WIP Wednesday

hey all......

not much sewing done these past 7 days.  i mean how could i when i spent 3 1/2 of them at the Gorge in George, WA watching the Dave Matthews Band.  annual tradition that didn't disappoint at all this year.

video of the band closing out the show on Sunday night.  so much energy. its amazing to get to go to every year.

i did start a little hand project on the trip.  its for a friend.  not sure if she will make the connection or not but i am posting it anyways.  i also got some fussy cutting done for my Cartwheel quilt.  maybe some progress on that next week.

this weekend i am off for another long weekend.

WIP Wednesday

i have been busy in sewing land the past week.  getting things done & checked off of my to do list.  here are 2 of my bee blocks that needed to get done for August.

both gals wanted wonky star blocks.  so thanks to them the blocks were easy.

this past weekend i knocked out the quilting & binding on this quilt.

i made the top awhile back with a quilt along over at ps i quilt.  but i never got it quilted or bound.



i decided that i needed to get it done so it could come to the Gorge with me this weekend for the Dave Matthews Band shows.

its a little wild & wacky.  sort of like me at the concerts.  so its fitting to be going along.



i also got 3 more of my Cartwheel blocks done.

now i am left with the last 3 that all have frogs in them.  i have all of the frogs traced on the fabric & some of them cut.  maybe during the days this weekend i can work on getting the rest of the frogs cuts out & ready for the blocks.

tomorrow is September 1st.  i have been waiting for September to get here since January.  September is going to be a great month for me.  kicking it off with a long weekend at the Gorge to see my favorite band & spend sometime with friends.  then another long weekend away after that.  a weekend at home then another long weekend at quilt camp.

so not much sewing will be getting done over the next couple of weeks which i am okay with.  i will take my hand work along but if i don't touch it i don't care.  my focus is going to be on other things.

i will still post each Wednesday it just might not be about sewing.

enjoy September everyone.  its about time it got here.

WIP Wednesday

hey there.  i hope that you all are doing well.  i have been getting some sewing done this past week.  i finished my Opening Day quilt (finally) which i posted about here.  i have since been working on my Cartwheel quilt.

i love this block.  i fussy cut the fabric so that the frog head is in each one.  lots of work but totally worth it.

i have 6 blocks done & i am almost done with another 3.

the final 3 will all have the frog in them.  i haven't cut that fabric yet so that will take me some time.  i hope to have them finished up this coming weekend & the top together.

September is a packed month for me kicking it off at the Gorge to see DMB & ending it with a quilt camp & a lot of fun stuff in between.

WIP Wednesday

if you are looking for the giveaway click here.

i am pulling this baby back out & working on it again.  i have finally gotten caught up with a few things so its time to have some fun.  its my Cartwheels quilt that i started in Sisters.

i am looking forward to seeing the next few blocks come together.

i have also been working on my Opening Day quilt.  the sides are on & now i have to put together the 2 boarders for the top & the bottom.  i hope that by this weekend this quilt top will be finished.

16 days to go until the Gorge.  if this was a normal year i would have already seen the Dave Matthews Band a time or 2 by now.  but, nothing about this year has been normal for me.

i hope you all are getting a lot done.  happy sewing.

Not A WIP Wednesday Post

this is a not WIP Wednesday post. sorry i don't have the 'whatever' to get one together this evening. i thought about waiting until tomorrow but i have just decided to skip it all together this week. i am spent for the day & i am looking forward to a bowl of vanilla ice cream & my bed.

however, this past week something wonderful did happen. DMB kicked off their (way to short) summer concert season. they played 3 nights in Atlantic City this past weekend. the set lists from the shows were great & i am getting excited to see them at the Gorge in September.

i wasn't in Atlantic City but i got this photo from thekey.xpn.org they have some great shots on their site from this past weekend.

before i leave you all i have one question for you. could someone please tell me where the 1st half of this year went?

i am at a loss with how quickly this year is going. next week this time i will be in Sisters Oregon for their quilt show. to me it seems like we just got done with winter.

please tell me i am not the only one feeling this way.......

Heaven's Amphitheater

life has been a roller coaster for me lately as you all know. its sad to say but for some reason that has become the normal for a lot of us. i personally don't do well with the ups & downs of life. i like routine & consistency with a little adventure thrown in here & there.

last year in May when DMB announced that they were taking 2011 off from touring - i was down. then in January of this year they announced that they would do 4 multi day festivals this year to celebrate their 20th anniversary - i was up.

yesterday they announced the final 2 stops for them.

like music to my ears the 'last stop' will be in my backyard. i have looked at the other 3 stops & contemplated them all. it didn't take me long to realize my all time favorite place to see the band is the Gorge.

photo credit

fans travel from all over the world to experience DMB here. i believe that Dave once referred to it as 'heaven's amphitheater'.

its an amazing & special location to see any artist at.

this past week i have had an ongoing conversation with a friend about music & the roll it can play in our lives. as you know for me music is a constant in my life just like seeing DMB at the Gorge each year. as i have said before some people find my passion for this band odd or strange & others are fascinated with it. to each their own & i respect that. my annual trip to the Gorge for me is always a magical experience & it reminds me that where i practice my faith does not always have 4 walls.

enjoy your weekend!

