Smooth Sailing?

I am currently working on the second challenge for Persimon Dreams Quilt challenge. The challenge this week is to quilt something using only your favorite color and white. You can read about the cahllenges by clicking on the Project Quilting Button to the right. I know I said after the last one that I was going to do a smaller project, but...I couldn't resist. So now, I will be fighting the clock to get this one done!

My favorite color is blue, but I actually do not have much in the blue fabric department. I found a pattern in one of my quilting books for sailboats and thought it would be a good way to use up my scraps.

I cut out the blocks and triangles and here is the layout of the boats:

I managed to get one sailboat pieced last night:

And all the triangles sewn together:

So, now I just need to piece the other three boats, add strips of white inbetween, figure out what to use as binding and backing, and quilt it by Sunday at noon. I better get to work!


I will be linking up to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday so be sure to check out what everyone else is up to! Have a great day!

Works in Progress-Sewing and Potty Training

Mid-week!  Hoping to get the boys outside for longer today because it is supposed to be so nice out.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be cloudy/rainy plus I have a dr appointment and my 4 yr old has his first dentist appointment.  He is a little nervous but my husband got him excited/okay with it, at least temporarily.  So, we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, today is work-in-progress Wednesday So hopefully the pictures will load.

My two main projects are both pink.  The first is my friend's spring bag.  I just need to figure what I am using for the lining and straps.

My second project is for a quilt challenge-a square in a square in a square.  The quilting challenge comes from Kim over at Persimon Dreams and this is the first week's challenge.  I know I said in the last post I was going to do a set of potholders but I couldn't resist going bigger and doing a table runner.  I am thinking I am going to add white inbetween the squares and around the edges as a border. 

I was hoping to actually finish the squares but am happy with what I accomplished yesterday given how many times I had to get up for my non-nappers during nap time.

Speaking of one of my non-nappers...my two yr old could be considered a work in progress with potty training.  He keeps his pull up dry all day and has even conquered number two.  But, when he has big boy underwear on, he has accidents.  With my older son, once we made the switch, he was good to go with no accidents.  So, this back tracking is kind of new to me.  I think the main thing with him is he doesn't feel like taking a break from playing to go potty and is not bothered by wet underwear.  Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make sure to have him go on a more regular schedule.  He will get it eventually.  I was just hoping for a nice, quick, and easy transition.  :) I will be linking up to Freshly Pieced so be sure to see what others are busy creating and have a great rest of the week!

New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!  Hope you all had a good new year's eve and are starting 2013 on a positive note.  I did not make it to midnight-I think I gave up around ten.  My four-year-old made it to eleven, and my hubby came to bed a couple of minutes before midnight, only because he got sucked into a football game.  Such an exciting night life we have!  :)

How are the resolutions going so far?  I did not make any official ones, besides reading my Bible every day.  I tried last year and think I did it for a few months before I fell out of it.  So, maybe this year I will last longer.

I hope to blog more consistently.  I have been struggling with what I want the main focus of this blog to be, and have decided that it should just be about my life.  And, since my life is all over the place, then it is okay for this blog to be all over the place subject-wise.  So, I think  it will be a mix of my crafts, my kids, and how we are working towards our goals in life-mainly simplifying our home life and working towards owning a small farm/homestead. 

In my crafting, I am going to try to use what I have more than buying new material.  I made most of my gifts this year based on what I had and am for the most part, very happy with how things turned out.  I made some holiday pillows. a purse, Bible cover, candle mats, and a wall hanging.  Hopefully, everyone really enjoyed their gifts. 

My first project of the year is a tea towel/kitchen towel.  I wanted to do a patchwork heart and then added as I went.  I hand-sewed the patchwork (partly because I enjoy sewing by hand and partly because my machine and I were not getting along working on the previous project), machine stitched the bottom strip, and am currently hand sewing a blanket stitch around the hearts. 

Since I am not turning down the edges as I sew, I applied a fray blocker around the raw edges to make the towel more machine wash friendly.  The fusible backing I have is a heavier type and tends to make the applique stiffer so I used it sparingly.  I am not sure if I am going to list it on my etsy shop, list it here and on facebook, or just give it to a family member.  If you would like this towel, or one like it, just send me a message at mastarkey81@yahoo.com.

So, I feel like I have more that I would like to ramble on about but think I will save it for another day!

I will be linking up at Freshly Pieced so be sure and check out what other fellow bloggers are up to and have a great day! 

Work in Progress Wednesday!

Happy Hump Day!  Although, yesterday definitely seemed like a Monday so I'm a little thrown off! 

My kids and I (well mostly me) decided to do our first theme on oceans and sea life.  I got a few things from our local partnership and was pretty excited.  It did not go as planned.  I pictured a calm, learning experience where we played with the toys and I taught them all kinds of new things about the ocean as well as seamlessly incorporated math, early literacy, social studies, etc.  Instead, the boys were fighting over stuff (go figure) with the little one (H) destroying things and the older one (C) tattling.  C was using pieces of a gear set to make a gun, I'm sorry it was not a gun but it was still going to shoot something at the bad guys , to paraphrase C.  I was pretty frustrated and feeling like I was going to fail them.  But, after thinking about it I realized a couple of things: 1) It's going to take time for them to get used to doing more of these types of structured activities as home, and 2) While there is a set of Core Standards in NC for Preschools, it's not quite as vital I jam pack his growing brain.  It's still more about expanding his horizons and experiences.  So basically, I just need to keep doing what I've always done but on an all day level.  I need to make sure he has plenty of enriching things to do, create, and play with and make sure I keep my focus on him.   I'm not trying to brag, but I'm almost positive he could go to kindergarten this year and be fine.  While that takes pressure off me, I can't help but feel a little worried that I won't be as good as a preschool teacher.

