May Quilt Update

Welcome to the Monthly Update.  What does that mean?  Well, it's just little ol me trying to recap what took place during the month so that I can keep track.  I kind of use it like a journal.  Please sit back and enjoy a peek into a month of my life.

 Any links that you click in this post will open in a DIFFERENT window, allowing you to continue reading this without losing the page.

The previous 2017 monthly update links are located at the end of this entry.  I hope that you make it that far.

Goals:

Easy Street (ES) - quilted, bound -
Garden Party (GP) - quilted and bound - 

Midnight Flight (MF) - blocks made
BOM (blue) quilted and bound -
BOM (Thimbleberries) set, backing made, label made, quilted and bound - Set, backing, label complete
BOM (pink) quilted and bound -

1st -  Happy May Day!  This goal of trying to get my blogs all caught up is sure resulting in one heck of a lot of time clicking away at the keyboard.  I have been at it  ALL day again and somehow I lost four hours,  Yes FOUR!  How does that happen.  After racing around the house like a crazy woman (because the clock freaked me out), I manage to be ready as the DART bus arrives and take me to the train station.  Wow.

Mister picks me up and we are off to see Mom H. fora  visit.  After that --- woohoo -- dinner out with my sweetie.  We are trying I ❤ Pho for the first time and the name rings true.  It's very good.



2nd -  I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the list of things to get done today.  Honest.  I leave for 10 days on Thursday and today is Tuesday.  What?  I have not begun to pack and I am still not kitted for the group project.  Obviously today is a work day.  Kick it in gear girl.

The blue wool for the backgrounds on both May woolies has arrived.  Can I get a Hallelujah here?  Let the cutting begin.

Working continuously until lunch, I have managed to get the kits complete and I am packed and staged.  Whew.

Now to get cleaned up and prepared as my friend, Valerie, is on her way over to visit for the afternoon.  She is rarely in the country these days and I am thrilled to get to be with her for awhile.  We have a great chat over cups of coffee and the time passes way too quick.

3rd -  I'm so glad I accomplished as much as I did yesterday, as today I get to play with another friend.  Elisabeth and I are meeting up for lunch at the East Hampton Sandwich Co. for some great food and conversation.

Elisabeth has discovered a cute little button shop in the same center and we are off to check it out.  It is called Benno's and this place is literally packed with buttons and trims.  I HAVE to remember it as I start to work on Ava's quiet book this spring.

Before all is said and done, I do indeed walk out with some fun buttons that I hope to incorporate into said book.  It looks like holiday pages are going to take place this go round.

I have found super fun Christmas and Halloween ones along with some extra touches that I can use.

It's been a fun lunch/shopping trip and now to go home and finish the laundry so that I can load the car for tomorrow.  It's retreat time!  (Yes, I wore the same tops both days --- hey, it's new and I love it.)

4th - Happy Birthday to ME!  May the Fourth be with you all.  I am outta here and heading to Rainbow, TX for 10 days of retreating with some of the most incredible women I know.    If you would like to read all about our fun, here is the Session 1 LINK,  Just click and it will open a new window for you to see the post -- this one won't close and you can just return and pick up where you left off.  That holds true for all links that are imbedded here.

My accomplishment for the day is getting the extra blocks made for my Pineapple Blossom quilt and webbing it.  Not too shabby for the first day at retreat.

5th - Day two and loving life.  I am determine to finish this project today.  That means I need to focus for awhile and I do it.  Woohoo.  After several snafus, the top is set and the inner border is made.

Once the gold inner border is in place, I start in with the leftover bonus triangles and am only four short.  Back to the scraps I go and I soon have four pinwheels for the cornerstones.  The pieced border then goes on and is followed up with an outer black/gold border.  TA-DA  I did not meet my goal for today, but at least this part is complete.

There were a few memorable moments from today -- perhaps you should go back and read the post if you opted not to.  Good stories.

6th - Day three and I'm already behind on my plan for each day.  It's time to get caught up.  Yes, I am sewing and staying on task.  No more adventures today.  First up is the backing, binding (and yes, I'm doing a flange), and label.  Give this girl a check mark.

The next task is to do something with these blocks that I found on the swap table last February.  I have now trimmed them to a uniform size.

