A Quilt for Mr & Mrs S. - Quilt #4

My friends Erica and Artie got married this weekend.  I really wanted to make them something special because I treasure their friendship.  So of course I made them a quilt.  I decided to make them a "cross" quilt - something similar to a red cross quilt but less plus sign and more cross, because of their faith which is ultimately what brought them together.  Their bridesmaids picked the colors which are colors from their wedding and actually as it turns out their favorite colors.  All the prints were from my stash and/or were scrap except for the gray polka dot so that's cool.  I improv pieced all the cross blocks with help from my friend Rachael who got my weird logic straightened out.  My friend Lindsay gave me the extra gray I needed to finish and Jenny helped by ironing blocks - thank goodness I have such great friends.  And then my friend Tisha quilted it for me since I was out of town the last 5 weeks.  You all are awesome thank you much!  I actually love the result and think I might make another one similar at some point after I finish off my other half finished projects. 
Oh and the bride and groom loved it.  Right before their left on their honeymoon I got a text from Erica saying it made her cry and they loved it.  This is my 4th finish of 2012 and I feel like I'm on a roll. 

Tuesday 10 - March

I thought I needed a little Tuesday 10 this week.  So many things I'm loving and enjoying right now - life is good.

1.Audio Books - I just discovered this and I'm so excited.  You can get them at the library too.

2. Enjoying my last few days in Boston despite the cold.

3. I absolutely love this photo of Lita and I from St. Patrick's - thanks to that Hooiser Lotto guy who snapped it.

4. Finishing another quilt (post coming soon). 

5. Movies!  Went to see Hunger Games yesterday it was actually pretty good - despite the theme which I am not a fan of

6. Photobooths - this "free photobooth" was in the lobby at the movies so of course we jumped in.  I wish the others would have joined us too.

7. The wedding of these to folks.  It was a good time and I am so happy for them both.  Congrats Erica and Artie.

8. Making Summer Plans

9. Mad Men is back!

10. Looking forward to being home for a WHOLE week after 6 weeks on the road.  That long stint in the beginning of the year spoiled me.

Dear Jackie & Lisa Book #4 & 5

I am very behind on sharing about my reading. I actually have finished 2 books though in the last month or so.  One that we read as a church and at Sitigroup called "Walking into Walls" by Steve Arterburn.  It was pretty good although to be quite honest it was not the type of book I like to read it was very self-helpish and I didn't find myself that interested in it although I stuck with it and finished it off and I'm working on trying to "break down" those walls. 

I also finished "Object of Beauty" by Steve Martin (yes the actor), which is quite the opposite of the other book.  It's fiction and kind of raunchy at times.  This is also not the type of book I like to read but I was suckered in by the font on the cover in an airport last year and I only just now finished it.  This book does talk about art a lot in detail and street at as well and I can't help but wonder if the street artist mentioned in it is real although I have yet to look it up.  

Anyhow that's that! I'm way behind on reading and I think unless the book is really fantastic and worth talking about in the future I'm only going to make a list here on the blog and save my time from telling you about books that I just don't LOVE.

Happy Reading I hope you girls are further along than me.  - Katie

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Favs on Friday - Yellow

Today my favorite thing is Yellow.  I got in early today - heck yes! And then they gave me this ridiculous yellow car - which I'm totally loving and then I saw my yellow tulips which did not grow last year but did this year.  Yellow is just so spring!  See more favorites here. 
PS- Fun stuff happening this weekend (as usual) however pending ridiculous work I'm hoping to blog more regularly this week.

Happy St. Patrick's Weekend!

I was home this weekend and it was GORGEOUS.   Lita came to town to hang out with us and we got together with some friends.  The whole weekend the weather was literally like summer in March.  So we spent a good deal of the weekend outside and it was AWESOME - my sunburn didn't even last.  We played ladderball down by the river, ate dinner outside on the patio, we wore green, went to the st. patty's day festival, there was soccer and football in the war memorial mall, we walked to the yogurt shop.  I was reminded that any coordination/athleticism I have has gone out the window with my 20's.  It didn't last nearly long enough before I had to catch a flight out of town but it was - Good times. 
(all photos were taken on either mine or Jono's iPhone - thank goodness for the instagram app).  

