Lately

Where to even begin? It is hard to just jump in with a subject when you've let your blogging slide so much! Here are just a few of the things that have been going on around here lately...

Wyatt is absolutely in love with this teacher!

Wyatt graduated preschool last week and is incredibly excited to start kindergarten this fall. Just about every day he tells Carson about what he should expect in preschool next year, and how Wyatt will be going to "real" school in August, but Carson can't start preschool until September. Wyatt also has his first real baseball game tonight, but sadly I won't be there to watch him play in the outfield dirt.

This little guy looks pretty cute, right? Well, for the last three or four days he has been battling some kind of nasty virus so we are staying home tonight so we don't infect the rest of the kids in town at the ballpark. He was devastated! But luckily his T-ball game was cancelled anyway, so he's only missing out on watching Wyatt play. 

But one thing has brightened his spirits...

Last Friday we got our new playground delivered and the kids have been having a blast, though I'm seriously thinking about starting a pool as to when we have our first visit to the ER.

Not a whole lot has been going on at the sewing machine, but here are a few tidbits...

I've made several receiving blankets out of white gauze for the new baby. Super simple, just cut it to size and serged the edges. Since she'll be born in August I think this gauze will make a nice swaddling blanket, as opposed to the flannel ones we used with our winter-born boys. But I can't just leave them 

white, can I?

I have a few other colors to try, but these are the two I'm using today. I'm also throwing a little onesie in each of the dye baths to liven up her wardrobe a bit.

And not to forget little Max, he is getting some new pj pants, using the Big Butt Baby pattern from 

Made by Rae. I like using this pattern for babies since it gives a little extra room for diapers than regular pants patterns.

After I cut out these two pairs, I realized I was cutting a size too big, so I cut out a few more in a smaller size, though both look way too big for him right now. Oh well, they are fairly easy to make!

Baby Isabelle's Quilt

I'm so happy to be entering a quilt into the Blogger's Quilt Festival that Amy so graciously organizes twice a year during Quilt Market.

Last fall was my first time participating in the Festival and I entered one of my favorite quilts ever, not to mention the all the inspiration I found from so many other bloggers who entered their own beautiful creations.

I made this quilt for another high school friend who recently had her first baby, an adorable little girl named Isabelle. A few weeks ago my sweet friend Lu of For the Love Quilts generously sent me the pattern for her Shelby quilt and I knew then that if my friend Sarah had a baby girl she would be getting this quilt.

I was excited to try this pattern as I haven't done much applique and it's always fun to try new things, right? Thankfully this is raw-edge applique so I was able to get this together fairly quickly. Making this quilt was also my first time using basting spray, though I only used it to apply the applique, not in the actual basting. That can may say odorless, but I didn't think I needed to be sniffing those fumes too much longer!

The front of the quilt is Kona Snow with various yellow, orange, fuchsia, and plum prints. I am really digging this color palette right now for baby girls, so expect to see more of it as I make things for our little one due to arrive soon (less than 3 months!).  I quilted around each "peel" and also along the grid between them which seems like the right amount to give the quilt some body but still keep it a little snuggley. Hopefully Isabelle agrees!

I love the design that the quilting made on the back. I used ivory thread for the top and hot pink in the bobbin and was pleased that I was able to find a thread in my stash that matched the back so well.

For the backing I just used a Denyse Schmidt print with some Kona Pomegranate to bring it up to size, then bound it with Kona Berry. The finished size of this quilt is approximately 40" by 50", perfect for a little tummy time!

Baby E.'s Quilt

 I'm not really sure why, but I am very self-conscious about giving handmade gifts to most people. Only two of my friends that live around here have had kids yet and I made them both a few things, but for the most part I haven't made too many things for people that I actually "know" in real life. But for some reason when I found out not long ago that two of my good friends from high school were both having their first babies within a few weeks of each other I decided that I just needed to get over myself and make them something. The odd thing is that other than a few random facebook encounters, I have not talked to either one since we went away to our different colleges. So why not send their new babies some quilts, right?

I'm actually using the leftovers from another quilt that I'm working on but haven't shown yet. The front is just 9" squares and most of the fabrics are from the "Summer Salad" bundle that Natalie put together for Pink Castle Fabrics. I always love her fabric combinations so I knew this bundle would be fabulous. For the back I used Kona Eggplant and an AMH print, with Kona Cerise for the binding.

