Subtle Patriotic Quilt

Quilted in Stars & Loops Meander (freehand)

Is anybody else panicking about hitting mid-July?? In the midst of a quilting session yesterday, I was struck   **as in panicked**   that we'd hit the middle of July, and I've yet to begin planning for Morgan's senior year!! 

Okay, that's a slight exaggeration. We've been talking about what she'll work on next year since the middle of last year, so I've done some mental preparation & I have most of the books, etc., we'll be needing as well. 

No, I'm talking about the physical act of sitting with each subject, each book, and devising a plan of attack. Sure she can DO most of the work on her own at this point, but she needs direction; there needs to be a basic plan of how each book/curriculum works. So that's what I'm supposed to be working on. For some of them I need to plot out those plans in some typed or written form. Things are omitted & extra things are added. Others require study guides to be worked up. But I think there's a book or two that she can just work in order without too much prep work from me. 

I wrote this to my best friend this morning: 

Summers are never the relaxing span of freedom in time & space that we hope for. I think something is ingrained in our brains that equates summer with blissful leisure that's left over from our childhoods. Only problem being that once we hit adulthood, that flies right out the window!!!

Perhaps I can just choose to see my summer as half full instead!? 

Happy Hump Day :)

Autumn Arrives

I'm exceedingly happy Fall seems to be happening this year, with a proper cooling down period & not this hot-to-cold stuff we've done the past couple years. The sweatshirts have been needed for most of the early morning dog walks, and I'm thrilled to be wearing Pink sweats today! I love my bummy clothes!!

In other news, we seem to have found our homeschool rhythm, which has me a bit calmer about how to combine working from home while also effectively homeschooling. It's still quite the juggle with many days leaving me wanting more hours in the day & more energy in this middle-aged body! I've been utilizing my crock pot a bunch... so helpful when we're all starving but left with depleted energy to deal with cooking.

Here's what I've had to work on in the Quilting Realm: 

 Green Rail Top; QUILTED with Branchy Spirals (freehand) 

 Garden Twist Top; QUILTED with Leafy Swirl (freehand)

Patriotic Star Top; QUILTED with Stars & Loops (freehand)

I hope you're all enjoying a Slow Sunday! Reading, writing, sewing, sitting, Mountain Men, and football are on the agenda for today...

Jumping into June

Just a few of the recents...

An Autumn Cross-stitch Top; QUILTED with Swirly Curl Freehand:

A Princess Top; QUILTED Custom (Freehand & SID)

Purple & Blue Rails Top; QUILTED Bubble Meander Freehand

Gold & Blue Cross-stitch Top; QUILTED with Swirls & Curls Freehand

During non-quilting hours I've been busy wrapping up the end of our homeschool year. The evaluation & portfolio for this year which just ended are done, and the paperwork is compiled to be notarized for the upcoming school year! I'll hand it all in this week & can begin planning the subjects for the upcoming 11th grade year. Hard to believe we're down to two more years of this homeschooling journey!

And though I've spent many hours already out at the pool, I've only ventured partway in once as the water is still too cold. Smokey the lab has gotten many hours of use though!

Talk to you soon!

May Madness

BAM!! May was done in a blink of an eye! 

Our homeschool year has come to it's official close, and now there remains the portfolio compilation, having it evaluated, turning it into the school district, and I'll have our next year's Goals & Objectives ready & notarized to be handed in at the same time. No use making two trips!

I can't believe I have an 11th grader again! Oy vey! I do like a couple of this year's upcoming subjects better than last year's. We're going from Geometry & Biology to Consumer Math & Chemistry. Woot! HATE Geometry & Biology. I like Consumer Math & LOVE Chemistry. 

English is the constant subject I love with a passion & is so easily taught to & accomplished by my daughter. She & I love to read & write, so it's hands-down the most enjoyable subject.

While homeschooling in it's active form has winded down, homeschooling planning is about to go full throttle. Each subject takes a good 3-5 days just to plan about the first 6 weeks. Once I get that much done in every subject, I go back & add to the plans & must constantly work on it before & during the school year. 

It's also the time of the year that quilting steps up a notch, while piecers anticipate the holiday rush. I try to plan a week's vacation here & there throughout the year as the schedule allows, but I'm missing the years of having the summers off with the kids! 

So here are the last few quilts in May...

T-shirt Top; QUILTED in a Freehand Meander

This pic is just for my BFF due to it's content :) 

Shout-out to you, Kathryn!

