Family Time!

Happy Mothers Day! I hope each of you are being celebrated! G arranged for the 4 of us to have a nice lunch on the Intercoastal Waterway at a local restaurant. The service was very slow (not only is it Mothers Day but TPC is nearby) but that was ok. It's hard for the 4 of us to get together all at the same time so we had a nice long time to chat. Here's a picture of my boys.from today (no pics on the water as too many hot girls around). C is moving out this fall so it's going to be even harder for the 4 of us to get together at once. I'm enjoying it while I can! They're both neat people (though very different) and it's fun to spend time with them. Even though they're not babies or little boys any longer, hearing them laugh is still my favorite thing to hear!

I had a bit of time so I worked on my paper piecing project. The borders look wonkier than they actually are. This is only my second border experience. You can see where I used scissors (instead of measuring and using the rotary cutter) on the top right. I'll even it up when I put on the binding. This is a fun project. I should have, however, reread the instructions as I didn't shorten the stitch length last weekend when I worked on the last 3 paper pieced hearts. It makes a difference when it comes time to take the paper off the back of the block!

Lesson Learned: When you've put a project away for a time; pull out the instructions and read them as if you were just starting. Don't rely on your memory!

Last year when I first started knitting, I came across a blog post with a scarf made out of a beautiful yarn. The scarf was way too hard for me but I went ahead and ordered the yarn and purchased the book that had the scarf in it. I had the yarn with me last weekend and just had to take another picture of it. This gorgeousness just can't sit in my yarn cabinet any longer! It's time to become that scarf!

I hope that you all get to do exactly what you want to do today! Happy Mothers Day!

One Block at a Time and a BIG First!

I'm never going to be the type of quilter that puts out a quilt a week. It's one block at a time for me! This weekend I got a bit of time to sit at the sewing machine and I worked on another block with Y Seams. This one was easier so progress has been made!

I also worked a bit on my beginner paper piecing project from a class I took in February. I have no idea where the pics of the front of these small blocks went but here is a picture of the back (or is this really the front?). I had no idea what paper piecing was when I started so maybe this will interest someone. You actually sew your seams on the side that is shown - the fabric is underneath. Weird, huh? But it works. Here are some of the finished blocks in a prior post.

The highlight of our weekend was G and I attending our first grown up play - WICKED!!! The raves I've heard about this show were totally accurate. and it was worth every single penny! Three hours of pure bliss. I had not expected the humor or the things that were revealed that make me look at the movie in a totally different light. Amazing! If you get a chance to go, GO! Even G enjoyed himself - even though he was in a suit and tie! We'll definitely go to this type of event again but I doubt I'll get G in a suit again....none of the men were dressed up. We saw one guy in a jacket without a tie and everyone else was pretty business casual. I like how he looks in a suit though!

Complete First and Glad to be Home!

Late last Sunday, I finished the binding on my table runner made from scraps from my first quilt top. As a result, this is my very first completely finished quilting project! WHOOT! I free motion quilted it myself! It's not perfect but it's 100% me! I'm hoping to send this off to my mom in the next week. She'll not mind the imperfections!

Last week I was in Charlotte for business. When I checked into my hotel, I found the perfect knitting chair in my room (how did they know I was a knitter?). Unfortunately, I didn't spend enough time here at the end of the work day.

Instead, I spent too many hours here.

One of the best parts of the trip was when my plane landed in Charlotte, I had the cab driver take me directly to Charlotte Yarn. What a wonderful bunch of people who work there! Remi, the owner, remembered my name from the call I made that morning to make sure it would be ok to come in and knit for a bit. She also made sure I was included in the order out for a very late lunch. Sandy and I sat and talked while eating. She has faced a lot in the past year and she has made it through - she is so inspiring! Harriet drove me to my hotel so I didn't have to take a cab (which would have been perfectly ok) and told me all about her visit to Stitches South. Not only were the people so nice, it's a really nice store with loads of yarny yumminess! The only bad thing was that as I went to take a picture of the store, my battery died. Charlotte Yarn will be the first place I go to the next time I'm in Charlotte!

While traveling is fun, it's always great to be home!

Not Ready For Prime Time

We hate each other...Y Seams and I. I need a do over! And I just might take one - but not today! The U Tube video Candace at Squash House Quilts sent helped. I had the best results using the technique she found here. I clearly need remedial training. It's my third quilt and I don't feel bad that I need improvement. That's what improving your skills is all about.

We have one more class left in the Sweater Workshop class I'm taking. There are 4 of us in the weekend class and it's been a lot of fun. Here's where we are so far:

Here's a close up of the top part of the Sampler. Increases, decreases, some raised rows, and some fair isle. Lots of skills covered!

I've spent several hours preparing for my trip to Charlotte. The most time has been spent on figuring out what books and knitting to take. I'm taking my socks and a new project. Frankly the socks are boring me right now; maybe it's because they've been on the needles so long. I might cast on for a new pair though!

I'm taking my personal laptop so I can still continue to read all those wonderful blogs I love to read! And of course, check Ravelry!

Dyeing and Good News!

Last week I decided to dye a skein of yarn. Just one skein. By the time it was over, I'd somehow managed to dye my fingers, my shirt, and the counter tops along with the yarn! Fun! I need to keep the dye in the pot and on the yarn!

I mentioned last week that I'd had a stressful week at work. What I didn't mention at the time is that is was stressful due to testing for an interview for a promotion. One hour written testing and a 2 hour gruelling role playing test. I hope I never have to do that again. I passed both tests so I was granted an interview and I found out this week the job is mine! My official start date is the 1st but I've already taken over some duties. I also fly out to Charlotte on Monday to spend the week which should be fun! I hoping to get some time at the sewing machine this weekend figuring out those Y seams. Thank you Candace for sending me a video link. I hope that will get it through my head. Also, big thanks to YarnJourney for solving my blogger photo issues!