Whew!

My bestest buds off to school.

We're oh so fashionistas here!

LOL

Middleman actually started the week before Javi and Bean.  We were waiting to hear on a promotion to Algebra II for him, and I just got the call.  His test scores were good enough to prove he was ready for Algebra II and he gets moved today!  This is such a validation of all his hard work!  We start co-op the second week of September.  Soccer season hit full force after we got back from vacation and my heart just melts at the incredibleness of these kids!  I love them, one and all, they're so super!

Then Javi began his college freshman career on Monday.  Overwhelmed.  Overworked.  Overtired.  Overeverything.  He found an on campus job and is still trying to make the adjustment from high school to BSU.  Thankfully, we live next to a shuttlebus pick up so he can catch that to and from school to and from our house.   

Then, there's Bean.  Who is missing his best friend this year, but not the bully from last year.  This awesome, friends from birth bud is now being homeschooled.  The bully earned a swift kick to the privates last year from Bean when he wouldn't quit hitting, kicking, head locking him.  We sure don't miss that!  All in all, I think it will be a good year for him.  He's already cutting up with the science teacher!

(just can't seem to get enough sleep! actually still catching up from vacation hours!) 

Before school started though, there was time for one more road trip to see these

massive windmills on farms in the eastern part of the state.  Very surreal!  But way worth the trip.

Also over the last couple of weeks, I was blessed to be asked to rebind this beautiful quilt given as a wedding gift a long time ago to a very special couple.  The bride was going to just throw it out (it had some stains, was faded and some minor boo boos), but it was rescued by her daughter and brought to me.  I machine stitched the front of the binding and hand sewed the back down.  I also soaked/washed it in OxyClean and the quilt came out much brighter and I managed to get a lot of the stains out for her.

I'm also working on another commissioned quilt for a little girl that lost her mom to cancer last year.  Trying to honor her memory and create something Shelby can hold on to tight and remember her mom with. 

Claudia from the ISQB sent me this beautiful star block for my month of August.  I'm eagerly awaiting all of these to come in!  I need to do my block for the IMQG bee we're doing too.  A little here, a little there.

As I type this, I'm listening to Middleman practice on his new baby.

A G&L Stratocaster similar to the one David Gilmore of Pink Floyd fame plays.  Here he is taking a break to open a gift at Mimi's house.  She has an awesome tradition of gifting to the grandchildren for her birthday.  What an awesome Mimi!

 

Sunshine in a vase!  All from our gardens out back.  Yesterday, Mr (or Mrs.) Hummingbird came right up to the kitchen window while I was doing dishes.  Just peeking in.

Some fabric I picked up while in Alabama.  Thank you sweetie pie!

And after completing the Aloha blocks for that quilt (I still need to find sashing to compliment all of these lucious, tropical colors!), I had enough small pieces to cut into 2" sq pieces to pair with some white to do a single Irish Chain pattern.  This will continue to grow and be the back of the Aloha quilt.

Let's see, did I leave anything out?

LOL

Oh yeah, more Gulf Shores photos!

Javi and me at the arcade.

Bean and Javi after the "Hurl-A-Minute" ride.

The baby sand shark someone accidentally caught.

Ick. 

And hiking out to a remote beach we shared with only four other people-and two of them left.

Hope the weekend treats you kindly!

Selfish post alert!

I'm so totally breaking radio silence here.

But with good cause.

You can stop reading right here and return to your normally programmed schedule.

The Vintage Sheet Blog is having a small giveaway.  It's so small that even if you did ignore my pleas of indifference, you really don't want to go here.

Let's just say I'm hoping my "Dreams" come true.

You really don't need to go there.  At all.  It could be dangerous.  And......it probably smells bad too.  So.  Just stay away.

LOL

Holiday!

The next couple of weeks will be pretty hectic for us.  And yes, more so than usual as impossible as that seems.  All three boys will be heading back to school, and there is lots to do before, during and after that.

I'm now on bloggy vacation.

Pretending through the next two weeks, I'm at the beach.

And yes, KT, I will be wearing my bracelets.

Are you wearing your flip flop?

See you all soon and hope you stay healthy and that Life treats you kind.

Where oh where has my summer gone?

Egads people!  School starts next week!

What happened to my summer vacation with the kiddoes?

Well, I know where some of it went.  To Gulf Shores with KT and her family. 

Here we are arriving first night at the condo.  Which was gorgeous and has now forever ruined me for my shrinky lil' bathtub at home.  A garden jacuzzi tub about as deep as the Gulf itself with HOT water (not that set at 100 for safety and economical purposes)!  Almost every morning and evening began or ended with a much deserved and needed soak.

