Random

There are two things I am realllly excited about:

1 - Being accepted into do. Good Stitches, a charity bee I've been wanting to join for some time now! A spot has opened up for me and I'll begin stitching with the my circle in September! Using my craft to benefit others has been a part of what I do for ages, and this is just another {fun} way to do that. 

and

2 - Dots Swap! being hosted by Snippets of Sweetness and I! See details on the swap here! Sure would love to have you join us in this summer bee!

Unfortunately, I don't have a finish to show for Finish It Up! Friday with Fashioned by Meg. But I have made progress on other projects (uh-oh!). I've really enjoyed working on my blocks for the Summer Sampler Series Quilt Along. Two are done and the third tutorial came out this morning, so this project is coming along nicely.

I've made great strides on my blocks for the Scrapbuster Swap. Besides stitching up a sample blocks, I have the hst all made and trimmed for the other blocks.

Sewing the hst together should be quicker than making them! Good thing, as the deadline is looming!

And I did hear that my Central Park II quilt is on the frame! That's very good news, so it should be home by Tuesday or so.

I was thrilled to hear that Tiffany of This Crafty Fox received Mini-Swoon and put some very nice pictures on her blog (here). She seems honestly pleased to have won Mini-Swoon, so that makes me very happy!

I've been thinking about some of the things I've learned since I started blogging. Now I've been sewing since I was a teenager, and quilting for a couple of decades, but I did not know . . .

to trim block ears - This was not something I learned in my beginning quilting class!
solid is a valid choice - Like for a whole quilt! This has been eye-opening to me.
"sewist" is a word - Though it is not in dictionary.com! Apparently it's a combination of the words sewer and artist. Real word or no, I guess I am one!
html code - Seriously, who knew this would be a part of quilt blogging!? There is a definite learning curve here.
flickr is an active part of quilt blogging - Alot of what I do in the online quilting community is through flickr. I thought it was just a place to share photos, but it is much, much more.
Pinterest - I get it now. I thought it was just one more thing to spend time on. Which it is, of course, but SO handy to keep track of quilting and color inspiration, fabrics to purchase, etc. I like it.
pressing seams open - Another thing I didn't learn in that beginner's class. But I do see the benefit of it - at least sometimes.

Whew! That's alot! What have you learned?

Oh, and I thought I'd mention that Friday Night Sew-In in on July 22 this month. Wow, that IS alot of random isn't it?! Hoping you have a great weekend and find at least a few minutes to express the sewist in yourself!