Projects for the Table

I bought these fun coffee fabrics last year, and have been trying to decide what to do with them.

I cut some 3" squares and layered them together to make half-square triangles.  The easiest way I've found (thank-you Mom!!), is to mark a line diagonally from corner-to-corner, and stitch a 1/4inch seam on each side of the line.  Then I cut down the center, and ironed them open. I think the white marker is called a herra marker?? It makes a crease in the fabric.  Mom got it for me at the first quilting class I attended, a long time ago with her and my sister, Anna.

There will be little "dog-ears" at the corners, that I cut off.

The blocks were similar to the "Churn Dash" block that has been around for many generations.

Flipping the pieces gave an entirely different look!

I added some borders, quilted, added binding; and now have placemats!

They aren't exactly the same, but coordinate well.  I still have quite a bit of the fabric left, but am thinking of lots of pot-holders.  On the subject of coffee, I can drink it again without upsetting Andy's stomach!  I'm not one of those people who drinks cup after cup, but I certainly enjoy a cup every other day or so.  And I admit, there are some days 2 or 3 is necessary to keep up with the kids!  I'm also the type that likes "a little coffee with my creamer".....  =)

I also made a table-runner from the Vine Creek Moda Scrap Bags that Breanna won!  She is really into bright colors, so I traded her for a few pieces of "big" fabric from my stash. These aren't necessarily my colors, either, but I know someone who may really like it!

For the back I used more of the strips, and used the green strips for the binding.

There were still some pieces left, so I made some coordinating pot-holders.  It's fun to have extras on hand to give away!

And the backs.

Marlene gave me this fun book last year, and I've been reading it quite a bit lately. Both my sister and my cousin say they need new aprons.....

On the subject of aprons, Levi has two John Deere Tractor aprons- and is quite delighted to share one with Andy so they match!  Such sweet boys.  It's adorable how much they admire each other!

Fun in the mail!

 Last week we had two very fun packages arrive in the mail! The first was clear from Australia; the fabric (and a whole lot more!) that Breanna won from Shay, another blogger who loves to quilt.  She had won two Moda Scrap Bags from the "Vine Creek" prints, but Shay put in a whole bunch of fun treats that we don't get over here.

There were some Nestle Smarties (Australia's version of M&M's, only a whole lot bigger and better!), chicken flavored ruffled chips (and they really taste like chicken!), Violet Crumbles (a treat Tyler loves to get when we drive thru Canada), and Monte Carlo Raspberry cookies (or as she calls them, biscuits).  =) Everything was delicious, and quite a nice surprise!

There was a big post-card with a kangaroo on it, and Breanna asked "is that real?"  We've read about them in books and such, but she'd never seen one in real life. What a fun toy this has created!

And, of course, the best part.... fabric! These are all coordinating prints, the leftovers from when they make Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, Charm Packs, etc. Each strip is roughly 30inches long, and from 2-4 inches wide. Between the two bags I think there were about 40 strips.

And very unexpected.... she also sent 5 blue "Flat Fats", very similar to our Fat Quarters, for me!  They are tiny, pretty prints in blues, I can't wait to use them!

The second package, just a couple days later; came from Kylee & Doug, and cousin Kiera in Oregon!  There were backpacks for each of the kids, and lots of fun new toys, stickers, large printed photos of the kids, play money (Andy loves the huge coins for teething!), and some fun little workbooks Kylee made for each of them. Levi has his own real toolbox full of play tools, so it was great to have more fun things to add!

There were also two huge coloring pads and crayons for each (the fat crayons are perfect for Levi, Kylee!).  They were so excited about them that I had to limit them each to one page per day, so they will last more than a week!  =)

Breanna loves to color, and she's doing a wonderful job at keeping within the lines!

There were some rubber spiders that the big kids were absolutely terrified of. Levi reached out with a quivering arm to touch it (and jumped back like it bit him!), but Breanna stood clear across the room saying "I don't know why he'd even want to touch that!!  It was all I could do to not laugh, but I do admit they were very real-looking.  Andy, however, didn't understand- and swiped it up quickly to "taste" it when I showed it to him.  =)

Thanks, girls, the kids loved waiting for the mail to come before.... now they are really interested!  =) Aunt Bet & Grandma Jill sent a package with toys and clothes a couple months ago, too, they are getting spoiled!

