Quilting Class

Last week I took my first quilting class. I was so excited for it and the class lived up to my excitement. In the first task I learned a neat trick to quilt straight lines and I was giddy with excitement. I told the teacher if this was the only thing I learned I'd leave happy. 

We had to make a small quilt before we came to class and we were going to learn free motion quilting. Each square of our quilt we learned a new stitch.  Free motion is quite artistic and there is room for individuality. It was cool to see how each of us students had a different look with the same concept.

 The photos above and below show all of the stitch patterns we practiced.

Flower or Rose stitch. This was one of my favorites

Pebble stitch, another of my favorites, but very time consuming.

 I promptly went back to my neighborhood quilt shop

and signed up for another class.

Next up:

Jelly Roll Quilt

And I can't wait!

 Mila's quilt top is done.

I need to do the backing and then baste it.

Then...I need to decide how I'm going to quilt it with my new skills :)

 This is the beginning of a fabric book I'm making for Mila.

I gathered notes from family before she was born

that will be printed in the book, along with photos.

 

I love the color scheme!

Mila Renee Alba has arrived

Mila made a quick and dramatic entry into the world on Friday morning, February 8, 2012, at 2:55 am. She weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. Big sister, Cleo is in love! (As we all are).

Here's a little video I got of her sucking her thumb yesterday.

A Month of Letters

I recently saw this link on facebook and was intrigued!

The challenge is to write a letter every day 

(except Sunday's and one holiday when there is no mail service).

I love a good old fashioned letter and although I love the ease of online communication these days, there isn't anything that compares to getting a card, note, postcard or letter in your mailbox. I still to this day love going to the mailbox even though I know it is not likely that I will find something fun inside that box. I still hold out hope. (Kind of like when I found out the REAL Santa story and still woke up Christmas morning with the hope that Santa had come while I was sleeping).

I'm going to take this letter a day challenge with the hope of bringing some cheer to another person, to find a way to communicate with some people that I've lost touch with and to have fun writing,

like in the good old days.

I'll keep you posted!

2.13.13 update: I've fallen terribly behind, but I'm not giving up. I spent today writing some letters and I'm going to do the best I can. 

Wool Longies

I have yet to tackle knitting some wool longies. I just don't feel that I'm that good of a knitter. But the next best thing is repurposing a wool sweater into wool pants or diaper covers. The wool is a natural fiber that breaths and it also repels moisture (aka: pee).

The good news:

I have a shelf full of wool sweaters!

I've been collecting wool sweaters for a couple of years with the intention of making a wool sweater quilt. I've found the sweaters at Red, White and Blue, Goodwill bins and garage sales.

Using the sweaters now give me something to be on the hunt for in the upcoming garage sale season.

YAY!

Today's sewing project was easy and quick. I cut the arms off the wool sweater, making sure they were the same length, cut the seam a little and sew them together. The first pair were a tad short waisted so I decided not to make a casing for the elastic. I got some 2" wide elastic and sewed that to the top as a finished waistband. The second pair were a little longer waisted so I made a casing for the elastic. I love both of them! The dark pair are thinner and soft and the light pair are thick and cozy. I also made Leo another wool diaper cover.

So without further ado....

here is my handsome model showing off the comfy wool longies 

I made him today.

This light gray pair is much roomier for Leo's diaper butt:

It's difficult to see, but I added one of these adorable "made with love by grandma" tags.

Journaling

A woman
in harmony
with her spirit
is like
a river flowing.
She goes
where she will
without pretense
and arrives
at her destination,
prepared
to be herself
and
only
herself.

Maya Angelou

 My new 5 year journal next to my grandmother's.

When my beloved grandma died my dad inherited this 5 year diary she had. She wrote in it nearly every day. She missed most of one year but the years she did write she hardly missed a day. I loved getting to know my younger grandma through her writing. The phrases she used, the friends she had and the movies she saw. I learned that she rode her bike a lot and loved to play ping pong (Grandma and Grandpa had a ping pong table and pool table when I was young). I only wished she'd written more details. My dad and step mom let me borrow the diary and I read every page. When they saw how much I treasured it they let me keep it and it's truly one of my most treasured possessions. My grandma wrote this diary in pencil so I fear that in time I won't be able to read the words as they are fading. 
Do not write in pencil in your journal!
The last couple of years of my grandma's diary is when she met and married my grandfather. They were pretty young and he went off to serve in world war II. It's crazy to think about that time they were living in. I was surprised by how insecure my grandma was about my grandpa, at times writing that she worried he wasn't thinking of her and didn't love her. The diary ends when she thinks she might be pregnant. 
I was like....WHAT? You're going to stop writing now and not tell me if you are pregnant?
But then I realized I could do the math, 
and yes indeed, 
she was pregnant with my uncle Dennis.   
I recently looked at her diary again and was surprised by something I had missed before.
At the very end of the book is a list of pet names and a location.
I am assuming these were written or said to her by my grandpa 
while he was away and she kept track of them. 
But maybe it's something different. I can only guess.
Dumpling.....New Zealand
Darling.....Australia
My sweet darling.....Scotland
Honey.....Guam
And on and on....
How adorable is that!! 
  
 When my daughter gave me my 5 year journal my for birthday I was excited to begin my own commitment of writing so that my grandchildren will someday read about my life in a fun way. I will try to remember to include details about this time, things we've done and the people in my life who influence me. The movies that are popular, technology changes (boy, won't they laugh at that some day) and the mundane daily rituals we have.  With the journal lying on my nightstand it's been easy to jot a few lines down every night. It only takes a moment. But it has inspired me to take more time to journal write. I wrote in my journal last week and realized that in 2012 I only wrote one time!
One time!
That's terrible. That is going to change.
So though I do not make new year's resolutions, I do sometimes make goals and this is my goal:
To write nightly in my 5 year journal.
To journal at least once a week. 

Saturday

We got to babysit Ryker today!Which gave us many photo ops!

 He has one tooth now and eats baby food!

 Grandpa Mario can always get the babies to sleep.

 Leoben and Ryker

Lots of fun times ahead for these boys!

 

 

 Leo in his new exersaucer.

 Ryker looking pretty tired after our walk.

 Cleo came to visit too.

Love this crazy hair picture!

He seriously has a big butt!

Leo's Stats

One week from being a big 4 month old

and

He weighs 19.5 pounds

Has two teeth

found his voice

(aka...screams)

grabs my face

and

loves to chew on Sophie

A granddaughter on the way.

 The adorable Cleo breaking in my newly painted chalkboard door.

She's going to be a big sister in just a few weeks.

I can't wait to meet our new granddaughter!

I started working on a quilt for her...

 I use the floor of my sewing room to figure out which quilt pattern I want to use.

Ava thinks the fabric is there for her.

I left it there overnight and what a mess I found the next morning.

 The first square done.
 

The first row done.

I got on a roll and finished the quilt top tonight.

Since this is my first quilt I wanted to use a simple pattern
 so I settled on squares and rectangles.

Now I've got to find my knitting bag and get finished

with her other blanket

before she decides to make her big appearance!

Cousins

These two are going to have such fun growing up together. 

Can't wait for the new baby's arrival in about a month. 

Three babies in 8 months! 

Love the photo bomb, Mario!

This one is the best!

Post Christmas Fun

He sat up on his own and rolled over today!

 Hmmm...chocolate covered gummy bear....don't mind if I do

We snatched it away just in time!

Someone should have snatched this away from me.

Too many chocolates!

Have you ever seen such a mammoth box of chocolates?