It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

Wow! It's supposed to get somewhere near 60 today. Spring is finally on its way! Woke up this morning to a clear blue sky and plenty of sunshine!

Yesterday, Barb and I went to DM for a little shopping and a great lecture by Linda Jenkins from Piece O' Cake Designs. It was about how your quilting (and quilting design) make the quilt. She had an awesome slide show including some of their very first quilts (and what NOT to do) and had some really great samples hanging. I spoke with her briefly about their book, "Stars in the Garden" that's no longer available and asked her if she realized it was selling for big $$ on Ebay and the like. She laughed and said, yes they knew it, and I surely didn't pay that much for my copy!!! No, I didn't. But they've now republished the pattern in actual pattern form as opposed to a reprint of the book...and she said Fairfield is going to be using it in their print ads! How exciting!

I did get most of the fabrics purchased for Gage's baby quilt and hope to get started on that sometime in the next couple of weeks. I think it's really going to turn out cute with the Peek-a-Boo pattern I've selected! I didn't buy the border fabric yet ~ because I think it's going to be the hardest part to choose ~ but we'll deal with that once I get the top put together :) I need to get the fabrics washed and pressed today so they're ready to go.

Unfortunately, Sharon didn't get to go with us yesterday since she not only got called in for jury duty, she got PICKED, too!!! I hope it's a quick trial...I would hate for her to miss going with us this weekend.

Speaking of today...lots on the plate again, as usual. I have got to get my checkbook figured before the weekend, clothes to put away, laundry to do and general picking up. I'd like to find some time this afternoon to work on my Triple Irish Chain...but we'll see how productive of a morning I end up having!

Here's To a Great Week!

Started off yesterday early (before 8am on a Sunday is EARLY to me!). Had some nice quiet time to myself before everyone else rolled out of bed so that I could check my email, pick up a little bit and get ready for my class in Ames. Took the kids to Jim's parent's house and met Sharon at Casey's. We rode over together and discovered when we got there that the store *wasn't* open to the public on Sundays (hence our idea to get there early and do a little shopping) so we ended up going to JF for a little while instead.

Class was great - there were THREE women named "Sharon" there plus me so it was quite comical. There were only a total of 6 in the class altogether which I think makes for a really nice size. You can chat and not worry about leaving anyone out, have room to spread out your stuff and just generally have a good time. I got the third row (out of 4 1/2) sewed on to my chain and almost two blocks out of the fourth row completed. I'm hoping to have time to work on it a little bit this week but I'm not too hopeful. I've got a busy week ahead! It would be nice to go next week and be ready to put the borders on, tho. WOOHOO! That means I would be able (almost) to knock one thing off my WIP list!

Today is a "working" day at home cleaning up following the weekend. I hate Mondays!! LOL I have a bunch of errands to run, too. Speaking of which ~ here's the weekly funny. Yesterday, before I left, I KNEW we were getting really low on toilet paper and I was going to make sure and stop to get some before I came home. Well, I lost my thought and forgot. Last night...you guessed it! Major emergency in our household as there is no TP and no kleenex. What to do, what to do?!?! So I called the neighbors and asked to have some of theirs (not borrow...ewww!!!LOL). Jim was SO appalled. He says he'll never live that down!! Hey...you gotta do what you gotta do. LOL

Tonight I'm off to take Winks to his first night of soccer practice (if it quits raining) and then to a sewing session to make pillowcases for the troops. A friend of mine's SIL is leaving for Iraq tomorrow and she'd like to get 50 of them done tonight. I'm hopeful that we'll have enough help to pull it off!

Tomorrow, Sharon, Barb and I are heading to the DMAQG meeting to listen to Linda Jenkins speak. Should be a really fun day out. I hope Sharon gets to go -she got a letter to be called in for jury duty tomorrow...but hopefully it will settle today and she won't have to attend.

