Sick Kyle

Yesterday's Block Count: 14

 Yesterday, I went ahead and took Kyle to school since it was his last day for the year. He did mostly ok but obviously had a harder time focusing until the end. At the end of it, his fever was starting to go back up, so he made me carry him to the car. Then we ran to Smith's to get some tylenol for him (sick kids makes tylenol and ibuprofen disappear really fast). And he insisted I carry him through the store. Then he fell asleep in the car before we made it home (little over a mile). He then had a good nap and came downstairs and allowed me to tuck him in on the couch and he fell asleep again. Then when I heard him fussing around 5, I went and checked his temperature again, and he ended up crawling onto my lap and I was stuck. He started by using my knee as a pillow, but I eventually got him to turn. I was without anything to do, but I managed to stretch and pull the coffee table closer which had his tablet on it, so I was able to pull up an ebook. Then Nate came down a little later (I gave him permission to play video games upstairs so Kyle could sleep) and brought me my phone, so I snapped this picture. Spencer kindly brought food home, so I didn't have to wake Kyle up to make dinner.

 Yesterday was also the weekly deadline for the Long Time Gone Sew Along, so I had to get my courthouse steps blocks done. I was successful. I am quite pleased with how they turned out. They are a little wonky, but that is probably because I was speeding through getting them made for the deadline.

I also got 5 TJL blocks done. Though I do have to admit that they were all done and on the chain on my sewing machine, so really all I did was dechain and press them. There are 4 greens and 1 red.

This is today's block for the 100 days quilt along. Block 4.

Emotional Kids

Yesterday's Block Count: 4

Yesterday was a rough day. The boys seemed to be on Emotional Overload. The 5 year old spent the day either whining at me or yelling/screaming at me. While the other one seemed to be the most emotional when his daddy was home. Thankfully, they both took naps or I really would have lost it.

Having everyone else in the house sick really wears on my patience. The kids were regularly fighting and cranky. The hubs still went to work, so I only had to deal with a sick hubs before and after work. His crankiness was mostly directed towards the boys as they were clingy and whiny with him. But thankfully I did manage to get the 4 blocks done; 2 Black and White 365 Blocks, 1 Red TJL, and 1 Teal TJL.

Now to try to get through another day with a sick and whiny Kyle, especially since I've had to tell him he can't go to school (weekly Speech class) or gymnastics today, which resulted in him trying to tell me he's better now, and everything he has eaten or done has made him feel better...

Wish me luck.

Back to Work

Yesterday's Block Count: 2

 This is my Block 2 for the Tula Pink's 100 Modern Blocks.

I also managed to get 1 more block done for the Black and White 365 as well as 1 Red TJL block.

Jump Start on 100 Blocks

Yesterday's Block Count: 16

 Today is the beginning of 100 Blocks in 100 Days, being hosted by GnomeAngel. This is using Tula Pink's 100 Modern Blocks. So I decided to pull out my fabrics yesterday and jump start my blocks in an attempt to be able to keep up. I decided to pull the number of fabrics needed for the first block, and then add as I needed more. These are the first 4 I picked. It will be fun to see how the blocks progress as the fabrics run out, and I pull more. I specifically tried pulling from my small yardages, which is anything from about 8 inches to 15 inches, to try and use up some of those little ones. The leftover strips get put into their respective usable size bin, and that way I'm also replenishing my strip bins for when I need some mindless scrap sewing.

 This is the first block. I will share here each day what the block looks like for that day. I'm not going to show the ones I got done early, just to stay more in line with the sew along.

As leaders and enders, I would throw in an entire strips worth of parts for my RSC17 blocks. So it would be a handful of HSTs or a few 1 inch strip sets for the 4-patches. That resulted in 1 Teal 16-patch, 5 Teal TJL Blocks and 5 Green TJL Blocks. It's fun to see those blocks progressing again. I've been a little more cautious about cutting for them because they are such tiny pieces, and I cut my finger trying to cut the strips for them. I still get a little anxious when I use my rotary cutter, but I'd rather keep sewing than give it up.

Simple Progress

Yesterday's Block Count: 5

 I finished a binding yesterday. I haven't managed to finish a quilt awhile, so it felt good to actually finish something.

 I also managed to finish 3 teal 16-patch blocks for my Teal Quilt. I also got one of the Green Tiny Jacob's Ladder Blocks for this month.

I also made this cute puppy dog block for a friend who recently lost her sweet furbaby.

My new goal (I seem to always be making new goals), will be to try to get a blog post up in the morning highlighting the blocks from the day before. That way I can keep sewing up until my computer shuts off rather than trying to remember to stop sewing to post.

