Quilt Bartering...my first commissioned quilt!

I am still not over the virus/cold/flu thing... it is apparently making the rounds of our local villages of Carrigeen and Mooncoin. Talking to people in the local shop, it has been a bad one, people having it for weeks, thinking they've shaken it (like I had earlier this week) and then getting it back just as bad as ever (like I did yesterday)... At least I know I'm not alone!! And this morning I feel so much better than yesterday...felt fluey achey and otherwise disgusting then. But tomorrow is my birthday, and by God I am going to go out with DH...I'm so forgetful though, I just realized that I organized babysitter and forgot to get reservation at my favorite Thai restaurant... ugh... it will probably be booked out... can we say d'oh!!!!

Anyway, back to something quilt related! Here is the quilt I started on last week before the illness really knocked me down at the weekend. Finished the binding yesterday... Just a simple one patch with a border and of course the free pieced letters (thanks Tonya, LOL, you helped me get my first commissioned quilt!!) I wasn't up for anything more complicated these days and I needed to get it done fast... She gave me plenty of lead time, too much really, so I forgot all about it till last Friday!!

I did this quilt for my babysitter who looks after my youngest DD Aisling twice a week while her sister is in montessori. I work two mornings a week on my "paid job" (my main job as mommy is unpaid but still rewarding, LOL) I do graphic design for a few different companies, laying out books, letters, order forms, envelopes, newsletters, etc. I usually have to work one or two nights also, but I enjoy the work and a mommy that has a bachelors degree (in French and German language and literature...yeah that is useful in the real world!) likes to use her brain sometimes and get positive reinforcement from adults that she is still useful in the workplace, LOL!! Anyway, I digress, as usual... My babysitter saw Conors quilt I did last month and asked if I could do one for her. We traded a weeks worth of babysitting for the quilt, I figured it was a good trade! I did it all from stash fabrics, and just had to buy some batting... It is much simpler than Conor's quilt, but simple is good sometimes...so I hope the little boy she's giving it to likes it!

I hope to finally finish my swap blocks this week (they are due March 31st!) and then have 2 tops ready for quilting, so I'll be working on those in April while focusing on doing as much sashing on my DJ as I can! There is a great group of people over at the MSN group Quilt Around the World and there is a contest for a goodie box if you make progress on a difficult project during the month of April, mine is the sashing the DJ, gonna try for the goodies!!!