Thanksgiving, fleas and things

Well hello there. It seems like there are loads of things keeping me busy these days. Grant picked up a third day of preschool, we finally had thanksgiving with my family yesterday, I have been chipping away at a quilt, we've been going to church a lot more and I've been spending more time with the homeless people on our corner. I guess it turns out that the world cracking in half on November 8 was good. Because it totally motivated me to give and give and give some more. Buy more gift cards for the church orphanage program, invite my uncle who hasn't spoken to us in seven years to the holiday (he didn't come), start thrifting sleeping bags and buying tarps to hand out on very cold nights. To find an extra pound (or twelve) of faith and determination I didn't know I had. I stayed away from the tv news, the radio, social media and it worked. It turns out that when my own bucket feels desperately empty giving it all away fills it up. Like magic. 

I snagged this from insta because Jack is on the computer, my turkeys. The littles were THRILLED to light the candles at church last week and are looking forward to participating in the Christmas program.

This morning I took down the fall mantle and slowly (so slow) started fishing out dome Christmas stuff. 

I also hiked my butt around the flea in 40 degrees and was rewarded:

Prolly a tree topper? Nothing to hold it up there though. 

Old florist ribbons.

The most awesome basket ever, soon to be a hamper I think? I need to sew a liner.

And fisher price toys. Grant was SURE that train was for him. :)

Happy Sunday to you!

Flea market Sundays, kids and things

So, it was a fairly small haul at the flea this week. The weather has turned insanely cold too (finally!).

This was the total haul.

I did thrift a few things on Friday - fabric, feedsack, tablecloth...

And a very sweet, but pretty worn, quilt.

Grant is going to preschool on Mondays starting today. Neither he nor I were coping with Monday's very well. After having everyone here with him on the weekends he would spend most of Monday just crying and having one fit after another as I tried to plow through. So, he can go to preschool and not be dying from loneliness. I had really hoped he would enjoy having lots of alone time with me this year, but in reality he just sits there wondering what on earth to do with himself and demanding I do every.single.thing on earth for him. Not a win. 

I was cleaning up some photos and I think I never blogged these. Grant drew his "fambily" in chalk one day. (He's on the other end, this is the rest of us.) 

And of course he and Sam made rainbows.

Busy busy week ahead! 

All the pillows, take two

Before I say anything about pillows - do you all know about carry the future? It's a charity that helps Syrian refugees . They started by collecting baby Carriers (think about how important a baby carrier would be if you were fleeing with your children!). Right now they are having a blanket and handmade item drive. You can make toys or baby blankets (knit or crochet too!), which is right up my alley, so I wanted to pass it along. The drive goes until December 31 and you can find more info on Facebook and Instagram. You can also buy and ship blankets directly from their Amazon wish list until November 20 if you are short on tme for making. I wish I could link you on this app, but you can easily google them. I'm going to have Jack make a baby quilt from a layer cake as part of his service hours. (They may still be accepting baby carriers too, I know a lot of us have them in the closet as our babies are growing.)

So, two weeks ago I was still making all the pillows.

This was a piece of a vintage quilt top I bought a few months ago, it was already a weird cut up piece, so no cutting guilt, I'm obsessed with how wonderful the tiny pieces of fabric are.

The center of this is a falling feedsack I thrifted. 

And this one a target dish towel. Dish towels might be my new favorite for pillows!

Flea market Sunday

I actually have so many things to say other than this is what I've thrifted this week. 

America cracked in half this week. And my heart cracked in half with it. I've spent a lot of time this week in silence. Well, media silence. No Facebook, no Instagram, no tv unless it's Netflix or DVDs, no newspapers. I physically could not handle any of it. Not because woe is me - but because the panic and negativity was just too much. It gave me anxiety. Instead I did things like pull my car over and introduce myself to the homeless man on the corner. Asking his name, asking what his greatest need was, taking the time to feed him, to buy him a coat. I stopped in a church and asked them how we could help him. I took my own kids to church. I took grant to target three times to visit a Christmas train because it's his greatest delight. I searched for volunteer opportunities for Jack and I. I thanked every veteran I saw and taught the kids to do the same. I pinned a safety pin to my shirt and I will wear it as long as I need to. 

