A little bit of this and that...

These first few weeks of September seem to be flying by! I have been dreaming, list making, and goal-setting in between all my normal everyday stuff. X has started kindergarten (a new schedule to really get into), I have made some career decisions that will be awesome for my family and I will get to live some of my dream! More on that later! Here's a peek at what I have been doing:

I am so completely excited that it is the start of fall around here! We made a new Autumn Bucket list which I must say is pretty awesome. My first real football season experience with a die hard football kind of guy! (I really don't know anything about football, but it is a great reason to do lots of cooking!) Some autumn decorating has already commenced and I have some plans for more! There have been some amazing storms, cross-stitching (I am a lot farther now) and just lots of newness this year. This is going to be one cozy season! 

September, here you are...

the start of my favorite season, the feeling of coziness starting to drift in, the beginning of fresh starts (back-to-school season) and the shifting of the weather. This fall is going to be full of changes, new routines, new memories, and hopefully lots of happiness through tons of hard work.

Towards the end of summer, my crafty/sewing mojo has made a striking comeback. I am ready to create, make, paint, decorate, and bake. One of the first projects I tackled was a table runner for my boyfriend. One I was looking to surprise him and two I knew he would appreciate me taking the time to make something just for him.

I used a mini charm pack and fabric that has been in my stash for what seems like forever. It only took me a day to work on it in between working on some handbags for my grandmother that are almost finished. I really loved how it turned out and is still very manly while adding a little bit of fall color to his house. Now that most of the hot days are behind us, my studio will be a little cooler in the afternoons, so I am going to be cranking out a whole bunch of projects!

Here's to the changing of the seasons!

Part 2 of the fall adventure...

 once we picked the apples it was time to turn them into fresh apple juice:

The juice is so yummy! Overall, it was a great way to spend the afternoon plus the apples that I picked made an amazing apple pie and hopefully some applesauce in the near future. (thanks to my best pal, kristen for taking the photos for the blog!) After a quick stop at home to drop of the apples, we headed over to a local corn maze:

A little a group shot of the three of us in the midst of the corn maze. (thanks lovely stranger lady for taking the photo!) Now for the fun part: 

X had a great time, so I think that this will become a yearly tradition at our house. The rest of the day was spent stopping by one my trunk or treating location in which my little man fell asleep on the way home. Then my best buddy, Kristen and I went to the local planetarium to catch the Halloween show that was playing. I literally tumbled into bed when I got home, it was one super filled, but insanely awesome day.

Finally some sewing...

this mini-quilt is still in progress... but here are some pumpkins I finally sort of finished up (x took them to play with, so there are no stems or leaves, maybe next year):

Fall Favorites

I really think all seasons have their positive points, but if I had to pick a favorite it would probably be a tie between summer and fall. There are so many great things that occur during the fall season. The following are things that always make the fall season seem so special to me:

1. Changing Leaves

2. Fall Decorations

3. Pumpkins

4. Extra Hot Lattes

5. Shorter Days

6. Fall Activities

This week is just flying by...

and I still feel like I haven't finished up much on my to-do list for the week. This is going to make for a busy weekend. On Tuesday, I spent time finish up a few samples for the classes I am teaching in the next couple of weeks. (next week I will share all the projects) This also called for another photo shoot, which is what I spent Tuesday afternoon working on. I have done a rough edit of the photos and now I need to pick the final ones. 

I did have time to make X his first superhero cape (sorry for the lame photo of it not in action, but getting a almost 3 year old superhero to get his picture taken is not an easy job and that it is sideways, blogger keeps rotating it... totally annoying):

So far he likes it only for a few minutes at a time and really enjoys it when I wear it and run around. It seems to really crack him up. This is part of a flat sheet that I picked up at the thrift store for $.50 or so, I added an applique X with orange stitching around the edge and the tie is a piece of blue twill.

In other random news, I got a sunburn yesterday from working outside all day. Today,  I am busy baking a birthday cake for mom (its a spice cake, first one of the season!!!). Along with trying to put the finishing touches on a handout for my beginning sewing class that starts on Tuesday night (mostly just proofing and writing up one more section). My other goal is to work on the project for the Sketchbook Projects for next week (it involves chiffon!). Alright, time to go frost the cake and grab a bite to eat before I head up to the sewing machine. Hope the rest of your Friday is really great!

A few completed projects...

in total only about three things actually made it off my project list yesterday (a few had multiples to be completed before I could cross them off).  First up is another Kai's Shirt from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross:

 *the front

*the back

It should work well for fall and hopefully make it through the winter. (size is 3T the largest size of the pattern)

3 pairs of lounge pants- I tried out a new waistband technique, (that I really like since you save time not having to make a casing for the elastic), but I am waiting for them to go through a little real life testing before add the variation to the lounge pant tutorial. 

