How can "retirement" be so busy?

When I retired from teaching, I never expected to be so busy.  Of course, I didn't know I'd become a part-time medical transcriptionist....or a quilter......or a member of my church vestry......or have the kind of family stress we've had the past few years.  But...I'll manage and things will ease up soon, I think.

I did get a smart phone....used to have what I call a "dumb" phone (a TracPhone with pay-as-you-go minutes).  Now I have a Droid HTC Incredible 2 phone.  I like it and have figured out most of the features.  However, I was not successful at making a blog post with it.  I was able to type in my title but then was unable to type anything in the main text box, so that brought a quick halt to that experiment.  Have any of you had luck posting from your phones?  If so, I'm willing to listen to your suggestions.

On the quilting front, my quilting partner (Kathy) and I have been doing GO! cutter demos for the local quilt shop (see photo) and we are also going to teach some projects there that will be cut with the GO!  It's fun and keeps both of us in "teaching" mode since we are both retired from that profession and sometimes miss it (key word there:  sometimes).

Family things are a bit more settled, I am happy to report, and I thank all of you who have been praying and thinking good thoughts.  Keep the positive energy coming, okay?   We are still not totally out of the woods, but it looks like we are on a good path now.

Oh, yes.....my hotmail account was "hacked", so if you ever get any email from me with a link in it and I don't have a note accompanying it that explains the link, don't click on it.  I've now changed my password and hope that ends it (there was no virus on my computer...we checked), but I just wanted to alert all of you.

As always...GREAT things going on at AccuQuilt.....

Bust My Stash Photo Challenge

Have you stared at your fabric stash and wished that you had the time and energy to cut up your fabric for future projects?  AccuQuilt has the answer!  Click on the following link to participate: http://on.fb.me/qtyUoq or go to AccuQuilt’s Facebook page and click “Like”.  Then go to the ‘Bust My Stash’ tab under their profile picture and upload a picture of your fabric stash.  Submit your photo by Friday, July 22^nd and you’ll be eligible to win a GO! Mix & Match 12” Starter Set.  The photo with the most votes by July 31^st wins!  Photos will be voted on by viewers and fans of the AccuQuilt Facebook page using the following criteria: relevance, creativity, and originality.  Share with your friends during the voting period to increase your odds of winning!

Good Luck!

A small gift for a neighbor....

A neighbor of mine who has been having some tough emotional times lately will be having her birthday at the end of this upcoming week.  She is one who really appreciates hand-crafted items as she is a crafter herself.  She loves to decorate with a beachy theme, so I made her a small topper for one of her tables or shelves.   (The shells were just put there for when I took the picture.)  She likes lighthouses, crabs, etc. and the back of the piece (which I didn't photograph...darn) has all kinds of sea creatures on it and you can see the lighthouses on the front, so she can really use it on either side.  I think she'll be surprised that I made this for her and will enjoy it. She doesn't read my blog, so it is safe to post this and not risk ruining the surprise!  (Of course, the pieces for this were cut entirely with the GO! cutter.)

4th of July sewing....

We had no plans for the 4th...and I had no work to do for my part-time job....so I spent the day making a table topper for us that I really like. The two photos here show a little bit of both sides of it.  (I like both sides enough that I will use it as a reversible topper!)  You can probably click (maybe double click) to see the photos enlarged.  I cut this with my GO! cutter...you know how I love that cutter. This might become a printed pattern and/or a class at the local quilt shop.  I'm glad this is now a finished project and not joining my UFO's!!!  I'm calling this one Vitamin C......because of the citrus fruit fabrics (as if you couldn't guess).