"I'm not going to change my ways just to please you or appease you"

Showing My Cards

i am showing my cards in this post.

my blog sub-title says ' from fabric to finish and everything in between'. this is the in between part with a little fabric thrown in. although sewing, fabric & quilting is usually fun & happy stuff truth be told we all have a life. a life in the real world that gets yucky sometimes. i am just like the rest of you. i don't live in a land of rainbows & cotton candy i live in reality & i don't want my readers to think otherwise.

this past week has been one of the roughest weeks i have had in a long time. work has been crazy. we have been short handed. customer's want stuff 2 days ago & somehow their poor planning is our fault. battling suppliers over stuff that shouldn't be an issue. it seems like it has been a constant struggle all week. in dealing with this stuff my normal work is not getting done which adds to the problem. not to mention that my health has taken a downward turn during this process as well.

my health + stress = bad things

on top of that you throw in some disappointment whether it be in myself or others & you have the makings of a rough week.

its times like these that i have those conversations with myself in my head. you know the ones. "come on you can make it through this" "you are stronger then you think" "its just a bad day tomorrow will be better" "you are never dealt more then you can handle" yep. i have had them all. did they help? who knows. all that i know is that its FRIDAY & this week is about over which i am very grateful for.

when things are not going the right direction for me i do my best to find the silver lining that is always there. yesterday i got an email that brought tears to my eyes & a smile to my face. my SIL sent a pic of my nieces which was priceless. totally made me realize that even though there is crap going on i still have a wonderful family that is full of love. i will share the pic at some point in the future for now i just want to treasure it.

another great silver lining from this week was this.

my friend Sharon gave me this fabric. yes i said gave. her husband dropped it off at my work & it was during a time that i was elbow deep in something & didn't get to thank him. Sharon was going through some fabric, came across this & realized she didn't have a need for it anymore. i told her i would be interested because i know someone who likes that sort of thing & i could make them a quilt. so, thank you to Sharon for being a silver lining in my week.

when things get crazy for me & i get off of center i turn to things i know to bring me back. my two of my favorite things are music & sewing. so, yes itunes is playing as i am typing this & DMB is assisting in the re-centering process.

this is some of the sewing that has taken place this past week. block #11 from the Fat Quarter Shop's Mystery BOM. i also put together a bee block as well. i don't want to show that until she has gotten it.

another thing i have been working on is organizing my scraps. yes you read that right. crazy as it sounds my scraps have been driving me nuts. they have been residing in this large tote for sometime now. when i go looking for something you can imagine the mess it makes. that is what brought about this organization project. i have began by sorting them into piles of color range. if i come across something that is 5" or wider & the full WOF then that goes into a separate pile. fat quarters into a separate pile as well. this is my progress so far. i am surprised at my stack of reds. i am planning on getting through it this weekend. i have a couple ideas on storage so check back to see how that goes.

last but not least this morning i received another silver lining. i told you about the challenge that my friend Sarah over at Confessions of A Fabric Addict issued to all of us quilters. Sarah posted this morning that she had 48 people sign up. that means 48 quilts will be made & taken to Romania. me being me signed up to do 2. my 1st partner is local. my friend Barb is joining in the fun & we will be exchanging our fabric on Monday. huge Thank You to Barb for taking on the challenge. my 2nd partner is Larissa from Australia. yep, Sarah went international with this challenge. the response to this challenge puts a HUGE smile on my face.

i hope that you all had a survivable week & that an amazing weekend is ahead for each one of you.

remember "make the best of what's around"

If you give you begin to live.......

if you are a reader of my blog then you know that i am a fan of the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) & if you are new to my blog..... well now you know.

DMB has a song titled You Might Die Trying which is one of my favs. there is a line in the song that says 'if you give you begin to live'. i am a huge believer in the idea of giving & not just giving of money but of time or talent as well. therefore i am always looking for ways to give with my sewing/quilting talents. i think i get this from my grandmother who was very big in helping people out & donating her time to great causes.

i have completed blocks for 2 causes.

i have made 10 blocks for Beth over at Love Laugh Quilt who is putting together quilts for Japan. go check it out & participate if you can. thanks to Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for featuring Beth on her blog if it wasn't for that i wouldn't know about this great cause.

i also have made 8 star blocks for Moda's Just One Star project which i learned about from Rachel over at ps i quilt. go check it out & participate if you can as well.

its a great feeling knowing that i have contributed to some amazing causes. i know not everyone has the time to do a whole quilt. me included. but a block or a few blocks is something everyone has the time to do.

my motto is

You Get What You Give

Freaking out......

i am freaking out because of this

********

2011 is our 20th anniversary as a band and we want to celebrate by playing music together. While we are still taking the year off from touring, we have decided to plan four multi-day, multi-artist music events that will take place this summer. We will be sending out save the date emails and announcing more information soon but we wanted to share the news with our fans first.

