Repurposed quilt top - sugar loaf triangles.

Way back in October I bought this star quilt top at the flea market. Stars are always wonky, you can see how it overlaps itself laying there.  There are some really great facebook groups and books where quilters reimagine vintage quilt pieces, so I decided to take the plunge with this one. After a short period of pondering I cut it up into triangle sections.

Getting it together was a challenge, because, well, wonky!

I have lost a few points here or there.

Then I had a GIANT disaster.

For some reason the backing fabric I bought at Joann would not adhere with my 505 spray.  I didn't realize how big of a problem this was though until AFTER I had quilted it!

I had to rip the ENTIRE quilt apart and do it again!

Then when I was taking these snowy photos I realized it has the same problem I have had once before - for some reason the fabric I used to put it together has discolored and has light and dark patches. I still have no idea what causes this.

What a giant disappointment that is.  This quilt is intended to be a gift and I am still pondering what to do with it.

Had it been all new fabric I would have honestly thrown it away after the first problem that required all that ripping.

So, for now, it sits.

Sugar loaf
Started Oct 2018
Finished Dec 2018
Vintage quilt top blocks
Cotton batt

Machine quilted
Blocks were hand pieced by original maker

Sewing - doll quilt and duvet quilt

 As soon as Christmas was over I was DYING to finally get my desk cleaned off. I had not been sewing for months and things were piled up everywhere. In November I bought a box of fabric pieces that included these teeny penny sized scraps of late 1800s fabrics. On Christmas eve I hand pieced them into 9 patches (there were two completed in the box, so I stayed with her plan) and then I whipped them into a doll quilt.

 How satisfying to turn penny pieces of fabric into a useable little quilt!

 This duvet quilt has been in my head forever. I am always grabbing vintage duvet covers, but they are always too small to use. Adding some batting and quilting it altogether makes them into SUPER dreamy small quilts.

I cannot wait to make more of these.

A field trip and a winter mantle

 Because Grant is injured we couldn't do anything over Christmas break really. I was listening to the radio and heard an ad for a liberty doll exhibit at the field museum and we were already in the car, so off we went.  Much to my surprise they had GORGEOUS feather trees up for the holiday.

 These aren't great pics from behind the ropes but this one was AMAZING.

 The liberty doll collection was interesting too. The silk on this one was so shattered.

 I decided to try a wintery mantle instead of going right to the valentines. I got out my mercury glass from the cabinet, made a mitten garland and just started adding things. I don't LOVE it, but I think it has potential.

 I do love the mittens.

 I toyed with reflector flowers and then decided I was over this project, so only one got made.

And I never know what to do with this winter wish thing but I love it! It was nice to use it.

Thrifted

Yesterday Grant started trying to regain some independence! He dressed himself and tied his shoes. Woohoo.

 I bought a few things at a small flea. Love this quilt.

 So excited to dig out an interesting little collection of old sewing things from a huge tub of miscellaneous crap.

And a cheap society silk piece. This makes three flag pieces for me now, a collection!

New Year

 No nonsense resolutions were made (other than live), but we did attempt our annual family photo. It was a disaster with crying and moaning from all the kids, having to take it twice bc it was impossible to get a decent one, taking one of me and the kids at the doctors office! Because that's what we do now - go to all the doctors, all the days, even on new years eve.

 We had two phones stop working, so we spent the entirety of Christmas break at phone stores and apple stores trying to fix them. (We gave up. We leased new phones. That ridiculous ordeal took six days and at least 18 hours.)

 I watched marie kondo on Netflix and then I finally realized how to organize the linen closet once and for all. (I had done the whole spark joy thing two or three years ago, its a good system and mostly our house is still organized, but this one area was always a mess.)

Ah, perfection! (And yes I love linens)

Christmas

Somehow we pulled off Christmas. I cancelled the family thing. We went to church, we ate frozen lasagna, but none of it seems to matter in the least now.

 (I knew I made more!)

Hapde burfday Sam

 Sam turned 8 and in true snow baby fashion - she brought a HUGE 12 inch snow on her birthday again.

 All she wanted for a party was a sleepover with her little bff, so they had all the snow fun together.

Dear Sammi,

8!  I have no idea how actually, because it was just yesterday you were a chubby cheeked baby.