 I mentioned before that I was inspired by this quilt from Maureen Cracknell, so I added the baby's first initial onto a square of Essex linen. I also attempted a different binding method using one of the blanket stitches from my machine to sew it down.

I saw a tutorial for this method being pinned a few times on Pinterest, but I'm not exactly sure whose it was since I didn't ever re-pin or follow the link. I just sewed the binding down to the back, then brought it around and blanket stitched to the front. At first I wasn't really sure if I liked it, but I kept going and I'm glad I did. I think it adds a little fun to the simple patchwork.

Today I started working on the quilt for my second friend, who just had her baby girl a few days ago, so hopefully I'll have a little progress to show soon. You know, like next weekend at the rate I've been getting to this blogging thing lately...

Weekend Update

Weekend Update was always one of my favorite parts of Saturday Night Live. Even when all the other sketches were kind of lame, Weekend Update usually came through with at least a little laugh or two.

So here's my update for the last week or so since I can't seem to be bothered by blogging daily anymore. T-ball has started once again and we had three practices this week. Apparently the coach is taking it a little more seriously than last year. Carson is also playing this year so it looks like we'll be spending a lot of time at the ballpark!

Other than T-ball, gardening, massive allergies, and Roger planting corn not a whole lot has gone on around these parts. But look what Wyatt brought me home from preschool for Mother's Day:

If you couldn't tell, that's me. A busty, wild haired version anyway. Here's a close-up of the answers to his questions about me...

 Hopefully they aren't too suspicious of my relationship with the neighbors...

Wyatt also cleared off their shaded play area in the back yard today and set up a Mother's Day party for me, complete with refreshments...carrots, wheat thins, and dried cherries.

He was so proud of setting up the tables and chairs and he even had a piece of plywood down for a dance floor! Funny guy.

I did manage to get a bit of sewing done this morning, a block for my Modern Blocks bee.

It is the Set Sail block designed by Susanne Woods. We were sent the fabrics for the sky and the sea and were to choose our own for the boat and sails. Every time I sat down to work on this block the Styx song "Come Sail Away" kept going through my head. Just a little annoying...

Alright peeps, I hope everyone that celebrates it had a grand Mother's Day today and a fabulous week ahead! Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with some pictures of the baby quilt I finished a few days ago!

Random Thursday

I just had to revise the title of this post when I realized that it was in fact Thursday and not Friday. It seems that my posting has taken on a schedule that is more weekly update of randomness than anything else, really. So, what have I been up to this week? 

It seems that the cure for laziness is announcing it to the world, since after my declaration I don't think I have had a lazy day. I have cleaned all our bedrooms and done a large purge of clothing and toys, switched out everyone's winter wardrobe for summer, and gotten a bit of sewing done. 

After realizing my kids didn't have much in the way of summer pajamas, I made the older boys three pairs of pj  shorts each, and actually used my serger. I loved it! Though I am apparently a slow learner about some things...

You can't serge over pins quite like you can with your sewing machine. I wish I could say this was the first pin that went through the knife on my serger. I also would be lying if I said it were the last...

But thankfully when I checked the mail I found plenty to keep me distracted for the rest of the week.

That's right, all of this was crammed into our mailbox. We used to have a regular mailbox, but if something didn't fit, our mail person would always drive up to the house and lay on the horn until someone went out and took it out of her car. She also always came right at naptime and woke up the kids, so my husband decided to buy the biggest mailbox he could find in an attempt to solve that problem. It is comically large sitting next to our neighbor's. And what was inside these boxes?

Baby Girl fabric!! And several others, along with some awesome Folksy Flannels, all from Pink Castle Fabrics.   I also got the fabric I was waiting for to start a wedding quilt for a couple of my college friends who recently married. I'm using Jeni's Giant Vintage Star tutorial, and I would probably already be done with it, had I been better at choosing background fabrics. No pictures of that yet, but I did use part of the remaining FQs to make a gift for a high school friend who just had her first baby.

I was looking for something quick and easy to make, so after about 10 seconds on Pinterest, I saw this quilt by Maureen Cracknell and had a plan. Now to choose a backing and finish it up!

This afternoon was spent in the garden and now we're getting ready to meet some friends for dinner, so have a great night!

