it's in the bag...

 I am sewing a bag for myself this weekend while i wait for some fabric/batting to arrive to make a really cool quilt.  i have some quilt tops i need to baste and get ready i suppose but i wanted a little break.  Over at Sew Mamma Sew they have a great free tutorial for the Amy Butler Blossom bag.

It took me a few days to get to this point.  you know that point where the bag isn't fun to sew...things aren't flat but begin to be 3 dimensional and at some point you see yourself hand sewing the thing.  I'm using Peltex for the first time as the stabilizer and when i pin things i have to push harder than normal...I've left some blood on this bag in a couple of places...at least it's mine lol.

I've also had some rashy things with my youngest son.  Not sure that it shows up in this picture but his cheeks were so red and lacy and wow when he played outside and got hot it got really bright.  It was 5ths disease and not contagious but--Cut to sitting in "Braums"  for lunch and having several people giving us looks cause wow the rash was scary bright.

We had our meeting with the principal and teachers and psychologist and counselor at my oldest son's school.  We moved him up a grade starting today instead of waiting for next year.  It's a much less scary scenario.  Second grade from kindergarten scared me and apparently it scared them too.  They aren't used to having this problem in their school...Usually it's the other way around and I'm pretty sure we will have to move the youngest in the other direction (or not).  My oldest son has needed this move for a few years.  When he was 3-he needed preschool.  I remember calling several times asking if their was a way to put him in pre-K early.  "no-no we can't do that."  He was very young emotionally that's true But I've been waiting for  a teacher/principal someone to Notice "this kid needs more"  and luckily his teachers saw this.  Learning wise he has always moved very fast. Yes when he's in high school it might pose a problem but maybe not.  I have a family member that if he would have been moved ahead he would have gone really far in school, instead he was bored and started getting into trouble.  The other side was a few friends/classmates who where moved up and quite successfully.  Both are doctors.  I'm not saying that my son will be a doctor, but if there is a push for no child left behind it should also go the other way and should change to "no child told not to go ahead."  I always encourage learning no matter how much he already knows.  Last year my husband and I sent workbooks with our son so he could have something to do.  We sent 2nd grade workbooks and he did them but what fun is that?  I could home school if that was the case!  It seems like schools are prepared for having kids be behind but very ill-prepared for a child to be ahead.  Luckily I found that in his current school and I am so thankful.  When he is engaged and learning he is such a good polite boy.  I'm really excited about this.

Occupied

I finally got to send the oldest back to school today.  He had a birthday a week ago so he had a lot of new toys to play with and money to spend.  I gave him a Wii points card.  It was nice because on the wii there are titles that you cannot find at a store and that's one last game to scratch.  He likes to go into the wii shop and download all the demos.  We found one called "Max and the Magic Marker"  --love it.  Max is a poorly drawn kids doodle that is on a n adventure.  When he crosses over water you draw a bridge with your remote (magic marker)  and it falls and makes a bridge.  It's very fun for him.  The coolest thing about My child is that he loves Legos.  He has been a reader since 3 and quickly learned how to follow the instructions on the lego booklet. He gets that from me.  I love to put anything together following directions.  This little Lego Log Cabin is a 3 in one so there are directions for 3 different styles of cabins.  He had a blast all weekend.  I hardly saw him.  He never came out of his room to ask to play a game or watch something.  It was great.

On the quilting front...not much going on except a lot of embroidery.

And in my store I've listed all my quilts that I've made so far.  I sold one on Saturday to my friend from my quilt guild.  I was about to reduce the listings when i typed in "Riley Blake All Star 2" in the Handmade search.  Nothing of mine came up and there were only like 5 things.  So Here's a tip for anyone selling on Etsy that I learned last night.  Tag your items with Handmade, or vintage, or supplies or whatever you are selling because if not Nobody can find it without you giving a link.  Hopefully I will get these last three sold and move on. I have some purse and handbag patterns and will start making those one day.  I will alter the patterns so I can sell legally of course.   

Mommy Time

At Life with Lebeda's blog she is doing a mommy madness blog hop and the question was "how do you escape the madness?"

I sew that much is true.  This week my husband took off work.  After he woke up I knew there was a huge sale at the fabric store.  99 cent patterns, interfacings for 50 cents come on.  That and my hair has been aweful for a very long time.  I haven't had a hair cut in a year.  I think the last real cut was my mom cutting it.  After that I have cut at it.  Telling that to the lady that cut my hair she said "i will kill you."  She cut my hair all off but says "you need to have your hair dried if you want a good cut" --then offers to flat iron it.  Okay I will never think a hair dresser is just being nice EVER again.  The flat iron (where she really burned my head at one moment) was more than the hair cut...Lesson learned.  My husband (aka the money police) really got pissy with me over that.  However what could I do if it already happened and I just realized it when she tells me my hair cut was 34 bucks?  Getting my glasses adjusted was my other activity.  When my oldest is in school it's still not fun to leave with the little monkey.  He can only sit in a shopping cart so long before he starts escaping.  Last week at Sams the lady at the checkout says "you can run over to customer service and get a temp card"  we were at the checkout line and were already buying our stuff.  Eli jumps out of the cart and yells "okay"  running all the way to the outdoor playset area he talked about playing on the entire time we were there.  Luckily the lady behind us let us use her membership.  This is what I get for believing my husband when he says "yeah it's a free weekend at sams club."

