It Is Finished (WiP Wednesday 42/52)

I haven't really done much sewing the last week. Well, no. I haven't done ANY sewing this last week! :)

The Front Range MQG made about 50 "Angel Baby Wraps" (a.k.a. Fetal Demise Pouches...but we detested the term!) as our outreach project. Alex at Teaginny Designs wrote up the tutorial, and we had a little assembly line set-up so we could really maximize our sewing time. We had at least 10 members involved in the cutting, ironing and sewing of these, and they turned out really cute.

One of our members, Kelly, is a Labor and Delivery nurse at a hospital in Colorado Springs, so she'll be taking these to give to parents whose babies were born in heaven, those "angel babies" that don't ever breathe air on this Earth, the babies who didn't get to stay in their mommy's womb long enough to be born alive and healthy. (I just can't say it, but you all know the babies I'm talking about, right? And you can understand why we changed the name from "fetal demise pouches"...)

Anyway, they sewed up really quickly, and Kelly said they sometimes need larger ones for babies who died closer to term, so we modified the tutorial to make medium and large wraps. A few of us took some of the supplies home to make more, and this time we'll give them to Amy of Stitchery Dickory Dock to give to the hospital in Denver where her sweet, and perfectly healthy, twin boys were born.

And then I got all ready to have my bible study group over so we could square, trim, and then tie fleece blankets for Restore Innocence. We are part of a group of people making 100 blankets for the charity, and our little group was charged with making 16 of them. I got out my rotary cutter, and my large cutting mat so I could square them up, and then my group got to work snipping and tying.This picture only shows 4 that were trimmed and ready for members to take and tie at home, but just imagine this times 25!

100 fleece blankets are going to take up a HUGE amount of space on the stage at church! :)  By the way, this is the organization that the {Faith} Circle of do.Good Stitches is making the Butterflies and Rainbows quilt(s) for.

We do the ties a different way. I saw this in a quilt shop outside of San Diego, and don't know why it hasn't taken off like wildfire! Instead of long ties, you make little bow ties. They're incredibly sweet, tie up SO fast, take up less fabric, and we thought they would really be a good choice for the girls who receive these quilts.

Our little group has 5 more to make, and I know other groups are doing theirs now, too. 100. That's such a blessing. :)

Not that you need it, but I hope to post a tutorial for this method soon.

Anyway...

I haven't been sewing much because I'm sad.

As some of you know, a good friend of mine, Yolanda, passed away last Friday. You may know Yolanda from one of the multitudinous Flickr swaps she did, or one of the many bees she participated in, or just her overall incredible creativity, or sincerely overwhelming generosity.

She started feeling poorly in February (2012), but the doctors couldn't find out much. Then in May, after continued problems, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 biliary cancer (Bile duct). There's a super long name for it, and you can read about her journey here, if you want. But that was May. It's October. 5 months. And it's not like she never went to the doctor, or anything, biliary cancer is just a fast-moving sonofabitch.

She was the president of the Orange County MQG until she resigned because she wasn't well (before her diagnosis), she was a cherished member of our Bee Happy Bee, as well as the founder of the Mod Mosaic bee. She started the Hexie Swap, the Circle Swap, and the Tumbler Swap. She participated in a number of fun quilt-alongs. And she made quilts for pretty much everyone she loved.

Here are some of my favorites of hers from Flickr:

(she made this for the woman who donated her kidney to Yolanda 4 years ago)

This was her Tumbler Party quilt.

In her memory, Leona has started the TumblerPartyToo. If you're interested in joining, the details are here.

Liberty wrote a really poignant, really personal memorial about Yolanda here. Go read it.

Yolanda had the dream of making quilts for all her nieces and nephews, but early in the summer, she realized that she wasn't able to sew as much as she wanted, so Liberty promised her that the Bee Happy bee would be her hands and get these quilts made. We enlisted the help of some other ladies who loved Yolanda, and together made 14 (or more, I think!) quilts for her loved ones. Yolanda and Liberty went through her beautiful and well-apportioned stash and got the fabric into the hands of some very skilled quilters who were very glad to be able to do this for her.

