or twist yet, but it will come with time.  I am improving every day and I go back to my doctor tomorrow to check my progress and see where I go next.

It seems perfect that today is a Totally Random Thursday because I've got so much to show off to you from the month and a half since I last blogged.

**Before the surgery I sewed like a madwoman to get projects done and out of here before I couldn't.  :)  So, I finished up 3 quilts and 2 sets of bee blocks.  Along with completely failing on a star block for Oren's quilt.  I ended up throwing away 2 attempts and just picking a different block altogether!

**First I made a baby quilt for Chris' cousin who is expecting her first.  Her shower was the weekend of my half marathon that I couldn't run so Thursday night I decided to whip her up a quilt for the Saturday morning shower.  And I did it.  I ended up loving the quilt and hating the quilting, but they can't all be winners, so I gifted it and called it done.

All the non-sewers loved that the quilt was "reversible."  I'm just glad they loved it at all.  ;)

**Next up, that secret project I mentioned in February--it was a quilt for the wonderful Michonne and her precious baby girl Greta.  Our Empower Circle of do. Good stitches made a quilt for them and I put it together and quilted it.  Meesh is famous in our group for loving flying geese blocks so I asked the girls to make anything using them in a soft palette of pastels.  I love how it turned out.  I just got some plates and pot lids and drew random circles on the quilt and quilted them using different pastel-colored threads.  Before sweet Greta was born, Meesh called her cupcake, so I found this great cupcake fabric for the backing.  :)

I wish I had gotten a better picture where you could really see the blocks better but I did this in a hurry and then never thought to look at the pics before mailing...

I've been trying out a new zigzag machine-stitched binding on quilts I think will be washed a bunch.  On this one I went around twice--once in pink and once in yellow.

**  I also mentioned that Kim was working on an orphan block project to get quilts finished and donated to a charity and that I had most of a quilt sitting here at the house already.  So I beefed it up with some extra blocks and got it done too.  I hated the blocks individually and once I got it sewn, I kinda want to keep it!  ;)

You can see the quilting better on the back--I just did a simple cross-hatch design following the blocks.  I started a quarter-inch from the block seams in gray, then 3/8 inch from those lines in yellow and then about half-inch from the yellow lines in blue.

** When mailing Meesh the quilt, I also included our February d.Gs blocks.  It was her turn in a great coincidence and she asked for Wheel blocks in a great and bright color palette.  I hope mine looks okay with the rest.  I liked all the colors I chose till I got the block put together and then saw others from the group.  Oh well...

**  And for March in our d.Gs circle, Kim asked for blocks that she'd designed herself.  She's calling them braided star blocks and once put together they'll make stars...duh!  ;)  These were really easy and fun to put together.  Kim wrote a great tutorial on her blog for these simple but stunning blocks.

**And last, in That Stash Bee, Whitney asked for Darting Bird blocks.  I'd never seen this block before, but they were quick to make and I think she picked a stellar palette. She's giving this quilt to a friend in need, and I can't wait to see it altogether.

** But also since last blogging, my favorite boy in the whole world turned 8.  He wanted to just take a few friends to see The Lego Movie, so we did.  I got these great lego candies from the candy store in the mall to put on some cupcakes.  They were a big hit and so was the movie!  It was a simple and great day to celebrate a great kid!

**The surgery went well and I came home from the hospital two days early.  It hasn't been exactly fun to lay in bed a lot and depend on others in the last 3 weeks, but I'm working on my patience and God is blessing me every day.  I'm up and mobile

**I'm sewing again and have already finished a couple of blocks and have some bee blocks to try and work on this weekend.

**Plus we've got softball...Chris' middle school team is winding down and Emma's team is finally getting started.  I'll soon have a picture of my sweet girl pitching to show y'all.  She's worked so hard and it's fun to see her sling it out there.

Sorry for the picture overload.  I've missed y'all and this wonderful community so much.  So glad to be getting back.  :)

Friday Finish

Actually I finished this quilt a couple of weeks ago, but since no blogging or photographing was done since I hurt my back, I'm just getting to showing this off.

Last year, I asked the Empower Circle of do. Good stitches to make me blocks featuring rectangles and squares.  We're a busy group made up of some of the sweetest women you'd ever want to meet and I figured this would be simple and creative for the girls.

