Miniversary!

Three years ago today....we renewed our vows! 

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of going down to The States to do some fabric shopping. My wardrobe needs a major rehaul, so I figured I might as well try doing it myself. I never can find clothes that I like anyhow. So here we go:

I've been really bad and let the house get really messy the past couple of weeks. This is what happens when I sew. I do have a one-track mind. 

SO, besides sewing I have been a cleaning fiend this week. My kitchen sink is shiny again and I can actually see the dining room table.

I finished the Autumn quilt top and plan on basting it in the next few days. The vines came out a little funky, but I actually like this quilt a lot more than I figured I would. The pattern was extremely east, just time consuming in the cutting and piecing.

After finishing the quilt top, I moved onto the first top from my birthday fabric bonanza purchase:

I am very happy with the way this turned out. The photo is pre-hemming and I ended up keeping the sleeves on, but you can get the idea.  The fabric is so nice and light that the blouse is super easy and comfortable to wear. I think it actually looks nice, too!

This week's project is going to be some other fashion sewing. And machine quilting the Autumn quilt. I would like to get that done and listed and out of my house! I need another quilt like I need a hole in the head. 

Happy Day-Before-Birthday

I'm still having a sewing block as far as how I want to put together my satin and chiffon dress, so I am moving back to quilting.

I unearthed (unlinened?) a quilt kit that I had won at least five years ago when I was still a member of a guild. At the time I really hated the pattern and the fabrics, so I washed, pressed and stored them all away.

Fast forward to 2011 and I am at a sore lack of coordinating fabrics to make a quilt out of. I still hate the pattern, but don't mind the fabric so much now. I like the muted colors and smaller patterns. I also realized that it's almost Fall, so figured why not.

Here's my start to Thimbleberries "Autumn Night" quilt.

I realized that both the cutting instructions and the pattern itself are colossal wastes of fabric. I think that is one of the things that turned me off to the pattern initially.  There is also a picket-fence block that borders the inner quilt and I hate picket-fence block. But I made a nice start today and got 90% of the fabric cut as well as these blocks completed:

On an unrelated note, I will be one year closer to 30 tomorrow. The thought makes me somewhat sad. It doesn't help that I have a sort of up in the air feeling right now. I feel like I'm waiting for something, but I have no idea what it is. Maybe it is my birthday! Feeling unsettled is, well, unsettling when you are as staid a person as I am. I might bend in the wind a lot, but my roots are firmly planted.

On another unrelated note, I am playing prelude at church this Sunday and seriously need to put some time into piece selection. No one really listens to the prelude except the Worship Team, but going up with a last minute song doesn't really bring glory to God. I'm having zero luck finding any free sheet music online, unless I want to play Silent Night or Home on the Range. Wish me luck!

My First Post

Huh. A blog. Really. Why?

I've been kicking around the idea of putting up (posting?) a blog for a while now. Mostly, I think, because in my old age my brain is starting to wear down. I can't seem to keep focus on anything; ideas just bounce around in my head and eventually bounce right out of it before I have the time or opportunity to get them done.

I need help organizing my thoughts and since I like to type, I thought BLOG. Well, my initial though was JOURNAL but then I remembered how labourious longhand is anymore and moved quickly onto the thought BLOG. The journal I started when my Ali was born sadly puttered out from the once-a-day entry into a whoops-has-it-been-five-months? entry.

Is there anything in my life that is so very interesting I think strangers will want to read about it? For the most part, no. I do have the occasional funny story to pass along regarding some sort of mischief caused one and/or all of my animals and can generally make someone smile with a rehashing of my daughter's accomplishments for the day. My life is generally, however, fantastically boring.

So, I will write about ideas I have that did or did not work. I will record the amazing things God does for my family. I will share my day with whomever wants to partake.

Nothing terribly interesting happened today, or the past few days for that matter. I was able to finish a halter top design that I absolutely love and take some lovely photos of Ali wearing it. I have been toying with the idea of sewing a halter dress now. I inherited this fantastic stash of chiffon that I want to use, but just can't wrap my head around exactly what to do with it.  That is my goal for next week: combine the halter dress and the chiffon into something beautiful. Hopefully that is something I can accomplish in a week!

So ends my first blog entry: I am hoping that my husband does not read it because I know he will pick on me mercilessly for becoming a blogger!