My Favorite Schnibble Parade Entry

It is so hard to pick a favorite Schnibble quilt.  Usually it's the one I've just finished working on.  Since I *had* to choose for this month's parade, I chose "Doc."

These photos just don't do justice to the wonderful colors of Kate Spain's "Good Fortune" fabric line.  I used Moda Bella solid in Zen Gray for the background.  My favorite neutral, hope Moda keeps this color in stock.  The colors are just perfect for my living room and I hope to get this quilt professionally quilted and  hanging on my wall sometime soon.  

Here's another view outside last May.

Can't wait to see all the other favorites on Sinta and Sherri's blogs.

Rainy Wednesday Photos

The baby quilt top is done! Wish my quilt holder was around so I could fit the whole quilt in the photo but you get the idea.  Also, the light is terrible in my house as it's overcast and pouring down rain. The colors are bright and clear primary colors with apple-green polka dot border.  The quilt is not baby-quilt size; it's 68" x 75".  Big enough for laying out on the floor and making a fort out of when he/she is older.  

The pattern is "Alphablocks Quilt" by American Jane.  This was a fun and easy quilt to make.  I used  Moda solids for the letters & solid blocks.  The letters are machine-appliqued with a small blanket stitch.  I have the binding made and need to hunt around in the stash for backing fabric.  I plan to machine quilt this myself.  Not my favorite thing to do, but I need to hold off on long-arm quilting at the moment.  

What was Remy doing on this rainy Wednesday?  

Napping and planning new quilt projects apparently.  Here he is napping with my friend Pat Wys' book Spotlight on Neutrals.  Wonder what project he has in mind?  I think Remy has been closely following Baxter's lessons on quilt making.  Wonder what project he has in mind?  If you haven't been following Mr. Q.O.'s Baxtertoons on Cathi's blog "Quilt Obsession", you are missing one of those little moments that brighten up your day.  Love Baxtertoons.

Sneak Peek

Here's a quick little sneak peek iPhone photo of the baby quilt I've been working on for my new niece or nephew (due to arrive any time now).

One more round of borders to go & then the top is done. Hope to show a final photo tomorrow.

Chilly Day in Atlanta

It was so cold today, I had to make brownies.

No really.

OK, you're not believing me so I'll explain.

I came home from work and did some sewing & the house was chilly so I thought "hey, I'll bake something, so I can turn the oven on, which will warm up the house for awhile, which won't be as bad as turning the heat up". So I called S. at work & told him I was cold so I was going to bake something & what did he want me to bake? Of course he said brownies because that's his favorite & he likes cakey brownies not gooey brownies & don't even think about putting chocolate chips in them but do put walnuts in them.

(I, on the other hand, like gooey brownies with lots of stuff).

So there you have it--cakey brownies for S. (with pecans since we were out of walnuts) & a slightly warmer house for about 30 minutes.

Stella in Repose

Alternate title:  little sewing so far this week so yes, here's another cat photo. 

Stella in the low winter sun 

Silly Remy Sunday

Remy loves to hide under the bathroom rug in the mornings, ready to pounce on unsuspecting cats or people. He is a master of disguise...
And silliness.

Three Blocks for Wednesday

EDITED:  So very sorry if you received spam email from me.  My account was hacked and I'm fixing it.  One thousand apologies on behalf of the modern evil/scum of the earth that hack into accounts.  


I'm catching up on Barbara Brackman's Votes for Women block of the week.

Here are the last three blocks:

Memory Wreath

Old Maid's Ramble

Cheyenne

N is for New

2013 is starting out as a new year of big news, new projects, upcoming newness, and future new opportunities.

Let's start with the middle parts first.

New Project.

The N block is a new project I'm frantically working on because.....

Upcoming Newness.

I have a NEW niece or nephew due in the beginning of February.

Yes, the most fabulous, smartest, cutest, wonderful, amazing niece ever is going to have a new baby brother or sister.  [PS: I *may* be biased about my niece Mackenzie--just maybe]  Hooray for being an aunt--again.  I am so excited.  I have the rest of the alphabet made already and am working on alternate blocks.  Better hurry up. Babies wait for no quilters to finish projects.

Big News.

I am only working at one job now.  I resigned from my day job that I've had for the past 14 1/2 years and am now working full time at Starbucks. My last day at the office was January 4th and it was a long time coming, yet still a difficult decision.  It was made easier by some major changes at work in the past six months and that's all I'll say about that.  It was still hard to leave the job that I wanted to have when I was in graduate school.  It  used to be the perfect job for me, but the office changed and the job changed and working for state government sure has changed.  I will miss the work and my coworkers but there are a lot of things I won't miss.  And I love working at Starbucks.  When I took a year and a half off from Starbucks, I missed it. I missed the customers and my coworkers and the company.  So that is what I'm doing right now.  Good thing I have PLENTY of fabric and projects to keep me busy because my fabric acquisition will be nil this year. But I'm already happier and my whole outlook is better so that's a big plus.

Which leaves...

Future New Opportunities.

I'll be on the look out for these.


I'll end with some things I have learned in the past few months:

Sometimes the greatest feat of courage is getting out of bed in the morning (this was the case for much of 2011).

Sometimes knowing that other people believe in you is just as important as believing in yourself.

I have no tolerance for bullies.

New Year, New Block of the Month (or Two)

Happy 2013, now that we are well on our way into January.  Like a lot of quilt bloggers, I've been planning what quilts I want to finish this year (lots), what quilts I'd like to start this year (less than lots), and what new fun quilt alongs/BOMs/assorted mischief I would like to join in on this year (quite a bit).

I thought I would jump right into a new project that fits all three criteria:  the 6-month, 2 blocks-per-month, Blogger Girls Block of the Month hosted by Monique Dillard of Open Gate Quilts.

Another goal this year is to use up my stash of fabric (that is threatening to take over the house insulating the house this winter).  For the Blogger Girls BOM, I'm using Jo Morton fabric with some odds and ends added wherever necessary.

Here's my first two blocks.

Now that I am way behind on Barbara Brackman's Grandmother's Choice Block of the Week, she is starting a new Civil War Block of the Month this year.  Yeah I'll be jumping in on that one too, I'm sure. I think I'm going to need a personal assistant chart to keep track this year.   

And of course, we couldn't start a new year without a new cat photo.  I'm calling this photo "the three musketeers."  I came home from Starbucks today to find Stella, Gomez, and Edgar all comfy in bed (still...).