What's Going On

So I told you I would post about some of the things I am working on/doing in my life right now. My good friend from Brazil is getting married (to one of my bosses) on June 14th. We are having a 24 hour shower for her. Do you know what that is? Everyone that is invited is assigned an hour of the day. Whatever hour you get you will buy a present for the bride that she would be using at that time of the day or night! Luckily I got 5pm, an easy time. It should be fun. Well. the women putting on the shower asked me to make the garter for Karen. So here is what I came up with. It is new, blue and the button is an antique from my mother/grandmother/s button tin. What do you think?? I hope she will like it!

The next thing is that I was looking for this pattern and my friend Natalie managed to find it for me.  I received it in the mail yesterday along with a very sweet note.  I saw it online and asked Nat if she would find it for me as the quilt shop it was from was near her.  THANK YOU NATALIE!!  I LOVE it!!  It is so wonderful how you can make such a dear friend with someone you have never actually met in person!  One of my other dear friend's, Mary, bought a condo in Florida and I was thinking to make it for her for Christmas.  I can tell you because she doesn't read my blog (at least I don't think she does).  Actually, few of my real live friends do so I guess I can talk all I want about things for them!!  I won't be able to begin it for awhile but I will let you know when I do!

So you all remember the Ugly Quilt, right?  Well I had all these 2.5" strips left over when I finally finished it.  What to do, what to do?  When quilting gives you strips, make a Jelly Roll, I say!  So I did.  And here is Autumn and said JR.  (apparently she doesn't like the fabric either)
These are some close ups.  Dig that crazy tie fabric, from the purple quilt!  I will probably change that later, I just happened to have it handy.
Guess what I am going to do with this?  If you remember my friend Ellen gave me these ugly fabrics for Christmas last year with the note that she wanted me to "work outside your comfort zone".  I plan to wrap up my JR and give it to her for her birthday with those very same instructions!!  Moral of this story, be careful what you give as it usually comes back to you!  (both good and bad!)  
I did some more 4 patch units last night and got the total 96 more done which is now a total of 288.  So I drew out the quilt using my graph paper and realize to make it what I want and as big as I want I will need another 72 - 4 patch units!!  As I was sewing what I thought were the last of them last night I was a little sad as each one is so different and fun to see how they turn out, again I say, be careful what you wish for!  Now I have to make more.  Oh well, I am having fun doing them.  I laid some out on some white fabric I happened to have and now I am not sure I want to use stark white, maybe a pinkish/purpleish color?  I just don't know.  If it is an irish chain maybe it won't have an outside border.  I need to find the color I am thinking of and see if I like it better than white.  Decisions, decisions!

I don't know if I mentioned it but I am going to Paducah on the 22nd.  I am so excited about it.  I am going with Liz and Yuki and Liz's Aunt.  We are staying in a cabin on Kentucky lake.  Yuki and I are taking some classes from Jan Krentz that should be wonderful.  We are also taking a needle turn applique class.  It is something I have always wanted to do.  (better than I do on my own now!) I was talking with Jeanne at Luv2stitch and she is going to Paducah too.  We may try to meet up.  If not we are going to plan a MI shop hop for ourselves and meet for lunch and shopping.  Doesn't that sound like fun?!!  I will actually get to meet one of my blog friends!!  She lives in MI too.

If this is not exciting enough I was reading Marsha McCloskey's (queen of feathered stars) newsletter and she will be teaching in Indianapolis in March of 2009!  I can't believe she will be so close.  (6 hours)  I just *have* to get into her class, if she is teaching feathered stars.  That block is one that I have admired forever and her books are some of the first ones I bought, hoping to be good enough to be able to make one someday.  I am a little scared of that block but I love it.  I would just die if she taught how to draft your own stars.  The quilt show she will be at is the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show.  Go check out their site, you wouldn't believe the teachers they had this year!  (Just know that you can't sign up for MM's class so there will be room for me = 0

DS has his MRI tonight at 6:30pm so keep him in your prayers for a good outcome!  I have to run the lacrosse parent meeting tonight, sucks to be the president, how did I end up in charge?

This means DH will be taking him.  Hopefully he will remember to get the date I can call the ortho to get the results.

Have a great day and I'll try to check in tomorrow!