My New Project. . . . .

MY NEW PROJECT  OBSESSION

I have been saving my sewing scraps since I learned to sew in 1968 - 7th Grade at Lampson Jr. High School in Garden Grove, CA.  All the girls had to take homemaking, which consisted of one semester of sewing and one semester of cooking.  I sewed a lot of my own clothes after that,  and then sewed for my girls. 

I always wanted to sew a patchwork quilt using all my scraps, but nothing really seemed to fit.  I started out wanting to make a cathedral window pattern.

 I changed my mind and thought for sure I wanted to make a bow tie quilt.

Lately, I've been wanting  a hand sewing project, but wasn't quite sure where to start.  Then, one day, I discovered the blog Pleasant Home  and subscribed to her email updates. I instantly fell in love with just the blog header - cherries, quilts, fabric, a red kitchen aid mixer AND cupcakes with sprinkles (these are a few of my favorite things!) I almost wept with joy when I saw the wonderful projects and darling fabrics. And her sewing room - heavy sigh!

I was always so glad to find a new update in my mail, and this is the June 25th post that set me on fire:

6 Point Diamond Paper Piecing post from PLEASANT HOME

As I read through her post and all the great links she provided, I began blog hopping and googling anything I could find about  'English Paper Piecing Tutorials' or "Sewing Hexagons' or 'Hexie Tutorials' like she suggested....Pinterest is such an amazing resource and I found dozens of blogs and web sites dedicated Hexie Love! Pins and Boards galore!!!  Who knew???   Plus YouTube has tons of how-to videos.  So, I decided to make a GRANDMOTHER'S FLOWER GARDEN quilt with all my beloved sewing scraps.

 

This is the look I am going for.  I'm using Kona Snow for the background (all hexies) and a butter yellow center for every flower. I'm still not sure how to border, bind or quilt it - but I'm pretty sure I have plenty of time to figure that out. . . this will take awhile.

I started by gently "washing" my fabric. . . by just soaking it in cold water and letting it dry.  I pressed and cut hundreds of 2 1/2" squares.   I bought a few pkgs of  1" hexagon patterns at a local quilt shop and then ordered 1500 online. ( I will need  about 2100 for a completed quilt and I will be able to reuse some of the patterns).  Since I knew I would be driving to Utah, it seemed like the perfect place to start, with 7 hours both ways.

I completed all these on our trip, almost 40.  The top fabric is from the first dress I ever made. It was an empire waist with puffed sleeves and a pleat down the center front.  I thought it was fabulous at the time!

These hexies are all basted and ready to stitch together.I still have tons of background hexies to baste.

After the flower is complete, 5 background hexies are added.

I was playing around with a few that had the background hexies.  This Raggedy Ann & Andy fabric is from a shirt or a poncho with white fringe that I made for one of my sisters.  I need to research this one.

I now have my very own board on my pinterest account: "HEXIE LOVE".  There are so many beautiful, amazing ideas.  To say this is addicting is an understatement! It's all I want to do. . . Oh dear.

 As I have  stitched each flower I am reminded of the time and place in my life each garment was sewn. It has been fun walking down memory lane and remembering the events and people I sewed for.   I have fabric from my clothing, bridesmaid dresses, little girls dresses, curtains, quilts, baby quilts, and even some polyester double knit from my maternity outfits.  There is a lot of kettle cloth.  And a lot of batiste, eyelet and light weight fabrics that I had to line with a lightweight fusible "stacy" interfacing ( recommended by the quilt shop). I just hope it all comes together into a fun, scrappy quilt.

It will be fun to watch this project grow. Here are my favorite links and tutorials:
Paper Pieces - Precut Paper Shapes and Patterns
These are the experts on English Paper Piecing.  They recommend cutting squares instead of hexagons and I used these directions and it was super easy

Pleasant Home - Diamond Paper Piecing Tutorial

Bee in My Bonnet - Hexie tutorials 

 

Our Primary Class

Here's a picture of our Primary class today. We had 14 of our 18 CTR-5's in attendance, and I happened to have my camera in my purse so it seemed like a good time to take a class photo.  This picture does not show how small and narrow our class room is, and it is one of the largest in our building.  Even thought it is a huge class, they are all so sweet and Craig and I really enjoy teaching together. 

