Green Zig Zag done

The first of the trio is completed! I tackled this one with a lot of energy and interest for something new, which I can't say the same for the other two.

I love how crinkly it came out after washing. Just the kind of quilt you want to pull up on yourself and cuddle with. :)


And in a move that makes no sense at all... I used dyed orange backing fabric. That's one way to make the quilting pop!

Selective shot, of course. I'm not perfect, I'm not going to delude myself that I am, but I don't have to photograph it! :D I had a boo-boo where the backing folded over and I quilted on it. Then when I was trying to seam rip it apart, I accidentally snagged the wrong thread. So there's a certain section that's looking a little chewed up and thread heavy from re-sewing... I wish I could say live and learn, but I've lived through this several times now! Just one of those moments where I lament and wish for a long arm machine. ;)


My inspiration for the "endless cornstalk leaves" came from Suzanne Earley's Meandering Magic. You can get both books at her shop.

Well worth the money in my opinion, even though I don't have a frame set up for quilting. Somehow certain designs really started to click and make sense after I read through her books. Best of all, it makes me want to go beyond meandering and looping. :)


Here's the pattern I was planning to do:

But I just couldn't get comfortable back tracking. I know, practice, practice, practice. I'm happy enough that I branched out, period! ;) The result's pretty stunning, and nobody's looking for the mistakes.


I've also been keeping busy with other stuff. Last week I felt like I was trying to play superwoman! Some cooking for the Labor Day gathering at the in-laws, went to Tucson last Tuesday and spent $51 on gas and $51 on olive oil!! I think I got a better deal with the gas for once. ;)

Wednesday was my quilt guild's garage sale... ugh, didn't do as well as I hoped. I priced out over 100 yards of fabric, but only sold about 15 and made $37. But there's a noticeable dent in my stash, cuz 100 yards is still in my car! :D I really thought it'd sell better, cuz everything was $2/yard, including a bunch of Thimbleberries plaid and Christmas fabric.

Thursday the internet went out and it was kinda boring, but we got the living room super cleaned and I finished the binding on the zig zag quilt. We also went out to dinner, dipping into the grocery funds.

Friday the cable people came over, and I cleaned the kitchen too. Made for a nice relaxing weekend. And they better not charge us for that visit, as it wasn't our fault! :P

Saturday I did the weekly grocery shopping, and spent only $33.69!! Whoo. :D See, we're planning to buy a gaming laptop for my husband, cuz his won't cooperate, no matter how many times we've taken it into the shop, and the fact that we've replaced almost everything except the computer box and hard drives. We've reached the "enough" point, we just can't keep thowing money at it. Apparently it works fine with web browsing, so it'll become my computer. You know, as soon as I can cut the 5 year comfort I have with my current computer... augh. :)

My only request for the laptop was that we pay for it with cash. We've bought my husband 2 computers on credit... I'm done doing that! The credit card is paid off, it's staying that way. So, major budget time. $297/month for food, eating out and any stuff we need. Once we're out of money, we're out! We do have a 50 pound bag of rice, and 25 pounds of pinto beans, so we won't be starving any time soon. :P


And if you made it this far, have a cookie. ;)

Part of the menu planning includes a weekly sweet so we're not tempted to get a shake or run to the store for some ice cream.

And of course, I still have plenty of fabric, I can make hundreds of quilts. :D I am going to run out of batting at this rate, and would love to buy a roll... but I'm counting on the fact that my birthday is just 2 months away! ;)

Leah