The younger boys shared a bunkroom and Javi had his own with a connecting bathroom shared by the other two.  Going to bed and waking up gazing out at the Gulf is really my life's calling.  LOL

Eating out, shelling, diving, snorkeling, fishing, shopping, swimming-exactly what we needed to recharge us through the winter.  The boys caught sand crabs by night and hermit crabs by day.  Dolphins playing in the surf so very close to us.  See the fin top left?

Watching Shark Week all week long, so that when this

(7 ft Bull Shark)

was caught off the nearby pier and an eye witness to a Black Tip 12 feet from shore at Orange Beach, we were ready to keep the kids a little bit closer to us in the surf.  Also caught were Spades and a Ramora by Middleman the fisherman.

Hubby love and Middleman are telling a fishtale of KT's husband and son catching a huge something that was so big, it broke the line.  They think it was another shark.  That's their tail, and they're sticking to it!

I very cleverly stepped on an Angel Shark and had the snot shocked out of me.  Evidently they look like sting rays, but will give a strong electrical shock if attacked or simply stepped on by a cute, lil' freckled northen gal.

Moving on.

We're trying to decide which house we want to buy (in our dreams) to live full time down there.

This one or

this one.  I kinda like the blue color scheme of the first one, but just am so sure we could fit all y'all in the yellow one when you came to visit!  See the windows on top?  Sewing room fer sure!

Middleman sampling some of the local marine life.

Some of the local marine life sampling Daddy and Bean!

Okay, just a few pics of our wonderful vacation.  For the family, I'll share more later.

Catching up on email, schedules and life.

Commissioned to rebind a beautiful quilt that a lovely couple received as a wedding gift many years ago and a new memory quilt for a very special, young someone.

Spending the next few weeks catching up on all the new blog posts and flickr fabulousness!

Here's to a great week!

Life Saver!

Okay, so August is my month for the bee.

Collecting fabric since January.

All over Indiana.

Butt side up over the scrap bins in quilt stores.

I.  Am.  Determined.

(and yes, I'm sure it was ugly!)

This is a sample block I made yesterday that will go into the quilt.

Remember these fabrics?

I can't wait to start getting blocks back!

A little known secret about me:

I hate licking envelopes.  (as opposed to Bean who thinks he's in heaven getting to lick them closed)  Ick!

For weeks now, I've been trying to figure out how to secure the envelopes I'm sending in the mail without having to deal with packaging tape (which envelopes me and I get stuck to myself and whatever else might be in the room-I am not coordinated enough to even load and work the little gun you can buy to "help" you).

Okay, so this morning.

D-Day.

Dread Day.

Shipping day.

Thank you Lesly for resending me all the addresses.  Thank you printer for not being compatible with my laptop and for the computer room behemoth that is soooooo ssssslllllooooowwww that trying to print something is like watching mold grow.

When, like a gift from heaven, I remembered the spray bottle I use to wet the boys' hair down for haircuts.  I've relearned a wonderful word.  Frugal.  Which is what I am since I've been cutting their hair for almost 16 years now.  Hubby too.  $40 every six weeks for a year is about $344 more than I want to spend on hair.  Especially when the boys were little and were at the doctor almost every week with something.  You know how it is?  That's a lot of milk.  A lot of cereal.  Prescriptions for antibiotics for ear infections!

LOL

Here they are, ready to go with my new best friend.  Once I got over the mishap of someone who shall remain nameless turning the nozzle to stream, cleaning off my glasses that got sprinkled and flipped it back to spray, I was in business.

In under 2 minutes, they were sealed and my tongue did not have to touch one.

Some things in life do work for you!

Today I'm dealing with a dog who woke up gagging.  Not sure why, but I think she was given something that didn't agree with her tummy.  Hurling doggies.  Awesome.

Bean, who wants to watch Jaws and 12 Days of Terror before we go on vacation to the Gulf.  Who wants a library visit to get books about sharks.  Greaaaaat.

Kids who aren't even up 5 minutes and need to be sat down at the kitchen table for daring to cross the demilitarized zone.  Sweet.

A teenager who's needing to fly.  And needs another transcript copy from the school I just luuuuuuv to go to! 

Hottest day of the week.  Did I mention Thing 2 and Thing 3 spent 7 hrs at the pool Monday and 3 yesterday?  Yes!

Cat who can't seem to find the litter pan and tries to ear my hair and lick me to death if I sit down anywhere near her.

Book on the Great Potato Blight in Ireland.  I like to read while I have breakfast and this morning, the section was on dead people being ripped apart in the streets by wild dogs.  They'd starved and no one had the energy to bury them in the winter.  Nice.

