Goal Setting and Things Accomplished

I am setting new goals for myself, in several different areas.  The first is health - I have a weight loss goal - not for looks, but for health.  I would like to lose another 20 pounds by the end of February 2014.  I'm giving myself plenty of time, because I want it to stick!  It will be a little easier because D is also losing weight - again, health reasons.  So we're shooting for eating less, eating the right things, and doing more. 

I am also setting new goals in the sewing and quilting arena.  I am setting a couple of goals here.  The first one - finish Boston Molasses by the end of September.  Once that is done, start working on Crazy Diamonds.  Finish that one by the end of January 2014.  (They are being quilted by hand, and neither is a wee thing, so I am giving myself time).  If I manage to quilt the smaller ones as well, all the much better.

The second quilting goal - blog about what I am doing every day in the month of August.  Even if it's just a little, I am going to try to have something up EVERY DAY.  Hooray!  (And it's cheating if I post things I did several days ago.  It's got to be do something and post every day.).  Quilting and sewing related, obviously.

In order to make that second goal, I am going to have a bit of a run-up.  I will post (hopefully) more often henceforth.  I have ideas, and goals, and stuff!  I have things to say!  And by golly, I intend to say them!  (That almost got typed out as By Gollum.  Can you tell I'm a LotR fan?)

I got a lot of inspiration this past weekend.  D and I took a trip to San Antonio.  It was my mother's birthday, and I thought it would be fun to surprise her.  (Which I did, and it was fun!).  We did a lot of running around as a family, which was nice.  We haven't really done that in a while.  One of the side trips we took was to Las Colchas - which is a FABULOUS quilt shop in San Antonio.  If you get a chance, oh quilters, you should go!  They have a wide array of fabrics in a converted house, and it's just stuffed to the gills.  If I had unlimited funds, I could spend all day in there getting fabrics cut. 

They also had a lot of fabrics that I haven't seen up here in Fort Worth.  So... needless to say, I did some buying.  I don't have an immediate use for the things I bought, but still.... I know I will use them! 

D and I also went to the zoo and to the Japanese Tea Garden.  Both were amazing!  Both are built in an old quarry (as are a lot of things in San Antonio). but neither of them resemble quarries.  They are gorgeous!  The zoo has made a LOT of improvements since I was there last.  We were among the first people in the Tea Garden when we went, and so we got to meander around without lots of people barring the way.

The flowers were in full bloom, and butterflies flitted about.  Again, because we were early, the lizards were scurrying around doing their thing.  The koi and turtles were happily swimming around the Tea Garden.  It was a very pleasant morning, and afterwards, we got to meet my parents for lunch before heading out.

In a lot of ways, this trip was a little hard.  We went on a trip last year for a long weeked, and while it was a great deal of fun, the day we got back my cat died.  So I was a little leery this time.  Nothing seemed wrong last time, so that didn't give me much encouragement about THIS time.   But all was well when we got home.  Joji jumped off of her perch and came charging to meet me, and didn't hold any kind of grudge over our absence.  (Although she's been eating my toes every morning since).

 

At any rate, we are home and all is well now.  Still catching up on sleep - the weirdly cool weather (for July in Texas, rain and 80's is cool!) is helping, though.  And in the meantime, I am still working away in the forge getting things made.  I will post about them later today, when I have better pictures.  And maybe a few more pics of San Antonio, too.

 

And I have gained more inspiration from the San Antonio trip as far as quilts than I expected.  That's a nice thing - it feels like a long dry season that's finally coming to an end.

 

See you later, superfriends!

S

Saturday working

Good afternoon, superfriends!  (Gosh, it's already almost 3pm here... where did the day go??)

Actually, it went into the past rather swiftly.  Bright and early this morning we got up, drove to Dallas to hit Perth Street - home to lovely fabric shops, wholesale and retail - so D could get the rest of the fabric for her costume for this year's faire.  And in a moment of sheer serendipity, I FINALLY found the perfect fabric for a quilt that I've been planning for quite a while.  In a shop that didn't normally carry quilting fabrics.  And it was cheap.  And it was a good quality - one that's normally 10-12 dollars a yard.  Five and a half yards of it.  So naturally I snatched it up!!  Yay for serendipity!