I think a small lap quilt for my mother-in-law is in order.  I grabbed some fabrics real quick while packing and I put the sashings on and have a center in no time.  I then decide on a blue border from swap table fabric as I somehow didn't bring that.  TA-DA

As I go back to make the other parts, guess what?  I find the fabric I brought for the outer border -- a gorgeous purple.  Oh well, it's now going to be a backing.  The one will also receive a flange and boom -- I have another set up ready to quilt.

I said I wouldn't get distracted but we're off to the river again.  Someone has to supervise, right?  The best part -- a pic with my wonderful daughter.

Okay, I'm still playing catchup -- YES, I really gave myself a strict itinerary this time and got off to a bad start.  Next up, Nifty Thrifty.  I found two of these completely cut out when cleaning the studio last month.  Since we are doing it as a Quilt-A-Long in the Facebook Group starting the 15th, I will save one for that, but the other is getting a start here.  First up:  sew those strips together

Maria is teaching a wonderful class on post cards and/or luggage tags.  How fun are these?

Now back to the task at hand.  I get all the sets cut and start in on the blocks, completing 6 before calling it a night.

I'm doing well at keeping my promise to NOT become exhausted.  Tomorrow is another day.

7th - Day four.  We have to say good-bye to the first group this morning.  Before Sherri and Debi have to leave, we go to take a picture of the three of us with our Pineapple Blossom tops.

For the rest of the day, it's a quiet house and I am sewing blocks, blocks, and more blocks.  Nifty Thrifty set one is complete.  We have several ladies staying the entire 10 days and I LOVE the between days.  For a peek into our fun, here is the Tweener Time LINK.

8th - Day five -  I am taking it a bit slower today.  After sleeping in, the Nifty Thrifty sashings are next.    Once those are finished, it's time to layout and determine just how I want this to look.  I get the sashings attached before calling it a day.  Yes!  I LOVE the bright orange cornerstones.

9th - Day six --- Okay, I took it easy yesterday so I really need to work a bit harder today.  The in between days always go so quick and I have projects that require space.

I have a UFO that needs to be set along with all of it's parts for quilting.  I have 25 fat quarters for the backing and they all have to be trimmed to the same size before sewing them together.  I get them pressed and trimmed before starting to set the quilt.  I have setting triangles to make as well so sew, sew, sew.

I'm not a real fan of this fabric, but it is a UFO and thus must be tackled.  Once the setting triangles are complete, it goes together quick.  Woohoo, another top ready to go.

10th - Day seven - I have high hopes of marking TWO things off the list today.  I am finishing up two large pieces and using them as leader-enders.  I'm pretty sure this was not the original intent of the idea, but it's working for me.  Finishing the backing first, my leader/enders become the strip sets for the second Nifty Thrifty.  Yes, I am cheating a bit.  I'll live with it.

The borders are on the first one and I love the bright plaid.  This one and it's twin will be car quilts for us.  We never manage to remember to bring anything along with us so they will just stay there.  Super soft.

I move onto the binding and label for the UFO so that it is completely ready for quilting.  Another check mark please.  Now to prepare for the next group of retreaters.  We're going to have a Western Weekend and it makes total sense for my cowboy hat to wear a tiara.  Don't you agree?

11th - Day eight - It's time to get another group going.  Yeehaw and Whoopie Ki Yi Yay.  Please check in on the retreat fun with this Session Two LINK.  Now, we are off to Babe's for lunch.

I saved a project for today as there are lots of "purse" people here this go round and I'm scared to death.  I literally shut myself off in the corner ALL DAY to complete this one.  I like it but will need a permanent fabric glue to keep all the embellishments on.  I don't think making purses is in my future though.

It's getting late, but I want a head start on tomorrow's project.  It's a Hansel and Gretel doll set to be sewn and stuffed.  Yep, I know what I'll be doing all day tomorrow.  There are lots of pieces to this.

12th - Day nine - Val is teaching a class today on hot pads or coasters.  She has prepared all the hexies ahead of time and I'm thrilled to have a super quick project in my repertoire

It literally takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish.  Easy peasy.

It's an evening of fun with a campfire and s'mores.  Gotta love life in the country.

Before bed, I have accomplished my daily project.  All the parts are there and it's ready to go when I make my trip next month.  What's left on my list?