Simple Blocks

Today's Block Count: 6
Yesterday's Block Count: 3
Day Before Yesterday's Block Count: 3

I got 3 more 4-patches done for the Multicolor RSC17 quilt each of the last 2 days. As well as, 6 more today.

Beginning of May

Welcome to May. This means new goals and a new RSC17 Color.

This month's color is Green. Hopefully, I can get myself to actually work on clearing out that green bin. It's over-filled.

I'm going to use this quilt as my inspiration but I'm going to alternate scrappy greens and neutrals. I also think I want to use the strip method and the Companion Angle Ruler. I am fully prepared to have seams in the middle of my stripes. So we'll see how this turns out. This means I can use 1.5 inch strips and 4 strips per strip set to get 10 inch Quarter Square Triangles. I think mine is going to be more like bordered blocks.........
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Nothing quite like writing something down to realize, that you are making things WAAAAAYYYY to complicated again. It would be considerably easier to make these bordered blocks. If I start with a dark and end with a light and use an alternate block that is the opposite then I would be using 14 inch blocks which means I could use 30 blocks and a border to make a twin quilt using 2.5 inch strips. That seems highly doable for this month.

There is also the addition of 80 green Tiny Jacob's Ladder Blocks as well as the 31 blocks for the May Black and White 365 Blocks and the 31 blocks for the May Rainbow 365.

For my One Monthly Goal, I'm going to try and get myself to finish that wedding quilt top again. I actually have it out on my desk now, so it may just happen.

Flying on my Elna

Today's Block Count: 47

My Elna is sooo much faster and quieter than I was remembering. It helped me to get so many blocks done, it was fun.

 Yesterday, I talked with my dad about my problem with my Featherweight being flashy and inconsistently powered when I'm at my Sew Days. He said that I just needed to replace the plug. So I was able to open the new plug and Spencer helped me with actually wrapping the wires around the terminals. So I fixed it all by myself 😜. Really, Spencer kind of hovered until I let him help. We joked the whole time about it, too, since he had just told his brother that I would have to ask him to help. Technically, I didn't, but I do appreciate that he helped me.

 I got 7 multicolored 4-patches made as Leaders and Enders while working on the Churn Dashes and the Wedding Quilt.

 I also got 28 Half Square Triangles for the Wedding Quilt done today as well. Because it was Elna they flew right through the machine. I didn't manage to get this Wedding Quilt done today for the One Monthly Goal, but I'm still happy that I finally got to make some progress on this quilt.

I got the last 12 Churn Dashes made today for the Long Time Gone quilt. I had a 4 that I went ahead and let be odd. The navy and grey was made with a wrong-colored leg because I somehow I lost the grey leg. The others, I used the leftover bits of strips from the other churn dash blocks.

I think I'm still low on my April Goals...But I'm calling this a good effort the last few days. I also managed to quilt one of the extra baby quilts the other day that I had sitting already basted.

Elna's Fixed

Yesterday's Block Count: 8
Today's Block Count: 8

 My baby is home. She, Elna, has been out of commission for just over 2 years. It turned out that it was a tension pulley that needed to be replaced. She is such a faster machine than my others.

She is back in the spot of most use, and my bigger Janome, Jane, has been placed on a card table in the family room, to become a designated quilt machine. It is behind a couch, so I could watch tv while quilting, and I will be able to put the big tub of batting scraps under the table as well as the quilts that are basted and awaiting quilting. It will be nice to clear up a considerable amount out of my room. It might even encourage me to work on some backings for some of the tops that are already done. It will also be nice to not have to clear off my entire desk to be able to sew. That means any papers or sets of piecings I'm working on can stay put and I will be the one to move.

 Today, I managed to finish 3 4-patches for April RSC17 and 5 Churn Dash blocks for the Long Time Gone Quilt.

Yesterday, I managed to get 2 parts done for my Fandom in Stitches block. I'm working on Sadness from Inside Out. I also got 2 RSC17 4-patches, and 4 Churn Dashes.

Tomorrow, I really need to work on the Wedding Quilt. It's the last day of the month, which means that the One Monthly Goal deadline is tomorrow.

April Sew Day

Today's Block Count: 25

Today was Epic Sew Day.

 I helped make a block for a friend for a wedding quilt for her daughter.

I also started on the quilt I'm making for the Fandom in Stitches quilt swap. I managed to get an eyeball made.

Before Sew Day, I focused on finishing the 2 blocks I was behind for the Long Time Gone Sew Along. I am quite pleased with how this quilt is turning out.