Wednesday and Thursday are "home days" so I can get stuff prepared since I'm going to be gone this weekend. Barb, Sharon and I are leaving on Friday for the weekend meeting of the IIQSG then home again on Saturday night.

Better go get started so I can say I accomplished something this week!!

A Beautiful Saturday in the Midwest

Well, I woke up this morning to fresh air and plenty of sunshine. Just the kind of thing to make you think your day might end up being something special. I was the first one up this morning (as usual!) and had a nice quiet opportunity to spend some "me" time before the hustle and bustle began.

The kids and I were up and running when Jim and Wyatt returned from their overnight Science Center trip and I was out the door to my friend Carla's house for a few hours to work on brochures for the Barn Quilt project. It was a nice visit with some time to catch up on the "goings on" around town.

I came home to yet another phone call that I wasn't really prepared to take. It seems there has been more news concerning the two "coordinators" who left our quilt group and their incesstant "gossip" about me around town. The latest is that they've been to the local hospital to publicize the fact that they're no longer part of the group and to lay blame on me in an attempt to get the hospital staff "against" me in preparation for next year's quilt show. Geesh. When I expressed my disgust to Jim, he once again reiterated that anyone who knew me KNEW BETTER and that the only asses they were making were of themselves. I guess I know that...but I really feel this situation is getting out of hand and ridiculous. And the kicker is ~ I don't know how to stop it in an adult manner. The child in me wants to lay down on the floor and scream, egg their house or beat them up on the street...but that probably wouldn't go over too well, now, would it?!?! LOL

Anyway, it was nice to come home to my own environment where I'm assured that people love me and that I really AM okay. :) We had a late lunch about 2pm and then I put Afton down for a nap while the boys watched a movie. I laid down for a bit, too, but the swirling thoughts in my mind wouldn't let me rest so I'm up again and in my office cleaning. Jim's outside doing some clean up work in the yard and getting ready to run the manure spreader in the Adzuki field again. He told me if I could find someone to watch the kids tonight, he'd take me out for dinner! I know it's his way of trying to make me feel better :)

Here's to an uneventful, relaxing, enjoyable evening!

Not Much Accomplished...

Unfortunately, I lost my motivation earlier this morning. My list of things to get done just didn't go anywhere. I did however, get the paperwork on the kitchen table sorted out and the rest of my quilt magazines looked through and decided upon as to tossing or keeping. I really got rid of alot of them! And I followed Sharon's advice to post-it note the projects I liked in the ones that I did keep so I could find them more easily when the moment struck me. :) In between all of that, I found the time to wash, dry and fold four loads of laundry although it's not put away yet. I'm hoping when Jim gets home this afternoon he can carry our basket upstairs for me since it's so heavy. I really need to go through my closet and declutter in there, too...but that's another project for another day :)

Jim called earlier and put in another order for FA so completed the paperwork on that. I swore last year that I wasn't going to let myself get behind and ~ so far I haven't ~ but the season will be getting into full swing here soon so I need to clean out last year's files and get this year's stuff input into the master database so I can put it away. Sales this year have been good although we did lose one major account. From what I can tell, tho ~ the other accounts have increased their purchasing for this year so we should be around the same level as we were last year. We've been picking up a new account here and there, too (today's order was one) so that always helps. I don't usually start worrying until we're about midway through the season. Thank goodness it ends around the end of July...right before Baby A gets here! :)

Wyatt and Jim are going to the Science Center tonight for an overnighter for Cub Scouts. I hope they have a good time. Will, Afton and I are planning to do something fun...although we haven't decided what yet. My feeling is it's just going to end up being pizza and a rented movie. Afton didn't have a nap this afternoon so she *should* go to bed early...we'll see. Whenever I have that "plan" in mind, it always backfires on me!! I'm hoping to get some more decluttering done in my office after she goes to bed.

Guess that's about it for now...off to get my two big boys out the door for their trip!

