Yay for me!

So much good news!

First, and most important, tomorrow will mark two weeks that I have been diet coke free.

I estimate I have saved $15 (at least).  If I remain d.c. free for the whole year, I will likely have saved about $1,000. But I'm also betting that I will lose that tenacious 20 lbs. I do still have a nagging headache, even two weeks later. Ibuprofen doesn't help. I remember 14 years ago, when I gave up coffee, the headache lasted about 2 months. So, I'm looking forward to March.

Second bit of big news: It looks like I have earned promotion and tenure at OSU! It's not certain until July, when the Board of Trustees votes, but I've been told that their vote is a rubber stamp, and that the letter I received from my dean yesterday is the clincher. It's not official until October 2012, when I earn both the raise and the title of Associate Professor.

And yes, you read the above correctly. It's more important to me that I've been diet coke free than that I now have a job jor life. I think the first is going to go a long way to lengthening my life and second to shortening it.

I'm a happy camper today!

Do I Miss 2011?

Not really.

If cortisol really causes belly fat and stress creates cortisol then that has to be why I grew a paunch this year. 2011 was 'tenure year.' I'm still waiting to hear if it was successful. My only resolution is to get rid of that daggone paunch, whether I lose weight or not.

On the other hand, 2011 will be fondly remembered as the last year of toddlerhood for my precious BonnieBlue. She is just so 'grown up' now. Today, she wore jeans for the first time (since she was 20 or so months) because her friends were wearing belts, and so she wanted to wear her belt. And so it begins. She just looks so darn mature in those jeans and snazzy, sparkly belt. I miss my baby.

Well, it's a new year and I have a list a mile long to get started on as far as quilting projects, household to-dos, and of course, work projects. And I have to figure out what where we're going to send BonnieBlue for Kindergarten. Already!

I guess I should start by taking down the Christmas decorations.

I shall do that now. But I leave you with this sentiment:

HAPPY

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Been busy? Me, too! So much to share, so little time. My biggest obstacle to posting is getting pictures uploaded to my computer. I need a better way.

Little Forest Quilt Along Update
I actually finished the week after Thanksgiving. Hanging it is another matter. Have I mentioned we have one - ONE - item hanging on our dining room walls and NOTHING on our living room and bedroom walls? At least the one picture we have is of Christ. That says something, eh? So, here it is:

Since it's not hanging yet, I photographed it on my table. Light is bad, sorry. Also, the different shades of off-white don't show up this much in real life. And in retrospect, I would totally move that last tree in the last row to the left one space.

Remember in an earlier blog when I said I was going for a vintage "this hung on my grandma's wall" look? And partway through I got nervous that it would look like grandma smoked two packs of Virginia Slims' a day? No worries... It totally looks like how I orginially envisioned. I love it! A reminder that I didn't use much red because it will be hanging on a red wall.

There are lots of imperfections, specifically, the corners do not line up. But I don't care. It's the rustic look I love. I have to tell you, though; it made stitching in the ditch quite the challenge.

Here's a close-up of that corner issue. Also, it resulted in some trees being too close to the binding (as shown here) but I didn't think of that as I was assembling the trees.

Another reminder: donated fabric! That's probably what I love most about it. It reminds me of friends and family. Can't think of a better reminder during the Christmas season.

Here's my favorite tree. I love this little plaid fella'!

And this one, too. This was the perfect background for a winter season piece. Reminds me of snow. I want to do a table runner (square, really) using this background only and red and green trees. Sort of do a boarder of trees all the way around and a big blank in the middle (of this fabric).

I'm really happy with this piece and so grateful to Mama Pea and Linda for hosting this QAL. Fun, fun, fun. And I finished! Woot!

Smooky

She says 'smooky' instead of spooky.

And 'remokacontrol' instead of 'remote control.'

How stinkin' cute is that?


I hope she nevers says them right.

What cute mispronunciations did your kid(s) say?

Halloween-themed Table Toppers

Ta - da! I finished them. Well, the 2 for my friends are done. I gave this one to Debi, who is teaching BonnieBlue to ride. The flowers are from Rhett, a 'congrats' gift for getting through my first 3 promotion & tenure (P&T) hurdles: a nearly unanimous vote from my campus faculty, exactly the 2/3 majority needed from my department/school faculty, and a recommendation for P&T from my school director to the college dean. Fingers crossed that the dean promotes and tenures me.

Here's the back. Disappearing nine-patch. It was going to be the front until I thought fussy cutting the witch and bordering it with the cats would be adorable, hence making a more attractive front. It does, don't you think?

I gave this one to my friend, pseudonym Mellie, with whom I work. BonnieBlue's hand is for perspective on size.

 I didn't think far enough ahead to fussy cut the witch in the direction that the bat fabric would run. Or vice-versa. I still like it. Here it is on her table, with the other side up. Simple.

I feel so accomplished.

Now, I've got to bind mine, and sandwich, quilt, and bind my Little Forest wall hanging. Maybe tonight while watching tv....

Halloween Sewing Project

Here's a tease re: what I've been working on that has been keeping me from finishing the Little Forest QAL.

I've made 3 of these, one for me and 2 for friends. These two are for friends and are SO much cuter than my own. As it should be, I guess.

Since Halloween is in exactly one week, I hope to post the finished items by the end of the week.

Making Progress on the Little Forest Quilt Along

I've got all the rows sewn together on my Little Forest wallhanging quilt.

The backgrounds that look white in this picture do not look that white in real life.

I was going for an old-fashioned look/feel to this quilt, hence the off-white background, but to be honest, when I finished sewing all the rows together and looked at it with a fresh eye, it reminded me of the color that the once-white walls in my house growing up ended up being 10 or so years after my chain-smoking stepmom moved in. I'm trying to emotionally work past that, but it's hard. Hopefully once it's quilted, backed, and bound, I won't think about it that way anymore.

Now the indecision begins. I have a lovely green woodsy fabric that I've been thinking would make a great backing. BTW, I'm avoiding red because the wall this will be hanging on is red. But I also have several cute/interesting Christmas fabrics that I've been accumulating to make a Christmas quilt, many of which would be cute as backing, but on a wallhanging, no one is going to see the backing! So, indecision is rendering me, well, indecisive.

What's more, I'm  not what you'd call an accurate quilter. My corners don't AT ALL match up. So I'm struggling with how to quilt this. The original is stitch-in-the-ditch, I think, which is not an option when the points are off. I absolutely LOVE how Alamosa Quilter pebble-quilted her background, but I don't know if I can pull that off without taking a LONG time to do it. I noticed that some of the other Little Forest Quilt A-long-ers meandered, so I might do that, given it's my strong suit.

According to the Little Forest Quilt Along assignments, I'm way behind. I'm supposed to be finished by now. Frankly, if it gets done before Thanksgiving, nay, Christmas, I'll be impressed with myself.

I've said this before but it's worth mentioning again. For some reason, Blogger doesn't let me comment on my own posts, so when someone is thoughtful enough to comment on one of my posts, I can't comment back. But please know, I read the comments and really, really appreciate them!