For Your Reading Pleasure

Here are some lovely books about Thanksgiving:

I love turkey sandwiches the day after.  Ok- who's weathering the storm of Black Friday today?  Maybe I should ask if you've already been out since practically everything opened at midnight this year. I still haven't decided if I want anything badly enough to deal with the crowds today, but we did have a little fun at Toys R Us yesterday. We waited out in the cold for two hours to just get into the store. Call me crazy, but I thought it was a lot of fun. My husband was totally a good sport and went with me, but he has informed me that it's not an activity he plans on repeating. Hee Hee. Happy shopping everyone.

An Extra Special Thanksgiving

Not only is it my favorite holiday, but it's also my five year anniversary today!!!  I can't believe how it feels like we were married just yesterday and yet it also feels like we've been together forever.  Does that make sense to anyone else besides me? :) 

Happy Anniversary, my love!  It's so wonderful to be married to my partner in crime and best friend.  Here's to another year as amazing as the last.  I love you!

Last Minute Progress

It's been an odd and extremely busy week.  Anyone else feel like sometimes getting ready for vacation is just as much work as a regular job?  We're on our way to the Commonwealth State (aka- Pennsylvania) for some fun Turkey Day celebrations with family, but I did manage to get a couple of things done before we left. 

1- I got one Christmas block and a Christmas table runner done (blogged about here).

2- Skill builder:  I was hoping to get it done before leaving, but the only thing I was able to do was cut most of the pieces out.  I guess this will have to wait until we get back.

3- This is most exciting finish of the week- I made my first pot holders!  I seriously love them.  I'll definitely be making more.  They're not too difficult to make - just a little thick under the machine.  I used My Girl Thursday's tutorial.  I used slightly different materials, but LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how they turned out.  Here's what the back looks like:

Stats for the Week:

New projects - 3
Completed projects - 3
No progress-  Ladybug Quilt & Halloween Wall Hanging
To do this week:  Eat lots of turkey! :)

Oh, and check out the other WIP at Freshly Pieced!

Poco a Poco

(Little by Little- I just think it sounds better in Spanish)

Block #5- All About the Presents

I got one Christmas block done and then everything came to a screeching halt with the trip to the ER.  It threw me off my rhythm, and I've just barely gotten back to sewing this weekend.  Happily, this table runner came together quickly for me.  I love how it turned out.  It's based on "Color Me Happy" by  Rachel that I found at Moda Bakeshop.

 I liked her idea of using modern freestyle lines for the quilting. 

It took me over 3 years to get around to finishing the first table runner, so I'm thinking 2 days is quite an improvement - pretty phenomenal.  Now I'm on to the next project. 

Happy Sunday!  Hope you have a nice, relaxing day.  I'm teaching my first ever Relief Society lesson today, so wish me luck.  Day of Rest is more of a figurative title when you have 2 little kids with you at church, but it's a nice thought. :)

Wednesdays Come So Quickly

It's already time for another WIP and I feel like I didn't get half of what I wanted to accomplished.  That's alright though, because I did have a major break through on the UFO list - I FINALLY completed my Mom's Christmas table runner! (see here)

1- Skill Builder #16: Starry Night

2- I got 2 more Christmas blocks done (see here), and I'm half way done with another one....I had some cutting issues so it didn't get done last night before I headed to Book Club.  That's on tap for today (hopefully during nap time if they actually coordinate their sleeping - fingers crossed).

3- I made 2 more drawstring bags.  These are for my 2 nieces with their Christmas gift inside.  :)

Stats for the Week:

New projects - 2
Completed projects - 3
No progress-  Ladybug Quilt & Halloween Wall Hanging

This week I have 3 more bags to make, another Christmas table runner, and A LOT more Christmas blocks......we're getting there.  Happy sewing this week, everyone!! 

Oh, and check out the other WIP at Freshly Pieced!

Lady Bug Infestation

We like ladybugs around here - Little Lady was one for Halloween.  But.....I was surprised one day to find an entire family of ladybugs hanging out in my laundry room.  I'm not sure if they're here for the Winter or what, but they haven't moved for the most part.  I've found a couple of dead ladybugs around the house though and it kind of worries me that they're all going to die in my house.  Do I just leave them there?  I'm not really sure what to do with them.  They've been there for over a week now.  Crazy stuff.

Finally!

(That was my husband's response when I told him I finished my Mom's Christmas table runner).  So maybe it was meant for 4 Christmases ago.  Better late than never, right?

I went with a simple blanket stitch to finish it off.  It feels so good to get this off my list of Un-Finished Objects (UFOs).





