Back in the Groove....aka Summer Vacation

Yippee............now I know how my teachers felt when it was time for summer vacation.   It has been really nice to not have to get up at O'Dark Hundred to get ready for school......of course that doesn't mean my body has cooperated and not woken up at it's habitual time, but that's totally beside the point.

I'm thankful for my job as a teacher, but I'm also thankful for summer vacation!    So far this summer I've made a trip to TX to visit with friends and family there.   And now that I'm back home I've started the summer cycle of dentist/doc visits/medical tests interspersed with lots of sewing.   =)  Have a couple of weeks of training to also get through but that's ok.     And need to get a bunch of stuff listed on ebay to sell as well.........so needless to say I'm gonna stay busy this summer.

So far this week I've finished off a quilt top for American Heroes.   In addition I've caught up on the blocks for the two different versions of the BOM that I'm working on with friends from an online group.  The block patterns can be found on my website on the Block of the Month Page.   Both of these are being made with fabrics that I've ended up collecting but are not my normal colors.   The plan is to finish the quilts and then donate them.    Haven't decided where I'll donate them to, but ultimately that will depend on what size they end up finishing at.   I do plan on designing new settings for both of these and then will put that up on my website to go with the block instructions.

In addition I've finished off a quilt top for American Heroes.   The inspiration for this quilt was taken from the Falling Charms pattern by Missouri Quilts.  The difference in what I did and the original pattern, was to first start with 6.5" cut squares of the blue/white fabric.   I then added two 'rounds' of the scrappy reds on two sides instead of just one round.   I used assorted sized of the strips and everything came from my scrap bin for the reads.   The quilt finished out at 60" by 80".    This will be sent off with three other tops that I've had ready for American Heros for about a year, but haven't gotten in the mail.  

I've also started working hard at making a big dent in getting the commissioned clothing sewn up. It's been a year since I've been able to do much towards getting these worked up and I'd really like to get them done and outta here.   Am also hoping that I don't end up with a lot more fabric that she wants sewn up in return, but will cross that bridge if or when i get there.

Gratitudes:
1. For safety in the drive to/from TX, and the honest car dealer who found the problem and fixed my car.
2. For the health insurance that I have through my Job.