Feels good to be home!

It DOES feel good to be home! I finally have my suitcase unpacked and I'm caught up on the laundry. I think I'm caught up on sleep, too. (When the new baby is awake, Grammy is awake, especially with a ranch-style house! Not used to being awakened 2-3 times during the night!) Now I'm getting caught up on touching base with friends.

One friend asked me if I got any quilting done while I was gone. I certainly did! I spent a lot of time holding baby Savannah, but I also accomplished a lot on those projects I packed. I have most of the blocks completed for the on-line block exchange. And I got most of the quilting done on the challenge project from my small circle of quilting friends.

I did a bit of writing while I was gone, too. I always have a spiral notebook along with me so I can jot down notes when inspiration hits me. I'm gathering ideas and writing patterns for a new series called "Thanks, Grandma". I'll have the first couple of patterns ready soon. Stay tuned for more information. . .

In the meantime, happy stitching!

Carol

PS: Pix is of baby Savannah, at about 2 weeks old. Awwww. . . :)

Going Again!

Getting ready to leave again...this time for Oklahoma to spend time with my daughter, son-in-law and their new baby girl. I can't wait to see her and give her a "Grammy" hug! I'll be gone for 2 weeks and I don't know how much time I will have for blogging. You might not hear from me for a while.

All this week I have been gathering things together so that I would have plenty of stitching projects to work on while away. Those were the first things packed into my suitcase! I never leave home without some kind of sewing project because, for me, stitching is excellent therapy. Do you agree?

I've also packed my latest quilting magazine which I'll read through while sitting in the airport this afternoon, waiting for my flight. Wonder if there are any baby quilt ideas in this magazine? Funny how becoming a grandma makes one interested in baby quilts (when I never really was before!).

Happy Easter, happy Spring, and happy hours of stitching! Carol :)

PS--the quilts pictured are from my "Metamorphosis" pattern, available for purchase. E-mail me for details:

cloessel@yahoo.com

I'm back

I'm back home after an emotional week with my parents. They are definitely doing better now than when I got there, but I feel like I was living in fast forward all week. We got a lot of things accomplished, and I think we are all spending this week resting up from our hard work!

It didn't take me long to get back to my sewing projects. I'm back to working on that UFO I mentioned. I'm putting together a bunch of scrap fabrics and before I left for Wisconsin, I noticed that I'd sewn one scrap on backwards. At that point I'd decided that since it was a scrap quilt, it really didn't matter. When I picked it up again the other day, I had second thoughts and almost ripped it out. Then I read something while browsing on-line. I ran across a list of tips given by some of the teachers at this year's upcoming Quilt Festival in Chicago. One of them made me smile (and still does!) Laura Heine says "Use both sides of your fabrics...you buy both sides!" That solves my problem! The scrap stays in the quilt the way I sewed it!

Hope to have that quilt top finished in the next couple of days. I'm going back to work on it right now! Hope your stitching makes YOU smile today! Carol :)