As much as I hate to do this already I am going to have to skip this week’s Podcast. There is no way I will be able to find a quiet place to record. Some company has decided to extend their stay and make a vacation out of it.

If you are not sure what I am talking about….just wait and I will fill you all in on May 29th when I get back to my regular dates! So very exciting to be back. In case you missed my return episode, you can find it here.

Well, back to more cooking, cleaning, and enjoying my company!!!!

I’ll leave you with a recent picture of my granddaughter – just because, well, just because!

I am so blessed!!!

I don’t know those of you that post every day do it?! Would you please share your secret! Is it because I expect too much from my blog posts? I think that is it. I expect them to be long, witty and full of pictures – because I want to keep up with the Canadians Abroad and Flying Rockets….but I guess it is ok to be short and Gap-like!

So, let’s try that theory out….

I have selected a winner for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway…her name is Jordon and the prize is already in route. Here was her post….

Well, I have a ton of people coming to stay with me in just 2 short day so I have to clean….YUCK!!!! Let me tell you what I mean by a ton (6 extra adults and 6 extra kids for 6 days)……all sleeping, eating and pooping in my house…..maybe I should wait till they leave to clean….hmmmm!

Toodles for now!

I love playing along with Sew Mama Sew’s Giveaway Days! I love that y’all come here and have a gander around, and I love that you and I get a chance to win some great prizes. Recently The Fat Quarter Shop ran a super great sale on Sketch by Timeless Treasure. I bought some in Mist and Turquoise.

I am giving away a one-yard cut of each. I am going to keep this uber simple. One entry for everyone – all you have to do is leave a comment answering the following question:

On these SMS Giveaway Days, do you prefer supplies or handmade items? 

I hope to see you back and PLEASE be sure there is a way for me to contact you – that will be easiest if you leave your email address in your comment. To avoid spam, feel free to enter it like this gap(dot)rhonda(at)gmail(dot)

Rules: International friends free to enter, winner chosen using random.org,

There you have it….a chance to win some great fabric….good luck!!! Don’t forget to go and enter all the other giveaways!!!

Additionally, I need to start planning the trip to Florida, to take my daughter to college. We don’t have the exact date yet, but in the meantime, we have supplies to gather, classes to pick and her room to pack.

We also need to find a house (we have decided what general location we are moving to but I will save that for the Podcast) and start packing, selling and pitching!

AND I am going to start podcasting again! If all goes as planned there will be a podcast attached to this very post. It should be a short episode as I am just getting back into the swing of things but here is what I talk about:

• what to expect
• the unemployed life
• the most recent wedding (and what a doozy that was)
• my monthly’s
• Kaylah’s quilt – the quilting (I need some feedback)
• May’s goals

Here are the promised pictures of Kaylah’s quilts so that you get a better understanding of what I mean in the podcast:

T-Shirt Side

Chevron Side

So as to ensure I qualify with a “written” list for May here are my goals:

1. Quilt Kaylah’s T-Shirt Quilt
2. Make my mom an apron for Mother’s Day
3. Make myself another skirt
4. Quilt The Revamp Top
5. Complete all my monthlys
   • Sugar Block Club
   • MSB (I am queen this month – nothing to do)
   • Toes in the Sand
   • Christmas BOM – no longer available

Probably won’t get but a couple of those things done but ya know! I should probably put “maintain lawn” on that list since it has become one of my new jobs since The Hubs is now disabled and I am unemployed! Pro: Good Exercise  Con: Good Exercise

Ok, if we are going to talk about exercise I am outa here! BYE!

PS: If you are one to listen to the podcast from the website, the player is just below here. And please let me know if you have any problems with that or with iTunes (fingers crossed for a seamless restart)!!

So many life changes in April! You can read about the majority of them here. And I will talk about many of them in my upcoming podcast (the plan is still to post it tomorrow)!

BUT for today I am here to discuss my finishes well ticks off the list for the month of April. I don’t have any official finishes as far as something I can call done but I had set myself some goals for the month of April and I finished some of them. That always makes me feel good. WAIT….I did get one finish – one that even qualifies for the FAL!

I finally finished the binding on the Reunion Quilt. Let me tell you, that was one big quilt. It is already in the home of the owner (we auctioned it off 2 years ago at the reunion and I am just getting around to finishing it up – Shhh don’t tell anyone). Here are a few shots of that quilt:

The majority of the masive quilt! Wish I had thought to get measurements. Surnames are embroidered in the border (notice the misplaced apostrophe in my last name?).

The binding

My granny’s handprint. There are handprints of all surviving matriarchs and children under 18.

