Oh, the humanity!

So Monday night I eagerly dragged out the sewing machine to begin my machine quilting adventure. Like many of my other crafty adventures, it was not yet to be. I got out my brand new walking foot and after much eyebrow scrunching and eyeball squinting I figured out how to attach it and got the general gist of how it should work.

But oh no.

The screw that holds the foot on the shank is TOO LONG! What?! How can that be? The extra bit at the end of the screw sticks out so far that it interferes with the up and down motion of the, err, arm thingie on the walking foot. Ugh!

So off to Joann's at lunch, to see if they had any presser-foot screws that might be shorter. Nope. They referred me to a sewing machine shop but I only have time at lunch to shop in one place. So I didn't have time, and since today I got sucked into various crafty blogs I didn't get to go today, either!

Oh, and I had The Husband drop off the secret sister gift since we went to The Boy's t-ball game. He thought the person he gave it to had no idea what he was talking about but accepted it anyway. I wonder if she got it? I guess I can't ask, eh?

Happy May~

Lest you think I dropped off the face of the earth, here is an update. The Boy is playing t-ball this year and we've been attending his games. It is so cute how everyone on the team (and sometimes the other team, too) runs for the ball. I'm glad he is playing but he seems pretty resistant to it, at least until he gets there. I hope he hasn't inherited this trait from The Husband--having to drag and cajole him into things that he later declares fun activities, and sometimes even wonders why he resisted in the first place.

The Girl is also doing fine. Well her current favorite word is "no" (and not said gently, mind you) but otherwise she is going very well.

While I'm waiting for the Round Robin blocks I got out my last hand-piecing class project to finish. I've decided it is a learning piece and it is going to serve the purpose of learning. So even though it is nicely and carefully hand pieced, I am going to try my hand at machine quilting it. I'm even going to try free-motion, which sounds like it will be a big challenge for me. I pinned it up last night so I can start the straight line stitching tonight. I'm so excited!

Oh, and I'm going to miss seeing my secret sister open her gift tomorrow. The Boy has a game and I cannot miss it. Oh, does that mean two gifts for me in June!!!???

Ra-ra-ra!

I finished the blocks! Just in time. I'm not 100% satisfied with how they turned out. I guess I never am, since I'm somewhat of a perfectionist about quilts. I still seem to be struggling with keeping a consistent quarter inch seam. I think it may be time to invest in a quarter inch foot for my machine. But I didn't have time to rip and redo, so out they went. I mailed them today at my lunch break. Here is the Blazed Trail:


And the Snail Trail:


And here is the promised photo of the cute thank you postcard that my secret sister sent me. You know, the one that made me think that my secret sister had identified me, leading me to blurt this out at the meeting?

Isn't it adorable?

Oh, and since it has been so terribly long since I managed to post a photo, here are also some photos from the flood destruction:

Secret Sister update

I forgot to mention that I got a new secret sister this past Tuesday at the quilt shop. I am so excited.

Of course, this also means that the person who had me for a secret sister revealed herself. Thank you, Rosemary! The parting gift she gave me was a ball jar of amish fabrics along with one thirties (or maybe twenties?) reproduction fat quarter that was made up of four or five different prints on one sheet. That was cool.

Also, my secret sister, who was Cindy, did not actually know who I was as I reported here. She made me that adorable postcard (which I should photograph and put up, but you know how lazy I am with the pictures) and had someone else address it. She didn't know who I was and I think she probably thought I was a bit silly for not catching on to the fact that the note was written in a different hand from the address label. Though I haven't yet checked to see how obvious the difference really was.

Anyway, I'm excited again to ferret out gifts for the new sis. And due to the birthday I didn't get to work on the Round Robin blocks. :(

Primal urges

Ok, so I have no progress to report. I am really sad about this, as I have an almost constant urge to sew at the moment. I am so far resisting the siren call of the fabric store. Though I did start working on a dress that I'm making for The Girl. I took the dress I bought for her for Easter which is super-simple and tried to draft a pattern from it. We'll see how it turns out.

If it ever turns out.

And still all I've managed for the Round Robin/Block Exchange is washing two of my fabrics. I haven't even ironed it. I so do not want to be the loser that holds up the exchange, so I better get my behind in gear.

Also, I was quite surprised to receive a nice little postcard in the mail from my Secret Sister this week. No, not the one that buys me stuff...the one that I buy stuff for. Wait, you might say. She is not supposed to know who I am! But she apparently does. Am I that transparent? Hmm.