Not much sewing going on here the last week or so. Because...I'm in CALIFORNIA!!! Can you tell I'm excited? lol. I'm staying with my friends Brad and Jim for a couple of weeks and catching up with friends and family. I totally miss the East Bay - totally completely miss the East Bay. It's been hot here this weekend though. I must have brought the record temperatures with me. At least it's not humid. lol. Bran was here for the weekend and we took him to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Half Moon Bay. Santa Cruz was frying, the high was predicted as 82, but it was 101.

Look how pretty it is here though at the San Leandro Marina.

I may end up doing some sewing before I leave. My friend Jim makes some fantastic quilts. :)

Donation Quilt Completed

I've completed another baby quilt for donation. I don't care how many pinwheel or hourglass quilts I make, I love 'em!

So, what's next? I've started a scrappy double wedding ring, just just started. That will be a during/between other projects quilt project. lol. I'm collecting scraps of modern fabrics...please feel free to send any my way. ;) I'm also going to start a quilt from batiks that remind me of the Northern California coast.

Sick!

I've been feeling a little under the weather the last week or so. Generally sleepy, low grade fever, and congestion. I've been chalking it up to the change in the weather and allergies.

But today topped all of that. In fact it was pretty near as bad as when I got the chicken pox at like 25.

The day started out normal. I drove to New Orleans to do some training at City Hall, hosted my training, and headed home. On my way home I stopped at Macy's, because I don't usually have the time to stop when I'm on the south shore. But, I cut my stop short because I started feeling bad. At first it I thought it was just Aunt Flo, she came to visit yesterday, but it started getting worse. So I left and about halfway across the Causeway I'm sick. Totally completely sick. I call the hubby just so he knows if I don't make it home he's got to go look for me. I sped home, hoping not to get pulled over, "parked" the car, and left everything in the car. Sweet sweet hubby brought all my stuff in while I peeled off soaking wet sweaty clothes. Ya, that sick. I had the AC on full blast and still sweat the whole way across the lake. I couldn't lay down, I couldn't sit up, I couldn't stand. I probably should have gone to the ER, but I just KNEW that if I could throw up I'd feel better. So when I finally fell asleep I slept for 5 hours and woke up feeling much more normal. I'm still feeling pretty pooky and if I'm this far from normal tomorrow I'm going to the doctor.

Hope this post isn't too much of a downer.

If you need something more exciting here's an awesome interview with Cherri House and give-away at my friend, Angela's, blog: Cut to Pieces. :)

Another Finished Quilt!

Look what I finished last night!

The New Orleans Modern Quilt Guild had a free sew today and I took this sweetie to show off. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this quilt. I've got a Christmas Mix-Tape quilt that I made last year and I've pieced a Christmas Mod Bento Box that's next in line for quilting. So, this one might end up a gift. Or not. lol.

I'm also kind of at a cross roads. I've finished piecing my MMBII squares and they're off in the mail for swap. So, it's time to start a new project. I'm just don't know what. There are a couple projects that I've started that I probably should finish, but I just don't feel like it: Scratch 'n Sniff and my Halloween Spiderweb. And, I've got some quilts in mind that I'd like to start: Rocky Road to Kansas scrap quilt and a Double Wedding Ring made of vintage sheets. The nieces also want quilts.

Reluctantly, but only because I'm lacking motivation today, I started another small quilt of donated scraps. That one shouldn't take long to complete though.

Oh, and I joined A la Mode's quilt as you go quilt along. I think I might do some work on that. Though I might use this quilt along as an excuse for diving into some of my more traditional Christmas novelty fabric and playing with free motion quilting. Do you think that would be OK? Or, should I stick with the modern quilting fabrics that Heather's using?

Finishing My MBB II Blocks

I took what I had left to finish for round two of the MBB swap to my in-laws over the weekend. My sister-in-law and her family were there for the weekend as well, so it was a full and fun house for the weekend. They have two girls, 17 and 15, who think that Aunt Karen is pretty cool. No accounting for taste, I guess. :) Anyways these girls think I'm pretty cool. Maybe because I truly am interested in what they have to say; and don't mind watching hours of some obscure anime comedy or You Tube videos. (Think "whistles go woo", "crack fox", or "all your base are belong to us".) Ya, I even knew what those videos were before they showed them to me, I'm that cool. lol. So, I'm finishing up my Mod Bento Box blocks and the girls are totally digging them, not so much the watching me sew part, but the finished block part. They loved how the different fabrics looked unrelated, but when the blocks were complete it made perfect sense; and then I realized that's what I love about scrap quilts.

Here are the blocks I finished up for the swap, including 2 extra blocks for the moderator. :)

I've got to get them in the mail today so I'd better get some shoes on and get to the post office. I'll be waiting impatiently for the swap blocks. My favorite part of the last swap was that blocks I didn't really love individually worked fabulously in the quilt. Like they all were meant to be together. All those different colors, ideas, and tastes - they all worked together beautifully. I'd say "why can't the world be like this?", but then I'd have to cue the cheesy lights and dramatic music.

More Mod Bento Box Squares

This week's accomplished sewing, so far, has been pretty thin. I did complete four more MMB squares for the MMBII swap, and I've cut enough for 12 more squares. That will give me 24 total blocks for a quilt that should be about 60x90. What a great nap sized quilt! The trick will be to get them sewn before the mailing deadline on Tuesday. Though, the cutting can be the hard part, or at least the boring part. :)

I am hoping though that my over achievement doesn't make life difficult for the moderator.

All these Mod Bento Box squares and I'm still not tired of making these blocks! I need to find a new favorite quilt block. Any suggestions?