13th - Day ten - This is my last full day at retreat and I still have two "must do" projects.  I sent my grandson a pair of slippers for his birthday but they didn't fit so I need to remake a pair for him AND I have to complete a pair for my granddaughter's upcoming birthday.

They are both red/white/black but do not have many of the same fabrics in them.  I like the way they turned out though.   That's it.  I've tackled my list completely.  How cool is that?  I can't remember the last time I had a page full of checkmarks.

As it is the last night, when I finish the slippers, I pack up and clear my station.  It will make life so much easier tomorrow.  Before putting everything away, I take a couple pictures of the wonderful handout goodies going home with me.

I was so blessed to have this wonderful "birthday season" with women I care so very much for.  If you are interested in just how spoiled I was this year, yes, I posted about it.  What a super fun time and here is the Birthday Season LINK.

These past days have been amazing and will be remembered fondly for years to come.  However, our last night is marred by an accident involving Ana.  My heart hurts for her as I go to bed tonight.  She has hurt her foot and although I fear it is broken, I have opted to stay hopeful for her.  Time will tell.  We keep the love going with our last woman, last night picture.  If she has to be in bed, we all will be in bed.

14th - Well it's Day 11 and that means it's time to go home.  Happy Mother's Day to all and I can honestly say that I am ready for some sweetheart time.  It's been a great retreat and I have accomplished oh so much.

I have a bit of a snafu in getting  home, but Kitsey comes to the rescue and when I arrive, my new LulaRoe pants are waiting for me.  Yes, those dang retreat ladies talked me into a pair.  Alright Mister, let's go out and spend some time together.

P.S. The funniest part of today -- the minute I get home, my sweet man tries to fix my bubble gun that broke the first day of retreat.  Gotta love this man of mine.

15th -  It's recovery day.  Yep.  I also get to open all my fun packages that have arrived.  I have more LulaRoe and gifts from family members.  Being gone for my birthday means I get to celebrate all over again upon returning home.

16th -  Literally NOTHING.  I watched shows all day and vegged.  Just keeping it honest here.

17th -  I'm still really not worth much.  Another gift from Cassie today.  I can't wait to cuddle up in this one.  Oh wait -- I did get the retreat pictures developed.  Yay me.

19th -  Okay --- kicking it in gear here.  I NEED to be productive again.  I am meeting up with friends today, but first --- a stop at Home Depot.  Do you know why?

Now, it's off to the warehouse district and time with Valerie and Janet.  Woot woot.  I make a super fast stop to get charms for the November retreat and then zoom over to Golden D'Or.  They are in the costume departments and I don't think I've ever spent even a minute in there.  Guess what though?  I found the PERFECT fabric for the October retreat.  Awesome.

We move over to Perth Street and find all kinds of treasures.  Binding for a quiet book, beachy fabric, etc.  If I had a need -- the perfect piece seemed to just jump out at me today.

After the warehouses, we decide on lunch before continuing the shopping.  Today it is Greek.  The lighting over our table is crazy and Valerie has some fun with it.  Creativity oozing -- even at the lunch table.

With lunch behind us, a stop at thrift shop occurs and then we have to say good-bye.

I need to still meet up with Andrea out in Crandall today.  That means, I gotta drive.  Thanks ladies.  Truly.  I had such a nice time.

Once I get home from Crandall, Mister and I are sitting and I remember that I forgot to give Janet the kitted up hot pad patterns from retreat.  Oh dang.  They are having Friday Fanatics at the shop so he offers to drive me up there to deliver it.  Yep -- my amazing Mister.  It's a quick pop in and  we take a peek at what Valerie is working on.  I can't wait to see how this one turns out.

Well, what a fun day.  Here are my treasures and I'm thrilled to have found each one of them.  It looks like my purse will even get finished now that I found the right glue.  Awesome.

20th -  I've been looking forward to today for quite some time.  It's my first day with the Red Hat Society.  Please click on this Red Hat LINK to see the delightful day I had.

Upon my return, I decided to take my gift card that Mom sent to me and put it to use.  Hitting a sale nets me a new pair of jeans and 5 tops.  I'm ready for summer.

For our evening, we are attending a party in downtown Dallas.  This LINK has some of the beautiful pictures we are able to shoot.  Ah, living above the city -- nice.

21st -  As we were out and about today, the battery on the car gave us a few issues so we made a beeline to Sears, where it was still under warranty.  Score!  While there, I find some cute new dresses to take to the girls in Utah.

