Catching Up

I've been neglecting my blog lately. Someone even noticed (thanks JW!). Between travels, the heat, reading, the heat, sewing, and the heat, well, I've just run out of steam at the end of each day. But I did want to make an attempt to catch back up.

So here's what I've been sewing. I machine quilted two quilts. One is a fairly large square "Blooming 9-Patch" from the book Tradition with a Twist by Dalene Young Stone & Blanche Young. This quilt is about 5' x 5'. My mother-in-law bought the fabric for me for my birthday about 6 years ago. I finished the top before she passed away, but sadly, she did not get to see it. The top sat for several years while I figured out how I wanted to quilt it. Here are some detail shots of the quilting from the front and then the back. It took me about 3 months to finish this, but I'm VERY pleased with the results. As soon as I get the binding on, I'll post some more pictures.




I also finished the quilting on a baby quilt for a co-worker. She comes back from her maternity leave soon, so I need to get the binding on this one also. This has a thick batting in it that makes it puffy with lots of texture. Once it's washed a few times, it'll have a nice, soft feel and I hope baby likes using it. For fun, I just doodled across it, randomly adding hearts here and there. And mixed in with the hearts are about half a dozen flowers. You can see one of the flowers in the third picture.





And I completed my July block for my precision piecing Block of the Month project. See the white triangle near the top? Argh. One of the points got cut off. Because of the way the unit was constructed, I couldn't fix it. But I DID figure out what I did wrong. Hopefully that will be the only one like that. The rest of the corners match almost perfectly and it measures 12.5" just like it's supposed to. So far, so good! I need to finish my August block before September so I'm back on track.


And finally ... I was at RomCon.

For 1 hour.

Yes, it's true. One hour.

My employer sent me to a conference in Denver July 11-14. I thought about going early to attend RomCon's Friday & Saturday events, but I couldn't make it work financially. I did manage to schedule my Saturday flight so I arrived with enough time to attend the book signing because I really, really wanted to meet the incredible Brenda Novak. The smaller nature of RomCon meant I got to sit for half an hour and chat with her. We brainstormed some new ideas for next year's auction and we're both looking forward to how it might turn out. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, here's a shot of me with Brenda:


And bonus! A shot of me with equally incredible Pamela Clare. I had a great time chatting with her for a little while too.

I said hello and "I love your books" to a couple of other authors, but then my hour was up and I had to leave. I caught the hotel shuttle BACK to the airport so I could then shuttle to downtown Denver. 3 airports, 2 airplanes, 2 hotels, 4 shuttle rides--all before dinner.

So, that's what's going on in my life these days. With football season around the corner, I'm about to get my serious sewing mojo on. Cannot wait!

Comments

  1. HilciaAugust 20, 2010 at 9:39 AM

    Oh Phyl, how wonderful that you got to meet both Brenda Novak and Pamela Clare. I'm hoping to at least do a flyby to one of the conferences if or when they come to New York. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 21, 2010 at 1:01 AM

    Janet W: You must have seen this but everyone else should too: Mary Balogh talking about YOUR plot for the upcoming anthology "It Happened One Season" ... just can't wait! http://www.marybalogh.com/news.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. PhylAugust 21, 2010 at 11:10 PM

    Hilcia--isn't RWA in NYC next year? If so there's your chance!

    And thank you Anonymous for the update about the book! I had been poking around Mary's site just the other day, but I didn't click on the newsletter. Good to finally have a release date!

    ReplyDelete
  4. HilciaAugust 22, 2010 at 2:33 PM

    I saw the news about It Happened One Season and I'm really excited about that book, Phyl! I'll be getting it when it comes out in April -- so glad they have a release date.

    And yes! I forgot RWA is in NYC next year! I'll make sure to attend at least one day. :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. ChristineAugust 30, 2010 at 4:58 PM

    Hi Phyl,
    The Blooming 9 Patch looks amazing. I love the green blended with the fall-like colors. Really just lovely.

    How very cool that you went to RomCon even if just for one hour. It'll be great to finally meet you at RWA in NYC next summer! You can set up a booth to sign the historical romance anthology next to Mary Balogh. LOL! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. PhylAugust 30, 2010 at 6:59 PM

    Thanks Christine. I can't wait to have that one hanging on my wall.

    And while I'd love to come to RWA, I doubt it'll happen. It was serendipity that I made it to RomCon.

    ReplyDelete

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