I've also gotten two more Christmas blocks done:

Block #8- Old Snowflake

Block #9- Christmas Romance

Praying Rocks!

This week at Activity Days the girls were Prayer Reporters.  They had to get answers for the 5 W's (Who? What? Where?, etc) about prayer and then come up with a newspaper headline based on their findings.  They did a really great job.  I was impressed with what they came up with.  It was a slightly altered activity from what I found here. 

I washed up some rocks from our friend's backyard:

Made some Doodle Paint (an awesome find from Pinterest here):
Equal parts flour, salt and water:

 Some food coloring:

And Wah-lah - you've got Doodle paint!







Put the rocks and paint together and you've got yourself a Prayer Rock:

If you get quickly in your bed
and feel this rock hit your head
Kneel down and fold your arms to pray,
and thank Heavenly Father for your day.
Ask him for help in all you do
and know He has great love for you! (source)

 8 prayer rocks to be more precise-

 They're so much fun!  Holy energy!

Making Strides

I had one of the most productive sewing weeks I've had in a long time.  Here's what going on:

1- I'm up to date on Skill Builder.  This is Block #16- Minnesota:  Paper Piecing is starting to feel a bit more manageable (although I do admit cutting the pieces out a lot bigger to make sure it worked alright)

2- I got FIVE Christmas blocks done.  This is #2- Santa:  It's my first applique block ever, so I'm really proud of myself.  The other 4 blocks are blogged about here.

3- I finally got my mom's Christmas Table Runner layered and pinned.  I definitely want to get that done this week.  It's been on the UFO list for over 3 years now.  She may even get it for Christmas this year.  ;)

4- I made 2 drawstring bags as well.  Full post here.

Stats for the Week:

New projects - 2
Completed projects - 2

Other Projects In Progress -

1. Blogger's BOM - up to date

No progress-

1. Ladybug Quilt
2. Halloween Wall Hanging

Check out the other WIP at Freshly Pieced!

Bag It

I made one of Leila's Simple Drawstring Bags yesterday and fell in love.  They really are simple to make and super cute.  This bag is based on the 1/3 yard measurements she gave.  It was the perfect size for all of the animals in the barn.

I liked it so much that I made another one.  This time I made the fabric size slightly bigger at 15" x 30."

 It was the perfect size for Little Man's wooden blocks.

I think I'm going to be making a bunch of these.   They're addicting.

Christmas Block Update

I've gotten four more Christmas blocks done and it's putting me in the Christmas mood.

The first three are from the Celebrate Christmas Quilt Along:

#5- Holiday Ribbons

#6- Road to Retreat

#7- Holiday Gifts

 This one is from the 12 Days of Christmas quilt along:

#4- Scrappy Star

I have yet to finish the Santa Block.  I didn't have all of the thread colors I needed.  That's on the To-Do list for this week.

Christmas Block Finagling

I've been immersed in Christmas blocks - blocks that are stretching me way beyond my comfort level.  I thought - wouldn't it be so much fun to finally make a Christmas quilt? - I saw the 12 Days of Christmas Quilt Along, and thought - perfect! . . . . until I saw the blocks - they're all paper pieced and have tons of applique - neither of which do I really know how to do.  But I thought, I've got to learn sometime, right?  Well, here's the first block......

 I obviously had some issues, but I actually enjoyed putting together this block.  It's my first real paper piecing challenge. 

Then I saw the second block (a cute Santa Claus) and um, this is as far as I've gotten.....

The rest of it is all applique and I've never tried to applique ever.  Sooo- that's going to be my experiment during the kiddo's nap time tomorrow I think.  Don't judge me if it turns out all crazy looking. 

Anyone have any tips for applique before I experiment with this tomorrow?!

Meanwhile, the 3rd block came out yesterday using paper piecing and a ton of applique again, so I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed and not sure if I can (or want) to keep up. 

Luckily for me, I came across the Celebrate Christmas Quilt Along yesterday as well.  It started back in September, so I'm late to the party, but I've decided that I'm going to do the blocks that I like from that one and combine it with the ones that I like from the first quilt along and just make my own "super special" Christmas quilt. 

Here's a slightly altered version of Block #1:

Stats for the Week:

New projects - 1
Completed projects - 0

Projects In Progress -

1. Skill Builder Sampler - up to date
2. Blogger's BOM - up to date

No progress-

1. Mom's Christmas Table Runner
2. Ladybug Quilt
3. Halloween Wall Hanging (oops- maybe I'll finish it for next year)

Check out the other WIP at Freshly Pieced!