Another PhD (Project half Done) Finish and Some Other Things

First of all I finished my second Phd and none too soon. Today is the deadline for finishes. I'm really happy with this one. It is so cheerful.

 

I listed three projects that I wanted to finish this year and have managed to complete two. Number three is not going to happen ever!  I started on it and actually made seven blocks. Then I laid them out and took a good look and hated them. I decided that I really didn't have time to work on something that I'm really not liking. So all these small pieces are going in my 30's scrap bin to be used on another project. I'm thinking a stacked coins quilt for some of them and I have another "started" project that will utilize the squares.

Now on to other things. Yesterday my husband and I heard a weird squawking noise on our back deck. We investigated and found a parrot! This is definitely not a native bird and would not last long on the loose. When my husband opened the door the parrot flew in and landed on the top of the curtains. Then he decided my husband's shoulder was the place to be. 

We asked the neighbors if they knew of anyone missing a parrot and they couldn't even think of anyone who had one. So we ended up calling animal control and they took him to a shelter where hopefully someone will adopt him or his owner will find him.

Now for a new puppy update. Little Oliver is doing well and growing like a weed. The potty training is going pretty good, only a few accidents. He did not like the parrot in our house. It was pretty obvious that in his opinion, birds belong outside. He now knows the command "sit" and obeys most of the time. In fact he sat long enough for me to take this picture. Then of course he got a treat for being so good!

 

 

Yes, I'm still blogging!

I just noticed that it has been 12 days since I last posted. Sometimes time just gets away from you. I thought I'd better let you know what I'm up to...so here goes. I'm still trying to finish my PhDs before the deadline of June 30th. I really want to finish them this year as last year I only finished one of the seven or eight projects I listed. This year I trimmed the number to three in hopes that I could actually achieve my goal. So here is my progress on #2.

 As you can see I've got half of the center put together. All of the blocks are machine appliqued although nine will have buttons added when I've finished quilting. The bottom half still needs sashing and the whole thing will have narrow, white side borders. I'm also adding pieced keyboard borders and they are finished and waiting.

They took about four days of cutting and sewing. Of course that four days of time that is quite limited at the moment. My little puppy is still keeping me quite busy, but at least since I added the play pen I can get some sewing finished. Here's a picture of him supervising food prep from the back of the sofa. He's a diligent food prep supervisor even though he only gets puppy food!

 

Finally a PhD Finish!

I finally finished a Phd. Not any too soon either. I can't tell you how good it feels to have this project done. It has hung over my head for over ten years. I'm loving how it turned out and am so glad that I decided to make three banners instead of one large quilt. The quilting was so much easier than it could have been. I did a very simple outline stitch and in the ditch in the pieced areas. I feel this quilt is about the applique and the fabrics (if you click on the picture, you will see that the background is a musical staff).

 Now I just have two more PhD's and a June 30th deadline. I'm really going to try and complete them in time. Wish me luck!!!

I Won Again and Another Block of the Month Block

I'm not a person that generally wins very many giveaways, but this month I've actually won two! The first one I featured in my last post. The second was because I entered one of my quilts in Amy's Creative Place spring quilt show and my name was drawn for a $20.00 gift certificate from Pink Chalk Fabrics. Thank you so much Amy and Pink Chalk Fabrics! I was able to choose whatever I wanted so I decided these two fabrics had to be mine.

 I need a new tote bag for quilt guild and classes so this fabric seemed perfect. It is created by Kokka of Japan and was on sale so I was able to get one yard of each with my gift certificate!

If you have been reading my blog very long, you know that I attend a Block of the Month group sponsored by a local quilt shop. Here is the block I finished last night (the meeting was this morning).

Here's the blocks I have finished so far.

 I'm behind I should have nine blocks completed by now, but I only have six and the lower right one I think I will use in the center medallion so I really only have five. I'm hoping to catch up soon!

I have had a hard time getting to my sewing room lately. As I mentioned a couple of posts ago our dear little dog died and left a huge hole in our household. We decided that things were just too quiet and got this little guy.

He is great fun and has so much love to share. He is also very busy and takes so much of my time. I need to figure out how to puppy proof my sewing room so he can spend time with me while I sew. I just haven't quite figured out how to do this yet, so my sewing time is limited. He's worth it!