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Hello

This summer has gone by in a bit of a blur. Hard to believe that school starts in a little over a week.

Here are some highlights of what we've been up to:


A little swimming....

A little road trip....

A little birthday party....

And a new furry addition to the family....

I'll post more details if/when I get the photos sorted out.

Hope you've all had a fabulous summer!

Beach Camping

:: happy toothless grin ::

:: smores ::


:: fog ::

:: beach combing ::

:: sandy feet ::

:: running in the water :: (brrrrrr!)

:: digging for treasure ::

My new BFF

Look what came in the mail today...

I treated myself to a new pair of sewing scissors. I bought them on ebay, so the price was right. The storage tin was a little dented, which was disappointing. But the scissors are fabulous!

Quilt blocks

Quilt blocks
Originally uploaded by cmhall410

I'm finally getting caught up on the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt-a-long. This is week 5 of the Quilt-a-long and I'm still behind. Today I finished cutting my sewn strips into blocks, which was actually supposed to be done in week 3. I may not finish this in the 7 weeks of the quilt-a-long, but I will finish it.

I'm just a little worried about the quilting part of this quilt. I've made quilts before, but I've always hand tied them. I really want to try free motion quilting on this one. I've never attempted free motion quilting before. Everything I've read says practice, practice, practice. So, I guess I'd better make up some mini quilt sandwiches and get to practicing.

In the mean time, I made myself a design wall (4 yards white flannel, cut in half and sewn together) and hope to use it tomorrow to work on my quilt layout. I've done pretty well at arranging the strips randomly so far. We'll see how the block arrangement goes. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a random sort of person.

I'm more of a "a place for everything and everything in it's place" kinda girl.

Wish me luck!

I'm not afraid of beige...

Just before Nathan was born, we moved into a new house and purchased some new furniture. A living room set and a dining room set. The green and cream living room set looked like it would hold up well to the rigors of family life. So did the dining room set. The glass table top would be easy to clean and the light colored chair cushions.......well, not so easy to clean.

After nearly seven years, those cushions show the evidence of a child who likes to paint, do playdoh and drink chocolate milk.

Not to worry......

I have thrifted IKEA couch slipcovers and all the neccessary tools.


A few hours later....we have nice, new (beige) chair cushions!

Now, I just need to find that can of Scotchguard.

(And the living room set...that's a story for another post.)

Quilt Along

Obviously I don't have enough projects on my plate.

And this.....

looked like so much fun, that I just had to join in. We're in the middle of week 3 and I'm already behind. Hoping to catch up this weekend.

Here is what I have so far...

My fabric choices. Mostly Moda in turquoise, lime and strawberry. The striped fabric in the back will be my binding (cut on the bias). I have an idea for the backing, but I want to see the quilt top all put together before I decide.


All 12 fabrics are cut into 2.5" strips. And now comes the exciting job of arranging them into sets to be sewn into blocks.

In all the years I've sewn, I've never made a quilt for myself. I love the fabrics and cannot wait to see how it all turns out. I'm not sure what I'll do with the finished quilt. I might just have to keep it for myself.

This and That

A Crayon Roll for a friend who is moving away.

Inside the Crayon Roll - pencil and paper included

Baking Day - Orange Sweet Rolls

(Yes, they're Pillsbury from a can. I did make Chocolate Chip Scones from scratch too.)

Nathan and his black olive mustache

Another finished project!

From this....

To this....

This was a great family project. Hubby helped by making the top/back piece and shelves. Nathan helped with the painting. I did a little of everything, including sanding, painting and decoupage. All the wood was scrap from previous projects and the paint was leftover from doing Nathan's room. Total cost was less than $12!

We'll be delivering the bookcase at school tomorrow. It's a gift for Nathan's teacher. She needs more organization in her room and mentioned that she'd like a bookcase. I hope she likes it.

Weekend Sewing

I've actually finished a few things on my To Do List! There's still plenty to do, but at least I'm making some progress.

Two pairs of summer sleep shorts for Nathan. The fabrics were on clearance at Joann's, so only $7 for both pair.

And an end-of-the-year gift for the student teacher in Nathan's class. It's similar to Lotta Jandotter's All Day Tote, but I made different pockets. I'm very happy with it except that I wish I'd used heavier interfacing so it would hold it's shape better.

It's lined and has an inside pocket.

Now back to that To Do List....

Another birthday. Another bag.

I made this one for Nathan's teacher, Mrs. M.

On each student's birthday, Mrs. M gives them a goody bag. Nathan thought it'd be a good idea to give her a goody bag too! He included a Teacher's Journal, colored paper clips, hand lotion, lip balm and chocolate.

I also took cupcakes in for the class. It was the first time Mrs. M had celebrated her birthday with her class.

WIP

I've been searching for a bookcase that I could refinish.

I found this at the Goodwill Clearance Center for $4. In it's previous life, it was a kitchen cupboard. Not a bookcase, but the price was right and it has potential.


