What to Do?

Terry is hosting another sew-along on her blog, Terry's Treasures.   I did not think that I should join in since I still haven't finished her last sew along, 'Goodnight Irene'.  There are only so many hours in a day and I don'y think I can stretch myself any further.  Having said that, I took out my scrap bin this morning and found some 3 inch colourful blocks and some 2 inch light blocks.  I don't have any 5 inch blocks that the pattern calls for.  I cut the light fabric into 1 3/4 inch squares and made a few blocks using the 3 inch blocks.  They are very easy and I love them.  But now I have run out of the colourful, 3 inch. fabric squares and I will have to cut some more.

I have many other projects to finish right now.  So I think I have made up my mind as to what to do.  I will put this project on hold and finish some of the other UFOs.  It only makes sense.  No use making up another bin with an unfinished project in it.  But it was fun playing with these blocks this morning.

Jungle Quilt Update

I am still working on the Jungle Quilt.  My DD has requested some more jungle creatures, so I am complying - more leaves, plants, flowers, birds, frogs, a snake etc.  I have almost everything stitched down so far.  Today I am going to tackle the hippo.  Only a couple more HST to make.  Will do that today too.

Here is a close-up of the frog.  It's kind of blurry because I enlarged that section of the photo above.  I\ll post better pictures when I am done.

I have decided to link up to The Needle and Thread Network.

Some More POTC Blocks

First I want to thank all of you who gave me advice on my spider bite.  I really appreciate your caring and it was so comforting to feel that I was not alone in dealing with this.  The redness and swelling have gone down and it no longer hurts.  Sometimes the itching drives me crazy, but I can deal with that.

Not much sewing lately.  I have been working on the HSTs for the jungle quilt.  I think I have enough now to complete the background.  Also did a bit of machine applique, but still have a lot to do.

The only thing I have been working on are the POTC blocks.

These are an easy-to-carry-around project. In the evenings I can work on them while I watch television.  I am at a standstill now though.  I need more freezer paper templates, but I can't find my freezer paper.  Guess it's time to clean up in the sewing room.  See you later.

What the...Hey! Something Bit Me!

A few days ago I was out doing some gardening when I decided to get a few tools out of the shed.  I opened the door and something fell on me.  I didn't see what it was but in about a second and a half it had bitten me on the inside of my upper arm.  Gosh it hurt.  I don't think I have ever been bitten like that before. I thought it was a wasp because we have some of those in the shed.  Usually they go about their business and don't bother anyone.

I started to feel dizzy and my arm felt as if it was on fire.  I got an ice pack from the fridge and placed it on my arm and then went to bed.  I don't remember anything after that.  I fell asleep for over 2 and 1/2 hours and that was in the middle of the afternoon.  When I woke up the bite was red and swollen and still hurt like crazy.

Ignore the wrinkles!

Last night I lay in bed trying to figure out what to do about the pain.  It still hurt as if it had just happened and it was very red and still swollen.  The centre where the bite was had become infected looking. That's when I decided it must have been a spider and not a wasp.  We have lots of spiders here in Toronto. There are Black Widows, Brown Recluses, Wolf and Hobo spiders.  Usually these arachnids hide in dark out-off-the-way places.  My shed is dark, but not that dark and we go in and out of it all the time.

My neighbour had installed a new shed in his backyard, right beside our fence last weekend.  He had to clean up all kinds of stuff that was in the way - firewood, cardboard, branches and other trash.  I think that a spider was hiding in that stuff and came to find refuge in my shed.  Then I knocked it down from the rafters and it bit me.  I have never knowingly hurt a spider.  I respect them.  I love the webs they form and the way they eat nasty insects.  So why did this thing bite me?  I think it was just a misunderstanding.

Does anyone have any idea what could have bitten me?  I would really like to know.

