Ahh...A Weekend at Home

After returning from the Great Dismal Swamp on Thursday evening, I was so happy to have a weekend at home. Friday was a day of taking care of business...running the truck over to get it inspected, taking Miss Shelby to the vet and groomer, meeting my husband and a former co-worker (now neighbor) for lunch then back to pick up a well-groomed Miss Shelby.

Here's our typical routine on grooming day: I pick her up and she is very unhappy with me for leaving her there to be tortured. (They take very good care of her actually. She just hates a bath and the whole grooming process is a miracle to me, seeing that she won't even let me brush her. She thinks it's a game of "attack the hairbrush".) So, as a consolation prize for being a good little girl, we stop by the quilt shop (I know, big sacrifice on my part) where the ladies there love on her and dote on her and she gets to run around greeting everyone. Then, we drive through Chick-fil-a where she gets a 4 piece chicken nuggets and I get a large diet lemonade.

No. She is not spoiled. She deserved every bit of it.

Then Saturday, our bee had an "in-town" retreat. We met at one member's church, set up our sewing space and sewed all day. It was wonderful. Not everyone made it this time but it was still a lot of fun. I got a baby quilt basted, pieced some blocks on my mom's Christmas present and laid out this blue and brown repro quilt that I have been working on forever. When I get the top together, I'll post pictures. It's going to be a doozie.

After church this morning, today was spent at home with Shelby, piecing another quilt, napping and working on judge certification paperwork. Then tonight we had our last Dinner for Eight dinner with this group. It was, again, wonderful. We'll be signing up for a new group soon. I'll miss getting together with this group though. We had a lot of fun and some interesting discussions.

Now, it's time to get ready for the new work week. It's going to be a short one because of the July 4th holiday but a busy one. That's a good thing...being busy.

An Award

Ginabean gave me an award! Thanks Gina!

Now I have to tell you 7 things (which I don't think I've ever done in all the time I've been blogging....how did I do that?)

So...7 things you may not know (some of you will though because you've known me too well for way more years than I want to contemplate):

1. I could fly an airplane before I could drive a car. (I "soloed" a week after my 16th birthday and used to fly acrobatic planes with my cousin.)

2. I was a majorette in high school and caught the football field on fire at half time during homecoming. (Didn't have to call the fire department though...they were already standing by.)

3. I have a Masters of Civil Engineering degree because I didn't want to find a job when I graduated undergrad.

4. The furthest from home I've ever been is Riga, Latvia.

'

5. I once poked a Highway Patrolman in the chest for leaving me beside the road when my car wouldn't start. (He had pulled me, given me a ticket, then took off. When I got in my car and tried to start it, it wouldn't. I got out, started jumping up and down in the road screaming at him to come back. He did. I yelled at him, jabbing him in the chest with my finger...you know "ARE YOU CRAZY? DON'T YOU EVER LEAVE A GIRL ALONE ON THE ROAD LIKE THAT WITHOUT MAKING SURE HER CAR WOULD START! EVER! EVER! EVER!" He was very contrite and jumped my car. I bet he never left the scene like that again.)

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6. I have no idea how to properly hem a skirt, pants, dress, anything...and don't want to know.

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7. I am sitting in my hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express in Suffolk, Virginia which is the closest available non-creepy hotel room to my job site. (The wonderful B&B I stayed in the night before was full last night). If I had not found it, I probably would have slept in my truck in the parking lot at the Gates County courthouse last night. I would have been fine. My truck is comfortable and the sheriff would have kept an eye on me but it would have been hot.

'

So, there it is...proof that though I may appear normal on the outside, on the inside...I may be just a little off.

'

I'm supposed to tag folks but I can't choose. So, if you want to be tagged, go for it. I love reading the wacky things you think people don't know about you.

Some Goodies from the Road

We worked like crazy last we but we also found time to shop! Here are a few of the things I gathered.


I didn't buy much fabric really. There's some flannel for a quilt back that I bought at The Red Rooster in Dublin, Ohio (40% off so I couldn't help myself) and a fat quarter of reproduction fabric for a very specific project.

There are a few little patterns, two are for pin cushions that I might actually make one day. One sits on this cool little antique clamp (you can see it sitting on top of the flannel.

One kit from Bonnie Blue Quilts. (I've been known to leave their booth minus a car payment but I'm much more in control now...really...I am.) The fabrics are beautiful and I may have to break down and start it this weekend.

That Mountain Top pattern is made of little bits of reproduction fabrics and was too hard to resist. So was that little bear. Just what I need...something else to sit around but just look at him! He's holding a bundle of wool.

