Family time...

This past week I haven't sewn or quilted...not one thing. I've been visiting with family and friends instead...that's right, family reunion time! My grandparents are celebrating 70 (yes, seventy) years of marriage so you can't miss out on that, right? Also, it was my grandmother's birthday. She turned 92 (she claims 29 and that is 92...transposed ;) and grandpa will be 93 next month.

Seventy years together and still in love :)

Well this family reunion was a little different for me, I went without MY family. Yup, no kids or husband. Weird, different, and honestly, a little liberating. (I hope they aren't reading this and getting their feelings hurt!) You see, I haven't been anywhere alone for the last 20 years. Not the grocery store, Target, the post office, or even the bathroom (ok, this has changed as the kids have gotten older but they still come knock on the door...give me 5 minutes, people!). Those of you with kids totally get this!
My sister came out to pick me up and she was also sans kids & hubby so we visited and talked during the 5 hour drive to her house (and never ran out of things to talk about!) and just enjoyed each other's company. The next day we grabbed her kiddos and drove the rest of the way to my grandparents house where aunts, uncles, cousins, my mom, brothers, and of course grandparents awaited. It was amazing to see so many members of my family together. I think I have a total of 36 cousins on my mom's side...I'd have to ask my grandma to be sure...and they are almost all married and having kids so I have a ginormous family!!!
My sister and I also got to meet up with some friends from high school while we were there...it was great to catch up with old friends and hear what they've been doing since high school and seeing pics of their families...great girls then and great girls now! We had so much fun!
After the reunion we headed back down to St George and I got to go to Superior Threads. I'm sure they thought I was nuts as I wandered up and down the aisles in their warehouse petting cones of thread! It was so hard to stick to my shopping list and I'll admit that a few extras made it home with me but it was so hard to pass by all of those gorgeous variegated King Tut cones without picking up a few more! Tuesday morning it was time to head for home. I was a little sad that the time went by so quickly but I was ready to get back to my family. What a surprise to get home and find them all lined up like the Von Trapp's in the Sound of Music; oldest to youngest in a neat line. As I got out of the car they all greeted me on cue by lifting up their shirts to show me their tummies. Not so neatly written in black dry-erase marker (does NOT erase off of skin, think Sharpie pen!) was "We <3 MOM". So I guess they missed me...almost as much as I missed them :)

Busy, busy, busy...

It's been a busy couple of weeks...we had a wonderful Fourth of July at my sister's house...thanks Kathy and John! BBQ, swimming and lots of fun visiting with family and the kids getting to see their cousins :)


I've also managed to get two custom orders out the door! I was waiting for a fabric order on one so I started another and then the fabric I was waiting for finally (6 week back order...argh!) showed up so they ended up getting finished up together. Lots of back-to-back binding sessions! Not my favorite part of quilting but very satisfying to get done and on their way to their new homes :)

Creepy Alphabet

Pirates

Lots of custom quilting! I've gotten so many requests for the Pirates quilt that I'm finally writing a pattern...Emily Taylor has a new Pirates line coming out this fall so I think it's a perfect time :)

I've also been working on those Ruby blocks for my quilt guild's BOM...

I was right! Once I got into that bucket of scraps I didn't want to stop! I still have some catching up to do as family time and other projects (and laundry) demand equal attention but I'm excited to see what the other blocks look like :)

Monday was an all day sewing day for Quilts of Valor and a children's charity that my quilt guild sponsors. We managed to get about a dozen quilts bound and ready to be delivered :)

Tuesday was my husband's birthday! We took a day off...had a fun day of antiquing (he let me pick what we were doing ;P), went to lunch and the kids made dinner. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing day in the middle of our hectic summer.

Now I'm just working on some last minute things and I'm off to a family reunion in Utah! Like I said, busy couple of weeks! We'll talk again when I get back...I should have more to share!