My first quilt

"so I saw this thing on Pinterest..."

My dear husband has heard this a lot and some of these "things" don't always turn out so great. My shoe closet, was pretty darn awesome but there were these stuffed cabbage rolls in the crock pot last week that were less than stellar. I'm not sure where I got the idea that I can make a quilt but I was determined. After some youtube videos and a trip to Joann Fabrics I was ready to make my first attempt. I chose a baby quilt size since that is smaller. I was making it for a friend who also wouldn't judge if the stitches weren't totally perfect. :-)

I started with a pre-cut fabric set so that I didn't have a lot of cutting or stitching to do on my first quilt. There were 5 pieces of fabric so I used the 5th as an added strip to make the blanket wider. For the back I used a super soft minky fabric and then precut binding for the edges. My sewing machine is a Janome and it was great. I did get a walking foot for the quilting and that helped a ton.

I am not going to attempt to write tutorial because there are so many online that are more helpful than what I would put together. Here is a picture of the final product and I'm excited to say that I'm already working on the next baby quilt.

 

Happy Belated 2014

I am just horrible about keeping this bog up to date but one of my 2014 goals (not resolutions) is to keep this updated more often. I always make goals, life happens, and goals don't always get accomplished and that's ok. Let's review what I planned to do in 2013 and how that turned out.

~January: Paint the kitchen table and chairs and do backsplash in kitchen- still hasn't happened haha
~February: Run entire 15k Gasparilla Race and take sewing class- only walked a little and have taught myself how to sew
~March: Complete Romp to Stomp in Colorado and enjoy the mountains- we enjoyed the mountains but chose not to do the Romp to Stomp and spend more time with family. It was the right decision.
~April: Sew myself a summer outfit- Started making dog collars instead!
~May: Visit the Everglades- Still hasn't happened
 ~June: Take a mountain biking road trip- We got a new puppy instead haha
~July: Be a good training walk leader and actually doing the training for the 3-Day- I did train...some
~August: Try a new outdoor adventure- I did a triathlon!
~September: Have a second Guide dog pup in training- We brought home Westen in May or June (bad puppy mom for not knowing)
~October: Have a successful Tampa 3-Day- I am very pleased with how the final Tampa 3Day went, not please that it was the final one though
~November: Complete 60 miles in San Diego- Done! I'll try to remember to post about this
~December: Start a new hobby- I taught myself how to quilt! and I'm learning how to box which is on my 30 before 30 list!


And here are the "anytime in 2013 goals"

~Turn Maggie In For Training- Done...sniff*
~Get rid of blue couch!- Done!!!!!!
~Hang all artwork in house- Did this finally!
~Complete craft corner of office- Hubby and his Dad helped finish this and it's great!
 ~Complete the Spartan Challenge in under 1 hour and 15 minutes- Done in April!


Overall I'd say this was a very successfull year for goals accomplished and even those I didn't do. I'm proud of the things I have learned and had to deal with and ready for a wonderful 2014. Speaking of 2014, I have a few goals. I debated putting a goal a month like I did for 2013 but with the uncertainty of life I'm just going to make 14 goals for 2014. Here they are:

1. Get Lucky Paws (my collar et al business) off the ground and running
2. Complete the St. Anthony's Triathlon with Kathy (I am her guide for all 3 disciplines this year yikes!)
3.  1 week juice cleanse- I have been wanting to do this or a while and it's on my 30 before 30 list
4. Sub 30 minute 5k
5. Learn how to box- I already started this but have a lot to learn still
6. 10 real pushups
7. Blog more regularly
8. Redecorate the master bedroom
9. 14 races of any distance
1. Feb 1: Best Damn Race 10k
2. March 16: Sarasota half marathon
3. April 27: St. Anthony's Triathlon
4. At least 1 sprint tri
5. a few more 10k races
6. The rest of the races will be decided on soon and I'll try to post about this throughout the year
10. Read 5 books- I always want to read more and so now I'm going to make it a tangible goal
1. Gone Girl- Everyone says it's a must read
2. The Monuments Men- coming out on film this year and I want to read it before I see it
3. Allegiant- I've read the first and am almost done with the second of this trilogy
4.  Taking suggestions for others
11. Learn a new life skill/hobby
12. Do another sprint triathlon
13. Take a weekend Florida-cation with Jeff
14. Let little things go and have fun!

Do you set goals, resolutions, plans or something else at the beginning of each year? What are some of your favorites?

Wordless Wednesday- Pup patriots

Monday Miles- Sept 9

Last week I did 18 miles! 10 of those were walking and the remaining 8 were running. As I gear up for both the Susan Komen 3Day in San Diego in November and the Women's Half Marathon I have to combine a running and walking training plan. I have decided on 3 days of running and slowly increasing my miles each week. 1 day each week I am going to fit in a long walk. Last week the miles miles of walking felt great but I know I need to increase those miles too.

Running: My pace this week was slow and steady and I didn't feel like I was breathing well but thanks to my awesome neighbor and new running partner she dragged me through Saturday's longer run and after that I felt re-motivated

Biking: I haven't been on my bike all week since I've been focusing on running but I have it built into next week's plan

Swimming: Taking a slight break (gives my damaged eardrum a break too) but love knowing that I can get back to it easily whenever

Walking: Walking felt great, I do need to work on finding new shoes before too many more walks happen.

Diet: Didn't focus on this at all and it could be the reasoning for my sluggish feeling runs

How did your workouts go last week?

Time to regroup

Wowsers it's September! I have been horrible about updating this blog all summer but I'm ready to buckle down and get back at it. I have heard from many other bloggers that they hit a blogging wall and feel like they have nothing to post about, this was me all summer long. I'm excited to turn over a new leaf and for the first time I have a plan for the blog.

• Monday Miles: Weekly update on training and fitness
• Wordless Wednesday: photo fun!
• Thrilling Thursday: Something random and fun
• Foodie Friday: Who doesn't like a new recipe or restaurant to try

I hope that this schedule will help me focus and let me know if there're topics that you would like to see me post about.

For today's Thrilling Thursday I'll share my new venture: dog collars. I'm now making dog collars. It's started with our first guide dog Maggie. We found a collar for her that we loved and then I realized I could make them and a lot of other puppy raisers wanted them too! Here's a few pictures of my collars. Let me know if you want one for your pup!