A new kind of normal...

transitions, seasons, changes. The part of life that will always happen. My new "normal" is still a work in progress. It has it's super bumpy moments, really awesome moments where everything is flowing, summer experiences, a whole lot of fun, and lots of emotions. I do feel that it is finally coming together (not exactly as I would have thought). Things are falling into place, maybe a little wonky, maybe just perfectly, but they are fitting and I am loving that! I am ending my twenties (later this year) with such a different perspective then I thought I would have if you would have asked me a few months or even years ago.

Shifting goals, priorities, and summer fun are really making this summer one for the record books. For one I am spending lots of quality time with an amazing man (that I am super lucky to have as a boyfriend), his fantastic daughter and of course my insanely cool son.

Here's a look at some of the fun over the past week:

Date nights, BBQs, lounging in the swimming pool, new party lights, competitive games of badminton, Sunday breakfasts, drive-in fun, summer lounging, swimming lessons, crossing things off our Summer bucket list, hot tub fun, camp outs in the living room, a birthday party, and making a lot of fun memories! This summer is going to be hard to beat!
   

A Little Bit of Creating...

during the past week I managed to squeeze in some sewing and a little bit of crafty goodness. First up I made an apron as a gift for my boyfriend's mom, he picked out the fabric and I got to sewing:

I think that it turned out pretty great, but next time I would change the yoke so you can see the reversible fabric the pattern is the Church Ladies Apron (I didn't do the pockets) and you can find it here. A few years ago I made one for my mom and I forgot how much I enjoy this pattern. The fact that it is reversible and can have pockets is just too fun. I might have to make one for me :)

Yesterday, I decided that I was sick of and maybe spilled a few too many things on my mouse pad...

A little wonder under, a scrap of favorite fabric, and some iron on vinyl and viola! New look on the desk and I love it! I also started making progress on a new mini quilt and a mug rug! Yay for a productive start of summer! Happy Summer Solstice!

Enjoying the Start of Summer Around Here...

sleeping in

frozen yogurt yumminess

roses

making friendship bracelets

fruit kabobs

monster cookies

bacon pancakes

So far there have been late night sleepovers, slip'n'slide madness, a little bit of crafty fun, getting into a new routine, yoga mornings, checking a few things off the bucket list, and warmer weather. I am really attempting to spend more time living in the moment, taking it a day at a time, all while making awesome memories!

From the Weekend...

it was a busy one filled with lots of great times. I broke out a pair of my favorite shorts and went to a local yearly parade: Western Days! Normally, it is just me, my mom and X, but this year I was luckily enough to get to go with my boyfriend and his daughter! It was so much more fun and can't wait to keep this tradition up (especially since I am a parade fanatic).

Then we went downtown to the park where they had some rides (the line was way to long! Next year they should have more than one ticket booth!), ate some french fries, picked up some kettle corn and of course the kiddos got to play some games along with getting there faces painted.

The weather has finally started to warm up around here, so you know what that means... Slip'n'slide!!!

This summer is going to be amazing! A bucket list has been formed, snow cones are being eaten, s'mores galore, water fun, softball filled nights, BBQ madness, and so many more memories to be made!

Updates

I think I finally got my little blog redo to a great spot and I added a tutorials page. Here you can find all the free tutorials (sorted by categories), I am hoping that this makes it easier to find them and I also updated all the links to a new site for downloading the pdf files. By the way a huge thanks to Craft Gossip for featuring my bookmark tutorial on Tuesday.

In other news, I have been busy sewing a ton of new things. Here is my giant to sew list:

One of the my many sewing to-do lists is filled with nothing but personal projects a.k.a the list of projects that I really wish would get done but always get pushed to the back burner. As a goal, I try to spend at least 2 or 3 days a month working on projects of that list. Mainly, so I can add more to it. They are not in any particular order (I tend to start/stop and jump around the whole list) but these are the things that are currently in progress (*note the x's are for my son's name Xavier, its just easier to write x):

X Blazer- I have an idea for this (its based on a vintage blazer that x loves but he already outgrew it) and already picked up the materials

Rocket Quilt- The top is pretty much finished (its a wall hanging, but I can't decide what I am doing for the backing)

X Underwear- since he is in the potty training phase and I really dislike the boys underwear choices (plus the cost) that are out there on the market- I made my own pattern. I have 15 pairs in progress they just need some topstitching and elastic on the waist. They are made out of old t-shirts so the only cost I have in them is the elastic. *sorry that the picture is sideways blogger is doing something weird to it

Study Hall Skirt- the Anna Maria Horner pattern, it is cut out and ready to sew and I finally picked up some ivory thread for it, but now it just sits in the to be done pile.

Summer Blouse- again its all cut out (the pattern is from the Weekend Sewing book by Heather Ross) and is sitting on my table

X Shorts and Pants- I have 3 pairs of pants that just need to be hemmed and elastic added to the waist, 1 pair that just needs the elastic finished up. (the pattern is the lounge pant from my tutorials)

Slippers- from the Handmade Beginnings book by Anna Maria Horner my goal is to get these made before fall really sets in since my other slippers fell apart in the spring- I have all the materials just need to make them.

Skirt Redo- I finished this skirt by doing an online sew along (that part was the fun part) but I don't like the way the skirt looks on me so I want to make it in to a dress by sewing it to a tank top

*The giant pile of in progress projects and this photo is uploading sideways the wrong way too...

X Tops- I have 4 of the kai's shirt cut out from the Weekend Sewing By Heather Ross book, 1 is actually almost finished up

Wonky Star Quilt- I recieved all of my blocks from the  Magic Valley Modern Quilt Guild Wonky Star Swap and now I need to make the quilt top. 

