3 down, 5 to go...*sigh*

i'm not really sure what possessed me to make a king-sized quilt. i clearly had delusions of greatness, or something. i can neither cut nor sew a straight line to save my life it seems. i mean, i'm having a lot of fun, but it's a lot of work, and almost as expensive as just buying one on sale at jcpenney *smile*. plus i have limited time to work on it, cuz i can't really do too much when the kids are awake.

but i'm pretty proud of myself. i've gotten 3 of the 8 panels done. and they look pretty good, if i do say so myself *smile*. i was gonna sew them together, but i realized that i did #1, #2, and #4 (oops *smile*), so that won't work. oh well. i think it's gonna turn out nicely, though.

this is my favorite block:

it's the last set i did, cuz it's the nicest. it's the straightest and most consistent. i definitly got better as i went on *smile*










this is my least favorite block:
i like the greens, but i didn't want to buy more yellow, so i used what i had.









i'm excited that it's going as well as it is. the quilting is getting better, especially since i discovered that i'd been threading my bobbin backwards *smile*. i thought i had a crappy machine (i really covet my sister's machine *smile*), but in reality, it was me doing it backwards. oops *smile*

and i'm not sure it's going to be warm enough to be a winter quilt, so i'm not sure if i want to add another layer of batting between the sewn together back and the finished back, or just make another quilt for winter *smile*. if i finish this one by the end of next month, i should be able to make another one by Christmas *smile*. hopefully it won't be too cold before then *smile*

kellie's quilt

kellie's quilt is finally done! i'm so excited. it turned out really nicely. she watches my kids for me and i quilt for her. it's a nice exchange *smile*.

becuz it was for someone else, i didn't cut as many corners as i do when i'm doing something for myself. and i did some creative stitching, which i was very pleased with. i splurged on bougie thread that you can't really see, but i was very pleased with it cuz it was "holiday" thread in red, green and ivory. my friend kellie's downstairs is all pale green, taupe and red, so this quilt is perfect for her living room.

now i've started working on my king sized quilt. i've got 2 of the 8 panels quilted, and i've got the next 3 pinned. unfortunately i don't have the space to lay everything out and leave it between work sessions, cuz i have 2 "helpers" *smile*. but it's going well. i'm glad i practiced on kellie's quilt so that i know more what i want to do on mine, but there's still some challenges to be overcome. we'll see what happens *smile*

Easter

today was Easter, and in a well-established tradition, i had a new outfit for church today, and i was fabulous, if i do say so myself *smile*. my mom usually buys me my easter/birthday dress, but she sent me money instead this year. the dress was hard to find, and even though it was fabulous, i was disappointed, cuz it wasn't the dress my mom would have sent me. i couldn't find that dress. i looked really hard for it. i don't know how she does it. she just walks into the store and there's my dress and she sends it to me and it fits and it's fabulously awesome. today i was just fabulous, but now awesome. but in the big scheme of things, i'm 37. the birthday dresses have to stop sometime. i'm just not ready for that to be now *smile*.

*sigh*

i just don't know what's going on lately. i have noticed that my meds don't seem as effective depending on the phase of the moon, but i've just been feeling unsettled lately. i just feel like i don't know where i'm going or even where i want to go. i'm just drifting through life with no direction aimlessly. i feel as though i'm supposed to be doing something, but i don't know what. hopefully inspiration will come to me. none of the things that i do during my regular life seem to be anything that's meaningful. i mean, i know that being a mom is important, but does what i cook for dinner affect anything in the greater world? what am i doing to affect world peace? shouldn't i be part of the solution? but what's the problem? if i had made different choices, then i'd be able to make different choices. i don't consider anything a mistake, becuz it's all part of who i am now--it all creates me as the whole that i am, but everything causes something else to be. i feel like my brother has invaded my brain *smile*. this stream-of-consiousness thought process is not my normal modus operandi. and i can't spell *smile* blah...

shoes

i love shoes. i have a lot of shoes. i hesitate to call it a fetish, cuz that sounds so negative, but if the shoe fits...*smile*

i just bought a new pair of shoes online to go with my birthday/Easter dress. they're totally fabulous. my friend kellie doesn't understand how i can spend so much money on shoes without blinking, but have issues about spending a similar amount on clothes. i can't explain it. shoes make me happy in a way that clothes don't. if i have on fabulous shoes, all is right with my world. of course, i just bought robins egg blue reptile print shoes, and i currently only have one thing to go with them, so i'm gonna need to do some shopping *smile*. the outfit starts with the shoes most of the time. i really wanted to find a green Easter outfit so that i'd have an excuse to buy green shoes, cuz i don't have any *smile*. oh well. maybe next year.

my birthday *smile*

so, today's my birthday. i've decided to be 29 again. *smile* it's an odd day, though, cuz it's cloudy, and my plans have fallen through, cuz my friend's daughter is sick, so i get to go shopping by myself with my kids *smile*. oh well. but i've planned a really great dinner for myself *smile*. and my husband did cook breakfast for me before he left for work this morning, which was really nice *smile*.

all of my gifts-to-self came in already, so i've celebrated myself all week. i think i've unofficially declared it my birth-week instead of just my birth-day *smile*. gotta love it *smile*

tired

i haven't had much time to myself lately. chris has opera rehearsals usually 3 nights a week, which leaves me with the kids alot. i feel like a single parent *sigh*. and i've been trying to get them to bed earlier, which is hard by yourself, but i think it's worth it to have an hour or 2 to myself in the evening. but i have a hard time going to bed before midnight, even if i don't have to be up with one of the kids, so the mornings are hard. i've never been a morning person, so when alexander wakes up at 8am all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, i really just want to put the pillow over my head and pretend it's all a dream *smile*.

and i didn't eat well today, so i have a headache. i know better than to let myself get really hungry, cuz it never ends well. and now i have a splitting headache. but i'm making yummy soup for dinner which should be ready soon, so hopefully the evening won't be as tedious. and hopefully alexander will wake up from his rest well-rested so that we can do something fun this evening. maybe we'll make cookies. that's always fun. the little ones have their own aprons, and they like to help me cook. and making cookies is fun, cuz someone gets to lick the bowl and spoon. and with cookie dough, alexander always seems to eat more than ends up on the cookie sheet *smile*. we'll see what happens tonight *smile*