March update

I just realized it been nearly a month since I wrote anything on here so I thought it was about time for an update.  After all, what good is an online journal if you don't write in it?

Here are the blocks I made for the March Block Lotto.   I like how the pattern comes together and the block is really easy to do.  I am keeping this one in mind for a quilt to go on the guest bed, even if I don't win the block lottery.

In other news, well, there hasn't been much progress on the sewing front this month.   I did finally finish quilting and binding a small Advent Calendar wall hanging that I plan to use next Christmas.  Before it can be put away however, I need to decide on a way to hang it up.

I started work on the queen sized quilt I'm making.  I ordered the fabrics online last month, but after seeing them in person, I decided some of the tans were the wrong tone and I decided to use medium to dark blues instead of the light blues which I ordered.  I think I will put a lot more thought into my fabric choices next time I order online.

Once I got new fabric purchased and all the fabric was washed, I started to cut into it while watching TV in the evenings.  I figured it would be much easier to assemble the quilt if all the pieces were cut ahead of time.  Unfortunately, I really was not in the mood to cut that much fabric, (it took me 4 nights to cut it all) and I didn't pay attention to the pattern and I ended up cutting nearly all the blue pieces wrong.  Some of the pieces were salvageable, but once again, my impatience ended up costing me time and money to get additional yardage for all the blue fabrics.  

I still haven't dared to cut into the new blue fabrics.  I haven't really felt up to much sewing at all.   DH and I are expecting a new little one at the beginning of November and that has seemed to really drain my energy the last few weeks, not to mention the stomach virus going around our house.

Oh, I have started another project though.  All the scraps created from my cutting mistakes on the blue fabrics inspired me to start a long-term scrappy quilt.  I decided to use 2" hexagons and any pieces too small to be a whole hexagon will be cut into either 1/2, 1/3, or 1/6 of a hexagon and pieced together.   Right now I am just cutting out the pieces and haven't tried to sew anything together.  This will be a hand project  so that I can have something to take with me on road trips to visit the in-laws, and also someting to do while the sewing room/office is undergoing some construction.  My machine is setup in the basement and waiting to be used, I just forget that it is down there so that might be part of the reason I haven't done much sewing lately.

I think I forgot to mention the Quilt Outreach quilt-a-thon I went to back in February.   I was really kind of fun, even though I was only there for a few hours.  I think I counted 39 sewing machines (including Grandma's) in use and there were several other people helping to press tops and make sandwiches (including Mom, my little sister, and my cousin, Allison).   Maybe I can help out again sometime.

Friday Morning

So late last week, DS woke up early and he played in my room while I was getting ready for work.  One of the first things he did that morning was to take my cell phone off the charger on the nightstand and start playing with it.  The following conversation ensued:

Me:  Who are you calling?

DS: Da.

Me: Oh, well, Dad can't talk on the phone right now, he is still at work.  We'll talk to him later when he is finished.

DS:  'kay

I guess that DS decided that if he couldn't talk to Dad, he would at least send a text message, because the next thing I know, I get a text message from DH asking me to explain the text message he got from my phone (gibberish sent by DS).

Who knew a not quite 2 year old could have the courtesy not to call someone when he knows they are busy?

String Fabric project

So after making the heart blocks out of string fabric for this month's block lotto, I had some leftover pieces. I wanted to do something with them and this is what I came up with.

Now it just needs a little quilting and then a rod pocket and it will be a nice little wall hanging for some where in the house.

Ackkk!

I just ordered 18 yards of fabric online and spent all of my project money!  I'm rather nervous that I won't like it or something.  I hope I picked the right colors.  We will see when it gets here I guess.

New projects

Well, I didn't win the block lotto my first month.  I really like the blocks though and I've already though of different ways to use them so I may be making more just so I can experiment with the different blocks and get a little more practice with machine quilting.

The February block for the block lotto is a string fabric heart. Here are my two blocks so far


 

I've got enough string fabric made for four more blocks.  I hope to get them done by the end of the month.

