Marquee Quilt Progress

I just finished all of my marquee blocks!  The photo’s not that great, but I wanted to show what a stack 49 blocks looks like.  I’m really proud of my progess on this because I thought it was going to take alot longer to finish them.

 I am disappointed that I have so much extra green left over.  I KNEW 8-1/2 yards of green fabric was going to be too much.  What a waste of time and money.  3-4 yards would have been more appropriate.  Now I have to figure out what to do with all that extra green.  I’m NOT going to waste it.  I wonder if there’s enough of it to make the border, and if there is if all those seams will make it too bulky to sew through.  I’m just not sure.

The next thing I have to do for this quilt is cut the 10″ blocks.  That shouldn’t take too long since I’m going to laser cut them. 

It’s snowing like mad, and we’ve already got about 5 inches of snow.  I doubt I’ll be going to work tomorrow so I’ll laser cut the rest of my blocks tomorrow, and maybe I can start sewing them to the marquee blocks!  I can’t wait to see what they look like all put together.

Marquee Progress

Since getting my new job, I haven’t had the opportunity to quilt (or blog) much.  However, I am plugging along on my marquee quilt as fast as I can.  I have 23 blocks finished.  I need 49 of the block I’m working on now, and 50 of the other block.  I can already tell that I have WAY too much green fabric, and that aggravates me because I went out and bought more because I initially thought I didn’t have enough.

Quiltalong links

I’m sure there are tons of others, but here are some links to free quilt patterns that would be great for the Craftster Quiltalong:

Amy Butler patterns:  http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/free_patterns.php
FunQuilts patterns:  http://www.funquilts.com/gallery/patterns/patterns.html
FreeSpirit patterns:  http://www.freespiritfabric.com/core-pages/patterns.php
Marcus Fabrics:  http://www.marcusbrothers.com/makeit/projects/metro_blue_wallhanging/index.html
Heather Bailey:  http://www.heatherbaileydesign.com/HB_FreshcutQuilt.pdf

Books to check out:
Happy Hour by Atkinson Designs
Make Your Own Contemporary Quilts by Paola Pieroni
Modern Art with Fabric by Debbie Maddy (Calico Carriage Quilt Designs)
Anything by Kaffe Fassett

Already three other people have jumped on board, and I hope more will as the year progresses. 

My New Job…

So I have this new job being a bookkeeper for an organization that is MUCH bigger (financially) than any I’ve worked for previously.  I am SOOOOO nervous that I’m going to screw something up.  The owner has been gone this whole week, but I’m afraid when he gets back he’s going to ask me questions that I don’t know the answer to, and that scares the heck out of me.   

 Today I ran the 1099s and tomorrow I’m running the W2s.  Even though I KNOW how to run these, I was still nervous that I wouldn’t do it right or I wouldn’t put the right ones together in the envelopes.  I think I’m just nervous because I haven’t worked outside the home in almost two years, and my confidence is kind of low because of it.

When the owner gets back, I want to have a little sit down with him.  Maybe I can find out exactly what he expects out of me, and if I truly think I’m going to be able to do this job for him or not.  Fortunately for me, I don’t NEED to work (except for my sanity) so if this doesn’t work out, I’ll be okay.

New Job

I’m not sure how it happened, but I have a new job.  I submitted my résumé on Thursday, got called in for an interview on Friday, and walked out with a job offer!  I’m excited and nervous at the same time.  I haven’t worked outside the home in almost 2 years so this is going to be a little different for me.  I feel sorry for the dogs since they’ll have to stay in their crates for about 4 hours every day.

Fat Quarters galore!

Yesterday, I hit to quilt store for more green fabric and to sign up for the “Hello New York” paper piecing class.  The supply list suggests lots of fat quarters–including black as a good contrast fabric.  I checked out the quilt store’s fat quarters, and didn’t see any I really liked for a New York Beauty block.  So…  my next stop was CraftWarehouse where I ended up spending $101.60 on a ton of fat quarters.  I bought sets of “Midas Touch” metallics and “Bella” by Northcott fabrics, and another set that I think it’s called “Love This” (not sure).  Plus I got some black Moda Marble.  I think I ended up with 36 fat quarters.  Now I have WAY too much fabric for four measly New York Beauty blocks, but maybe I’ll use it for something else.  If nothing else, I’ve just increased my fabric stash with some cool fabrics.  I just love CraftWarehouse!  Maybe I should get a job there in the fabric department!  Wouldn’t that be fun?

Dreaded Wednesday

I’ve come to dread Wednesdays because it is Jehovah’s Witness day.  I’m too nice to tell them I’m not interested and they don’t have to come back.  I listen to what they say and take their literature (but then I throw it away as soon as I come back in the house).  I wish I had some kind of backbone, and could tell them not to come back, but I don’t want to hurt their feelings.  So…  I just leave the house from 10:00 – noon every Wednesday and hope that I miss them.

Today, to avoid them, I’m hitting the quilt store again to sign up for a quilt class that I want to take.  The class is for paper piecing New York Beauties blocks.  I can’t wait to try it.  I knew paper piecing was great for matching points, but I didn’t know about the curves and arcs of New York Beauties. 

I also need more green fabric so I can finish my strata so I guess I’ll get that while I’m there.  I am SO ready to move on from sewing and cutting green!

Today, I also want to cut my red fabric into 6 inch squares so I can start sewing those onto the green.  This should be fun–especially since I’m tired of the green and ready for the next step in this quilt.