 We love it that this is our grandson Luke's age group.

back row - Caleb, Hunter, Ezekiel, Luke, Brendan, Jackson
front row - Kayana, Rachel Jensen, Meredith, Rachel Johnson, Brielle, Bailey, Olivia, Leah
missing - Piero, Mia, Mckenzie, Mara

Josh Graduates from Basic Training

 Krista spent the month of April in Kentucky with her family.  Josh's graduation from basic training at Fort Jackson was April 20 in Columbia, South Carolina. Krista and her parents made the drive to celebrate with him, even though they only got to spend a few hours together. Josh had to stay in uniform and there were very strict rules.  Josh has been gone since Feb 1, so I'm sure they were happy to be together, even if it was for a short time.  Krista will join him in Monterey, California in June, where they will live until May 2013.  Even though Josh looks wonderful, it will take me awhile to get used to him in an Army uniform. . . I think they both look darling and so, so happy!

 

G.I. JOSH

Josh sent this picture to Krista the first month he was in basic. 

Josh is in basic training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina.  He graduates on April 19, then they will send him to Monterey, California for a year to train in Cryptologic Linguistics.  Krista will be joining him.  They still don't have all the details. She is planning to visit her family in Kentucky, in April, and then attend Josh's graduation.  Josh has only been able to call Krista a few times, so they are writing letters.  He is in a small church unit that meets each Sunday.  We are looking forward to hearing their plans for the future once the Army orders come through.

Krista posted this picture from work on St. Patrick's Day. 

Josh's unit has a  facebook page where they have been posting pictures.  It has been wonderful to see him in action.  Craig said it's like "Where's Waldo" because they are all dressed in fatigues and wearing safety glasses with shaved heads.  It took us awhile to recognize Josh, but once we saw that dimple in the chin, it was easier to find him.  He is the tallest in his group. 

Josh is the tall one on the left

Josh is in the front row, 3rd from the left

Josh is in the back by the left window

If you want to look at all 162 pictures (to date) click on this link and scroll down to Charlie Co, 2-60 IN http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/2nd-Battalion-60th-Infantry-Regiment-Scouts-Out/226740480674057?sk=photos

A Surprise Visit from Ty & Amber

I got a call from my nephew, Tyler Jacobson on a Thursday afternoon.  He and his family had been on vacation from Eagle Mt., Utah for a week at Disneyland, and much to their dismay found out their 6 day-7 night pkg was really a 7 day-6 night pkg!  They were made aware of this by a phone call while they were in line for Splash Mountain!  They hustled back to the hotel and packed up, then finished up their last day at Disneyland.  We were so excited to see them and meet their children. 

The last time we saw them was at Blake's blessing in April 2009.

Craig with Tyler, Amber, Haylee and Hudson

I had the house torn apart trying to sort and rearrange the upstairs bedrooms - the neverending saga of the last year - so I was able to crank it out, clean and change the sheets in the nick of time.  After they got settled and checked out of the hotel they went back to enjoy a few more hours of Disneyland.  That night the kids both were coming down with colds and by the next morning little 9 month old Hudson was really wheezy and feverish.  In Jan he had a bout with RSV, so they wanted to make sure he was okay, so they went to urgent care and had him checked.  He was a sick baby, so they asked if they could stay another night and we were so happy to have them. My sister Dana has been so good to my kids and I was so glad to have a turn.  Haylee played with the preschool toys and we all took turns snuggling with Hudson. It was nice to have a baby in the house again

The next morning Haylee  had fun playing with the preschool toys.     She loves the CARS movies and has all the cars lined up in back. She will be 3 in May.

This is Haylee, sound asleep at the dinner table. 

Craig and Hudson, both ready for a little nap

Haylee playing in the preschool kitchen.  She is so adorable - she is a clone of her Daddy!

 They called the Dr. when they got home to Eagle Mt. and he wanted them to take Hudson to the hospital.   He was a very sick little boy and he had RSV and needed some breathing treatments.  A few days later, he was feeling much better and Amber sent me this adorable picture of a much happier baby.

I Love A Rainy Night!

We got out of church today at 4:30 and it was raining cats and dogs.  Thank you pinterest for the great new recipe for Cheesey Veggie Soup that I had all ready for dinner.  It has been so nice to relax tonight and listen to the rain with the fireplace on. I love a rainy night!

This week is spring break, so my goal is to update the blog and celebrate Craig's 59th birthday on Thursday with a gala birthday week - while hopefully getting a bit more organized for preschool and primary.  I don't know why I can't seem to get my act together this year.

YAY for spring break and rainy nights!!!