Well, I could bore you with excuses why have not updated for a while, or I can just tell you the truth. I was so busy I forgot.
School is going really well. My grades are up, and I seem to have fallen into a good rhythm between school, studying, housework, and family. It seems to work out so far. I also started to volunteer at a local hospital on the weekends, in order to learn more, and perhaps to get a better chance of getting hired once I graduate.
I have not been knitting much lately. I started on the second front piece of my sweater, which needs the buttonholes knitted into. But I don't quite like the buttonhole placement. So I think my best bet is to rip it out, start over, and figure out where to put my buttonholes, if any. Since it is in chocolate brown I thought those big wooden sticks we used back in the 1970s to close our coats with would look nice. For those I can add loops after finishing with the I-cord method. But as I said, I still need to figure it out, so it is on hold right now, until I have figured out what I want to do with it.
I actually quilted a little again, and here is proof of it.
The OhioQuilters Yahoo Group had a Stay-at-Home Retreat last weekend, and it was fun. We got to stay at home, sew, chatter on the computer, look at each others projects, play Bingo, and win prizes (not me, but that is OK, because my friends won, makes me just as happy). I finished assembling the blocks I started at a Quilt Retreat I attended back in September 2011. Now I am slowly getting the blocks sewn together, one or two seams a night after all the other obligations have been met. The pattern is a Buckeye Beauty, and I followed Eleanor Burns' instructions. I should have read all of the instructions before I started, because I could have saved a lot of extra steps. The pattern was designed for a scrappy quilt, and if you have controlled colors, you can save a lot of steps. Oh well, lesson learned, and I will do better next time.
Speaking of Eleanor Burns, I went shopping. I love to sew with her so much, I bought several companion DVDs to the books I own from her. I am so looking forward to quilting with her. I can't wait for FedEx to get here.
I am so tempted to start a new project, but am fighting the urge really hard. I have so many started projects that I want to get some of them finished before starting another one. I feel inspired by my MIL to do this, because she has the same plans, and her reasoning for it makes sense. Her and I both are just starting to run out of places to store UFOs at. I am doing one better. My MIL is still bringing home fabrics, and I decided to start making scrap quilts with the fabrics I have. This will be a new experience for me, because I really try to control everything. But I think getting out of my comfort zone will be good for me. So now all I am allowed to buy is background fabric (if needed, can't give up control there just yet), backing fabric (I just don't like seams in my backing), and of course batting to finish my quilts. I am not sure about thread, I found a lot of thread when I was sorting out my sewing room, and think I am set for a while, unless I need special colors for quilting my quilt sandwich, but for piecing I am set. So far I have been doing good with my No-Buying Policy. But then again, the year is still young, and I am weak. But I will try my hardest, and try to keep you updated on my efforts. It is not easy driving past that quilt store twice a day going to school and back home.
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