Final two....and a bit of a blogging break

I finished the last two Patchwork Party blocks! I'm itching to start the finishing kit too, but that will have to wait. As most of you know, we are a military family and this week we head out to the next adventure! This will be our 14th assignment in 23 years. Yes, that averages out to less than two years at each base. Two of those were three year assignments, the rest have been two years or less. There are lots of negatives to moving so much, but there are many, many more positives. I wouldn't change the past for anything. We have made so many friends throughout the years and seen many wonderful places.

So this week we are off to the next adventure, which is Idaho! It's a quick move...just one state over! But that's not the only change coming up...about 10 days after we move into the new house, we'll hit the road again and drive our son, Zach to Delaware for school. Needless to say, there are a few adjustments coming up in our lives! During the trip, we'll stop and see some friends and family along the way. We'll take about 8 days to get across the country...we'll stop in Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Virginia. Travis and I will fly home after we get Zach set up at school. He's our youngest, so it will be sad, but we're also looking forward to a new "empty nest" lifestyle. :)

I did do a bit of sewing over the last couple of days. I finished the buttonholing on this banner-of-the-month project. I really, really wanted to get this done for August...you see, this was LAST YEAR's BOM...I did really well getting most of them done last year, but somehow I missed finishing August, September, and October. Oh, I remember why...hubby returned in September from a deployment to Iraq. ;) Anyway, I finally just threw in the towel and realized this was as far as it was going to get done for this year. It's ready to be quilted/bound, so I'll make sure it's done for next August. I'm going to attempt to put a slideshow in my sidebar of all the other banners I've completed....so check it out!

I will be taking a bit of a blogging break while the movers are packing us up and we get unpacked and settled into our new house. Hopefully, I'll be able to check in once in a while, but one never knows how long it will take to get life back to a "new" normal. :P

Until then....God Bless....

Some sewing and a lot of driving....

No...not at the same time! This week, hubby and I took a quick trip from Washington to Idaho. We'll be moving to Idaho in two weeks, so this gave us the opportunity to check out our new home to be.

As many of you know, we currently live in Washington State, the "Evergreen State." You know, lots of rain, trees, ocean, etc...well, what they keep secret is that as soon as you cross the Cascade Mountain Range it's desert! It really took me by surprise how dry and barren the land is.

The view is pretty much the same all the way to Idaho. There was a bit of green near Yakima, where they've planted acres and acres of vineyards.

We finally arrived at the base and the chance to see the house that we will call home for the next two years. Wow! The Air Force has been undergoing some changes in the military housing situation and in most cases demolishing old housing and rebuilding new, modern houses. We are finally fortunate to get to live in one of those new ones! This is by far, the nicest military housing house we've ever seen/lived in!

As for sewing, I went to the last "Quilt till you Wilt" night at my LQS on Friday night. :( It was sad to say goodbye, but I'm glad I had the opportunity one more time before the move to go sew and visit. In fact, I did so much visiting that I didn't accomplish very much! I was able to complete two more Patchwork Party blocks, though.

I also bought a Christmas tablerunner/wallhanging kit. Isn't it just the cutest?

One last thing, I finished the binding and label on the last Thimbleberries Club 2008 quilt for the shop. This one is called Woodland Stars.

Patchwork Party Progress....

I finally got to sew today! Here are four more blocks from the Patchwork Party program. To be honest, I sewed this first one earlier last week but I never got around to taking a picture and sharing it on my blog. I did the other three today. I love how these blocks go together. The pieces are cut with Marti Michell's templates and it makes the construction so perfect and smooth.
Of course, I love love love these Prairie Paisley fabrics!

Long time, no Blog....

I haven't blogged in while...just had one of those "nothing much is going on" weeks. No sewing to speak of, although I did some deep cleaning in my sewing room one day last week and that made me happy. :)

This weekend was an "Air Expo" here on base. It was an awesome show, with the Air Force Thunderbirds being the highlight. We spent an entire day watching the show on Saturday and half the day on Sunday working in our squadron booth selling sodas and ice cream. I ended up with a bit of a sunburn on my arms and nose. :P

I have to say, there's a downside to living on base during events like this....the NOISE from the aircraft...we live fairly close to the runway, so we had a great show even from our back patio! Most of the airplanes arrived last Thursday and did two days of practice flights, then there was two days of the airshow. So by the end of the show on Sunday, we were happy for the quiet. One of the upsides to living on base is not having to deal with the traffic...about 200,000 people were expected to come on base to watch the show each day! We didn't have to worry about finding parking, getting shuttles to the entrance, etc,...we just had a short walk to the perfect viewing place. :) This morning, I heard a few jets again and realized the airplanes were probably heading home.



McChord Air Show

I think this week, I'll have some sewing/quilting pictures to share with you. I'm feeling the itch to work on something! I also want to get caught up reading all my favorite blogs!

