a saturday for goals...

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i had the kids each write 3 goals today... it could be anything from make cookies or write a song, to read a book or clean a window... their goals could not include playing gameboys or playing with friends...

this made for a fun day... we made sugar crystals (hopefully- they are still "growing"), sewed beanbags (the boys bragging about how fast they could sew by themselves on my machine), made a princess/dress-up tutu (the wedding veil had to be postponed to a later date)... and we got a pattern off the internet for a stuffed bird (Ellie spent over an hour stuffing the bird and sewing the tail closed). poor todd spent the whole day in the library.

i asked jakob if he learned anything accomplishing his goals... he said, "Yeah, i can make a beanbag by myself now." i asked him how that could help him and we discussed the possibility that he may one day find himself on a mission where little kids don't have any toys-- he would be able to sew them beanbags... i'm not sure that this could ever really happen, but hopefully they each learned something during this day of goals and random projects...

scrappy homespun stars...

(thanks todd for displaying my quilt so macho-ly...)
yeah, this was a really fun, one-night quilt top...

and, except for the backing and border, i used ALL scraps!!

i think i started cutting it out yesterday afternoon and finished the top after dinner tonight...

(this included time out for one trip to the hospital for an infusion and many "mommy" breaks)

it really is an easy and cute quilt...

i'm excited to snip threads, iron it, and quilt it...

maybe tomorrow...

aunt gracie's 30's quilt...

so what do you do when you're feeling down? i quilt... Grey and I both wanted to make a quilt with 30's fabric, she let me use her fabric if i cut two out... i think i started cutting it out on the 4th of July and finished the top on the 9th... kinda quick and crazy. i still need to quilt it, but i'm not sure how i'm going to do it yet. The fabric is Aunt Gracie's and the pattern "Yours Truly" from Eleanor Burn's book, Still Stripping. i LOVE these cute fabrics, and the stars were fun to do, especially because i cut out two of everything.

my aching veins...

mmm... iron

crackers anyone?

yeah, i went to my blood doctor again today... last week i had an IV infusion of Iron everyday for 5 days... my hemoglobin levels still went DOWN- it seems that my red blood cells kill each other... my doctor is from India... when he saw me last time he said in his cute, heavy accent, "My you're HUGE!! I thought you having twins for sure..." This time he said, "Yes, you are huge, you are growing good, no?" Anyway, I started 5 days of infusions AGAIN!! They have put an IV into the exact same spot of my exact same vein 5 out the past 6 infusions... one of these times they are going to start the machine and I'm just going to start spouting blood or iron everywhere from all the holes they have put in me. oh, and I'm getting B12 shots for the next 7 days... did i tell you that i hate needles? i used to have nightmares about doctors sticking me 100 times in the arm... maybe they were preparing me for my calling in life...

it could be worse, i know. I'm so excited and grateful for this little baby to come into our family, but i am feeling a bit sorry for myself and my aching veins... i think i need chocolate (and you wonder why I AM HUGE for sure...)

3 fat quarters = 1 cute skirt...

this is from last month when we were in our skirt making fettish... luckily we have lots of little girls to practice on... each skirt was made from 3 fat quarters... the shirts were bought from wal-mart for $3 and embellished... aren't they adorable?!

and i want to make this...

isn't this a great quilt? Maggie May's Charm Quilt... actually, i think i like this one better... Plan C Schnibbles...
And, when i make them i want to use one of these fun charm packs...



i think i like the recipe for friendship the best for the Plan C quilt...
together the pattern and fabric would only cost $18...
i need to get a job...
then i would have the money for my projects, but not the time...
(hmm... maybe i need to find a rich man...
i bet todd could deal with a 2 year romance, just until he's out of school)

is it a sign?

ok, we have a lot of names that we're considering for this baby...

Ava (or Eva) Rose...

Sara Sofia... (call her sofie)...

Eva (pronounced Ava) Sofia...

Lily Lanette...

Eva Joy... Eva Grace... Eva Elenore...

(these middle names all come from family names...)

Anyway... when i saw this new collection of fabric i wondered...

is this a sign?

i guess if we end up naming her Ava Rose, i will for sure have to buy this fabric and make her the cutest baby quilt ever with it... hmmm... perhaps the quilt God's are voting...

halloween?...

ok, isn't this the cutest halloween decoration you've seen all day?

it's Gordy's Gang from Threadsthatbind.com

i love it, but i also love this panel from Sandy Gervais...

(see below)...

don't you want this?? are we ready to think about fall??

sunday moments...

"charming" baby quilts...

i made a couple of baby quilts from a Moda Charm Pack that i bought in Dallas... i just kinda made up the pattern from a few quilts that i had seen... aren't they fun?! i'm keeping one and giving one to my cousin who is having his first little girl in August... i saw on the internet somewhere, the idea to buy a onesie, cut it and sew in a little skirt... i put the same fabric that is on the back of the quilt with a little tulle and sewed the skirt right into the onesie-- fast and fun! anyway, here are a few of my latest projects... charm packs let you have cute fabric for not a lot of money-- i think the whole package (quilt and onesie) cost me less than $15 total. i can't wait to have a cute baby to put on my charming quilt...

4th of July...

stars n stripes quilt

I made this quilt in two days, just in time for the 4th of July... it's a fun quilt to use up any red/white/blue/gold random fabrics that you have on hand. If you haven't tried a Buggy Barn pattern, check them out... so fun! This is Buggy Barn- Triple Stars and Stripes.

My back aches, my bum hurts, and my laundry is washed, but not folded... And, all that matters to me is that I have a cute quilt to sit on at the parade tomorrow morning...

I LOVE AMERICA!! Happy 4th!!

"wicked" window fun...

this was a surprisingly fun and time consuming project for the kids...

even my boys said that they were "wicked" (which means really cool)...

Thank You Wal-mart for another productive afternoon...

family fun night...

this was a perfect summer evening...