Moving on to MY school plans (currently taking education classes at a community college but hoping to get into a masters program for teaching)-I am completely intimidated about teaching.  I'm not sure why this huge chunk of anxiety came over me about my future abilities as a teacher.  Maybe it's the amount of school work I have to look forward to, maybe it's the thought of being responsible for so many young children's learning, maybe it's the intimidation factor of having excellent teachers in the family.  Whatever is causing it, I don't like it!  For now, I'm just going ot keep pushing through my school work and see where it takes me.

Phew, now to the purpose of the WIP Wedneday post!
Here is the orange and black crochet dishtowel that complements last week's WIP:

I ran out of yarn last night.  Just ordered some more-hopefully it's the right orange!  Thinking of starting a brown and multi-color one in the meantime because I am that impatient.

 

Here is my fall table runner that I eluded to the other day:

I've got about half of the rows sewn together.  I was going to try to sew it by hand but just don't feel confident in my capabilities when it goes beyond embroidery or cross stitch.  I have a green fabric that matches the red with the leaves for the backing but am not sure if it would be too drastic of a color change as the binding.  Guess we will see.

 

 

I will be linking up to Freshly Pieced's blog where Emily from Mommy's Nap Time is a guest blogger.  Be sure to check out what she's got in the works as well as other crafty bloggers!

 

 

I had a few nice Etsy suprises yesterday:  I sold my small gingerbread pillows:

 



I'm very excited and hope the buyer loves them as much as I do!

 

I was also featured in a treasury by a fellow teammate from the Quilts and Heirlooms Team on Etsy:

Hmm, well I don't know how to get the treasury to show up so please click here to check it out.  It's a really cute back to school theme!  And if anyone knows how to get the treasury to display, please help!

 

Well, hope everyone has a fantastic day and let me know what you are working on!

 



I'm Back! WIP Wednesday

It has been a LONG time since I've posted.  So, here's the quick update:

I quit my job working in a lab for the city to go back to school to be an early childhood teacher.  I got a new job working at my sons' daycare because they would pay for my education.  I lasted almost 6 months there before I finally had enough.  Bad management, lack of support, etc.  It was not the kids AT ALL.  Which brings us to today.  I decided to quit work last night; today is my first day as a stay at home mom.  What I should have done was give my two weeks notice or even let them know yesterday when I left that I wasn't coming back.  But, I didn't.  And while I feel guilty for going about it the wrong way, it wasn't worth the trouble and hassle.  I feel more guilty for leaving my coworkers to more stress and for leaving the kids and their families.  But, it's time to move on.  For now, I'm going to focus on school and my boys.  My older son is 4 so I'm going to  look into doing preschool at home with him.  Hopefully in January I can start a Master's program in teaching.  So, there it is in a nutshell! 

So, now, I'm hoping to get at least a little more time to put back into my Etsy shop.  We'll see!  Here is what I am working on: 

It will soon be a kitchen towel in black and orange.  I'm hoping to do a range of colors, specifically fall and holiday right now.  Also, hoping to make matching washcloths! 

Feel free to link up your WIP blog posts-I look forward to seeing what everyone is up to!  Also, be sure to check out Freshly Pieced's blog to see what she and other talented artists are up to!

Work In Progess Wednesday

So, I have a lot of projects that are in progress, big suprise right?! I don't have pictures-I'm still learning about blogging and trying to set up a consistent posting schedule. I'll get there eventually, so please be patient ;)

I am partway through a custom order for crochet snakes and am very impatiently waiting for the yarn I need to find it's way to my door. I couldn't find the colors I wanted anywhere in the stores around here so had to order some. Which, I completely don't mind doing but I just hate waiting-I'm an instant gratification kind of person. lol The good thing is that I need those same colors for a friend's order so that works perfectly. I think I have a total of 10 snakes to make for various people. I've got 3 down, 7 to go...If you're curious about all of this crochet snake talk, I posted a picture of some in a previous post.

I haven't made any progress on the red, black, and white table runner (also shown in a previous post). Am really hoping to make progress on it, if not finish it, this weekend. I think a part of me is stalling on it because I'm worried about messing it up. The fabrics are so pretty and the rows that I did sew together look so nice. Now, I'm worried the rows aren't going to line up perfectly and then after those are sewn...I am facing my first quilting experience. I'm terrified but excited. A cross hatching pattern was recommended to me but a very talented and experienced quilter. So, cross hatching it is! Now, if I could just decide on whether to hand quilt or machine quilt and what color thread would be best. Baby steps.

Finally, I started a crochet ladybug last night. I thought about taking a picture of it to share for today, but it's really a garnet colored crochet oval right now. Not too exciting.

So, those are my WIPs. I won't even start on all of the ideas floating around in my head! My goal/plan is to finish the lady bug for Friday, then work on the table runner until the yarn comes in. Then, I will be crochet snake crazy! After that...who knows!

I would love to see your WIPs! Just post the link in your comment. Thanks and have a great day!