March Sisters' Ten BOM blocks

Finished up the March blocks today! I'm really happy with the way these turned out, especially the black one! My piecing is definitely improving. I'm really enjoying this BOM and it has inspired me to break out some of my WIPs and get cracking! Check out GenXQuilters blog for the monthly block tutorials and more!

 Black Goldfish :)

 Dotty

March blocks

Mexico vacation - Chichen Itza

Hubs made it pretty clear that he wanted to be somewhere warm this summer. I was lucky enough to score the week of his birthday off, so he took the reins and planned a trip to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. We went with our good friends and neighbors and had a blast! They were actually married at the resort 5 years ago April - which was the first time that we were there. We enjoyed 7 beautious nights at Moon Palace. While we spent the majority of the time at the resort, we ventured off the property for a tour of Chichen Itza, one of the new 7 wonders of the world (I have an small inkling to make visiting all of them on my travel bucket list, but we'll see...). 3 hours one way on a tour bus to visit the place was a bit much!

 The site was interesting - much more touristy than I was expecting. Locals were peddling crappy souvenirs all over the park, unlike Tulum (which we visited on our last trip), where the vendors were only at the park entrance, these peddlers were all over the place, very close to the ruins and very annoying...."Pretty lady, almost free" "Hey big spender! Cheaper than WalMart!" Yikes! The one thing that I did like was even though there were a ton of people there, we were able to get a bunch of photos of most of the large ruins without having to wait a long time for people to clear out! The tour guides seem to take the large groups ruin by ruin - once we got there, we politely slid away from our tour bus group and wandered around on our own.

More to come on the resort and beach/pool pictures....I need to download some pictures off my phone and my Droid isn't cooperating with my Mac, so I need to figure out how to get them!!! Switching to Mac has been an interesting experience, but not difficult. I think I'm making it too hard....but that's another post of its own :)

Sisters' Ten - February Blocks

After a whirlwind first half of the month, I was able to get my February blocks completed. These were nice and easy. I think it took longer to decide on which fabrics to put together than to complete the two blocks! Check out the Sisters' Ten BOM over at Gen X Quilters...it's never too late to join!

Here is the first one in purples and greens:

And the second in orange and blacks (my shout out to the Broad Street Bullies!! - on a sidenote - My Flyer, Simon Gagne, has returned!! Whoop whoop!!)

I'll get a post up about the beginning of February shortly. Just need to work on editing some pictures first. I was even able to whip up a quick tote bag during all of it! More to come

Sisters' Ten BOM QAL Update - January

I finished up this month's 2 blocks for the QAL. I'm quite happy with them.

First up is Block A:
Next Block B:
 And a little Side by side love:

 I'm very happy that I picked the silver for the background. The color palette is great and this will look great on our bed. Hubs even approves! Looking forward to next month's block!
 

Back in the saddle....

Yes, I'm still alive. 2012 was hectic with being both in school and working full time, 2 crazy dogs to take care of, and all the other things, something had to give and it was my blog (and my sewing time as well). But, here's to hoping that 2013 will run smoother and I'll be able to spend more time sewing and playing and be healthy and happy!

2012 crafty overview:

• 3 charity quilts (no pictures - whoops!)
• 1 quilt for me (Blocktangles by Freckled Whimsy)!!!

• 2 baby shower gift quilts

2012 Other overview:

• Backpacking trip to the Porcupine Mountains during a break week of school

•  Seattle for a work conference

• Long weekend trip to Kentucky to enjoy the Bourbon Trail

• Long weekend to PA to visit the fam (which ended with me being sick the last day and on the flight back - boo!)
• Lost 47# by switching my eating habits (this really should get its own post later on, but Paleo totally works for me and I don't miss the pastas as much as I thought I would!)
• Got Mr. Lazydog out to Greenfield Village for Holiday nights (a huge accomplishment, as he doesn't like "touristy things" or being cold! Yes, he rocked that awesome Grinch hat the entire time we were there!)

2013 crafty goals (I came nowhere near what I wanted to do last year, so I'm going to try to be more realistic in my goals this time around):

• Work through the Sisters Ten BOM at Gen X Quilters. Making only 2 blocks per month should be more reasonable for me to accomplish....now just to decide on fabrics. I splurged and bought myself the full FQ bundle of Juggling Summer by Zen Chic. I think that may work out great for this quilt, but need to make a decision soon.

• Finish 2 WIP quilts (P2 quilt along and Slacker Star Signature Swap from the Quilt with Us online group
• Knit a scarf for my sister
• Complete a quilt for our bed. I saved up a bunch of Fat Quarter Shop gift certificates and bought the quilt kit for Festive Flurries quilt. I just learned a few months ago that one of my (newly retired) co-workers has a longarm quilting business and I am going to have her quilt that for me (and any others larger than a lap quilt - my last finish just about did me in!)

2013 Other goals

• Start a Masters Degree program. I would really like to be a nursing professor and this is the next step of the journey. I'm researching programs now and would like to start in the fall, if not sooner.
• Lose more weight and firm up...I've been adding weight lifting into my routine and have been taking more stairs at work (the pediatric ICUs are on the 10th floor of the hospital, so I'm getting familiar with the stair wells)
• Consider running a 5K in the fall. I've never been a runner so we'll see if I can get near this one, but I think that Sutton would do well as a running partner (and Cooper would enjoy the time alone!)

