Fun times. I actually get to post a WiP Wednesday this week! YAY!!
I miss that little button when it isn't on my blog!
It has been a crazy few weeks since my birthday. First of all, I feel like I haven't stopped! We got sick (all three of us, starting with Piper) and have just recovered enough to actually do things like work and go to baby yoga and drink coffee IN the cafe, as opposed to running in and getting takeaways. I did get some sewing done, but mostly, the first week was a lot of chicken soup and rocking the miserable baby. And she was so miserable. All she wanted was milky, cuddles, and more milky. Thank goodness we are still breastfeeding. There were days she would not eat solids at all, but I know she was getting enough from milk to get better.
But she's up and running now, and being absolutely brilliant. It was her first birthday on the weekend! I am so amazed at how big my baby is. No longer a baby, more like a "tobbler" now. Complete with wobbly, arms-up running for the door when Daddy gets home...or when Mama comes in from outside.
I copped a bit of flak for taking her shirt off to eat her birthday cupcake, but I confess I did it for the photo to send to my mom. She has one of her first baby (me!) enjoying a shirtless birthday cake and I knew she'd love to have one of my first baby getting icing everywhere too. Family traditions are important.
Piper loved her fairy cake and was not shy about getting rid of the whole thing in nanoseconds. Haha! SUGAR. DELICIOUS.
Piper loved her gifts (a few nice toys, a book, a puzzle, a sweet little friend doll, and a swing we have yet to install) and has been busy figuring all the outs and ins to play with MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS. Because she is our child, and she is nothing if not thorough!
In sewing news, I had a run of GREAT post. I'm sure the postman thinks I am a crazy old lady. First I got some color cards (Bella Solids & Michael Miller Couture Cottons):
Then some MORE color cards (Art Gallery Pure and Oval Elements):
The new range of Kona solids in a fat quarter set:
And some paper pieces to start my EPP project. (Whatever it will be. I'm unsure. But now I can plan it better.)
There is more coming - another round from Paper Pieces (seriously, how good is that site? And their international shipping is so reasonable!!) and some Pellon from Etsy to make my Nesting Bowls. I hope that the Pellon gets here soon. I need it by like, next Monday. (Eep!)
But, let's get on with the PROJECTS!!
Started:
I'm working with my lovely mate the Mad Quilter to create two patterns/tutorials based on this Madame Parfait block. I drafted the block on isometric graph paper and cut out a stack of diamonds. It's still in the embryo phase, let's just put it that way.
Ongoing:
I've been doing Outfoxed hexies, so taking my handwork wherever I have a chance to sit and sew, and it's been chugging along. I have a lot of thoughts for what I'm going to do with this when I'm done with the hexagons, but for now, it's still in the basting phase. Which I love. I'm not gonna lie: hand-sewing is super satisfying to me. I'm such a go-go-go person that stopping to sit and sew is really rewarding. I love the enforced calm. I love having to pay attention. And I love making something beautiful. Plus, they're tiny enough I can keep them out of my very grabby baby's hands (unlike, say, a quilt if I were hand-quilting!).
Stalled:
- Swoon quilt (need to finish cutting the blocks and start assembling them)
- Os quilt (though I did sew about ten more Os this week)
- Orange Soda quilt (I have one lone block up on the design wall)
- Triangles quilt (I think my colors are wrong)
- Handwork (curved hexies)
- 1930s repro tumbler blocks (just sitting in a bag. I just need to sew them together.)
- Linen picnic rug quilting
- Sunset Swimmers quilting
- Downtown Dots quilting
BUT! I HAVE TWO FINISHES!!
The Garden Fence quilt is finally, painfully done. PHEW.
I backed it with an older print I got from Spotlight that was a lot of fun to match, and I cut the borders down quite a bit to match the feel of the garden fence block. I used a grey stripe (Sarah Fielke's From Little Things line) to bind it. It is quilted with a loose stipple all over to give it structure but not stiffness. I like it a lot now that it's done.
And I finished a commission: Pond Stars.
This is going to a baby boy, and I am excited to see it in its new home, all wrapped up keeping a bub snug. I also stippled this one, in a denser pattern, so that it can be dragged around and used for hammocks and made into a play rug and all the other things that baby boys do with treasured objects. :)
And finally, I made some (more) changes to my sewing room. I just wasn't happy with my shelves being against the eastern wall, and my desk facing south. Since my desk has solid legs, I couldn't really get into four of the shelves, and I was constantly bumping into things. Introducing the SEWING NOOK!
Oh I like it SO much. I can swivel completely in the chair and still see ALL my fabric, which, by the way, I REORGANIZED.
And everything is nailed to the wall just perfectly. All my rulers are easily grabbable but still out of baby reach. And my little drawer unit can be accessed too!
Mostly because we bought three baby gates on Sunday, but that's another story. :)
So yes: sick, but better, and now productive finally!! So if I've been ignoring my email or fellow bloggers it's literally because I was full of snot. Not meanness, just mucus! EW. So glad to be on the mend!
It's time to get dinner sorted - I think corn fritters, bacon, and avocado. That sounds yummy. I guess technically it's breakfast, but in the immortal words of Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson, why would anybody eat anything other than breakfast food? Srsly.
What are your WiPs this week? Be sure to link up to Lee and check out what everyone else is doing!!
See you soon!
xx Penny