Insta.Friday ~ September is Gone

I know it's just a season, but these are the days where I feel like all I do is change diapers and wipe noses and wash jammies and referee squabbles. That's why this Instagram Friday link-up is handy. It helps me remember some of the other things we did this past week.

I sewed some colorful strips together for a happy-making quilt top.

I unearthed some long-stashed Valori Wells Delhi print, and while deciding whether or not to use it for a quilt, I decided to try to press out the creases and wrinkles while it was in my design wall. Worked like a CHARM!!

Then I decided to attempt a simple quilting pattern (traced CDs).

It was a colossal failure.

And I haven't touched it since. :-/


My blog-friend, Kerstin, sent Buzz a quilt (and me some fabric and Swiss chocolate! Both are yummmmmmmmy!) The package was bigger than he is, but he sure enjoyed the wrapping paper! :-)

Little Miss Cranky Pants giving Mama the ol' stink eye. About a millisecond later, she was all smiles. :-)

Buzz, of course, thinks holding him is my only job. But since my personal chef seems to have gotten lost, I have to make dinner. Enter the Ergo. Buzz and I both love it.

All in all, life is good. :-)

Have a great weekend!

(linking up with Life Rearranged for Insta.Friday)

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 38/52

HOW did it get to be Wednesday already?

And I missed last week, so HOW did it get to be 2 weeks later already?

(sigh)

I think I need to start writing {WiP} Monday posts...maybe then I can get it written by Wednesday! :)

I've been busy, but nothing really to post about. Unfortunately.

My dad was in town last week because we had a death in the family. There were a few good snuggle opportunities for Grandpa and his babies. I HATE that I live so far away from my dad. Not only because I want to be closer to him and see him more often, but also because he's a great grandpa and it makes me sad that my kids don't get to spend much time with him. But we take what we can get, as I know many people do.















While Buzz was napping, the girls and I did some picture-coloring, some leaf-gluing, some reading, some sticker-sticking, some ball-kicking...




(playing with PicMonkey, wishing I had more time!)

I also made these button caterpillars (found on Pinterest, of course!) for my two girls and our little cousin.



Little J spent the afternoon with us so her mama could go to her grandpa's funeral. She was an absolute doll! She and my Pea-Pie played SO well together. :)





And I've finished the top to my Fruit Stripe quilt, chosen the back, and basted it. Now I just need to clear off my sewing table so I can have plenty of room to quilt it. I'm not sure how I'll quilt it, but I'll have to just pick something (too many good choices!) and get to it.  I can't show you any pictures, but I can say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way this quilt looks.

Other WiPs are:

• The Grayson Quilt -- fabric purchased, nothing cut till I finish the Fruit Stripe quilt
• Natalie's Wonky Star -- fabric in hand, need to make my 18" wonky star and get it back to her
• Butterflies and Rainbows Quilt -- starting to receive blocks from my do.Good Stitches mates, so I need to finish the Fruit Stripe quilt so I can get those on the design wall.

Which, by the way...here's a "Works For Me Wednesday" idea:

I pulled this fabric for the back, and it was kinda wrinkled.



I bought it over 2 years ago, and it's been folded for all that time. It's Full Bloom from the Delhi collection by Valori Wells. I hung it on the design wall to see if I liked it for the back, and once I decided that I did, I decided to press the creases WHILE IT WAS ON THE WALL!!  Oh my goodness. Y'all!! That was a game changer!! I can still use my kitchen island, and I will, but this? Was SUPER quick, I didn't have to worry about creases forming when the fabric hit the floor on the back side of the ironing board, I didn't have to move it every 8 inches. I'm pretty sure it took longer for the iron to heat up than it did to press out the creases. And just so you know, I've got a huge piece of batting attached to the wall, so I was pressing the print while it was adhered to my batting/design wall. Does that make sense? I don't think this would work for everyone, but it worked for me! :)


Of course there are a million things I want to be doing (starting Christmas presents, for one!), but I just need to work on those things. :)

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for her regular {WiP}Wednesday post.

A Week in Instagram

I feel bad only posting on Wednesdays. I'm pretty sure 98% of my posts in the last year have been {WiP} Wednesdays.

BORING!!

Sorry about that. I won't promise to make any improvements, but when I can, and when I think of it, I will. :)

SO...today, thanks to the inspiration from my guild friend, Kate at Oh Write, I'm linking up with Life Rearranged for InstaFriday.



The idea (I think?) is to simply recap your InstaGram highlights on your blog. I have fallen madly in love with Instagram, and spend more time on it than I should. Same as any social medium, of course, but it's fun!  It's funny - I'm more private than Facebook in some areas, but more "real" in others. Anyway, here we go!