I get out every few weeks with my girlfriends.  We met in a mommy group a long time ago.  We like to scrapbook and drink or eat and see chick flicks.  We are all trying to work out and diet so lately out outings involve jogging or walking.

I think the most important escape needs my husband.  We become a more unified happy family when we BOTH go out.  My husband takes a back seat alot to my kids.  I do too.  When he walks in the door he hugs and loves on the boys more readily than me.  And the same with me.  My affections are so readily available to my kids but to him sometimes i'm guarded if we haven't had much one on one time.  I'm not sure if that makes sense at all.

brown and blue owl quilt...or dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dash dash

I finished hand tacking the backing on the owl quilt.  It was for sure an example of hanging in there till the finish.  Have any of you looked at a quilt or any project and thought  "oh no, it's not looking like i hoped it would or I'm not so sure about this pattern."  That's this quilt.  There are so many half finished tops i have in my material tubs.  I'm thinking that anything looks better quilted as opposed to laying in there all lifeless and ugly.  I could donate the finished product.

This quilt was just going to be ours and unlisted if i thought it was too terrible.  Once I finished quilting it though, it became both cute and masculine!  The owls certainly make it for younger boys but the brown and quilting really made it quite manly (if i do say so myself).  

I did not have enough fabric for two extra dots but thought "you know this whole quilt is a practice in improv--something i am not comfortable with all the time.

In other news we all are sick with something...The boys just have colds and i am having tummy issues.  plan on laying on the couch and watching some movies in awhile.  Yay for snow days if it just means an extra day to get better!

fun-in the making

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Weeks after I finished my Indian Maiden quilt for my aunt I dreamed up this little girl.  She's alot like a Sunbonnet Sue but a modern little baby girl.  These are the bare bone blocks.  Soon I will sew it all in place and add cute ric rack, fringe flowers and buttons.  These blocks could be made into quilts, pillows, framed etc.  They could be made with baby clothes etc.  I really like this idea.  I have a little boy version i will make soon as well.

Tomorrow is my oldest son's 6th birthday.  Time really flies.

winter blahs

unfinished quilt backing

Has anyone else had the winter blahs this week?  It snowed here but just a little bit.  When it snows I really like for it to disrupt everything.  I want to be stuck in my house and snuggle with my babies.

I think we are all getting sick.  I had some trouble breathing yesterday and had to lie down because when i have anything in my lungs I get freaked out and scared and think I'm dying.  When I get gas I get that way too.  There's always of praying and asking for forgiveness every chili night lol.  Getting older kinda bites in that way.  I can't eat spicy stuff like i used to and i love spicy.

Also- I did my zumba workout yesterday and apparently when they shake their boobies I need to calm down.  These boobies probably need to tak'er easy.  I pulled something and was coughing and having asthma.  What a sickly girl I am--But I'll plow through the pain and phantom heart attacks if it means that one day i won't be such a wimp.

I'm still making my backing for my quilt and I'm not a fan...it's alittle awkward looking right now.  When it's finished I hope it will be worthy of selling if not I may keep the thing.  It's really cute to me.  But it's very thrown together.  For instance when I was sewing the blocks i sewed another 1/4 inch line and cut between them so i have 4 HST blocks.  So i sewed all those together with some other stuff and well that's all on the back.

I have other stuff going on this week.  My oldest son turns 6 on Friday.  Nobody has RSVP'd to his party.  It may be a bad thing if nobody shows up.  Should I have invited 22 kids to a party that is 11 bucks a piece?  ugh.  I had to be a member of the church i wanted to reserve.  Which brings up another think I feel bad about.

We also have a big decision coming up that I need prayers about.  I am meeting with my son's school to decide if we want to move him up a grade level.  The teachers are on board for this, but the counselor brought up some issues about some behavior things.  It's a hard decision BUT there are cons to both sides.  I have to decide which ones we would rather deal with.  It does help that the boy is a big guy.  He makes mistakes and acts like he's in kindergarten sometimes.  Thinking they don't want to even test him cause it takes money i suppose.  If we test him and he's a kindergartner well so be it i would be fine with that...but i do know whatever we do i don't want to change it around during the year next year...it's gotta be decided before school starts.

winging it

Are there any other mom's that love when school starts back?  I love getting back on a schedule.  I get a little more time alone, a little more time with my little man.   This picture is like a highlights "what's wrong with this picture."

I am almost finished with my group of quilts.  I've been plowing away just getting these blocks finished.  I did not follow a pattern and I sorta winged it as I went.  How appropriate is it that it's a Hooty Hoot quilt?  

I think it's pretty and will look awesome when quilted.  It did grow from a crib size to a twin or lap size quilt.  So I have to do some adjustments  like the absence of backing fabric...

In other news i did sell a quilt.  Hopefully when I finish this last one i will buy a few showcases on etsy.  I believe i will relax for awhile after that.