How I wish you were here so I could show you my latest quilt! Think of the fun! 
We'd sit around a treat-filled table and drink herbal tea. Nothing seems to right the world like a cup of piping-hot peppermint tea. We would laugh and talk and laugh some more. I'd be so happy for the time to spend with two of my favorite people in the whole world!

Sounds nice.

I made this quilt for a dear friend who shared the same nanny job as me in New York. The family I nannied for was just as rude and unkind to her as they were to me. Maybe even worse. I believe this is one of the many reasons we are friends. When you go through something traumatic it really bonds you to the person who goes through it with you.

My friend, Amanda, adopted a sweet little girl almost a month ago. I had this quilt ready to go for her then. But Damon and I decided that we are taking a quilting break. So I had the quilt shop quilt it for me, nd it took them three weeks! It almost killed me! I'm not sure if Damon and I will ever quilt again. Right now the cost is about the same to have the shop do it and it's just easier. We don't have to find babysitters which is big. My mom and dad would always come when I asked them to (they are very reliable), but the drive is really hard on them and they are just sick a lot. And even though they will come when they feel crappy, I can see how hard it is for them to help when they are here.

I neglected to take some snapshots of the finished quilt. This is all I have right now. Once Amanda receives her quilt I will ask her to send me some photos and I will post them.

I call this my Strawberry Shortcake quilt. It reminds me so much of that little strawberry girl. But man, it's a busy quilt. I'm not so sure how much I like it. I think I should have put in more solids.

 Now, get ready for the really happy part...for the binding I used a dark green Moda Grunge! 

I must tell you something about grunge fabric. I LOVE it. I need it. Whenever I see grunge, I buy it. A yard every time. I'd love to have every color in the Basic Grey collection. It's so versatile. It looks great with everything. Love grunge forever!  

So on the binding-- I machine sewed it on instead of hand-sewing using a decorative flower stitch. I did this because of time constraints and also I just don't think my hand-stitching is that good. I was really pleased with the outcome. There were clear mistakes but I think the decorative stitch I used helped it look okay. 

I can't wait to hear how Amanda likes it. 

In other news...We are going to New Mexico again this year. Yippee! I love family trips. 

What fun do you have planned this summer?

P.S. Amanda sent the photos!