Lots of goings on.

Robert got a new job in Atlanta.  He starts on Monday.  I think the job will be awesome, the interesting part for him is that it is downtown Atlanta.  He plans to ride MARTA and listen to some audio books.
We found a house to rent in Roswell.  We found it through a friend of a friend.  Yay! It is a three bedroom, dog friendly, ranch house. We move in on the 28th.
Our friend Kenny and Ellie are going to rent the apartment.  We are so excited to have them in the apartment.  It is an answer to prayer.
I was offered two full time jobs this week.  Decisions, decisions.
And it looks like we may have someone interested in renting the shop area.

God has been very gracious to us.

Trying my hand at some landscapes quilts.

I was inspired by my friend Beth's beautiful landscape work and I thought I would try my hand at some smaller ones. So, I made these three for Robert for Valentine's Day.  They were fun and easy-ish to do.  Now, I'm looking at pictures and things differently "I see landscapes everywhere."

On the third one, I also tried my hand at "thread painting" the church.  It reminds me of the little church in Tinnie, NM where Robert and I got married.

:-)

Finished the Diva

I finished the Diva!  I'm stinkin' proud of her.  I love all the details, though when I was finishing her I was grumbling a little about all those details.  I think that the ruler under her left arm is one of my favorite things. I also love her terry cloth stole.  I found the striped fabric for the binding at a shop in Atlanta, which I think love as well.  I also tried my hand at some cross hatch quilting on my long arm.  It was time consuming, but easier than I anticipated.  I think it is just what the quilt called for. Yay, one more project down.

More changes.

I've been a nurse for a long time.  I went to LPN school the year after Megan was born and went back to get my RN the year after Drew was born.  I have worked at least part time even when my kids were little.  I now find myself in a place to go back to nursing.  I've been working some "as needed" shifts  at the children's surgery center, which is the job I left when we moved to Augusta.  The bummer part is that I has not been getting very many hours there.  So, I find myself  looking for another job, to supplement that one.  The dilemma is do I look in Atlanta where we want to end up or in Augusta where we live.  I'm actually doing both.  This Friday I took Advance Cardiac Life Support, or ACLS, in hopes that I can be more marketable in an adult recovery room.  It is always a little nerve racking to take those kind of courses as there is a written test and a verbal test where you "run the code".  I'm happy to say I passed.  Hopefully it will help with this transition time we find ourselves in.

Sibling Quilts-Two

Here's the second sibling quilt.  I am encouraged that they are moving along so well.  I love this "Take Five" pattern,  it is fast and fun.  The fabric make every quilt different.

Here's a close up of the quilting.  I again used the computer quilting program.  I still feel like I am at the beginning of the learning curve, but it is getting better.  One of the fun things is that I could let the computer quilt while I cut out the next sibling quilt-four.  As, the third one is pieced and ready to be quilted. Woot!

Trees Up Quilt.

My friend Mary taught this class just before we closed the shop.  I had been wanting to make this quilt since we had the first class as the shop.  The shop sample and most of the class made it in green, red and white.  But, I wanted to make it with some fall colors. I wasn't sure I would like while it was in process the fabrics are busy.  I'm glad that I persevered, it is busy, but I do like it.  It makes want to make another one, in some other colors.  Mary and Jennifer and I talked about making one with dark blue, light blue and white. (Linda sent us a picture of one that we thought looked very wintery and cool!)

Here's a close up of the quilting.  This is one of my favorite threads.  It is  King Tut autumn varigated thread.  I love the scrappy binding as well.

Finishing up the Quilt Diva.

This is the year I finish more projects than I start. That's' a lofty goal and we'll see how that goes. I started this project over a year ago along with my friends Jennifer and Marie.  We worked on them together a couple of evenings after shop hours. We had so much fun sharing fabrics and ideas.  Then life got busier and the project was put aside.  This week I got the urge to dig it out and work on it.  I was really close to being done so it was great to get it finished, and lots of fun. And I love love love her! I can't wait to get her quilted all the accessories on it.

Trying to use my time sewingly which I hope is wisely.

Honestly, I have enjoyed having some time off.  I have gotten a lot of sewing done.  I have organized my fabrics as well, and done a little house cleaning. (probably should be doing more of that).  However, I feel like I need to work full time or at least continue looking.  I have applied for a couple of more jobs.  One here and a couple in Atlanta.  Also, I'm finally praying that God's will would be done, and not just begging Him for what I want.  Why am I so stubborn?

Sibling Quilts-One

Robert's parents will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this summer.  And it looks like all eight of their children will be there.  I've been working on the "Route 66" quilt in honor of this celebration.  It is a work in progress, as 17 of the blocks are hand embroidered.  I only have 1 1/2 of those left to do then I have the star blocks to make.  I have until June so I'm feeling pretty good about it.  I decided that I wanted to make all of Robert's siblings a quilt, using fabric from the shop.  So, Marie helped me and we got them all cut out before we closed the shop.  I am using the "Take Five" pattern which is fun and easy to do.  I got the first sibling completely done this weekend, and I'm pretty excited about it.  I have the second top pieced and the third quilt the blocks are done and I hope to get the rows done today. 

Here's the first quilt, it is made with some vegetable dyed fabrics. 

I also decided that it was a good time to learn how to use my new computer quilting program.  Here's one of the continuous line patterns quilted with blue thread.

Some really good baked potato soup.

I was going to make this soup to go with ham and cheese sandwiches on Tuesday night, but called i to work.  When I got home Thursday afternoon Robert had already made the sandwiches, so I made this soup to go with them.  It is really rich, creamy and delicious and I think that it is soup of the best potato soup I have ever made.


Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 12 slices bacon
• 2/3 cup margarine
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 cups milk
• 4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2. In a stock pot or Dutch oven, melt the margarine over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
3. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Mix in bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.

Mostly empty.

The ladies that bought our fixtures came on January 1st to pick them up.  Megan and Luke graciously agreed to over see this process as Robert and I were in Atlanta. So, coming home to the empty shop was a little shocking.  It is weird.  I am happy and sad about this transition.

Hopefully people will see the potential in this wonderful space and want to rent it.