Sometimes I see a pattern and I want to make it  but I want to use different fabric.   Sometimes I want to make something similar.   Sometimes, I want to make it exactly like the picture.   This was one of those. .  so I ordered the kit and made it for fun.    I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this one,  I might keep it .   It’s so girly that it’s not really my style but it’s cute and fun and soooo spring.  I still need to make the back and quilt it.   I’ve got some of the flowers left , so I think I’ll use them on the back.

Isn’t this so fun!       I can’t wait to finish it.

Ever think you’ve had a great creative idea, but then once you actually start implementing your idea, you start to second guess yourself?   This is one of those posts.

Not too long ago, I saw the postage stamp quilt along at p.s.iquilt.    I kept thinking how cool it would be to make  it but I’m more of a matchy matchy girl than a scrappy look  kinda girl.    Then I saw this jelly roll . . . .     It’s all black and white prints.   And I got to thinking it would be neat to  use white fabric with the prints that have a black background and black fabric with the  prints that have a white background and then mix the different blocks up.  Make sense?

So far  I’ve got half the strip sets done.

The other half of the strip sets will have white where the black fabric is.   So, now that I’ve started, I’m wondering is this idea going to work or is it going to look funny to mix them.   Maybe I should get another jelly roll  and  end up with 2 quilts?

So here’s a close up of one with black strips. . .

And here’s a close up of the one with white stips.. .

I’ve been playing with some layouts on the computer, and I’m back to thinking this just might work.  Here’s a layout I’m considering.   The gray/white blocks represent black background with the white fabric and the black/white blocks represent the  white background fabric with the black strips.   What do you think?   quilt layout-

Am I crazy or could this turn out to be a cool quilt?   Somebody tell me if I should stop!

It’s been really busy in my world lately and I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I posted.   There’s been so much going on, I’m not sure where to start. . . .

First  – there’s been a new addition to our family.

This lovely lady, Cora, has joined us.   Our house was so quiet without a pug.  I know with 2 other dogs how could my house be quiet?   You’d have to be owned by a pug to understand the soundtrack that they provide.  She’s been an absolute joy.   We’ve spent the last month getting to know each other.  She’s made me laugh so many times.   She’s 9 years young and so much more youthful than Sadie was.    We’re looking forward to having her with us for a number of years (The more the better!).

Secondly,   I do have a day job that’s not nearly as fun as quilting and crafting and it has been seriously cutting into my personal time.   That should change soon though.  I’m going to try to get back on my schedule of posting weekly.

Most importantly, my Mom’s been having health problems.   We’ve had a big scare but she’s recovering  now and hopefully will just continue to do better.   It really brings home how important it is for us as women to take care of ourselves.   We spend so much of our life taking care of others, doing for others, worrying about others, etc that a lot of times we forget that it’s vitally important to take care of ourselves.  It’s not selfish to take 30 minutes to do something that we want to do.  It can be as simple as sitting on the deck and reading a book or taking a bubble bath, watching your favorite tv show, or just refusing to answer the phone for a period of time.  I know that for those with children this is even harder, but if we don’t do these things for ourselves, we reduce the time we have to do for others.

The Charming Girls were picking a word for the year of what we’d like to see more of or cultivate in our lives this year.   I have so enjoyed reading everyone’s words  – my favorite I think was permission.   I know that it’s March already, but I’m going to finally pick a word.    My word for the year is “CAN.”

According to Webster’s the word can means:

Since no post is complete without a project, I have 1 project to share.   I started making this quilt for my Mom when she first got sick.   And I CAN finish it before her birthday in June.