Today's "Positivity"

Woke up this morning feeling completely different than I did last night. Drama is over once again and I am ready to face the day. I have so much stuff to get done over the weekend...I don't even know where to start.

I did decide that I would make a written list of all of the quilt-y things I want to accomplish this year (in the order of importance)...so I will list them below so that I have a permanent record. I try and do this every year, but I usually write it on a piece of paper and then have to chase it around my office (if I can find it at all!).

1. Triple Irish Chain Colorwash Quilt - King Size (I'm only listing this first because Sharon and I are taking the class starting this weekend and I KNOW it will get done!!)

2. Wizard of Oz Quilt - Baby Size; this will be an easy one to finish up since all I have to do is remove the two borders I had put on, add the floater strip to separate the border from the blocks and put the outside borders back on. My goal for this is to have it done by April 6th so I can give it to Pat to quilt on her long-arm.

3. Take Along Cutting and Pressing Board; I would really like to get this done to be able to take with me to CCQ and classes...I pulled the pattern out again to see what I needed...I already have the *cutest* quilt lady fabric to cover it with.

4. Wizard of Oz Quilt - Lap Size; this one is the same as the above one but I haven't started piecing the blocks yet. I do have it cut out and ready to go, tho. Hopefully, this one will also be done by the 6th to go with the other one. It will be easier to send them both at the same time.

5. Pastel Tie-Dye "Bug" Quilt - Twin Size; I haven't started on this one yet although I do have the main focus fabric. Since the baby will be coming in August and Lizzie will have to move into a "big girl" bed sometime after that, I'd like to have this done and ready to go on it. Not quilting related, but related to this quilt (LOL) is that I would also like to get "their" room repainted before the new one gets here...my current plan is to have one wall yellow, one pink, one light green and one lavender. It needs to be redone to be "girly"!

6. Nature Quilt for Gage - Baby Size; I finally found an awesome pattern (it has prairie points over the blocks so the baby can play peek-a-boo with what's underneath!) to go with the 5 1/2" blocks of bears, wolves, fox, deer and elk that will become baby Gage's quilt. Now to just get the remaining fabric purchased!

Guess that's it for things that really need to get done SOON...below is the rest of my list (in no particular order)...

**Stained Glass Cats Wallhanging...this is one I'm going to have to draft the pattern myself. My stepfather bought my birthmother this awesome stained glass piece when she was ill and dying from cancer. I'd really like to remake it in fabric in her honor and as a reminder of our love for cats.

**Sunbonnet Sue in Embroidery...I bought this book when Afton was a baby and it's actually two Sues playing together. Now that we know she's going to have a sister for sure, I think it would make a really cute wallhanging for their room.

**Carolina Lily...this has always been one of my favorite patterns and I would love to have one for myself. It's probably a ways down the road, tho...

**Wool Hearts and Flowers Wallhanging...this is an "in-progress" piece in that I have all of the wool I need now and have all of my templates cut out. I just haven't gotten any further on it yet. I should get moving on it because I could take it along for my handwork.

**Affairs of the Heart by Aie Rossman...I bought this book last year and absolutely fell in love with it since it combines applique and embroidery. Now to just get Sharon to sit down with me and teach me how to applique!!!!

**Vintage Girls and Boys...I'm not sure how much of this fabric I have and it's laid out to be panels. It's the cutest Michael Miller print and is what really got me started on their fabric line. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet.

**Batik Stained Glass...This is another idea I have that I hope to get done someday...I have a lot of saved photos of "iron work" that is scrolled and think it would make the neatest stained glass wallhangings. Have to draft my own patterns, tho.

**Blue and White Wedgeworks 3-D Dresden Plate...I saw this one in the Cities when I visited one of my favorite shops there. It is gorgeous done up in blues and whites (scrappy) and the 3-D effect is so COOL!!! I have done one other pattern from her book so know how the technique works...it's just a matter of getting it into the prioritized list. This is one that I would REALLY like to have done for next year's quilt show since it's so different.