********

after seeing this band for numerous years i thought this was going to be a year without that. i was wrong.............. i hate to be wrong but in this situation i am okay with that. i am on cloud 9 & will be for awhile. a year without them was going to be a challenge for me - a very passionate fan - but we don't have to go there & you don't have to listen to me complain about it.

i have no idea where or when they will be playing but you can bet i will be there for at least a couple of the shows.

they never cease to amaze me.... forever dancing...

********

1/22/10

ps ~ Karrie over at Freckled Whimsy is celebrating with a giveaway!

A year of travels

it has been a year of travel for me.

January 2010 took me to Washington DC

there i got to see Colin Powell speak.
do a little sight seeing.

& see Natalie Cole perform.

then the end of January was a trip to McCall for sewing & a mini trip to Boise to see my niece.

in March i went to a quilt camp at Palouse Divide Lodge - no pic of that.

in April i went back to Boise for more time with my niece.

also in April I went to St. Louis for work - no pic of that either.

in May it was the trip of a lifetime - all expenses paid - to the island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands.

on that trip we also sailed to Jost Van Dyke which is a British Virgin Island.

June was a month filled with doctors apts & several trips to Spokane.

in July a group of us headed to Sisters, OR for the Outdoor Quilt show.

i also went to Houston in July for work - no pics.

i was home the whole month of August except for the last few days when i made a quick trip to Boise to see DMB with my brother & SIL.

September kicked off with spending Labor Day weekend at the Gorge seeing DMB with Steph.

mid September i took a quick trip to Chicago to see DMB at Wrigley.

the end of September brought another quilt camp at Palouse Divide Lodge.

in October i went back to McCall with the Renegade's for another quilt camp.

in November it was back to Palouse Divide Lodge for yet another quilt camp.
December was a trip to Seattle to see Dave & Tim as well as a quick weekend trip to Boise to see my family there - no pics of that trip.

********

looking back over 2010 i realize just how much i got to see & do & i am so grateful for the opportunities that my life brought me this past year.

i don't expect to be traveling as much in 2011 however right out of the gate in January i am headed to Dallas for work. March will bring a trip to Boise to welcome my new niece. July we will head to Sister's again. August to California for work. & i am hoping for some quilt camps scattered in there somewhere through out the year.

********

up next

'A year of projects'

My tickets.....

my tickets for the Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds shows in Seattle were delivered by the FedEx gal today. so, 2 weeks from tonight i will be in downtown Seattle with 2,900 other fans attending an amazing concert & not just Monday's concert but i have tickets to Tuesday's as well.

it will be a great time hanging out with my BFF & her little guy as well as doing some shopping quilt stores or otherwise. needless to say i feel very blessed to have gotten tickets for both shows & i think its a great way to kick off the Christmas season. as i have shared in this post here all of the money from the tickets sales is being donated to various charities that are picked by us the concert-goers. Dave has fronted the cost for everything else.

i also realized as i started this post that this is my 100th post. Wow!!!!

i think i will have to do a give-away of some sort here in the next few days. i am coming out of my quilt camp hang over...... however i have a lot to do between now & Christmas so its off to the sewing cave for me.

CONFIRMED

Confirmed

to me right now there is no better word.

my fav Dave Matthews & his buddy Tim Reynolds are playing 2 nights in Seattle & i got confirmed for both nights. tickets don't go on sale to the public until tomorrow but because i am a total dork & a member of the fan club we got an early shot at the tickets. i am crazy surprised that i got tickets for 1 night let alone to both nights. they are playing in McCaw Hall which holds roughly 2,900 people. by far the smallest venue i will have seen Dave in. both shows will be benefit concerts with us the concert-goers picking the charity that we would like our money to go to. leave it to Dave to come up with a great way to support numerous causes.

so, December 6th & 7th i will be in Seattle with my BFF Shelly for our 1st Dave show together - ever - hard to believe right????

November has been off to a rough start for me but this news, this silver lining makes me think that things are going to start turning around for me. at the end of these shows i will have seen Dave 8 times this year - a record for me but since he is not touring next year i think its totally worth it. i know, i know some may think i am crazy, insane, whacked out of my mind, but i don't care. this is what makes me happy.

are you doing what makes you happy?

remember

Life Is Short But Sweet For Certain

ps-there is a great giveaway going on over at everyday beautiful's blog - go check it out!!!!