Things to Remember When Teaching

When the big kid was old enough to join 4-H, I was so excited to become a leader.  I didn't really step up that first year.   I wanted to make sure he liked it.  And luckily for me, he loves it.  That second year, I stepped up as the general sewing leader.  Me.  The quilter.  But we pushed through.  We started with tote bags, and moved onto pillows and pillowcases.  Then we headed into the clothing world with pajama pants.  It's definitely pushed me to keep learning things.

So I breathed a sigh of relief when this year, they wanted to do a quilt.  And since most of the kids are older, they wanted to do a "larger" quilt.  So to make things has "educational" as possible, I drew up a quilt pattern to incorporate several different quilting techniques.   So the basic pattern is a 9 patch with plain squares in between to learn some free motion quiltings and applique and hand quilting.  

Should be fun.  It's exciting to see all the different fabric choices.  but it is definitely a little overwhelming.  I'd like to think I have a house on the larger size.  Until you fill it up with kids and parents and sewing machines.

And I've realized that I have to do as much as I can before hand but still leave some to do to show them.  And I'm basically doing 2 quilts.  Haha.  The big kid is doing his own.  And he's doing a fantastic job.  but as I had all my squares for my 9 patch blocks cut.  I didn't have any of the squares sewn.  I did one at that meeting.  Sewing, iron, sew some more.  Iron some more.  So yesterday and over the weekend, I caught up with the kids.  

Since I'm making a throw size, I decided to make my quilt for #2.  He has this obsession with Curious George.  And he was ecstatic for his Curious George pillowcase.  Haha.   

And although I'm not that excited about this fabric collection, I'm sure he'll like the blanket too.

So now I just need to press all these 9 patch squares.  And at our next meeting in October, we'll be learning how to true up the squares.  And then cutting the larger plain squares.  My cheat move was to have them buy charm packs.  So we'll have one meeting with rotary cutters and safety.  So far, I've been able to avoid the rotary cutter.  It just scares me with kids and toddlers running around and so many kids.  Haha.  Until then, I'll be going back to other works in progress items and UFOs.  

A Quick Hello And Goodbye

Motherhood is hard.  It's often lonely.  The world is full of judgment.  And the worst judges are other mothers.  So when you find a friend or two, you cling to each other till you can breathe and laugh at all the craziness of the past.

I've found a few friends like that.   They are definitely my life saver in the middle of the mother of young tots ocean of life.  And they've been great.  One of my friends announced she was pregnant with baby #3.  Total surprise.  And kind of a welcome gift.  She was definitely scared at first.  She thought they were done having kids.  And since the morning sickness has subsided, she's been really excited about their new bundle.

And then she got some news.  Her husband is getting stationed in Japan.  And over time, she let out that it was going to be 3-5 year station.  So in the next few weeks, we'll be finishing up the baby shower plans and having a quick hello and goodbye.  My dear sweet friend is due in November and leaving for another country in January.

And while we plan on staying in touch, Japan is nowhere near California.  So until then, we'll be remembering the good times and making some more great memories.

So I'll post on here what I made her for her shower.  I know she probably doesn't read this blog.  I mean, we do both have active older kids and very active tots.

I still have to wash it and put a quilt tag on it.  But if life gets to hectic before the shower, I can give it to her.    This blanket is all flannel and backed with minky.  Luckily, I had this blanket all cut out when she said it was a girl.  I'm not sure if you remember that post about a baby blanket for hubby's coworker that was a girl, so I bought some fabric and backing then they said it was a boy.  Luckily, I just switched out some of the panels to fit her better.  

I guess I better get onto using my stash because this blanket is the last one done.  Good thing I have quite a few options in my sewing room if the need arises again.

A New Project

When we went house hunting, the list of must haves were pretty long.   Well, not my list.  But my husband had a ton of must haves.  The thing with being a disabled person, you an't just take any house you want.  It has to be able to fit your needs for a long time with the ability to change if needed.  And we got almost everything we wanted.   Hubs list included a single story house, fenced yard, no sloping yard, double car garage, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, closer to the freeway than we had been.  And of course price range.  I wanted a larger kitchen and a laundry room.  You know, mom priorities and all.  Hahaha.  The thing we didn't get was double closets or a walk in closet in the master bedroom.  

Well, we've moved our furniture around several times.  And what ended up working for us was for hubs to take the closet in our bedroom.  And I would use the closet in the "spare" bedroom.  But then we had another baby.  And I used his closet for a while.  I mean, it was already a big adjustment moving my sewing stuff into the laundry room.  But we were still down a closet.   Then we looked into an armoire.  Do you have any idea how expensive they are?  So then I looked into building one.  And I found plans.  But I'd have to edit them to accommodate our bedroom layout.  And I was nervous about making one.  I'm not sure why since I made our bed.  And it's lasted almost 2 years now.  

So while I was still making adjustments to the building plans, I came across this gem on a buy/sell/trade site.

So while this isn't exactly what I want, it's a great start somewhere.  And it's in great shape.  Really all I have to do is fix a few problems with the door and some scratches on the bottom.  And paint it to match our bed.  So it should be a quick easy fix.  Now I gotta find a new home for my dresser.  I'm thinking of using it as our tv stand in the living room.  And getting rid of the 1980's entertainment center that has probably been handed down several times.  I'm kinda excited about this one.   Quick, easy and lightweight to move.