I was able to spend several hours quilting on Sunday thanks in part to my DH.  He took care of our son so I could get a little work done.  It also helped that I woke up at 4:00am and couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and started quilting.  I was able to piece an entire top for a crib sized four-patch and even get it put on my frame, ready to go when I want to get started again.  I'll have to get some pictures of it when it is finished.

It's finished!

My first ever, bed sized quilt is finally complete!  It only took a year from start to finish.

Leo really seems to like all the dragonflies, I couldn't keep him off the quilt!

Each dragonfly was paper pieced in 4 parts and then sewn together.  I really had to raid Mom and Grandma's stashes because I didn't want to use any fabric more than once in the entire quilt.

This was my first foray into the world of free-motion machine quilting.  I tried to stich-in-the-ditch around all the dragonflies but I found that my arms and hands really don't have enough control with the free motion foot on the machine so my quilting is rather poor.   I really like the backing fabric I found.  I was at the store to buy some plain muslin for the back when I found this lightweight denim with the embroidered bugs on it.  I really think it complements the quilt much better than a plain backing.

So, lessons learned from my first bed sized/machine quilted quilt:

1. It helps to buy all the fabric for the top at the same time - I spent several days/weeks trying to find a fabric for the border that would help to tie the whole top together.
2. Don't try to use embroidery thread in a standard sewing machine - That cost me $80 to fix my machine.
3. A frame might make machine quilting much easier - I bought a small one that I can't wait to tryout on my next small project.
4. I really prefer the look of hand quilting over machine quilting. 

All in all, I had a really fun time watching this quilt come together.  The last couple steps of a project are always the most exciting because you get to really see the light at the end of the tunnel and can envision the finished product.

I've got plans for another crib sized quilt to be started soon.  Or at least I thought I did.  I saw a new block today that may convince me to change the pattern I was going to use.

Quilt lotto

Well, thanks to DH for giving me a little free time to finish my blocks for the Block Lotto this month.

Quilting!

So it seems that this will be a rather quilt-y kind of year!  For starters, the International Quilt Festival is coming to Cincinnati!  While I am toying with taking a day off work to take one of the classes that are being offered, I may just go to browse and look around with the other ladies from the sewing circle.

Next, I am finally taking my turn to host the sewing circle meeting this month, now that we have a house and are mostly settled in.   I am looking forward to it and depending on how DS behaves, I may host it a couple more times this year.

Third, I hope to finish the quilt for DS in the next couple of months.  I have all the pieced blocks quilted, but I just have to decide on a design for the setting squares and the borders.  I think I will do an internet search for quilting stencils and try to find something.

Fourth, I am working on a little quilted advent calendar.  It is just the right size to take on trips to visit DH's family.  I found the panel at Joann's and thought it would make a nice family tradition to start next year.  Growing up, I always enjoyed it when Mom bought an advent calendar or when we got out the Jesse tree.   So, I decided to combine the two traditions and make little Jesse tree symbols that fit in the pockets of the advent calendar.  Each day of December, DS will have a new symbol to take out of the advent calendar, we can read the Bible story associated with that symbol, and then hang it on the Jesse tree.

Fifth, I have decided to join a quilt block lottery. This will give me the chance to have some different, small projects to work on each month when I need a break from the other projects I have going.  Also, if I am so lucky as to win a group of blocks, I can turn them into quilt for one of our guest beds/air mattresses.  When we were planning on having DH's family spend the night, I realized that we do not have nearly enough blankets so a block lotto quilt might be just what we need.

And finally, I have found one of the cutest ever pieced baby quilts in a new quilting magazine that I got.  If I get the motivation to finish DS's quilt, I'd like my next project to be something a little smaller than twin size.  Of course, by that time, I may have found another really cute pattern to use instead.