 Pouch baby snoozes. I don't wear Buzz nearly as much as I should because it makes life a lot easier. But look at that little smooshy face. He's a snuggle bug, that's for sure!

 Look, Mommy! This plant glitters! I'm not sure what it was that made it glitter, but I thought she looked cute with her glasses and hood.

 Sacked out on da mama.  I know I pretty much flood the IG world with pics of Buzz asleep, but that's kinda the only time I think of taking pictures and posting to InstaGram!

 I'm sleeping in a tent, Mommy! Love her imagination!

 Serendipity! I pieced this mod mosaic block, and when I finished it, I realized that there was a perfect little flower in the middle. No fussy cutting required. :)

 Happy Making! Oh, I am LOVVVVVING this quilt! It just looks so great on my wall, and it's SO super easy to piece. I almost made an Amish mistake in the layout, though. I'm debating on keeping it or not.

 McFwooowie, Mommy? We took a break while big sister was at school to enjoy a little treat. Girlfriend loves herself some ice cream!

Silly Monkeys! We got a new bed delivered (I feel so grown-up!), and let the girls jump on the old mattress for a while. It was really precious.

And that's it! I have to admit that I'm really looking forward to getting my new iPhone (5, thankyouverymuch!) so I can update my IG software! :)

Have a great weekend!

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 35/52

One of these days I want to do a giveaway. Would you like that? Not to draw traffic to my blog, no "post this on FB and get an extra point" junk. Just a "comment and someone wins" kind of giveaway. One of these days. :)  Thing is, I don't know what to give away! Fabric, obviously, but what? I like the idea of giving away some precuts, but the fabrics I'm loving lately aren't available in precuts, I don't think. We'll see. SO...in the event of a future giveaway (not today), what should I give away?

I just want to do something fun. For a really long time, I've had the same number of followers as I've had blog posts. 94 and 94, 101 and 101, 120 and 120...and I think that's neato-freato! :)

Anyway, works in progress = loads.

First, finishes!!

Wait, let me go back and see what I said I needed to finish this week. I know I didn't finish everything I was supposed to...that kind of crazy star alignment can't happen twice in a row, you know...

Okay. I needed to do Mod Mosaic Bee blocks for Mary and a Bee Happy block for Kelly, and I needed to write up the description for the September {Faith} circle of the do.Good Stitches bee.

Here's the block I made for Kelly, which, by the way, I LOVED making. :)

I also wrote up the description for our Butterflies and Rainbows quilt. Here's a mock-up that I made on EQ7:

I don't know what I'm doing on EQ7, so I'm sure it could look a TON better, but you get the idea. One day soon I'll tell you about that quilt and why it's Butterflies and Rainbows. OR...you could just click on the link and read the short description. You can also go the Faith circle group and read the description there.

I did not even touch the fabric for Mary's Mod Mosaic blocks.

Instead, I decided to make a couple of ruffled wristlets, using THIS tutorial from Teaginny Designs. I am kind of a snob when it comes to tutorials, and I have to say that this was a very well written tutorial, and the hardest part was finding the right sized d-rings! :)  Well, and the other part where I broke my needle on one of the ruffles. Never broken a needle on fabric before last night! :)  I made these for my oldest daughter's preschool teachers. They are HUGE blessings, and I just wanted to give them a little something to start the year off on a good note. :)

So, now. Back to the works in progress...or not. :)

I have GOT to do Mary's blocks. And now that it's September, and I'm not actually caught up anymore, I've also got to do Julie's Mod Mosaic blocks.

I've got to make my butterflies for the Butterflies and Rainbows quilt. They go super fast, though, and I'm hoping I can figure out a way to speed-piece them.

I have GOT to start working on the Grayson quilt and the Fruit Stripe quilt.  MUSTs.

And, I want to make myself a little wristlet to match my Multi-tasker tote that I made with Anna Maria Horner. And I want to make my Field Study quilt. And I want to work on my 3G Legacy quilt, which I still intend to tell you about.

Honestly. There are a ton of things throughout the week that I think "Oh, I wanna blog about that!" and yet, when the house is quiet, and I have more than 1/8th of a thought running through my head, and I'm not super exhausted, I'm sewing instead of blogging! I could never be someone who makes money off of her blog. :)

I hope you have a wonderful, and crafty week! Good luck getting your WiPs done. :)

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced, and the weekly {WiP} Wednesday feature.

