April - June Update

Actually, I am will start with what we did a little before summer.  :)

Eric turned 9 in April.  Eric is a compassionate, excitable, sensitive, athletic boy.  He used to play soccer like his big brother, but has decided he prefers basketball and football.  He had a good year in 3rd grade.

In May we put some flowers on Grandma's grave on Mother's Day.  Each year we go on Mother's or Father's Day.  I take a picture of the boys next to a water faucet.  You can see how they've grown.  (Top: Tanner, Eric, Andrew in 2016, Middle: Andrew and Tanner in 2013, Bottom: Andrew and Eric in 2009)

The Spring was a little colder and wetter than usual, I think.  Andrew had some pretty cold soccer games.  This is one of Tanner's outfits for the game -- 3 hats to keep him warm.

Andrew graduated from the 5th grade.  It was a good year and he had a very kind teacher.  But he was ready for summer and for a change!  On to Middle School!  I am glad he's so ready, because I'm not sure I am.

 Father's Day is always exciting for the boys.  And I guess Brian likes it too.  :)

Eric went to Cub Country, a day camp with the Cub Scouts.  As is typical, he wasn't too thrilled to go, but once he got there he had a good time.  Brian went up as a volunteer on the second day.

 

Christmas Quilt #1 - Q3 Finish

I have made and given several quilts.  I guess I need some more friends because I have run out of people to give quilts to.  :) I feel a little bashful about giving a second quilt.  But I cannot stop.  I've decided to make some Christmas quilts to give -- that way the recipients can pull them out at Christmas time, but don't have to feel obligated to display/use them on a daily basis.  

My first one is made from "Evergreen" by Basic Grey.  It is made from a layer cake pattern from Missouri Star Company called "Flock of Geese."  I accidentally laid the blocks out in a different direction than the original quilt -- but it doesn't look a lot different.  I was pretty tired of making HST by the end of this quilt!    

After quilting my Polish Pottery quilt with straight lines, I decided to do this one with straight lines too.  I'm liking it.  The quilting is not very dense, which makes it drape nicely.

I was lucky enough to have some fabric in my stash that worked well for the backing.  I didn't have quite enough so I used some of the extra layer cake squares.  Unfortunately I didn't line up the quilt very straight so the stripe up the back is crooked.  At least it's the back.  :)

I am linking up to the 2016 Finish-A-Long at A Quilter's Table.
I am linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation.

Q3 Finish - Polish Pottery Quilt

Another finish!  This is my Polish Pottery Quilt.   

And this is my Polish Pottery.  

Last year I won a fat quarter bundle of fabric from Lady Belle Fabric.  "Bluebird" by Cotton + Steele.  Lucky me!  All those blues made me think of my Polish Pottery.  I have a collection of these dishes from Poland.  My sister lived in Prague, where she and her friends would make "Pottery Runs" to Poland.  When she came back to the US, she would bring each of us a piece of pottery.  So nice!  We have a big family so that is pretty generous.  We use the pottery frequently for dinner.  And I love how it looks on the open shelves in my kitchen.

Anyway, I found this pattern by Jeni Baker in the Scraps, Inc. Volume One book.  I used most of the dark/medium prints.  I still have several low-volume prints from the bundle.  This quilt is interesting because when I look at it closely, I wonder if I should not have used some of the fabrics -- like the purplish one, and the bright blue.  But from a distance I think the bright blue gives a little vibrancy to the quilt.  Anyway, I really like it "from a distance."  (Does anyone else have a Bette Midler song go through their head now?)

I quilted this with straight lines and I love how simple the back looks.

I am linking up to the 2016 Finish-A-Long at A Quilter's Table.

I am linking up at My Quilt Infatuation's 

Needle and Thread Thursday.

Frivols Quilt - Q3 Finish

This quilt is made from a kit - Frivols #8.  The fabrics and pattern are American Jane.  I made this quilt for my Aunt Carol -- she has had a challenging year and I hope giving this to her will remind her how much we love her. 

