A little sewing here and there

OK. Maybe a lot of sewing here and there and everywhere!

As our lives have returned to normal I have been enjoying my quilting so much. I love having a dedicated spot to sew. I love being able to see my fabrics and available projects. I told the kids today while we were all in the gameroom sewing, playing, and coloring that I am really enjoying the gameroom because it gives me an opportunity to be doing something I enjoy with all of them while they are doing things they enjoy (sometimes it might be school :)). I always felt like I was hiding in my bedroom to sew. I felt so far away from everyone. But that was the best space for it in the other house. I am just enjoying this new space so much. Brian insists that as the kids grow up and leave that I will slowly take over the entire upstairs. Hmmmm.

Here are a couple of completed projects.

One of the little projects I completed was a little stuffed Easter bunny and an egg. You can see them in my previous post. I found the free pattern for the bunny at Wee Wonderfuls. I made his ears a little differently and I had issues attaching his bottom, but all in all it turned out really cute. The egg was so easy. I found this nifty little tutorial linked off the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog. I intended to make more, but never got around to it. Maybe next year.

Last week, I had friends over for a quilting night and I completed this quilt while we had lots of fun! I had based it on this quilt over at Crazy Mom Quilts (one of my favorites!). I had charm squares in this Heather Bailey fabric line and I sewed them on top of some off white colored fabric. It is a wonderfully old fashioned and cozy looking quilt. I have it draped on one of the sofas and it makes me happy to see it and use it.



One of my other quick and oh, so fun projects was to make this bag that I had bought the pattern and fabric for two quilt shows ago! I am not sure why I hadn't worked on it until now, but I could kick myself for not doing it sooner. It was the best pattern - so easy to follow and well written. The bag itself was simple to construct and went together in a very finished looking way. I was so happy to gift it to one of my best friends who just had her first baby girl. She needed a good, girly diaper bag!

Well, we are off to Stations of the Cross. Hopefully I can find an opportunity to sew some more this weekend. I have three projects I am in the finishing stages on and one is a bit more urgent than the others! Pictures are forthcoming! Happy sewing!

Good, Good Friday

This has been an odd, odd Lent for me, for us. It has not been as in years past. We have done less sacrifice, less prayer. I think the craziness of the move got me off for sure. As we moved and got settled, I was doing good at the beginning of Lent to remember not to eat meat on Fridays. Even after we were more or less settled, I have so wanted to just live normally. I was not in the mood for crafts and many days extra reading was not on my list to get done. I was more concerned with getting the essentials of school completed - in itself a great task. Despite the dryness I have felt this Lent, we are trying to make up for it these last days. We have had good focus yesterday and today. In a way I am ready for Lent to end. Not so that I can avoid the sacrifice, but so that this Lent will be behind me and I can look forward to a more productive Lent next year. My desire to do crafts with the kids and read more is slowly returning and I am hoping we will do much better as we celebrate all the other feasts and holidays and saint days from this point out. I miss it.

Today we covered some of the window panes on out back door to create a cross. We colored Easter lilies and put them aside to decorate the cross on Easter Sunday. On Wednesday we enjoyed working together to color 90 little paper eggs with various designs. We made the most wonderful little garlands for the breakfast room windows. I love how they look. I am thinking garlands will have to be a regular decoration for these windows throughout the year.

On my list of little joys this week is this one - Nicole Marie riding her bike with no training wheels. It gives me great joy to see her enjoying her bike riding so much. We have this wonderful cul de sac now and it is so nice to be riding around in the street without that fear. Of course, I am always out there with them. Her training wheels had been slowly bending upward over the past weeks as she rode and rode. She was essentially not using them anyway. So on Wednesday I took them off! Yesterday she spent the day with her grandparents and even got to go on a bike ride with her Pappa!

What a proud girl!

I wish you all a blessed and holy and joyous Easter celebration. May your family, your domestic church be filled with praise and happiness on this most wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Brian!

The words I can find are not quite good enough to tell you
how very much I love you. I am glad you are mine and
that we all get to celebrate with you today!
God bless you!