**Another bed quilt for Afton - this one done up in Seaside Rose fabrics that I've already purchased. I really, really love them...but decided they would maybe fit her life a little better when she's older. For now, she needs bright, fun things!!

**Dresden Plate 30's...my birthmother cleaned out an apartment that was FULL of stuff and found an entire box of pre-cut petals for a Dresden Plate quilt. All are from original 30's prints. I just have to find time to piece them.

**Floral Nine Patch - Crib Size...hehehe this is the first quilt I ever made...it is all pinned and ready to be hand quilted but still sitting in the WIP pile. I think it's ugly now - but I can't stand to part with it since it was my first one. It will probably never be finished...

**Lucky Stars Brights Quilt - Lap Size; I have all of the blocks needed for this one AND they're already cut out as I had participated in a cutting robin a year or so ago. It just hasn't been the top of my priority list to get them put together.

**Spring Fling Quilt - Lap Size; this was supposed to be Afton's "original" quilt but it went to the bottom of the pile, too. I have all of the FQs pulled from my stash to go in it...just need to cut and sew!

**Americana Rag Quilt; started on this a couple of years ago to put up in my bathroom that has an Americana theme...it's made from denim and red, blue and tan fabrics. The blocks have either hearts or stars in them that are then cut into fourths and rearranged to give it a more scrappy look. It probably wouldn't be a hard one to finish if I'd just make the time to do so.

**Paris Cat and Friendly Felines Bags; I have all of my fabrics for this, too...and Heaven knows I can always use more bags. Really should move this up the list and finish something for myself. :)

There are still more things on my list...a JD wallhanging for the boy's room, redoing some old embroidered blocks that were in my own baby quilt, finishing some Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks that I picked up at a garage sale, a real simple wool four patch sampler, mesh bags for my book club group (and something to go in each of them!), an individual piece to donate to the New Hope Village Quilt Auction this year...the list could go on for miles, I think.

Then there are the fabrics that are in my stash that had an idea when I bought them... I haven't even started to go through them and make out a list. LOL

Guess that's it for now...I hear Afton crying so I'd better go get her up and feed her breakfast. Pretty soon it's going to be lunch!! LOL

I DO have friends...

I didn't mean to make it sound like I don't have any friends...

After I reread what I just wrote, it may have come across that way. I do have some wonderful friends ~ Barb, Sharon, Marilyn, Bev, Nancy, Wendy, Cindy, the girls in my book club and the girls in my mom's group...just to name a few. I guess we ~ as humans ~ tend to complain more about the things in life that hurt us as opposed to reliving the things in life that bring us joy. Why is that? More than anything else, it should be exactly the opposite.

So, in an effort to redeem myself for the last post, I won't go on about another friendship that I'm dealing with right now that is hurting me...instead, I'll talk a little bit about my family day today and then I'm heading off to bed.

Last night, Wink requested that I get him up early to take a shower since he didn't feel like it last night. This morning when the boys got up for school, Wink got in the shower right away, but then he didn't want to get out. Little Stinker. By the time he got out and got dressed, he decided he had to poop and...you guessed it...the bus came while he was still sitting on the pot. I never did go in there to check and see if he actually accomplished anything or if it was a ploy to get me to take him to school this morning...either way, I drove him into town.

When I returned, Afton had gotten up and was standing on a kitchen chair ~ buck naked ~ and having a bowl of cereal for breakfast. She is so funny!!! What a grin when I walked through the door and her little chants of "Mamie" "Mamie" "Mamie" make me giggle every time. (Mamie is her name for me instead of Mommy) We are sort-of working on the potty training issue but not really pushing it yet since I don't think she's really ready. She could sit in a poopy diaper for hours if I'd let her. Anyway, she hopped down off the kitchen chair this morning and proceeded to pee right on the kitchen floor as I was on the phone to my doctor's office. Whoops! Guess we didn't make it to the potty this time.

