Laurie's quilt is in Time Out again.....

Okay, here is a progress report on the Even More Tipsy Butterflies and Wonky Hearts.....At this rate, the weather will be too hot for her to use the butterfly quilt by the time I get it done. :(

I exaggerate, but still.........Sigh! I did an entire side of the butterflies and hearts border tonight.....and I'm in need of so much P3 (practice, practice, practice!) that its just not funny. The quilting will serve a purpose, and keep the batting from shifting, but I'm not really happy with the appearance of the stitching. I am not yet able to truly control the quilt movement enough as I move it under the hopping foot. I think I'm fine-tuning what I "enjoy" in quilting, and free-motion quilting while sitting down is not on the list. In retrospect, I wonder if I should have just pinned the quilt back onto the frame, one side at a time, and used the machine on the frame, to follow the border design....I might have had better control/results.

Never the less, I am down to only one side left to go, and hopefully I can then bind it and get it to Laurie and she can curl up with Billy and watch a movie with it!

Michael and I went out for an adventure this afternoon. He initially billed it as a "hot date" to get my attention, but we downgraded it to an "adventure" as soon as he told me what we were doing. One of the many projects we have going on right now is the rehabbing of an old car that has been used/abused and we want to eventually sell it. But first it needs a lot of "stuff".....Like a windshield, for starters, and a headliner, since a couple of sodas exploded inside of it one hot day, and everywhere on the ceiling that coke splattered? it rotted the fabric away. I'm familiar with the stories about how Coke eats away at things....and this proves it!

Also, whenever we are out in that car, whoever is driving has to walk around the outside of the car and let the passengers out.....as it is missing some inside door handles. (I have no idea why.) So today, we went to the Car Cemetary....
















Mr. B. thought this would be a swell way to pick up a couple of handles, cheap. And we do love cheap in this family. Why, look at the grin on his face over a marked-down sun-dried tomato-flavored turkey breast he found at Ralph's,
















and the toilet paper he scored at less than 42 cents a roll......















No! Instead, look at those beautifully finished cabinets behind him! But, I digress.

I do that a lot. Senior moments and all that.

Anyway, we searched not one, but two separate car cemetaries (Pick-Your-Part lots), and came away empty-handed. Actually, I was surprised at how hard it was to locate the type of car you were looking for. Umm....what was that car....back in its day?
















Tell me, can you identify those white cars on the left??















But the trip was not wasted....We stopped at M&L Fabrics on the way home and I grabbed yards and yards and yards of fabric in a white-on-white design for the back of the checkerboard quilt. On the way into the store, I admonished Mr. B. to make sure I didn't get carried away. It is, after all, a really huge fabric store. I resolutely headed back towards the white-on-white section, and then promptly got side-tracked by a row of florals. And instead of pulling me along by my ear, Mr. B. started pointing out some patriotic prints he "really, really liked......that one, and That One, and......oh I really like that one!!" I had the strangest feeling of deja vu.....it was the same reaction he had in the Michael's Craft Store the last time I was there with him! He wasn't making sure I behaved....he was enabling me! He even paid!! :)

Far be it from me to complain! I got the white-on-white, and then tossed in about three yards of a white-on-beige. Then, I got points for being frugal myself, today, by stopping at Joann's and scoring rotary blades at 40% off! Yay!

So at the end of our adventure, I went on ebay and found the two car door handles, for $7.95 (for the pair!) plus shipping. Mission accomplished!

I went upstairs and went a few rounds with the uncooperative butterfly quilt, and then after putting it in Time Out, I cut and assembled a test square for a quick rail fence I'm doing for a friend of Mr. B's, whose wife has cancer. I don't know her favorite colors, but I'm hoping the green and blue and the garden print are appealing and brighten her days as she undergoes treatment.

Karene was emphatic about wanting to see what it looked like, even though it is the simplest of all patterns.....so here it is. ;)















This Saturday is the first Saturday Sampler! Whooohooo! Karen and I are looking forward to the challenge! However, to increase my chances of doing well, I plan to attend the instruction session on Saturday and then make the square in class with Teacher Extraordinaire on Sunday!! Heh-heh!! Ellen told me that Ann did that last year and I remember seeing some of her squares - they were beautiful!

It's late and I am Le Tired. Tomorrow.....(as I cross my fingers).....I will conquer the Last Side of the Butterflies and Hearts!