Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Scrappy Finish #3
Phew. The 3rd scrappy quilt of 4 is done! It's heading in the mail tomorrow to a friend. I'm grateful it came together quickly since she's already had the baby.
The flannel backing is the other half of the receiving blanket I never made, so this entire quilt came directly from my fabric stash. Wahoo!
Friday, March 11, 2016
Scrappiness Quilt Top #3
I decided to make my own improv scrappy blocks for the next baby boy quilt. They come together quickly, and I can use any size crap I want. I trimmed each block to 8.5" unfinished, and then added borders. My strategy is working, because I'm finally starting to see a difference in my scrap bin.
This also happened this week:
The front of our house got a face lift: A little power wash, a new front post (the previous one had some serious wood rot), and a new paint job on all the trim, shudders, and front door. If I can motivate myself to clean out the house we should be getting the Realtor in here in the next 2 weeks.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Scrappiness #2
A friend of mine is having a baby girl next month, so I started this quilt with her in mind. Then another friend's pregnancy snuck up on me. I lost track of time and all of a sudden she was due to have a baby girl last week! I wish my own pregnancies flew by that quickly! Anyway, I decided to make this quilt for her baby girl since I had more time for the other one, but then she ended up having a boy! What?! I suppose it was a good thing I was behind on making her the quilt. The long and the short of it is this quilt is back to being for who it was originally intended, and now I still need to make another baby boy quilt. And yes, it will be scrappy as well. I'm on a roll with using my scraps.
Friday, March 4, 2016
Oklahoma City
On our second day in Oklahoma City I got a tour of the downtown.
I asked if we could stop at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. We didn't have time to go to the museum, but I wanted to see the grounds. The Memorial is very well done and very compelling. Each chair is labeled with a person's name who died in the bombing. They placed the chairs according to the floor of the building where they were located when it exploded. The little chairs are the children.
Kathy, the woman from the hospital showing me around, told me some of her personal stories/experiences when the bomb went off, so I'm glad I went with her. It made it more real and personalized.
We went to lunch at the Museum Cafe that's connected to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, and it was rather good food. It's a nice restaurant. Afterward, we went through the art museum. It's small, but nice. I really liked the Chihuly glass exhibit. It has a cute activity packet for children that I know my kids would love.
 |
| The Survivor Tree |
 |
| This is from the church across the street that was damaged from the blast |
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Interview Glitches
Joel had 2 job interviews this past week, and both of them took on a life of their own.
Albuquerque, New Mexico:
On his way to Albuquerque he had a layover in Dallas. His plane was supposed to be coming from DC, but there was a huge storm, so it delayed the plane almost 5 hours. His plane took off after midnight Central Time (1am our time). He didn't get to his hotel until after 2 in the morning, and he had a 7:30am breakfast interview followed by a packed schedule of interviews with a late formal dinner. He had worked a half day before heading to the airport as well, so he was exhausted. I told him he could just show them how awesome he is at functioning after a long call weekend. :)
Even though he had a really long day he talked to me on the phone for almost a half hour straight about how much he really loved Albuquerque. I was shocked. Normally I get about 2 sentences out of him on the phone, and that's about it. He loved the city. He loved the doctors. He was happy with the job. I think he was just really pleasantly surprised by the entire experience.
He felt really good about everything. The chief of the department is out of town for the next couple of weeks, so he won't be hearing back from them whether or not he gets a second interview until close to the end of the month. He did say though that if they decide to bring him out for a second interview that they will have a contract in hand ready to make an offer.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
48 hours later we were on a plane headed to Oklahoma. The chief of the department asked me to come along as well, because he said he only made one move without his wife's approval and it didn't go over well, so now he wants to make sure the wife is happy as well. He's a very smart man!
We got in to the hotel Sunday evening and just ordered dinner from the hotel in an effort to rest and be ready for the interview in the morning. This was the interview that Joel had most looked forward to, and he really wanted it to go well. Half way through the night Joel woke up with food poisoning. He spent the majority of the night vomiting in the bathroom. At about 4:30/5am I was seriously concerned he would have to completely cancel the interview. He was scheduled to have a 7:30 breakfast interview, and he couldn't even leave the bathroom. Gratefully, the vomiting stopped around 5 and he could at least lay down for a little while. He looked like death, but he was able to at least meet the chief downstairs. He didn't eat anything, but they did go to the hospital to try to do interviews. It was definitely pep talk time! I just told him to take it one interview at a time, and not focus on how incredibly long the day was going to be - baby steps! When I got to the hospital at 10, the lady I was with took one look at him and asked if he wanted an IV. He gave her an enthusiastic YES! They hooked him up, and it helped. This will definitely be his most memorable interview if nothing else. The poor guy made it through all the interviews but ended up canceling the dinner, because he still wasn't eating anything, and he was barely functioning by the end of it. I was really worried that the whole thing had put a major damper on his experience. He went straight to bed at about 5pm.
Gratefully, he woke up the next morning feeling 100 times better, and he was back to being the correct color again. He gave his presentation and had more interviews. At the very end of the day, Dr. Meyer, the chief of the department, called me in as well and asked me if I wanted to come back for the second interview. Their hiring committee meets this coming Monday and then we should hear a final decision, but even after all the food poisoning trauma it looks like Joel will most likely be offered a second interview and a possible contract. It's hard to believe it, but things somehow worked out.
Taking out the whole food poisoning part, he had a wonderful experience. Everyone is so lovely and kind. They are like a big family and they are also very family oriented. It's also a really great job. It's almost exactly what he wants to do, so it's a great fit. The department head would also be a really great boss. He's the most down to earth guy and just a really great person. He also was a concert pianist and owns a Steinway, so we chatted pianos and music for a while.