Since I went out for lunch today with some of my quilting buddies, I picked Wink up from school at 11:15 and dropped both he and Afton off at the great-grandparent's house. Went for lunch and then went to the courthouse to attempt to do some more research on my little "project", then off to the library to do more. I DID finally find what I was looking for...but it didn't really give me any answers :( Went back to GG's to pick up the kids and they had decided they wanted to stay, so I came home instead and called Jim to have him pick them up on his way through town. It was nice to have a couple of hours to myself this afternoon ~ although I didn't really accomplish anything :(

I'm hoping that tomorrow will be a better day and I'll get some more decluttering done. It feels really good to have that stuff moved out of my house! And since we know the new baby is a girl now, I can start on rearranging the girls' room, too...

Off to bed now...It's late and I'm exhausted.

Friends can sometimes SUCK...

I'm sitting here thinking that friends are a good thing when you get along with them...and a terrible thing when you don't. Or you think you have been wronged. Or you KNOW you have been wronged in some way.

I belong to a very small, very successful quilt group in my small town. We started out with 5 members and, at our highest point, had 17. Most of the time, there are 10 or 11 that attend on a regular basis. The "originator" of the group and I were best friends when it started...but I was not considered one of the "coordinators" which was fine by me as I had so many things going on already. It was started out to be a "no guilt quilt group"...no officers, no dues, no responsibilities...just meet a couple of times a month, bring your own projects to work on, bond with other ladies, share ideas, etc. As it evolved, it began to get more and more complicated. First there was the request that we give local "presentations" about quilting to groups around town. Then there was the request that we give a program at our local county fair. After that, it was the creation of a "Charity Quilt Day" which, don't get me wrong, was a WONDERFUL idea. But it was REQUIRED of our members to be there and/or participate in some way or you were shunned by the "coordinators" of the group and in a group our size, no one wants to be on the "outs". Following the creation of the Charity Quilt Day, another charity event arose in which we were all requested to also participate by donating fabric, sewing time, etc. Through all of this, there were some underbreath complaints, but for the most part, no one wanted to upset the apple cart, per se, so we all just followed along. That was the first year. Well, it kind of became an annual deal and pretty soon, it seemed as though we were spending way more time doing things for others than we were doing for ourselves.

Throughout all of this, our membership continued to grow with the "coordinators" doing most of the inviting of the new people. Both coordinators were not local natives so they unabashadly invited whomever they could find who said that they quilted. This lead to our next problem. They invited someone who invited someone else that came to be the downfall of our group. Not necessarily that she did it by herself, but she caused a rift amongst people and just tried too hard to be EVERYONE's friend. Most of the time, she spent most of the day talking to anyone who would listen instead of actually getting anything done. And alot of her talking was preventing the rest of us from getting anything done. When it came down to it, no one in the group really wanted it to continue the way it was, so the "coordinators" took it upon themselves to ask her to leave the group. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of this at the time ~ since one of the coordinators and I were best friends ~ and I had also voiced my disapproval of her actions at our meetings. So, in the one and only time I was considered a "coordinator" ~ my name was signed at the bottom of the letter asking her to not continue her membership.

Fast forward a couple of months and I am now working on our first "official" local big-time quilt show. In the process, I spoke with my same "friend" about the trials I was having in getting everything organized and put together the way I thought it should be done. She takes it upon herself to blab to a potential vendor that the show is going to be "crap" and "nothing is getting done" and that she'd better "ask for a refund of her vendor fee and not come" because of it. Hmm...didn't realize I said ANY of those things...although I may have sounded frustrated at the time. In my opinion, it still didn't give her the right to BLAB her mouth to anyone else about something she knew nothing about (since she wasn't involved in any way with the quilt show). STRIKE ONE.

