Raining Again

I am including some photos of a table topper I made. Norma showed us this magic pinwheel technique at one of our ASG meetings. The first photo is the piece sewn with some of the cutting already done. The other photo is the finished project. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do a larger quilt some day using this technique. All the fabrics were from my stash. That is always a good feeling to be able to use stuff you already have.
The weather here has been back and forth from cool, almost cold to summer every couple of days. Fortunately we have been spared the tornadoes that have hit elsewhere so I guess I shouldn't complain too much. The rain is good but I can't get to my garden to plant my tomatoes because it is so wet.
Putting some rolled edges on fabric ties that are used when decorating for weddings at the barn near me. It is using a lot of thread. Bought out all my local JoAnn's store had and had to go to another one to get more. Found some great flannels to make blankets for a friend's new grandbaby up at Sew 'n' Save in Racine WI. Was up there yesterday for Pattie Otto's embroidery club. As usual she had some great ideas.
Lauren finished her purse! She needs to get some cardboard or plastic canvas to stiffen the bottom and sew up the lining but otherwise she is done. Katie finished the facing on her round neck blouse with just a few mishaps and has sewn the side seams. Meghan cut out her ruffle skirt and started on the zigzagging. Julia sewed up her side seams on her nightshirt and started with the hems.
Did a 12 mile run on rolling hills Saturday with my daughter. Had to take a few bathroom breaks, we are still trying to figure this all out. After that it was work in our vegetable plot and then on to our son's new home to help him with his yard work. Spent 3 hours pulling weeds and only got a small section done. He has some nice stuff going on but it was neglected for too long. Sunday my hubby and I rode our bikes from Old School forest preserve to the Robert McClory bike path to the Botanic Gardens and then back up the Skokie Valley path. In all we rode about 30 miles. Sunny but windy. Much nicer than last week's ride. Forgot the sunscreen so I am sunburned now. Can't wait to see what this weekend brings;-)

Breathe Deep Event

This is my table from the Breathe Deep Event in Mundelein on Saturday, May 14th. It was a nice turnout with quite a few vendors. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I was busy enough I didn't have a chance to check out what the other vendors were offering. Thanks to JoAnne Lenart-Weary I was able to have a power point slide show running on my computer to help spark some conversation. I will be contacting the winner from my raffle later today. I also met with a real estate agent who had some interesting concepts. I hope she calls to talk more as our conversation was cut short by the need to go in to the brunch.
In class Lauren is making good progress on her purse, Katie finished her zigzagging on her round neck blouse and sewed the shoulder seams and facing in place. Meghan finished her purse. Even with the poor directions it turned out really cute. She is so proud of it. Julia got her facing in her nightshirt with only a few mishaps. She can't wait to sew the side seams so "her underwear won't show". Summer camps are starting to fill up so if you are thinking about it get your registration in soon.
Got a call yesterday from a friend that wants some baby blankets made. I had made some for her grandson as a gift when he was born and her daughter-in-law liked them so much she wants more for her next baby. I just have to remember how I made the first ones :-)
Did my 10 mile run Saturday afternoon after the Breathe Deep Event. It was cold, windy and rainy at times but the run went well. Sunday's Prairie Pedal bike ride was in slightly worse weather. Not too bad when on the roads but the time on the gravel trails was awful. In some places the gravel was so loose I had to walk the bike because I couldn't get any traction. After about 20 some miles I said I couldn't face another set of hills against the wind so we headed for the lunch. It was very good as usual and the hot chocolate was a nice touch. In all we did 23 miles. Another treadmill workout on Monday, it went a little better than the last one.

What Happened to Spring?

As I sit here writing this blog the temperature is close to 80 and it is only 9AM. It is also muggy out there. It seems like we went from winter to summer. But not to worry because I think it is only supposed to be 50 and rainy and windy on Sunday when we are doing the Prairie Pedal. Oh what joy it is to ride 27 miles in the cold and rain and wind.
Our rest week is over from after the race. On Monday we had a speed workout on the treadmill that saw me stepping off to the side a couple of times just to catch my breath. I signed my daughter and I up for the North Shore Half on June 12th so we are committed once again to this. I think Lauri wants us to be even faster this race. What have I gotten us into? Yesterday when I was doing CompuTrainer and was having a hard time in one segment I thought to myself if Lauri could do the whole 26.2 miles of the run (after doing the bike and swim well) in the Ironman in St. George, Utah with a chest cold and not being able to take a deep breath, I can pedal for another 2 minutes. It took her 6 hours, I can last for a few minutes. What a great inspiration for a coach.

