Labor of Love

Do you ever get an idea in your head very last-minute, and no matter how crazy it seems- have to finish it?  It seems quite a few sewers that I've talked to have this problem quality. 

Last week I decided it would be really fun to make a quilt for our bed (finally; it's king-size and we've been using a queen-size for over a year!)  I decided this would be a great idea late last week, with the intention of finishing it for Valentine's Day.  That's right, a king-size in a few days.  Of course there was a weekend in there where I spent time with my family and didn't sew..... anyone seeing the problem here?  At the time it seemed doable, I was using a simple pattern after all.  But after I finally finished sewing all the blocks together last night, I realized I was borderline crazy.

I had bought some green sheets at the second hand store awhile back, Tyler's favorite color.  Then I went thru my scraps/stash and found some coordinating pinks.  Cut all into 3 inch strips.

The pile of blocks ready to sew together.

All the blocks laid out on the living room floor, ready to join.  Before I started sewing, I asked Breanna if she'd noticed the quilt and liked it.  "Of course", she said "everything you make is pretty!"  Sometimes I wonder if I have strange tastes, but at least my 6-year-old agrees with me!

Next, all the blocks sewn into strips.

And the strips sewn together, top complete. 

Well, it's not actually complete because I need to add one more row to allow for shrinkage, but the end is getting visible!

You should SEE the dent that made in my pink scraps bin, it closes now!  I have never made this large of a quilt before, and am now thinking it may be the only for our bed.  I thought it would be fun to have a few so I could change them out for different looks/seasons, but now maybe not.  Or maybe I just need to wait till there's another impending date......

How did you spend your valentines day?  I asked Tyler to please not buy me flowers till the next day, since they are so overpriced.  So, we celebrated on February 15th!  It may sound silly, but we had a delicious box of chocolates that was 75% off, I got a cute little coffee mug with pink & red hearts that was also 75% off, a boquet of purple and white tulips that were normal-priced, and he even made me a delicious dinner of BBQ Ribs.  Mmmmm, and I didn't even have to cook.  You may think that we are frugal, wierd, or whatever you like; but we actually enjoyed it more than if we'd spent a lot of money.  And do you think we love each other less by ignoring Feb 14th?  Absolutely not.

Now I really need to take a break from sewing, that quilt was turning into labor more than fun.  And did I mention the house really needs some color?  It's quite boring; cream everywhere.  The floors, ceiling, walls, I can't stand it.  We got some pretty colors to paint, now I am going to direct my creative juices in that direction.  What are you up to?

P.S. as far as that bread recipe- no kneading involved (I'm not a bread person, but I can make this one work!), you can buy flax seed whole (then put in the blender) or pre-ground (I get it bulk pre-ground at Costco), and you can use whatever kind of sweet-potatoes as long as they are cooked.  Someone actually mentioned I could try leftover mashed potatoes, good idea!  I'll try and post the actual recipe (it didn't even include them) later, now I'm off to piant with the kids!