December update

Well, I've gotten a bit of a reprieve this year, my brother-in-law is in poor health and can't travel to our house for Christmas so instead, we have moved Christmas to my sister-in-law's house so BIL's travel time is reduced from  4-5 hours to 45 minutes.  While I was looking forward to having everyone over, it does reduce the amount of cleaning, planning, and stress I have over these next few weeks.

In other news, I have received some cash as an early Christmas gift this year and I've got all sorts of ideas about what to spend it on.   I've already ordered a Coffee Bean Direct sampler pack off Amazon.   If we like their coffee, we can buy it in 5lb bags for only $6-7/lb which is as good or better than the best sale I've seen for the grocery store's bulk coffee.

I also had the idea to start saving up for a machine quilting frame.  I could probably get one for around $600, but then I realized that most of those frames take up a lot of room and don't disassemble easily.   After a little more searching, I found the Flynn Multi-Frame Quilter.  At $100, it certainly fits my budget a lot better than the Grace frame I have been looking at.  An added advantage is that the Flynn takes up very little space when it is not in use.  It comes with 48in rods, but I think I will end up getting bigger ones that can hold at least a twin size quilt long-wise.  I'm hoping that this frame really works well so I can finish the quilt I am making for DS.   I started his quilt almost a year ago, and it would be nice to have it completed before his birthday in April.   Of course, since he is only turning 2, I don't think he will care very much if it doesn't get done, especially since he is still in the crib and can't use it yet.

Grandma surprised me with a call today and we went out to lunch.   I hadn't seen her in a while, so it was nice to catch up.   She had an early Christmas present for DS of pajamas with his name on them.  And she also brought me a plate of cookies that she had made.  I really appreciated that since I had only made Snickerdoodles for the cookie exchange so far.  Now granted, I do like the cookies everyone made for the exchange, but they are not the same as Grandma's cookies.  You see, the cookies that Grandma makes are the ones that Mom grew up with and therefore also the ones that I grew up with, so to get a plate of Grandma's cookies just kind of really got me in the Christmas mood.

Choir practice tonight is going to be short and followed by a Christmas party.  It will really be nice to just relax and hang out with friends for a little while.

Anyhow, I've got to get back to work.  I may post after my new quilt frame arrives and I get a chance to practice on it.

Holiday time is here!

I'm so excited, it's our first time to celebrate the holiday's in our own home!    For some strange reason, I've volunteered to host Thanksgiving AND Christmas at our house this year.  Thanksgiving should be no problem.  Mom is cooking the turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce and JP will bring desserts.  That just leaves me with a few side dishes and beverages.  Oh...and a house to clean.   DH will be working that night, but it should be no problem since he doesn't go in till late.

Christmas on the other hand is a little daunting to me.   We are hosting DH's family of 25+ people and they all have to drive in from 2-5 hours away.   Some will be spending the night, so we will have to have breakfast and possibly luch for a crowd the next day too.  Add to that the fact that this is the first time I(we) will be hosting a party for my inlaws so I want to make sure they all have a good time.     Lucky for me, it works out best for the rest of the family to celebrate Christmas together on New Year's day rather than Christmas and I have New Year's Eve off work so there will be plenty of time to get things ready.

I'm really looking forward to seeing DS's reaction to the cold weather and snow this year.  Last year he was too little to really want to play outside and investigate the snow but this year should be different.  He also should be more aware of the Christmas tree, presents and everything else that goes on this time of year.

I'm looking forward to many wonderful memories this Christmas.  (sorry I forgot to publish this for over a month)

Cincinnati, Ohio

So here is my latest project!

I plan to make a few of these little purses as Christmas gifts and this was my trial run.
It is supposed to have batting between the layers of fabric. I didn't use any for this sample and it really could use it. The purse is just so lightweight without it that I think it will be hard to use. I really think it would be great to make this out of some old blue jeans and put a pocket on one side, so I'll have to search through my winter clothes for a pair that can be reassigned to the rag bin.
The pattern calls for a magnetic closure, but I plan to put in a zipper instead on the final versions.

