March Recap

Two posts in two days may sound a little too crazy, but here goes nothin'...

In March:

I KNIT A SWEATER!  I don't mean to holler but I LOVE it.  I really really really do.  It isn't finished in this picture but you have to believe me that it is done, ends weaved in, blocked, and I wear it in all of its squishy, yummy, colorful glory.  I have a big crush...on my own sweater.  (Now I just need to gather the courage to take a picture of me wearing it.)  The pattern is Practically and is available on ravelry. 




I finished my last bee block for the Ringo Pie Bee and this one was for Penny (sewtakeahike) who was the one that taught me how to design my own bee blocks in the first place.   No pressure or anything.  I am very happy with how this one turned out.  I used a crapton of different techniques on it.  That seems to be my thing.  My little odd person niche in the world is to use a crazy number of techniques in order to realize the vision of the block in my head.  And that works for me.




We've been working a lot in our new community garden plot on warm days

and then we get a few more snow days.




I'm trying out sewing hexies by machine.  There is a big plan in the works for this piece!




And I've had a few secret gift projects up my sleeve this month.  My first gift reveal gets it own post...very, very soon. 

Number 5

Yup.  This is blog post number five for 2014.  (Henry likes counting in Spanish so he would say, cinco).
I could apologize for my absence, but I won't.  This is a place I come to with things that have inspired me and stories that I want to share.  And I have no regrets for how I've spent my time so far this year.

But how do I catch up to the current inspiration?  Thankfully flickr and IG remind me.

I wove a scarf on my loom.  I'm delighted that I found a good place for two of my favorite stash yarns and super duper glad that a good friend was willing to give this scarf a home.




I gave up knitting one sweater.  But selling the yarn and some hoarded fabric allowed me to buy...




...some Madelinetosh yarn to knit another sweater.




I had to rip that sweater, too.  But when I love a yarn that much, I don't mind knitting it all over again.




We took a road trip with the boy...to Wisconsin...in February...with the added fun of a polar vortex. We had a great time on our trip, but I swear that we should meet up with my family in a warmer locale next time.




While in Green Bay, I helped my mom quilt her Farmer's Wife quilt.  It was a huge job but definitely satisfying.




Lastly, I finished some ancient bee blocks.  I feel like ancient is the primary adjective I use when describing bee blocks here.  I think I need to keep up on my bee block calendar a wee bit more for the rest of 2014.  Do you agree?





Whew!  That was all January and February.

Stay tuned for my next update.
I'm totally serious.  I will be back very soon.

Dear Sweet Boy

This morning you woke up and said, "Trains! Play trains." You are nearly four and half and this is the first time in two years that you wanted to play with trains without tantrums and without me plying you with treats.  You watched a video of a classmate playing with them and you decided that you could do it, to.  You never have liked wheeled vehicles before, and today you still weren't interested in setting up the track or in moving the train on the track.

Instead you played with them in your own unique way.  You nested.

Your daddy and I made you a train table when you were one and half.  And today you piled the tracks and trains on it, added a layer of Toy Story figures (paying the trains your highest compliment), you added some bubble wrap for good measure and then added the doggies, soft blankie and the quilt from your bed (your own version of whipped cream and a cherry on top).

I didn't get a picture of the next part because I was too busy giggling.  You laid on top of your treasures with the quilt covering you and your toys.  Your head was under the quilt and everything else was in a pile under you and you kept saying, "Sleep." Then you poked your head out from under the quilt, grinned at me and said, "I'm exhausted."

You, my son, are a hoarder of great treasures, you are a nester (often singing, "lay down in your nest, let me take a rest") and a cuddler.  And you accepted trains and train tracks into your nest to cuddle today, right on top of your train table.  And it made me cry--the happy kind.  My joyful boy learned how to play with trains in his own way.  You watched a peer at school, saw how happy trains made him and you decided to show me how happy trains make you.

I love you more than words can express.  So I think you and I will make a nest later today.

Speaking of Samplers

I've been hand quilting my Farmer's Wife blocks this month. 

I'm varying the color of the perle cotton (size 8) and varying the width of the seam allowance to match the fabric patterns and block design.  It is s-l-o-w going, but it is so beautiful, and cozy, that I think I may work on it for a few more weeks before I need a break from it.

Have you ever done hand quilting before? What is the biggest quilt you've ever hand quilted? Do you feel comfortable with your technique?

Pony Club Update

I apologize for the grainy quality of the Instagram photos, but I thought that I should update my progress here. I am having a blast with these blocks and each one feels like its own success. That is what I love best about samplers.  Each block feels like an accomplishment.  A quilt made of a bunch of the same blocks just doesn't hold a similar satisfaction for me.

A Dandy

New Jersey

Colt's Corral

Hen and Her Chicks

Children's Delight

July Fourth

Maud's Album

Sheep Fold

Ribbons

Like I mentioned in my last post, if you are tempted by these blocks, please get the book and join in. I'd love to see more versions of these blocks and of this sampler quilt.

In the meantime, I've been getting tempted by a few other samplers out there.  Do you have a favorite sampler that you think I should know about?

Pony Club Sampler

My Farmer's Wife quilt isn't done yet. That hand quilting only happens when I'm in the mood. And right now I'm in the mood for another sampler quilt.

The Pony Club Sampler has 8" finished blocks and much of the piecing is more complex.  I don't think I'll get away with only paper piecing three of these blocks.

I'm doing the whole quilt in Anna Maria Horner fabrics.  I love her vibrant color schemes and wild patterns.  I usually choose things that are more tame, so this will be a challenge for me.  The first block here is Mayflower and has four y-seams.  I was pleased with how much easier they were compared to my first attempt at y-seams on the Homemaker block (first 3 attempts not photographed because it looked awful!).

Here is the Boy's Playmate block.  I am adding some vivid solids in with the AMH fabrics.

Here is the At the Depot block

and Old Indian Trail block. 

 I'd love to have anyone else join in on sewing this sampler in 2014.  I'm trying to recruit people to join on Instagram or on Flickr.
Are you working on a sampler of any kind?  I'd love to hear about it.