Soccer and Homeschooling

This is a "This is a lot of what I think the world needs to know about homeschooling" post.

LOL

Homeschoolers join together for sports teams. Soccer, basketball, volleyball, football, golf etc. We have somewhere between 25-50 families from 2-3 adjacent counties who cooperatively form, coach and support these teams. Most games are played between other homeschooling teams and small Christian schools. We have state and national tournaments we can participate in also. We operate much like a small, county or rural school in how they are organized and played.

My guys are on the junior and senior high teams for soccer. The elementary and junior high teams are co-ed and the senior high girls and boys each have a team.

Two myths of homeschooling are the lack of socialization for the kids and their isolation.

I'm sure there are some homeschooling families out there who are the reasons for the stereotypes, but I haven't met them yet! LOL

Homeschooling families form co-ops that meet 1, 2, sometimes 3 times a week for classes.

We have sports teams.

We go on field trips with our co-ops and other families.

Our kids take piano, violin, guitar, drum, singing and other lessons from professional teachers weekly.

They go out in public with their parents during the day and interact with adults in real world situations and settings.

They have jobs.

They take dual credit/AP classes at local universities and tech schools.

In short, we are homeschooled, but our activities take us out into the world and there are some days...we aren't even home!

Some facts about our homeschooling community are:

We have a Prom and in the spring, a graduation ceremony.

Last year we graduated more seniors than the private, Christian school our oldest son graduated from.

Homeschoolers almost always get through 100% of their course materials in 180 days. (some families have "school" all year long!)

Homeschoolers have an almost 100% graduation rate.

We have one on one and corporate teaching.

We don't have snow days (unless the electricity is down).

Our school year schedule can adapt to the needs and demands of our families: ie vacations, work, illnesses, family emergencies etc.

And the best part ever is that I'm spending all of this quality time with my kids! I have their best interests at heart. I love them and will work with them individually to succeed. I'm sharing their day, their growth and learning and watching them mature and grasp ideas and concepts that are important to being a success in life.

Homeschooling rocks!



Soccer and Sewing Both Start with "S"

Amazing!

LOL

Well, a day I never thought would come, hoped would come, thought would come...came.

Both Ben and Chris are being homeschooled this year.

I couldn't be more thrilled.

English.

Math.

Science.

Spanish.

Speech.

Art.

World Studies.

Soccer!

Sewing

seems to be something a lot of us do for relaxation.

I like to sew because it's one thing I can do that actually stays done for longer than a day or less.

It's also a creative outlet.

Fabric is a canvas and paint and my sewing machine is the paintbrush.

Do you see ideas for quilt blocks and quilts wherever you go?

Do colors pop out at you and beg to be immortalized in bits of fabric pieced together?

Do you think we're crazy for taking perfectly good fabric, cutting it up, and putting it back together?

LOL

Inspiration can com from a barn.

I see possible quilt blocks just waiting to be drafted in tile.

Last time I shared another inspiration to help me finish a quilt top.

Here is the first little flower.



I used my hex ruler to cut out 1 1/2" hexies.  I machine pieced them together and originally was going to hand applique them to the quilt.  Hence, the ink lines using my Frixion pen.

Spoiler Alert!

I hate hand sewing!

LOL

So I fiddled with my machine stitch and settings and machine appliqued it on using a zig-zag stitch.  Soooo much faster and much more satisfying!

Five more little flowers later and I have this:

If you squint, you can see the star pattern of the nine patches a lot better.

Don't do it for a long time, or your face will freeze like that! and give you a nice wrinkle between your brows and a headache.

LOL



Today is the first "official" day of school for us.

Sigh.

Soccer season's here.

Leaves are turning and falling.

Flowers are fading.

School books are here and waiting to be opened for the first time.

Their spines stiff and ready to be cracked open for a peek inside.

Last year I made "Useful Baskets" and sold them as a fund raiser for our homeschool co-op.

I'm piecing a few together here and there again this year.

Thinking of Jon and his sweetheart as I make this next one.

It's time for Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story  and WIP Wednesday with Lee.

Click on the links and come be enchanted and inspired!

WIP Wednesday

is a happy day indeed!

Chris passed his online Driver's Education Course and now has only to complete his driving hours and take the written test and he'll get his license!

Huge congratulations!

I also completed a new pillow covering for Squishy.

I'm auditioning a vintage sheet to applique the Tessellation Quilt to.

It has spoken and told me I'm done piecing!

LOL

Do your projects talk to you?

Do they tell you what pattern needs to go with what fabric?

What the back needs to look like?

How it needs to be quilted?

(view from our stairs...very dizzy from leaning over! lol)

I wanted to keep the subtleness of it all going and found this beautiful vintage sheet.

Originally I had planned on appliquing this to a white background, but like the look of this instead.

Soft.  Old-fashioney and cheery!

What do you think?

Another project I'm working on, ruminating over, thinking about is the Jack's Chaine quilt.

I've always thought it needed something and I've found out what it is...

hexagon flowers!

Anne has this amazing quilt on Pinterest.

There are hex flowers in the middle of the center hexies!  I'm so glad I found this picture because it has re-inspired me to take this project out of the cabinet and finish it up!