I gave them this color palette and asked them to sew up whatever they wanted using straight lines--no wonkiness.

via design-seeds.com

They all rolled in and I knew that once I'd gone out on a limb colorwise, I needed to go out on a limb with the construction of this quilt as well.  So I decided there needed to be a lot of negative space in this quilt.  I can handle asymmetry but have had trouble with negative space in the past.  It feels like I just didn't finish and I need to do more.  But I thought these blocks were strong and could support the negative space.

After questioning myself for some time, I ordered some purple, laid them out and went for it.  Once pieced I wasn't sure how to quilt it other than I knew I wanted it done and sent off to comfort someone instead of sit at my house any longer.

So I free-motion-quilted loops all over.  It's been some time since I FMQ'ed anything and I had always thought my machine really didn't like FMQ.  I'm still not convinced it does, but I realized that a lot of the issues were with me and how I was moving the quilt.  I still had a lot of thread breakage (and if anybody has suggestions on why my top tension gets so tight my thread breaks I'm all ears) but the "eyelashes" got better and I figured that Rome wasn't built in a day and neither would I be good at FMQ that fast.

This quilt is far from perfect.  In some places on the back, the eyelashes are bad.  In some places my loops are less loopy and more shaky.  In some places I backed myself into corners and had to cross lines or quilt close together.

But the quilt police will not come after me and take this quilt or me to jail.  Life will continue and while the quilt is not perfect--neither is the quilter.  I decided it was a lesson in life.  I'm sending this quilt to an organization that teaches girls and young women to be strong, to never give up on life.  I'm giving this quilt to a young lady who needs to know that through obstacles and imperfections, life keeps going.  That when things look tough and you want to quit, there is another imperfect young woman out there who sends her love--a whole group of us that keep trying and keep going each day.

Isn't that what do. Good stitches is about?  Aren't we trying to help others as we grow as quilters and as people?  I'm not excusing my mistakes and saying I don't want to get better.  I'm getting better as I share, as I grow, as I work through life's imperfections.  I'm saying it's okay to be less than the best, but it's not okay to give up.

I hope the recipient of this quilt feels every bit of that.  I hope she knows that the hardest part of every battle is going forward when it seems too hard.  I hope she knows there are those of us out there that care and that we're all going through battles, big and small.  Let's fight those battles together.  :)

Random Thursday it is

Hi y'all!  For those of you who don't follow me on instagram, I'm sorry for the delay in posting.  Last week my right leg was giving me some trouble with sciatica pain and Saturday it sent me to the ER with a herniated disc.  Since them I've been on bed-rest per Chris' orders and haven't been up to doing much.  I can't get in with the neurosurgeon till next Wednesday so we've kinda just been letting me rest up on the meds until then.  Can I just say how BORING daytime TV is.  And the meds make me sleepy so I haven't been able to read or knit too much.

But I'm getting back into my normal groove, just a slower version of it, and coming back around.

--I've got that purple quilt all done and ready to show off.  I was actually going to photograph it Saturday afternoon to show y'all, but I was laying on a gurney laughing at how silly I looked in running clothes while obviously hurting too bad to actually go for a run.  I'll try to get it photgraphed tomorrow.

--The days here are all running together.  Chris did let me ride with them to Oren's karate class yesterday and it felt like I hadn't been there in 3 weeks.  It had been less than a week.

--I finished up my Rainbow Geese blocks for do. Good stitches this month.  Caryn asked for flying geese in a rainbow and then strips of sky-colored fabrics.  I think the design she's got planned will be fantastic, but man did I have to REALLY concentrate to get all of those colors in the right places.

--Last week while subbing I made myself a list of the next few projects I want to get done.  I managed to complete 2 of them already before I got bogged down.  Next up is to finish the stars for Oren's Star Wars quilt.  I'm still waiting on a few blocks from our November d.Gs quilt so I'll try to finish up his quilt (top anyway) in the meantime.

--My sewing room looks like a fabric monster has been living in here and making himself at home.  If I felt better, I'd spend 2 days in here straightening up.  But for the 10-15 minutes I get at a time in here, I'd rather spend it getting ready to sew something.  

--Alright, I'm back to bed.  Darn these meds.  I don't know how anyone can get addicted to something that drains them all the time.  I will be so glad to be off of all of this and get back to normal.  Patience is not a virture I am well-equipped with and darnnit...I need some right now!  ;)

Hope you are doing well and I'll be back shortly with more clarity and less numbness.  

Quick Peek Monday

I'm busy quilting loops on my purple quilt for our Empower Circle.  I'm squeezing in a little bit here and there when I have time.  We've got a busy week ahead.

