Tonight was date night. Mr. Nice Guy and I went shopping and out to see Despicable Me. Such a cute show! This one is a keeper. I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD.
As we left the movie theater, these cute little guys were crossing the street. Everyone stopped for them. I looked around at some of the other drivers and everyone had big huge smiles on their faces. It was neat. The perfect ending to a perfect day!
Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 36.375 yards
Added this Week: 3.375 yards
Added Year to Date: 60 yards
Net Used for 2010: -23.625 yards
I didn’t get much done this week except picking up a few more charm packs. I have a serious addiction to charms. But they absolutely so cute and I love small projects.
My husband started a new job on Friday and we are on the same schedule for the first time in our marriage. It is a real blessing. He had a job where he worked physically hard for 11 years. It was starting to take its toll on him and it was time for a change. He was exhausted and really didn’t have a life. When you work different shifts, you miss everything. Don’t get me wrong – we appreciated his job and it certainly helped get the kids through school/college. So now it is his time to do what he enjoys doing. Anyhow, I thought it was so cool to get home and was almost finished fixing supper before he walked in the door. Seemed like normal – whatever that is. He was excited to tell me about his first day and I couldn’t wait to get home to hear about it. For years, we have worked around the others schedule. We both walked around trying not to wake the other up. So this is a great change for both of us.
Saturday we went shopping. My husband gets to wear polo shirts and khaki shorts to work everyday. Is this a dream job or what! Plus it is the perfect time to buy shorts. End of summer clearance. Today we had lunch with my daughter. It is her 24th birthday. Wow! Time has flown. The is the second time we had lunch with she and her boyfriend. The first impression wasn’t so good. Today was much better. Usually, I’m pretty good on the first impressions. But maybe we were a little too hasty. What is more nerve racking than meeting your girlfriend’s parents? LOL
I recently had an opportunity to participate in a Twitter Party hosted by Stitchin’ Heaven. It was a lot of fun. We got to chat and answer questions for prizes. I really enjoyed myself and learned a few things about Twitter parties. I won some fun prizes. My winnings arrived in the mail yesterday. Isn’t this a fun package that they put together. Many thanks to Niki and the gang at Stitchin Heaven for the goodies!
Making progress. I finished piecing 3 rows yesterday. I’ve decided to try pressing my seams open. I love it. The fabric lays so much flatter.
Used this Week: 7 yards
Used year to Date: 36.375 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 56.625 yards
Net Used for 2010: -20.25 yards
I’ve been messing around with this quilt since fall. It feels really good to get it finished. The piecing went quickly but for some reason, I procrastinated getting it layered and machine quilted together.
I did get the free motion quilting finished . Lots of mistakes but learning something with every project. I need to work on visibility. Most of us in our forties are in the reading glasses window. My eye sight wasn’t good before I got to my forties. The reading glasses seem like a hassle. I can’t really say that the vision is that much better. Maybe another trip to the eye doctor would be in order.
The other thing I need to correct is the lighting. I’ve skimmed a few articles on indirect lighting but didn’t really give it my full attention. It has my attention now. I’ve got a couple of floor lamps sitting around the cabinet along with another cabinet to help hold the quilt off to my left side. It just feels cluttered around my desk. I think I’ll discuss with Mr. Nice Guy because he is mechanically inclined and will have a McGyverish idea about how I can make this work better.
I got this brilliant idea about using a large extension table on top of my sewing cabinet to better my line of sight. While it brought the quilt closer to me, my arms were higher than a 90 degree angle. My shoulders and neck were killing me after stitching the first third of the quilt. It was hard to move the quilt around. In hind sight, I probably should have fluffed the quilt around the table more but it was kind of a pain in the rear. I was constantly adjusting the quilt. The sewing machine returned to sitting in the cabinet for the remainder of the quilting which was much better on the neck, shoulders and back. Moving the quilt went much better as well.
My husband’s day off was yesterday, so I left work a little early so we could head over to our favorite movie theater which is about an hour away. We went to see Inception. Wow! – that was a great mind twister. This movie totally rocks.
After the movie we headed over to get ice cream from Marble Slab. Then off to Border Books. They have the best coupons with their border rewards cards. We decided to go back and see the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Very fun and entertaining movie. I’ll definitely buy when it comes out on DVD. Honestly, I think the critics are way to hard on this one.
I didn’t order or receive any fabric this week. But I am working on getting a quilt finished. I’ve been busy machine quilting. I have to laugh because I did this on my first free motion quilt and said I learned my lesson but I did it again. I spent hours marking this quilt with a stipple stencil. But when I got my quilt up on the table and started sewing, I had such a hard time seeing some of the markings. I should have tried pouncing but I tried to use a blue marking pen/white chalk pencil. I could see the blue on the white and the white on the black but boy it was tough to see the markings on the aqua and some of the orange. So I just started sewing. Some spots are better than others. The practice is good. I got about 1/3 of the way finished. So maybe next weekend, I’ll be able to count this as finished.
I like fabrics for kids. They are just so colorful. I’ve been saying that seemed kind of crazy because we don’t have any children and our kids don’t have any children. But that is all changing. My daughter called to tell us she and her husband are expecting their first baby. I am so excited! I get to be a Grandma! Their baby is due around the first part of February and I’ve been invited to come stay to help. Can you see me jumping up and down?
When I saw the pictures of this fabric at Spring Market, I thought how sweet. Then I saw this pattern and I just completely fell in love with it. Little did I know. I sent a picture of the pattern to my daughter to see what she thought. She loves it. I better get these WIPs finished up because I’ve got a baby to sew for!
Jen over at A Quilting Jewel is celebrating her 100th post. Sounds like someone else I know. She is giving away some beautiful fat quarters and a Nest layer cake. Go check it out!
No change this week.