You know, we all just wanted to help. To do something, anything for Yolanda, and we quilters want to quilt. So it was a great opportunity to do what we love for someone we love.

And Yolanda really didn't know what to say. She knew that we were making her dream come true, and she was always SO very thankful. She knew she couldn't repay anyone, but I think she also knew that we weren't doing it for the recognition or reimbursement. We were doing it because we loved her, and because it is what we would want done for us. And like I said, Yolanda was overwhelmingly generous with everyone, so it was nice to be generous back.

Now, to be fair, I didn't have much to do with many of these quilts. I was only able to sew a few blocks, and to donate some batting, but I did reach out to our friends who I thought might want to help, and they came through like you've never seen.

I love that her family will always have their quilts to remember her. She led an amazing life, a colorful life. One filled with challenges and successes. One filled with love and laughter and more love. She cherished her fiance, her sons and grandchildren.

She passed away one day shy of her 48th birthday.

48. It's just not fair.

But...I do know that Yolanda loved God, and that she trusted Him to be in charge of her days on Earth. She knew that God has a plan, and she asked Liberty to create a graphic with this verse from Proverbs 31:25:

"...she laughs without fear, unafraid of the future."

I hope I can grow to be more like that. To be like Yolanda and live life unafraid. And carry her legacy with me.

God's work in Yolanda is finished. I am thankful she is no longer in pain, but I'm sure gonna miss her.

(linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WiP Wednesday)

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 39/52

Oh, Tuesday. Why must you be so chaotic? And Wednesday? And Thursday, too? This explains why Fridays are Jammie Days around my house.

I haven't been up to much this week, just trying to finish my Fruit Stripe quilt. Last week, I told you I'd finished the top and chosen the backing, but not the quilting.

Well, I decided on the quilting. I really wanted an all-over design that wasn't straight-line or waves, so I figured out what I wanted to do. Practiced a bit on my little sample quilt sandwich and got it all right, squared up my shoulders and commenced to...not getting anywhere.

Wha?

Yup. This has been such a stressful quilting week for me. I just can't seem to get the tension right, I had multiple incidences of the thread breaking, of skipped stitches, rough language, head pounding...

I tried and tried and tried and tried. I asked my Facebook friends, and acted on their advice. I went out and bought some (overpriced) AURIfil thread (it's $4 cheaper online!). I came home, and it broke as much as my Gutermann! I put in a new needle. I bought a spool stand thingy that goes at the back of my machine. I fiddled with the tension. And fiddled some more. I've gone slow, I've gone fast. I've used my automatic speed button on my machine so I couldn't blame it on a foot twitch. I've used my foot so I couldn't blame it on a non-stopping stop button. I've unpicked and unpicked some more. In fact, here's a picture of the thread I've pulled off the back over the course of the last week:

Overall, I would say I've got between 15 and 20 starts. That's 15-20 thread knots to bury. That's 15-20 times of starting over and going slow enough to get the pattern right, but fast enough to get the stitches right.

And I just can't get the tension right.

Here's a picture of what is very random on the back, 3 stitches here, 2 stitches there...not enough to pick them out and sew over it again, but enough to worry and pray they kinda get sucked up in the crinkles and grooves of the washed quilt.

This is just so frustrating.

While I haven't taken my machine to be serviced this week (had it done less than a year ago), I hesitate to do that because my little sample quilt came out perfect. Every time. Slow around the corners? Fast around the corner? Smooth like buttah. Put in the actual quilt, though, and my machine just doesn't behave the same way.

Other than that, this week has been about getting family pictures taken (waiting on the disc), cleaning house (my FIL will be arriving momentarily for a week), not getting enough sleep (this dern quilt!), and chillin with my homies (Buzz can sit up now) (and roll over both directions, but doesn't know he can get places, yet!)