Here's a quick sneak peek.  I can't wait for this one to be finished and ready to show off!

What are you up to this week?

A Random New Year

Starting off this year with some randomness seems appropriate around here.  :)

I finished up my last bee blocks for December on the 30th.  Squeaking in there...  Heather asked for Sawtooth Blocks in Saturated Colors.  I think this is going to be one bright and cheerful quilt.

Night pictures just don't do justice but these are already packed up to mail.  Sorry!

It started raining here yesterday afternoon and it's rained steady since.  I guess we're washing away the last threads of 2013.  But it makes for some dreary vacation.

The kids have played the XBox Kinect this afternoon since they can't go outside.  Oren just came in here all sweaty, so I guess they really are up and moving.  He asked for the Disney Infinity game console for Christmas but got a Kinect game called Pixar Rush or something like that.  So far they love it...

I dunked my phone yesterday afternoon so it's taking a long rice nap in hopes it'll come back to life.  If you think you're not addicted to your phone, have it taken away and see how often you actually reach for it.

This is the 3rd time (3 different phones) this has happened to me.  Obviously I need a waterproof case for my phone and any other valuables I may be carrying...

I finished up our Empower circle's May quilt top yesterday.  I asked the girls for improv square and rectangle blocks in this color scheme.

via design-seeds

But since it's so out of my norm it took me awhile to decide on a layout.  I decided since I was going for it with the colors I'd go for it with the design too and randomly throw them down and go.  I like it.

Please excuse the inside, fighting rain and flash photography...  :)

I just pieced the back from fabrics I had handy.  I really just want to make a quilt top like this because I always end up liking it when I do this.  Sometimes more than the front actually...

This is so much better in real life.  I promise to get better photos.  That upper left rectangle is actually a light mottled gray not white.  And those blue flowers are on a blue background...uggh flash photography...

I ordered some purple variegated thread last night to quilt this one.  I think I'm just going to do a loopy meander to practice my free-motion quilting.

I cleaned half of my room this morning.  Of course it was the half where I store my magazines, books, sewing projects, stuff we need to keep but doesn't have a home, etc.  Chris came home and said WOW!  I actually thought the same thing myself when I got done.  I really do hate clutter, I just don't realize it till I'm overloaded with it.  ;)

I wanted to start this year off right with running to prep for my upcoming half-marathon but the rain's had other plans.  Instead I just ate a couple of leftover lemon bars we made on Tuesday.  

And now I'm off to fold some laundry, pull fabrics for some awesome bee blocks for this month and possibly get taken out for dinner.  Yes please!!

What are y'all up to on this random Thursday?

October Bee Blocks

Bee blocks are fun to make, aren't they?  Well, usually.  I mean, we've all had those bee blocks that throw us for a loop, or are in a color scheme we don't dig, or just aren't our style.  But for the most part, I like making a few bee blocks each month because it's kinda like trying on clothes--you get the fun and the gratification of finishing without having to commit to the work of a whole quilt.

This month, I had fun bee blocks.  

Katie asked for Rugby Stripe blocks.  I mentioned them last week but took a (mildly) better photo of them for you.

Shannon asked for "Fall" blocks.  I immediately did this pumpkin based off this tutorial which I found through Michele.

But then I wanted to leave Modern Maples for someone else, so I thought and thought and googled and thought and came up with this.

And I really really love it!  I just used 2 1/2 strips yellow and tan scraps and a template I made to fit my size requirements.  Then I slapped some heat and bond on the back and ironed the dresden blades down.  I then zig-zagged around all of the edges for extra security and then did the same with the black center.  You can't tell in the pic (it was cloudy this morning) but my black circle actually has a brown dot pattern on it that I thought was perfect to represent the seeds.  I love it when serendipity and a plan come together!!  haha

Now I want to make both of these blocks again to make new pillows for my couches.  And since I accidentally cut enough squares for 2 pumpkin blocks, I just might do that.  ;)

What blocks are you making this month and what do you prefer working on?  One quilt at a time or mixing it up with bee blocks??

Another Random Thursday

I may not always have time to sew, but I always have time for Random apparently...

• Athena performed yesterday and then acted in a play tonight about Hatsheput, the first female Pharoah.  I'll have pictures tomorrow.  She did so great!!

