Thank you Leona!

Lookee what Leona sent me! She sent me a belated Birthday gift. How sweet! She sent me a Birthday card, a bookmark (for all my quilting books, I assume!), and this darling little Moda zip purse. I love it! Yes, there are already cards in my zip purse. It has actually replaced my usual purse. Thanks so much Leona!



I also received my newest shipment from Martingale Book Club. I got two books for free for switching my membership to their newly implemented book club. I like this program better because I now get 35% off all my purchases. If I buy 6 books in one year then my membership renews for free. I’ve already bought 3, so I don’t think that will be a problem!



I got 501 Quilting Motifs from Quiltmaker Magazine. This book rocks. It gives me great ideas and makes beautiful quilting seem to be in my reach! The hard part is picking one of the quilting patterns!



For my free book I chose Simple Seasons by Kim Diehl. This book blew me away. The projects are right up my alley: small pieces, traditional designs, clear instructions. I can't wait to crack open this book. I can't wait to throw some bright, modern fabrics in the mix!



I also received A Baker’s Dozen by Patchwork Place. I seem to find myself buying more and more pre-cuts lately, so the answer is more patterns that feature pre-cuts!

I was so exhausted the other night that I couldn't muster the energy to do anything. So I curled up on my couch, cuddled with my favorite quilt and my sweet kitty, and paged through these books. That's what life is all about!

I'm back!

Oh my, time flies! Last time I checked in, I was just giving up my sewing machine for a little tune-up vacation. I had dreams of appliqué, cutting fabric, organizing my sewing room…anything that didn't involve my sewing machine!



None of that happened! I don't know what I did for a whole month! Maybe I just got sucked into a time warp or something. I did what I usually do: read blogs, go to work, clean the house, cook lots of food, watch a little TV. I went to two weddings (my best friend's wedding and my little brother's wedding). I went on vacation (a few days in Tahoe to play in the snow). That's it. Nothing special!



I guess once you get out of the habit of creating everyday it's hard to get back in the habit. So this weekend I put it on my To-Do list. Saturday night I jumped right in and starting sewing some blocks I had already cut out. I wanted something small and fast to finish, so I concentrated on just one block. Then another. Then another. Wow, I'm on a roll! I forgot how much fun quilting was!



By the end of the night I had finished one of the Layer Cake Quilt Along
blocks and the first five of the Civil War Quilt blocks. And I had a blast!



I spent Sunday cutting more LCQA blocks. For some reason, I just don't like to cut these blocks. I think getting used to a different designer for every block just frustrates me. Some have cutting charts (which are so easy, thank you!), some write 4 steps to get you to cut 4 4X2 strips (I hate that, just tell me what the finished size should be!), and some designer's hide the cutting instructions behind clues (I swear, some I had to read 4 times before I made my first cut!). But now they are all cut and bagged in little Ziplocs and I can't wait to spend a few minutes tonight sewing them together! That's right…I'm back!