It’s Gasparilla season in Tampa and we had lots of fun today at the Children’s Parade. It’s along Bayshore Blvd, just a block from the house so we go back and forth all day, enjoying the festivities and taking breaks to sit on the porch. Chris, Rae and Keith’s nephews joined us today for the parade and fireworks.

Becky and Mo stayed home this trip but Becky sent me a photo of Mo wearing one of the hats I knit for her just before they headed out for the day! She’s so cute!

I hadn’t planned to sew at all today, I just felt too bad but I was sitting in the library after feeding Finn and looking at options for my next quilt and decided to go up and pull some fabric. 3 hours later I was ready for a break.

A while back, a year or more ago I found a line of map fabric from Connecting Threads that I fell in love with and I bought a LOT of it, yards and yards and yards of it. I pieced this Ohio Star quilt last year (it’s still waiting for quilting)…

And I knew when I made the dinosaur quilt for Caleb, that I wanted to use that pattern again with the map fabric.

So tonight, I pulled 5 fabrics and got started. This pattern came free with a bundle I bought from a quilt show but I found it online at Pinterest when you all had questions about it when I was piecing the dinosaur quilt. Click here to see it. Obviously the second page of the instructions showing the borders isn’t there but it’s the only place I could find it online to share with you … and neither of mine are going to have borders anyway.

I am planning to sew a little tonight but I thought I’d show you the progress Mom made on the Hunter Star we were working on when she was here.

This one started as a lap size quilt that I was making but Mom really wanted a bed size quilt in the same fabrics I was using but was afraid it was too many blocks to make herself so I gave her my finished blocks and helped her make the other blocks before she left. She has it done except for the last border that I told her I’d help her with. One of these days I’ll make some more blocks for a lap size quilt, they’re easy to make with the GO die.

I’m finally starting to feel just a little better although I’ve spent the last two days just sleeping – I think it will take a while to feel back to normal but it’s a start!

I did manage to spend an hour on Sunday afternoon with Adam and the kids before going back up to bed. They loved their quilts! Mom and I made Rae’s and Mo’s quilts together but I made Caleb’s and she made Bree’s … in the end, all 4 of the kids got new quilts this Christmas.

Looking at this photo reminds me that I still have to take the tree and Christmas decorations down! That might delay my return to the sewing room by a day or two.

I got a cute photo of Mo yesterday … Becky commented on how much she LOVES the afghan I made for Mo earlier this year. I love seeing the quilts and blankets being loved and used … and that little bag in her lap, it’s one of several Mom has made for her and Becky said she loves sitting and zipping and unzipping it over and over! Luckily, none of them have gotten sick. I was worried because I came down with the flu on the last day of their visit and you know that you’re contagious before the symptoms even show up.

I’ve stayed away from Adam and his family since they arrived on Thursday with Keith going out every day and spending time with them. I had Keith buy me a face mask to wear tomorrow. I’m hoping that I’m not contagious after 9 days but since I’m coughing a lot still, I’ll wear the mask and won’t hug and kiss on the kids. Caleb made a card for me at dinner tonight and sent it home with Keith.

It has a dinosaur of course! I can’t wait to see his face tomorrow when I give him his new dinosaur quilt.

Here are some stats I don’t even have to keep … I use GoodReads to track the books I’ve read or want to read and since most of my reading is done on the Kindle and it’s linked to GoodReads it automatically updates when i finish or start a book. They summarized my reading for the year for me.

I don’t take the time to write reviews but I do rate the books … almost everything gets a 3 unless it is terrible or wonderful and then they usually get a 2 or 4. It’s rare that I read a book and give it a 5 but to me, a 3 star rated book is worth reading. If you’re ever interested in seeing what I’m reading… there’s a link on the right sidebar called “what I’m reading” which will take you to GoodReads.

Do you know how many books you read last year?!

I’m still contagious so Keith met the kids for dinner tonight when they got into town. We decided it would be best for them to stay in a hotel to avoid getting them sick with the hope that in a day or two, I will no longer be running a fever and can visit with them. I had a fairly decent day, just really washed out and drained but spiked another fever this evening – the headache, chills, and coughing are about to do me in!

Bree has always been attached to her Pop and probably didn’t even notice I wasn’t there!