It turns out it all helped. Tremendously. And I have decided that aside from the weather report, I don't really need to return to any of the media anytime soon. "Radio silence" is good. Im going to just do all the good I can, in all the ways I can and  keep repeating wither thou goest, I shall go. 

So, having said all of that I've spent  a fair amount of time wandering this week. 

Grant and I thrifted this Christmas pile on one of our train adventures. That is a very sweet felt gingerbread man. 

This is a gorgeous pineapple quilt. I've been working on the binding Bc it was a bit of a disaster even though the rest of the quilt is amazing.

Dave and I had a grocery shopping date yesterday morning, we hit the antique mall while we were out. This adorable box of ornaments is so cute I can't wait to get the tree up.

There are a few keepers in this super cheap box too.

Cake toppers are my current sentimental fav. 

A two color Missouri daisy.

A huge frame I was sure I had no room for, but I made work.

And a quilt that will be an Instagram give away this week. Because we all need some comfort right now, right?

1930s reproduction brick quilt

I have a handsewing project I have been working on since about May - it's English paper pieced hexagons in 1930s repro fabrics.  To get enough different fabrics for it I bought a LOT of charm packs. Then I had to cut them in half to get my 2.5 inch squares, leaving me with a huge pile of 2.5 x 5 inch bricks.  In the living room I have a pair of vintage quilts over the backs of our chairs - they are bricks. One day it occurred to me that I could do the same thing with that big stack of bricks from the charm packs.

So, I just started sewing them together. No rhyme or reason, just chain piece, chain piece, chain piece.

 I ended up with a throw sized brick quilt. (And then when I was cleaning my sewing room yesterday I found another HUGE stack of bricks. How did I miss them?? UGH!)

 Some folks on Instagram are bugged by the black bits. I considered leaving them out, but I thought nope, this is a true scrap quilt and they are in my scrap pile, so in they go.

 This kind of sewing is pretty therapeutic. After many intense quilts this year it was awesome to just sew. I didn't care if it went wonky, or matched or lined up.

 I backed it with this lovely vintage flannel I have had forever.

I wonder what quilt this is for me this year? 10? or more? I have another going right now on my desk, but I have been back on the pillow train too, so.... LOL.

Little Owl's Night quilt

 One of Sammi's favorite books is Little Owl's night.  She asked me a long time ago to make her a little owl quilt and I have had the fabrics sitting in a bin for a long time. I was intimidated I think - batiks, thread drawing, all applique. It turns out that story book quilts really are my fav and they do go quite quickly.

These are not nearly enough photos really, there are a few more on Instagram I think.

Everything is taken directly from the book, and I tried to replicate their illustrations the best I could.  There is the owl, the silvery moth, the bath, the snail, the moon flower and the morning glory, the silvery spider web.  Sammi's favorite part of the book is how the sky transitions from night to day. The words in the book are that it changes from "black to blue, blue to red, red to gold."  If you look at the background of the quilt I have done the same color from top to bottom, with the gold sun rising at the bottom.

 I have just quilted according to the shapes.

 You cannot see it in the bright sun here, but the moth has silver dust floating from her wings just like the book. It was my first attempt at a lot of things in this quilt, including metallic thread! (I considered using glow in the dark thread for quilting, but getting it finished won out.)

And a silvery spider web here at the bottom. 

I really did love doing this and I have a sketch in my book for Little Owl's Day already, but here I am - feeling intimidated again. Silly me.

halloween costumes

 Oh boy, its taken me almost a week to get back here to post these.  This year the kids grabbed costumes from their dress up bins and Jack wore one I grabbed at goodwill.  Easy peasy. It was SO SO hot though. Grant nearly had to change his mind due to the heat.

 Sam, the flower fairy.

 Grant LOVES this cat outfit, he wears it every time they play dress up. Its very nearly too little now.

 I also had underestimated how tall Jack is now! (5'1!)

Next year will be a handmade year again I suppose...