My life is in pieces...

 I'm very blessed to have some good friends.  Jody and I have known each other since college.  Over time we both developed a love for quilting.  We've gone to a few quilt camps together and hit a quilt show once in a while.  She is amazing at choosing colors and thoughtful while creating her masterpieces.  I on the other hand, charge forward and frequent the use of my seam ripper.

She has taken the plunge and now works a quilt shop, bought a long arm quilting machine, and is making her love of quilting a career.   This weekend she invited me to attend a paper piecing class held at the Quilted Buffalo, where she works.  I absolutely love the pattern, so I was all in.

Little did I know what I was getting into.  First off, I came down with a terrible cold.  My eyes were watering, my nose was running, and everything was punctuated with a brain rattling sneeze.  I was determined to take the class, because I didn't know when it would be held again.  I donned a mask, some Benadryl, and hot coffee.  As you can see from the pattern below, paper piecing this was not going to be a walk in the park.  Now, try to do it with a fuzzy head.  

It went better than I anticipated, but I won't lie the seam ripper was my friend.  If you have never paper pieced this is what it looks like.  Very much like a puzzle.  

I went with dark earth tones and a sky background.   Jody went with a dark leather like background, and she is making a white buffalo.

Here is another version. The combinations are endless.  It was great getting to see where Jody works and some of the quilts she had done.  We got to do some visiting.  We also met a farmer from Milbank that wandered in, sat, and chatted with our class while his wife was shopping.  He was a hoot.  He tried to pick up some of our lingo, so he could communicate with his better half.  He was familiar with the seam ripper, "You cuss when you use that, right?"  Right he is.

When I got home, I slept hard.  All of that thinking while dealing with a head cold was too much, plus and long drive home.  This morning, I felt better, so I tackled the project again.  As you can see, I am plugging along.  Yes, I have had to use the seam ripper.  Yes, cussing was involved.  

Challenges are a good thing. This is tough, but I'm going to see it through to the end.  It was great doing the class with Jody.  A good friend is like a four-leaf clover; hard to find and lucky to have.  What is your latest challenge?  What was the last thing you did with your best friend?

I'm adding links to the Facebook pages for the Quilted Buffalo and Jody's Our Quilty Things in case you are also a quilter.

Quilted Buffalo

Our Quilty Things