U-Turn Anyone?

Well, my retirement didn't last long. I promised myself that I would not work for 2 years. I was determined, too, to keep that promise! So what was so good that I couldn't pass it up? That, my friends, is the U-turn...

A week ago, I got a call from the local regional campus of a major state university. They were desperate for English teachers - more specifically, freshman comp. instructors. I found myself (surprisingly) very excited by the offer, and a day later accepted. In the rush to prepare for 3 classes, I have had to put my quilting on hold.

Why would I give up my hard-earned retirement and the freedom that goes with it? Well, it pays very nicely. And since I have been bitten by the travel bug, this little gig will pay for the 2 trips I am taking next summer.

Now even though I have not quilted a bit this week, things will look up in the morning. My new little quilting group is going on an adventure! We scheduled it several weeks ago, and how glad I am that my new job didn't interfere with this! I teach only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so a Friday outing to shop for fabric and explore a new shop can go on as planned!

Okay, so since I have no new projects to share, I dug out these pictures of a quilt I made a few years ago. Here is the story on it:

Our son, a cross country runner, was in college and we (his parents) were able to travel to only a few of his meets, since he was so far from home and they usually interferred with his dad's races (dad coaches; son runs). Anyway, we were going to make it to one particular meet, and I needed a project to stitch while in the car. I have always like the churn dash block, so I dug out an assortment of reds and beiges, and proceeded to hand stitch my way to a quilt top. My best guess is that I spent about a year at odd and sundry times piecing this quilt top. Then I added mitred corner borders, and waited to see if my dear Grandma would quilt it for me. She said YES! So, it is hand pieced and hand quilted. Isn't that a nice thing?

I have enjoyed getting a few comments from some new blog friends, and even a shout-out from one follower! This cyber community is really fun!