Flights of Fancy

Last week I finally ordered some more solids for the Flights of Fancy quilt.  Long story, but I thought I'd put a nice plug in for the Fabric Shack and their great customer service.  I couldn't find any coordinating solids at a store nearby so I knew I had to buy some online.  The Fabric Shack has a huge selection of Kona Cotton Solids so I contacted them and they helped me confirm which colors were the best match over the phone.  How awesome is that?!  So I am pretty pleased and really thankful.

So this week I got to keep on working on this quilt.  Yay!  I finished the top this evening.  Take a look. :)

And he's off...

Last January my brother enlisted in the Army.

Today he is leaving to begin his deployment.  His plane leaves this evening for Kuwait.  This is his first stop before beginning his time in Iraq.

He should be gone for a year.

Please pray for his safe return.

Quilts in Progress

I've been working on two new quilts these days. I received quite a bit of fabric for Christmas so it has been fun to figure out what I am going to do with it.

First, I'm making one using the Flights of Fancy line. I received a nice fat quarter pack of this one. I'm thinking that I'd like to add a couple more solids to this one. We'll see. I really like how it is coming along so far though!


Second, this is a quilt that I have had in mind for a long time now. The black and white quilt. I have been slowly accumulating black and white fabric for well over a year now. I originally planned to have red accents, but when I discovered the Taxi by Timeless Treasures line that had great yellow accents I was sold. I am really looking forward to seeing how this one turns out! Especially since I'd like to use it for the bed in the spare bedroom.

2009: Year of the Quilt

While I was reading everyone's fun posts about all the sewing projects they accomplished in 2008 I began thinking about what the heck I did during the entire year.  I certainly wasn't making quilts.  It's not like I didn't do anything.  I finished the quilt for my friend's baby, Owen, and I made a tree skirt and stockings.  I finished a quilt top and I at least made a valiant effort to finish my quilt-a-long blocks (some day I'll finish, I promise!).   I also made an apron that I never wear.  Thruthfully, I don't like it.  That is why I never posted about it. 

Then it dawned on me.  I spent the first half of the year planning my wedding.  Then I spent the summer going to 5 other weddings.  Then I spent the rest of the year decorating my home.  First was the bathroom, then the master bedroom.  Finally, during my "Christmas Break" I spent a large chunk of time painting our living room and kitchen. 

I also made some curtains.  See?  They're not quite done yet. 

 
But this year, I tell ya, I'm going to do some quilting.  I have two in the works now.  That will be for another day though. 

I think my job is really cool

For those of you who don't know already, I am a structural engineer.  My job is essentially to design the guts of a building to make sure it stands up.  There are some days when I have moments where I think, "Man, my job is really cool!"

Today was one of those days.  I had the opportunity to go out to one of my job sites.  This is actually my first major project that has gone under construction.  This was my first project I worked on when I started my current job a year ago.  It has had its fair share of trials, but since it was a major learning experience being my first and all.  But today was one of those days that made me feel like the thousands of dollars spent on my degree were worthwhile.

This project is a large addition to a beer distributing warehouse.

This was a couple months ago when I was at the job site.  Those are all of the foundations I designed!

And that is all of my steel!

And here is how it looks today.  It's really a building! Not the most exciting or beautiful building.  But still.  I did all of that! :)  In a few more months that will be full of beer.  That's going to house a lot of beer...

So yeah, I think my job is pretty cool.  I'm pretty sure that is how it is supposed to be.

Ready for the Christmas Tree

 The Christmas projects are shaping up nicely.  About a week and a half ago now I finished the tree skirt and the stockings.  I am really happy with how they turned out!

The tree skirt

 Stockings and the skirt folded

 Close up

Pieces cut for the Christmas quilt

Excuse the poor lighting in the photos.  I've been having a hard time getting decent photos, if you haven't noticed yet.  :)  The combination of the fact that I don't get home from work until after dark these days and our condo doesn't have very good lighting has really been making it difficult.  Any suggestions?