For WiP Wednesday's sake, here's my active WiP list:

• I've still got to make Natalie's wonky star block.
• I LOVE receiving butterfly blocks for my Faith Circle do.Good Stitches quilt! I've got 4 sets on the wall right now, and I am SO tempted to redesign it so that I can make 2 or 3 quilts instead of just one! :) You know me and do.Good Stitches...why make one when I can make five, right? :)
• I need to start the Grayson quilt. And I'm pretty sure I'll be taking it to the long arm and doing it there. This...whatever I've been doing this week...I can't take much more of it!

I hope y'all have a great week, and get some of your WiPs done! :) Hopefully next week I can show you pictures of this thing I've been working on! :)

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for her regular {WiP} Wednesday post -- with Guest Host Debbie from A Quilter's Table.

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 33/52

I think I should type this whole post backwards.

Sdrawkcab.

Yhw? Esuaceb ton ylno did I ton hsilpmocca gnihtyna, tub I dedda ot ym PiW tsil!!

(eh, too time-consuming!)

So why was I typing every word backward? Because not only did I not accomplish anything, but because I added to my WiP list!

Fabric for a new project:

(it's Kitchy Kitchen by Maude Asbury by Blend)

What I NEED to work on this week

• Alison's bee blocks
• Des's bee blocks
• A car seat cover for a friend's new baby.

What I WANT to work on this week:

• Kelly's bee blocks
• Mary's bee blocks

What I won't likely touch all week, but need to:

• Fruit Stripe quilt
• Grayson quilt
• Field Study quilt

We are entering Week 2 of getting the girls into bunk beds. It's especially challenging for the 2-year old. And the 40-year old. :-p. I know it will take time, and it's just the next level of sleep training, but I'm just really hoping to not go crazy before we get there. Here's a crappy picture I took of the video monitor. See her little head popping up above the protective gate? She's just got toooooo much energy!

I hope you have a wonderful, crafty, and productive week! :)

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced and Lee's weekly {WiP} Wednesday feature.

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 31/52...and 32/52

(I actually wrote this last week, but never uploaded the pictures, and here we are, a week later, just like that! Poof! So, I'm gonna cheat and just use the one from last week, and intersperse any changes or finishes or new starts. :) )

So...Anna Maria Horner.

AMAZING!!!

On SO many levels. She is personable, she is kind, she is whip smart, she is genuine, she is funny, she is fiercely talented, she is adorable, she is beautiful, she is hard-working. She is what we all want to be when we grow up.

I was blessed to spend some one-on-one time with her on Friday before her first event, and then she spoke to our guild on Friday night.

Let me just say. If you ever have the chance to hear her tell her story? GO! Run like the wind! Pay the money! You will NOT regret it. I'm cheap, and I'm not an artist, and I don't aspire to design fabric. But her talk? Was ridiculously inspiring. For pretty much everyone that came. SO worth every penny.

(and every exhausting minute put into getting her here!)

You can see the exhaustion in my face here on Saturday. I was SO tempted to crop in a better picture of my face, but that might take another week. Or a year. :)

So Friday night was her lecture/trunk show. We saw her creative process, we saw pictures of her as a kid, we saw (and touched) some of her most beautiful quilts, we got to know HER. She was exhausted, I know, but she never showed it. She's all class. :)  And Saturday she taught her multi-tasker tote class. Which, I am SO glad I took as a part of a class!! I'm s...l...o...w..., and I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to reading patterns, but, to me, it was SO worth it!! For one, Rocket Man and I got to hang out with my best gal pals ALL DAY. That was such a treat. And for another, Anna held him pretty much every time he made eye contact with her.

Lemme just pause right there. Just exactly HOW many people can say that Anna Maria Horner held their baby while they sewed??

And for another, it was so valuable to me to have the pattern designer right there at our beck and call. And she was so gentle and democratic when we asked dumb questions. :-) Well, it was mostly only me asking dumb questions, but still. :-)

I really and truly believe that everyone who attended both events found it to be well worth the time and money.

Sadly, I did not finish my tote. And I have not picked it up again, either. I am just now, 4 days later, starting to feel human again! That whole thing just wiped me out! Shattered! Knackered!!