Vacation Part II - Hiking @ Hawk Mountain

So after some time in Amish country and visiting with my bro, it was time to head out for some hiking. We stopped at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. It is a non-profit, large (2500+acres) mountaintop preserve for raptors and other birds of prey. I can remember visiting there as a kid with my family and wanted to show Paul the great views.

We stopped at the visitor center to pay our trail fees. We stopped at the South Lookout, where a large group of birders were enjoying the views. We then took the Lookout Trail and stopped at the various lookouts to check out the scenery and the birds. After checking the map and the trail head (first picture below), we decided to tackle the Escarpment Trail. It was an amazing, rocky trail that reminded us of our backpacking trip to Isle Royale, but at the top of a mountain instead.








We completed that trail, stopped at the various lookouts, tested out the panorama function on my phone camera, enjoyed the view at the North Lookout, and took the much more leisurely Lookout Trail back to the car. More pictures (including the panoramas) are posted at our gallery webpage.

After changing shoes it was time to jump in the car and head to Tuscarora State Park for some yurt camping - or "glamping" as my neighbors called it :P

Vacation post #1

I actually got a vacation that didn't involve staying home and cleaning while my husband worked! We were able to finally get time off simultaneously and put it to good use! We have the craziest vacation request process at work and since I have hardly any seniority compared with my department co-workers, I'm usually stuck with the leftover weeks that no one else wants (so no summer vacations for me until some people retire!)

Anyway, I have always loved the fall and since the vacation week fell so close to our anniversary, we decided to hit the road and get some camping, hiking, and wining in. I grew up in the Pocono Mountains and we were married at the Harry Packer mansion in Jim Thorpe. So we headed back that way, since I don't get home very often. We were able to do some outdoorsy stuff, hit a wine trail, visit with family, and enjoy some downtime.

First, we headed to Amish country in the Lancaster area, where my brother lives. We decided to try out a bed and breakfast, since we've never done that before. We quickly learned that we aren't B&B people (not early risers, not big breakfast eaters, I'm not good at small talk, etc.) The couple that owns the house we stayed at was very nice and friendly, but it was just awkward - I felt like I was staying at a distant relative's house and couldn't really get comfortable. My hubs felt the same - lesson learned: don't book for more than one night if you aren't really sure about it. We had reserved for three days and it was 2 days too long.

So after visiting with the bro and checking out some great breweries - Lancaster Brewing Company makes a great Milk Stout and their Amish Four Grain is awesome! I also had a Shoo-Fly Porter that was to die for - wanted to bring some home, but only available in growlers and we still had almost a week left - it wouldn't survive the trip home. They had great food and the sampler beer tray was great to share and enjoy with the boys.

Pillows are done!

I was finally able to finish Lizzie's pillows - one in cool colors and one is warm colors. They will be making there way to Pennsylvania soon (if I can bring myself to pack up the blue and green one!). I hope she loves them!

And guess who's birthday is today?!?!?! That's right! My crazy "little" puppy, Sutton turned the big 0-1 today! Happy Birthday, Booger!

I'm still alive!!

Just realized it's been way too long since I posted! I'm not quite sure where the time has gone....oh, let's see, started back to school, been working a bunch of OT, a week of flu and fever, a week without power, and enjoying the summer with friends and family...not much happened on the sewing front.

I did finish my Hullabaloo squares quilt for my friends Julie & Jason for their first baby. I didn't get to take pictures of it before I sent it off to Chicago, but hopefully they will get some pics of the quilt and its new owner soon for me!

I have a plus sign quilt top done for Quilts for Kids that I need to baste together and keep working on my other UFOs. I also am working on two string pillows for my cousin. She came out to visit in June with my mom and aunts and uncle and fell in love with my fabrics. She really liked the string pillows that I made for my living room and I offered to make her some. She picked out 2 distinct color palettes (she splits time between her mom's and her dad's houses), so she's getting one for each bedroom! Here's a little sneak peek that I sent to her. Once they are shipping off to PA, I'll post more pictures - you never know who's looking :)

And the lazy dogs are as lazy as ever! Sutton(he'll be a year old on the 19th!) has now out-grown his dad. They are not enjoying the super hot temperatures we've been having!

3 more down.....

Got the three latest blocks done from the p2 modern solids quiltalong....Tail Spin, Stacked, & 4 Wheeler....only 1 more to go...I'm glad I've been able to keep up with this QAL!

I received my GXQ Kona Your World 2 FQs in the mail a few days ago too!

Stack 1: Tomato, Orange, Buttercup, Cactus, Chartreuse, Sour Apple

Stack 2:Cyan, Bahama Blue, Royal, Berry, Stone, Snow

And I've been catching up on old episodes of a favorite....Doctor Who...Thanks to Netflix, 5 seasons of the Doctor are available, along with some of the specials....So even though I'm Tivo-ing the latest episodes from BBC I now have  more chances to see my favorite doctor - David Tennant......I haven't broken down and got the DVD sets yet, but they'll be in my house soon, I'm sure.