Can April 2010 really be coming to an end?

It's mid spring around here. Where did January through March go? I had 3 hours of time spent on Mitchel's Cat yesterday-I have 2 more colors to get cut out and put on the collage-like foundation. Then I need to do my trimming so I have the right edges on top. Soon I'll be pressing it all down. I need this to be stuck together before I go on retreat May 13 as I don't want to possibly get another person's iron all sticky, but can't use a personal iron there (we start blowing fuses). This I will definitely show here when the pressing is done.

Retreat projects I propose to do so far include (which may change):
1. quilting my Dad's t-shirt quilt
2. stitching down Mitchel's cat quilt edges-maybe layering and quilting this too
3. creating gaggy 30's paper pieced flowers for below the window
4. binding a Linus quilt
5. something with jelly roll strips from the Chicago show
6. preparing the blocks for that cat pattern with the design done in outline stiches

Chicago Show coming up

My quilt guild is making an annual bus trip to the big Chicago International Quilt show this weekend. Looks like it may be the last for a while as they announced they would be in Cincinnati in future years. So I'm doubly glad I talked my DD into coming along with us this year. It will be her first big show, and I need to take care to let her see the quilts as much as she wants and not expect her to enjoy the vendors as much as I do. I'll bring my shopping wish list, so a good excuse to take stock of my stash to see if there are colors I'm short on, or items needed to finish a project or two. No laughing-I really mean 'finish'. Ok, it may be safer to say 'make progress'. Then I'm hoping I'm not too tired come Sunday to do some house work, yard work and/or quilt work.

Behind on quilting, catching up on the little things

So it's been almost two weeks since the Kimberly Einmo class, and I still haven't posted photos of my project. I finished all 16 of the blocks, but they aren't set. They are stunning when laid out in her original set, but I got to playing and I like another minor variation of the layout. Now I'm trying to clear my design wall to see if there are other possibilities for the block set. I'll get photos of those variations soon.

My time drags were: painting a large bathroom and helping my DD paint her bedroom, weekend travel for Easter, and doing taxes. Somewhere in there 2 books distracted me too.

I'm working on the gaggy 30's project again. I am finishing the arcs that would go above the framed flower vases. I'll get that section done this weekend (really I will) and post a picture. Next on that project is cutting side panels for some vine appliques-thinking the buttonhole stitching would be good handwork to have ready when we make a trip this summer to CO. Then that project can come down for a bit and the Einmo variations can go up.

I'm still working in fits and starts on Mitchel's cat. The fusible is cut and ready to go on fabric backs. That I'd like to have pieces fused to the background before the May 14th retreat so I can layer and quilt that. Yes, it's time to dream of retreat projects. So far it may be a lot of quilting, which is not good for my shoulders and back. I'll have to find some piecing to bring along too.

Now on to readying photos of my back yard to send to my brother-in-law so he can advise me on what can be done to spruce it up. Hopefully I can get him and my brother to come up from St. Louis to do the work-he does fantastic stonework and landscaping.