With all that's going on right now, it was either work on quilts today or go absolutely nuts.

Something took a big chunk out of our favorite barn cat...I got an early-morning call that a family member was headed for the emergency room by ambulance...our home school curriculum is sitting in the dead letter office in Minnesota, and even though I've got the tracking number, they can't send it to me unless I send a letter, and no one can tell me how long it will take them to respond or if they even will...the babies are coming down with whatever I've got...

The ER visit was serious, but it looks like things are going to be okay. Kitty is all stitched up and has already been back to the vet again because her toes were swelling -- and will probably be going back tomorrow. I'm trying not to think about the books, and I've done the best I can with the rest of it.

And I've quilted. I sewed together the few blocks for the Sparkling Gems quilt and cut fabric for the pieced border. And pieced the border strips.

I think it looks much better with the border --



than without it --



I'm going to leave off the solid border that the pattern calls for because this quilt is huge enough as it is. But after months of our love/hate relationship, I definitely wound up loving it.

That border fabric, which ties the quilt together much better than my first choice would have, was a shirt I found in the Goodwill bins last week! I started cutting pieces from the sleeves and yoke and still have the entire back left for other projects. How great is that?

Hopefully I'll get time soon to assemble the top and sew those pretty borders on.

I also finished the last blocks for my Birds in the air quilt, so now I've got those 99 blocks to assemble. Doesn't sound fun, but it might make for good stress relief. And the sooner I get it together, the sooner I can start appliqueing the cute little birdies!