Back in the swing of things

Well we brought my very tired son home Friday. He slept the whole way home and slept most of the day on Saturday while I did up his enormous mounds of laundry. It is so good to have him home, but it will take him a while to adjust to being without all of the very good friends he made while he was there for 5 weeks. I have been busy this week preparing to have him home again, but managed to get in a few projects. I now have my camera back in hand! My Harmony needles came in the mail and I wholeheartedly agree with Samantha from The Handmade Dress: These needles are awesome! I have started a set of wrist warmers (courtesy my Chicks with Sticks book) in orange wool. I only knitted on the trip back from Paducah so I haven't gotten very far. I also wanted to post my comfy knit skirt, which still needs hemming. It is really just an around the house skirt, but fairly cute. I did the entire thing with my serger. I also have pictures of my quilt top that I finished in Hilton Head. I have bought a chocolate brown for the border and will use strips from fat quarters that match the quilt to do the final border. I am going to back it with the teal and brown polka dot material. I really like the look of this project. Lastly, I made another Sorbetto tank from Colette patterns on Friday. This one is yellow seersucker that I had left over from my daughter's sundress project. This tank pattern is so easy and turns out great everytime. I was surprised to see the flickr group for this project-there are tons of Sorbettos out there! You need to download this easy 2 piece pattern for free at Colette if you haven't already. Still working on school and helping with the barn, but trying to slip in crafting when I can. Such is life. Hope everyone had a great time of worship today. God bless!

M'Liss Fresh From the Garden & B5474

Only a few more days til my son (and my camera) are home! Did want to post the material and picture of the apron pattern (top right view) I am working on. I just love the Peter Pan collar on this apron. So feminine and it looks like a dress with an apron. I also got one of my sergers back from a friend who has been borrowing mine to do lots of great projects. I ended up cutting out a knit skirt from the Built by Wendy stretch knits book. I then used Samantha Caffee's (The Handmade Dress)tutorial for her early morning skirt to make a fold down waistband for it. It turned out really cute. Will post pics after Friday. I also made a twisted knit flower that I may add to the waistband. I'll make it removable so I can wear it on other things as well. Mostly been working on helping my hubby dig and lay pvc piping so our soon to be barn will be connected to the septic. It has been so hot and all that work isn't fun, but I will be so thankful when he has a new barn for all of his tools and equipment. It is worth the hard work! I have also been spending hours working on school planning. It is coming up so fast. It is funny to think that I will probably have more time for sewing once school starts, but that is just the way things work.

Some updates

Wow! July has been a slow blogging month for me. Without the ease of having a camera at my fingertips, I feel blah about posting. I have been completing some much needed cleaning around my house. The heat here is unbearable-yuck! I ordered a Harmony knitting needle set today. I am looking forward to trying them. Samantha over at the Handmade Dress blog keeps talking about how great they are. I want to try some projects other than scarves this fall and winter. I have also cut out Butterick 5474 for a friend. Need to get busy on sewing it up. I am making the one with the peter pan collar. Cuteness! I have also printed off the M'Liss Fresh Fruit 4x4 embroidery pattern with hopes of making that my carry around project (car, tv, etc). I have a few cute pieces of stretch knit that I have purchased over the last 6 months and I hope to serge up a few cute, comfy skirts this next week. We get to pick up our son next Friday from GSP and I am so excited to have him home. Five weeks away is a long time! I am in the throws of school planning for our ever growing co-op and I am praying for enthusiasm and wisdom. I will be teaching writing and the first unit of history. I am also working on the Mocha on the Mount Bible Study with our women's group. Pretty convicting so far. The summer has been full of many activities-just not much sewing. I will try to post pics of my quilt top soon. TGIF!

Hilton Head-take 2!

I just returned from my second trip to Hilton Head. This time I took my parents. It was so much hotter than our first trip there this summer. We did a lot of sitting in the house and swimming in the pool. Of course we ate a lot too! I took my sewing machine this time and my mom finished sewing a clown outfit that she had started at home and I finished my Quick Cuts quilt top. I got all 128 squares sewn together. It is really cute, but it now needs a border. I will use my daughter's camera and hopefully get some pictures of it. I will be so glad when my son comes home and I have my camera back!

New Concrete Barn Pad & some pics

I used my daughter's camera this morning after I sowed seed, to take pictures of our new 48X52 ft.concrete barn floor. I will be so glad when there is a barn standing on it. It will have an apartment in it with a full bath. Two stories of space for my husband's tools and projects. This view shows part of our backyard. The rocks are huge that we had to lay down for the base of the driveway. Not fun to rake or move. I also included the pictures of my charm pack that I am working on and my daughter's embroidery project that I finally turned into a pillow. Random grouping but cute stuff!

Blogging Blahs!

I have found it rather difficult to post with my camera gone. My son hasn't even taken any pics with it yet. My old Fuji that I love is basically dead and my computer now says it can't read the card-Boo! I took pictures of several things to post with my daughter's camera and she deleted them. I wanted to post the matching woodland animals skirts I did for the girls at church. We have done so much work outside for our new barn, that my sewing is bare minimum right now. I have been fixing items in my stack instead of sewing new projects. (Hemming, sewing holes up, buttons, adjustments, etc) It feels nice to get these done, but doesn't bring the satisfaction of a new garment. I do have 32 charm pack squares put together and ironed. I have 3 more packs to add before the top is done. We get to go visit our son this Saturday, so no sewing this weekend either. In the meantime have a look at Sew Mama Sew's summer tutorials. http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2011/07/summer-sewing-tutorials-happy-summer-sewing/ I love the little snack bag and the reusable bowl covers. Will probably have to try both! Going to scatter grass seed on our freshly sculptured hillside.