Just a quick update before I crash for the night. We spent the weekend in So IL fixing stuff around my mom's house. I'm meeting with the mission sewers at church on Saturday, so if you sew (or know someone who does that's local) c'mon down! The more the merrier, we're finishing up hats and scarves.
My sewing studio is pretty much completely trashed. I've been cutting fleece and serging, and I moved Alice's toybox in here, so there are doggie toys all over the place. I need another quarter yard of the background fabric I was using for DMIL's Christmas place mats and can't find it. I thought I had enough, but then realized that the amount I bought was for the original 4 pieces, and now I've added 2 more. Ah well, I'll figure something out, I'm sure. Haven't really finished up any more projects lately, but I did get 40 more hats and scarves cut out in anticipation of the sewathon this weekend.
The DCFS classes are over, but I'm having a hard time getting ahold of our licensing worker. I wanted to sign up for an education advocacy class that started last night but apparently we weren't in the system. Not sure what that means yet.
The Helping Hands projects are coming in right and left. I think everyone is trying to get stuff done before the weather gets really nasty.
I'm reading a new book on postcard quilts and have been asked to teach a class at my mom's local sewing store on the subject. I continue to be fascinated by these very tiny quilts.
Black Friday ads are coming out almost steadily now. You've probably all heard about the legal threats Walmart is making against my buddy Brad at www.GottaDeal.com. I'm not a Walmart shopper anyway due to other reasons, but this bugs me for some reason.
I need a suburban. It dawned on me this weekend, we barely had room in the big Jeep for the 2 dogs and 2 cats plus The Russian and I. We took one suitcase and that was too much. Must. Get. Bigger. Car. I'm smelling car lots in our near future.
I can't remember if the Shop Hop had started, but tomorrow starts the 2nd weekend of the fabricpalooza. Last week I bought a few packs of charm squares (the 5" version...and got some patterns to go with them) and finally broke down and got the materials I will need for the monkey quilt. Yes, I'm making a quilt of monkeys. No, it's not for the Russian. I'm going to keep it in the spare-room-soon-to-be-foster-kid's-room. Once it's done. As it is, I can't start on it until I get DMIL's placemats done.
I HAVE accomplished a few things. #1 (I think I already reported on this, but I'm still claiming it) I finished Alice's dog crate cover! It turned out very nicely and she hasn't chewed it to bits just yet. #2 I Finally used the piece of silk that my dress dummy has been sporting for the last year. I bought it probably 2 years ago, it's handpainted and cost a small fortune, and I was afraid to cut it. I completely agonized over this stupid piece of fabric, so I finally decided NOT to cut it, and made it into a wrap. I'll be wearing it this weekend to the Governor's Mansion (no, he won't be there, and it's probably a good thing) along with a brand new suit that I needed to go with it. Yes, you read that correctly...I bought a suit to go with a scarf. #3 I ALSO Finally used up a piece of houndstooth that I bought, hmm, maybe 18 months ago, AND I used it for its intended purpose! I finished up a dress with it last night, which I am wearing today. I convinced myself to get it done with the reason that I had nothing else at all to wear today. It worked. :)
This Saturday is our last Foster Care class. Woohoo! It's only a half day, we'll go out to lunch to celebrate, then I have a haircut that will be over in just enough time to get home to dress for the aforementioned dinner at the guv's house.
Other Works-In-Process: got over another cold last week...a weird one, no sore throat, just sinus, we each had it. Starting a super secret quilt later this year, it will be extra fabulous! Also, I had planned on turning some fat quarters into a wrap until I decided to use the silk, so now I have 20 extra fats to use on a quilt of some kind. I'm thinking I need a Turning 20 Again, or something.
Off to lunch!
Happy October! *throws confetti*
Of course, fall isn't really here, at least not in central IL. We're still setting record highs and the legislature is STILL in session. This is truly the summer that will not end.
Just to bring you all up to speed, Carl and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on Tuesday. Mostly it consisted of us saying "where do you want to go?" "I don't know, what do you want to do?" "I don't know, what do you want to go?" "I don't know, where do you want to go?". In other words, it sounded just like the first 7 years. :) We seem to have started this tradition, where, for certain holidays one of us will wake the other one up with some kind of weird breakfast in bed thing. For his birthday I brought him a cupcake. For mine, he brought chocolate pudding. For our anniversary, I took him a burrito! (don't laugh too hard, he ate it, it was his favorite kind)
Anyway, we're still muddling through foster care classes. They're going fine, a little touchy-feely, but we'll survive. My mom is coming in this weekend to sew with the church ladies tomorrow since we have our 3rd all day session. And tomorrow night we're headed up to Petersburg (well, New Salem park, anyway) for the candlelight in the park tour. We've been doing this for 9 years, I guess. We missed it the year we got married, but I think that's the only time. This year I'm getting a lantern!
Christmas prep is moving along smoothly. I've updated my notebook and knocked out a couple of projects (and finished Alice's crate cover, which she is turning out to not mind so much), and I'll start taking inventory of decorations next week. I really want to order some more outdoor decorations, but am having some trouble finding what I want, exactly.
Anyway, I think that's about it, Carl's in Bloomington today, I miss him and his 50 emails a day. :(