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!

Goodbye Spring!

How has springtime been treatin' ya? Besides some itchy eyes & sinus headaches, I've enjoyed getting outside a bit more. 

Here in Lancaster, PA, we've said goodbye to spring & have gotten Slammed with Summer this week. Sounds like a bad romance novel! The kids & the lab have enjoyed the early pool weather.

In other news, I'm almost past this stretch of time that nearly sends me over the edge every year. Springtime for me is on par with the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays. 

*Three family birthdays in May ~ one of which included my eldest turning 21!! Really, I can't possibly by THAT OLD?!?!?

*Mother's Day ~ while I'd love to tell you I look forward to this day & being pampered, it'd be a lie. I don't. It never feels "right" or completely joyful when my heart aches & it hurts to breath from missing Montie. I did have a terrific day, but maybe that's hard to understand? I still love being a mom. I still found enjoyment when my girls, their boyfriends, my hubby, and I went for a hike, and then they treated me to Sweet Frog & showered me with unexpected gifts. Plastering that smile on my face was hard, though, & took a conscious effort. And it was exhausting & so I was relieved on some level when it was over.

*Wrapping up a homeschool year ~ here in PA we have to have our child's schoolwork evaluated by a professional, then hand in a portfolio proving "appropriate learning" took place, then turn it into the school district. I have this pretty down-pat, but it still takes a great deal of time to attend to all the organization & compiling of materials.

*Planning for the upcoming homeschool year ~ need to have subjects & books picked to go to the CHAP curriculum fair in May and also prepare the affidavit to hand into the school district legally notifying them of my intent to homeschool in the upcoming year. Again, I love perusing curriculum & books, but the time factor can be huge if you don't use the same curriculum year after year (some I do & some we change up).

*This spring brought two added challenges in the midst of the craziness ~ my younger daughter was practicing to take her driver's license test AND she interviewed multiple time & has since been hired for her first job! These are definitely exciting events, but man, so much time involved!! And can I just admit that I HATE practicing parallel parking with a teen!! BLECK. Boring. Rifled & peppered with unhappy outbursts mixed with laughter. It's quite the bi-polar experience.

*And finally the crazed-spring-frenzy wraps up with Montie's birthday. He'd be 15 tomorrow, Monday, June 3rd. How I miss my little man... though I guess he wouldn't be so "little" anymore and more of a lanky teen.

I have managed to get some quilting done in between everything else in "swiss-cheese" fashion. It goes against my nature to do things in this manner but thems-the-breaks!

Red Floral Attic Window top; QUILTED in Bubble Meander freehand:

30's Scrappy Rectangles top; QUILTED with Daisy Meander freehand:

Red Labyrinth Top; QUILTED with Loops & Stars freehand:

Baby Rail Top; QUILTED Bubble Meander freehand:

Just had to show the Minky backing... quilts beautifully & so soft!

Geometric Blue top; QUILTED with Jilly panto:

Brown Batik Labyrinth top; QUILTED with Single Loop Reverse freehand:

Thanks for sticking it out till the end of this lengthy post! Hope you're enjoying a Slow Sunday :)

Longarm Littles

I had a string of baby tops come in that had me wondering just a little. I can't help but let my mind wander to whom these quilts will go whence I'm done dabbling. Does this woman who pieced literally have four little ones here or on their way, or are these all being expectantly waited upon? I don't know usually, but it's fun to ponder...

This dark pastel top has a combination of Bunnies & Ducks that's been quilted with a simple Crazy-Eight meander.

While this top has a similar color scheme as the first, it's theme is strictly Peter Rabbit, which I quilted with a ribbon meander.

Switching over to what seemed like more of a boy theme, we have a top with a variety of baby animals that got a simple meander.

And last but not least was this puppy-themed top, also quilted with a simple meander.

In case you're wondering, the open meander quilting lends itself to a softer drape more immediately. Yes, quilts soften up with washing regardless, however, a denser quilting will produce less movement until those fibers loosen up from use and/or lots of washing.

This isn't the only reason I quilted them as such, or that so many quilts get the larger meander, but rather one of the considerations.