• The kids and I ran a color run this past weekend.  Where volunteers literally chuck colored corn starch at you while you run.  Sounds weird--but tons of fun.  Poor Emma was sick with a stomach bug but wanted to run so badly that she ended up puking about halfway through (we'd been walking for almost a mile anyway) and couldn't finish.  But Oren and I did.  It was kind of a let-down when Chris and Em were already in the truck by the time we finished, but we still had a lot of fun.

• I finished up my bee blocks for Katie today.  She asked for Rugby Stripe blocks via Alex's tutorial.  She's making quilts for her nephews for Christmas and asked us to help out.  Now I want to make an orange and blue quilt for Oren's bed like this.  I looked at everyone else' photos and my blocks are way scrappier than the rest...hopefully they won't stand out too much in the quilt.  I hate that when you question what you've made afterwards by comparing it to others...  Comparison is the thief of joy you know.

Better pictures to follow tomorrow

• On a lighter note--I got my hair cut yesterday.  And when I say cut--I mean cut--like inches and inches cut.  I am never afraid of change with my hair because it grows pretty fast and I really trust my hairdresser.  Is that correct terminology--hairdresser?  I kinda feel like an old lady when I say that.  Is stylist better?  Anyway, I showed her these pics and told her to go for it.

This color

with

this cut

Here's what I ended up with...

I am not the queen of selfies.  In fact, I am like the anti-selfie-taker.  I cannot successfully take a good picture of myself!!

• I think I'll actually like it even more as it grows out, so fingers crossed this style works for me for awhile.  I think so.  Also, sometimes I dye my hair dark about this time of year, but decided to go with a darker blonde this year for now.  I read that honey and caramel blondes are where it's at right now--and you know me--shades of hair color named after foods--I'm on that.  It's not near as dark as the picture I took in to show, but I do like it.  I can always darken it as we get farther into fall and winter.

• Now I'm working on fall-inspired blocks for Shannon and our Empower circle of do. Good stitches.  She told us "Fall...go." well, a little more than that, but in a nutshell.  Our circle is great about trusting each other and being creative which I love.  We've done many quilts with a general idea only and come up with amazing results.  I couldn't have asked Rachel to put me in a better circle of friends and quilters.

Any guesses on what this will be??

• Last Friday Oren and I went on a field trip to a local (generally-speaking--it was about 45 minutes away) farm that has an awesome fall pumpkin patch and corn maze.  They had all kinds of fun things for the kids to do and they had a ball.  I got some great pictures of their flowers since I did nothing with my yard this year and have only weeds to show for it.  

Zinnias are my favorite.

And the fields of sunflowers...be still my heart!!

• When I finish up these blocks for Shannon, I've got my d.Gs quilt from May to finish piecing the top for.  I had to wait on some solids and then lost my mojo, but I feel it coming back to me...  And then I'm starting a project for my Dad for Christmas.  I wish I had a day or two with nothing but sewing hours in them...

Phew..that's plenty of random and more pictures than you really needed, but I sure feel better.  I'm linking up with Cindy and her awesome randomness.

What have you been up to lately??

Finish It Up Friday

If ever there was a need to finish something up, it was my Wonky Pinwheels.  I'm embarrassed to admit, it was the November quilt from the Empower Circle of do. Good stitches.

I have to say that our group is made up of 10 rad and lovely ladies who understand that life is busy and that we all have real lives and real commitments outside of our circle.  Our group is made up of Moms, Wives, Sisters, Friends, and most of all caring women who are there for each other when we can be and committed to helping others.

So...

I've told this story before, but back in November I asked for wonky pinwheel blocks based on Natalie's awesome tutorial.  A few straggled in and a few were put together wrong (easy mistake to make--I almost did twice), so by the time I got them all assembled, procrastinated, fixed and re-assembled it was April.

Then I set it aside to finish some other things before quilting.  And then it was August.

So I started quilting.  I chose a random pinwheel that I liked and echo-quilted around it and then made that a concentric pinwheel throughout the quilt.  Basically I just kept echo-quilting about half an inch around the design until the entire quilt was full.

If you look closely in the upper middle of this shot you can see the pinwheel I started with.  It's the only pinwheel in the quilt that's not quilted through.

I didn't worry about exact distances or straight lines.  I didn't worry about the occasional pucker that came with madly quilting and enjoying the process.  I didn't worry about perfection.  I quilted and quilted and quilted.

I went through 2 Guterman thread spools on this quilt.

The quilting really shows up on the back, although these pictures came out so pretty I forgot to get a close-up of just the quilting so you could see it.  But I really like how the khaki-colored thread shows up on the back in this ninja-flying-star design.

