Hyena In Petticoats: Cathedral Window Quilt Tutorial

Hyena In Petticoats: Cathedral Window Quilt Tutorial

I am absolutely in love with this quilt and pattern!  It is definitely my next project.

Lake Chicot

My husband and I went to Lake Chicot over the last few days to have an end of the summer getaway. We wanted to fish a little because that is what Lake Chicot is known for, and we just got our bass boat running again. Unfortunately, mid to late July is not a good time to fish. So, needless to say, no fish were caught...not even a nasty ol'catfish. However, our cabin was very nice and comfy. Just being away from home in a different place was nice. We will probably try to go back in the fall when the fishing is a little better. Lake Chicot is a beautiful little oxbow lake off the Mississippi River. I was pretty impressed with how pretty it was. This trip was my first ever visit to the lake. The facilities at the state park where we stayed were very clean and well maintained. The park store and bait shop had everything you'd need and then some. There was also a really awesome pool with a nice kid area. We had passes to swim in the pool that came with our cabin rental, but my husband is not big on swimming in public pools. So, no pool for me. :(   Anyhow, here a couple of pics of the lake and our cabin.

Summer Summary

Well...I've not done much in the way of arts and crafts this summer.  I've been working on school work much more than I ever have in a summer.  With two new preps to plan for, I've been working on curriculum like crazy!

However, I did manage to finally finish a colleague's T-shirt quilt for her son. Here are some photos of the final product.  I think it turned out well.

 I still have one more T-shirt quilt to make for her, but it will be a few more months before I can get to it.  The next one will be a little smaller in size...probably, more like a twin size quilt.

I also completed one scrapbook type project, too.  As I was working on the curriculum stuff for school, I got ridiculously tired of seeing the same old lesson plan book cover day in and day out.  So, I pulled out some old scrapbooking paper I had left over from a long ago cookbook project, and whipped up this cover design.

Not bad for a non-scrapbooking girl, if I do say so myself!  It sure beats looking at the plain old blue and white design from the factory!
















Yesterday, while storing away some "junk" for my art room and projects, I came across this old cow doll my grandmother made years ago for me when I was a little girl.  I totally forgot about it.  My grandmother is such an awesome seamstress.  Her craftsmanship blows me away!  I wish I had the patience to make some thing like this from scratch and it look this nice!  She made every part of this doll.  The doll itself and the clothing.  Totally, awesome, right?!  I put it in the washer yesterday on my handwash setting because it had been setting up in the garage for at least four years now.  It needed a good cleaning.  It will rest in my sewing room atop an old bookshelf that holds all my fabrics.  I figured it deserved a better home than the dusty old garage.

New Loom, Past Due Quilt

 

A few weeks ago I bought this new quilting loom. It is very different from quilting with a hoop. The quilt on it now is one that I should have had finished months ago. It belongs to a former coworker. The T-shirts belong to her son.  Once finished, it should measure to the size a full size quilt. Lately, I've had very few moments to work on it. Today, I've been able to spend a few hours on it. So, now, I only have about 1 1/2 rows left!  I'm hoping it will be complete by the end of the week. I have three other quilts I really need to move onto. So, that's my goal this week: finish the T-shirt quilt!! 

Year's End

Today is the second to last day of school, and my second to last day at BJH.  I've been a teacher at BJH for six years.  Although that is quite a bit of time, it doesn't really feel like that long ago that I started my career there.  Over time, I have slowly built up what I believe to be a fairly decent art program.  This year, I finally got an Adv. Art I Class separate from Reg. Art I, and an Art History class for students who just needed to get their art credit out of the way for high school graduation.  As I was grading Adv. Art I portfolios last weekend, I came across these little jewels from this year.  I do believe this has been one of the most talented group of 9th graders I have ever taught.  A great year to end with at the junior high!

 Below is the best altered book that I have ever had a student create in one of my art I classes.  This particular student is so incredibly talented!  I am so fortunate that she is going to be in my art II class next year! :)

Long Time Coming

So....yeah....it's been a while since I've posted on here. School started back MONTHS ago, and my blog post aspirations ended with it. BUT...only 17 days (counting weekends) until the end of school is near, and summer vacation will reign supreme!! Woohoo!! 

I have not had time to do much creating this year. I have made a baby quilt for my good friend, Gaile, and a serving tray for my mother-in-law. I am still working on a tshirt quilt for a coworker that I hope to have finished soon. I have pictures posted below. Hopefully I can post more pics of the finished tshirt quilt soon.