The Common Culprit, or "All Who Wander..."

I recently got a most surprising and sweet email. It was from someone who was reading my blog last summer. When I was writing a blog. She wondered what had happened to me. She was checking, hoping I was fine. Wow.

I can't tell you what a quandary I've been in. I love my blog. I love all the quilty and crafty blogs I read (pronounced red).

But before I get lost! again. I have to inject that I love the movie, You've Got Mail! I cannot count how many times I've watched it--and who would be interest anyway. I command you that if you haven't ever seen this movie, get it, view it, feel happy. Repeat anytime you want to feel happy.

Not my husband...too old.

One more thing, but those who read my blog know, I digress. My husband still gets his email through AOL! It was the big thing in the 80's--1980's not 1880's! I swear sometime my hubby is
buried back in the 1940's, a decade he loves. We just got cell phones. I was getting a newer one, but get this! Hubby was getting his first!

Meanwhile back at the ranch!

I've written a couple of people who posted a lot online at a quilting board. No one ever answered. But I really wondered what happened to them. And now my friend emailed me. And then...the quandary.

One side is I absolutely adore blogging and quilting. Put that together and you've got the charisma of peanut butter and jelly!

On the other side, I teach and am so dang busy and worn out that I hardly quilt during the school year. Now I love blogging almost as much as I love quilting.

My last four months---is that all it's been? It feels like years! I've been like this:

That's me there waving my arm! Help! Help! How do I get out?

So we come to the common culprit of where have I been and why haven't I been blogging.

I'm amazed how worn out I am at the beginning of a school day.
It takes me an hour to hour-and-a-half to write an average sized blog.
That's too much time.
All summer I kept thinking of how I can continue blogging for 10 months of the year.
I thought of a plan, but August came, and the big tsunami wave hit me and I did have a brain cell left to think of the plan.

Then the email.
Somebody cared.
Someone who actually liked my blog.

It's all you really need, you know. I was so energized that I decided to put the plan in to action. I have time in the evening if I don't watch all the hours of TV. Actually I don't watch that much and most of it is from Netflix or Amazon. Then there's baseball and basketball. But I digress.

Thank you, my blogging friend. You got me going.

Maybe someday I will share how miserable teaching school is. Actually I love my students, it's all the other stuff.

But here I am! I could give all of you a great big hug.

Now to make it official:

I can't display what I'm working on right now because it's a secret.

But I have been doing a L/E with it. L/E = Leader/Ender. Bonnie Hunter is one of two of my quilting muses. While you're working on one quilt, you start each block (etc) at the sewing machine with a piece of another project, then end with another piece of project. You're making two quilts at a time.

I'm working on a Bonnie quilt called Sister's Choice. It's scrappy. I started out with colors I had used in another quilt: Log Cabin Neighborhood.

It's 20x20.

Then as I started pulling out scraps and sewing them into nine-patches, I thought: I shouldn't make something in the same colors. I decided to liven it up! I added turquoise and purple into the mix. Now I don't know how it's going to turn out. But in for a dime, in for a dollar!

Here's Bonnie's Sister's Choice Quilt:

Ain't it purty?

Here are 5 of my blocks. It takes 140 nine patches that are 10" finished with the outer part of the block. I've got 145 done. Chug, chug, chug.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Boy Howdy. If you ever want to know if you've gotten all the little threads off a nine-patch, just scan it in on your computer. Those little buggers show up mud on a white carpet!

Now proudly announcing:
I'm hooking up with these wonderful blogs to share my stuff. Mosey over and look at their stuff!
(Badges in right column!)

Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday
Show and Tell Tuesday
Linky Tuesday
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced
We Did It Wednesday