Until next time...

Short & Sweet to End April

Framed Star in Brown Top; QUILTED Bubble Meander Freehand

I love the way this quilt turned out!

African Kangaroo Top; QUILTED Meander Freehand

As the subject name suggests, I've kept this short & sweet. 

It's been a long day & I'm short on words for a change :) 

Quilt Hangers

I'm so excited about my new quilt hangers, I just had to share! My BFF has been talking them up forever & I finally managed to snag a set for my birthday. I'm looking forward to hanging & making-to-hang small quilts that I can change out seasonally at whim.

Obviously, these are made to hold the smaller variety of quilt. 

They have a couple cool features: 

To begin with, they're very easy to hang. They come with predrilled holes through which you can hammer a nail. Or you can do as my BFF did, and I followed suit, and that is to use 3M Command Brand small Poster Strips. They claim to provide a damage-free stick (keep the instructions!) that "holds strongly & removes cleanly", in case you're neurotic like me about pounding holes into your walls.

The second feature that most quilters will appreciate is that they require no "hanging pocket" to be made and/or sewn into the binding of your quilt & then also tacked down by hand. Although I want to take the time & attention each project needs to looks it's best, I also really love a shortcut! 

Here's a close-up so you get a better idea of how they work:

After unscrewing the gold screw, slip the quilt edge under the wooden lip, position, and tighten the screw. 

Mine were bought on Amazon, which shows the hangers in walnut & ash. I checked the supplier's website, Alice in Stitches, and there are two different sizes, as well as painted black or white hangers available. The website suggests you could hang any size quilt with them so long as you had a hanger every 12-18". 

I'm not affiliated with this product in any way and am sharing solely for the purpose of giving a review on something I've found very useful!

Happy Slow Sunday!

Running with March Quilts

My sinuses are telling me that spring is definitely here in PA~ ugh ~ Such a major drawback to enjoying the newly warmed air, to also feel like a balloon-head with a dribbly nose.

My 16 year old daughter & I have embarked on long-distance running with the dawning of allergy season, which means gulping pollen-ladened air, thus exacerbating my balloon-headed feeling, but alas, the running-bug has been caught.  I used to run in high school & even back when I was popping out babies, but the busyness of mommyhood eventually waylaid my best efforts.

So I've been gearing up all winter to start this. I knew I needed to wait for the air to be warmer so as not to throw my lungs into asthmatic fits, since they're not used to running in the cold air anymore. And we've been going to the gym, lifting weights, doing the elliptical thing trying to get my legs back. And now we've begun actual running, using Ian Macneill's walk/run method. It's been good to review some techniques & read the advice after being out of it for so long. And the book has been a good reminder for me to start slow, because nowadays I have a tendency to run with my brain thinking about what my bod *used to* be able to do & then end up with sore muscles. I'll keep you posted !

Back to quilts, the actual purpose of this blog...

LOVE the colors in this Scrappy Stars Top; QUILTED with Loops & Stars (Freehand)

Next up is this Purple/Green Pinwheel Bed Runner; QUILTED with Meandering Butterflies (Freehand)

Last but definitely not least is this Stepping Stone Sampler Top; QUILTED with Leafy Swirl (Freehand)

There's been a small lull in quilting work, which has been a blessing with all the interviewing & running around I've been doing with the 16 year old, but it also has my mind cranking out ideas of things to make, things I need to clean, and all the projects I hope to tackle over the summer. For some reason I always have grand hopes of getting lots done over the summer because we're not "in school", but my family just laughs & shakes their collective head when I start yammering on about all that can be tackled. It never truly pans out that way, but at least if I have a list, when there are unexpected gaps of unscheduled time, my thoughts are more organized about what needs to be done. This is my mental version of spring cleaning I think. Mentally I sweep out the cobwebs of my winter-webbed mind, overused with working & teaching through the holidays which leaves me with a 2-month hang-over feeling, and I emerge feeling renewed around springtime ready to tackle things beyond the basics.

Does putting my upcoming goals out there in bloggerland make them more official? Does this mean I'll actually follow through?? It remains to be seen...

Take care everybody!

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!