My quilting assistant

This is Juan Pablo my assistant in all things quilting. He oversees the entire process. Right now I believe he is telling me that I am slacking off a little. I do have the excuse that we have a new addition to our family--a Shih Tzu puppy and he is adorable. I have only 5 blocks to assemble for Alisha's quilt and then it will be time to layer and quilt. I took a small detour on finishing projects--don't we always?-- and put together a small table topper that is layered and ready for machine quilting. I did stick to my own rule and all materials came out of my stash. This year is turning out to be a lot of fun for me and I have expanded my goal a little. I want to complete one project a month.
Next step for me is to add some physical exercise to keep me on that road to good health. Enter the Wii fit plus and a new puppy! These two should compliment my healthy shakes nicely! Happy Valentine's Day to one and all.

I found this pattern a few years ago in an old issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. It is entitled "Kaleidoscope" and I thought this would be both an opportunity to use up some scraps and a chance to play with color. This has been a double edged sword for me, because it is very satisfying to use up some scraps, but this also feeds into my need to save every tiny little piece of fabric. I have pieced 25 blocks to date and I was startled today to realize that my baggies of greens, blues, reds, etc. have not diminished at all since I started! I really am starting to believe that they reproduce when my back is turned. This will be a quilt for my younger granddaughter and I think the bright colors will be a good match for her personality. 25 done and only 5 more to go.
One hour a day, One hour a day..................
.

Feb 3,2010

Wow! It is Feb. 3rd already and I am realizing that I am already off track to accomplish my stated goal of completing UFOs this year. So it is time to get back in the groove. This little one block CQ is a pet project of mine that I started last year and then set aside. I needed a break for inspiration and I was unhappy with the ship's masts. I have deconstructed part of that and now I would like for all of you crazy quilters to take a look and give me some input.
For now, I plan to get back to work on 2 sane quilting projects. I am about 2/3 finished with the hand quilting on an applique quilt for my daughter and I'm very close to finishing all of the paper pieced blocks for my granddaughter's quilt. My mantra is going to be--one hour a day, one hour a day......