Monday, February 15, 2010

Happy Presidents Day ! ! !

Hey, how was your weekend? Are you watching the Olympics? For some reason I hadn't jumped on the pre-olympic hype bandwagon this time around. Past years I was counting the days before they started and missing them when they concluded, this year they snuck up on me. Well it's taken me no time to get sucked in again, I've been staying up every night until 11 enjoying every sporting event. I'm not sure how long I can keep it up!

I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day. We're pretty laid back about Valentine's Day in this house. Some years we do stuff, or exchange gifts, other years not. This was more of an off year. I did wear a red sweater, my red heart Valentine socks, and baked some chocolate chip cookies. I heard on the news that the average person spends $125 on Valentine's gifts.....so to whoever got a $375 gift, you're welcome!



A couple of years ago my daughter sent me this spatula for Valentine's Day, it's one of my all time favorite gifts. I've had a thing for cupcakes for a long time. It's normally in the kitchen, not my sewing room, but I figured this was as good a place to take a picture as any.

Paprika update......


I've packed it up......for now. Lesly at Pickle Dish is going to be working on this quilt and Linda F also left a comment about buying the 19th Century Red fabric. So I'm hoping watching Lesly work on her quilt and hopefully hearing from Linda will help me get over my Paprika funk. I just don't know why it seemed fine at the quilt show and such a mess in my sewing room. I could have finished it up as is, and probably talked myself into liking it OK, but I think I can do better.....so that's my goal, to do something with that fabric, maybe even use the original pattern, but I want to like it and I don't want it to feel like work. Thanks so much for your feedback and comments, but for now, I'm just not in the mood to fight with this fabric.

I've got something new in my sewing room.......


see those glasses......they are light weight and fit just great, but we're not getting along either! They're trifocals!! ugh... I've had them since the first of the year but I'm having a hard time adjusting to them. It seems like my eyes are always looking through the wrong place in the lenses. When I walked out of the eye doctor's office wearing them, I about broke my neck stepping down a curb that wasn't even there. I bet that's part of the fun of working in an Optometrist's office, watching the folks with new trifocals navigate their way out the door and to their cars.

Usually, as I'm wrapping up one project, I'm thinking ahead to my next project. Since I quit Paprika so suddenly I wasn't really prepared to start something new, so I got out Faceted Jewels by Glad Creations. This is the picture from the pattern.

For you folks new to my blog, I started this quilt in October but packed it up in November. I put it away while I got ready for the holidays and worked on my Red and White Snowball challenge.



I got all the parts for Block A completed but still had to finish the parts for Block B.
It was my first official UFO. I left really good notes on what needed to be done so it was a breeze picking up where I left off.

I had already chosen and cut most of the fabric, so all that's left is the sewing. No fabric fights.....for now.

17 comments:

  1. Faceted Jewels has been on my short list of quilts to make since they first came out with that pattern. I have it, but have yet to start it. I think that by following your progress, you may just jump start me into making it finally. I love the colors that you chose and batiks are a great one to use with this design!! Looking forward to seeing it progress.

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  2. That is going to be one very awesome quilt. Love that spatula...cute as can be.

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  3. Oh goodness, Faceted Jewels is GORGEOUS!!! That's a new one to me, so I will definitely enjoy seeing it's progress. My husband and I didn't do gifts either. We're taking a vacation together (without the kiddos!!!) this summer, so I guess that's our gift :)

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  4. I love the fabrics you've chosen for Faceted Jewels. They definitely have jewel tones and will make a beautiful, vibrant quilt. I was looking at your sidebar - you're almost one third of the way through your 2010 goals, and it's only February!! Nan S

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  5. I've never seen such a cute spatula!

    I'm with you, when it starts feeling like work it's definitely time to stop. I think that after it rests for a while, you'll easily come to a solution as to what you want to do with Paprika. A little time out will probably make it very clear.

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  6. Very cute spatula :-)

    I think you needed to do with Paprika what felt right for you. You'll revisit it when you're ready.

    Faceted Jewels and going to be wonderfully beautiful and you'll enjoy it.

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  7. I am enjoying the Olympics and love the Faceted Jewels quilt.

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  8. Faceted Jewels is very pretty. You're going to make us all look bad if your UFO is only a IFO for 4 months lol! I've been catching the Olympics around DH's TV sports watching. YAY Canada finally won gold at home! Though I don't think people were nearly as upset as NBC made it sound.

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  9. Wow, your jewels quilt will be so awesome! And your spatula is just sweet!

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  10. Faceted Jewels is going to be wonderful!!! And I hear you on the Trifocals. I wore them for two days and threw them in a drawer and went back to what I had. They made my head crazy!!

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  11. I'm enjoying the Olympics, too, and wish the weather weren't so problematic for the outdoor events.

    I can almost hear angels sing when I see the picture of Faceted Jewels -- so reminiscent of an elegant stained glass window. It's been a favorite of mine for quite a while, and I can't wait to see how yours turns out. It's looking fabulous so far! How did you go about collecting all those beautiful batiks? They're perfect for this pattern.

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  12. Thelma, "faceted jewels" is gorgeous! I love the batiks you chose, and coming back to it after all the cutting is already done will make it seem like a holiday! I will carry the Paprika torch and maybe you'll get re-inspired to finish it. I made all the black blocks this weekend. I know they were the ones you were unhappy with. I went completely scrappy, just like the pattern, and I love it. I think this calls for a cliche, and we can say "different strokes for different folks"! Thanks for posting the pattern on your blog - I never would have seen it on my own and think it's going to be one of my all-time favs!

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  13. Beautiful - it does look like jewels! I'm glad you're in a happy quilting place again. You'll get back to Paprika when you are inspired to do so.

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  14. That's the way it works in my sewing room too. If I stop feeling the love temporarily (or forever) the project goes back into the box. You would be amazed at how many do get to come back out and get finished though! When the time is right. That Faceted Jewels pattern is wonderful. That makes me think of my batiks collection....

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  15. It is good to see your batiks again. It's nice to see the colorful fabrics at this time of year. Love your cupcake spatula.

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  16. I love the batiks! Faceted Jewels is a lovely pattern.
    I have a cupcake spatula just like yours :)
    Blessings,
    Donna

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  17. I had the same trouble when I got bifocals...took me about 4 months to catch on to them.
    Love the jewels blocks!

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