Makes my bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch go down easy.  Yeah.  Really easy.  Not.  Now, every time I eat something, images of a famine ridden Ireland pop into my head and the guilt over having so much while people in other parts of the world don't...

Remember that Love fabric I was going to drive to the LQS and get?  Not so much.  I'm afraid if I leave town, Israel and Iran will be at each other's throats.  Plus, there is that trip to the library I need to make....

IMQG July Block for Chelsea

is finished.

Chelsea asked us to use lots of open space and cream for her ocean themed block.

I apologize for the horrible shot, but it's so dang bright out outside, all my shots looked like the sun had exploded, so I went into the sunroom.

Fell head over heels in adorability for this little gull walking the shore.

This block is a 14 1/2" sq one.  Chelsea, hope you like it!

Did you know how much your kind words and encouragement mean to me!  I love hearing if anyone else is as excited about projects as I am.  Thank you for all your enthusiasm and affirmation for the Aloha block.  I'm working on another center piece and still haven't gotten out to buy more Love.

We spent the weekend in two different states.  A family reunion on my mom's side and a memorial service for a dear friend's son kept us travelling.  Good food and visiting in Michigan with cousins, aunts and uncles and my Grandpa, who at almost 90, still goes bow hunting and fishing on Lake Erie!

July 19th, 2009, a young man was driving home from a day racing, with his dad in another vehicle on the same road.  They believe Zach had a seizure and swerved into a semi.  I remember him as a chubby lil' four year old showing me his playset and then as a teenagaer dealing with epilepsy while making his life work and being a friend to all.  It was encouraging and heartening to hear one man's testimony about Zach's faithfulness in friendship at the memorial service.  His dad works with my hubby and has been a great friend and mentor to him.

You are missed Zach by your mom and dad, and all those who knew and love you still.

Friday Finish and a Twisting Pinwheels Tutorial

If you are interested in purchasing the gizmo, you can go here In Stitches. 

To start simple, choose 4--5" sq pieces of fabric.  Charm packs are great for this, but I'm adding from my own stash as I go along and cutting 5" sq pieces too.

Lay them out the way you would like them to lie against each other.  Sew together to make a four patch block.

Now, cut two--2 & 3/4"-3" strips of white quilter's choice fabric (or your own color choice) the length of the right and left sides.  Sew the strips on.  Press.

Cut 2 more same width strips (2 &3/4"-3") and sew along the top and bottom.  Press.

Now you have the piece you will cut your twisting pinwheels from.

(the instructions say that "there will be a 1/4-1/3 loss from the beginning size of your project before cutting and the end result using the twister.")

The instructions also have you start cutting from the left, but I started from the right because of work space and comfortableness.

Place the gizmo dead center over lines that intersect on the seams between two borders and the first square.

This is where you make your cuts around the gizmo.  Be careful not to extend your cuts too far beyond the gizmo as you might cut into fabric needed for another square.  The instructions tell you to leave the block in place once it's cut, but I wanted to make sure my cuts went all the way through before I moved on to the next square to cut.  Realigning to finish incomplete cuts isn't hard, but it's not fun either.

Continue cutting on all intersecting seams.  Your four square should now look like this.

Notice all the little squares just perfect for your next scrappy project!  Now, angle the first square you cut so it is straight.  Piece the new block together matching up fabrics into their pinwheel shapes.

Now you are ready to assemble the new block by sewing the squares together.  I press my seams to the side and press one row opposite the other so I can lock my seams into place for nice fits on the seams.  Once all nine squares are sewn together and the new block is pressed, trim off the excess white border and true up your block.

These blocks measure 9 1/2" sq when finished.  To make the larger, center blocks, I laid out a rectangle of 5 x 4--5" fabrics, sewed those together, attached a border and cut using the method above.  Here's a shot of me picking out the fabrics for the second, center block and laying them next to each other to see how they play together.

The center twisting pinwheels block measures 19" x 15 1/2".  You can sew as many 5"sq fabrics together as you'd like in whatever lengths or widths you'd like as long as you put the border around them.

Here is the first center block finished.

And here is the second, center block finished, but only laying on top of the first one.  I need to make a trip to our LQS that sells the Love fabric to continue the quilt.

And another corner block I made up yesterday.

I hope this has helped with the questions some had from the last post.  If you have any more you can post them here, or email me and I will answer them as best I can.

For those joining from Friday Finish, here is what I finished this week.

I'm calling this the "Aloha" block and it roughly measures 36" sq.  Another quilt for our bed in the making.  You can find other great projects and finishes at Amy's blog for Sew & Tell Friday Finish.

Happy Weekend one and all!