Joel has two more interviews in the next 2 weeks, and he also had a phone interview with Rochester, New York yesterday. They have expressed interest in bringing him out for an interview in the next 3-5 weeks, but unless that timeline ends up moving up a bit it may be too late. Right now it's really between Albuquerque and Oklahoma unless something unforeseen occurs.
Albuquerque, New Mexico:
On his way to Albuquerque he had a layover in Dallas. His plane was supposed to be coming from DC, but there was a huge storm, so it delayed the plane almost 5 hours. His plane took off after midnight Central Time (1am our time). He didn't get to his hotel until after 2 in the morning, and he had a 7:30am breakfast interview followed by a packed schedule of interviews with a late formal dinner. He had worked a half day before heading to the airport as well, so he was exhausted. I told him he could just show them how awesome he is at functioning after a long call weekend. :)
Even though he had a really long day he talked to me on the phone for almost a half hour straight about how much he really loved Albuquerque. I was shocked. Normally I get about 2 sentences out of him on the phone, and that's about it. He loved the city. He loved the doctors. He was happy with the job. I think he was just really pleasantly surprised by the entire experience.
He felt really good about everything. The chief of the department is out of town for the next couple of weeks, so he won't be hearing back from them whether or not he gets a second interview until close to the end of the month. He did say though that if they decide to bring him out for a second interview that they will have a contract in hand ready to make an offer.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
48 hours later we were on a plane headed to Oklahoma. The chief of the department asked me to come along as well, because he said he only made one move without his wife's approval and it didn't go over well, so now he wants to make sure the wife is happy as well. He's a very smart man!
We got in to the hotel Sunday evening and just ordered dinner from the hotel in an effort to rest and be ready for the interview in the morning. This was the interview that Joel had most looked forward to, and he really wanted it to go well. Half way through the night Joel woke up with food poisoning. He spent the majority of the night vomiting in the bathroom. At about 4:30/5am I was seriously concerned he would have to completely cancel the interview. He was scheduled to have a 7:30 breakfast interview, and he couldn't even leave the bathroom. Gratefully, the vomiting stopped around 5 and he could at least lay down for a little while. He looked like death, but he was able to at least meet the chief downstairs. He didn't eat anything, but they did go to the hospital to try to do interviews. It was definitely pep talk time! I just told him to take it one interview at a time, and not focus on how incredibly long the day was going to be - baby steps! When I got to the hospital at 10, the lady I was with took one look at him and asked if he wanted an IV. He gave her an enthusiastic YES! They hooked him up, and it helped. This will definitely be his most memorable interview if nothing else. The poor guy made it through all the interviews but ended up canceling the dinner, because he still wasn't eating anything, and he was barely functioning by the end of it. I was really worried that the whole thing had put a major damper on his experience. He went straight to bed at about 5pm.
Gratefully, he woke up the next morning feeling 100 times better, and he was back to being the correct color again. He gave his presentation and had more interviews. At the very end of the day, Dr. Meyer, the chief of the department, called me in as well and asked me if I wanted to come back for the second interview. Their hiring committee meets this coming Monday and then we should hear a final decision, but even after all the food poisoning trauma it looks like Joel will most likely be offered a second interview and a possible contract. It's hard to believe it, but things somehow worked out.
Taking out the whole food poisoning part, he had a wonderful experience. Everyone is so lovely and kind. They are like a big family and they are also very family oriented. It's also a really great job. It's almost exactly what he wants to do, so it's a great fit. The department head would also be a really great boss. He's the most down to earth guy and just a really great person. He also was a concert pianist and owns a Steinway, so we chatted pianos and music for a while.
Joel has two more interviews in the next 2 weeks, and he also had a phone interview with Rochester, New York yesterday. They have expressed interest in bringing him out for an interview in the next 3-5 weeks, but unless that timeline ends up moving up a bit it may be too late. Right now it's really between Albuquerque and Oklahoma unless something unforeseen occurs.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Fraternal Twins
Since my husband was out of town for most of last week I got quite a bit of sewing done in the evenings after the kiddos went to bed. A "Hallelujah" for the baby finally going to sleep at a reasonable hour!
I'm tackling my scrap bin one block at a time, and it's starting to pay off. These two quilt tops are entirely made of scraps.
Baby Boy Scrappiness:
Baby Girl Scrappiness:
2 down. 2 more to go. I'll probably complete these two first, because Baby Henry was already born last week, and the baby girl is due this week!
I'm tackling my scrap bin one block at a time, and it's starting to pay off. These two quilt tops are entirely made of scraps.
Baby Boy Scrappiness:
Baby Girl Scrappiness:
2 down. 2 more to go. I'll probably complete these two first, because Baby Henry was already born last week, and the baby girl is due this week!
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Scrappy Overflow
I've been trying to organize things around here, and that includes my fabric. It's embarrassing just how big my scrap bin is. I'm serious. At the rate we're going I'm going to need a separate U-Haul just for my fabric.
March is my month to be in charge of the requested blocks for do.Good Stitches, so my scrap bin became my inspiration. I chose the ultimate scrappy blocks. It's the Stacks & Stacks Quilt Block, and yes, it's stacks of scraps.
There are no stipulations except the background blocks do need to be white, so that there's some visual rest for the eyes.
March is my month to be in charge of the requested blocks for do.Good Stitches, so my scrap bin became my inspiration. I chose the ultimate scrappy blocks. It's the Stacks & Stacks Quilt Block, and yes, it's stacks of scraps.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
A New Method
For our February blocks for do.Good Stitches we were asked to make a pink and red heart. The hearts are paper pieced together, but then they are reverse appliqued. I've never even heard of this before, so I was intrigued. It was kind of fun to try a new method. We used these templates with most of this tutorial. The only difference is we top stitched it together at the end.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)