The Cutest Safari Animal Quilt Yet

I'll admit it.  I'm a procrastinator.  I just finished my niece's Christmas present this afternoon.

But it is the cutest quilting project that I've put together yet so hopefully it's worth being a little late (not that she'll realize it being that she's not even three months old yet.).

I do really like my safari animals as you all know....So safari animals were the obvious selection when I was perusing the fabric store.  And then to make it just a bit better, some satin binding....every one needs a little satin edging around their blanket.  I can assure you, it makes the blanket so much better.  I love this one so much that I'm tempted to keep it for myself.....But I promised I'd get it in the mail tomorrow so I guess I'm out of luck.

Angel's Hands Foundation Quilt

I finally finished it.  This is my biggest quilting project to date.  I'd wager to say that this will remain my biggest project ever until I have a really good workspace. 

Angel's Hands Foundation is an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with rare diseases.  Today is their 10th annual "Friendrasier."  Every year they have a fundraiser that includes a silent auction and a live auction for the bigger items.  I have made quilts in the past for their silent auction, but this year, I made it to the live auction.  We (the kids and I) put together a special quilt in honor of the 10th anniversary celebration.  Each of the kids made a quilt square with their hand print (It is called Angel's Hands, after all) and I have been working on sewing them all together.  I think it turned out better than I thought it would.  We will see how it turns out in the true test of the auction tonight (I'm a bit nervous).  I'll share the results as soon as I hear.

In the meantime, some pictures....Not great pictures, but you can still see the final product.

The Latest in Quilting....Project 1 of 3 This Month

This month is a busy quilting month for me.  A couple babies and the 10th anniversary Angel's Hands quilt for their October Friendraiser.  Pictures of the other two projects will come....but at the moment, squares are cut and I haven't made much progress beyond that.

Friends of mine are having their second baby next month and the pressure of the baby shower got me moving on my sewing project queue.  This is one of my favorites because I LOVE elephants.  Hopefully they will enjoy it, too!

Two More Quilts

I finished two more quilts this week! (Now I just need to finish the quilting on my other one so it can be posted to my Etsy store)

I feel like they turned out pretty well - minus one mistake.  

A while ago a friend asked me to make something for a silent auction for a 'friend-raiser' coming up for Angel's Hands.  Angel's Hands is a local organization that helps families of children with rare diseases.  They help with medical necessities that insurance won't cover, things that will help improve quality of life, events so the kids can get out, and support for families so they don't have to go through everything alone.  I've been to a handful of their events over the last few years and the organization is a good one.  So if you have a minute - or two - check them out - help them out if you can.  They have a a few annual fundraising events that have all been fun...And I obviously think it's a good cause. 

On a more self-serving note, I posted pictures of my latest quilting creations.  I feel like I'm getting a little bit better at this.  Let me know what you think!

My Latest Etsy Addition....Knitting Season is Here!

It's getting cooler out which means that knitting season has arrived.  I have a handful of unfinished projects from last winter in my basket.  Maybe I'll actually finish them this year with some incentive to put them on my new Etsy store.

I started and finished a new scarf last weekend.  Fast work for me.  It definitely helped that the power went out for hours and there wasn't anything else to do.

Look for more to come.....

The Bucket List

If you know me, you know that I obsessively make lists.  Everything from 'to-do' today to 'to-do' in life.  I referred to my list in an earlier post and here it is: the 'to-do' in life list.  I don't have the full 100 but it does expand occasionally.  For now the 60 or so things I have to do are keeping me plenty busy.  Some things are definitely more likely to happen than others, but I'll make the effort to get through it.  And really, what fun is a list like this if it's not a challenge??


