coming home . . .

You've heard the old adage, as good as it is to get away, it's nice to get home again, haven't you?  That's exactly where I am!  Todd and I had a lovely ten days away, visiting with family and taking our MSC funding class (which was incredibly informative and helpful).  But it was ever-so-lovely to arrive home late yesterday afternoon.  Especially when the cheery daisy faces greeted me every which way I turned!

Aren't they sweet?  Since yesterday was a holiday, we couldn't pick up our mail until today.  And when we did?  BINGO!  I hit the jackpot!  First was a prize I'd won through StitchMAP . . .

Lots of stuff, huh?

She'd put together a crazy quilt kit for me -- with four pre-stitched blocks and *tons* of lovely embellishments! Isn't that awesome?!?!?!?!?

Next came a package all the way from Australia!!!  Yay!!  

I'd entered the Red Brolly Girl's Own Stitching Club Competition way earlier in the month.  Guess what I won . . .

A present!  Wrapped in red and white polka dots!

The perfect book for me!  It's a beautiful book, too -- full of beautiful stitch illustrations!

And next (I know, right?!) was this fun package from Stacey, at Stacey's Place.

Yes!  A copy of 100 Blocks!  I was so excited!  Stacey's block was on page 35 . . . the Bedtime Story block.  It was so cute and resonated with me, since I've got some grands who adore being read to!

Stacey also included these two mini charm packs . . . 

That was so nice!  Especially since I just finished whipping together my apple core piece!  

I can't decide if I want to place with mini hexies or tumblers, next!

I worked on a couple of other things during our trip -- especially during our 13 hours of driving!  I finished up some flowers for a corsage . . .

Worked on my sunburst block (which I decided to EPP) . . . 

And (drumroll, please) finished quilting . . . 

Wait for it . . . 

The Wedding Quilt!!!  Big YAY!!!  I have the fabric ready to make binding.  I'm down to the home stretch!

So it *is* good to get away--especially when I have the time to finish as much as I did . . . but coming home is a happy, too!

:)

the art of fondling fabric . . .

I'll just admit it right now.  I take great pleasure in picking titles for my posts. Perhaps it's the journalism major in me.  I dunno ... it's just fun!

As I mentioned yesterday, Ellie joined Jocelyn and I on her first trip to Hooked on Quilting.  I wish I'd thought to pull out my camera, but I was sitting on the floor with Ellie, surrounded by assorted bolts of blends, Christmas pretties, and batiks . . . teaching Ellie to pet and stroke the fabric.  She got quite good at it, too!  Before we left she'd even held up some minky to her face...that's my girl!  Here's what I ended up coming home with . . . 

Aren't they all pretty?  The orange houndstooth is for June's Thanksgiving dress. The yellow sparkly is just because it was *so* pretty, and aren't the Christmas prints just *darling*?!  And all at GREAT prices, too.  Nothing was more than $9.25 a yard ... and I get a 10% discount for being a guild member.  Nice!

And what could be better than bringing home such pretty fabrics?  Bringing home *more* pretty fabrics that I didn't pay for and aren't part of my stash . . . 

These are Jocelyn's picks.  Mind you, she went to get fabric for stockings.  That would be the two at the bottom of the picture.

These two are for a special Christmas dress for Ellie . . .

And these two are for a special tunic top and pants set for Ellie . . . 

Isn't this line darling?  It's from the Anna Griffin Pinelope collection.  Fun stuff!  I'm sure you can guess why it came home with me.  (Happily!)

Aside from shopping, I also finished up my stitching to my mini hexies . . . 

Today I'll try and get it bordered with this orange, and then get it quilted before the weekend.  I was going to bind it in a darker purple, but changed my mind when Todd said, "That's an awful lot of purple."  Can there really be such a thing as too much purple?  I'm thinking perhaps I'll bind it in black, instead.

And I finished the 'ring of fire' around Mr. Owlie and have now started on the outside ring.

Yay!  I really like having handwork 'handy'.  One of my youth girls had her first basketball game of the season last night, so Todd was kind enough to take me, so we could cheer her on.  I finished up the mini on the drive up and worked on Mr. Owlie on the ride back.  :)

And special mail yesterday!  Look what arrived . . . 

YAY!!!  My copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks!!  I won this copy from Mary, over at Quiltin' Grandma's Blog.  She even signed it for me -- her quilt from her tester blocks!  And along with a very sweet note, she sent me a blank quilty note card ... and I have such an affinity for note cards! 

So kind -- thank you, Mary!

Today ... I'm not sure.  I hope to have a productive day with lots to share tomorrow.  Definitely!  OH!  And I did have a winner from the book giveaway of Harvest of Rubies!  Cathy of Eagles' Wings Quilts!  Congratulations, Cathy!!!

:)

late start . . .

Had a tough time 'getting on my feet' this morning -- LOL!!  Thank you so much for your thoughtful emails -- surgery went very well yesterday, though it ended up being a *little* more involved than I'd expected it to be.  And recovery will be a bit more than I'd expected, too.  Based on the chat with my doc, I had really expected to be awake during the *outpatient process*, get a couple of stitches - a band-aid over each incision, and be sent merrily on my way.

Ummmm.  No.  I was out like a bad light bulb.

Not the 'band-aid' I had in mind.

And back in the boot.  And completely non-weight bearing if I'm not in it.  Sheesh! Although I can assure you I'm not bearing a whole lot of weight on that foot right now, even if I *am* in the boot! Anyway, it's over and I'm recovering and those pesky screws won't be interfering with my walking any more!

To be honest, I'm really kind of glad for the down time ... it gives me the perfect excuse to sit here at my laptop and go through all the blogs that are involved in two major hops/tours right now.  First, the UR Priceless Hop!  Hasn't it been fun? Each day there are purses that just blow me away!!  Today's hop participants are:

as sweet as peaches

Deborah B

Birgit H

Fish Creek Studio

A Quilter's Table

Lily Patch Quilts

Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio

Mary F

Rose Prairie Quilts and Farm

The Desert Rat Chronicles

Sally K

Paris at a Certain Age

From Blank Pages 

Quilt Taffy

Barb H

And there's also the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks - Volume 6 designer tour going on right now.  Gracious -- talk about some eye candy!!  I've had such a blast touring the different designer's blogs and hearing about their blocks and the inspiration for the same.  Fabulous stuff!  A few of my favorites (so far) include (in no particular order):

Sunflower - Victoriana Quilt Designs

Something Springy - from blank pages

BIG BANG! - Bonnie Hunter

Shabby Spin - Melissa Corry

Rainbow Dreams - Judy Laquidara

Springtime Spools - PamKittyMorning

Holiday Doily - Pieceful Chitchat

Indian Cabins - Wayne Kollinger

Lots and lots of eye candy to check out -- which is good -- eye candy doesn't go to your hips!!

Have a very happy Thursday!

:)