With a little effort (and some power tools)....

It has a nice, new top and back board.


A little priming help from my assistant and it's coming along fabulously!

I'll be back soon with photos of the finished project.

Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Nathan and I have made little gifts to give his teacher and student teacher every day this week.

Here's what we've got in store:
Zinnia Mini Grow Kit with note "Thank you for helping me grow."
Rocky Road candy bar with note "You Rock!"
Tin of mints with note "You were 'mint' to teach."
Peanuts/Cashews with note "We're 'nuts' about you!"
Jumbo cupcakes with note "You take the cake!"

They both loved the little Grow Kits today.

And for some of the other school staff:

A basket of Dove chocolate roses.

You don't have to give gifts, but if you know a teacher, please let them know how much they're appreciated. This week and all year long.

A new grin

Nathan has finally lost one of his top front teeth! It's been loose for what seems like months. He's spent a lot of time trying to get it out. He took special delight in showing me just how wobbly it was. (Eww!)

Anyway, it's out now, but the Tooth Fairy will have to wait another night to collect it....

He wants to take his tooth to school tomorrow for sharing!

March CRAFTalong project

I was just looking through my last few posts and realized that I actually finished a sewing project that I haven't posted about yet.

(Good thing too, since it's too darn hot here to do any sewing or to think of something clever to post about.)

Ta Da! Crooked coasters to go with our new summer tablecloth.

I picked up the tablecloth (Liz Claiborne) at Linens 'N' Things when they were clearing everything out. I love how colorful and festive it looks. The Crooked Coasters were the March project for Finny & Donk's CRAFTalong 2009. I made the coasters from a thrifted sheet and tried to use up leftover thread from other projects. It's hard to see the different thread colors, but they are light green, yellow and light orange. I'm thinking about a set of matching napkins too.

The Crooked Coaster tutorial can be found here at The Long Thread.

Oops

I had some lovely photos from our UK trip to share with you.

At least I think I had some.

I know we took over 100 photos while we were there, but most of them have gone missing.

There are only 30 some on the disk and most of them are of this character-













Oh well, at least he's entertaining!

Springing back....

We're back from Spring Break.

Enjoyed a lovely holiday with our family in the UK.

I'll be back with photos soon!

(After I recover from jet lag.....and the mountain of laundry that's waiting for me.)

Thrifted sweater refashion

Last week, I thrifted these to "so-so" sweaters at the Goodwill.

The beige one is kind of boring and has a tie closure at chest level. Not exactly where I want attention drawn.

The blue one is a nice color, but it's very worn and pilling all over. (Not to mention that it's about 3 sizes too small for me!)

Normally, I would have passed both of these up, but the closure on the blue sweater really grabbed my attention.

And yes, I was willing to pay $4.50 for the sweater just to get that closure. (I was very surprised when I saw the brand on the tag - Faded Glory. Not exactly the style I expect from a Walmart brand.)

Ta da! It's not a huge change, but just enough to dress it up a bit. (I think you can click on the photo to enlarge it.) It was very easy and I'm so pleased with the finished product. Think I'll be on the lookout for more refashion opportunities at the thrift store now.

We're starting our Spring Break tomorrow, so I won't be around much. Definitely time to relax and enjoy a little extra family time.

From my kitchen window

Our neighbor is pasturing her horses on our property to help us keep the grass down.

I noticed this one watching me through the kitchen window as I was washing dishes.

Weird being watched by a horse.

A little sewing

I'm finally back to my sewing machine!




A birthday tote (filled with fun Tinkerbell stuff) for a friend of Nathan's.

Only a small project, but it's a start.

Ummmm...

I've been a bad blogger.

Well, I haven't actually been a blogger at all, but that's beside the point.

I do apologize for my absence.

I have no good excuse.

I promise to do better.

I'll be back with a real post soon.

Wishing It Was Spring Swap

Last month, I participated in Darci's "Wising It Was Spring" Swap.

My swap partner, Omajean, spoiled me!

She put together a fabulous swap package. She sent 3 half yards of fabric, a set of lovely tea towels, Milk Chocolate Pecans, a Lego car (for Nathan, of course) and a note written in a beautiful beaded note card.

Nathan grabbed the Lego box out of the package and begged me to open it for him. He put it together himself. (I love it when Nathan is included in my swap goodies. :))

I haven't used the towels yet. They're too pretty. I think I'll just look at them for a bit before using them.

The fabrics and the pecans are both yummy! I have several ideas for the fabric. You'll have to wait and see what they become.

And the pecans.....I don't think they'll make it through the weekend.

Thank you so much Omajean!

Baby's got a brand new bed!

Just so you know, I'm not the only one around here who makes things.

Mama sews.

Daddy does carpentry.

And look at his latest project....

a custom made loft bed.

Designed and manufactured by Big Daddy himself.

And I think Nathan likes it.

Quite a bit, actually.