Once we got home - and yes, D managed to get all her fabrics (hooray!) - we cleaned for tomorrow's party.  And then... binding.  I'll finish the binding on BST tonight and post finished pics tomorrow.  Also finished my January block swap and got it off, and started on my next little quilt-let - I anticipate going back out to the forge tonight for a while and maybe at least get the top done.  I can quilt and bind it tomorrow morning before people start showing up.

But in the meantime, there's a little more cleaning to do, dinner to go out for (I'm taking D out since she scoured the kitchen!) and then binding and a little bit more cleaning.  And maybe dyeing of my hair.  Tired of the gray, and it's about that time anyway... time to start working my way into character for faire.

Yup... it's that season again.  When quilting and costuming run hand in hand, and the days at work flow into the days at faire, and at the end of it you're exhausted but oh-so-satisfied!

I feel... accomplished today.  It's a good feeling.  And with luck, I can get all the binding done.  But right now, I think I'm off for a snack!!

Shay

Monday monday, again....

Wow - the days have just shot past in a blur recently!  Holidays, family, work... it's all conspired against me!  (As has blogger...I've tried three times to post a tutorial, and it pegs out every time... sigh.  I'll try again later today).  At any rate... decorations are down, packed away, and tidied up, leaving home and cube feeling a little barren.  So, to combat the blahs, which have been pretty impressive this year... I'm making more things.  (What?? Really??  MORE things?)

The first up - a wonky sun banner (well, banners, in two parts, because I learned my lesson when it comes to decorating my cube.  no more 15' long banners!)  The wonky sun will be two pieces - one for one side, with the wonky sun, the other part with maybe either trees or a beach scene... I haven't quite decided yet.  I made a test sun last night, and it turned out... well....

Wonky... but not quite like I want it yet.  The only corner piece I am happy with is the one in the lower right - I thnk the narrower looks best.  Which means that when I make the "real" one, I need to make sure I have narrow corner wonkiness... also, the rest of the rays aren't wonky enough for my tastes.  :)  I'm picky about my wonky?

But it's not a failure - I know what I have to do to "fix" the issues, and it shouldn't be that hard.

Other than that, not much happening in the forge these days.  Frank is back to hiding behind a green wall of dwarf fruit trees, so quilting on him is on the back burner again.  I've stumbled across a pattern for a quilt that screams that it MUST be done - don't have nearly enough quilt ideas, apparently....  *sigh*  But.  I will obey this one, because it amuses me. 



Part of one wall of buttons



We went fabric shopping for faire this past weekend - went down to Perth Street in Dallas, and *sigh*  If I only had all the money I wanted, I could have bought some FABULOUS fabrics!  (not that I need them, but still).  And then... in a little store with a wonderfully crazy owner, we hit on the button motherlode!  He had three rooms full of buttons... everything from cheap plastic buttons to lovely metal shank buttons that looked like wolf-heads....

Needless to say, I came out with buttons.  Some I know what I will do with, others, maybe not, but I couldn't pass them up!  And the owner was crazy, cheerful, chatty, and all sorts of lovely.  He has a textiles degree, and a Tibetan terrier, and all sorts of useful knowledge.  So we stayed a while.  And could have stayed longer!  (Oh, and yes, we did find some fabric, hopefully).

It's the last day of the year, and I will send it out tonight like I do so many other nights - probably sewing!  I have over 100 little hexes made, and soon will have to move them from their shoebox to a larger box!  But for now, there's quilts to plan and make!  Happy end-of-the-old-calendar day!

S

Back to Work...

Back from my great-aunt's funeral.  As expected, a very sad event.  She outlived most of her friends and family, so there were not many people there.  But she was ushered out in the dress and casket she wanted, under a blanket of flowers that she wanted - bright pink flowers and dress - and was buried next to her parents and grandparents.  The graveside ceremony was short and the old graveyard itself quiet and pretty. 

From her I inherited a love of crafting - it comes from all the older members of my family, really, but I remember making things every time I went to see her.  And so I brought home with me fabric and yarn and thread.  When I use them, I will be honoring her memory and the skills and love of crafting that she helped to instill in me.

And maybe in time there will be a quilt for her memory - something that can be shared with other people.