MEH Challenge and Birthdays

I am slowly making some progress on the Mary Ellen Hopkins Diva challenge. I work a little and stop and think a little. now that I have finally decided how I will quilt the octagon spaces it should move along faster. I am going to quilt through them as though they were 9 patches. I am not going to quilt across the strips that l want to look as though they are on top of the strips they cross. That means a lot of stops and starts. I looked at Mary Ellen's quilts in the book I have and it appears that most or all of them that straight or diagonal allover grids; that would have been easier but it is what it is now.

I am sure I am not alone in second guessing as there are always more than one way to do something and not every options appears to us before we start. I have to remember that though I can see a better option after I have finished (or gotten half way through) I have never felt I ruined a quilt with my quilting.









Fall is the time for great grand child birthdays. This one below was 3 weeks ago. The tall boy in the back row is a friend and the other 5 are my great grands. It is really hard to get a photo with everyone looking decent. There is always someone moving or clowning around. The birthday boy here is in the orange and brown shirt. The birthday theme was ninja turtles. You can see the celebration tablecloth  that I  made from hand dyed fabric that I almost threw away. It came through the party without mishap (big surprise).
The blond boy in the lower left corner has a July birthday and we usually have a big family outdoor party at their house,  This year his dad was recovering from a tib/fib leg fracture with no weight bearing and grandma and grandpa (my daughter and son in law) were
 spending every minute getting ready for our move out here so.... no big party this year for David. He did get his presents though and some arrived at his cousin's birthday party, he seemed happy with that.


 This was the second fall birthday last weekend, same 5 ggkids and same place, same celebration table cloth. This is the oldest great grand, he is 12 this year. His cake was his choice, over the top chocolate brownie cake with chocolate frosting and slathered with M&M's. I forced myself to eat one piece I had to have ice cream with it in order to tone down the chocolate.
Next week will be another birthday party and then no parties till November. We always celebrate the only girl party at Thanksgiving; I don't think she minds.

I have decided that I am going to make a Birthday Quilt to replace that rather lame Happy Birthday banner. Maybe I will make it so we can change out the name for each birthday.

In December I will have a BIG birthday. 

Would it be alright 

to have the birthday quilt 

for the first time 

on my birthday?

Would that seem  

like I was making myself 

TOO IMPORTANT.