Street Party

We had a fun time last night - street party downtown! And yes, Aubie was there and was sweet to pose with me.

Daughter 1 came with us and we strolled through the streets, listening the to band and browsing the vendors.

I spend so much time INSIDE working - and it was good to get out for the evening.

And YES - I put the last stitch in Odyssey yesterday!!!! (Except for the label.) Photo shoot is ON for today! WOOHOO!

I also did more tidying yesterday. WHERE? My email account! Oh my, it was a mess. So much clutter. I'm embarrassed to say that I had over 3000 messages in my inbox. Most of them junk. And so I went to work UNSUBSCRIBING to so many email I get from various sources. That will help. Then I went to work DELETING. I'm now down to about 1500 in my inbox. Halfway there!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

24 Hexies...

I basted 24 more hexies yesterday and am now in the process of stitching hexies together for the November BOM. After this block, only one more to go this year!

And the cool thing is - I've already made the January block for next year!

Yesterday afternoon I finished the binding on Odyssey. Today I'll stitch down the hanging sleeve. Busy week!!!

More of all of this stitching continues today. Plus there's an art walk downtown tonight and a free Brad Paisley concert on campus. Getting set for a relaxing weekend!

Need More Hexies!

I'm happy to report that Cooper is sweetly napping in hubby's recliner this morning with no contraband in his mouth. Sweet dreams, Cooper...

I basted a pile of 3/4" hexies yesterday - need more for the next BOM design, but I got a good start.

And I'm still binding away on Odyssey.

Today I'll be working on an article for Hexie Love. AND more fun stuff!

You know, life is never boring around here. Last night one of our daughters had a mouse in her back yard. EEK! Her dog was tracking it. He caught and killed it - good boy, Scout! Her husband wasn't home from work yet, so hubby went over and disposed of the mouse. From fleas, to fruit flies, to a mouse... Hopefully the critters are almost gone...

Update on this post about the Hexie Dilemma:
Karen from Faeries and Fibres has also written a blog post about the appliqué of a hexie quilt to a background. You can find it HERE! Thanks so much for sharing, Karen!!!!

Blinded by the Light...

I sorted through my stash of 3/4 inch hexies yesterday to see what I had to work with for the November BOM. This morning while I drink my coffee...it's all about that baste! Need more!

This is my view for a few minutes every morning this time of year. The blinding light? That's the sun reflecting off a stainless steel grill on our patio, shining through our glass fireplace. Luckily it only happens for a week or two once per year. I position my lap top screen so that the light is blocked as I sit in my chair for coffee time. As I'm writing this, it's already dissipated.

I did do my daily Odyssey binding yesterday. Two sides are complete! Another side is on the agenda for today.

Today is also my day for a flu shot. Have you gotten yours yet? I typically get sick only about once per year. The last time (unfortunately!) began last year while I was in Houston for Quiltfest. You may remember that the flight home didn't help and I ended up with a nasty ear infection and was sick for a few weeks. Even though that wasn't the flu, I always get a flu shot - the flu is no fun at all!

And now a question for you...
I had someone ask me recently what I do with all the quilts I make - since we have a limited number of beds. (She seemed to be implying that maybe it's time to move on to another hobby.)  HA! She's obviously not a quilter! (She's an old friend whom I adore.) Do you get this question from non-quilters? What do you say?

My answer was:

I keep many of them carefully stored to take with me for speaking engagements - these aren't used at this time. Then I have quilts that I do make to use - they are on beds or piled in the living room to snuggle with during TV (hexie) time. And then there are the quilts I make for gifts. And I also make some quilts to challenge myself - maybe to enter in a competition, or to practice a new skill, or to see if a new technique I'm developing works.

And (of course!) there are my primary loves - hexie quilts. I am currently on schedule to make two per year - the Block of the Month and the Progressive quilt. These are my original designs and they allow me to pace myself, always having small goals to make progress on both quilts. These quilts are my heartbeat, my bread and butter, my soul. That being said, you're going to love the projects for 2016!!!!

Binding!

Okay, I know I'm a bit odd. I set these strange goals for myself. Yesterday morning I would not allow myself to eat breakfast until I finished writing the FINAL instructions for Odyssey for Hexie Love. And I did finish the instructions. And then, and only then, did I eat breakfast.

My goal for binding Odyssey? One side per day. And no, I did not quite get one side done yesterday. So I'll try to do extra today. If the weather cooperates, Saturday morning is scheduled for the Odyssey photo shoot. Finger crossed.

I have only one small errand to run today. So that means an entire day of sewing and working on Hexie Love. Fun day!

In addition to more Odyssey binding, I'm planning to work on the wedding quilt and the November BOM. But first I think I'll eat breakfast...

Doing My Own Thing...

Last night, I did my own thing, starting another Farmer's Daughter block using wedding quilt scraps.

And do you know why? Well...it's because I got lots done during the day and felt I was ahead of schedule! A good feeling.

I machine stitched the binding to Odyssey. I made the hanging sleeve and machine stitched it. I started the hand stitching of the binding.

Today I'm ready to work play:

1. Work on next issue of Hexie Love.
2. Work on wedding quilt.
3. Do some hand stitching on the Odyssey binding.

I'm also planning to make a big pot of potato soup.

It should be a GREAT day!

More Hexie Dilemma Answers...AND Progress!

This recent hexie question of how to appliqué a hexie quilt onto to border fabric has generated lots of interest! The Hexy Lady (love her!) even wrote an entire blog post to help out! Read it HERE!

I just couldn't stand it - I HAD to share a sneak peak (back side only) of the quilting on Odyssey! Isn't this fabulous? FABULOUS!! I told my wonderful quilter: no feathers, make it modern. And she certainly came through!

So, you know Cooper completely DESTROYED my little embroidery project on Friday. Yesterday we skipped out on going to the football game, stayed home and watched it (along with 357 other football games). During all this TV time, I began this again. Let me tell you, we watched a LOT of football. And I did a LOT of embroidery. By bedtime....I finished it!!! Woohoo!!! And now it is in a very HIGH place so Cooper can't get to it. 

Before the football games began yesterday, I trimmed Odyssey. And I made the binding. Today it will get sewn on and will be ready to the hand stitching!