The Christening dress is done. The mom picked it up yesterday and she was just delighted. There should be enough fabric left to make her daughter's First Communion dress in about 7 years. I am looking forward to the challenge. Just had a call from someone who needs 10 blankets monogrammed. We need to set up an appointment and I will get started on those.
Started a pair of bathroom curtains yesterday, just simple white cafes for someone who liked the other ones I did for her but was tired of the color.
In sewing class, I found out two of my girls that took a break to sew costumes for a school play won't be coming back this school year. I will miss them but it means the two new girls will be able to stay until June now so they are very excited. Lauren continues to work on her purse, Katie finished cutting out her round neck blouse and started the zigzagging, Meghan is working on her purse. The directions are difficult for me to understand at times and it is a learn to sew pattern. Not sure who designed this pattern and instructions. Julia finished her zigzagging on her nightshirt and has the shoulder seams sewn. She wanted to sew the side seams right away but I had to explain to her that you need to follow the steps in the right order so things go together properly.
I had a great phone consult with JoAnne Lenart-Weary on Friday. She helped me with several ideas for a show I am doing on Saturday.

I Did It!!!

My goal for the year was to run a half-marathon in under 2 hours. My fastest prior to this was 2:06 so I needed to take off at least 6 minutes which didn't seem like a lot but it was. My daughter and I have been working with Lauri from TFP since January. I then hurt myself shoveling the record snow fall we had in February and had to stop running for a few weeks. My hubby and I drove to Nashville on Thursday morning and my daughter and her husband came down after they finished teaching on Thursday. On Friday we picked up our packets at the expo and got our corral changed to a lower number so that we would be running with others trying for a two hour finish. We were unable to get to a port-a-potty prior to the start of the race because of the very long lines. That led to some issues during the race that I won't discuss here;-). We were doing well at the 10 mile mark and said if we can keep up this pace we will make it. At mile 12 with another hill to run we lost it. We finally had to walk some and I thought at that time we had blown our chance of getting in under the two hour mark. We were holding hands and crying but then we made it to the top and there was a band playing 'Johnny be Good" and that got the adrenaline flowing again and I picked up my pace. In my mind I thought 'Okay I will try to get as close to 2 hours as I can'. As I was rounding the last corner I got a cramp in my right calf. As I was swearing under my breath I poured it on as best I could and limped over the finish line. The clock read 2:05 something so I knew I was close. When I finally found my hubby and daughter at the end I found out I had made it at 1:59:29. I Did It!!! My daughter also made it with a time of 1:59:57! I couldn't believe it. But all the hard work paid off and we accomplished our goal. In my age group I was 32 out of 855. I have never placed that high. It was worth the effort but I am still sore several days later but Lauri says that is to be expected as we really pushed our bodies hard. She will give us a week or two to recover and then it is time to train for the next race. I don't know if I am excited or dreading the next race.
In cleaning out the back area of the basement, so far I have a stack of boxes for Salvation Army plus an ironing board and a display rack. There is also a microwave oven to go. Hopefully I will have it finished in another month or two.

In class, Lauren is working along on her purse, Katie made her belt and started cutting out her round neck blouse, Meghan is working on her purse and Julia finished cutting out her nightshirt and will start the zigzagging next week. I have three girls signed up for my beginning sewing camp in June. It should be fun.
I have finished the Christening gown from a wedding dress and also made a muscle shirt out of an oversized t-shirt. This week I have a coaching session scheduled for Friday with JoAnne Lenart-Weary for my Color with No Regrets business. Today is my luncheon with my CEO advisory group. I am looking forward to sharing all I have accomplished since our last meeting.
We are finally having a little bit of spring here. I have included some pictures to counteract those with the snow from a couple of weeks ago.