Creation Day 2

It does not take a very long time to whip up some random scrappy log cabin blocks.

Orange/yellow today.

The final quilt will be put together in colour order. It is being created with a specific home in mind.

After using up every orange and yellow scrap in my pile, there were 5 usable pieces left. Thank God my LQS is having a sale on red and orange fabric for V-Day. You know I'll be there first thing in the morning to restock my pathetic stash and scrap bins.

The working title is "House of Love." It is a thank-you gift.

It took almost two dozen photos to coax a decent representation of violet from my camera.

I'm not sewing in colour order. Gotta change it up to keep it fresh, right?

Good News And...

... More good news.

I've been spending time trying to brainwash myself into doing things that I don't always want to do but are good for me. I've also been listening to a lot of Marianas Trench. It's paid off.

The brainwashing, that is. Not the punk Canadian rock.

I've lost 3 pounds so far with grand hopes for the future.

I also went to the optometrist today and found out that I no longer need glasses. One (weak) contact lens will do the trick because I now have 20/20 sight in my left eye.

I've been going out of my way to be less cranky, with mixed results.

I still get massive unexplained headaches, but I deal. It's not a tumor. Two separate doctors checked. It's also not migraines....since I found out about my chocolate allergy a decade ago I merely avoid the trigger and now I don't get migraines.This is also good news.

I was desperate to design something today and I began segregating by colour. These log cabins were born from a design in my book from January 17. They'll finish at 12" square. I need 16 more.

Orange you gonna come back tomorrow and see what colour I use for the next four blocks?

Happy Punk

Today was a productive day.

We made a huge pot of meat sauce for freezing. We baked gluten-free bread and whole potatoes for future frying. We had a veggie filled frittata for lunch.

I might have broken my camera today. I curse its' inability to take a picture when I tell it to, and then snap when I'm not ready. I had a temper tantrum and smashed it.

It felt good to smash this camera. It'll feel even better when I get a new one and replace it.

 One of the problems with having an autistic child is their inability to look into someone's eyes (human or camera). It happens so rarely that I need a very fast camera to capture it.

Camera and Punk outsmarted: two points for me.

New dress to wear to Sunday School: bonus for my Punk.

Unintentional

I did not plan to take a break this week. I planned to sew.

I planned to get back to work on the Irish Chain for the Husband: I'm still hoping to have it finished by Valentine's Day. I also planned to make a dress for my Punk because she requested it.

We did go fabric shopping and bought a sweet butterfly print and some green and purple polka dots. The Punk's favorite colour is green.

We also suffered through a grocery shopping trip that completely filled the back of my van even with the stow-and-go seats hidden. The Husband had dental surgery. My mom lost a job opportunity. After having the Punk on gluten-free for a month we gave her a trial with gluten (big mistake). I have been having enough inner ear problems to cause my balance to shift.

The buttons are chrome, not black.

For better or for worse, Life Happened.

I promised the Punk that she could wear her new dress for Sunday School this week. I'd better get cracking!

An Excellent Model

Today my sewing machine and serger were put to good use for a few hours.

I recently made a goal to do housework in the morning, and then sew after I have domestic issues well in hand. This morning the Pixie and I washed the dishes and the master bathroom, stashed some boxes of books and put away a few stacks of laundry.

Just before quittin' time this dress rolled off the production line.

She was naked and in a pull-up for the last hour of sewing...just waiting and anticipating. She becomes a cat walk queen when she has fresh-from-the-presser-foot duds on. She even posed for a back shot.

It's safe to say that she loves this dress.

The Punk has also requested a dress like this. I think it will be a great addition to her school wardrobe.

Poor me! A trip to the fabric store tomorrow! However shall I survive?

Sunday Eye Candy

Before I jump into this week's Grandparent Eye Candy, please behold the Punk displaying the pink paisley for her sister's new dress. She helped me with the cutting layout.

We've gotten most of the pieces cut out, save for the no-hem band for the skirt. The Chocolate Cherry Pixie Valentine Dress coming this week!

While I was working hard to finish two quilts last week, the Pixie decided that it was an excellent time for some crafting. I guess it was more tiring than she bargained for; she fell asleep in the middle of glue, scissors, googly eyes, paper and more.

That same day, I discovered that my girl was keeping emergency snacks hidden. I fail to see the logic of lining grapes up on the water cooler.... You'd probably have to be a toddler in order to understand.

The Pixie also got a new room this week. The girls had been sharing one room, but due to safety issues the little one had to be removed from the Punk's watchful care. Here she is trying out her new bed the second we got it home and made. The boxes in her room have yet to be cleaned up to make room for her personal furniture and toys.

Here are some Pixie ballet action shots taken after the new bedroom was organized and cleaned. She is so stoked to have private space of her own! You have no idea.... heck, I had no idea that [normal] toddlers needed this much time to themselves.

Observe the grace! The emotion! If she doesn't end up on a stage at some point in her life, I might question the strength of her father's genes.

On a side note: the Pixie and I watched a couple of tv shows about archeology and ever since then this spoon (in her hand) has been her constant companion. Why? Because shovels are too big to find little things in the ground, of course! The snow on our yard has little spoon shovel marks all over it....future career, perhaps?

As Promised

Well, I said two days, right? Here are the finished quilts.

First up is Bunny Trails. It is 41"by 26".

It really needed binding to make the colours pop. The binding is made from leftover scraps....some from the Punk's denim quilt, some from the Floating Fruit trivet, and the piece along the bottom is from the Christmas tree skirt. I love how the quilting turned out.

And now for The Dark Side.

 The full name of this quilt is "The Dark Side: Modern Churn Dash." My skills weren't quite up to quilting exactly as I imagined, so I consulted with The Husband. As usual, his suggestions were spot on. We love the juxtaposition of flowers and curves on the Light side, and a more industrial design (almost like pipeworks) on The Dark Side.

 The size ended up being just shy of 40" square.

There is an inscription on the backing, next to a bloodstain, that documents a bug bite the Punk got on July 8, 2011. This puts the start date of The Dark Side in June of 2011. I believe that this has been my longest WIP.

 I drafted the bi-polar pattern myself, based on a traditional block. I had the idea that it would make a very cool twin size, maybe done in black & white and neons.

 I overcame my dread of learning how to miter corners on this quilt. I also do not like how the ditch stitching turned out and I may go back and fill in more areas with FMQ. I'll have to consult with the Husband (since his artistic suggestions have already made it onto this work).

I am most certainly going to use both of these FMQ patterns again. The pipeworks was so quick! Plus it used up about half the number of bobbins as the flowers.

I think the plan for now is a couple of days away from my machine - shopping, sorting books, moving furniture to give the Pixie her own room. After that? The Pixie picked out these fabrics and requested a new dress. She's got an awesome fashion sense.