It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To

It's my birthday. Not only that, but its a big one involving a 3 and a 0. ugh.

I'm simultaneously mourning and celebrating by having my sister over and sewing all afternoon.

I think that will help me feel better.

If not then its all up to the chocolate cake to get me through today.

Floods, Quilts and Awards

A week and a half ago our pipes decided they'd had enough of the tree roots that were trying to invade out front. So one evening after hubbie had showered and I'd started the dishwasher, our downstairs bathroom, and subsequently much of the downstairs, flooded. What a mess!

Here's what I learned:
1. A wet/dry vac is a beautiful thing.
2. I can vacuum up 55 galloons of water all by myself (hubbie wasn't home when this was discovered).
3. All the homeowners insurance money we've been paying Allstate hasn't been in vain. They've done right by us.
4. What is a horrible mess for adults is an exciting adventure for kids. See below.
5. Modern Plumbing is such a wonderful, heaven-sent blessing!

So since our house has been a shambles and despite the fact that my son has loved seeing the carpet ripped out and several sets of workers come and go, I decided to leave my poor hubbie at home to deal with it all and take the kids up to my mom's for 5 days. Cute little barefeet and our disaster area of a home aren't a good mix.

We're back now and we still have about a week before new carpet is installed, but we've survived the worst, I think.

As always, being at my mom's house involved quilting. I've completed my Improv Quilt Project quilt top. I'll show more pictures soon. Here's a sneak peek.

I also wanted to thank Elizabeth and Anna for their sweet bloggie awards.

These two lovely friends of mine are both great bloggers. They have cute blogs, update them regularly and are always showing cute things. I'm honored that they would pass an award on to me.

I'm gonna openly admit that I'm a lazy blogger. I only blog when I feel like it. I'm slow to respond to emails. I blog for purely selfish reasons. And I'm not good about those meme things (what does meme mean?) or awards.

I know I'm supposed to pass these awards on but that sounds like work. And since it is Sunday today, I better not do it. (What with trying to Keep the Sabbath Holy and all.)

But if you read my blog and have ever commented before, I have most likely clicked on your profile and checked out your blog. And then two seconds later, added you to my bloglines list. Now I read your blog and know all about you. Commenting on here is a real commitment, didn't you know?

So if, like I said, you have ever commented on my blog, then I consider you a bloggie friend and you should consider yourself awarded with these prestigious awards. I'll be checking your blogs soon to read your acceptance speeches.

WOW! I guess I had a lot to say today.

have you seen this commercial? the snuggie?

Click here to see Snuggie Commercial

i'm sure they are very comfy. but, i think i'll stick with my quilts.

anywho, hubbie, after seeing this commercial today said,

"you should make quilts with sleeves!"

um, i think he was kidding.

Have A Sandwich

My little princess turned 2 this week!

To celebrate, I made her a sandwich. Oh, and I thought she should have something for breakfast too.

I'm in love with felt food. This was so fun to make! And worth all the effort to see her pretend to eat my creation.

She needs something for dessert now. I'm thinking cupcakes.

Project Improv

I've been swept up in the excitement surrounding Jacquie's Project Improv. I've long admired stuff like this online but haven't done much of anything like it. So here was my reason to start cutting fabric at random and see what happens.

Here's my first block.

And the 4 that followed.

this and this were floating around in my brain for inspiration as I started. Aren't those pretty? My blocks don't really look like either of theirs, but I'm quite happy with how mine ended up too.

If you haven't already, give this improv stuff a try. It's fun!

Just one more post about 2008

I finally caught on to how to make one of those nifty Mosaics.

So here in all their quilty splendor are my 2008 completed quilts.

Top L-R 1. Joseph Smith Quilt 2. Candy Pinwheels 3. Buttercream Quilt
Middle L-R 1. Blackberry Pie 2. Austin's Wedding Quilt 3. Little Boy Blue
Bottom L-R 1. Squares 2. Hurricane Ike Scrap Quilt 3. Zig-Zaggy 9 patch

I know there are lots of more prolific quilters out there. I only quilt when its fun. And unfortunately, I do try to stay out of the poor house.

I can't decide on my favorite. It's either the Candy Pinwheels or the ZigZaggy 9 patch. What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by! I can't wait to get busy and see what 2009 brings!

What I did between Christmas and New Years

I love those lazy days between Christmas and New Years.

Here's how I spent my holiday:

I got this one quilted over Thanksgiving and bound before New Years. Nothing like squeezing in one more finished project before the end of the year!

I L-O-V-E, Love how this one turned out. I've never said this before but I think I'd actually like to make this one again in a different colorway. It was so fun to see it come together.

The 9 patches were from an exchange my friends and I had in 2007. I let them sit for a long time, mulling over the possibilities of what to do with them. This is finally what I came up with.