Jungle Baby Quilt

I spent the better part of this week trying to figure out how to make the jungle baby quilt I showed you a couple of posts ago.  First I drew a very elaborate African scene, complete with jungles, savannahs and rivers.  It was nice, but way too complicated to applique.  Also, I didn't have enough fabric for the background.  I changed my direction and decided to make the quilt more or less as it was in the original. I started to make HST for the background.  They were fun to do and I just kept making them.  Then I started to sew them together and decided that they were too thick and heavy behind the applique parts.  I was still planning to hand applique them at that piont.  So I left some plain strips where the animals would go.  Then I decided to machine applique everything.  This is to be a baby quilt and it will get washed often.  Machine applique will stand up better. So that is what I am doing.

Here is a photo of what I have accomplished so far.  Still have to make some spots for the giraffe and more grasses.  But I think that working on small areas like this is the way to go.  This is a fun quilt to make.  I love all that wildlie!  I hope my DD loves it too.

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend.  The weather is cooperating - a nice, warm. rainless weekend for a change.

I am linking up with A Quilting Reader's Garden.  I know this isn't EPP, but maybe someone out there would like to see my progress.

Update on POTC Blocks

Just a quick post to show you my progress on the POTC blocks.  I want to link up with Angie's blog.  I think there is still time.  Not much quilting went on around here for the past couple of weeks, but now I am into EPP again.  I love this method.  I have lots of hexies prepped and ready to go.

I know it's Monday, but we are enjoying a nice long weekend here in Ontario.  Today is a holiday.

Linking up with A Quilting Reader's Garden.

Take Time to Relax

After we dropped the Kamajo students off yesterday morning, so that they could start the next leg of their trip, my DD and I decided we needed some time for ourselves.  It has been a busy 10 days!  So we went to Babies R Us to add to the registry she started a few days ago.  Gosh! There are so many lovely things for babies now-a-days.  I was just blown away!  We saw a cute little quilt that I would like to use as inspiration. My DD laughed as she wondered how many quilts this baby will have.  I thought about something as funny as a barrel of monkeys (I guess it was that little monkey on the quilt) and I said, "As many as .......?"  "A quilt shop?" my DD suggested.  No, that wasn't quite what I was thinking about.  So I said, "As many as are in a Grandma's attic".  That would be about right, I'm to be his grandma, after all!  Got any other ideas?  This quilt would be all applique.  I wonder if I could do it.

I am not sure about the colours I would use.  This would take a lot of drawing and planning, not to mention the stitching and sewing.  I only have about two and a half months left.  Yipes!  I think I will start the drawing stage this afternoon, after my DH and I go back over to Babies R Us to pick up the bed I bought.  They had all the beds, dressers and change tables on sale.  I had to buy it and lay it away because it was the last one they had and my DD's car is a little Honda Civic and we didn't think it would fit.  The bed is a nice natural oak finish.  We thought it was perfect.  I bought the change table to match.  And a comfy mattress. Everything will stay in the box for a couple more months, until the baby room is painted.  Do you think I am spoiling him?  That is not what I want to do, but I do want him to have a comfortable place to sleep and I promised my DD that I would buy the bed.  Okay, so where does the relaxing part come in?

Oh, yeah, now.  After our shopping spree, we went over to the Lone Star for lunch.  Fajitas. Very relaxing and yummy!

Hope you are having a great weekend.  We have a long weekend.  Monday is a civic holiday. Here in Ontario this day is known as Simcoe Day, in honour of the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada.  Have a good one!

A Couple of Finishes

I sewed the 16-patch top together yesterday.  I really like how it turned out.  I know it is August 1st, but I am counting this top as a finish for July.  Now I still have to quilt it.  Wonder how long that will take me.

Another finish is the home stay with our Japanese students.  We took them to the school this morning, with all their suitcases.  They will take a bus to Bark Lake, where they will spend the next 5 days or so doing all kinds of Canadian outdoor activities, like swimming, canoeing, rope climbing and archery.  It was a very emotional goodbye.  The girls were sad to leave, but I know they will love camp once they get there.  I know I would!  I am sitting down because I think I have overdone things a bit lately.  Too much walking.

The bus was all ready to go, but the girls did not want to leave yet.  There were lots of tears and promises to return one day.  These were a terrific group of girls.  It was such fun to have them stay with us.