13 Weeks of Autumn - What's up, doc?

Happy Halloween to all my ghoulie & goblin pals! You'd think I could've done something Halloween-y this week, but I didn't.  Progress continues, though!

Another pesky pound has found it's way to some other equal-and-opposite-reaction place. An old "stereo" finally made it's way out of the house & will be Freecycled. And I finished this quilt:

Here's a closer shot, showing the cool bubble quilting:

Sometimes there are interesting things to talk about, but most of the time life is just day-to-day non-eventful (in a GOOD way). Still .... this is my place to keep track of things so here are some things.  I got this binding attached, so now it only needs the handwork: (I really like this quilt! It makes me happy to look at it. I will most likely keep this one for my own collection.)

And see all those threads on this batting?

Well, those are the thread snippets from de-quilting this little quilt: (which is showing only a corner ... it's not really that small!)

This quilt, and another just like it, were my experiments when I first got my long-arm machine. Needless to say they are horrible, so I've been de-quilting them so I can re-quilt and donate them. (they're perfect for kids, and LOTS of kids are homeless or in temporary shelters with almost nothing).  The de-quilting is somehow relaxing. Probably because it's totally mind-numbing yet there's the satisfaction of seeing progress made. (Hmmm.... can you "make progress" as you "un" something? (de-quilting = un-sewing). Well....actually I guess you can.

And that is my progress from the week and from the day. Don't eat too much candy! Don't get "skeert" by any wee spookie ones tonight. And most of all thanks for stopping by!

13 Weeks - or - how I'm spending my summer, uh, "vacation"

Recently in my Morning Pages (daily journal, for those not familiar with Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way) I've been mulling over the best use of my newly-gotten retirement time. After all, I don't want to just waste it away! I've been looking forward to this for too long! I have quilts to be made, you know. So I thought about some of the posts I've read on other blogs, some of the activities of Facebook friends and I thought about making a (simple) quilt a week for a year. That would keep me focused and productive. But I know me. A YEAR??? Seriously??? Nope. Wouldn't happen. I took a step back, decided 3 months was a good trial period, saw that June 1 to August 31 was 13 weeks and "13 Weeks" is the result.

13 weeks. 13 quilts. 13 pounds. 13 new recipes.

There are a bunch of simple quilts I've wanted to make and if I stay focused, I could make one a week. And hey - I bet I could lose a pound a week. After all, that's the low-end of reasonable expectations for any weight loss program. And now that I have time to cook, it'd be fun to actually make some of those recipes I've been collecting. Yea, even while trying to lose 13 pounds. So I started on June 1 but it took me this long to finally write the blog post! :o) Wednesdays are my check in day so this is the update for last Wednesday, June 8.

So far so good! Here's the first quilt.

I wanted it to look like stained glass, and I think it kinda worked.

New recipe: blueberry frozen yogurt. Um .... fail! Yea it's blueberry-y, and yea it's yogurt, but ... it's not quite desert. Oh well; not all recipes work!

That one pound? Well it took me an extra day, but it's gone. Walking 5 miles most days (nix the smokey ones, though!) is helping that effort (and feels great, by the way! I couldn't have done that a year ago!!!)

So this is how I'm spending my summer weeks. Now that I've put it out in the blogosphere, I'm accountable (which should really help with meeting the goals!!) Anyone else wanna play?

Thanks for stopping by!