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 34/52

Holy Toledo, folks! Do you know what happened here? This last week I actually completed the things I wanted to complete this week!! Wow. Either I'm getting back on the horse, or I've finally lowered my standards to realistic levels.

(it's the second one, in case you didn't know)

I finished Alison's blocks, finished Des's blocks, and made the car seat cover. And if my children could better synchronize their nap schedule, I would have mailed them already!

You saw my "Melissa" block for Alison in the Bee Happy bee, but this one is new. It spells "woven.", which is very much what we are as a bee. Woven very tightly together. Best. Bee. Ever.

Here are the two very simple, yet very impactful blocks for Des in the {Faith} circle of the do.Good Stitches bee. She's using this technique from Moda BakeShop.

And I finished the car seat cover. I used this pattern from Georgia Leigh Designs for a friend expecting her first baby girl. I love this fabric SO much!! It's girlie, but super modern, and feels nice. :)  I backed it with Kona Navy so when the baby is sleeping, it'll be pitch black for her. Mama needs baby to sleep! I had planned to put buttons on the straps, but just wasn't gonna happen. It's really cute, though. And I'm reminded once again that I need to get one made for Buzz!! Poor kid. :-)

I also bought the fabric for my Grayson quilt and my Field Study quilts, though I can't start on them yet.

I'd like to deviate for a minute and talk about Field Study. Folks, I am not a die-hard AnnaMaria Horner fan. I mean, I am now, but wasn't in the past. Her fabric designs were pretty, but I didn't NEED to buy them. But, Field Study? 800 times more beautiful in person than on the web. I just keep taking them out of the bag and looking at them. Glorious. I can't wait till the voiles come out. Mmmmmm...dreamy. So if you're on the fence about it, I encourage you to somehow see it in person. You will want it, I almost guarantee it! :-)

But...before I can work on those, I need to make Mary's mod mosaic blocks, and Kelly's improv blocks. Then, I dare say it out loud, I'll be caught up for August!! I haven't been caught up in forever!!

And I need to write up the description because September is my month in the do.Good Stitches bee, and I've got a very special, very deserving, unknown-to-me recipient of this quilt, and I'm pretty psyched. I also need to make my sample blocks.

THEN I can work on my Fruit Stripe quilt, my Grayson quilt, and my Field Study quilt.

Oh, and I pulled out an old beauty. A multi-generational WiP. I'll tell you more about it later, but here's a sneak peek:

In other news, bunk bed training sucks. We are really struggling. My 2 year old just doesn't seem to know how to truly relax and settle down and go to sleep. We've tried quite a few techniques, and some help, but nothing works. And she wants to sleep in the bunk bed, but she just plays too much (even when she's notably tired), so we've been doing the bedtime routine as though she will stay in the bunk bed, but then, after 3 warnings, we remove her to her crib again. She just sleeps SO much better in her crib. SO much better. It's amazing how different her personality is when she's getting enough sleep. I'm so discouraged, though.

We'll keep trying, because somehow, she's gotta get outta that crib, but I just don't know how. Maybe we put the toddler bed in her room, and put the crib in the bunk bed room, and have the baby and the 4 year old share a room. I don't know the answer.  Any suggestions or books or websites would be great. She sleeps fine in her own room, but just not in the bunk bed, yet. She doesn't cry or play any of the manipulation games that other kids do, she just won't stop in the bunk bed. It's like Six Flags over Texas for her, and just as big!

She's adorable, though, even when she doesn't get enough sleep. :) When I wash her hair, it's curly, but when she sleeps, the curls fall out.

Have a great week!

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced, hosted by Michelle, and the weekly {WiP} Wednesday feature.

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 33/52

I think I should type this whole post backwards.

Sdrawkcab.

Yhw? Esuaceb ton ylno did I ton hsilpmocca gnihtyna, tub I dedda ot ym PiW tsil!!

(eh, too time-consuming!)

So why was I typing every word backward? Because not only did I not accomplish anything, but because I added to my WiP list!

Fabric for a new project:

(it's Kitchy Kitchen by Maude Asbury by Blend)

What I NEED to work on this week

• Alison's bee blocks
• Des's bee blocks
• A car seat cover for a friend's new baby.

What I WANT to work on this week:

• Kelly's bee blocks
• Mary's bee blocks

What I won't likely touch all week, but need to:

• Fruit Stripe quilt
• Grayson quilt
• Field Study quilt

We are entering Week 2 of getting the girls into bunk beds. It's especially challenging for the 2-year old. And the 40-year old. :-p. I know it will take time, and it's just the next level of sleep training, but I'm just really hoping to not go crazy before we get there. Here's a crappy picture I took of the video monitor. See her little head popping up above the protective gate? She's just got toooooo much energy!

