Summer Plans... or ....

School is out for the summer and I have just begun to switch gears.. The last couple of weeks of school is full of finishing things up. The kids are excited and ready to be done and one races around getting this and that completed for the deadlines. Then you stop - suddenly it is over and the summer begins.

My husband is an amateur astronomer and he loves to watch all sorts of sky phenomena. These noctilucent clouds(commonly referred to as NLC) occur near the summer solstice or the early part of our summer. They make the coolest designs in the night sky and can only be seen at more northly latitudes.
So what does a girl do when she first begins summer break- first she sleeps a little, and reads and ponders what to do to get some things done in her time off. This pile of patterns were only a fraction of ones that I have gone through lately in search of the new project. I have fabrics chosen but not the pattern- My usual process is the opposite.. It has a bit of a time crunch so I better pick something soon and get making it..

Here in Canada, our postal workers were on strike recently but have now returned to work. On the first day we received mail, this great envelope of scraps came from Kate Spain who had hosted a giveaway of some of her latest cutoffs. I was one of the lucky ten who won a large envelope of strips. These are all from her line called Terrain. Thanks so much Kate for sharing your talents and your scraps.

Not long ago I went shopping on line- not intentionally but I saw the New Very Series of Eric Carle fabrics and it was a very good price - too good to pass up. I love his books and want to make the quilts for my classroom. His classic is "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". The shop- The Fat Quarter Shop is in Texas. Their prices are good and the fabric always comes protected and wrapped up so nicely. Their blog is the Jolly Jabber and often offers a giveaway of some sort. While I was there I added a few more Kaffe Fabrics to my collection and another piece of Sock Monkey fabric because it is perfect for a baby wrap. Do you have a favorite on line shop that you buy fabrics or do you just buy fabric locally? I have to say my preference is to buy locally for lots of reasons but I do buy some on line because of the prices and the variety that is available that I can't find locally.

A very kind lady Terry from her blog Aviya Glass sent me note and awarding me this Versatile blogger award.


Thank you Terry for your kind gesture and thoughtfulness. I am not very good at awards and I read so many fantastic blogs so I can not choose 7 bloggers. There are just too many deserving blogs that I enjoy reading.

However I will tell you 7 random things about me:
I am left handed and do not like left handed scissors- I can't make them work.
I have no middle name- my proper name is Anna Marie but rarely use it.
I am a prairie girl through and through and sometimes wish I could live in the country.
I hate making lists and do so only when I am feeling like I need to remember all the things I need to get done.
I have pockets of things that I organize but my filing system would be confusing to others.
I love children's books, soft toys like bears and jewelery.
My mother is a fabulous cook - she bakes, cans, makes jam and once upon a time made homemade fudge and donuts. I can cook but I am hopeless at most baked things and I long ago gave up on canning- I did not get her cooking gene. I would rather be quilting. LOL

Last week, before I finished school, I laid out my dad's quilt to spray baste it. See how it filled all my kids tables! I had a pair of great assistants(aka as fellow teachers) who helped me, and together, we got it and another quilt spray basted.

Now I best get to work on some other projects today..
I want to cut some charm squares to experiment with two block possibilities for my next project and finish my current book and..... do some laundry...
What about you - what are your summer plans?
Happy Fourth of July to my American friends and family,
Warmest regards,
Anna