You are so stinking smart.

You love books and all the tiny things.

(and messes)

You are practical and rational.

You can hold your own with Minecraft and pokemon.

You are particular about friends.

You have declared dresses *your mortal enemy*

You want to live in a tiny house on a few acres with no kids and no husband (maybe cats)

Or maybe *adopt a 10 year old*

You are missing 5 teeth ! (finally)

You are finally out of toddler sizes (and 16th percentile for height - a full 48 inches now)

And still every bit our awesome buttercup

I love you baby,
Mom

And more - the nutcracker

(Some of you asked but your accounts are set to no reply - Jack was released by ortho on New Years eve. I think the final verdict is stress fracture to the tibia from rapid growth and running. He has grown a little more than 4 inches since June.)

 I had worked So stinking hard to earn the money to get us to the nutcracker this year - selling allll the things on ebay. And then grant had to have surgery four days before and a new cast the day before! We didn't wear our fanciest clothes, or have a fancy lunch, but we made it, and that was a victory.

 Man, the sets and costumes were an absolute confectionary dream. So perfect.

 We all enjoyed it.

Grant quickly started trying to write with his left hand at school, the teacher sent me this text. Kids are resilient at least!

Well then.

Everything was falling apart leading up to Christmas. Dave was travelling a lot, there was so much to do, I had a BIG injury to my leg that was now three months and my ability to walk was getting very limited and then wham!

 Grant fell on the playground at school. I had laid down to take a nap after doing a load of laundry (which is how I didn't hear the first call - the washer), then I ignored the second call because the pest control guy was coming. I slept for about an hour and when I woke up all the phones, texts, messages etc had completely blown up (my cell had been in the car charging). 

He broke the head off his humerus and required emergency surgery. Three pins and one nerve untangling later we were back home, but with a kid in in intense pain and with a huge cast on his right arm leaving him completely unable to do even the smallest things (or bathe or wash his hands!). 

He is currently in cast number three, and working on some independence, but this is a very long road as we still have one more cast to come in another two weeks.

I have never been away from the blog this long, but I had a complete breakdown from the general state of life. I just could NOT push on any longer. I couldn't make any decisions (and there are a million that needed to be made every five minutes) and I could not get my crap together. Cue Total hysterical crying for weeks. It wasn't just Grant getting hurt. I really thought with all the kids in school the pace of life would slow. Instead it just seems to keep ramping up.

I am still thinking about how to manage all of that. I have no good plan. I did farm out the grocery shopping, but man, all the obligations.

Anyway. I am going to do a HUGE dump of all the things I want to get on this blog. I have pondered giving up the old blog, but *I* come back here often. I look things up to see what we did when, what the kids were doing when, what I bought where. I like the ease of Instagram but unless I went private it wouldn't really serve the same purpose because the environment there is just different.

 In the pre xmas madness I bought a huge bag of ornaments just to get this one - an indian headdress, so interesting!

 This trade war, or war on immigration, or whatever it is, has really affected the price and availability of food here in the middle.

 I had been trying (before the broken arm) to sit and do some quiet mindful sewing before the holidays. I made a bunch of felt ornaments. I think this is only half of them but I can barely remember actually. (Why didn't I transfer the other photos? hmmm)

 Having a broken wing is exhausting. He also stopped sleeping through the night.

 Sam and I noticed that we could see each snowflake in her hair one morning at the bus.

 This pic is still on my fridge. It's weird because every time I see it I think of it as just before the shit hit the fan. Sam is very much of the verge of not believing anymore. This santa was just so great with the kids. He really talked with them and when they walked away She said to me, "mom! He said to clean up my messy room! He is real, the elf told him what a mess it is!"   Even then that was just balm to my soul.

 For our wedding anniversary Dave bought me a 6 foot feather tree I found on facebook. At first I wasn't sure I liked it (oy) because someone has painted it and the paint VERY ANNOYINGLY flakes off. But it was lovely. I used old heavy tinsel on it. I need to deal with that paint issue this spring.

 Dave was out of town during the vintage holiday show. I had to rush all over town rounding up all the child care and I finally got myself there an hour before it closed. It was really disappointing! Loaded with crafts (made with old tires??) and other pinterest crap. I did buy that little tree and a box full of these santa dudes though.