A Quilt for a Princess!

Since I am heartily sick of talking about the test, I figured I would show you the quilt I made for the Princess this summer. Although you can't see them very well in these photos, the colors are purple, brown, pink and lime green.

She really seemed to like it, and it has a new home at the foot of her bed, where it matches her Hawaiian theme surprisingly well! The fabric caught my eye because it is covered in birds that look like they were drawn by Dr. Seuss - very fun and whimsical. Oh, and one of the fabrics has ladybugs scattered all over it! How can you miss, with birds and bugs?

It's machine-pieced and machine quilted. Now that I've learned the technique I simply love running a quilt through the machine! That's my new favorite part of quilting. Oh, and I also love hand-sewing the binding in place, because you get to sit with the quilt in your lap and feel how warm and cozy it will be!
And, now, dear friends, I must return to the books. Wish me luck!

Two Weeks...

...and one day 'til I take the dreaded board exam. I'm never going to get through all the material, and I'm never going to know everything I need to know, and studying like this is extremely frustrating! Wish me luck, everyone, and I'll post more later!

Phone Calls

I got a phone call from the youngest yesterday - he's just over a month into basic training now, and he sounded really good. He said he's working hard and enjoying the training.

He said he's gained ten pounds (he was really proud of that) and said the drill sergeants have said he's the smallest guy there with the biggest heart - he said, "Mom, I just don't quit!" That's my boy!

And these photos are from his company at Fort Benning - they post generic photos on the website and the wives and mothers all scan them, looking for our boys! I haven't seen Sean yet, but I've seen a couple of likely suspects - I just look for the short ones!

And I thought I'd share a few photos on this blog, because, folks, here are some of the young men who are willing to fight for your freedom. These photos show all men because it is an Infantry company, and right now women don't serve in the Infantry. In all the branches of the service, though, there are young men and women exactly like these boys - working hard to get through their training so that they can take their place in our lines of defense.

I am very proud of all of them, and I sincerely hope and pray that we all figure out a way to avoid using them in anything but humanitarian missions someday very soon. If you're the praying type, send one up for the young men and women out there fighting for all of us, no matter what our political affiliation is!

ICE Your Phone!

I was just reminded of this by a friend, so I pulled this explanation from another website. Please ICE your phone today!

Paramedics are asking that everyone add at least one additional entry to their cell phone contacts list. Please add an ICE entry. ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. This number should dial the person in your family that can respond to medical decisions if you are injured or incapcitated.

If you are in an accident, paramedics know to check your phone for your emergency contact information. Imagine taking a look and trying to figure out who to call out of the twenty or more numbers on your phone. By adding a contact entry that's designated as an emergency contact number (ICE), you can make their job much easier and possibly save your own life.

So program an ICE entry on your cell phone today, as a matter of fact, pull it out right now as you're reading this article. If you have more than one person the paramedics can contact in case of an emergency, you can add additional ICE numbers to your list. Your primary contact should be listed under ICE, then you can add the other contacts under ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, etc.After you program ICE into your phone, have your spouse, your kids, your parents, and your friends do the same thing. If there are people in your life that you care about, they should all have ICE on their phones.

Pity Party

This morning I am feeling just a wee bit sorry for myself. It's Saturday, and there are interesting and exciting things going on all over town!


My friends are tailgaiting, and shopping, and gardening, and there's a local quilt shop that's going out of business and having a fabulous sale!!!




And I can't do any of it. Working and studying through the week is proving to be a bit more challenging than I anticipated it would be, so that leaves the weekends for the bulk of the work. There just aren't that many weekend days between now and my test date. I can't waste a single one!



Woe is me. I'm a sad sack, aren't I? Oh, well - I dug this hole by myself and I'll fill it in by myself. And the lovely cooler weather outside will have to go one without me... and the garden will have to sit for a few more weeks.



If you need me, I'll be the one with my nose in the books!

Weekend Designer Closing Up Shop

One of my favorite sewing bloggers has decided to stop blogging. Weekend Designer is closing up shop after 100 posts. I don't know how long the site will remain accessible, so any of you who sew (or want to sew) might want to take a look at his patterns before they are gone forever.

There are patterns for everything from shirts to skirts, and bags to dog beds on the site. He even has a pattern for neckties! Most of his patterns are very easy to copy and to sew, and you can tailor them to fit your size and shape. This is something I love because I am roughly the size and shape of a hobbit!

If you're intimidated by pattern drafting, take a look at his motto - "...it ain't rocket science" - and be encouraged. You can sew custom clothing and accessories for yourself, for your family and friends, for your home and even for your pets, and it's much faster and easier than you think.

So, to my favorite weekend designer - good luck in your future endeavors, and if you ever want to start another blog, your fans await!

Football Time!

It's that time of year again - the air is cooler, the humidity is lower and people in East Tennessee are beginning to turn orange. Yes, orange - as in orange and white, the team colors of the Tennessee Volunteers!

it isn't just the leaves that change color here in East Tennessee in the fall. Clothing and cars and houses and mailboxes and buses and office buildings all start sporting Tennessee orange.

The Tennessee football stadium (pictured here) fills up with fans on game day and you can't navigate downtown at all before or after the game - it's chaotic and crazy! Local radio stations play Tennessee's fight song: "Rocky Top" and everybody sings along.


And I'm not a big football fan, but it is nearly impossible not to be swept up in the excitement. It's fun because everybody is so into it. And, since the University of Tennessee is my alma mater, I have a legitimate reason to cheer them on! Even if what I'd rather be doing is this:

Just like Smokey, the Volunteer mascot. Napping on game day! Have a great holiday weekend, everybody, and if you're a Western Kentucky fan, we're going to beat your team this weekend!