My passion

I know, from the number of posts on the subject you think it is genealogy; but, tonight anyway, it is cross stitching! Or anyway, the desire to own all the good magazines on the subject from around the world since I discovered some surfing the internet tonight. Look closely at the picture to the right and you will see two, yes, two magazines I had never heard of before: Susanna and Maxxina. So I have added to my wish list magazines like these. How will I get a hold of them? How much do they really cost? (the website had prices in euros, so if you know how many dollars it takes to make a euro let me know) Why do I not need to be able to read the language to own these magazines (a question Angela had)? And, of course, how long must I wait before I can afford to begin the pursuit of owning at least one issue of each of these magazines (for the connossieur, they are Le Idee di Susanna, Maxxina, At Home With Needlework, Borduurblad, and possibly, Punto Croce Facile)? These are just the ones I discovered tonight. Just think of all the different magazines there are out there that I still do not know about! I am going to need a bookcase just for them.

Well, so maybe I am the only cross stitch magazine enthusiast in these parts, but surely you have something you are passionate about which other people find a bit over-zealous?

My quilt

Here is the quilt Mom and I worked on over Christmas. I've taken it off the frame and brought it home with me but I haven't worked on it since. There's a lot of quilting to be done as we didn't quite quilt all around on the outside row of squares. The nine patch squares I am just "stitching in the ditch" which means I stitch in the seams, which outlines each square nicely. The blue squares I am quilting a butterfly on:



The pink squares have a flower:



I already have another quilt top made, one for a baby boy, but I still need to piece the border and sew it on. Then I've been cutting the pieces for a second baby boy quilt (same fabrics as the first, different pattern). Well, actually, I haven't cut any pieces in months. And I have enough fabric (no kidding) to make a third baby boy quilt using yet another pattern. The one that has the top done is just all nine patch blocks. The fabrics I used are SO cute! The one I've been cutting out is for a pinwheel pattern. The one I have yet to do anything on will be a tile block quilt. Which will have a lot of sewing, but I think it will be really cute. I started the first one (which, when I bought the fabric I thought it would only make one quilt) for my brother Scott's baby, who is now one year old. I don't think I'll get it done for the baby Dan and his wife are having either. So Andy and Angela, I guess that means one of you has to have a kid for me to have someone to give these quilts to (I guess each of you needs to have a boy and Dan or Scott need another one). Well, anyway, I guess I can always donate them to charity or something if for some miraculous reason people in this family start having girls.