Speaking of zippers, I found this outlet store near my house. They don't really have much in the way of fabric, but they have 1500 sq ft of thread, buttons, zippers, lace, hem tape, machine accessories, sewing tools etc. And the prices are great! 28 cents for a 9 inch zipper and 72 cents for a 22 inch zipper! I really got a kick out of the one whole wall with nothing but bra cups and shoulder pads! I'll have to get a catalog and see if there is anything to add to my Christmas list.

Expensive Repairs

So, I'm making my first-ever twin size quilt.   I started it last winter with the idea that it would be for Joseph when he is old enough to move into a twin size bed (this also gave me lots of time since he was under one year old when I started it).  Once I got the top pieced together, I decided to machine quilt it on my new sewing machine.  Good idea, right?     Wrong.   The fabric I picked out for the backing is a nice, thin, denim type of material with all these cute bugs embroidered everywhere.  It turns out those cute little bugs are not so cute.  After sewing through one-to-many of those things, I messed up the timing and needle position of my machine.  Lesson learned, and all remaining quilting will be done by hand.  I just hope the machine can handle a few more bugs when it comes time to sew on the binding.

I do have a few small sewing projects in mind to start on when my machine is back from the repair shop.  Mainly Christmas gifts and tote bags.  I'll have to post a few pictures when I get them finished.

Pictures!

So here are my two favorite guys, just hanging out together before Sunday Mass.

One little boy, very happy on the playground!

Hey Dad, I can help too!

Pictures

We haven't taken any pictures in months.  If we don't get on the ball soon, there won't be enough pictures to fill up the 2010 photo album!

I also really need to add some pictures to these posts.   I wonder if DH can help me find the camera?

Another Autumn begins

Where did the summer go?   These last few weeks have been a blur, unpacking, working on home improvement projects and just plan old everyday life.  

So here we are in September again.   This is the time of year DH is always asking me "What can I get you for your birthday?" and I never know what to say.  He always asks to get me stuff I want not need and it's hard to come up with ideas.  What a dilemma.

I'm really looking forward to a nice, crisp fall.  This year, we have our own backyard to sit in.  We can watch the trees change colors from our very own windows.  Of course, that also means that we have our very own leaves to rake up too. (really, they're from the neighbors trees, so can we ask the neighbors to rake them up?)

I'm also planning our garden for next year.  Now is the time to get great bargains on perennials so I got the OK from DH to spend a bit of money and my little sister came over to help me plant some mums and ground cover in the front beds.    I'm also planning on planting about 150 crocus bulbs in the backyard.  There is this one bare spot where the grass doesn't grow because there is too much shade, but in the winter and early spring before the trees have leafed out there should be plenty of sun to warm up the crocuses and get them to bloom.

At some point I'll get back to my sewing, but there will be plenty of time for that in the winter when it's too cold to go outside.  For now, I'll enjoy the nice weather as much as I can.

Life as a homeowner

So, we are now in our fourth week of homeownership and things are still in a mess. Tonight, for the third night in a row, I am going to attempt to unpack the books and put them on the bookshelf in the living room. We didn't do it earlier because we were waiting to get the living room furniture and rearrange the layout. The furniture has been here a week, arranged the way we like for 5 days, so it's about time to tackle the books.

After the books are unpacked, we have a few more boxes of baking dishes to put somewhere and quite a few games to tuck away in some as of yet unidentified corner of the house. It really won't take that long, but between painting the back door, cooking, cleaning, laundry and child care, it just hasn't happened yet.

Now I just got a phone call from DH's brother, he and his wife are going to stop up for dinner tonight. Looks like the books won't be getting unpacked tonight. I've got some chicken kebabs for the grill, but nothing else on the menu yet. Oh well.

Did I mention the grass hasn't been cut in a couple weeks? The grass itself really doesn't need to be cut, but all the weeds in the grass are getting pretty high. Got to call up the neighbors and ask to borrow their lawn mower again some time this week.