I hope you have a wonderful, crafty, and productive week! :)

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced and Lee's weekly {WiP} Wednesday feature.

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 31/52...and 32/52

(I actually wrote this last week, but never uploaded the pictures, and here we are, a week later, just like that! Poof! So, I'm gonna cheat and just use the one from last week, and intersperse any changes or finishes or new starts. :) )

So...Anna Maria Horner.

AMAZING!!!

On SO many levels. She is personable, she is kind, she is whip smart, she is genuine, she is funny, she is fiercely talented, she is adorable, she is beautiful, she is hard-working. She is what we all want to be when we grow up.

I was blessed to spend some one-on-one time with her on Friday before her first event, and then she spoke to our guild on Friday night.

Let me just say. If you ever have the chance to hear her tell her story? GO! Run like the wind! Pay the money! You will NOT regret it. I'm cheap, and I'm not an artist, and I don't aspire to design fabric. But her talk? Was ridiculously inspiring. For pretty much everyone that came. SO worth every penny.

(and every exhausting minute put into getting her here!)

You can see the exhaustion in my face here on Saturday. I was SO tempted to crop in a better picture of my face, but that might take another week. Or a year. :)

So Friday night was her lecture/trunk show. We saw her creative process, we saw pictures of her as a kid, we saw (and touched) some of her most beautiful quilts, we got to know HER. She was exhausted, I know, but she never showed it. She's all class. :)  And Saturday she taught her multi-tasker tote class. Which, I am SO glad I took as a part of a class!! I'm s...l...o...w..., and I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to reading patterns, but, to me, it was SO worth it!! For one, Rocket Man and I got to hang out with my best gal pals ALL DAY. That was such a treat. And for another, Anna held him pretty much every time he made eye contact with her.

Lemme just pause right there. Just exactly HOW many people can say that Anna Maria Horner held their baby while they sewed??

And for another, it was so valuable to me to have the pattern designer right there at our beck and call. And she was so gentle and democratic when we asked dumb questions. :-) Well, it was mostly only me asking dumb questions, but still. :-)

I really and truly believe that everyone who attended both events found it to be well worth the time and money.

Sadly, I did not finish my tote. And I have not picked it up again, either. I am just now, 4 days later, starting to feel human again! That whole thing just wiped me out! Shattered! Knackered!!

I hope to work on it this week. Once I get my mojo back. :-)

*Update: I finished it this week! Here's a pic:

OH!! Before I forget! Her new line, Field Study, is beautiful and vibrant and fluid and full of character. I love it on MULTIPLE levels. I've already designed a quilt that will feature each print, now I just need to get my mitts on it! Fancy Tiger in Denver has it already, so I may drive up there and buy some. Or all. I usually don't go gaga for collections, but I'm going cuckoo for this one!

*Update: I went to Fancy Tiger and measured the repeat on each one so I know how to use it in my quilt. I also picked up an extra sales brochure of Field Study so I could cut it up. This isn't what the quilt is going to look like, merely a picture so I can remember what prints I want to use.

 

I didn't touch anything from Sunday to Tuesday when I cleaned off my sewing table hoping to kick-start my motivation.

*Update: It's a mess again.

But then I filled it back up again. I'm gonna start small by sewing a banner of little triangles for the girls' room. My friend Amy, of Stitchery Dickory Dock, suggested it as a way to use up wee scraps, and it's darling (just like she is, by the way!), so we're gonna give that a shot this week.

*Update: Here's my oldest girlie helping Mama sew a banner for her room:

And I've got some bee blocks to finish. And others to start. :-)

*Update: I finished my Melissa block. Well, almost finished. I still have to put a strip of aqua across the top and the bottom, and then I've got to do a word that describes our Bee Happy bee. Hopefully I'll get that done this week.

We are going to be putting the girls in the same room soon, and little Buzz will go into the nursery, so I've got some domestic labor in my near future. Blending two closets is not my idea of fun. :-(. And I'm really scared about how they'll do in a shared room!! I anticipate very little sleep for us all in the near future. But it has to be done, so I will go bravely toward the challenge. :-)

*Update: The bunk beds went into their room yesterday, and last night was a "trial run"...that turned into a Papa Left The Room dance party, and ended with a Mama Found Out pity party. :-)  I'm praying tonight goes better.

That's all I can think of for now. Have a great week, and good luck getting some WiPs done!

(I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced's WiP Wednesday spot, hosted by Cindy, this week.)