Somehow We Quilters Find a Way

School & sports meetings, football practices, teen car problems (oy!), meals, laundry, family visiting from out of town....need I go on?  But somehow, peice by peice, we quilters find a way to get our projects done.   No, I haven't finished Cate's quilt yet, but I did manage to get the entire top together and wanted to drop in to post a pic. 

I love how the black border took the almost-complete random-ness of it and made it come together.  (I did make each row of blocks similar but I think I should've kept the pink squares to the center of every block instead of doing black in the middle row?)  Hot pink really isn't my "thing".  (I lived through the 80's and don't feel the need to do it again!)  But I am completely drawn to black and white patterns every time I see them so working with this wasn't too bad.  And, I have so many scraps that I'm making a stacked coins quilt from each of the girls' quilts.  But we'll save that for another day.  This evening, I'm off to "walk through" my high school daughter's schedule and meet her teachers....

Off to College...Without the Quilt

Today we took our oldest daughter up to KU for her first year of college life.  

And so began our first year without her.  There were a few sniffles from her siblings early this morning as I snapped a photo of them all together.  And there were a few sniffles as my husband and I walked away from her this afternoon.  It's really a shame she didn't have her quilt to go with her...but it's hard to work under these conditions: 

That lump underneath?  My cat.  She usually just plops right on top of what I'm working on until I tell her to get off, which she does...until I turn away to iron or sew and she plops right back on.  And so it goes, both of us annoyed, but enjoying the game just the same.  But this time, while I was pinning on the sashing, she felt the need to first rumple it and then climb underneath to play.   Well, THAT wasn't going to work.  Now, here we insert one of those "I'm just not that into this today" quilting moments (try not to be too aghast!).  I put everything down and walked away (doesn't that sound painful?).  I changed gears and made that last day before school a "family fun day," taking the kids to lunch and a movie, which is a very rare occurence around here!  So, I gave them all a day of "together" memories instead.  As I look at this morning's snapshot, I know I made the right decision.  Funny how God steps in like that...

Here's the clan in front of the truck that's all packed up, ready to head out.  Pretty sure you can tell which one is going off to college and which ones are staying behind to head off to school here.  Her poor brothers--they were rather choked up.  And, yes.  They miss her already.  :o)

Waiting for Fall

All summer long I try my hardest not to think of fall. 

I know the more I think of it, the harder it becomes for me to deal with summer.  Summer has its perks but I'm really not into the heat.  Okay, I HATE it.  And we suffered 40+ days with 100+ degrees this summer--well, that's what I heard and that's what it felt like so I'm stickin' to that one. 

Anyway, inevitably, by the time August gets here, I don't do so well at "not thinking about fall" and finally, fall decor starts popping up within my home.  Some people think I'm crazy and that I'll be sick of the decor by the time October hits. 

Well, they don't know me very well now, do they?  I'd be happy if fall were 6 months out of the year.  But I suppose then it wouldn't seem as special without that long, hot, drawn-out, ugly-heat summer wait. 

Cate's College Quilt

I made this quilt for Briana last Christmas. 
At this point, it was only pieced--I still had to
layer, quilt and bind it. 
I really enjoyed this quick, easy moda pattern:
Moda Bake Shop Christmas Table Topper

If you are new to quilting or don't have
a lot of time for it, I really recommend
trying this one out. 

 


I've completed other fun projects for Briana's room like this: 

Briana's turned out so well and looks great in her room, especially on her bed, so I promised one to my older daughter for when she headed off to college.  That's actually in just a few days so I need to get busy, huh?

 

These are the colors she's chosen for her dorm. (Excuse the cel phone pic.)  The blocks are in random order here but I do have a plan.

  I hope to have the sashing on tomorrow &, if I can fit in a trip back to the store for the border & batting, it really shouldn't take too long to finish up.  However, school starts for my other kids so, with open houses, appointments and getting Cate ready to go...well, we'll see!