Long past due post

It has been another wildly busy week. Had guests for dinner last Monday, my in-laws and friends of theirs from out of town. It has been miserably hot and humid here all week, so barbecuing (that doesn't look like it's spelled right, but oh well) outside was both smart and still blisteringly hot. It was a somewhat subdued evening--we had a great time, and the flourless chocolate cake was a huge success (Tyler Florence's recipe, btw), but we got word that morning that my husband's best friends' dad passed away. We attended the funeral Wednesday morning, then wound up going to see my parents, grandmother, brother and aunt that evening to celebrate my brother's 29th. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster.

Work also has me racing nonstop. Between my regular tasks, I've been drafting policy posts for our in-house blog, interviewing candidates for a part-time position that is opening, AND preparing to train two high school kids who will start working with us in the coming weeks.

So, the (very) long and the short of it is that I have barely even had time to LOOK at my sewing machine, let along sit down and sew at it. However, I do have a few photos to share...


A very sweet hand-sewn postcard made of lovely selvages, by the winner of my July give-away, Anya of Hills Creek Quilter. That was incredibly thoughtful, and so pretty! It's shown above on my desk (and yes, that IS my World of Warcraft mousepad. If you don't know I'm a dork by now, people...), but has taken up permanent residence on my bulletin board in my sewing room/office, where I keep my other pieces of inspiration. (We just happen to have a thunderstorm rolling in and there's not a whole lot of good light to be had at the moment.)

Speaking of taking up permanent residence... I went to the dining room to take a photo of the fabrics I've selected to send out for my month in my virtual sewing bee, The Beehive, when I discovered this:


This is one of my other monkeys, Taylor. She has decided that since I've cleaned off the dining room table and she can't sleep on my fabric anymore, that this decorative bowl will be her new bed.


"Look, Mama, is perfect size, and ergonomic, too!"

*sigh* Such is my life.

Oh, the fabrics? What do you think?


There will be a couple of solids going out with these, and I'm looking for for some mosaic-inspired blocks. I'm planning on sashing with unbleached muslin, and having this be a summery, tranquil, beachy-feeling quilt. I'm hoping that there's enough contrast within the group itself--I want it to have a sort of monochromatic feel, like cool blue tile. I'll post more as the project moves along, and I believe I get to start my first blocks next month. Eep!

ETA: OMG, I almost forgot the most exciting part! I finally won a give-away! Judi, over at Green Fairy Quilts, was giving away a layer cake of Sandy Gervais's Tranquility *love and drool*, and I won! Yay!! Thanks, Judi!