Needles and Pens

What? Two posts in one week??? I haven't managed that in awhile. But before time gets away from me again, I wanted to get in an update on the scrappy cowboy quilt I was making for my niece, Annie (of Decorator in a Box ). She had chosen the fabrics and the scrappy layout, and the top was almost finished when I last posted... And just in time for a 4th of July visit from Annie and family, the quilt was finished! She'll be giving it to her friend back in Texas, as a special gift for her baby boy. I ran a little short on the cowboy print for the back, but had just enough of the buffalo plaid flannel left over to piece in the extra length: It's quilted with a gold thread similar to blue jean stitching, all diagonal crosshatching, except for two "blocks" that seemed perfect for quilted cowboy boots. Can you see the boot? I had a hard time getting a picture to show it off. Here's a closeup that shows the borders: And some of the crosshatching: ...

I know, I know... I'm SO behind! I have to apologize to anyone who has been following along on this challenge. My May project (the kitchen) dragged into June and my June project (the deck and front porch) barely got started before it was July. The July project should be #8 (in case you've been wondering), the garage, but I think I'm going to pass on that one and try to get the kitchen finished before I dig into anything else. Meanwhile, I do have a few progress pictures to share. I'm still working on it. Really, I am! Last week, we finally got our kitchen floor done. Here's the "before:" It doesn't look so bad in the picture, but it actually had lots of nicks and cuts in it, a seam right through the middle of the room, and the surface was so worn down, there was no getting it really clean anymore. Here's the new tile: Such a big change, it's taken some getting used to, but it's definitely growing on me. And... we got a new o...