Big Thank You!

Whew! has it really been 2 weeks since my last post? I guess it has. Well, the holidays are over and its back to business. I managed to get a large quilt back in flannel loaded up and am back to quilting. I expect to have at least 6 quilts quilted in the next couple days.

Since the last post I have received these great finished quilts. Thank goodness! I feel sometimes a bit overwhelmed and over committed, to tell the truth I have been feeling like the days are whipping past with very little result. Getting quilts in the mail gives me a boost and has really helped me get the work flowing again. I'm really grateful for your efforts and the support.
Thank You!
Watching the news this week has been tough for us all I know. Hearing about the depth and breadth of the poverty in Haiti and now an Earthquake on top of it ... well, its just all so sad.
Here in America one in eight is below the poverty line. In Haiti it's estimated that 8 of 10 are below the poverty line, not that they do a census.
Food and water are still not widely available in Haiti. Here on MLK day, hundreds turned out to help sort food at the Oregon Food Bank.
We may have some of the highest unemployment in the nation, but hey, at least we have an economy, right?
Please support the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti!
My favorite is the internationally effective and yet local Mercy Corps!

Happy New Year!

I had so much strips left over from a finished project that I am making Denyse Schmidt style free pieced blocks with all my extras. This is a blue one. I hope to finish the gray one I am working on and then crank out a green one, and an orange one. The sashing and and border is a solid that I purchased over the internet and didn't like. Looks fine here, so it just goes to show that every fabric can find a purpose. I have a bunch of stuff left over from this project, all of it will get sewn up into GAKAQ. I made many blocks and then abandoned a plan for a quilt and started over.

I took a break over Christmas. I did some personal quilting and then I didn't quilt or sew for 2 weeks. Tuesday before New Years we had some surprise snow that clogged up the roads and made driving all but impossible.

I took this photo as I sat in traffic less than a mile from my home. I thought this shot was so pretty. Then it dawned on me. "Hey, we aren't moving and that bus and fed ex guy are stuck! When was the last time this lane moved more than a few feet?" I sat here a few more minutes thinking a variety of stuff:
"good thing I got gas yesterday!" I tend to go smug early... don't hold it against me.
"crap, how am I going to pick my beloved at the airport"
"how pretty is this?!"
"I shoulda peed at the last place I was at"... seriously it only takes me 5 minutes to get home
"This isn't so bad"
"this sucks"
and on and on I went ... until it dawned on me "Go around!" I turned around, went back the way I came and went around this mess. I was home 10 minutes later. Go figure.
I walked into my warm, safe home with its wonderful luxuries and it dawned on me that some folks were spending the night in that snow. Some folks were not going to be warm tonight... they not get warm, really warm for several days.
Its time for me to get back to warming those kiddos with a quilt!

So, its a new Year and I'm back at it!
Thanks so much for wishing us well, sending us tops and keeping us in your thoughts.
Rachel