Fast forward again to another dilemma...I am co-coordinator of this show but am also paying to have a vendor booth. I have plans to produce a CD that will have pics of all of the quilts in our show and sell it for a fundraiser for our local Barn Quilt project. Said friend ~ mentioned above ~ takes it upon herself to think she knows something about this and blabs to the Barn Quilt project coordinator about how it shouldn't happen because I am not "qualified" and don't have the skill set or equipment to do it. HELLO?!!?! This coming from a woman who can barely turn her computer ON, let alone use the damn thing for anything more than checking her email. Who is she to tell someone else that I don't have the proper equipment? For crying out loud, I had no intentions of selling it under the advertisement that it was professional photography, etc. I sold them for $12.50 a piece...not hardly the $40 - $50 some really big quilt shows who employ a professional team to produce theirs do. And besides, I've worked in an advertising agency and in graphic design...I have Illustrator, Quark, Photoshop and a host of other expensive design programs on my computer...I wouldn't have them on there if I didn't know how to use them. Anyway, I am on the Barn Quilt Committee and was approached by the coordinator at the time ~ in front of a group of people ~ and SCREAMED at (and I do mean SCREAMED in capitals) about how I shouldn't be doing this project and who was going to be checking my work, etc., etc. Jesus Christ...who cares???? All I wanted to do was donate the damn $$ to the Barn Quilt project...what difference does it make to them where the money comes from??? (BTW - I DID do that project at the show and COULD have donated $500 to the Barn Quilt project from it...but I kept the $$ for me instead). STRIKE TWO. Who claims to be your best friend and then turns on you? And to make it worse, she didn't have anything to do with the Barn Quilt project either. The trend is being realized at this point that she likes to stick her nose in and cause trouble where she has no right to do so.

Remember that old saying that Shit on me once, shame on you but Shit on me twice, shame on me???? Huh..learned that lesson. I made up my mind right then and there that I didn't really need a friend like her to continue to turn my words and make my life miserable. That was pretty much the ending of that friendship.

Anyway, I guess the real reason I'm blabbing on about all of this AGAIN (because to me, it seems like it was SO long ago) is that, a month ago, the "coordinators" resigned from our quilt group. OMG - I have never heard better news. I was still attending because I love everybody in our group and getting together with them was the highlight of my week...but I couldn't stand the thought of going and having the two of them there to listen to every little word I said and then TWIST it into something that was never meant to be.

The butterflies returned tonight. I got an email from my very good friend, Barb, who said she found out that the two aforementioned "coordinators" have started their own quilt group. That's fine. The kicker is...they invited the gal they kicked out of our original group to come back and join them. WHAT?!?! When the two of them did most of the complaining the first time around?!?!? And what makes it even worse is that the two of them are now blaming ME for her demise from our group. Then the icing on the cake...I found out that two (that I know of right now) current members of our group are also going to be in THEIR group...so now my trust factor comes in. How do I know that what I say in my current group isn't going to get carried over into their group and TWISTED again?!?!? I'm on a "me, me, me" kick right now because it seems as though ~ ever since the friendship has ended ~ I am the one they are "picking" on. God, I feel like I'm back in frickin' high school.

Of course, they blame their "resigning" on me, also. Word has it that they just didn't feel "comfortable" in the group anymore. I'm sorry ~ but they created that feeling themselves. The two of them don't have a "coordinating" bone in their bodies...their idea of coordinating was basically, "look at me, listen to me, pay attention to me..." and if someone else in the group had an idea, it was ignored because it wasn't "good enough" or it didn't come from them first. UGH. How many times have I said that throughout this whole conversation?!?! LOL

Anyway, my husband says it's just a "woman" thing...two women can't get along for more than 10 minutes in a room alone. I have to disagree. I think we are passionate about things and voice our opinions regularly, but we also have FEELINGS. And ~ most of us act like adults ~ a majority of the time. I know what I have written so far may seem immature to some of you out there reading this right now but this is exactly why I say that FRIENDSHIP SUCKS. Putting your trust and expressing your innermost feelings to someone to only be walked on and over is just CRAP. And my feelings were hurt. But we move on and learn to trust again which is what I believe I must do...

