Pathetic Month!

As March draws to a close, I'm sitting here wondering where the heck the time went!  I didn't get a chance to finish talking about the Memphis trip. One of the reasons I didn't get any sewing done on the trip was this guy:













It's not the best picture - taken by a cell phone in a dark bar - but this band was excellent!  We had dinner at Rendevous (I'm just not a rib person..), walked around Beale St. for a while, and then ended up at the bar next to Rum Boogie Cafe listening to these guys.  I didn't get back to the hotel in time to get any sewing done.

I'm slowly but surely getting this month's My Garden Album block finished.  I'm more than half way done.  I'm also about half way done with block one of my Sue Spargo BOM.  The only other thing I can take credit for is my rug.  I made a fair amount of progress.

Next month is crazy with travel and lots of opportunities to acquire new projects, so I am going to have to work extra hard to knock at least a few things off the April list.  I'll have to post the list tomorrow - it's time to shut down the computer and spend a few minutes playing with my youngest...after all, it is his fourth birthday!  He's a happy little boy today - new treats and new toys! 

Visiting Memphis

I am visiting Memphis for the next few days.  Although it's a business trip, I managed to fit in a little bit of fun stuff on the drive down.  I still don't have much to show in the way of progress for this month, but I did bring some applique with me in hopes of getting a little bit done over the next couple of evenings.  I can take credit for progress on my rug, however.  Jeannette hosted a hook-in on Saturday and I was able to devote the entire day to working on Bird Party.  I am by no means anywhere close to getting it finished, but I am definitely making progress!

I stopped at the Golden Needle in Cape Girardeau, MO on the way down today. It was a very nice shop.  I picked up a few tan fat quarters to add to the Runaway Mystery Quilt collection.  Hmmm...think I will ever get around to that project?  Here's a picture of the shop:

My next stop was QuiltSmith's in the Memphis area.  It was a very small shop with a lot of novelty fabrics.  I didn't find anything to purchase there, but enjoyed the visit.

After stopping by the site and working for a few hours, I headed over to Neely's Barbecue for dinner.  I am a big fan of their Food Network show.  Their food always looks so good!

The Neely's weren't there (other than on a television screen and large banner inside), but the food was very tasty.  I had the smoked turkey. 

I think we are heading to Beale Street for dinner tomorrow.  Perhaps it will inspire another food report!

Still Dragging

I'm not sure where my time is going this month!  I am not making much progress on anything.  I am still working on block one of the Sue Spargo BOM, with lots of leaves and berries still to be stitched to call that one done.  I spent the afternooon prepping My Garden Album block eight, so I will make a start on that one this week.  That's pretty much it on the applique front.

I also haven't done much with my Bird Party rug.  I hope to make a little progress on that one while watching television this evening.  I have high hopes for making great strides on it next weekend when I get together with friends on Saturday for a hook-in.

Wool Club was wonderful fun as always, followed by a most excellent dinner of Zia's baked spaghetti.  I finished the flowers for this month, but didn't start anything new.  I have too many things in the works, although I am always very tempted to jump into a new project. I still need to make a life rug - I'll start collecting clip art for motifs when things calm down a bit on the work front.  Sounds like a good lunch hour activity.  Here's the latest picture of the flower rug (it still needs a better name):

In addition to coming up with a better name, I need to decide on a background color and start working it in.  I hate to leave it all until the end!

Progress Report

Seven days into the month and I still don't have much of anything to show for my time.  I have been working on the first block of my Sue Spargo BOM and can't get that excited about it.  I screwed up with the velvet pieces - I didn't follow directions - so I either need to substiture something else or contact Sue for more fabric.  I'm not too keen on appliquing velvet, so I may just substitute wool.

I have been doing a little work on my Bird Party rug.  I should have taken a picture at the end of rug camp so I could see my progress.  I took a picture tonight so that I can assess progress at the end of the month.

I have hooked half of the leaves and most of the green background since I came home.  Also, most of the road and the brown background have been done at home.  I am really struggling with the bird feet.  Getting them to show up isn't easy!  I'm actually surprised to see that the ones on the bottom row show up in the photo - they are really hard to see up close.  I'll be very relieved when I have those dark background areas completed.

I had really hoped to work on my Runaway project this weekend, but it just didn't happen.  I did receive block eight of My Garden Album, so I hope to get started on that this week.  I think since it came in early, I will go ahead and knock it out before Applique Affair this month.  There's still a lot on the "to do" list - just hope I can cross something off by the end of the month!

March Accomplishments

If the first two days of this month are any indication of how the rest of it will go, I should make my list for March extremely short!  I'm going to hope that my slow start is the result of being on vacation last week and that things will pick up soon.  So, thinking positive, here's my list for March:

1.  Complete Applique Affair block
2.  Complete Block 8 of My Garden Album
3.  Make significant progress on Bird Party rug
4.  Hook March flowers
5.  Finish Sue Spargo BOM Block 1
6.  Complete first and second Runaway Mystery quilt clues
7.  Add a few more pieces to Baltimore album block

I suppose I had better stop there - I am probably being far too ambitious.  Well, it can't hurt to aim high!

Back to Work

I'm down to the final hour of my vacation...so sad to see it come to an end!  Rug camp was lots of fun.  I absolutely love my pattern!  I made quite a bit of progress - I will have to take a photo for my next post.  I am thinking about challenging myself to try and finish it in March.  I can't wait to get it finished!

While I don't have a picture of my rug to share, I have one that I took of my friend Barb's rug from last year's camp.  It's huge!  I can't believe she finished it.  She collected wool from all of her friends (including me!) to use for the tongues.  What a fun idea!

As February comes to a close, it's time to look back at my list of planned accomplishments and see just how many I actually managed to complete. 

1.  Angel block - finished!
2.  My Garden Album block 7 - finished!
3.  Applique Affair block - finished!
4.  Fabrics for Runaway Mystery quilt - assembled, but not cut (I think it counts!)
5.  February Wool Club flowers - finished!
6.  Paint Chip Project - finished!
7.  Kansas Memories blocks - didn't touch them...
 
I did work on my Everything But the Kitchen Sink quite a bit at the retreat, and finished two more baskets (I have nine or ten now).  Here's my paint chip project:

It ended up being quite a stretch from the original paint chip colors - I used two of the four - but it turned out very nice.  Only one problem...I intended to use it for my rug frame, but can't fit the silly thing through the opening!  Oh well - guess I'll have to come up with another use for it!

Off to Rug Camp!

It's finally here!  Tomorrow morning I will be heading off for a week at rug camp.  I am very excited about starting my Bird Party rug.  I hope I can get a lot accomplished this week!

Our weekend retreat was very relaxing and enjoyable.  I spent a little time piecing the large nine patches for my Everything But the Kitchen Sink quilt.  I spent the majority of my time doing applique.  I managed to finish block seven of My Garden Album.  That's one more thing I can cross off my February list!