Guilty

Okay, I admit I must be one of the worst bloggers right now. I haven't blogged since the end of April. I've never gone this long without blogging. It's not that I didn't have anything to say, actually it's been quite the opposite. It's just that I've been quilting like a mad woman and haven't been spending any real quality time with my computer. No computer time, no blogging. I've been so lax in computer time that I'm actually checking my email on my ipod now. Sad, isn't it? Now that that's out of the way, let me tell you what I haven't been blogging about. May was a really busy month. Of course, I worked on several magazine pieces and made my deadlines. I also made several stash projects including another quillow, a table runner out of left over batiks, and a miniature quilt for an upcoming guild quilt challenge. Speaking of guild, I didn't even make it to the May meeting. I also worked on a few projects for my upcoming book -- I really need to buckle down and get serious about the projects. Of course, I also worked on research and writing for my book, too. I had an Orphan Quilt trunk show in May. It went well and the dinner beforehand was delicious. Of course, all of these activities were fitted around my day job at the public library, a few other part-time jobs, and my home responsibilities. The end of May brought some real heartache in my family, though, as we said good bye to our beloved canine companion, Poohka. This was really hard. He was a very special and unique Shih Tzu, with a smile and he even stomped his foot (yes, like a two year old's temper tantrum) when he didn't get what he wanted fast enough. His kidneys were failing rapidly and there wasn't anything more the vet could do. What hurt even more was the fact that my other furry pal, Gizmo has been absolutely bereft in the absence of his doggy brother. I think he's finally adjusting somewhat but he's very clingy and doesn't like me to leave him. Giz has even taken to sleeping on a pillow in my studio while I sew (he's never done this before). We've all had to make adjustments in our daily lives. It's ironic, really, when you realize how much your day revolves around a beloved pet only after he or she is gone. Smile on, Pookie, smile on.... June is turning out to be just as crazy as May was. In addition to trying to spend more time with Gizmo, I'm working on one project for the magazine and I just found out today that they accepted two more for a pre cut book. Whew -- I'd better start sewing faster. I had another program for the Sew and Sew Guild in Grove City recently too. Very nice group. I debuted my new program, "Fabric Dating Tips and Orphan Block Tricks." It was a fun evening. Next week I have a program for Country Charms Guild -- I'm doing the new one, and I am also doing a volunteer workshop on English paper piecing at the at the local senior center. Well, I see it's getting late so I'll stop here. Hopefully I'll get some photos up soon for your viewing pleasure. I want to show off some of the new Orphan Blocks that have come my way recently. Good Night! I need to go to bed so that I can get up early and QUILT!

Jumping in with Both Feet

Okay, I lied. Well, sort of. I'm still going over the contract and the other documents and I kind of got excited about getting started. So, today I went to one of my local quilt shops (I'm so lucky to live in the center of four quilt shops within about a 30 minute drive). I took along diagrams for five of my quilt projects for the book.

The last couple of nights I've been shopping in my own stash, but I was having a hard time deciding where I wanted to go with the projects. When it comes to selecting fabric for my projects, I have to consider several different factors including time period and geography. My stash just didn't yield what I was looking for. Most of my fabrics are the supporting actors, I don't generally stock up on the stars. Most of the time, I start with my focus fabric which may or may not be the border and then I select the supporting fabrics using a combination of my stash and shopping. I'm going to try to stick with shopping at my local shops as much as I can (doing my part to keep them in business), although I do dearly love to shop online as well.

So of course I headed to my nearest quilt shop today. After fondling many fabrics, stacking and restacking, walking round and round, I finally narrowed my choices and left with fabrics for two complete projects and borders for three others. Not a bad beginning, I must say. Now I that I have borders, I can shop in my own stash again and see what I have already that will go with the borders.

I'm not going to show you my fabrics right now, but I will say this much: PAISLEY. Hmmmmmmmmmm......