Houndstooth Cape- I have the fabric and the pattern cut out to make a cape for fall- yeah that was last fall so hopefully this year I will get it finished up.

X chair- I found a pattern for one of those small plush chairs for toddlers and have most of the pieces cut out   

Do you have a crazy list of projects that you want to make? And if you made it through reading that giant list of projects- here is a little photo of a flower on my computer:

X has really been into picking and surprising me with flowers, that was the latest one! 

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

Noah (my sewing machine, Xavier picked out the name) and I have been spending some quality time together as usual...

a little sneak of something new...

all the points for the wonky stars are trimmed up...

drafting some new patterns (working on the floor since my table is covered in several projects right now)...

Here's the finished test of the children's lounge pj pant (this one is size 10), today I am going to be spending time grading (to add sizes 7, 8, 12, 14).  This is the same pant style has the Xavier's holiday lounge pant pattern. One of the reasons I love this style of pant is the nice wide legs and elastic waist makes them super comfy, plus they are super easy to make. I still need to work on a juniors size. I will be teaching these at The Quilt Barn on Tuesday morning! I have plans to start working on how to add some more decorative elements to the pattern like pockets, make them to shorts, adding trims, and a drawstring, but that won't get done until September at least! Have a great rest of the weekend! 

WIPs

nothing but a bunch of work in progresses(WIPs) going on around here:

So far, a bunch of triangles cut for the wonky star blocks (I cut enough to finish 16 more blocks) and some blocks that need to be trimmed to 4.5". White squares are in the process of being cut out, I am spending some time working on these each day. The blocks (26 of them) need to be finished up by August 12th (5 are completed so far).

My mom helped me out yesterday and cut out this stack of fabric (t-shirts that  are going to turn into underwear for the little guy, since potty training is in full swing around here) I am hoping to spend an hour or so working on these today, since most of the work is done on the overlock machine it goes fairly quick.

A sneak of a pattern that will be released this fall. I have several more projects started, in different stages and nothing really finished. Do you like to have several projects going at once or just one at a time?

I have been a little busy...

I have spent has much time as possible sewing away parts of the day. First, I am in the process of making underwear for the little guy since potty training is underway. Today, I am going to be cutting out as many pairs as possible. (I have made two test pairs to get the fit right and am working on a pattern for them in the near future.) It seems that the little guy has been growing/wearing out much of his wardrobe so shirts are in progress:

* the sleeves, collar, and pocket are finished, buttons have been chosen and interfacing has been cut for the placket, so I am about half-way on this one. 

My wonky star blocks are due at the next Magic Valley Modern Quilt Guild meeting, so I have been busy working on them (my nephew helped me put these together and I must say it really helped speed up the process):

*I chose to make mine really scrappy, but I ran out of white fabric when I started cutting all the squares so only 5 have been finished up. All the centers are cut and I have a large stack of scraps for the points, I am hoping to get some time today to work on a couple more since I finally picked up some more white fabric the other day. 

Still a few undercover projects that will be revealed in awhile (I still have a ton of sewing to do for them), but here is a sneak of one:

Yesterday was a fun outing (a little fabric shop hop), I had a ton of fun (thanks to all the fun ladies who came) and the little guy came on the adventure, too. He really enjoys going to fabric stores especially if after there is a park across the street. Our first stop was The Gathering Place: 

I ended up with just 2 fat quarters and 1 yard of some Patty Young's Bees in the black colorway (its going to be a shirt for x, big surprise there!)

Then we went to lunch just a couple of stores down from The Gathering Place:

It was a pretty yummy lunch and the ice tea was good. From there we went to Mill End Fabrics in Burley. That place was awesome. I would really make a trip out there again because they have a huge variety of fabrics (especially for garments) for great prices. It reminded me of shopping for fabric when I was in fashion school and that might have made me like the place even more. This is what I ended up with:

*5 yards of lingerie elastic (I'm working on some intimate apparel patterns), three zippers, some waistband elastic, 1 yard of suiting (this is going to become a blazer for x, and a navy/white striped knit which is going to become a shirt for x. 

For the rest of the weekend, I will be working on some of my "work in progress"  sewing projects and doing some computer work. I better make some more ice tea to keep me going! Have a fun rest of the day!

 

Besides cleaning, a little bit of sewing has taken place...

I still have some organizing to finish up in the studio, but here is what it is looking like so far:

I still have a few piles to go through on the big white table, along with my desk and scrapbooking desk. The large white table used to be turned 90º, but I love it this way so much better. From this view you can't see the closet (it still needs just a tiny bit of sorting) and my other 3 tables along with bookshelves and such.  Hopefully, I will get it all finished up this weekend. 

As for sewing goes, I made up a little crayon roll as a quick birthday gift for one of my high school friend's whose son was having a birthday. 

and I made another one of these Spiral Notebooks to go with it:

It's just blank on the inside which works great to keep all of the scribbles together or take on a car trip or to a restaurant. Not only that, I keep several them around my studio and my downstairs office area to keep my notes for various projects all together (I like to add in some lined paper, too). I also made a small dent in making some new clothes for X. Here's one pair of shorts, I finished up:

*the front

*the back

This is actually the Xavier's Holiday Lounge Pant (Pattern) just shortened to make shorts. These are my go to pants, super fast to make, really comfortable and X loves them. Instead of adding anything extra to these, I just left them plain- but you could had pockets or other embellishments to change them up. The shorts are on the long side just so they last for a little longer. Three pairs of the lounge pants are also in progress, I am hoping to get them finished up in the next couple of nights.