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