Hello World! And a Quilt!

Hello World!

Generic, huh? Yeah, I know. It seems like I keep hitting the repeat button super busy these days. I have started homeschooling my 3 school-aged children.

Would you believe I started that post March 20th? Sadly, I did, and I haven't been back. Like I mentioned already, I've been super busy. The Kids homeschooled all last semester, we started softball with J which took up 4-5 days a week for practice and ball games. Things have just started to settle down now, thankfully, just in time for school to start back at the end of the month. I still have to order curriculum for the girls and figure out a routine of some sorts to keep us all sane. I'm looking forward to it, though.

That's my update, now it's time for the good stuff, right? I FINALLY finished a quilt! This quilt was requested by L. She outgrew her original quilt (toddler sized). She picked out the design and the fabrics and all I did was assemble and quilt it. The pattern came from Ann Kelle's Christmas Trees Quilt. The fabrics were a pink bundle I bought from an online store (can't remember....been too long) and the backing fabrics came from my dear friend Jackie (jmmaxman - love you).

Front

Back

Binding

I have never done a pieced back quite like this before and I'm SO happy that I did it. I LOVE it so much!! If it wasn't for my little girl, I'd probably keep it for myself. Lol! So, here's to hoping my mojo is back and I can continue on with blogging and quilting. Oh, and if you see my sanity....send it back to me, k? Thanks!

P.S. Here's my little helper today while taking pics...can't believe he's 10 month's old already!

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Diamond Chevron Quilt Top

I have a finished quilt top to share. I participated in Kristen's QAL at KD-Quilts using her pattern Diamond Chevrons. I made it with Tula Pink's Prince Charming fabric and Free Spirit solids. They were all a Designer Select Bundle over at FatQuarterShop. Seriously LOVE this quilt. I had sworn off HSTs after the quilt I did for J, but I enjoyed doing this one. Prep time took the longest, but the piecing didn't take long at all! I managed to do a row here and there in between caring for my spoiled sweet baby boy and before I knew it, it was done.

I ended up adding a row to the top and 2 rows to the bottom because I wanted a little extra length. I'm still trying to decide what to use as a back for this one, but I can't wait to get it quilted to cuddle up under. 

I also posted this in the Tula Pink Sew Along Flikr group. I have to say that, sadly, this is the first time I had used Tula Pink. Lets just say I'm hooked! I still have a bunch of 4" squares and plan on creating another quilt top with it. Wonder what I'll do with them? Any ideas?

Big Bundle of Joy

This little (BIG) fella has been keeping me busy lately! He will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. I cannot believe how the time has flown.

Kaiden (known as K or baby K)

Born August 30, 2012 at 7:57am

Weighing 9lbs 07oz

  Here's a more recent picture of my little man.

He's a wonderful baby. He's so calm unless he wants food and when he wants it, he WANTS it right then. LOL He is very, very spoiled. He loves for mama to hold him. It doesn't help that I love it, too. He also has reflux. Which means he gets held more than he should (is that possible). As for me, I'm managing. I've been struggling emotionally, but hopefully I'm getting back on the right track. I still have a couple more weeks before I'm off complete restriction. That hasn't stopped me from pushing my limits, of course. I'm still not used to the fact that I have a son. Nor am I used to the fact that I have 4 kids. LOL Well, baby K's waking up so it's time to go!

What's Up? (Picture Heavy)

This is me:

I deliberately hid my face because it is so swollen and I look pitiful. This was actually taken a week ago. I'm currently 31 weeks. I'm miserable and not really fun to be around right now. Lately I haven't really been spending time at my sewing machine, either. However, I do have some stuff to show you that I've done over the last few months. I could separate these out into additional blog posts, but just the thought makes me need to go take a nap. So, here goes:

First, I want to show you the last full quilt I finished. This one I finished in May for my mother. It features Java by Deb Strain. It is almost the size of a queen, but not quite. It was huge! Also, it is the largest I have quilted on my little home machine.

Front

Back

After I had finished this quilt, with many many tears involved I swore off quilt sandwiches until after baby K is born. Here are two quilt tops I have finished:

D9P featuring Fandago by Kate Spain

New Wave Pattern by Oh Fransson! Featuring Terrain by Kate Spain

Also, I've been doing a bit of sewing for the baby:

Burp Cloths

Bassinet Skirt

Nursing Cover

So, that's pretty much been what I've been up to since my last blog post. Most of these pictures were taken with my iphone on instagram, so they aren't the best quality. I apologize, but I just do not have the energy to dig out my good camera and stage fancy photos as I normally would. :)

Until next time (whenever that may be)... happy sewing and quilting!!

Father's Day

I'm a day late with this post because yesterday was a very difficult day for me. You see, my daddy unexpectedly passed away at the end of February and this was my 1st father's day without him. The grainy picture I posted above is my dad (forgive the graininess. it's an old pic of a pic that's been cropped).  My dad was a carpenter, a hunter, a gardener, a quiet and laid back man. He would give me his last dollar out of his pocket and do without food if he knew that I needed it. He hardly ever got mad or raised his voice. I don't know what else to say except my daddy was a good person. Holy crap, I miss him SO much. I can't write any more about him without a big tear fest, so I'm going to stop here and move on with my story.

Back in December at Christmas time I gave my daddy a lap quilt. I think he used it a couple of times before he passed away. He was always afraid to use something "nice." I threatened him though and said he'd better use it because I made it for him to use and it would hurt my feelings if he didn't. lol He did comment a couple times that it was nice and warm and that he really liked it. :) Below, again, are grainy pics of the lap quilt. I'm doing this as a tribute to my dad and I can't bear to dig out the quilt just to take new pictures with my good camera.

Front

Back

All I did was take a panel and add a border to the top and bottom (all from my mother-in-laws stash). It was very simple, just how my dad liked things. I did a very minimalistic quilting job on it as well. I followed the borders of the squares and then did a big X through the center.

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy in Heaven. You will never be forgotten but forever missed.