A Scrappy Rectangle Top; QUILTED with Single Reverse Loop Freehand

Pink Floral Cross-Stitch Top; QUILTED with Leafy Swirl Freehand

Any grand vacation plans? None here, but we feel like our backyard pool is like a daily mini vacation, so we feel spoiled in that regard. 

Happy Summer!

Ode to Spring & Personal Projects

The weather has finally sprung

yes, in PA, spring has finally released her fun

Gone are the dreary of doldrums

now for the outdoor walks & slow runs

Hiding inside like a hermit no more

Fresh air, sunshine, and warm breezes galore 

trying to ignore all the red eyes & sneezes

still yearning for swimming, BBQs & more!

Has spring sprung yet in your neck of the woods? It spurs in me desires to clean out the car, take up running again, pull out my bike, go for a hike, ready the pool, clean out the 3rd floor, reorganize the house...

... really you could just lump them into two categories: head for the hills & clean my brains out. 

In reality, I'll probably work on few of the items floating around in my head until summer kicks in. Not only does springtime bring about half a dozen birthday celebrations for us, as well as Mother's Day, but there's lots to do to close out our school year as well as preparing for the upcoming year. 

 I spend time researching, picking out & buying all the curriculum for next year's homeschooling adventure, so I have it all on hand for planning over the summer. And then there's all the busywork of the paperwork involved with legally homeschooling in PA. (PA has the most laws in any state governing our right to homeschool our children. I don't want to debate with anyone why this is or why this isn't a good thing for my kiddos. It's a pain~ period.)

Anywho, I'm off on a tangent here...

Spring is busy. Should I have just left it at that perhaps? And then isn't EVERYONE busy? All. the. time. Okay, so enough boohooing about busyness & onto some doodads I've made recently...

 Fabric "Catch-all"

The pattern is by Liberty Weaver (www.stores.ebay.com/libertyweaver.com), and it gives instructions to make different sizes. Mine is currently being used to hold threads & small scraps of fabric left over from various crafting endeavors.

Fabric Postcard & Ribbon Work Garden Pincushion

(classes I took at Stitch & Craft)

 This stitchery might be one of my most favorite creations of all time. I can't wait to hang it in my bathroom & wait for the revelations!! (stop laughing at me)

Last but not least are my Winter & Spring blocks for the block swap I did with friends at Stitch & Craft:

Happy Slow Sunday!

Some February Finishes

Is it just me, or does February seem to be flying by with the greatest of speed?? It doesn't seem that long ago we were celebrating the start of the new year!

It's the time of year when our days become a bit more of a struggle. After the long Christmas break with the mile-long to-do lists (for the holidays & also catch-up tasks, it's hard to get "back on that horse". 

The melancholy moods & uninspired days can become downright depressing if one isn't watching out for it all! I'm *trying* to get enough sleep (even though my bod won't cooperate too often). I *try* to watch what I eat, but the coldness & dampness have me hedging toward comfort foods. And we're *trying* to get back into the gym regularly. I NEVER feel like going right now, but I always feel good afterwards for having gone. 

Our homeschool schedule remains the same as far as timing goes, but a couple subjects have changed content with the start of the new semester. The changes seem to have breathed enough fresh air into our learning to have removed the stagnation felt at returning to our school schedule after the holidays.

So along with passing my days in a blur of schooling, working out, cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring, I've also gotten some quilting done:

Orange/Brown Top: QUILTED Branchy Spiral Freehand in center & Oak leaf Panto on borders

T-shirt/Flannel Top; QUILTED with Wide Meander Freehand

Spring Rail Top; QUILTED Bubble Meander Freehand

 Pink Crazy Patch Baby Top; QUILTED Bubble Meander Freehand

Blue Sailboat Baby Top; QUILTED Water Stipple Freehand

Autumn Crazy Patch Flannel Top; QUILTED Leafy Swirl Freehand

I don't do a lot of piecing right now, but I think I'd like to make the quilt right above this paragraph for hubby. It can be difficult to find a "manly" pattern & this seems to do it for me. It looks simple enough that I may actually get to piece it during weird spans of free time, it's warm & soft in flannel, AND it doesn't look especially gender-specific, which makes me think it'd be nice for the man room or our family room! So what I'm wondering is if this is a pattern or if this is just making crazy patches & lopping them all off at the same dimensions & applying some sashing/borders? Anybody out there can shed some light for me?? 

Happy Monday!