Our next stop is at Lowe's but as we drive in, I spot a Vienna Beef sign.  Oh I do love Vienna Beef hot dogs.  We make an instant pit stop and are soon enjoying hot dogs so big that dinner has now been handled.  Wow.  What a great place and we will be back.

22nd -  So, the Nifty Thrifty Quilt-A-Long actually started on the 15th and today a new step comes out.  I haven't tackled the first one.  As the leader of the group, that makes me feel a wee bit of guilt and I quickly remedy the situation.  Here is the Nifty Thrifty Step One LINK where you can follow along with what should have been last week's step.

23rd -  Well, obviously since I tackled step one yesterday, step two is on today's agenda.  here is where I get a head start as I sewed the strips together at retreat.  However, I still have more to do in t his step and you can follow along in this  Nifty Thrifty Step Two LINK.  The rest of the day is spent still playing catch-up on the personal blog.  I'm so close I can taste it.

24th - With the taste of victory in my mouth, I get four more old personal blog entries complete.  I think I only have about six to go.  Oooooh - can I get it this month?

25th - I spend all morning working on the pictures and videos for my personal blog.  Wanting a break, I then spend the rest of the day drawing for woolie kits.  I have created a disaster in my bedroom, but they are getting drawn.  It's a start anyway.

26th - We are off to  Abilene and my granddaughter's high school graduation and you can see all the great pictures and read the stories at this  Graduation LINK.

But first, the LAST of my birthday fat quarters from the exchange group have arrived.  I can finally take the picture and post it.  How fun these are and it's so great to be a group where everyone meets the deadline and follows through on their commitment.  Now, I've enjoyed the treats and need to remember all the rest of the months that I still have to send.

27th - We are still in Abilene helping Jen prepare for Bekah's graduation party.  Yes, I am multi-talented and have decorated a cute cake for her.  You can see everything that we did in this Party LINK.

Once the party is over -- Mister and I hit the road again for the return trip, making a stop along the way in Thurber.  Take a few minutes to check out this Thurber LINK and see the small adventure we had.

28th - Good Morning Dallas.  We started out our day at the coffee shop, then went to see a movie - The Zookeeper's Wife, and ended the day with stops at Trinity Hall and Pints and Quarts.  Just a super nice "us two" day.  Loved it.

29th - Because we haven't drove enough this week, we are off to Fort Worth.  With a donut and a cup of boba tea in hand -- here comes the Fort Worth Zoo.  We have such a great time and after leaving make a stop at the antique mall  where remarkable we don't find a single treasure to take home.  What is up with that?  A lunch/dinner at a bbq across the road and home to relax with a coconut collins drink.  I love these days together and am sorry he has to go back to work tomorrow.  Do you want to see the sights -- click on this Zoo LINK.

30th -   It's TIME!   I am so excited that today has arrived.  I will be even more excited when September gets here and the whole event gets off the ground for real.  Here is the Mystery LINK  for this year's quilt along with colors and yardages.  Please play along.

Once I have the mystery up, it's blogging and pictures from this weekend with a little house hunting thrown in for good measure.

31st -  The last day of the month has arrived.  Wow -- another one just zoomed by and I didn't get near as much done as my wishful thinking wanted.  I REALLY need to get out to the studio and work on my quilt machine so that I can get the list at the top tackled.  I do think that that requires me staying home though -- something I seem to have difficulty with lately.  Speaking of --- I drove to Weatherford and back today.  It is the first day of first session of summer camps.  Welcome Jacob.  Let's see where the next few days take us.  As for the rest of you --- keep on creating and I'll see you next month.

As always, thank you so very much for checking in with me again this month.  I do this for ME and appreciate you so much for peeking in now and then.  Since it is for me, I keep it ad free and hope for it to stay that way.  It's just a way of holding memories tight.  Check back in now and then (or sign up for email notifications and you'll never miss a post) and please check out the link to OUR QUILT BLOGS at the top of the page for many of the quilt groups are starting to restrict the posting of blogs into the groups.  If you want to still have a long monthly read and time for your tea, join the group.  Thanks for sticking around this long -- I am grateful for everyone who reads each month.

Links to Previous 2017 Monthly Update Posts:

January 2017
February 2017
March 2017
April 2017