#22 Quilter Down!

So this was my first week of my new normal, with all the kids living for the most part out of the house!! Our College boy will be home a lot of weekends and holidays, etc, but our house is empty and quiet!! And I have to say this week was kind of hard! It didn't help that I wasn't feeling well either, but the quiet and the not seeing him and talking with him everyday and hearing him laugh so hard while he's watching a funny TV show, I really missed all of that!!!!...... Now I didn't miss the attitude he can give me (that he thinks is funny) or the mess he leaves every time he goes into the kitchen, lol, so I did find a silver lining in my rain cloud!! When he came home for 2 days over the weekend we were able to go shopping for school and dorm supplies and spend  some quality time together as a family, which helped so much!! I realize that from now on it is all about quality time over quantity time, and I am  trying to settle into this new stage of life, hoping it gets easier, and I'm sure it will, but for now.... when he pulled out in his car to go back to school, my heart still  hurt!! Adam however is right where he should be, and spreading his wings as they say and I know he is going to fly!!!

What I've been up to:

City Sampler QAL

Modern Blocks QAL

Made a Market Bag. You can find the pattern by clicking on the patterns tab above!

 I made a wallet!! It needs a little tweaking this week! I hope to have a tutorial ready for next weeks post!!

As promised, more on the baby quilt for my friend!!

I also was having a lot of fun with the photo a day challenge And Sew We Craft is doing right now: These are my favourites of the photos I have taken over the last 8 days. You can see them all at lattegirl40 on Instagram.

Day 2 thread

Day 6 Paint

Day 8 Hoop

#21 New Beginnings

 Let me say that this week has had its challenges....mostly emotional!! My husband and I just got back from taking our son and last child at home to college. I have been on a roller coaster of emotions all week. Fine one moment and on the verge of tears the next, out right crying when I least expect it. Sunday morning I drove to church with Adam and on the way there talking to him about school, I broke down and cried. (we both joked about how much of a nut I am!)  I have tried so hard to stay busy just to keep my mind off of the inevitable. It is so much harder this time than with the other 2 kids.... or maybe it just feels that way. On the way home from dropping him off I told my husband we should mark the calendar, because everything changed today! I know he'll be home weekends, holidays and summers, but he's tasting freedom and when school is over, he'll want to be on his own! As it should be!
 I will have to come to terms with the fact that we have reached the threshold of "empty nesters" !! I'm just glad that I have about 3 years to prepare myself to cross it!! lol
Enough about this or I will probably start to cry again!

On to happier  (or at the least  less emotionally charged)  new beginnings....a new Instagram friend @francesnewcombe (Belly Buttons Boutique) has helped me give the blog a new look! Really she did it, I'm just posting it!! A new background and banner! (oops technical problem! hopefully the banner will be up soon) 

What I've been up to:

I finished the String of Pearls QAL on time!!! 

oops I forgot to add the black border before I loaded it to quilt!! Oh well! So I improvised and although not quite what I was going for I like the way it turned out!! Another learning experience!!

For the bindings Made strip sets and cut at 2.5"

sewed them to a 1.5" strip of black

I prefer to hand stitch the bindings

 

I found the Lunch Bag and the Origami Drawstring Bag on Belly Buttons Boutique (link above)

Lunch Bag

Origami Drawstring Bag, this is adorable! A center drawstring pouch and to side pockets with flaps

 Another 3 blocks in the City Sampler QAL

This sampler table runner is constructed from the blocks I made in a beginner piecing class I took when I started quilting almost 2 years ago now!! When does a WIP officially become a UFO?? lol Oh well either way, it's done!! 

Keeping to my promise, I quilted with a stippling stitch!! It was amazing! A few minor not worth mentioning errors! (keeping it real!) It felt really good!! More practice, more experience, more joy!!!!


If you are following the blog, I did promise more on the baby quilt this week, but between the roller coaster of emotions and a bad back, I just didn't get there!! Next week for sure!!

Happy Sewing!

Late Entry:

The request for a Favourite Tool Linky Party has come from Sew Mama Sew !

My problem... How do you choose just one?? So I choose my utensil holder!! With all of my favourite tools, right at my finger tips!! Marking pens, pencil, rulers, scissors, rotary cutter, that purple thang, magnet (pick up pins), bookmark (for paper piece folding) and of course my reading glasses!!! (because without the glasses nothing is going to be right!!! lol)

#20 Letting go of Perfection

Well from last weeks post to this weeks post has been a process of letting go!! Perfection... what is it anyway? because what I think is perfect or imperfect could be the total opposite of what your view is!! I love reclaimed hardwood, have it in our family room and dining area.

All the knots and and holes and inconsistent grain, I love it!! It's imperfections are what makes it special! So why was I having such a hard time with "perfection" in my quilting???
I have no idea!! and I'm happy to tell you, with all of the encouraging remarks I have received over the last week and pushing myself to keep going and finish the quilt top, I have let go of a lot of that "perfection pressure" that I was putting onto myself, and I started really enjoying the quilting process more. I've even started to feel a lot more comfortable with the long arm machine and actually like the finished top!! I even like how it looks on the back!!!! I also can't wait to get another quilt loaded and go again!!! lol!! Quite a change from how I was feeling last week.
I have decided though that I am going to stick with one pattern, probably stippling, until it is second nature and I feel totally comfortable with it, than try learning a new pattern!! I think that way I'll be better able to gauge more clearly my learning and improving curve!! I'm so excited to start!!!

What I've been up to this week:

 String of Pearls or as I call mine String of Pure Style!

You really see the pattern  the stitching makes at this angle!!

 Blocks 37-39 From the Tula Pink City Sampler QAL

Realized I totally missed posting 3 of my blocks

Block# 13 From the Virtual Quilting Bee
Brooke Johnson of Pitter Putter Stitch showed two variations of the same block!! Exact same pieces, just placed differently to achieve two different looking blocks!! So Cool!! How could I resist I had to make both!! Which means I am going to have to make some extra blocks at the end of this bee to be able to incorporate this extra block!!! Oh well it is worth it!!

2 more letters for the back of my nephew's quilt!

Here's a reminder of what has been made so far:

 and the hint: Food related


Any guesses?

Last but not least a sneak peak at a baby quilt I am making for a very special baby!!

 More on this next week!!