And then, to finish it off, Meesh got these labels made for us on Spoonflower and shared them with us to help us share the love.  The color matches perfectly.  Like it was made for this quilt.

I'm sad to see this one leave because I do love it, but I hope it provides comfort and warmth, both physically and emotionally to a girl who needs it.

Linking up with Amanda Jean.

And done.

I hung my head in shame Saturday when I realized it was the last day of the month and I'd only given my do. Good stitches blocks a passing thought during the month.  But I had company over Saturday and spent most of the day with family Sunday so I couldn't even begin them until today.

Luckily  Meesh picked a fun and easy (enough) block for August.  :)

The Hearts Around block.

It's simple flying geese units and some half and quarter-square triangles.  But isn't it fun?  I can't wait to see this quilt come together.

If I hadn't lost focus and sewn one of the blocks together wrong, I'd have been done start to finish in an hour give or take a few minutes.

Next up for our Rad group are scrappy string blocks and I know I can handle those.  I plan to do them this week before I get distracted again.

I have never before completely forgot about bee blocks.  What about you?  Have you done it?  How do you keep yourself on track with commitments like this?


p.s.  Lindsay over at Craftbuds is hosting Craft Book Month with lots of fun projects, giveaways, etc.  Yours truly is participating in the blog hop on Saturday.  If you've completed any project out of any craft book this year, you're eligible to enter to win, so head over and check it out!

WIP Wednesday

Ahh, the sound of quiet in the house during the day.  I almost feel like I might be able to get some stuff done this school year. :)

Of course, I'll still have a lot to balance, especially when I start subbing, but I am hopeful...

Today I'm working on an embarrassingly-old WIP.  My wonky pinwheels quilt for the Empower Circle of do. Good stitches.  I got behind on this one when some other deadlines popped up and then I realized I was out of batting without literally piecing together like 80 strips, so I had to wait till I could get enough (on sale!) to move on.

So, I'm basted up and ready to start quilting.  I've got my quilting plan all worked out--now I just have to get it done.

I'll try to pop in tomorrow with a sneak peek of how the quilting is going.  Cross your fingers for me, would you?

To see what everyone else is up to today--head over to Lee's WIP Wednesday link up party!

WIP Wednesday

I'm back!!  Actually, I didn't tell y'all I was taking a short internet break, but when your data plan runs low at the end of the month, sometimes a little internet fast is good for the soul, you know?  Instead I concentrated on time with the kids, running, time with Chris and actually did some kniting.  Weird I know since the temperatures are close to 100 here daily...

So what am I up to today?

Well, I recently finished my bee blocks for June (early thank you to make up for my tardiness of late) and am  t work as always on Oren's Star Wars quilt...

Empower Circle--Postage Stamp blocks with a gradation from red to yellow

Modern Maple Leaves for Debbie in That Stash Bee

Up next is the 3-Layered Star from Emily.  Meesh made these blocks a month or so back for a bee and I thought immediately "That has to go in Oren's quilt!"  So I'm choosing fabrics and printing templates as you read.

And I'm working on a fun (last-minute) maritime project for Le Challenge.  The link up is this weekend (the 15th) so I'm formulating my plan and getting cracking on it.  I had good intentions for lovely sailor skirts for myself and Emma but not the time to make that happen.  So...I moved on to plan D.  Yep--plan D.  But I'm using this fabric and you'll have to come back Saturday to see what I do with it...

It's a sheer navy/white stripe with clear sequins--very cute!

And what else have I been working on?  Signing up for this because I'm either insane, or fiercely competitive, but I think it's both.  But I'm not just doing the half marathon again--oh no that's not crazy enough.  I'm doing the Glass Slipper Challenge which is the Enchanted 10K (6.2 miles) on Saturday and the Half Marathon (13.1 miles) on Sunday.  So--in 2 days I'll be running (more likely completing hopefully) 19.3 miles.  But a good friend is doing it and I couldn't let her do it alone.  Then I found out Meesh is doing it too, so I'll be in good company at least when I want to curl up in a ball and sleep for a very long time...

Add caption

So there's been lots of running too.  Which is good because it helps me complete the #56milesinJune challenge.  And I found out that my parents are also doing this through walking each day of their summer vacation too.  Shout out to Mom and Dad!!  ;)

Not too much finishing around here right now, but lots and lots of in progress activity...

Check out what everyone else is up to over at Lee's WIP Wednesday link up party too.  :)