Oh, I forgot to mention DS has made his first drawing to hang on the fridge! We gave him a coloring book and some crayons the other day and I think he spent 20-30 min just coloring while DH and I talked with a friend who stopped by. It was great! I don't know if it's normal for a 16mo old to be coloring, but he just looks so proud of himself when the crayon colors on the page! Ahh, motherhood, so many trials, but so many joys.

The Plumbing is Fixed!

So we moved into our new house on August 6th, a week later than we had planned. Fortunately, our realtor was willing to drive to Columbus so we could close on Friday rather than waiting to close until Monday. And between DH, Papa, BIL, Grandpa, and the realtor, all the plumbing problems are now fixed. And trust me, there were a lot of plumbing problems. It seemed like as soon as they fixed one, another one popped up. We still need to get someone out there to clear some slow drains, but, everything is useable for now.

A few days ago, DH locked himself out of the house. So instead of calling a locksmith, he kicked in the back door, so replacing the back door got added to our list of home repairs.

Now of course, we still have plenty of things to keep us busy, like hang blinds, hang a medicine cabinet in the upstairs bathroom, hang a smoke detector, fix the hole in the diningroom wall, repaint, weed the gardens, fix the fence, and the list keeps going on, and on, and on....

On a different note, DH starts third shift today. He goes in at 11:00pm and gets off at 7:30am. I sure hope he can stay awake, and then rest during the day. I have a feeling he is going to skimp on sleep to work on the house, at least for this first week. I'm going to miss sleeping with him. And, I have to get used to getting DS and myself ready in the mornings with out DH around to help. Still, I'm thankful he has a job in this economy. I hope he ends up liking the work he is doing.

3rd shift

So, DH is taking a new job - great!

The new job is 3rd shift - not so great

I know it will be hard having DH on third shift but I think it will be good for him to get away from his current company. This new job is also in the IT field and he has been trying to get a job in the IT field ever since he finished his MCSA certification back in November.

For now I'm praying for the grace and patience to adapt to our new family schedule when he starts in a few weeks.

Swimming Fun

Yesterday was rather busy. I helped at a painting party for the parents of a friend of mine. I'm always willing to lend a hand but since both my friend and her parents live in the neighborhood we will be moving to in a few weeks, I thought it would nice to rack up a few brownie points for when we move in. The painting went really well, and then around noon, DH's brother and sister-in-law came up from Louisville for a few hours and they wanted to see the new house. After a quick tour, we went to lunch at a small family restaurant down the street called Demetrio's. It was rather nice, the place was nearly completely empty except for us. I tried their 3 way chili and DH had this really good Greek Burger. It was 8 oz of beef, gyro meat, the cucumber sauce, cheese, tomato and some other stuff.

After such a good lunch we decided to get some exercise and walked down the street to the business district of the village next to our future neighborhood. It was a really nice day for a walk, not too humid, not too hot. We stopped in Grater's to get some ice cream before heading back home.

Once we got home, we had the next disk of Startrek Voyager, Season 4 waiting in the mailbox for us so we watched almost all of it in one night.

Today, we went to visit my family. Dad, Max, and Kateri invited us to go to the pool with them. First time I had been swimming all summer. DS really like being outside and enjoyed the water too. It was nice to slow down for a little while in what promises to be a very busy month.

Take your child to work day

Today I took DS downtown to the Probate Court. My boss usually is the one who goes down and files our paperwork with the Probate Court but he is on vacation today so I got to go. It was an unusually quick trip. All the ladies down at the Probate court were happy to see DS again. He has gotten so big in the past several months! And, of course, he was being his bashful self, which everyone thought was so cute.

All too soon, I had to leave DS with Mimi. It's nice that he can spend some time with Grandma and his uncles and aunt occasionally, but one day, hopefully not too many years away, I'll be the one he stays with all day long.