Dipping my toes

I think I'm ready to dip my toes back into the world of blogging! I have noticed that I'm not the only one taking a break/infrequent blogging lately. Good or bad, summer is getting to us. ;)

I survived the wedding! It was hot, but thankfully under shaded trees. I was at the wedding site for about 8 hours straight. Can you say exhausted? :P

I did grab this great shot of my sister-in-law, who was one of the bridesmaids. Obviously she's not the one who's hair needed braiding. She's dancing with Hunter, a cute 3.5 year kid of a church member that I've known since he was 6 months old. Can't believe I used to change his diaper! :)

I also made some yummy raspberry cobbler as soon as I saw the recipe on Meredith's blog.

My husband enjoyed it very much and gobbled up seconds right after he finished his first bowl. :) Great way to use the last 2 cartons of raspberry from Costco. Here's to hoping that blueberries go on sale soon. ;)

And no! My sewing machine hasn't been touched at all. I bet even you can see the layer of dust on it. But thankfully my husband suggested that we get a small fan for my room and I'll just aim it at the machine and sew away. :)

Leah

Taking a break

I'm going to be away from my blog until some time next week.

I'm kinda stressed out/overwhelmed at the moment. I haven't even turned on my sewing machine in over a week.

I taught a dyeing class on Monday - it was good fun and at least 4 ladies are going to dye again on their own. But it was tiring too and I'm wiped out.

We're now trying to tidy up details for my sister-in-law's wedding, which is this Saturday. We almost couldn't find my husband's suit. Thankfully it's at the dry cleaners getting cleaned and pressed now. Not only are we dealing with the cake (I'm totally confused where we're actually going to pick it up now), I'm also responsible for doing one of the bridesmaid's hair for the wedding. No pressure for perfection, eh? ;)

And they changed the photo session timing, so we have to be at the wedding site hours before the actual event. Which would make it about 4pm. In Arizona. In the summer. So, perfume or sunscreen, what's your vote? ;) (It's supposed to hit 100ish, and yes, it's an outdoor wedding. I will be packing several frozen water bottles in an ice chest. No other way to survive).

Sew... take some stitches for me, and I hope to return to a realm of normalcy sometime next week! :)

Leah

Still here!

I'm still fine and alive, been working on the mystery quilt for Cathy. She's already started to give out fabric instructions and cutting directions on her Yahoo group.

I can't reveal what it's going to look like until August, but might as well tempt you with a peek or two! ;)

Lazy days of summer are upon us right now - and we're going to need it, because in less than 2 weeks is my sister-in-law's wedding. I'm just having a really uncomfortable feeling about the fact that we have to bring the wedding cake from our hometown to the reception - 80 or so miles. Ugh. :) At least I finally figured out what I'm going to wear, and my husband things I look good in it, so good enough for me! :)

Leah

Like I'm not busy enough

I'm also testing a pattern for Cathy O'riginals. We're still in the designing/tweaking stage, but we're pretty excited where this quilt is going! :)

This pattern will become her August mystery, and I'll post about it again when she starts to give out the directions/fabric requirements. Believe me, if it's something that I think is worthy of using my hand dyes for, it's something that you'll enjoy too. :)

Speaking of enjoying... I really like pattern testing for Cathy O. I did a pattern last summer and now she even has the pattern on her webpage for you to buy! I know I'm starting to sound like a billboard for her works, but honestly, I don't get paid anything, except to keep the quilts I've made. :)

And can somebody please send me some cool weather? I'm a puddle. Pure ooze. June is pretty bad. Continuous nosebleeds and hot temps. But I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to July and the monsoon. Sure the nosebleeds finally go away, but the humidity is overwhelming and not bringing any relief.

I almost feel like the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz screeching "I'm melting... I'm melting!" ;)

Leah

A whole new world of quilting

I've finally taken the jump, to hand quilting. I'm using this 30" square quilt top. Cuz it's basically the smallest top I own. :P

My reason for taking up hand quilting is because my room gets too hot from 3-6pm everyday. It's in the corner of the building, so TWO sides get roasted. If I can't stand to be at my computer, there's no way I can stand to even sew. So I figured I could do some hand quilting in the cooler living room area. Or even in the bedroom with the fan blowing on me. Even my husband comments how hot my room gets. It's like 5-10 degrees hotter in here.

And here's a close up. I'll say this, quilting straight lines is for sissies. ;) Ok, so I might have not marked anything beforehand, just eyeballing it. :P

I measured my stitches (in a good area, of course!) and it's about 7-8 per inch, and I'm happy. I probably need to work harder on making sure that the thread catches the back, but since I'm using green thread with a green backing, I'm having trouble seeing if my stitches are going through or not.

I'm hand quilting in hoopless style. Why do I keep wanting to say hopeless? :P I have to keep reminding myself that the evenness counts more than the amount of stitches per inch.

And that is how I'm going to survive the summer and being forced out of my room. :)

Leah

We have a winner!

I cut all the names, folded them twice, toss them into the bowl and then mixed it up for 2 minutes straight.

Then it kinda hit me... oh my gosh, I have to actually PICK somebody?! It made me feel like whoever I picked, I'd be telling them that I love YOU more, so YOU can get my hand dyed fabric. :P

Ok. So I might have a skewed sense of logic. But I solved my dilemma by having my husband pick! No more guilt for me. :D

And congratulations to Nancy!

Nancy, I tried to email you, but it got rejected "because it contains prohibited virus or spam content". I'm clean, I swear! Wasn't even trying to attach anything. Anyhow, I would appreciate you emailing me your address. :)

Thanks ladies... I had fun. We'll have to do it again when I reach 300 posts. :)

Leah