I hope to work on it this week. Once I get my mojo back. :-)

*Update: I finished it this week! Here's a pic:

OH!! Before I forget! Her new line, Field Study, is beautiful and vibrant and fluid and full of character. I love it on MULTIPLE levels. I've already designed a quilt that will feature each print, now I just need to get my mitts on it! Fancy Tiger in Denver has it already, so I may drive up there and buy some. Or all. I usually don't go gaga for collections, but I'm going cuckoo for this one!

*Update: I went to Fancy Tiger and measured the repeat on each one so I know how to use it in my quilt. I also picked up an extra sales brochure of Field Study so I could cut it up. This isn't what the quilt is going to look like, merely a picture so I can remember what prints I want to use.

 

I didn't touch anything from Sunday to Tuesday when I cleaned off my sewing table hoping to kick-start my motivation.

*Update: It's a mess again.

But then I filled it back up again. I'm gonna start small by sewing a banner of little triangles for the girls' room. My friend Amy, of Stitchery Dickory Dock, suggested it as a way to use up wee scraps, and it's darling (just like she is, by the way!), so we're gonna give that a shot this week.

*Update: Here's my oldest girlie helping Mama sew a banner for her room:

And I've got some bee blocks to finish. And others to start. :-)

*Update: I finished my Melissa block. Well, almost finished. I still have to put a strip of aqua across the top and the bottom, and then I've got to do a word that describes our Bee Happy bee. Hopefully I'll get that done this week.

We are going to be putting the girls in the same room soon, and little Buzz will go into the nursery, so I've got some domestic labor in my near future. Blending two closets is not my idea of fun. :-(. And I'm really scared about how they'll do in a shared room!! I anticipate very little sleep for us all in the near future. But it has to be done, so I will go bravely toward the challenge. :-)

*Update: The bunk beds went into their room yesterday, and last night was a "trial run"...that turned into a Papa Left The Room dance party, and ended with a Mama Found Out pity party. :-)  I'm praying tonight goes better.

That's all I can think of for now. Have a great week, and good luck getting some WiPs done!

(I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced's WiP Wednesday spot, hosted by Cindy, this week.)

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 29/52

I didn't finish a thing this week.

Not. A. Thing.

Not even the laundry.

I've got one quilt that I'm binding (have been for about a year, now!), and there is only about 18" left, but I just can't seem to sit down and finish it. Pphhhbbbbttt.

On a brighter note, I'm almost done with my black and white bee blocks for Shelley. I love her plan of having the tiles be a print, the grout be black, and have a splash of aqua and green in there. Fun!

I'm trying to figure out how to do the letters for Alison's blocks. There are some good tutorials out there, but I kinda want to make my own, you know? Always doing things the hard way. That's me. :)

I plan to get the fabric for a couple of things, including Mookie's summer quilt, this week since there's a sale at Crafty Laine, my LQS.

One thing I'll be getting fabric for is the Multi-tasker Tote class that Anna Maria Horner will be teaching to my guild on August 4th.

Yup, you read that right.

I am SO super excited!!  I want to scream it through my blog post!! :)  I can't wait! We're getting the patterns early, and I'm hoping to cut my fabric ahead of time so I can actually spend the day, you know, sewing. :)  But I have no idea what I'm going to use for it. I'm thinking I'll start simple and use a polka dot/solid combo, and then once I get the hang of it, I can get into some more complicated fabrics.  I can't wait, though! Hopefully next week I can show you what I've picked out. :)  Anna is also going to speak on Friday night, at a special "guild only" event. Yup. It pays to belong. (I really really hope she has a good time and loves Colorado!)

I've still got to work on my Project 10-4 stuff. (sigh) It's just sitting there.

And my Scattered Jewels blocks for Rachel for the {Faith} Circle of the do.Good. Stitches bee. Haven't even pulled fabric for it yet.