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!

Fabric Tuesday with Quilt Story

When you were little, did you have a security blankie to help you sleep and comfort you? 

Maybe a stuffed animal

Or even a special pillow you had to have before drifting off to dreamland?

For me, it was a special pillow named "Squishy".  I can't remember a time I haven't had him to sleep with.  People who know and love me (and even some who don't! LOL) know I still have and sleep with my childhood pillow.

My boys have all taken turns sleeping with Squishy to help them sleep and comfort them when they needed it.

Before you get all grossed out, LOL, Squishy gets washed, dried and sanitized regularly.  And, occasionally, he needs a new pillowcase.  For a while I was using pillowcases that my great-grandmother had embroidered and edged with crochet. 

His last incarnation was a scrappy mix of blues and pinks.

This time I wanted something a bit "perkier" and since I'm still crushing on the tessellation block...

...this is what I came up with! 

Doesn't he just look awesome!  I'm so happy!  The colors are so sunny, cheery and fresh to look at any time of the day.

I'm usually not much of a hand quilter, but I knew that Squishy was worth it.  I personally think he feels much better too!

Squish has been all over the state of Indiana and goes with me on every trip we take.  There's even a small piece of him buried on the beach at St. Petersburg in Florida so I would always be connected to the ocean!  So it only made sense to take him with me to the Conservation Club we belong to and have a photo shoot.

(if by now you're just getting the picture of how crazy I am, welcome to the party!)

Hubs and I decided to go canoeing yesterday and I wanted to introduce one of my favorite things from childhood to one of my favorite places to be as a grown-up.  There's a 15 acre lake, meadows, flower gardens, places for campfires and camping and a winding trail to the club house.  I love sitting in a camp chair on the dock reading a book while the guys are off doing manly things.  It's so quiet out there!  Just fish jumping, birds singing and the wind in the trees.



So very peaceful and relaxing.  I think Squish enjoyed it as much as I did!

On our way home to the boys, we came across this cute little fellow.

How sweet!

Thanks for sharing a bit of my nuttiness!  All of my boys have their security blankets put away if they should ever want them or pass them onto their children.  Hubs knows that instead of those silly little pillows they put in your casket when you die, I want Squishy in there with me to see me into the next life!

Creepy, I know, but if people can get buried in their favorite car...why can't I have my pillow?

LOL

Please follow the link to Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday.  Trust me...you won't regret it!

Tessellation WIP

I think I have mentioned I am not a math person.

Ahem.

Having said that, again, Chris is taking geometry this year as a junior in high school.

We decided to bring our youngest son, Ben, home for school this year also.  He's taking pre-algebra as a seventh grader.

You can see why I have math on the brain.
I'm teaching one and "moderating" another.
Oy!

"Math is Fun!" defines tessellation as:  A pattern made of identical shapes.  The shapes must fit together without any gaps and the shapes should not overlap.

Easy.  Peasy.

LOL

Last time I shared a "Pinspirational" block from Dutch Comfort's blog.

I guess I just fell in love with the "geometricness" of it all and felt challenged to attempt it on my own.  Without buying the book.  Because I'm cheap Because I always enjoy a challenge!

My version is machine pieced, not paper pieced or sewn by hand using tons of "Y" seams. 

Here is a quick and easy tutorial for sewing "Y" seams.  Once you get the hang of them, they're easy peasy too!

 I'm using my 5" (finished)  hex ruler to make the four shapes:  a hexagon, a diamond, a triangle and a square. 

This kind of math is fun!

Here is the start from last week.

Which grew to this.

And a week later, now looks like this.

These rows are now all machine pieced together and I'm starting to put on the next row.  I wanted a soft, glowing, old-fashioney, vintage sort of look. 

Too lazy to go look up all the different fabrics playing together in this.  LOL
Moda, Lecien, Joann's stuff.  Whatever pink and yellow I had on hand in my stash.

Florence at Flossie Teacakes has a tessellation project in the works as well.  Hers is amazing!  She's hand piecing it!

Here are my garden gnomes helping me get a shot.  Thanks guys!

I'm linking up this week with Quilt Story and Freshly Pieced this week for my quilting goodness fix!

How 'bout you?

WIP with Lee

Good morning!

Little bit of a break in the heat this week.  Hate to think of starting school.  Loving my easy, summer hours.

Scored a huge find at a rummage sale a lady who owned a quilt shop had.

All of this organized out to this.



Yes.  Lots of pink.

$20 for all of this.  Batting bits, fabric samples, thimbles, a housewife, fat eighths, quarters and half-yard cuts, lots of scraps and an Omnigrid ruler.

Lazy days at home to sew.

Playing around with hexies.

Experiencing some disappointment with the give of Amy Butler's "Gypsy Caravan" fabric.

(shaking my head)

Playing with more hexies.

Experimenting.  Trying to figure out a pattern I saw on Pinterest.

This block can be found on Dutch Comfort's blog.

Here it is after I figured out the measurements and cut the first seven pieces.

And here it is after more cutting and ready to sew together.

I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.  Heading there now to take a look at what quilters from all around the world are doing.  Hope to see you there.