We traveled home from our VA family reunion on Sunday afternoon, and had a birthday dinner with the kids at Mallory's house that evening. Frank and Bettie stayed with us another couple of days (and left early Wednesday morning), so we had lots of playtime with Gingersnap and Gumdrop. We had a full family dinner on Tuesday evening with the whole gang...all eight of us, plus Frank and Bettie. I wish we'd taken some pictures, but we were too busy eating!
It was a great week for quilting, too! Monday night I pieced the flying geese for the pieced border of my Celtic Solstice while Paula and Laura were here.
Tuesday afternoon I had time to quilt my "Christmas in July" quilt. I chose a great Christmas panto by Patricia Ritter called "Christmas Doodles" and it is so cute on the Holly's Tree Farm fabric. I had my binding ready to go, so I stitched that on first thing Wednesday morning.
I needed a different fabric for the border and binding for my Celtic Solstice quilt, so Dennis and I roadtripped to Goldsboro and visited Thistle Bee Quilt Shoppe to buy the needed fabrics.
I needed a different fabric for the border and binding for my Celtic Solstice quilt, so Dennis and I roadtripped to Goldsboro and visited Thistle Bee Quilt Shoppe to buy the needed fabrics.
Thursday I settled in to finish my Celtic Solstice top. When I was about halfway finished, I went ahead and pieced my backing, and loaded it in my frame so that I could get going on the quilting on Friday. Then I hit a glitch...I don't know how my quilt ended up so much larger than the pattern (but I do like wide borders), but it ended 85" square. My backing was only 82"x 92". I can work with the 92" as width, but of course I'd loaded it as length...and I was going to have to make the back wider anyway.
SO, I spent Friday piecing a strip to add to the back from leftover block pieces and fabrics, and finally got started quilting on Friday night.
Saturday I woke up anxious to quilt...so I quilted ALL DAY... from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. I forgot to eat, I didn't drink enough water, I just quilted. And I made it to row TWO. This quilt is going to be epic, but it's going to take me the rest of August to finish it, and I really wasn't expecting that. I had a goal to finish it by August 26 (today, as it happens) so that I could enter in a quilt show here in the state. Didn't make it. Maybe the Pitt County Fair? We'll see.
So, in conclusion, when I look back at Week Five, it was all Family, Friends and Finished Projects.
Now is the portion of the post where I need to talk seriously to myself (I don't pretend anyone is listening) about the FIVE categories I claim to value. Where is my balance? I am going to have to change my habits if I'm actually going to get Fitness or Faith into my day regularly. September 1 is my "go to" day for beginning a Whole 30 (and I have actually cleaned out my pantry and fridge and begun eating Paleo-esque in anticipation of that goal), and it is also my plan for beginning 90 days of P90X3. So, if you *have* been reading this stuff, you'll probably get sick of me talking about my physical health by about November if not sooner.
And September 1 is also our training day one for Community Bible Study. I sent a welcome email to my Core group members and am making phone calls today. I'm looking forward to the daily routine of studying with a group of women, and this year's material looks fantastic. I had a little wandering-in-the-desert this summer, but I'm going to put together a real plan for study next summer so that doesn't happen again.
Bottom line, I'm going to happily procrastinate the two areas that I can until September 1, and go back to quilting excessively. Just keeping it real.
One final thing...a little spotted fawn scampered through my front yard on Saturday morning.