All Saints Day

We had our annual hallowe'en party last Saturday, with a total head count of 44 people (41 guests). I had my annual freak-out that my house would never be clean or decorated enough on Saturday morning. Somehow, by the time people were hanging out and eating and drinking and chatting and happy, I'd already started thinking about what I'd do differently for next year's party!

Next up is thanksgiving, which we will be cooking with my brother and his wife and a whole bunch of thanksgiving orphans. We are still deep in negotiations about whether we will host or Bill will, although it has already been decided that Bill will be in charge of the turkey.

I am excited that my trip to PA to visit my best friend and her newest baby is coming up in just over a week - I am looking forward to gossip and giggling.

How I made most of a quilt...

I found fabric that I couldn't live without:

Then I got a whole bunch of tools that made my life a better place:

Then I cut it all into 5" squares, paired them entirely randomly, and made a whole pile of half-square triangles. I squared them to 4.5":

I made a whole bunch of 12-square rows:

Sewed them all together to make a 12x10 quilt:

And finally ended up with a finished quilt top:

I had to sacrifice a quilt to the cat to prevent him from "helping."

Next up - Find a backing fabric (I'm thinking a dark brown), and a binding fabric (I'm thinking the exact same dark brown), and quilt! (I'm thinking straight line quilting, turquoise thread).
Then I learn to bind a quilt and then I never give it away ever because I MADE IT!

Block of the Month Class

I have made more quilt squares too!

February: Half-square triangles

and

March: Foundation piecing

 and

April: English paper piecing

and

This is what happens when I try to take a photograph of my quilting (it's also what happens when I get out my quilting stuff):

Dreams

As part of my project, I have written down many of my dreams, and am categorizing them. I expect that this us as close to a bucket list as I will ever get. I hope to update this list regularly as new ideas occur to me and I get to cross things off.
Financial:
Pay off all debt (mostly student loans)
Travel to:
France (in June!)
Belgium
Ireland, Scotland, England
Germany, Austria
Greece, Italy, Turkey
Japan for cherry blossoms
India - a journey of food
Grand Canyon and Yellowstone (again)
Colorado Rockies
Alaska and Hawaii (again)
Egypt to see the pyramids
Safari in Africa
Brazil with mom
Antarctic cruise
Career:
Find a job that makes me smile every day when I go in.
Have weekends off (or 2 days off in a row)
Run my own business/clinic
Get a PhD
Outside:
Garden
Learn to golf
Go snorkeling
Have a productive vegetable garden
Have a cutting garden to keep my house beautiful
Have a bee and butterfly garden that attracts lots of animals
Go horseback riding more often
Ski more
Inside:
Quilt
Knit
Write a blog
Scrapbook (digital?)
Food:
Learn to make sushi
Learn to toss pizza dough
Cook healthy meals
Understand nutrition
Family:
Have kids
See my parents more often
Raise a seeing eye puppy
Socially:
See my friends more
Throw more dinner parties
Be a better friend
Self:
Get fit
Run a 5k in under 30 minutes
Laser eye surgery
Laser hair removal
Be proud of everything I have, think and do
Be mentally healthy
Learn sign language
Learn fluent French

The Perfect Day

I'm doing a project with myself and part of it asked me to imagine my perfect day. This is what I came up with:
Wake up naturally, with the sunrise. Feel well rested.
Drink a cup of coffee on the porch with Dan and Violet. Watch the birds wake up and visit the feeder.
Go for a run.
Weed the garden, pain free.
Go out to lunch with friends - drink a glass if wine and gossip.
Spend some time crafting and writing. Listen to music, podcasts, a book on tape or the radio.
Make dinner, and not have to worry about dishes.
Curl up on the couch with a good book, a blanket, and Dan.
Go to bed before I become too tired for words and turn into a pumpkin.

Quilting - a new project

I have been at a loss for a good project recently. Since last year we spent quite a bit of money on the house (new bed, new furnace, new floors in the basement), one of the guidelines is that my new project cannot be expensive. I have knitted 2 scarves for Becky's project with yarn I'd purchased a while ago but didn't like the way the project was turning out. The scarves came out nicely, but apparently I haven't taken any pictures of then. I should get on that.

For a project around Christmas, I'd purchased a couple of dat quarter bundles. I did not use them all, so my next project will be quilting! This should be fun. I signed up for a Craftsy course (free!), and last night I made the first 2 quilt squares. Now I covet a self-healing mat, a rotary cutter and a guide.

Here are my first two squares!