She now only lives about 45 minutes from me, and although I have seen her several times in the last year, I have never been to her house.  So my sister-in-law stopped by her house to visit her -- she then told me a little about her house so I would have some clue about what style of quilt I should go for.  She told me her house is classy, traditional, and the background colors are browns.  I am not sure I got it right, but I do like the quilt and hope she will too!  

I was named after my Aunt Carol so I have always felt a little bit closer to her.  She lived in a different state, which we would drive to each summer.  I remember always thinking she was so funny (which she is!)  I was especially touched when she flew out to my house to visit right before I left to serve an LDS mission in Brazil.  And I will never forget the fun package she sent me while I was there -- I have a pretty stunning picture of me -- sweaty, sunburned, and happily wearing some halloween socks.  :)  She is also very stylish and artistic, which made me even more nervous to pick out this pattern.  

I did not have enough background fabric for the border (Ivory Terra by P&B Textiles.)  I did have some Terra in a darker tan shade.  When I first put it on my design wall I thought I liked it.  But as I walked by the next few days, I felt it was too strong.  I finally ended up turning the fabric over to the wrong side.  It worked.  The contrast is there, but not so strong.  

I quilted this with straight lines across the middle, and a loopy pattern around the border.  This time it turned out even better than I expected!  Yay!  

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the back is a navy/white gingham and some red/white leaves.  Binding is a fun checker that I think is by Sweetwater.  

I am linking up to the 2016 Finish-A-Long at A Quilter's Table.

I am linking up to Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Finish Along Goals Q3

For this quarter, I hope to finish the following:

1.  Quilt for husband's birthday.

2.  Small Improv Quilt.

3.  Christmas Quilt.

4. Red/White Sampler.

5.  Blue Tile Quilt.

6.  Frivols Quilt.  No picture, but the top is finished and it's basted. 

I have not gotten much done with my kids home from the summer.  But come the end of August, they will be back in school and I hope to find some more time to complete some things.  

Linking up to the Finish-Along Q3 Linky Party at A Quilter's Table.  

Baby Blocks - Q2 Finish

I have had this quilt on my list of Finish-Along goals since last year.  It started out as what you see, plus a lot of surrounding fabric -- lots of negative space.  I just could not get up the nerve to quilt it.  I like quilts with negative space, but I think they look best when enhanced by some great quilting.  I am not there yet.  So I finally decided to just remove all that negative space.  It is now a baby quilt.  

I still don't love it.  My amateur quilting shows up too much on the solid fabrics.  I struggled to decide what thread color to quilt with -- finally decided on a medium gray.  Not sure it was the best choice.

But it is finished now!  I guess that's a good thing.  This is made from a pack of solids in a color way called "Pacific". The pattern is in the book Modern Quilts from the Blogging Universe.

I am linking up to the 2016 Q2 Finish-Along at A Quilter's Table.

Oh Baby.

Many moons ago I bought 3 fat quarters from the  October Afternoon's Seaside line -- I did not have a plan and just bought a few.  Wish I would have bought more.  I love the beach print.  The beach print is SO cute.  Anyway, lately we have been watching Blue Bloods reruns and I noticed this mug the Commissioner drinks out of. I figured if he likes it, it must be cool.  ;)

So I made baby quilt using those colors.  And then I loved it so much I had to make a second quilt with the same fabric.  :)

I have a friend who is expecting her 10th child (Yes, that's right...her tenth child.  She is amazing.)  I decided this little boy deserved a new quilt. (Really, I probably should have made the Mom and Dad a quilt!  :)  If I didn't have to mail the quilt, I just may have done it.)

The pattern on the left is one in Amy Smart's book, Fabulously Fast Quilts -- it is much smaller than her original.  The pattern on the right is from Growing Up Modern by Allison Harris.

The first quilt I made is the one with the sashing (above.)  The sashing is actually made from corduroy.  I backed it in flannel.  My original plan was to give this to my friend.  But then I made the second one and backed it in a shot cotton.  It is much lighter and so now I'm wondering if I should send this one to them.  After all, today in their neck of the desert it is 100 degrees (and that is NOT the hottest it will get this summer.)  

