August A lovely year off finishes, finsh

I did it.  I dug in and conquered the Circles of Hope quilt top.  It came with a few challenges, but that is ok those challenges equal new skills and a new 28mm rotary cutter.

This quilt top has finished at 54"x54"  It is nice lap size or wall hanging.   I haven't decided if it is going to be on the back of the couch or hung on the wall yet.  I'm going to enter it in a small viewers choice contest at the Ben Franklin in a nearby town.  They winner gets a $25 gift certificate to the store and hey, they sell name brand fabric too boot!  I'd be happy to get something fun for a new project.

Speaking of new projects,  I will give you a sneak peek at what else I'm working on.  No, it won't be my September goal for ALYF, but it will be revealed sometime next month.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!  We are still getting into a groove of things even though it has been 2 whole weeks now.  Second grade homework has proven to be challenging, but I'm pretty sure that is due to the strong willed child I have.  My husband and I are tag teaming on that part and he is taking the math and I get the fun of the spelling and whatever else may come home.  

W.I.F.F.

I honestly didn't get a whole lot of sewing done this week because I was baby sitting a couple of cuties. I did take some hand work to do while I was there.

I was able to finish the outline stitching on 4 Sun Bonnet Sue blocks.  I only have 19 more to go.

It's not very fast progress, but it is progress and that is what matters.   I have a couple of hours before my lovely children get home from school so I'm going to try to sew some of my circle quilt top together for my ALYF goal.   See you next week.

ALYF Mid month check-in

I thought not having my kids at home would mean I have more time to sew.  I was wrong.  I have done some sewing and I'm moving right along with my goal for this month.  I've been babysitting 2 darling children this week, they are so much easier than my kids, but maybe that is because I'm at their house and I don't have all the housework calling my name like I would at home.

Anyways,  Here is a picture of my progress so far.

 I have 12 big blocks to sew together and then add the border and my goal for the month will be met.   If I'm not too late, I'm going to link up with the A Lovely Year of Finishes (ALYF) mid-month linky party. 

Adjusting

My sweet little minions started school this week so I'm adjusting to a new schedule of getting up before I really want to and arguing bedtime since it is still light here when bedtime rolls around.

I took this picture on the first day of school as we were hiking walking from the car to the school.  Parking is an issue on the first day of school because all the parents seem to bring their kids on the first day. Kindergarten parents don't find out who their child has as a teacher until the first day, all other students find out the day before school starts when they tape the class lists to the main doors late in the afternoon. Apparently this system works for the school, it is a bit disorganized in my opinion, but no one asked me.

I am loving being at home kid free, there is no fighting, no interruptions, and if I want to watch smutty afternoon tv I can.  So far, in the 2 days they have been at school, I have watched 2 hours of tv, and that was recorded stuff that I zoomed through the commercials, if I had to watch commercials it would have been 3 hours.

I did do a bit of sewing for the first day of school and made my daughters dress.  She love dresses and even more so the ones that mom makes her.  I know there will be a day that she won't like what I make her, but until then I am going to stuff her closet.

The pattern I used was Butterick B4176.  I didn't have enough of the pink to make the whole dress so I improvised and added the band of black around the bottom.  I want to add some embellishments on the black and I might add some elastic and finish off the sleeves.

I will be working on my ALYF goal today.  What are you working on today/this weekend.   Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend.

Circles of Hope, ALYF August goal

This month I am digging into a project that I started at least a year ago.  I have all my pieces cut and had sewn at least 2 blocks together before I got caught up with a bunch of other projects and want to makes.  My goal for August is to only finish the top.

The pattern I am doing is called Circle of Hope.

Here are the first 2 blocks that I had done.  It was my first time sewing curves in the quilting world.  I will say I am going to take the top one apart and see if I can get it back together without the puckers.

My sweet little minions start school on Wednesday so I will have a few uninterrupted hours each day to sew. I am going to enjoy every minute of it for at least a week and then I am going to buckle down and after just over 5 years of being a stay at home mom I plan to go back to work in the real world. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.