Civic Duty

Yes, I had jury duty yesterday. It seems like every few months I get a lovely summons in the mail. I don't really mind, it was just that yesterday was not the best day to be out of work. But it really seems like no day is good to be out of work. I made my way to downtown Decatur yesterday morning in the fog hoping that I would not be selected and get get back to school or at least get home a little early to do some of my homework. No such luck. I was selected to serve on a jury. That was a first, I usually don't get out of the "holding pen". I was fortunate that I brought along some of my homework for my class, since we had more breaks during the day that actual court time. Luckily it was a very simple case that required very little deliberation, but it was after 5:00 before I got home. No sewing, since I had the assignment that I was working on during the day. I guess as far as jury duty goes it wasn't too bad of a day, at least it was only one day.

Rodeo Night

I'm not the Quilting Cowgirl for nothing. Last night Joe and I went to the World's Toughest Cowboy, which is part of the World's toughest Rodeo on Spike TV. It was so much fun. There were 12 cowboys competing for the title of toughest cowboy. The three events are bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. After the bronc riding there was an appearance by Whiplash and the Cowboy Monkey. Everyone was so excited about the monkey herding sheep, it was really the dog that should have been getting all of the applause. It was very entertaining!! Then they had mutton busting, where kids were riding sheep. They were so cute. They had on their helmets and vest just like the cowboys. The bull riding was the final event. That is one of my favorites, I watch the PBR a lot on TV. Two of our favorite vacations have been to Cheyenne for the Rodeo. This rodeo wasn't as exciting but it was still a great "date night" for us. After the rodeo there was a concert by Whiskey Falls. We only stayed for a part of it, we aren't huge county music fans.

Bunny Hill BOM

I had never done applique until last year when I started a BOM at Stitch n' Quilt. I decided that I really enjoyed it. I like to do some type of handwork while watching TV at night with my husband. There is only so much cross stitch that you can do and everyone in my family has new hats and scarves that I have knitted. I check the Bunny Hill website often and found this great new block of the month. I got so excited about it that I have already done the first month.

I didn't even have to go buy anything, I found everything that I needed in my stash. Hopefully, I can be that lucky each month. One of the leaves is a little off, but I had already taken it off three times, and decided that it added character.

Day Off

It was great to have a day off from school, with absolutely nothing that I had to do. For the most part I did things that I wanted to do. I mailed a care package to my mom. As many of you know she has ovarian cancer and has started chemo treatments. I made two chemo caps for her, one basic black and the other her favorite color lime green. I also sent her some candied ginger, many people have told me that it helps chemo related nausea. So far she hasn't needed it, hopefully she won't need it. I also got her a bottle of "gloves in a bottle". She loves it. If you haven't tried it, it is the best hand lotion.

I also finished another project. Some time last year I started a baby quilt, I think it was when I was recovering from my surgery. I had put it aside when I felt better. The only thing I needed to do was sew the borders on, which I managed to do yesterday. I actually bought this fabric about five years ago, on my first trip to Mary Jo's.

After sewing part of the day, I decided to watch a movie. For Christmas, my niece gave the whole series of "The Thin Man" movies. I love old movies. If you aren't familiar with them it is Myrna Loy and William Powell. They play a married detective couple. Very 1930's. They don't even sleep in the same bed. Boy have movies changed.

New Quilting Series

I stumbled on this book Friday afternoon when I went by the library to pick up some books I had on hold. It appealed to me for several reasons, The author Clare O'Donahue worked with Alex Anderson on Simply Quilts, and it looked like an easy read. Now that I am back in school I wanted something that I could read quickly. I started it this morning and it is definitely worth reading.

Thimbles

I had so much fun last night, meeting with the "Thimbles" sewing group. This was the first weekend the group met. I have been looking forward to the meeting since our cookie exchange in December. It was great to see everyone and spent some quality time sewing. Here I had been feeling so good that I had finished one project this week, until I started another one last night. The kit for this month was one of Pat, our formidable and hilarious leader's, designs: Pinwheels on Parade.
The kit was provided by Bad Melissa at Sweet Home. I fell in love with the fabrics that were used in the kit. The fabrics are very similar to the ones shown on the pattern. I love anything that has red in it, but this is my first red, blue and gold quilt. I got all of the pieces cut last night, and many of the strips sew together. Since I am out of school on Monday for MLK day I plan on working on it some more. I don't want this one to end up in my UFO stack.

One UFO down, ??????????? to go

One of my New Year's resolutions was to complete at least one UFO a month. At least for January I can say that I did it. Several years ago I found this Santa fabric at an after Christmas sale. ( I am a sucker for old fashioned Santa fabric). I didn't know what to do with it, because I didn't want to cut it up into little pieces. Last fall I found a pattern where I could use it as a border, so I started not one but two quilts. I also have this same fabric with a green background. Unfortunately, that project is still a UFO! I decided that everyone in my family needs their very own Christmas quilt. It might take me years to get them made but one day I will. Here is the finished top.

It was very easy to make. It is 8 blocks by 7, the blocks are 61/2 inches big. All of the fabrics came from my stash are are either Christmas fabrics or Christmas colors. Now to finish the other one and get them both quilted.

New Book

I found this great book yesterday afternoon at Intown Quilters. They had a gorgeous quilt made up out of it. The pattern in the book shows it made from batiks, the sample in the shop is made out of beautiful floral fabrics. I would never have picked this book up without seeing the sample. It will definitely be a future project.

Happy New Year!!

I know I am a little late with wishing everyone a happy New Year, but this is the first chance I have had. Things have been really hectic in my world recently, if the holidays weren't enough. My mom had surgery in December for ovarian cancer followed by her first chemo treatment last week. She lives 5 hours away in north Mississippi. I spent the last week with her. It was a good visit, but I was more than ready to get back home and in a routine.
I am so hoping that 2009 is a better year for me and my family. 2008 was about the worst ever. I am really looking forward to starting a new year, at work, at home, and at school. Yes, I am heading back to school. I start tomorrow night, working on my specialist degree in Library Media. I have talked about it for a couple of years and kept putting it off. I decided if I was ever going to do it now was the time. It was been a little over 10 years since I was in school I know this will be an adjustment. But it isn't keeping me from making New Year's Resolutions. There are three resolutions that I have made: finish one already started project a month, try one new recipe a week, and have as much fun as I possibly can. I will keep you updated on my progress.
How many of you made resolutions or goals? I would love to hear about them.