I’m still here. I’ve been back in Bozeman since Wednesday and caught a terrible cold as a parting gift from Tejas. It was to be expected, in fact I’m surprised I haven’t gotten sick sooner, but I really haven’t been sick in the hacking/wheezing way since I left New York. At least, not that I can remember.

I am so excited to be reunited with my Bernina. Paul dropped her off for the birthday cleaning while I was gone and we went and picked her up this weekend. I dove into my scrap pile to start experimenting for an upcoming project, or rather, large undertaking, that I am planning. It was fun to play, and here’s the block I came up with.

Making this spurred me to go through my fabric. All my scraps seem to be too repetitive so I set aside many fat quarter sized pieces to be cut into strips. I almost always quilt improvisationally anyway, and I needed to add new stuff to the mix. I straightened my shelves and thought I was awesome at reducing the amount of crap until I turned around and saw the huge stack of fabric I’d forgotten about on the ironing board. Now my floor looks like this. Oh well. I think I’m going to organize another scrap swap soon– once I am feeling human again. So stay tuned for that.

Otherwise I’ve been working on this lovely Drop Stitch Scarf (free pattern!), which I found on Ravelry to use with my very fun yarn from Hill Country Weavers. I hung out with the Naughty Secretary herself, Jen Perkins, while I was in Austin and she took me to this yarn mecca that I somehow always miss when I visit. I had a hard time deciding on anything but two skeins of this in the sale section made me say, “Yes Please!”. You can read more about the shop on Craftstylish. I had a super great time with Jen, by the way, she took me to some of her favorite thrifts, then we ate mexican food, gossiped and shopped. It was a very welcome escape!

And last but not least, since I’ve been neglecting this blog, I thought I’d introduce you to Paul’s sketchbook blog, in case you’re so inclined. Paul is my boyfriend,  in case you haven’t been paying attention, and he’s been sketching up a storm. He’s drawing every building on Main Street in downtown Bozeman, and the results are pretty amazing. Below is another of his sketches, which he drew from his truck (it’s cold!). Check out more of his work over at Three Letter Word for Art. And please feel free to leave him comments!

p.s. Thank you so much for all of your kind comments about my upcoming book. I am as excited to see it in print as you are!