That's it. That's all I can think of. There is so much more, but it's kinda depressing to keep writing about what I'm not getting done. :)

I'm linking up with Lee's regular {WiP} Wednesday post, hosted by Colleen of Busy Bean this week.

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 28/52

Laundry. Does laundry count as a WiP? Because I can't ever seem to get that one done!

And somehow I missed posting last week's WiP post. Well, let's be honest. I didn't even write it. Busy isn't a word I thought I would be using to describe the summer, but that's the way it has been!

Here are a couple of finishes from the last few weeks.

1. I bought some of that pre-smocked fabric at Joann's and sewed a seam and some ribbon to it, and made dresses for the girls. Of course my 2 yo won't stop moving to get a good picture. She's just a wind-up toy!  And my 4 yo wants to wear hers every single day. Over and over again. It's part cute, part annoying. :o)

2. My aunt called and asked if I wanted my great-grandmother's treadle sewing machine. Um, YEAH!! It has seen better days, and it's seen a bit too much sunshine, but it is stunningly beautiful on the inside.  It's not perfect, and it doesn't work right now. I don't plan to restore it anytime soon, but I guess I could put it on the WiP list. :) I hope to take some good pictures of it someday soon. It is really breathtaking.

3. I finished Nicole's blocks for the Bee Happy Bee. She sent us a handful of shot cottons and asked us to make a large block inspired by the quilts of Gee's Bend. While I had a hard time getting out of my habit to design and organize and engineer a block, I found it liberating that there was no end goal, you know? It didn't even have to be square. She just wanted us to enjoy the journey, and let the block evolve. Love that.

Here are a mere few of my Works in Progress.

1. Bee blocks galore.
Black and white blocks for Shelley in the Mod Mosaic bee. I think this will be a striking quilt.



Word blocks for Alison in the Bee Happy Bee. These are already looking really fun. I can't wait to have the brain cells to start on mine. :)



Scattered Jewels blocks for the {Faith} Circle of the do.Good Stitches bee. I haven't even started to pull fabric for that, so I don't have a picture. I just wanted to put it down here so I don't forget! :)

2. Project 10-4 I can't say more about it, but it involves onesies. :)



3. Multi-tasker Tote Anna Maria Horner is coming to speak to the Front Range MQG on Friday August 3rd, and she's teaching the Multi-tasker Tote class on Saturday, the 4th. I've decided that I'm going to try to cut my fabric out ahead of time, and try to make 2 bags during the class. Yes, I know I'm insane. So, since we're aware that I've pushed my sanity aside, I've got to pick out my fabrics for the two bags. For one, I think I'm going to sew scraps together and "make" my own fabric, then for the other, I'm not sure. I'm thinking of using my beloved Calypso Ovals in blue from Blend. (Love!)  My alternate fabric will probably be a solid. Or maybe a coordinating polka dot. I don't know. :o)  I don't actually know how to pick fabric for things! :o)

4. Mookie's Quilt
We cut the printed fabric for my 4 yo's Heather Bailey summer quilt, now I just need to get the solid to go with it, then we'll cut that and sew, sew, sew. She's got the attention span of a 4 year old, so she might be 8 by the time we finish, but we're going to try! :o)



And dinner. Every day they want dinner. Strange creatures. :o)

Hope you have a great week!

(linking up with Freshly Pieced's {WiP} Wednesday post, hosted by Taryn this week.)

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 24/52

Man, these weeks go by fast!

I don't have much "in progress" to show, but I've got a lot on my list, that's for sure!

I was pretty productive this week, though, and got a few finishes! Woot woot!!

I finally  finished Audrey's wonky house block. It's not as cool as the others she has gotten, but I did my best for right now. :-/

I also made a bunch of 9-patch blocks because we make baby blankets for new babies in our guild, and right now we are expecting 6 more babies! I decided to make it easy on myself and got 9 pieces of Sock Monkey fabric and just strip-pieced 9 blocks rather quickly.

