Chronicles from the Sewing Machine

 I have put some serious time into the sewing machine this winter and have hardly taken any pictures!  As you'll see, I like to have several projects going at any one time, so if I want to piece, quilt, bind, or cut, I can dive into a project and get busy.  The only thing I don't have going is a pile of fabric in the planning stages.  With summer coming, I'll cut back quite a bit and be outside with just a little project or two along the way.  I actually finished and gave three away last month to quilt guild without taking any pictures to document them, so please, allow me to document my progress from the past few months.  :)

Completed:

 Project Linus Quilt

Both Timothy and Evelyn received quilts through this wonderful organization and I try to make a few to send and bring joy to another child (and their family) in the hospital.  This one is 27" x 40" and a disappearing nine patch pattern.

Quilt Guild Strip Quilt

We did a jelly roll race at our guild retreat last year and this is my entry.  It has sat on my shelf for awhile because it just didn't speak to me.  Now it is done and ready to be gifted to someone in our community.  Our guild supplies the dialysis unit in our hospital and people in the community that go through a crisis like a major accident, house fire, or cancer diagnosis.  This one is in the 45" x 60" size range.

XOXO Quilt

This one will be on its way to one of my college friends who has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently undergoing treatments.  She graces everyone in her life with beautifully crocheted throws, us included.  We have a throw she gave us for our wedding, and Timothy has a yellow blanket from when he was born that he still uses and loves (I need to know what yarn that is because it gets washed a LOT and still looks great).  So I am gifting her back a quilt with lots of hugs and kisses in case she wants a change from all the yarn.  :)  We are praying for you Kim and sending you love!  Check your mailbox!

Binding:  

Project Linus Quilt

Same fabric collection as the one above, but different color way and bigger at 46" x 58", so perfect for an older girl.  I have been switching over to machine binding quilts that I know are going to get a lot of washing, but this one didn't look right with the cream sashing and solid orange borders, so I am handing binding this one, perfect for nights when I have been chasing little boys (Timothy and the kiddo I babysit) and I just want to put my feet up.

I love the little dogs on the scooters.  :)

Quilting: 

Jade's Quilt

My niece will be two this summer and needs a quilt for her big girl bed (It is 60" x 90").  It has been so much fun to use these girly fabrics!  Here is a picture from when I was pin basting it together: (with my helper)

And this is what it looks like with the quilting.  I am doing an overall pattern of mums and I love it!  I have about a quarter of it done and am starting to get the itch to work on it again.  Another 4 or 5 hours and I should be done and putting the binding on this one.  I have been really enjoying my new machine and doing a lot more of my own quilting (all the ones above I did, too).

Piecing:

Honky Tonk Strip Quilt

I really like this fabric and got my hands on a jelly roll, so I made a strip quilt.  I love the combination of florals, guitars, sheet music, and mustaches.  :)  This one is just for us and I am going to attempt to put a minky (that really plush, fuzzy fabric) on the back.  It is tricky to work with because it stretches one way, but not the other.  I am planning on using a lot of spray baste and pin it like crazy.  If all else fails, I'll give it to Nancy and pay her to do it on her long arm machine.  :)  It will get a border of that tan plaid first, and then it will be ready for the next step!

Scrappy Irish Triple Chain Project

This is my use-up-the-leftovers quilt and I love it with only half of it done!  It is a traditional irish triple chain pattern and those 18 blocks in the picture have 49 two-inch pieces each, totaling 882 squares.  The other 17 blocks that go in the spaces only have 17 pieces each, so less than 300 pieces to go!  :)  It will actually be a bit before I have this one done because I need to transition back to quilting to get Jade's quilt done and I have a banner in the works for church that needs to be done by the end of May.  However, this is fulfilling a use-your-scraps challenge for guild and is due in June, so it won't be that long.  Sometimes deadlines are good!

Timothy was hopping between the pieces and ribbiting like a frog.  Thankfully he stopped for a smile because I was kept trying to grab a picture and he was just this blur floating over my blocks!