 This is what all of my blocks are looking like together. Lots of fun color variations from 1 fat quarter bundle.

I also managed to get another 22 4-patch blocks for the Multicolored RSC17 quilt this morning in between the seams of the Long Time Gone blocks.

Few more Hexies and some RSC

Today's Block Count: 6

I managed to get the second hexie flower for January and the first hexie flower for February done. I also got the first 4 4-patches for my April RSC17 quilt using multicolored scraps. Tomorrow, I'll be headed to my monthly sew day and will be taking my Fandom in Stitches swap to work on.

Got my machine running again

Block Count: 5

My machine seems to have hit a hiccup in the road. Nothing serious...just user apathy. I've been doing a bit more with my hexie quilt, but it was a bit of a shock last night to realize I had spent less than 10 minutes at my machine in a week. Some of this is due to the boys getting the stomach flu, Nate getting an ear infection, after we all had colds. My cold lasted for 12 days, and now I am on an antibiotic to try and clear up the subsequent sinus infection...and as of yesterday, I also got to add eye drops for the pink eye that was a result of the sinus infection. But I think we are all on the mend finally.

So I'm trying to jumpstart my desire to work on things again. I, of course, really need to focus on my Long Time Gone blocks. I think I've completely disqualified myself from the prizes...but I really want to be able to focus on it.

This is where I stand on the last 2 weeks of blocks for the Long Time Gone. But at least they are cut and in process. And it's still the beginning of the week, so maybe I can actually get this week's blocks done on time.

I got to go to my first estate sale with a friend from church. There was supposed to be a ton of fabric, but we went on the second day, so there wasn't a ton left when we got there. It was a giant house, and there was an entire room of yarn. Each of these sock skeins was only $2 a piece. Kyle picked out one of the purples, saying he wants purple socks.

 I've also been trying to get myself to work on catching up on the Hexie flowers I swap with  my best friend. We make 2 flowers a month...the Monsters are my December flowers, with the purple being the first one for January. The little blue ones, I think I've already counted 1 of them, but the other 2 were pieced during a Relief Society meeting last night. Now I have to prep more fabric for my travel hexies. I ran out...so I actually had to sit there without anything.

 This has not been helping my lack of machine time. This is my cutting table, and is sooo covered in stuff, I almost don't know how to start on it. I'm going to try for 10 minutes to see if I can make some progress.

 This is my hexie basket. It came in handy while the boys and I had some forced down time watching movies. The hardest part about my boys being sick...is that they don't want to rest and get better...they just want to keep running around causing disaster in their wake.

I did also cut some squares out of my multicolor scraps to use as Leaders and Enders, so my block count should hopefully be higher in the next couple of days...if I can keep myself working at my machine.

What Day is it????

Crap, I seem to have lost a week somehow. No idea how that happened. Let's see if we can't figure out what happened to the week.

 I have my fabrics pulled for the beginning of my Fandom In Stitches Mini Quilt Swap.

 This past weekend was LDS General Conference, which is broadcast and we can watch from home. So I was able to get November's Hexies done for the swap I do with my best friend, in between being kicked in the head and trying to keep the boys relatively calm...I'm definitely open to suggestions on how to keep them calm.

 My Kindergartener who fights me on homework every day has discovered that he can read Green Eggs and Ham...so he now does...constantly. Because it is reading it counts as his daily homework chore, which is one of 5 things he has to do before he can watch tv every day.

 I attempted to dye my hair blue, but given how dark my hair is...it mostly just looks black unless the light hits it just right, then it kind of looks shiny black :)

 I also was really bad at keeping it from staining my scalp, so I've joked I colored my scalp more than my hair. And that I am part scalp.

 I've been working on my Long Time Gone quilt. These are all of my blocks so far. I was late posting my Crosses of the UK blocks to Instagram, so I don't think I'm eligible for prizes anymore, but I am still enjoying it, so I'm not stopping yet. I did the rainbow block today (and the Crosses of the UK yesterday).

The one who is hosting this Sew Along also shared on Instagram today that she will be hosting the 100blocks in 100days again starting on May 7th. This uses Tula Pink's 100 Modern Blocks, and with 2 of those on my to do list...it might be the perfect time to get going on those. Check it out at gnomeangel.com

 The weather has turned nice, and it is Spring Break, so the boys keep asking to go ride bikes. This is hard for me, since the only place for them to do it is in front of the house, and the 3 year old is obstinate, and doesn't like to listen or follow the rules, so I have to be out there with them to make sure he stays out of the road. This was one of those times they were successfully getting along...riding the scooter at the same time.

