I have been working on the T-Shirt quilt. The quilt top is currently on the long arm and quilting is in progress. It is slow going. Although the t-shirts were stabilized with fusible interfacing, quilting across them is challenging. When quilting over the logos, you have to slow right down or you end up with skipped stitches. This is a picture of one of the blocks.

I see that I have been tagged by Mary.

Mary mentioned that she wasn’t very good at these things – I am not so sure I am very good at this either. I have picked dates that are significant to me and have not necessarily stuck to the 20-15-10-5 “rule”. Here goes…………

All That History

25 years ago (1981) – I married the love of my life. We celebrate 25 years of marriage this May.

20 years ago (1986) – My son was born. Matt is the computer “techie” of the family and the one who repairs his Mother’s computer when it collides with a nasty virus in cyber space.

18 years ago (1988) – My daughter was born. Dana graduates from High School this year. There is a lot of excitement in the house these days as we get closer to that event.

17 years ago (1989) – I started working on my professional accounting designation.

9 years ago (1997) – I started quilting. I needed something to balance my life. All that studying and learning about accounting and finance was suppressing my creative spirit. Let’s face it – the world is not too tolerant of a “creative” accountant.

7 years ago (1999) – I graduated from the Certified General Accountants Association. What a long haul – 10 years of study, work experience while simultaneously raising a family. It was worth it though. I had a friend many years ago who was pregnant with her first child when her partner died suddenly. He had not divorced his wife and so the wife received the benefits of the estate and my friend and her new baby were left with nothing. She ended up moving back with her parents and taking a job washing dishes in a restaurant. She had never worked and had no education past Grade 12. What an eye opener! I vowed that I would never allow myself to end up in such a state. That year I set about getting an education and a career. I am now in a profession that is in great demand.

6 years ago (2000) – I started working for the Federal Government. I work in a correctional facility as the Chief of Finance.

1 year ago (2005) – I moved to the next “level” of quilting with the purchase of my long arm quilting machine.

Yesterday – It was a beautiful spring day here and I was able to devote the entire day to quilting as the sun streamed in the window of my studio. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Today – After work today, my daughter and I went for a walk with the dog to my parents’ house and back. The total walking time was just under an hour. This is the start of our commitment to regular exercise and a healthier lifestyle–for my daughter, myself, and the dog.

Tagging: I am tagging Hanne. I am of Norwegian descent and would love to hear about Hanne’s life in Norway.

I have been working off and on on a T-Shirt Quilt for a customer. It is now a completed top and I will be loading it on the long arm this afternoon.

There have been many interruptions in my quilting related to a heavy workload in my day job so I haven’t been doing much quilting lately. (Sometimes work gets in the way of quilting.) Hopefully, the worst is over and I can get back to doing what I love!

Back in January, my mother and I took my daughter out grad dress shopping. We found the perfect dress and ordered it. We received a call last week that the dress had arrived and my daughter could go in and try it on. It is almost a perfect fit. We have an appointment in May for the few alterations that are required.

Doesn’t she look pleased?

I was reading Vicky’s blog about the price of gas in California. Vicky paid $3.159 per US gallon for fuel. If it helps, Vicky, this is such a deal!

$3.159 per US gallon works out to 83 cents per litre. This morning, I paid $1.094 per liter for fuel. That works out to $4.19 per US gallon.

(I haven’t factored into this equation the conversion of US dollars to Canadian dollars so the gap will shrink a bit. Gas is definitely more expensive in Canada than the US.)

According to the news, the high price of gasoline is here to stay for a while. The following cartoons were sent to me by a friend and seem quite timely.