That green thing is a little caddy I'm going to put in my retreat bag. Maybe it'll help me keep my table organized at retreat and I can cut down on the time spent searching for my seam ripper.

That wooden rod is a spool adjuster thing. It's nice and tall and perfect for a Featherweight. I'm betting it'll keep me from flinging the spool of thread across the room when I'm winding bobbins.

Finally, the little purple pliers were my "sales commission" from The Thimble Lady. Apparently they made big sales because folks loved my thimble I wear around my neck.

Here are some books I gathered...you know, for study purposes.

And finally, more books. We decided that since we had to drive right by Wytheville, Virginia, it would be silly not to stop at Batiks, Etc. Silly.

So, that is most of the haul from the week. Now, I've got to get to reading!

A Secret Mission

I didn't tell anyone I would be gone all last week (well, except for my husband and my boss). I went on a secret mission. It's one of those things you want to share but then again...

What if I decide this is the worst idea I've ever had.

What if I decide I don't want to do this thing.

What if I can't do it?

What if I fail?

Well, after a week of living it, I know three things.

It's NOT the worst idea I've ever had.

I REALLY want to do this thing.

I CAN do it.

The failure part...well, that remains to be seen.

I've thought about doing this for years and years and I finally took the first steps. I've been accepted into the NQA Judge Certification Program as a Candidate.

With other candidates from all over the world, I served as a judging aide at the NQA Annual Show in Columbus, Ohio. For three days, I worked as a runner, fanner, holder and gopher. I also helped with the photography of the winning quilts. I got to be the quilt catcher so when the photographer said "good", I ran in and caught the quilt as the hangers brought the pole down, carried it to the side where someone else pulled the pole out, then carried it to the folder. So, when you get your NQA quarterly magazine and see all those wonderful winning quilts...just think...I got to touch each one of them (with white gloves of course)!

Thursday and Friday was spent in the NQA Intro to Quilt Judging class. It was intense but a lot of fun. It is amazing what you can learn in a couple of days.



I did actually get to attend the show. We went to the preview night on Wednesday evening and got to spend a few hours dashing through the vendors and seeing the quilts in the special exhibits (the ones we had not been toting around all week).

After a stop in Wytheville, Virginia at Batiks, Etc. (yum), I was back home yesterday.

Now begins the real work.

They don't give these certifications away.

There are lots of steps you must go through including a rigorous independent study, working as an aide at two national shows, and passing written and oral exams.

It actually reminds me a lot of my last year of graduate school.

One other big step I need to fulfill is acquiring judging experience. I've got lots of experience as quilt show chair, judging room coordinator, scribe, aide, etc. but am a bit light on actual judging experience.

So, if you need a quilt judge for your show or county fair or 4-H group, etc., let me know.

I'm cheap labor...for now.

Annual UFO Census

For some reason Memorial Weekend is my "quilt world" New Year. A couple of years ago, I counted up my UFOs and started monitoring my progress monthly. This year I adopted a percentage complete process.

If a quilt is cut out, it is 5% complete.
Blocks pieced = 20% complete.
Applique finished = 30%
Top pieced = 40%
Borders on = 60% (yeah, a big jump but I don't enjoy putting on borders so I need a big reward)
Basted = 75%
Quilted = 80%
Binding on = 90%
Binding whipped down & complete = 100%

This is, of course, all in a little spreadsheet that calculates my overall percent complete based on the number of UFOs I have.

I started the year with 151. Well, this isn't quite true because I added some along the way but you get the idea. I have A LOT of UFOs. BUT...keep in mind that when I started two years ago I had 209 UFOs on my list.

Here's where you really see the progress and why I started the percentage countdown instead of just looking at totals. When I started Memorial Weekend 2008, my percent complete number was 13.1%. Memorial Weekend 2009, my percent complete number is 33.9%. YAY! Progress!

From my little spreadsheet, I can see that I completed 23 quilts in my 2008-2009 quilt year. Not bad. Not a banner year, but not bad considering the full time job that's out of control, a serious change in lifestyle (as in getting out of the house and taking better care of myself) and not to mention all the handwork I'm doing.

It's nice to see progress.

So now, I'll copy my little spreadsheet for another year, take out all the finished projects, add in a couple of projects I know need to be on the list (like a couple little boy scout quilts for the nephs and a kit I could not resist at Quilter's Gallery and a couple of rug projects) and I'm off again.

So Quilt Year 2009 begins with 131 projects in the queue and at 21.6% complete. (Still better than the 13.1% complete a year ago.)

We'll see what adventures another year will bring!

Hanging Rock State Park

Yep, we hiked to the top today.



Yep, I'm going to be sore tomorrow.



Yep, I am very proud of myself.