Quilt Square 25

Got some more stitching done on the American Flag Quilt!

Today's addition is Maine, the Pine Tree State, the 23rd state to join the union, on March 15, 1820. Almost halfway through the sampler!

It's been pretty crazy here. We're wrapping up the semester at work, my husband and I are planning our vacation, AND I've been putting together a little surprise for you guys, to be announced in a couple of days. Stay tuned!

Know that you are all loved,

Quilt Square 24

Merry Christmas everybody! Well, I guess I'm a day early, but I've got piles of work to do and I doubt I'll have time to post in the next few days.

Just wanted to give an update on the American Flag Quilt!

The latest member of the family is Alabama, the Heart of Dixie, joining the union as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819.

I absolutely LOVE the colors and the pattern on this square. It's almost hypnotizing, you know what I mean? It kinda looks like an optical illusion.

Anyway, happy holidays, folks! I hope you all have a fabulous time with your families and friends. May you be surrounded by love this season.

Big hugs from this side of the world!

Quilt Square 23

Had plenty of time on my hands this week, so I managed to finish another quilt square on the American Flag Quilt. Yay!

The newest addition is Illinois, the Land of Lincoln. It was admitted into the union on December 3, 1818.

This was my last normal week at work. In this part of the world, we only get a day off for Christmas, and then we get a day off for New Year's, so that's two weeks in a row that get interrupted. In retaliation, the university, in all its wisdom, decided to have make-up classes every single day the following week. How fun is that?

Hope your jobs are going well!

Quilt Square 22

Hey folks! Sorry I’ve been MIA the last few days. One of my closest friends has just moved away, and I was helping her pack up her stuff and run last-minute errands and, well, just enjoying her company for a little while longer. It’s so sad when a good friend moves on, even if you are happy for the opportunities life has given them. It’s just hard to lose a friend, even if it’s just geographically, you know?

Anyway, I’m kind of glad it took me so long to finish this block. I liked taking my time with it, savoring each stitch. Sometimes I feel like I’m rushing to finish, which is nuts because this is such an enjoyable sampler and it’s not like I have “deadlines” for when I have to post about them. So, new resolution: take my time with these blocks.

So I've picked the American Flag Quilt back up again.

I've been working on Mississippi.

The Magnolia State (that's a beautiful nickname, isn't it?) was the 20th to be admitted to the union, on December 10, 1817.

Stay crafty!

P.S. Really sorry for the confusion around here. I'm still trying to sort this Picasa disaster out, but every time I delete some pictures to make room, they disappear from the blog half the time and I have to re-upload them. Such a pain! But I think I've deleted enough for now and Blogger will leave me in peace.

Quilt Square 21

I got the report back on my observation, and it went SO WELL! Thank you guys so much for sending so many positive thoughts out there. :D

Back to the American Flag Quilt – you guys let me know if you get bored of seeing the progress on this one. I’m not even halfway through! That’s kind of an overwhelming thought.

Anyway, today I finished up Indiana, the Hoosier State, which was the 19^th to be admitted to the union, on December 11, 1816. Wow, so its anniversary was just a couple of days ago. That would make it…196 years old and two days. Wait, is that right? My math is rusty.

 

Off to wrangle some students!

A Couple of Framings

Thank you all for your support with my observation! I think it went well – it certainly went better than it did last year. I won’t get the report back for a couple of days, though. We’ll see what my supervisor thought of it!

So I went by the framer’s yesterday to pick up a couple of pieces I’d dropped off. The first is “I’ll Put the Kettle On,” which I’d won from the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe a while ago. I had them finish it off in a simple black frame. I’m going to find a sweet spot for it in the kitchen.
 

The second piece is a family heirloom. I’ve blogged before about my paternal grandmother and her crocheted granny square cushions and about the birth sampler my mother embroidered for me.

A few months ago, out of the blue, my mother’s younger sister, Aunt Kathy, tells me that she’s dug up a wedding sampler their grandmother, my great-grandmother Sadie, stitched for her years and years ago, and that she wants to send it to me. It’s such a cute, sweet little piece, and I’m going to treasure it forever!

Loving you guys,

Quilt Square 20

Oh my God, Blogger has been driving me crazy. I’ve been trying to update for days, but it keeps telling me that my Picasa photo storage limit has been reached. I don’t even know what they’re talking about, and I’ve gone through old posts and deleted a bunch of photos I didn’t think I needed anymore, but that didn’t seem to have made a difference.

So after a couple of hours and a lot of frustration, I finally figured out how to clean out this Picasa thing. This post is a few days late, but it’s finally here!

Soldiering on with the American Flag Quilt! Not that it’s a chore, but I’m still quite sick. The fever broke after a couple of days, thank God, so now I just have this wicked cough to deal with.

Enough griping. May I present to you: Louisiana, the Bayou State. Joining the nation on April 30, 1812, it was the 18^th state.

I really like the pinwheel design on this one. I think it’s just so pretty. This block is the last in the row, so it marks the width of the sampler. I can’t believe how much I’ve done on this piece, and how much more there is still to be done! But I love it, I really do.

My supervisor is coming to observe my classroom tomorrow. Sooooo nervous. She did this last year, too, and she’s just unnerving to have at the back of the class. For some reason, having twenty teenagers watching me for an hour doesn’t bother me at all. Add one middle-aged woman and I’m in pieces.

Wish me luck!

Quilt Square 19

More on the American Flag Quilt!

I just finished up Ohio, the Buckeye State. This was the 17^th admitted, on March 1, 1803, although it says on Wikipedia (my trusted research tool) that this was retroactively declared on August 7, 1953. I know what happened there, but mid-90s is a little late to decide to be part of the country, isn’t it?

I’ve been super sick lately. I even had to cancel my classes yesterday for the first time ever, which means I’m probably going to have to work on Saturday (my students are going to LOVE that).

Going to get some nice hot tea,