Food, Love, and Fabric

OK, first things first.  I'm linking up to Rachel's  Scrap Attack with this little number.  I have long been an admirer of the plus quilts floating all over quilty blogs and have wanted to try one for ages.  I used Jeni's tutorial to follow the layout grid, and just cut them to the size I wanted to make a mini version. Actually, when Rachel first started talking about the Festival of Scrappiness, I had planned to do an x and + quilt...which indeed I am doing.  See?

But MY STARS that block takes me for-evvver so I quickly realized I wouldn't be done in time.  But then I saw that minis were acceptable, which was just the gentle push I needed to attack the plus pattern.  I love how it turned out!  Be sure to check out the other links - so many great projects all made with leftover fabric.  I love it when pretty meets practical.

In other news, and the reason for the title of this post...I've been missing in action lately but for legit reasons.  I ended up having unscheduled surgery earlier this month (I'll spare you the gory details), but really, it threw me for a loop.  A very tired loop.  And in a moment of feeling so overwhelmed and just TIRED, my parents swooped in and saved the day by arranging for this:

about 14 meals - fresh, healthy, and delicious- for our family!  I cannot even begin to describe the amount of relief that came with not having to worry about preparing meals during this recovery time.  A giant thank you to my parents for their love and support in this very tangible way.

And what else?  FABRIC!  A cure for what ails you for sure!  I've been very good this year (you know, after a binge around Christmas time) about not buying fabric, but I've been saving for the re-release of Flea Market Fancy by Denise Schmidt.  Here it is!  I indulged in half yard cuts of the entire line, with yardage of the seeds fabric.  And since I was already buying, I had to add some Fresh Cut by Heather Bailey - my all time favorite line!  I've already used some of it and I love it.

Denise Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy

Heather Bailey's Fresh Cut

Oh, and here's my blocks for the Modern Blocks Bee that I made for Krista.  She said we could do whatever block we wanted and to just stay in the blue/black color palate.  I can't wait to see what this quilt is going to look like when it's all done!