so, instead of going out of town for the long weekend, nick & i stayed at home. we were able to go and visit some friends, and, on sunday, we went to wolff's flea market at the allstate arena. i wanted to be there by 7 am, but of course, that didn't happen, and we ended up pulling in about 8:30 or so - and the place was absolutely *packed*. i love wolff's. i don't think you really, truly understand this until you've been there. in years past, i've purchased all sorts of things - including 2 sets of vintage pyrex bowls - still in their boxes. but today, my favorite purchase has to be this:



it was only a quarter, and, i just *love* it. it's the cutest thing ever. ever!

so yesterday, memorial day, the weather was crappy, and i decided that i needed to start working on this:



these are fabrics that i bought in a kit, to make this quilt called "blooming lotus". i should add that, this particular kit has been sitting on my kitchen counter...for 3 years. i've been wanting to start & start this quilt for so long, but, just never had the guts to open the box & start cutting. and now i understand why.



these are the fabric strips, before i sewed all the skinny strips together in their respective sets.

all this sewing really made me long for my aurifil thread , which i had just inconveniently run out of, and was forced to use some cotton thread that i had on hand:



i had to wind bobbins three times, just sewing these strips together. i miss my aurifil thread. thankfully, last night i was able to purchase some off of ebay for a discounted price!

anyways. i had to cut these strips into 1.75" pieces, and, i'll be honest, i'm really, really starting to get tired of this quilt now. i've literally cut hundreds of little 3-patch blocks since last night. sigh, i guess that's what i get - i'm so used to doing these quick little projects, and end up wanting to finish this one very quickly also. but i've learned that this is just not the case with this one. i did sew up a batch (8, to be exact) of 9-patches this morning, though:




only like 200 more of these little guys to go, whoo-hoo! i think i'm just going to take it easy on this project, though, maybe sewing up a few of these nine-patches every day. that way, i get my quilting fix in, without neglecting everything else that needs to be done. besides, this definitely is not a one day project! we'll see my thoughts on this quilt once it's completed...