It is the Sullivan Reunion from 2010

Here are the goals I set myself for April:

1. Finish the top and back for Kaylah’s T-Shirt Quilt DONE
2. Make myself 2 skirts I made 1 of the 2
   
3. Quilt The Revamp Top did nothing
4. Bind the Reunion Quilt DONE
5. Complete all my monthlys ALL DONE
   • Sugar Block Club
   • MSB
   • Toes in the Sand
   • Christmas BOM
6. Start the Texas Teardrop Quilt (a new one) DECIDED THIS WAS A BAD IDEA!!

Not too bad?! I have to get Kaylah’s quilt done by May 23rd and considering I had to cut and piece both the front and back (which was haphazardly placed together), I think I did ok. Speaking of which, I don’t think I have showed any pictures of this yet! Tomorrow – because I need some input on the quilting!

Well, I am off! I am going to link up with Melissa at A Lovely Year of Finishes and then I am going to bed! Have a great day (I sure hope you all have had weather as great as mine – I am currently nursing a sunburn)!

Last Saturday was her prom and she certainly didn’t disappoint in the glittery category. Here are a few pictures from her big event:

The dress!

The hair!

The corsage before it broke!

The Shoes!

The date (a friend)

The girl!

I am forever amazed that my little girl, the one who refused to wear anything but a blue leotard for 6 months when she was about 3, is this gorgeous young woman! I am so proud of all that she is, but she will always be “punk” in my heart – looking something like this:

Want a bite?

Still lovin’ a convertible today (drives one daily)

Well, there is my little jaunt down memory lane! I am on the road today….traveling to my step-son’s wedding. I adore him and am looking forward to sharing this special day with him.  He was 16 (and the only one still at home) when my husband and I married and had just lost his mom. While the other two children resented me, Aaron and I gathered an understanding – I didn’t want to replace his mom, I only wanted to be his friend and be respected as his father’s wife. Over the years I can honestly say we have developed an amazing relationship. He has two beautiful girls – as a matter of fact if you have been following this blog for any amount of time, you will have seen pictures of them. They come and spend a week or two with us every summer. So much fun!!!

This will be a fun weekend and I am sure I will return with many pictures to share!

]]> http://www.quilterinthegap.com/2013/04/gold-and-all-that-glitters/feed/ 8 http://www.quilterinthegap.com/2013/04/gold-and-all-that-glitters/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/feedburner/LOhfT/~3/BCg9Cmm_vys/ http://www.quilterinthegap.com/2013/04/the-apron-i-cant-give-away/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 05:12:52 +0000 gap.rhonda@gmail.com http://www.quilterinthegap.com/?p=1602 I have drawn two different winners of the apron giveaway. If this third draw (it’s a charm – get it?) doesn’t go through, I will just keep it!

So, this time the winner is:

The good thing about this winner is that her name links to her blog. So, hopefully, I will be able to reach her! LOL

Heather blogs at A Reformed Heath’n (guess I am not the only one…hehehe) Well, Heather if you are reading this…..send me an email. My email address can be found by clicking on the envelope in the right side border of my blog. Looks like this  .

It seems it has been a while since I have posted a picture of Callee, so I will close with that!

Sometimes one must dress up!

Callee & her mommy ready for some baseball!

Callee & her daddy going to see the cows.

I will be playing with her in just 2 days!!! I can’t wait!

….is what happens while you are busy making other plans –John Lennon (source)

…if you love it [life], don’t waste time for time is what life is made up of. –Bruce Lee (source)

…is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. –Soren Kierkegaard (source)

…is too short to work so hard. –Vivien Leigh (source)

….sucks sometimes, but generally gets better eventually. –Rhonda aka Quilter in The Gap (me!!)

I used to talk about my job all the time. Way back when….well, back then (when I first started my blog). Over the past 12 months (approximately) things got very difficult on the job front. But all that came to a halt last week. As of last week, I am officially unemployed. Most people would see this as a problem and it may be eventually, but as of right now it is great! I hinted at this announcement during my last post. I probably won’t say much more than this as it is quite personal and involves family members other than myself (not my story to tell). So, there you have it…..I am officially unemployed!

The timing for this is quite perfect. With my daughter graduating high school and going off to college, my husband and I will need to downsize our living quarters a bit (at least the outside bits). We are in the great debate about where to move to….in a different house in the same area or a real move outside the immediate area. Not only will I now have the time to move but I can also focus on getting my daughter ready to go. There is much to do:

• graduation gift (a quilt in the works)
• graduation party
• graduation invitations
• gather stuff for college
• pack up what she is leaving behind
• etc, etc, etc

It can be quite daunting! All those words in bold are major life moments and they are all happening at the same general time! Oh and last week was Kaylah’s senior prom!

BUT now that I have a bit of time I am going to restart my podcast. I will have a new episode posted on May 1st. I would do it sooner but my husband and I are traveling to Michigan this weekend for his son’s wedding. I am very close to this son and his kids so I am quite excited about celebrating with them! Oh and Callee will be there! hehehe

Do the bolds (life moments with big impact) ever stop coming?

