Wouldn' t that be GREAT !!!!! (saw this on facebook )
Well, two long work weeks and the 2nd paperwork marathon weekend in a row makes for ZERO time (again) for any sewing ........so, to keep from going completely out of my mind, I did snag these 3 quilting magazines while out doing errands , and they are my dose of "Instant Gratification" to break the mind numbing monotony of the endless paperwork/laptop documentation marathon that is a constant in my life as a home care physical therapist .......UGH !!!!!! Magazines and .....
doodling on this napkin ..... that about sums up the weekend .......
So I get this idea stuck in my head ......for a baby quilt ....(my niece is expecting her first in September .... a boy!). Anyway, I drew out this idea on a piece of scrap paper and colored it in with my trusty colored pencils. And for the background of this quilt I want to use a text fabric ...... but it has to be something for babies. So, I spent a few HOURS looking around on the internet for EXACTLY what I have pictured in my mind for this quilt ........ and came up with nothing that would do. Now I thought "how frustrating !!!" ..... I'm not looking for something complicated ..... it would be so easy to make this text fabric if I only knew how !!!! Then, I remembered there ARE some people who know how !!!! ..........and those people are.....
So I spent some time playing around with different fonts (I wanted it to be cursive looking ) on Microsoft office ...... and I typed out the first few paragraphs of the poem "Wynken, Blynken and Nod" by Eugene Field. It took me awhile to figure out how to get it from Microsoft Word over to Spoonflower to be printed ...... then it took me awhile to figure out the repeat and how this will print out on a piece of fabric 42" wide. (and I'm sure it's simple, but my lack of computer skills and lingo made it a little frustrating, so I'm still not quite sure if the repeat is quite right) . Anyhow, I sent for a swatch to see how it looks ....... and THERE IT IS !!!!! HOW FUN IS THAT !!!!!! Now I have 2 yards on the way !!! 
It goes by so fast !!!! My oldest son Matt graduated ....... first , from preschool (this picture is one of my favorites !!! "Graduation ...... pphhht ...... piece of cake !!!!")
........then high school graduation .........
.......and now, as of last night, college graduation !!!! Matt and his girlfriend Brittany have both graduated from Penn State University with degrees in Aerospace Engineering !!!! We are SO proud of you !!!!!! They look very happy and dignified in this picture ......but 2 seconds later ......
Happy and a bit undignified !!!!....... LET THE CELEBRATING BEGIN !!!!!!!! WOOOO HOOOOOO !!!!!!!!
Coloring had ALWAYS been a favorite past time of mine !!! From my Barbie doll days (which actually lasted a little longer than they should have ..... I was a bit slow on the adolescent development scene) ....... through my college years ( coloring saved my sanity on more than one all nighter studying for finals marathon ........ UGH! ) ........ through my kids' child hoods (where I would beg my kids to please color another picture with mommy)....... and now , as a sanity saver through my endless hours of laptop work for the day job. Coloring has ALWAYS been one of my best therapies !!!!!I recommend it highly !!!!! Lately I prefer colored pencils to crayons ...... especially brand new ones right out of the box with the nice sharp points !!! (not like the ones in these pictures which have quite a few miles on them).
WHAT !!! Another week has gone by ??? (and I'm not getting any younger ! .... neither is this long suffering scrap project that I started back when "big hair" was in the first time ..... not really, just seems like it's been that long ......)
......I thought , since this is a hand piecing scrap project, it would (theoretically) fit in here and there throughout my work week (theoretically ......)
....here are some of the blocks I've made in the past ..... with lots of different scraps .... (I put in the last few stitches on that block in the bottom right corner of the picture just today when I was supposed to be doing something else .....)
This is the pattern I'm following: "Hexagon Chain" , a hand piecing pattern by Therese Wadell in Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine (volume 12, No2) ..... which was out at least 6 or 7 years ago.
.......and, I finished up the "machine quilt as you go" block I started last Sunday .... 
.....and here's what the quilting looks like on the back . I'm really tickled pink with how it came out !!!! I left about an inch unquilted all the way around the edges of the block so I have room to join it with other quilted blocks later (which I haven't tried yet ..... will let you know how that goes..... eventually !)
......AND, I started (barely ) another machine quilt as you go block from my "Sweetwater Noteworthy" scrap pile.