I seem to have real issues being committed to this blog.  The thing is, I want to be committed.  I want a great blog.  I want to be connected to all of my great blog friends.  So, what’s the problem?  Maybe it’s because I haven’t felt like I had a lot of crafty stuff to share, or maybe I’m just lazy.  Whatever the reasons (or excuses), I’m going to try again to be dedicated to this blog and to all of you.

Despite the layoff this summer, I am employed again at the university – in a slightly different role, but still fundraising.  I have a new office and new co-workers, but all in all, things are good.  It’s been a few months and I’m starting to settle in and get my feet back under me.  About two weeks after I started my new job, I found out I had kidney stones … in both kidneys.  I had to have two surgeries – they were both outpatient (they blasted the little suckers with shock waves), but it still required two bouts of general anesthesia.  Not fun.  It took me quite awhile to feel “normal,” but I think I’m there.  I have to change my diet a bit – avoid those foods that are high in oxalates (or at least consume them in moderation) and much to my dismay, black tea is one of the things I’ve chosen to eliminate.  I’m trying to find some herbal teas that I like and I’ve been drinking a little bit of coffee (disguised in a lot of milk and sugar).  Does anyone else think it’s strange that coffee is ok and tea isn’t?  I’m also trying to drink the recommended 12 glasses of water a day.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to drink that much water?  It’s a major commitment – I promise you that.

I managed to do a lot of crafting this summer – mostly quilting.  I made a queen size quilt for my guest room and gained a lot of confidence through the process.  I painted the guest room a dark slate blue and the bedding I had just didn’t work.  I’d had that particular bedding since college, and quite frankly it was time for a change anyway.  The pattern I chose was the Mixtape Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman.  It’s a great pattern, but the fabric requirement and the cutting directions for the sashing fabric for the queen size were incorrect.  It didn’t turn out to be a big deal, but I just had to seam the pieces to make it work.  Now that it’s quilted though, you really can’t tell.

I used a lot of asian-inspired fabrics which make the finished product kind of modern, but I think the white sashing makes it just traditional enough to fit into my house, plus it really helps brighten up the room.  I chose a greenish-yellow floral backing fabric and I picked it mostly because it’s some of that extra-wide backing fabric, so I didn’t have to seam it.  I’m lazy, but I think it works with the green colors in the blocks.

Now I need to get some nice sheets, a white bedskirt (finding a 21″ drop is a huge pain – any suggestions you have would really be appreciated), and some pillow shams.  I think I’ll use some of the scraps I have left over to make a couple of accent pillows to try to tie things together.  Re-decorating a room sure is expensive!

In the quilting arena, I’ve also made a cute lap quilt using some really funky Christmas prints – it’s at the quilter’s right now, but more on that to come.  I’m signed up for a paper piecing class this weekend – I’m going to learn how to paper piece and get a great Christmas tree skirt out of the deal (well, if all goes well it will be great, although it could just as easily be a bloody disaster).  I’ll let you know how it goes and since I’m trying to get back into this blogging business, I’ll take my camera and try to get some in-progress shots.

I’ve been teaching a few knitting classes (socks and hats mostly) and have a great sock in progress.

That reminds me, I’m not going to have enough yarn and I need to see if kpixie has any left (or even something close).  I e-mailed kpixie to see if might on the off chance have a single skein hanging out in their inventory, but I doubt I could be that lucky.  It seems like this always happens to me when I have the perfect yarn and a great pattern.

Ah well, if worse comes to worse the toes will be something wild and crazy.  It won’t be the end of the world.  If I have to go with a different color, what color do you think I should use for the toes?