Quilting Hottie Haven

I'm back, hotties! I'm talking to you especially, Anne, for whom I am about to make the commute home oh so much more enjoyable.

We may have eaten them all in one sitting.

The summer of 2014 was survived by myself, my husband, and all three children, which is always a minor miracle. It was the summer of lost shoes, two cases of never ending poison ivy (one of them mine and I will never ever again weed. Ever.), introducing The Wonder Years to the girls via Netflix, lazy days at the lake, desperately trying to find the leak in the water trampoline, berries galore, Outlander on my audible books AND MY TV BE STILL MY JAMIE LOVING HEART, and the quilt project that sapped three years off my life. It will also be remembered as the summer I only beeyotched about the heat maybe three times because it rarely broke 90. In all, it was actually not a horror show. I'm still kind of shocked.

Sorry it took me so long, AH.

However as per ushe, there wasn't a whole lot of time to blog, so here I am, back with a vengeance! Or at least a new post!

It being September, allow me to  remind you that before we turn the world pink in October, this is the month of teal - Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. As I am blessed to be in a position of being able to do something, anything to bring awareness to the quilting world about this crazy awful disease, for the second year in a row I am hosting the Two for Teal Mug Rug swap and OCRF fundraiser. With my mailing of the envelopes to all 88 participants earlier this week, the swap is now well underway and I can't wait to start seeing some actual mug rugs on the Two for Teal facebook page! The group is open to anyone, whether you are participating or not, and can be seen by all, so check it out from time to time; I'm sure we are going to get some really cool projects shown on there.

Fall is always a busy season for me, and this year is shaping up to be just as nutty as usual with a bunch o' lectures in New England and beyond. For the first time I will actually be shared by two guilds in Pennsylvania the third week of November, which means I am going on a Serious Business Trip. (Minus the serious business attire. That would just be out of character.) You all understand that Serious Business Trip translates to A Week Off at Home and Sweet Jesus I Can't Even Wait To Spend A Week Straight With Adults, right? In any case, I am really looking forward to all the opportunities I get this fall to meet some quilters and dazzle them with my awesomeness. Or something like that.
 

No serious business attire, but I can promise a fab necklace and maybe some air quotes.

Fall also means fresh air and a fresh start, but best of all for me it means six hours in a row on a fairly regular basis without having to stop and search for tap shoes, a bikini top, swim goggles, or a hairbrush. It's pretty much a revelation in free time. So I get to lock myself in the studio and go to town on all the projects that are rudely yelling for me to get back to sewing. How am I doing on my master summer list, now renumbered for your convenience and shortened to only those items still pending or which I wish to chat about? Let's check it out.
 
1. Smack these HST blocks into quilt/new pattern for my new lecture, debuting in May 2015, about my Scrap Squad experiences and consequent inspirations.  - I'm pleased to say I've gotten a little further on this one. I'm not pleased that it is still all over my sewing room floor, but at least the chunks of quilt are now bigger and it WILL BE DONE BEFORE I DIE.

Before: mid-June

After: 10 minutes ago. I'm in love with the dots.

 2. Finish quilting this sucker. - Let's all laugh together.

In all honesty, I have no idea where this one even is right now.

3. Keep up with Modern Instabee blocks. - June was sent before I even made this an entry (you know you get it - who doesn't love writing something on a list so you can immediately cross it off?), July was a few days late but I did send it, and August snuck itself in there with minutes to spare. But I kept up and made some cute blocks, putting this one in the win column. The bee is pushing my "modern" buttons, but it is all good.
 

June - I'm not adding "lint roll design wall" to the list. We all know I won't do it anyway.

July - I have no idea why it is practically life-sized here.

August - Hey! Those dots are back!

 4. Scrap Squad project #4 will be due in September or maybe late August. - And it is AWESOME, hotties, if I do say so myself, which I totally do right now. If you haven't checked out the blog post on Quilty Pleasures yet, please do. I'm all about showing it off properly and fishing for compliments. Apropos, as I named it "Koi Pond Kaleidoscope."

Here's hoping the three years of my life I gave up was worth it.

  The design I have in mind as "inspired by" Koi Pond Kaleidoscope is next in line, as soon as I get this damn grey dot thing off the floor. So back to the dungeon I go! Thanks for checking in and I'll see you back here early next week - count on it!