And Another One

We recently had a member step down from our circle of do.Good Stitches, so I volunteered to make another of our April blocks using Lee's Hexing Around the Block tutorial. Honestly, I wasn't paying that much attention to the color assignment when I volunteered or I probably would have passed. 

I read "light blue" and thought of all the aqua scraps I had lying around and thought it would be easy to come up with enough. Then I re-read our original instructions and realized someone else was already making two aqua blocks and another was making medium/dark blue ones so I was stuck with true light blue. Not a shade I have much of, but I think I squeaked by.  The color is a little off here, but for the most part I kept it more light blue than aqua. Thank goodness for those Rainbow Charm Swaps!

I'm still waiting for my fun fabrics to arrive so I can start a few new projects, so in the meantime I decided to cut some squares for another little quilt. 

No real plans for this one yet, just simple patchwork and if I'm feeling spunky I may attempt some orange-peel quilting.

And this is the latest version of child-proofing in our house...

I kept complaining to my husband about all the things Max gets into by pushing around our dining room chairs, so he took action, tying them together with some clothesline. Not the most attractive detail, but so far it works.

That's pretty much all the excitement around here this weekend. What's going on at your house?

Winter Stitching Finale

Winter has been officially over for about a month now, so I guess it is about time I finish up my 

Winter Stitching list and link up with Sarah. Honestly, I don't think there has really been much progress on the list since my mid-winter check-in...

1. Pay-It-Forward gifts...I have three lovely ladies to stitch for and I can't wait to get started on these. It is just a little intimidating to sew for other people, especially super-talented ones who are fabulous stitchers themselves. I have no idea what to make, so I'm open to suggestions!  Done, Done, and Done...

241 Totes for Annabella, Sarah, and Jennifer

2. Quillows for the boys using Nova's tutorial...I want to make one for each of the boys, or at least the older two for now. Nearly every day, Carson sees me sewing something and asks if it is his blanket and proceeds to tell me what color blanket he wants. I made the quilt that is on his bed (Ok, part of it...) but I guess he needs another. And it is getting really hard to keep telling him no, so I think he'll be getting one pretty soon. Done and Done! Well, Wyatt's isn't a quillow, but it is finished so I'll call it a win.

Carson's Quillow

Wyatt's Quilt

 
3. Quilt for Baby M....Some friends of ours are expecting their second baby, due on Christmas Day. Of course this little guy will need a quilt, I just need to plan a little. Done!

4. Christmas stockings...My kids have never had stockings (bad mom!) so I'm determined to get them made this year. I started on some last year, but was 9 months pregnant and quickly lost interest once Max was born. While looking through our decorations, I actually found some really horrible fleece stocking that I forgot I had made a few years ago, so technically they had stockings, though I would still love to make them some less embarrassing ones..

5. Quilt for Baby G....Another couple that we are friends with are expecting their second child as well. I think she is due in February, but they aren't finding out the gender, so I may wait. Or not, and take up the challenge of the gender neutral quilt. Totally didn't happen, though they did have an adorable little boy a few months ago...

6. Hometown Quilt... no idea about a pattern, but I think I will use it to make a quilt for my sister-in-law. They are doing a massive remodeling job on their house and from the descriptions of it that I've heard from her, I think Hometown would go really well in their new living room. The quilt may not get done by Christmas, but it can still be a house re-warming gift I guess. I think I've whined about this quilt enough. Not done, and I would be completely shocked if it were finished by next winter. But here is a picture just in case you want to see what Neglect looks like...

 

7. My parents' quilt...Not sure about this one yet, either. Their 40th wedding anniversary is in June, so that deserves a quilt, don't you think? Possibly Swoon.... Not likely to happen, unfortunately. I haven't given up all hope, but I'm a realist and I can state pretty confidently that it won't happen. At least not by June. Maybe I should shoot for their 45th....

8. Sewing Machine Cover...Pretty self-explanatory, really. I never remember to put the hard cover over it so my machine keeps getting dusty and sad, but I think if I had a pretty quilted one I just might take better care of it. Didn't do this either. Shocking I know...

But, there were quite a few things that I finished that were not on the list. Swaps and bee blocks took up the majority of my sewing time this winter. 

Bee Blocks...

and swaps.

OK, so according to my list I'm only looking at roughly 50% success rate but overall, I'm calling it a success!

 If you would like to see what some really talented stitchers did over the winter, head over to 

FairyFace Designs for the link-up.