Organization

I've been itching to sew, but for now I'm working on getting things organized so it's more fun to sew!  This is the fabric I'm planning on using for a table-runner. Not sure on the pattern I'm using, but I love looking at it. I got it with some of the money from Mom, and when I bought it Tyler said "what are you making with that?"  I said, um..... something pretty?!  =)  Do you ever have that; just can't not get something, yet you're not sure what you'll do with it?

I've also been cutting out lots of little blue, yellow, white, and navy squares for a king-size bed quilt. I'm using scraps, so it takes longer but I usually like the look better.  I think quilts with a few fabrics are beautiful too, but often I like them even better when there are lots and lots of fabrics.  I haven't gotten too far on these yet. Notice the sunlight in these fabric photos....... we're getting so much more of it lately!

And here's the sewing area we were using.... more photos when I actually get done. Now that Breanna is sewing with me, more space and organization will be helpful!

There's a huge window on the wall where the quilting machine is, and it has southern exposure.... it's wonderful to have all that sunshine while working!

More happy dancing!

Hello again, surprise!?  Wow, hard to believe it's been nearly 3 weeks, but I decided to skip the blogging for awhile to focus more on normal life.  There's been so much going on around here, and that probably sounds silly about the dancing- but I've found so many things to be happy about! My sweet husband finished most of the window trim, found a new & prettier front door (free except for the cost of having a jam built for it, which we are now waiting for), and built me this new bed with lots of storage space underneath! I'm planning to make a bed-skirt and working on a king-size quilt, but it was fun to use the fair quilt for the photo.

Regarding the bed, Andy has slept the past 2 nights in his own crib for 10+ hours each night!  He's quite plump and 6 months old now, so it was time.  I was dreading puting up with the crying, but he's seemed to cut back quite a bit.  He definately seems to think he's been cheated somehow.  But it's so nice to wake up feeling somewhat rested in the mornings!

Andy is also weaned off his medicine for reflux, and rolling all over the place; he seems much happier.  He's got two new teeth and it appears that more are on the way from the amount of liquid that accumulates on his shirt continuously.  He's been moving his hand when we wave, and today he was trying to wave at us!  I just love to watch the personality come out, he's trying to communicate with us and it's so sweet.

Breanna has started sewing some fun hot-pads, and would make them all day if I'd let her.  I can't show you a picture just yet, as she's making them for a surprise for the Grandma's.  She also won the random drawing that Quilting in my Pyjamas had, and was quite surprised/excited!  In a couple weeks she will receive a fabric assortment all the way from Australia!!  Lundell's gave her a fun pink storage bin that she's starting to fill with her fabrics, she appears to have gotten a good dose of my sewing genes. As you can see, she sure likes her daddy.  =)

For my birthday, my mom sent me some money to spend on sewing fun.... what a treat after avoiding the fabric store!  I chose very carefully, used coupons, and had so much fun.  Another friend sent some money for a project I'd helped on, and this time I decided to treat the family to a fun evening.  After Daddy came home we went to dinner at Burger King, then the kids got to each spend $5 how they wanted (Breanna- fabric, Levi- match box trucks), and then we stopped at Little Millers for ice cream before coming home.  The new budget has really changed all of our attitudes, we really enjoyed all the little things!  On the way home Breanna asked "why are we spending all this money?!?"  We told her it was just a treat somebody sent, and she said "oh, so we just spend other people's money?"  =) I do like the change it's bringing, before the kids just expected to do things like that all the time, and didn't appreciate it. This is Levi being silly on the bunk-bed.

We also got to try ice-fishing last weekend!  A bunch of friends met at the lake, and the kids had a blast both fishing and enjoying the other kids.  Andy wasn't quite as impressed, so we spent most of the time keeping warm in Heather's truck.

So last, but probably most exciting, my sister is getting married!  She's been dating Chad for well over a year now, and they are very happy; so we are very excited for them!  Won't get to actually meet him till just before the wedding, but it will be fun to meet all his family at the same time! I'm sure there'll be lots of fancy photos next time I see her, so here's a fun one from when she was living in AZ.

This will be all for now, tomorrow is sewing circle and it's my turn this week, so lots of fun treats to make and more house to clean. Breanna is excited to help!