Nine down, one to go

I can hardly believe we only have one week left in the one-a-day nine-patch quilt-along.

Here are my week nine blocks:

Painting, softball, and an ouch

I've got two paintings in progress right now. Both are pictured above and both are "cross" projects. I'm trying out canvas boards for the first time. Compared to stretched canvas over a frame, this is basically just canvas stuck to a flat board. So far so good. Plus, they are less expensive.

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Starting Friday evening, Corey will be playing America's largest non-profit, one weekend, slow pitch softball tournament - and also one of Bismarck's busiest times of the year. That's right - it's McQuade's weekend. I'll be appearing as the loyal scorekeeper and photographer. Stay tuned for a recap.

If any of my friends or family want to join me in the bleachers and cheer on the team, leave me a comment and I'll let you know when and where they are playing.

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Weak stomach warning:

I had a bit of a kitchen accident yesterday. Basically I was doing something dumb. And then slipped. And the pairing knife I was using went into my thumb, right under the thumb nail. And then came out about half way to my cuticle. It cut my finger along my nail too.

It hurt.

Bad.

But in all honesty, it actually sounds worse than it feels. In fact, it doesn't hurt much today. Certainly not as bad as I'd think it should hurt. According to on of the nuns/nurses I work with, I most likely damaged the nerve. That explains the lack of pain.

Any bets on when/if my nail will fall off? or when my thumb nail will look "normal" again?

If you are brave, click here to see it.

Week eight

More red and green for the one-a-day quilt-along.

The blocks look so merry and bright.

Hello summer

Yesterday we spent time in the yard and on the river.

Today Corey is spending time on the golf course and I'm spending time painting and sewing (and of course, blogging).

Here is our Saturday in photos ...

Pretty green fern.

Peony. Still so beautiful.

A sunny Saturday afternoon spent floating in Marina Bay, in Mandan, ND.

Having a boat (or in our case, knowing someone with a boat) is fabulous.

Having a cold beverage is fabulous too.

Having friends is fun. At one point, these folks had 10 boats tied together.

Such a great day.

Pretty in pink

Our yard has a very pretty in pink look about it right now. Even though not much is blooming yet, what is blooming is pink and proud.

A peony bosh in our yard is blooming. The flowers are so big and so vibrant.

There's more where that came from ...

Pink and yellow - what a wonderful combination.

And these little pink puffs. I like these.

And then there were 49

Somehow I finished another seven blocks this week, bringing my total to 49. So if I wanted to, I could stop now and have a 7 blocks by 7 blocks, square quilt. 

Hmm. 

Nope, I think I'll stick with the group and keep going. I want a big, snugly, cozy Christmas quilt.

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In weather news ... it rained all day. We got another two to three inches of rain but so far we're still dry, thank goodness. Many roads were flooded and some manhole covers were popping up - apparently that's really dangerous. I hope to never experience a popping manhole cover.

Tiny boat

This weekend I put this finishing touches on the painting for my grandparent's river cabin.

I'm calling this one "tiny boat."

Thanks for the "add a boat" advice Grandma Katy!

Another few layers

A few days ago my latest painting looked like this. Then i added a few more layers of paint and some other details.

Now it looks like this. I like it but I think it still might need a little something. Maybe a tiny boat on the horizon? Or a palm? Or a sunset? Or clouds?

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This weekend is one of my tummy's favorite weekends of the year - Bismarck's RibFest. Check it out.

Photo taken by me at the event last year.

Pretty green colors

My chive plant bush is getting ready to bloom. I know I'm supposed to cut the flowers off if I don't want chives overrunning my garden, but they look too pretty to chop off. The combination of the greens and pink/purple is surprisingly lovely.

When I moved into this house, I planted a little plum tree. For the past four years, I've been wishin' for plums. This is the first year my plum tree is growing what look like the beginnings of plums. Now if only the birds will leave them alone, we might have plums this summer. I'll be sure to update my plum status again soon.

My grandma gave me a whole stack of hand-me-down canvasses, with the deal that I paint her one. So here it is - in the works. I'm making it for my grandparent's cantina (fancy garage on the river). I think it will eventually have the look of turquoise ocean meets sky. I sprinkled Kosher salt on the wet paint to give it some texture. And hey, it's supposed to have the "beachy" look, so why not add some salt?!

I've painted two layers of color so far. I think I'll add one more before making it look like something.

42 down

Tomorrow, Monday, April 8, marks the 42nd day of the one-a-day 9-patch quilt along.

Here are the week six blocks.

I wanted to see all 42 blocks together to see how well they all get along.

So far so go, I think. In the finished quilt, I will alternate the blocks so the primarily red/green blocks will be every-other (red, green, red, green ...). As you can see in this photo, I accidently had a few green blocks in a row. oops.

Each of the blocks will be sashed in white.

Think it has a Christmas look to it?

Speaking of Christmas, it snowed here yesterday. It never stuck to the ground, but there was definitely frozen stuff falling from the sky. A town less than an hour west of here had three inches of snow. Remind me again, is it really June?

Week five

I'm lagging behind but only by a five days. There blocks are for week five (which ended Monday) for the 9-block one-a-day quilt along hosted by crazymomquilts. This brings my grand total to 35 blocks.

Check out weeks 1-4.

Good thing I had a rainy day to catch up.

A change of seasons

Last week I took this photo near Fox Island, in Bismarck, ND. I was amazed at how much has changed with the season. Just over two moths ago, this was all underwater and the homes in the area were flooded. But now this area is lush and beautiful.

The photo was taken on Thursday - it was a beautiful spring day with perfect little puffy clouds.

This is our weather forecast ... today we have a chance of rain ... and snow. SNOW?! It's June!

This weekend we're trying to keep ourselves busy indoors. I'm wondering when I'm going to get to wear my new swimming suit.

For the time being, I think quilting is in order. And then maybe some pinochle.

Colorful crosses

This week I finished the colorful crosses painting.

Ever since I finished the "Six Crosses" quilt, I've been rather preoccupied with crosses. The shape is so simple and it's easy to work with. Yet, the cross represents a huge amount of meaning. It's fascinating. 

So this painting is probably one of many cross paintings I will do. I may even make another cross quilt or two. I really like this one and this one and this one.

The method of painting I used is something I learned in art class during my first year of college at the Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, CA. It's not too complicated – it's just repeating a simple design or shape over and over (and over and over ...). I like the effect it gives. It's also interesting to do it with just black and white or black, white and one color. 

Oh I have so many projects I would like to do ...