Backing done!!!

Hi, all!

I just had to report that I got the backing done for the rose quilt, so I can hand that off to Wendy for longarm quilting when I see her Saturday. YAY!

I also have to share that God is so much better to me than I deserve. This whole backing thing was nothing short of miraculous. I bought a 10-yard bolt that ended up being 9 yards and 28 inches (before washing). It's a directional with a 12" repeat that I was hoping to match up, but once I measured the quilt, I knew I wasn't going to have 12" extra to play around with. Oh, well. Would have been nice. So anyway, I'm sweating at this point that I even have enough because I need three lengths of 114"... After washing, I had about 345" (three lengths of 115"). YAY! I measured about 4 times before I cut anything because I knew I didn't have oops room, and I got my three lengths. Now to sew them together. WOULD YOU BELIEVE I was able to match up the pattern by only moving the fabric TWO INCHES????? There are two seams, in the backing, and one of them you almost can't tell there's a seam there - the other one is a little more obvious, but it keeps the horizontal pattern across the width adequately. God is SO good!!! I couldn't have done that myself if I'd had 12 yards to play around with, and God did it with inches to spare. So that's my story of thankfulness. I love how God even cares about the little things. In the grand scheme of the universe and mankind, who cares if my pattern lined up? But deep down, I did, and God is gracious. Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow.

Today at work we have a going-away lunch and a retirement party with cake, so it'll be an interesting eating day. Light breakfast, light dinner (if any), and working out tomorrow. ;-) Tonight we have to get the house company-ready as my parents are coming up Friday to spend Friday and Saturday nights, and a couple friends are coming over Saturday for a sew day. Bill's the cleaning king, and I'm the de-clutter queen. Actually, I throw stuff in the closet until people leave. ;-)

Sunday morning we're going to brunch, do some outlet shopping, and then heading to Silver Reef Casino and Hotel for an overnight stay that counts as my birthday trip (manicure and pedicure scheduled - YAY!). We'll be coming home Monday with all the other nuts, so hopefully the traffic won't be too bad. We're making a few shopping stops on the way home, too, so maybe that will help us out traffic-wise. It's only a couple hours away anyway (freeway speed) so we shouldn't get too caught up in traffic. I hope. :-)

And, last but not least, I did mention my birthday. On Tuesday, I will bid adieu to my Thrilling Thirties and enter my Fabulous Forties. :-) I'm not particularly hung up on my age, but there's always that "how old am I?" thing when I enter a new decade. I'll probably forget how old I am for the first 3 months. :-p

That's all for today... for you American readers, have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend, and don't forget about those who gave their lives for the many freedoms we so often take for granted.

Blessings,
Kristin