Cutting:

Three more quilts in the works, the left bag is a churn dash quilt, the right is a squares and stripes throw, and the middle is part of a granny square pattern that I have been eyeing.  These are quilts that will probably end up as gift quilts or donation quilts that have no deadline or specific purpose in mind, so we will see when they get done, maybe not until next fall.  Unless something comes up and I need to whip a gift out.  :)

Food for the soul?

It is only chocolate pudding.

But tonight, it was food for the soul.

Especially for this mama, knowing this kid doesn't usually eat very much very often.

The only thing I did differently was put it in a fancy glass.  Go figure.  :)

Check out the lip closure on the spoon!  I am totally sharing this picture with our speech therapist.  We have been working on this for months...

I don't even care if he got it on his pajamas...

Man, I love those eyelashes.  :)

We have been struggling here with some people not having a lot of understanding about all that we do to work with him and how long the process of weaning off a feeding tube is going to take.  Why we need to be at home certain times of the day because he needs to plugged into a feeding pump and we just can't make it to every sport game under the sun within 50 miles.  Why we just don't go on vacation that much and our days out of town revolve around doctor appointments and feeding clinic visits.  Why I don't work at least part-time because there isn't a daycare in town that will take a kid with a feeding tube (never mind the fact that I teach piano lessons, sell 31 products, babysit and I want to be a stay-at-home-mom and Jared wants me here, too).  Unfortunately, Jared deals with the brunt of this pressure, along with the normal pressures of being in the ministry.

I understand from the specialists we work with that we will still be begging him at 8, 12, and 18 to keep eating and put just one more bite in his mouth.  I'll always be counting calories and looking for healthy, high-caloric foods so we get more with every bite.  We are in this for the long haul.

In total, he ate a good 6 or 7 spoonfuls tonight.

Tonight was a break through and it gives us a glimpse into the normal of the future.

He is slowly working through the eating/oral/sensitivity issues and he has come such a long way from freaking out if something touches his lips or cheeks like he was at 6 months old.

And for this we are so thankful!

Keep it up, little man!  We love you so much!

Happy Easter!

After church, we did an egg hunt in the yard.  Being 3, Timothy fully grasped the idea this year and did a great job looking for all of the eggs.  An added bonus was the weather; it was beautiful and warm!

Daddy hid a few waaaay under the bush.

He found them all and only opened and at a few along the way.  :)

Haircut

Goodbye curls, hello summer hairdo!

When people comment that he got a haircut, he remarks, "My mommy cut off my messy hair.  I look like daddy now."  :)

March

So somehow, March kinda feel off the face of the earth around here.

Here is what we were up to:

Playing OUTSIDE!  With no coat on!  Yay!

We opened a restaurant right off of our back deck that has been very popular with the locals; sometimes we develop a line on the railing and war breaks out as the patience wears out.  :)  So far we have yellow finches, red finches, sparrows, chickadees, nut hatchers, and woodpeckers (on the left, below).  We actually have a pair that visit often and we can hear them busily working throughout the neighborhood.

Timothy has been a big help with getting the seeds started for our garden!  He checks on the daily and helps water.   We recently picked up a grow light to help them along, so I am hoping to see them progress a little faster.  Granddad, we have your cherry tomatoes growing and a few dill plants to get a head start before we sow a big patch outdoors.  :)  Updates coming...

I pickled a whole batch of asparagus I picked up through a co-op.  It has been a delicious treat and my husband downs a quart at a time.  And then has terrible heartburn.  :)  He also worked a lot through March on the extra Lent and Easter services.  So glad to have him not attached to his laptop!

We also just tried to stay sane.  :)

Oh, you see that other little person in the picture?  That is the little guy I am babysitting.  We started at the end of February and will have him with us every week until the end of the school year, when his momma is done teaching for the summer.  He is 18 months, the same size as Timothy, and is just a happy little guy.  We have been learning how to share and Timmy is really enjoying having someone to play with and wrestle.  I am very happy that the weather is getting nicer and all three of us can be outside.  So is Tigger!  :)  You won't see any other pics of him on here, but just know that life at our house has been a little busier and will continue to be for a little while longer.