Twenty-ten.....two thousand ten what do you call it?

Well, here we are in 2010 (I say twenty-ten). Wonder what this year holds for me and mine.  Last year brough a brand new house. That was plenty.

This year I want health for all those I love.  Will this be my year to get my weight under control?  We are making that easier with the purchase of a treadmill.....I'd much rather be out in the fresh air and sunshine, but not when it's -20 before the windchill.

Quilts, quilts and more quilts. In 2009 I finished 2 quilt tops and completed 3 other quilts plus a mini.  This will be my year to finish things that are taking up space in my studio....started knitting a giant mitten that I found in the back of the closet. See...I'm already making progress. 

We're home!

It's been a busy few days since arriving home from Indiana. The kids and I have been doing last minute school shopping as well as, getting unpacked and all the laundry done.

I finished Yes Man this morning.....I've tried to say "yes" today, but I didn't do all that well. My kids have been digging into the books and videos from when they were small....dd came up with a pile of Arthur and Berenstein Bear books in her arms wanting me to read them. (Mind you, she's 15). I put her off so that I could finish the quilting I was in the middle of and of course, when I asked her if she really wanted me to read the books she had lost interest. Might have been fun to re-read those stories. I spent SOOO much time reading those books to her before she could read to herself.

I've got a few days to finish up some quilts before I "go to work". Not really leaving the house, but I will start building my stock of journal cover once the kids go back to school. Hope I can find the discipline to work everyday.

That's all for now....the kitchen is calling (time to start supper).

Say YES

Well, here I am in Indiana-again. We didn't think we'd be making another trip back, but DH had vacation time he needed to use and my parent's needed help getting their house in better shape to sell. We've spent the last several days scraping and painting trim on the outside of the house. It looks much better and the weather has co-operated beautifully.

DH, DD and I took some time today and went to an outlet mall. We fianlly found my husband some shoes for work. The pair he'd been wearing had a crack all the way through the sole---poor man's feet got wet when it rained.

Not much quilting the last few days, although I'm still plugging along on my tiny hand pieced nine-patches. It's coming along. Mom and I are hoping to make it to the Goodwill on Friday-I'm hoping I can find some cheap woven shirts to use in a quilt.

I'm reading Yes Man...interesting idea to say yes to everything.....I think I might need to say yes more often, maybe that's why I don't feel like I'm truly living life. I let it go by my window and never seem to jump in and ride along. Life is too short to wait for just the right invitation to come along. Hope I haven't missed anything.

Toy society

I'm so excited! Through a blog I've been reading for several months, I discovered The Toy Society (http://www.thetoysociety.blogspot.com). It's a wonderful, fill the world with happiness concept. You simply make a toy and drop it in a location where someone will find it and adopt it. Imagine the smile on a child's (or adult's) face when they find this wonderful creature that someone lovingly created simply to give another human pleasure! I can't wait to make and drop my first toy!

I spent a good portion of friday finishe most of my frog wall hanging...all I need now is a green fabric marker to complete the eye.....picture will follow.

We have been slowly passing a cold around my household.....it's my turn now. UGH! I hope that we all have gotten rid of these germs before we go visit my parents.

My son and I are now trying to make rock candy. So far all we have are two jars of flavored sugar water with sticks in the center. Hope it works. He's excited by the idea and already talking about making more.

That's all for now.....I must head to my studio and start on my first toy.

A bunny?!?!?

I think I've lost my mind! My daughter and I went to the mall today and stopped at the pet store "just to look". Oh, boy! There were LionHead bunnies in the window. They were SOOOO cute. We went inside to look at the puppies and I started asking the clerk about the bunnies. My daughter and I looked at each other and just had to have one. We didn't buy the bunny right then...I wanted to talk to my husband first. When we got home, dd started researching LionHeads. By the time my husband arrived home, she was armed with all kinds of information, including the cost of a cage.

After we discussed it, we decided we would go back to the pet store and hold one just to see how friendly they were. We were hooked. We bought the bunny and then bought the cage! She's so sweet. Hope she stays that way!

On another note, I got to the quilt store today and bought the rest of the fabric for my frog wall hanging. I even got the courthouse step blocks finished. Huge compliment from dd she likes them and thinks I should make a full size quilt out of the same fabrics!

just a little croak

Not much to croak about in the quilting world. I've been too busy with "real" life to spend much time in my studio. I have at least gotten a few applique pieces ready for a wall hanging.

Our son has had a friend over since yesterday evening. They've been busy playing games. I did something I hardly ever do this morning---I fried bacon and made pancakes. Burnt 4 of the pancakes, thus the reason my husband is our breakfast chef on the weekends.

Our daughter has been learning to drive. We ventured out of the parking lot and onto our quiet neighborhood streets. Today, she drove to the library and the drug store. She's not quite ready for the busy streets, but she's doing pretty well. Amazingly, I am staying calm (not one of my strong points).

I've been working on a handpieced quilt that I started 5 or 6 "cough, cough" YEARS ago. I just recently picked it up again thinking that it would keep my hands busy and keep me from snacking.....not working, but I am making progress. I need 266 of these 3"x3" blocks:

I have 143 finished. Yay!

These little blocks will eventually turn into this quilt from the book Leisure Art's Great American Quilts Book Eleven.

( Oops! I'm still figuring out how to use all this technology--guess I can't take a sideways picture.)