I wish I could say these are on my finish-along list, but they aren't!  I did get some good machine quilting practice in, though.  It is getting better.

I am linking up to Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday.

Spools - Q2 Finish

I am feeling like this may be my only finish this quarter!  Last day of school is next week, and that means less time to sew.  But anyway...here is my finished quilt wall-hanging.  It is small, but cute.  It is paper pieced from some free patterns by Fresh Lemon Quilts.   I will hang it in my sewing room sometime.  I keep thinking I'll rearrange and make it super cute.  I better not wait for that day, though....it may never happen.  :)

I am linking up to Finish-A-Long 2016 at A Quilter's Table.

Quilting for others

There is a little boy in our neighborhood who was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer -- he was not even 1-year-old yet.  He has been going through Chemo treatments for a few months, and still has several to go.   His tumor has shrunk but is still attached to organs and so can't be removed yet.  His family has been an example of faith and strength during this time.  It's also been touching to hear my own kids pray for him.

When I first met the mom she mentioned that she and her husband really like quilts.  So even though I don't know them really well, I thought I'd better make him a quilt.  It is a simple one, but I hope they like it.  It was good for me to make because it kept this family in my thoughts and prayers.

The pattern is similar to PowWow by Cluck Cluck Sew.  I especially like this pattern for boys.  I used fabrics in my stash.  Yay!

In October I joined an online charity bee.  Each month I am given instructions to make 1 or 2 blocks.  I then mail those blocks off to a quilter, who puts all the blocks together, quilts it, and gives it to someone in need.  So far it has been fun -- some blocks have been quick and simple.  Others have been a little more challenging where I used a new technique.  I look forward to seeing the finished quilts on Flickr someday.  Here are the blocks I've made so far.

April - Spring Break in San Diego

We had a fun Spring Break down in San Diego.  We drove down on Saturday -- one long day, but the kids did great.  Aside from Andrew throwing up in the car, a break by the side of the rode with Andrew laying down in the dirt, and having a policeman stop to make sure we were okay....it went smoothly.  :)

The resort we stayed at was very nice and spacious.  The kids get excited just for the fact that their bedroom has a TV with cable!  (We a simple antenna here at home.)  So while they watch Cartoon Network, Brian and I watch HGTV or the Food Channel (until Brian gets bored and falls asleep.)  We also did some old-fashioned "gaming" -- Chess, Pool, Air Hockey, and card games.

The resort had several swimming pools.  One had a slide that was perfect for the boys.  Tanner especially loved it.

The beach!  It was much colder at the beach than where we staying.  It's amazing what a change a 30 minute drive can make.  But the boys braved it and had a great time.  Tanner was a little nervous at first, but quickly got used to jumping the waves.  (Last time we were at a beach, he was 1 year old and was scared of the noisy waves.  He and I stayed a good distance from the water so he wouldn't cry.)

We had a great time at Legoland.  This was our second visit -- the first being 4 years ago.  Look how much they've grown!  Tanner was in a stroller last time we went.  Now he is the same age as Eric was the first time we went.

We enjoyed seeing the creations throughout the park.

And the boys enjoyed the rides.  Tanner was willing to ride them all!  Below is a picture of them riding the biggest ride at the park.  I was worried about this one, but he said he liked it.  We laugh at this picture -- with Dad in the back having a great time while the kids are terrified in the front.   They all came out with a smile, though, so I guess it was fun. 

We also went to SeaWorld -- the kids and I had never been.  It was raining most of the day which was a cold and wet.  The bonus was that it was not very crowded.   I think I prefer the rain over the crowds, actually.  The first animals we saw when we walked in were the Pink Flamingos.  Then we went to the arctic animals -- including polar bears and walrus (Andrew's favorite animal.)  After a few hours, Eric was ready to go (evidenced in the picture below where he is trying his hardest not to look happy.)  So he and I went out to the car for about an hour and warmed up.  Then we came back to join the family for the Sea Lion comedy show.  The break and the show cheered Eric right up.