And in the end, I decided to make a bag for our Front Range MQG grocery bag swap. It's definitely different than everyone else's, but that's okay. :-). I made it out of a pair of my old jeans that had a hole in the knee, and almost didn't give it away! :-). (tutorial coming soon)

You can see that it's really handy to carry plastic vegetables. :o)

This week I'm working on catching up on all the bee blocks I've got to do.  My goal is to finish Natalie's bookshelf block, and then finish the 2 mod mosaic blocks I have to do for June. Then I'll go back and do Nicole and Alison's blocks for the Bee Happy bee, and then I'm done with those. I hate being this far behind.


I wonder how long I can use the "I've got a newborn" excuse...

(I'm linking up with Lee of Freshly Pieced for her regular WiP Wednesday blog party)

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 23/52

So...I missed posting last week. I'm not really pleased about that because I had really hoped to post every week this year, but it is what it is.

Plus, I didn't have anything to show you. I had no new WiPs from the week before. And the truth is, I still don't!

But I didn't post last week for another good reason -- I had just returned home from a spontaneous and very much needed trip to LA.

Rocket Man accompanied me, and it was SO GREAT to spend time with SO MANY of my favorite people again. There were lots of hugs, lots of laughs, lots of new people falling head over heels for Rocket Man. :o) And it was also so great to spend money at some of my favorite shops, like Trader Joe's and Sew Modern. Mmmm...Sew Modern. I love that place. If you're in LA, you need to go there. Lauren has everything a modern quilter could want. She's also got an online shop if you can't get to LA.

I made a quick burp cloth/receiving blanket combination for a friend having a baby shower while I was there, and I used my serger for most of it. A while back, I decided to try to make burp cloths entirely out of the flannel I have, rather than buying cloth diapers and adorning them with flannel. It worked out great, although I'm not sure it worked out any cheaper. BUT, I do believe the ones that are all flannel are much softer and will wear better over time than ones made from cloth diapers.

Here's a picture of the burp cloth:

For grins, I used pink thread on top and white on bottom.

Here's a picture of the burp cloths and the receiving blanket:

If you look closely (or click through to the picture in Flickr), you can see the serged edge on the top of the blanket, and the top of the burp cloths.

I had intended to make hundreds of these for the hundreds of babies being born around me, but so far, I've made 2. Progress is slow around these parts. I'm still going to make a bunch more, because they're ridiculously quick, but progress is slow. :)

Now, Works In Progress.

(sigh)

There are too, too many. I'm doing my best, but progress is slow. Rocket Man just loves to be held, and it's hard to sew while holding a baby. I know it's a blessing. Believe me, I know how much I should treasure these times of holding his little body. And I DO!! It's just frustrating to not be able to complete even the simplest of tasks. His crying is inversely proportional to the amount of work that I do.

Here's what I need to complete before my Front Range MQG meeting on Saturday:

1. Some 9 patch blocks for baby blankets we're making for all the new moms in the guild. We're having a baby boom over here, and I know it's common in other MQGs right now. :)
2. Some improv pieced and wonky pieced blocks, and talking points since I'll be speaking about the history of the Modern Quilt Guild and demonstrating improvisational piecing and wonky piecing.
3. Audrey's little house block. Right now, it looks awful! I've got more work to do, and I hope it comes together, but it looks awful. I don't even want to show you a picture, it's that awful.
4. (maybe?) A tote bag. We're swapping tote/grocery bags at this meeting, and if I want to participate, I best get myself sewing a tote bag, eh? I've seen lots of quick tutorials, but it's not the most important thing on my list, so it'll have to wait.

And after I finish those things, I've got bee blocks galore to finish. Hah. Let me rephrase that...I've got bee blocks galore to start!!

I still consider Rocket Man a {WiP} since he's not grown, yet, so here's a sweet picture of him I took the other day for his 2 month pictures:

Anyone want to come hold the baby while I sew?

(I'm linking up with Lee of Freshly Pieced for her regular WiP Wednesday blog party)

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 18/52

Does it take everyone eons to write a blog post, or is it just me?  That's why I never write them anymore...it just takes too dang long!