Never Say Never and/or Yes That's Right

When I wrapped up my last assignment in Massachusetts - I didn't exactly say Mass and I were thru but it felt like it was the end of an era.  I said my goodbyes I made plans to not return but rendezvous with my friends outside of New England.   I left knowing my next big assignment would take me elsewhere - it was a done deal.  Well hah! Sometimes that's not how it works.  And sure enough I am back although it's a different project,  different tool, different faces, a different experience.  When I first found out I was disappointed (I'm not really sure why) but I'm not anymore - it's supposed to be a short stay here  and I've already made 10 new friends and seen another 10+ of my old friends.   So it's been good. 

As much as I was fighting it I think this assignment is exactly what God wanted for me.  I wasn't supposed to take that other job.  This is exactly the right amount of challenge, with exactly the right amount of fun.  My passion for being on the road is renewed and I look forward to enjoying the next few weeks in the Boston Area.  
(PS the photos were all taken on my iPhone the last two weeks I took a handful of others that I might have accidentally deleted although all my photos are sorted funny so maybe not).

The Chandler Travis Philharmonic

 Sometimes you plan to have dinner in a diner and you find a gem like the The Chandler Travis Philharmonic. I must admit I was a little confused when we walked in and found a crew of people in their pajamas hanging out in the diner.   And then they started playing and doing their thing and I was impressed.    It was a great way to return to Boston.   If I am still having 1/2 as much fun as they are when I'm in my 60's then I will have had a blessed and awesome life.   If you are interested you can check out some of there music here.

Goodbye Silicon Valley

I'm a little behind on blogging.  But I have left the silicon valley and am in New England with a "smidge" of the midwest mixed in for the next few weeks.  

 I had a great time with the Wagner's in their full house.  It wasn't a vacation but rather just working from a different location.  Everyday I worked, I kept right on running and found interesting things in the neighborhood.  I did a lot of shopping although I bought very little.  Thea and I quilted.  And I watched more television than I have in years - American Idol at that - I still have to say it's not really my thing JLo is just goofy and Steven Tyler weirds me out a bit - but the Wagner's love it so I enjoyed watching with them.  Also notable at the end of the trip Grandpa, Thea and I took a trip to Cirque du Soleil's Totem show which was fun it was very interesting those performers are  crazy strong - it was a fun adventure.  I recommend it to anyone who has not gone before.

Thanks much to Thea and Paul for having me I miss you already!

Bird Quilt for Sara quilt #3

Over a year ago my Aunt Thea and I decided we needed to make my cousin Sara a quilt.  Sara and her family opened her house and life up to us for several months back in 2010 and several times since then.  Well we finally did!  Better late than never.  I hope Sara loves it.

I wanted to use a fabric I had from grandma's stash and I found this awesome bird print it's the "brown".  We mixed it with several other bird prints and found a "pattern" to hack from pinterest.  And away we went.  I rather like how it turned out even though these weren't exactly my colors.  I do however love how the Ikea orange print worked with the other prints.  Anyhow I love how it turned out and quilt #3 of 2012 is done.

This is the quilt that was "hacked" it's from the house that stash built.  We reversed the prints and the white.

More photos found on Thea's blog.

To the Beach

Thea and I went to the beach the other day.  It was a lovely day a bit too cold for swimming but this is northern California if it had been about 15 degrees warmer outside and I had my suit I would have gone in though - seeing as it's no different than Maine or UP water.  We went to a Pescadero Beach which is just along Rt 1 and we too some road thru the mountains to get there which was a beautiful drive.   It was nice to just put my toes in the sand and water on the Pacific especially since I know I'll see the Atlantic soon.  We saw TONs of jelly fish which really just looked like clear jello - I almost didn't really think they were jelly fish but I wasn't going to touch it and see.

 The water was also kind of sudsy in areas although I'm not sure why.

 The shoreline reminded me a bit of Rhode Island or Dover but not really the same except for the cliffs.