On a side note...I've briefly mentioned before that we will soon be moving. My hubby is being reassigned to a new Air Force base and will leave Washington on Aug 8th. I'm sure my blogging frequency will slow down a bit during the move, but never fear, I'll be back and I'll do my best to keep in touch during the move!

Sneak Peak....

Since I have six of the Capricorn blocks completed, I started thinking about how I was going to set them. I love the checkerboard sashing...and even though it's not very unique, I love how it's turning out. I think it will make a perfect little wallhanging for my sewing room, don't you?

Saturday Sewing

The "boys" in the family are away backpacking this weekend, so I decided I was going to have my own little sew-in while I was home alone. First thing I worked on was the Oak Leaves and Reel quilt top that I started a couple of weeks ago. I had a hard time deciding on a setting...but this is what I finally decided on and I really like it! Adding the borders is one of the toughest parts of putting together a quilt for me. Not because it's hard...it's just boring! LOL But I really like the results though when the borders are on and it finally all comes together.

I also spent some time working on two more Capricorn BOM blocks. I did block one again as I wasn't happy with my first attempt. I'm working on a setting idea for these blocks, so stay tuned....

Back home....

This week, Zach and I traveled to the University he will attend in the fall. It was student orientation day...so he got his ID card, class schedule, etc. It was an great day...but my head is over-filled and on information overload! :) He's so excited and anxious to begin this new adventure in his life...and as sad as it will be to have him so far away, I can't help but be happy for him, too.






It's a 5 hour flight each way, so let's just say I had some idle time on my hands on the travel days...so what is a quilter to do? Take some hand work to work on! I finished two more blocks from the Capricorn BOM. I have a third almost done, but not quite enough to show a picture yet.

DH and Zach are going backpacking this weekend, so my plan is to say home and quilt!! Hopefully, I'll have lots of pictures to show you! :)

A little red, white and blue....

In honor of the 4th of July, I thought I'd work on something red, white, and blue! :) Sounds good anyway...it's really more of a coincidence. I started this runner while at retreat in May and I've really wanted to get it finished as soon as possible, but it kept getting put on the back burner. Finally tonight, I decided to just do it! It's sort of patriotic, wouldn't you say? It's made from a charm pack of my current favorite fabric, Moda's Prairie Paisley.

Thimbleberries 3rd Quarter Project...Finished!!

I finished the binding on this Thimbleberries 3rd quarter project just this morning. There is lots and lots of quilting on this baby, but it's hardly even noticeable because I used matching thread! You can see it when you stand up close to it. :) Oh well, off to the shop it goes to be on display for the rest of the year.

Hope you all are having a fun 4th of July today and spending time with your family making memories! We are having a neighborhood cookout, but it's cloudy and cool (62 degrees) and supposed to rain. :( I hope it warms up...we'll all be in sweatshirts, shivering. We'll watch the fireworks on TV!

God Bless America!

A little progress....

I spent most of yesterday quilting the Thimbleberries 3rd Quarter wallhanging...for some reason, I had a hard time being motivated to work on it, so I worked at a snail's pace! It's completed now and I'm happy! I sewed the binding to the front, but still have to do that hand stitching part. I'll post a picture when that's finished.

I also finished two more blocks in the Prairie Paisley Patchwork Party blocks! Whew...that's a lot of P's! I am sooo loving these blocks. The colors in the fabrics are so much prettier in person. I love using Marti Michell templates, too...the blocks come together so perfectly! Four down, eight more to go!

Hope you all have a fun and safe 4th of July!!

Fun thrift shop find!!

I don't know if I have mentioned that I work one day a week at our military thrift/consignment shop. I try really hard not to "shop" much, because I really don't want to bring excess stuff home! I've been trying to declutter and get rid of stuff! There are some really great bargains to be found there, though.

I just couldn't pass up this find today for only $15....

Isn't it perfect for my pincushion collection? Before I had most of them in a basket where you couldn't really enjoy them. :)




It has brackets to mount it on the wall, but I'll wait until after the move to hang it up. I'll find the perfect place in my new sewing room!

A fun giveaway....

Sarah is having a fun giveaway...check it out!

Japanese anyone?

Zach's friend Chris had his 18th birthday dinner at Samurai Japanese restaurant last night. They cook the food right there at your table...our chef was Anthony (not very Japanese sounding, huh?) and he was a great cook and very entertaining.

They sang a Japanese version of "Happy Birthday," which included Chris playing a big drum....it was really cool!


Unfortunately, Chris and his family are leaving tomorrow for their next assignment. They are moving to Spain! It will be an awesome experience for them, but it's never easy to say goodbye. We've been stationed with this family before, so our boys have been friends since they were about 10 years old. Zach also had to say goodbye to his girlfriend, Laura, as she also leaves today and her family moves to their next assignment. I know they'll be able to keep in touch with all of today's modern conveniences...cell phone, email, text, etc. It just doesn't offer much comfort for them at the moment.

I did do a bit of sewing today....I completed another block from the Patchwork Party series. I love these Prairie Paisley fabrics by Moda. Have I said that before? LOL