I've got a lot of WiPs this week, and only one real finish. The dang heart that I made way way way too complicated for my own good!

Rosanna (from the Bee Happy bee) (the best bee EVER!) gave us some Asian fabrics and asked us to make a pieced heart, any way we wanted. Well, this didn't actually end up how I really wanted it (I wanted the top to be curved, not straight-edged like it is), but I just didn't have the brain cells, or the time, or the will, really, to figure it out. My primary goal was to have the fabrics radiating out from the side like that, and go from there. Well...that's what I got! :)

And I want to say a BIG Thank You to Katy Cameron for all her paper-piecing counseling. She was busy, and 5000 miles away, but she was always quick to help me through the next challenge. :)

Now I can move on!

For Bee Happy bee blocks, I've got to make Natalie's book shelf block. Just look at what some of my other bees have been doing! Ridiculously fabulous! (These were done by Liberty and Kelly)

And then I've got to do Nicole's Gee's Bend inspired block. Every single one of these is ah-MAY-zing!! Here's Lori's:

(I don't know why that one won't play nice and line up with the rest of them. See? THIS is why it takes me so long to write! Silly Blogger!)

And Alison is sending out her fabric this week for us to make a couple of word blocks. I have to come up with one word that represents the Bee Happy bee for me. One. ONE? Impossible!

Then in the FRMQG, I've got to make a little house block for Audrey.  I drew out the house, and was all ready to start paper-piecing it when my oldest found the design, and decided to dig through my scraps and build her own fabric house. Not bad for a 3 year old. :o)

I've got to make 2 red and aqua Mod Mosaic blocks for the...Mod Mosaic bee, and two red and white star blocks for the {Faith} Circle of the do.Good Stitches bee.

Lots and lots of red in my blocks this month! :o)

I've also got to make a pouch for a swap in the {Faith} Circle. I've got my design all planned out, I just need to find a way to sit at the sewing machine. And actually S-E-W!!

And some baby projects to finish for friends. The economy must be picking up the way babies seem to keep happening all around me! :o)

AND...I've got another long blog post to write about the wonderfulness of friends. I've been a mom of 3 for a whole month now, and I'm hoping that my time management will get better real soon.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

(I'm linking up with Lee of Freshly Pieced for her regular WiP Wednesday blog party)

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 16/52

Slow and steady wins the race, right? Well, I won't be winning any races, but I've got a bunch of bee blocks to make, and I'm trying to chip away at those whenever I get the energy, the time, and the mental wherewithal to work on them.

The mental wherewithal seems to be the rarest of them all.

I'm partially finished with that Bee Happy pieced heart I mentioned last week. I got the heart part all paper pieced like I want it, but now I'm stuck on how to add the white around the outside. Any suggestions? Everywhere you see tan paper is where there needs to be white fabric.

(like how the heart is drawn?)  :o)

And I'm also partially finished with my "block" for the {Faith} Circle of the do.Good Stitches bee.

All that's left is to trim the squares to 4", then sew them together in a randomly scrappy zig-zag pattern.

Then I've got to bust a move and make 2 Mod Mosaic blocks for Jeannette. Once I get those done, I can relax and work on one house block for Audrey, one bookshelf block for Natalie, and one Gee's Bend-inspired block for Nicole. AND...by the time I get done with what I have to get done, I'll get instructions for 6 new blocks!

(it's no fun being this far behind!)

You know me, I've got a million other things in the works, too, but nothing worth losing sleep over.

Especially considering how precious little sleep I'm getting right now!

In other news, Jenn at Sunny in Cal really really surprised me when she nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award. She did that 2 days before Rocket Man was born, and I haven't quite gotten myself together enough to (a) thank her, (b) blog about it, and (c) nominate others! :o)  Shame on me!  I will get to that...

You know what? I'll do that Friday. Friday I'll do that. And post some pictures of other stuff. I promise I'll do it Friday.

I'm linking up with Lee of Freshly Pieced (of course!) for WiP Wednesday. You should go over there and see what other cool stuff people are working on this week.