Patriotism in a Quilt

I have been learning the art of quilting this year. It is quite amazing how many designs and methods there are for quilt making! It is customary to follow a pattern when making a fabric mosaic but I like to color outside the lines a bit! This patriotic one, I designed myself, using a few blocks I have learned to do in other quilts.

Apparently, making quilts to donate to wounded soldiers is pretty common in the quilting community. I think that is amazing and such an amazing way to honor our brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms. So, I have been hoping to get a few done this year. My neighborhood quilt shop has a contest, but I am actually donating my quilts to another cause. An old friend has put out a request in the cyber world asking for people to make patriotic quilts for a unit of soldiers who are being deployed in August. These are men and women from my home town and some of them are friends, neighbors and teachers of people I actually know. 

If this is something you would be interested in helping with, please contact me asap! They should be patriotic but not an actual flag and twin-bed sized!

LOG CABIN BLOCKS

Oh my!  These are said to be easy, but personally, I found them to be monotonous!  (Sorry Grandma for making you make me one of these back in 1998!)  I personally like things that come together a little quicker and have the gratification of a finished product a bit sooner.  With these, the cutting AND the sewing took what felt like an eternity!  Thankfully, my mom helped me cut the darks, so I only had to cut 1/2!  She rocks! 

Nonetheless, my quilt block of the month class required us to make them!  36 of them!  At this point, I have 28 done...and 8 more to go.  Once I have them done, the count for the entire quilt will be at...57 done, 7 more!  I feel the end is near!  What an exciting accomplishment!

Just a side note, I am pretty excited that you can see the variation of shade (dark center diamond, lighter corners edges!) when the blocks are laid out together.  When I was looking at them individually, it was hard to see!  Phew!

This is actually what the corners will look like...! Lighter stripe through the centers of the corners!  So cool!

May's Block

Mosaic Star

This one was a little more of a challenge...although, if you read the directions correctly and cut the pieces correctly, it might save you time! :)

I also learned that pinning REALLY can help align corners!  What took me so long?!?!

June Block!

Our class this month was so interesting to this history nerd!  The Block we are doing is called "Churn Dash" to some, but to others it is "Shoo Fly".  When I was making my birdy quilt a couple months ago, I used "Churn Dash" which I found amongst a line of blocks called "Farmer's Wife" Blocks.  They are bocks that were traditionally made by farmers' wives and there is a book that accompanies the blocks telling the story of each block--this one resembling the perimeter or a butter church. 

Well, this month, our teacher, did some research about the history of the block and she ended up giving us an entire history lesson on the Underground Railroad--the plight of runaway slaves and abolitionists helping them.  I guess I knew all along, as a history teacher, that abolitionists helped slaves escape their persecution through signs, symbols and song, but I never connected that that could have been by hanging a quilt on the fence.  Amazing!  So, this block is also one of many that when slaves saw a quilt hanging out on someone's laundry line or fence they knew to go in a certain direction or to stay in hiding or that certain farms were safe, etc.!  You can read more about other blocks used in the Underground Railroad at http://ses.westport.k12.ct.us/squire/idivsquares.htm.  Enjoy!

Here is my block!  The colors are strange, but I think once the whole quilt comes together, it will look ok!

Craft Room/ Office DONE!

For the past two years, we've been living in a little box with things dispersed here, there and everywhere...We have a tiny house and I am amazed at how much stuff M and I have together...This weekend, I spent the majority of my time organizing that back room so that it can actually be functional...rather than the storage room of piles of stuff!

This is what it looked like when I started...so embarrassing!

So excited to be able to sew in there rather than the kitchen table!
So excited to have a desk to work at rather than having to spread out all over the couch!
So excited to scrapbook again!
So excited have shelves for my sweaters and scrapbooks instead of random storage in closets or under beds!
So excited to have gone through boxes that have been moved multiple times and I had no idea what was inside of them!

Here's the finished product.

Shelving along one entire wall!

Sewing Table.
















Desk area.



Such a relief and accomplishment...

AND, I worked in the garden!  So happy my tulips are growing abundantly.

Next nice weekend, I'll be planting more!

A New Collection...

I have this slight obsession with serving trays. I feel like I need one for each unique event that might arise. I think it started when I helped throw a baby girl shower and I wanted a pink tray! I had a hard time finding one and the obsession began.

The Pinterest came along...so dangerous! Those two ideas have meshed into my head and here is my dream--a whole wall in my home filled with trays!!!

I like bright, but somewhat muted colors (bright but not florescent). They make my surroundings feel happy and homey. I think it goes back to my love of rainbows...well, what rainbows stand for that is. But, I don't really want lucky charms or leprechauns in my house so bright colors all over it is!

Anyway, I got some great FiestaWare pieces for our wedding. That was the start to a collection I hadn't even conceived yet.

The fish below was my first addition! I had to have it so I watched it at Target for months...until it went on clearance! I was so happy. Not only is it my favorite color, but it is representative of my Norwegian heritage! Love it!

More to come!

Freezer to Crock Pot

One of the things I've struggled with since getting my new job is time management. Mostly because a couple days a week I am gone for about 11-12 hours. I only work for 8-9 but I spend a lot of time in the car. I have felt very inadequate as a wife, unable to provide meals for Matt on those days. It's hard because this is the most amazing job I've ever had but being gone so long each day was starting to produce anxiety.

Around the end of November, God really told me that peace can be mine. As with all of the Fruit of the Spirit, we must choose to access these gifts in times where we could choose, or would normally react with, the opposite. God told me to choose it and it could be mine! It was so clear. So, this is one way that I am choosing peace--the good ol' crock!

I found a bunch of recipes on the internet and Pinterest for freezer meals. All I have to do is let it thaw and add it to the crock pot!

I made 12 meals on a Saturday afternoon. I'm pretty sure I could do it more cost effectively, but this was my first time!

Here they are:
Beef Fajitas x2
Chicken Teriyaki x2
Pork with Apples
Sausage and Peppers
Beef Stew x2
Chicken with Cilantro and Lime x2
Beef and Broccoli x2
Most will be served with rice or pasta

Now my freezer is full and my peace of mind is appeased!