(Here is the key: Not yet started  Complete  Started at some point but haven't gotten very far  A work in progress)

• Get a masters (A whole class in - Really enjoyed that Finite Element Analysis though)
• Get a Ph.D. (I'm thinking in religious studies - just to learn about it - I already know the topic of my dissertation)
• Climb The Great Wall
• Raise $100,000 for charity (Over a couple years I organized fundraising events)
• Run a half marathon
• Learn a second language (This all depends on what we define as learning a second language.  I know Latin pretty well but can't speak it.  If we don't count Latin, then this is barely started since I only know a handful of words in about twelve languages)
• Learn to play guitar
• Learn to play piano
• Try to surf
• See the Pyramids
• Write a book
• Join the Peace Corps
• Go on a safari
• Start a scholarship fund
• Make a quilt 
• Learn to knit
• Learn to draw/paint
• Run for public office
• Visit Denmark
• Visit Switzerland
• Visit Italy
• Visit Spain
• Visit Portugal
• See the Taj Mahal
• Go to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day
• Set foot in all 50 states (Up to 35 out of 50)
• Go deep sea fishing
• Ride in a hot air balloon
• See a baseball game in every MLB stadium (4 out of 30)
• Be a groupie (in the follow a band around for an entire tour sort of way...not the band-aid sort of way)
• Meet a U.S. President
• Learn to cook
• Start a restaurant
• Buy a house
• Read the Bible cover to cover
• Scuba Dive
• Learn to fly a plane
• Sky dive (It terrifies me)
• Learn to box
• Learn to dance
• Camp (Last week I crossed this one off the list)
• Go to the top of Mt. Timpanogos
• Stop at the view area (I don't know why I haven't done this yet - And for that matter, I'm not sure why it's on my list but it's something I always mean to do on my way home)
• Finish a triathlon
• Learn to ride a motorcycle
• Invent something
• Start my own business
• Ride a gondola in Venice
• Go to the opera
• Go to the movie theater alone
• Dine alone
• Ring the NYSE bell
• Be a delegate for a political party
• Donate a gallon of blood (I am 5/8 of the way there.  Only 3 more pints)
• Read all of Kurt Vonnegut's work (I think I am about half way there.  He wrote a lot of books)
• See the 7 wonders of the world
• Set foot on all 7 continents
• Go to all of the National Parks in Utah (2 of 5 so far - Arches and Zion down...Canyonlands, Bryce, and Capitol Reef left)

What A Day

Today was a good day.  Just to throw this out there... My mom had a good day because she sold her first item on her Etsy store.  You could make her days better by looking and hearting her store and maybe even buying something :-). (She likes it when I promote her store and her blog.)

My day on the other hand was excellent.  I got a job offer.  Not just a job offer but a job offer for THE job that I wanted.  To all of you who told me that it would all work out and I would end up in a better place....I am now admitting that you were right.  But it is definitely easier to admit now that I am in that better place.  Interviewing has been a stressful process.  Lots of pressure to do well and find something to do.  I have had some good interviews and some really, really bad interviews but I've definitely learned a few things in the process and I am definitely glad that the process is over at this point.

I have enjoyed the last month and a half off.  I've done a lot of things on my 'to-do' list and even something from my bucket list (That post is to come.) but I'm ready to go back to work and lift the weight off my shoulders of the unemployed life.  I'm not a big fan of the unknown.  Though I have been getting better at living a little more spontaneously.  Only because I have to and I'm never sure what I'll feel like doing when I wake up in the morning.  Mostly I am ready to getting back to a routine so I have some idea of what day it is again....

A New Quilt

I'm pretty excited to say that I have finished the front of my second quilt!

This new hobby of mine is quite nice. It is methodical which is relaxing. I'll have to start drawing the next quilt soon. I also need to stop getting ahead of myself... I need to sew the batting and backing tomorrow and then do the quilting. Then I can start planning the next quilt.

Either way, this should be posted to my Etsy store by this weekend!

My New Etsy Store

With lots of time on my hands, I started an Etsy store a couple days ago. (Check it out atqDot.etsy.com) To be honest, I’m not sure what it will lead to. So far, I have posted my custom tshirt quilts but with my short attention span, who knows what may come up. I have some bracelets to post shortly after I get some pictures taken tomorrow. And lots of knitting plans as well. So do me a favor and keep checking back…You can even heart me and make me one of your favorite stores if you’d like.