I've also been slowly chugging away at my En Provence blocks. My table isn't really big enough to lay out all of a block, so I'm just winging it making sure the same fabric in one unit isn't found in the unit(s) it's touching. It's been working so far.

It also dawned on me that I hadn't even looked to see what the RSC17 color was for the month of April. Turns out, it's Multicolor scraps. So this month will be a catch up month for the Tiny Jacob's Ladders (if I can get back to those), and I will do a super simple 4 patch quilt using the multi-color scrap bin. I also know there isn't a lot in that drawer, so I'm only going to aim for baby sized this month...especially since I've fallen behind on all the rest of what I had planned for this year.

I also need to declare what I want to finish for April for OMG. This month I'm going to try to push to finish the wedding top I started. The wedding is in 2 days, so it's going to be a little late...oops.

I do hope to get it all of the way quilted and bound by the end of the month, but I am also a little more aware of my own limitations right now (and how many other things I've started), so I'm only saying I have to have the top done by the end of April. Check out other people's goals at elmstreetquilts.com.

More to Share

Today's Block Count: 9 + 23

 The other day, I really started in earnest to work on this quilt. It is intended as a gift...and I have 10 days until W-Day. I think it will just be a top by then, so the actual present they open will be a text with a picture of the top :P I know I finished at least another 21 of these Half Square Triangles.

 The first section is officially together. Next up, section B.

I also got the 8 wonky improv log cabin blocks I decided on for the Play Quilt Along with Elm Street Quilts. So that project is ready for week 2...which was a few weeks ago. I finished 6 today and 2 yesterday.

Then I snuck in a few red HSTs for the Tiny Jacob's Ladder for this month's RSC blocks, which meant I could finish the 2 TJL blocks.

I also got 1 Black and White 365 Challenge Block done. It is the block for February 18...so it's a good thing it's only February 19th, right?

Tomorrow needs to be a massive clean in my room day. It's gotten a bit dangerous again. And I need to decide on what I want to take to Epic Sew Day... Strings are usually a great choice for that.

Just a few seams

Not much to report again. I have been sucked into a manga series again...and haven't wanted to put it down for the last 2 days.

I did manage to get myself to sew a few more seams on some improv log cabins. Tomorrow, I have to work on the wedding quilt. I have 13 days from today until they get married. This was supposed to be an easier quilt, so I don't know why I've delayed starting it...or I should say...continuing it, since I've sewn a few seams.

 I also have had these 3 blocks sitting on my pressing table already done for a few days, so I need to add them to my count.

I also finished this happy little flower at church today. The sides of the hexies are 1/2 inches.

Not much

Not much to report for today. I did finally get started on some blocks following the first prompt for the Play Quilt Along which is Log Cabin. This is an improv quilt along, so I cut some 5 inch centers and am using my strings to bring it up to 9.5 inches. I decided on just doing 8 of this block simply because that is how many center squares I could get from 1 strip.

Crazy Kid Instincts

Today's Block Count: 1

I got to start off my morning with some awesome quiet time as I worked on a few pen and paper puzzles before the boys woke up. I always forget how much I love doing those...until the stack resurfaces. I also forget how easy it is to get drawn away into working on them and forget what time it is...

 Then as it was time to head downstairs for the rest of the morning (we try to keep all toys downstairs), Kyle was pulling an old Gamecube controller around by the cord and calling it his puppy. He was not happy when Daddy took it away to put it away, so I finally convinced him to pick a stuffed animal to be his puppy, and I would make a leash for it. He settled on his dinosaur, that he has called his dragon, and baby, and I proceeded to make a leash for it. It was fun to hear him play with it "Mommy made me a puppy, Nate." Later, he also pulled the leash up over his shoulder with the dinosaur in back and said it was his purse. I love his imagination. I also think it's a little funny that he started on this whole puppy thing today, and then I logged on to Instagram and Facebook, and apparently it was National Puppy Day. I think this kid is going to be sorely disappointed when he finds out we can't have a dog because it would make me sick.

I also managed to get this block made for the Long Time Gone Sew Along. I am just absolutely in love with it...such that I have been contemplating finding these colors and making a bigger version, or several and making a big quilt just of these. The colors are a little off, it's Royal Blue, Light Blue, Light Purple, and Dark Purple.

I knowingly turned the flying geese in the middle of the sides because I wanted the points on the outside.

I also realized today (for the first time) that this quilt will be considerably smaller than I usually make...I don't know what I'm going to do about that yet...