A fun week

We had a blast on the cruise!!  I didn't get much sewing done, but I did manage a few small stitches on one afternoon:

Making hexies while sunbathing and listening to a book on tape.

I love these people!!!

Tomorrow I am headed to one of the local quilt shops to learn (once again) how to use a long arm sewing machine, should be fun!!

Going to the Bahamas

In just 2 days, I will be on a cruise ship headed to the Bahamas!!!  So excited, especially about the food.  I love food, can't help it, and I love being able to order as many dishes as I want.  I'm a little indecisive, so I like that I can try a little of whatever strikes my fancy.  But it is important to note that I don't like to waste food, so my tummy better be ready to digest!  I am going to bring my hand sewing along with me incase I get a chance to relax on deck with a needle and thread, hopefully some progress will be made :)

In other news, I just finished a quilt top:

It's a pattern called "Chain Linked" by Amy Smart and the pattern can be purchased here.

Doesn't it look pretty up against my window?

When I get back from my cruise, I will be headed to the local quilt shop and learning to use a long-arm machine.  I've used them before and enjoyed how quickly a quilt can be quilted, can't wait to learn a new machine and get back to long-arm quilting!  Looking forward to cruising and then getting home to quilt, what an exciting week I have ahead of me!  Hope yours is good too :)

A crazy month

This month has been a crazy and fun one!  I am a nursing student, and I have the summer off this year, YAY!!!  Since summer started, I've ben camping twice, watched my little sister graduate from college, and watched one of my very best friends marry the love of her life.  So there has been a lot of traveling involved.  Back in January, I decided that I needed a hand sewing project to do in the car and on trips.  I decided on an English-paper piecing hexagon quilt after reading a blog called texas freckles.  She is having a piece-along, and I couldn't resist.  They had so many ideas and beautiful hexies, so I picked up some jelly rolls I had lying around, started cutting....and became obsessed!!!

 This is my original fabric (whatever I had lying around the house!)

At some point, I realized that I needed a plan, so here it is: all the yellows will be the same, each set of green/blue will be different, the whites will be white and the orange will be composed of the left over colored hexies in a random pattern :)

This is the last picture that I have of the "finished hexies" back when I had only 425 done, all my ducks in a row!

Since then, I have finished all of my colored hexagons and most of my white hexies.  I have also begun to whipstitch the flowers together...I only have 3 and half done, they are taking a lot longer than I thought they would!!!  Here they are:

I LOVE them!!!

So while I have been working on these gems, I was also doing all of those other important/exciting things I mentioned earlier.  Forgive me, but I must brag on my little sis for a moment:  Gabrielle graduated from Elon University with honors and a double major as a magna cum laude.  She has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship, and will be headed to Taiwan for a year in August.  I'm so proud of/happy for her!

I'm a proud Elon sister :)

I'm going to be making her a "graduation quilt" as her present, but I wanted her to be able to help me choose what she wants, so no plans yet.  She is on a graduation cruise right now, but when she gets back, there will be LOTS of sister time and planning.  There is so much more to share, but I think this post is long enough already.  So until another day, tata!