I was very busy last week with catching up on household things that had slipped during my “icky” time (this will be how I will forever refer to the last 12 months), yard work (which my husband can’t do since he became disabled), and working on Kaylah’s graduation gift.   Before pictures, let me tell you a bit about this quilt…

It will be two sided – which, for me, means there is no distinct front or back. The design of the chevron side was by request of my daughter – something she seen on Pinterest but in different colors. The T-shirt side is something that is a long time in the works. There are shirts on this quilt that go back to when she was in the 3rd grade – so, 10 years. Because of all the different sizes and such, I just starting chunking until it  worked. LOL

Oh, and one more tidbit – the chevron side isn’t done. I had to order more white. When it arrives, there will be one more row on the top. I have laid it over the T-Shirt side for size comparison (you can see this in the picture). Also, it is long because it is made for a dorm bed which is Twin XL.

Well, here you are:

The T-Shirt side

The white sashing on the T-Shirt side is also Mirror Balls.

the gray & white are Kona Ash & White but the pink is Mirror Balls.

The Chevron side

Well, there you have my last week in a nutshell. There was some miscellaneous sewing too but more on that tomorrow (or there abouts).

I have rambled on long enough. In the words of Arnold Schwar?? …. I’ll be back!

Keeping with the same spirit of Q1 Plan of Attack, I am simply going to list what all is on the table and work diligently to get some finishes. Then, each month list what is important. This seems to work best because some things seem to come up that are not on the UFO list but are still a priority. There are a couple of UFO projects that I know are top priority – for example, my daughter’s T-Shirt quilt because it is a graduation gift and graduation is May 23rd. I have all the fabric I need (I think!) so I just need to decide on a lay out and start stitching!

I also want to make some skirts for Spring and Summer for both her and I – those are good “seriously, need a break from this project” projects.

And, if all goes as planned, I should be having a great deal more sewing time in the next 7-10 days. I also plan on getting back to my podcast at that time. I know it seems obscure right now but that is all I am going to say about this right now!

Oh, and I have another really quick announcement before I post my Q2 list…..my winner for the Charm-ing Apron never replied so I am drawing another one. It is (drumroll…….):

If this is you, please email me at gap(dot)rhonda(at)gmail(dot)com with your address so I can mail you the apron. Neither of the winners I have drawn have been clickable names so I hope this one emails me!

Ok…now, on to my list:

1. Batik Nature BOM – Top complete/back squares cut
2. Birdie Embroidery – A few blocks done
3. Amazing Grace  – Top Done
4. Spring Time  - Top Done
5. Red & White – Top & Back Done
6. Mystery Quilt – A few blocks Done
7. T-Shirt Quilt for Kaylah – DEADLINE: May 23rd
8. Black Monkey – Need to quilt borders, re-stitch back, and bind
9. Mod Pop Quilt Revamp – Top Done
10. Large Dresden  – Quilting started (I think I need to rip out all quilting)
11. Tute for FAL – 1 done – want to stitch another (gift) & write tutorial
12. Penquin Quilt – Pieces cut
13. Duckie Quilt – Need to finish tying & bind
14. Reunion quilt – Needs bound
15. Hexie project – started stitching
16. Row By Row – Top Done, needs borders

Here is what I want to do in April:

1. Finish the top and back for Kaylah’s T-Shirt Quilt (#7 above)
2. Make myself 2 skirts
3. Quilt The Revamp Top (#9 above)
4. Bind the Reunion Quilt (#14 above)
5. Complete all my monthlys
   • Sugar Block Club
   • MSB
   • Toes in the Sand
   • Christmas BOM
6. Start the Texas Teardrop Quilt (a new one)

Well, I think that should be more than a challenge for the month of April! Hopefully, my plan will go well and I will have all the time I need to get this all done.

Well, for now I need to get back to work….I hope y’all had a great Easter (I think I forgot to say that yesterday!)

I am also linking up with Sew BitterSweet Designs.

I must admit I am pretty excited to see how well I have done so far! Here is the list as it started (I have crossed off the projects that don’t qualify for FAL prizes):

I have completed 9 projects this time and got 3 off my list in more unconventional ways – gave them away, donated them, put them back in stash. Not all quilts were meant to be finished by me.

Here are my finished projects:

It reads “Foo” and now hangs in her sewing room.

The other side is pieced but since her color scheme changed this is side that will show now. Go figure!!

Callee & Co-Co

The tutorial for these are in Fluffy Sheep Quilting‘s Newsletter

There you have my nine finishes. I am not sure the second quarter will have quite so many in quantity because this quarter I focused more on getting the small projects out of the way. This quarter I need to get to….well more on that coming soon when I talk about my plan of attack. But right now I need to get busy linking up! I have a prize to win…..well, maybe. I am just excited that it is at all possible.

And don’t forget that I am keep my FAL page updated with dates, links and such.

Chat soon!