Lazy Days of Summer...

I have been making some progress over the summer in fits and starts, but have found the lack of structure to the days to help me be very very lazy!! We set up play dates and swimming for afternoons and can often still been seen in our jammies here near noon! Nice for a little while but when you are mostly surfing the computer and moving slow, the guilt catches up with and so does the housework...

I have a few things to show though...

This is the drop stitch scarf and fetching mitts that I finished while on holidays in Portugal.

I found the patchwork scraps from the handbag I made and made some little accessories (no pattern): a keychain, zip bag and sunglasses holder.


I couldn't wait to make 50 gazillion double-sided blocks to see if I could piece them together the way I wanted, and felt my chest of drawers needed a runner, so I did a test drive on doing the sashing for the double sided quilt. I finished it all by machine, not quite the proper quilt as you go method for the last seam, and machined down the binding as well, which I never do...but all in all I like it. It isn't perfect but I like the wavy line quilting (great for imperfect quilters!) and like the way the runner turned out...here are some pics of both sides of the runner...



My friend Anne Marie is going to open up her own little shop over in Wexford and while I was up visiting her earlier this month I got these yummy fabrics and two patterns...


When my brother arrived last week from the States he brought me these...note the Fig Tree Quilt theme: 2 patterns from Anne Marie and now an FQ stack of Fig and Plum fabrics by Fig Tree Quilts (thanks Anne for selling these to me and throwing in the lovely Terry Thompson fabrics!)


My brother arrived last week and we have had great fun visiting with him. The lovely guy brought me my newest toy, a waterproof case for an Ipod shuffle. I have finally bought an Ipod and now listen to my music and podcasts while swimming my 60 lengths (1 kilometer!). I have a hard time walking for exercise these days, though thankfully it isn't an MS issue but a fallen arch in my left foot and the doc seems to think some orthotics fitted into my shoes will make a big difference. Swimming is something I've always loved and can do well, so for the last three weeks I've swam three times a week. I haven't started changing my eating habits yet (bro brought too much yummy food and margarita mixes!!) but plan to start when school starts next week. Watch this space for a hopefully shrinking Cathi as I swim and get my eating habits in order. It will all help with MS symptoms too...the healthier the diet the better they say.

I have started a new hand piecing project, a drunkards path that Barbara sent me the fabric and templates for back when I got the bad news about my mother's cancer (she is cancer-free for a year now, woo hoo!!). I hope to be able to show you the progress on that quilt as it grows slowly. I love to have a hand piecing project and aside from my sporadic Dear Jane blocks I am doing for my swap with Katy (latest block received from Katy below...)


I definitely like the look of the dresser runner I did, so will work on the full double-sided bed quilt this fall...But have an itch to start some new projects, hmmm...what will I do next? Something with that yummy stack of FQs?

My youngest, Aisling, starts big school next Tuesday. How does time fly by so fast!??

My First Ribbon!!

Woo hoo!! I don't think I will enter tons of competitions, so this may be the only actual official ribbon I ever win and I am very excited!! My Dear Jane got Very Highly Commended (Bed Quilt category) at the National Open Quilt Competition at Tinahely.
Here are some photos of some of my friends quilts. All the quilts in Tinahealey were gorgeous and some amazing colors, designs and quilting were to be seen.





Before the quilt show I went up for a visit to my friend Sherry for a quilting retreat and I finished a quilt top, a very simple one!! Here it is on the guest bed, I will be making roman blinds and doing a backing for the quilt with the fabric on the border. I am thinking of doing free motion quilting myself on it though I am tempted to have it long armed...


I decided I needed 2 big quilts since I have two daughters, so I am thinking that I will learn how to do Baltimore Album quilt as my next big project and will start working on my double sided quilt again too... always lots on the go...so many quilts so little time!!