My First Blogger Post!!

Okay...since I told Tracey and Amy on Tuesday night at our monthly MNO that I would start writing on this thing, I guess I'd better stick to it. :)

It's Thursday today...a day I've been waiting for for at least a month now...meaning that it's the day AFTER my long-awaited Level II Ultrasound to make sure things are a-ok with the baby. This has been such a long road for me...starting with the intermittent bleeding around week 7 and the "anticipated" miscarriage. Waiting, waiting, waiting for it to happen. Thank God it never did. The bleeding finally stopped around 12 weeks and things have been fine since then. I'm pretty sure I started to feel the baby move around 14 weeks which sent me into another panic because it was never on the same time schedule and I would always worry about whether or not there was still a heartbeat and living baby inside me. The real freak-out session came at my 16 week check-up when the "new guy" meaning new-to-the-office OB couldn't find the heartbeat with the Doppler. Immediate ultrasound (although I had to wait for the longest 45 minutes of my life to get in) revealed that things were fine.

Now with this Level II scan I had yesterday at 19w4d, I am rest-assured that everything is fine...placenta is firmly attached, the cord is right in the middle where it should be, there aren't any knots or imperfections in it (and it has the necessary veins and arteries), no signs of any chromosomal abnormalities and...drumroll, please...the baby is a GIRL!!! So Wyatt, Wink and Lizzie will have a little sister!!! They are excited...although I think Wink was wanting a little boy more than anything. He'll be fine, tho ~ and now we will be "evened out" as it is...with two boys and two girls.

I had a really nice lunch out today with my quilting girlfriends as we celebrated Mikki's 57th birthday. She hadn't had a very good morning with the eye doctor so I think it was good for her to get out for some fun conversation and birthday wishes. I can't wait for our next get together...she is going to teach us about paper piecing and I just purchased two new patterns that are ALL paper piecing that I'm hoping to be able to get done between now and next fall's quilt show. I gave her forewarning today that I would be listening carefully!!!

Onto other quilting news...Sharon and I talked this morning about the class we're taking in Ames on Sunday. It's a Triple Irish Chain Colorwash and I have my quilt about 1/2 done. The instructions in the pattern absolutely SUCK, tho ~ and it has been sitting in my WIP pile for at least the last year and a half. Kelly (the instructor) guarantees me that I will finish it during this class!!! Then to get it quilted and on my bed!! :) It will be one of the only projects that actually stays in my house...most of what I make gets given away.

As of right now, Sharon, Barb and I are heading to Des Moines on Tuesday to see Linda Jenkins from Piece 'O Cake Designs speak at the DMAQG afternoon meeting. It will be a fun time as we're leaving in the morning so we can do some shopping and lunch before the presentation at 1pm. Some of the girls at lunch today said they might try and join us...the more, the better!

Then next Friday, Sharon, Barb and I are heading to Kalona for the IIQSG Spring meeting. This time, it's on basket quilts and should be fun. This is the first "overnighter" they've had so I'm looking forward to the lecture on Friday night and show-and-tell, museum tour and lecture on Saturday. And the SHOPPING, of course!!! We're going to leave early on Friday so we can get a whole day in before the lecture Friday night. And Barb's daughter is receiving some major recognition at UofI graduate school, so we're going to try and sneak over there to attend the reception. I've never been to the Iowa City quilt shops so that will be a fun, new experience!!

After that, it begins the month of April...and whew, it will be busy! Jim will be back in the field and we will celebrate his birthday the 4th, my brother Michael's the 18th, Afton's the 21st and mine, Grandpa Funcke's and Grandma Wilson's on the 23rd. The month will fly by!

WOW! I feel like I wrote a book for my first blog...I guess I can get kind-of talky :)