This wall hanging was a single wonky star block that was used for a demo at one of the Magic Valley Modern Quilt Guild meetings. The back is a Kona solid (Tarragon, I think) and it uses two layers of natural batting. It was a simple project and now the block isn't just sitting around on my design wall taking up space. As an added bonus my mom likes it. ;)

I also finished up another variation of the Summer Blouse from the Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross book. This time I made a yoke (mainly because I was short on the floral fabric) and I did a different finish on the neckline. Overall, this one fits better than the first and I really like the dots/floral combo. I think if I was going to make it again and with sleeves I would choose a shirting or fabric with slightly more drape than quilting cotton. 

I also managed to finish up all the topstitching on 15 pairs of underwear for the little guy; 14 pairs need elastic waistbands added and the 15th was worn for about 1 1/2, in which X decided he loved them! My goal for tomorrow is to finish up all the waistbands and sketch out the blazer I am planning on making for X. Meanwhile, I am busy working on illustrations and instructions for my upcoming patterns and classes. Here's to the beginning of a busy but hopefully productive weekend.

Um... weekend, where did you go?

Last weekend went way to quickly, which leads me to think that August will be over before you know it. The weekend was filled with pattern writing (4 are ready for illustrations, which I am hoping to get started on today), 

sewing more wonky star blocks (only 12 more to go), 

making another pair of lounge pants for little guy, 

reading (just picked up a copy of The Handmade Marketplace), 

plus sorting out a few other projects that are upcoming.

So now that it is Monday (probably my craziest/one-of-my favorite days of the week), I am back to my regular Monday routine.  Mondays are filled with the morning/everyday workout, laundry (I almost always do all the laundry on Monday, so it is a most of the day task), run any important errands, blog, make my plan for the week, paint my nails, clean X's toys, playing a million+ games/reading books/cars with X, and so on. It is probably my busiest day of the week, but I usually accomplish enough tasks that which the rest of the week be a little more flexible.

Next week, I am going to be sewing X a new fall wardrobe (he went from a 4T to 5T with his latest growth spurt *he doesn't even turn 3 until October... ). Since he is tall and thin, it is easier to make his clothes most of the time, plus I enjoy doing it. If they turn out well, I am planning on doing a boy's week showing you all the clothing I made along with different ways to style the outfits. Along with what I think is essential for a boy's wardrobe. 

Here's whats on the list:

•Underwear (he just started his potty training adventure, here's the pile...) 

•T-Shirts & some button downs (all the button downs are already cut out)

•Shorts/Pants (mostly more lounge pants and if I can find some denim maybe some jeans)

•A blazer  (if I have time I am going to try and make a zip-up hoodie, too)

•At least one hat (maybe two since he always seems to misplace them....)

Alright, I better get some sewing done... 

Good Morning, I wish it was cloudy!

I really do, I love fall filled with cloudy days and falling leaves, but at least their is a chill in the air and leaves everywhere. Yesterday, was my 3rd wedding anniversary, it was low key and a ton of fun. I can't believe 3 years has gone by so fast!

In other fun news Xavier and I are starting the Halloween festivities today. A party and some pumpkin carving and maybe a little crafting are on the agenda. Last year, we didn't do anything so I am going all out this year with a couple things over the course of several days. Stay tuned for pictures.

I have been busy working on so many projects: redoing/creating a portfolio site (*you saw a little sneak, the illustrated girl with the candy cane scarf on the Holiday Projects 2009 logo is one of eight girls I have done for my site). I also have a few baby projects to sew up, plus design, sew, capture the tutorials for the Holiday Projects. I also joined my local quilt guild, so I have some sewing to get done for that. (*namely some stockings for charity and my name badge.) All the women seem so nice and friendly and very welcoming. I am so glad I joined.

Tomorrow or Saturday I am going to have a new fall tutorial up so stay tuned...

Have a great day everyone!

P.S. off to get ready to transform into winnie the pooh!

What is everyone else doing today? Do you have any Halloween tradtions with your family? (*I am hoping to start some around here)

A Halloween Mini Quilt

I really was inspired by the house blocks and I thought I would give it a try. I found some fabric and a halloween mansion was born.

 

Here is the front: the windows in the mansion are actually from the lime border and I used some fabric paint to add a tree, railing, bats, pumpkins, and a walk way. I went for a cobweb in the quilting (*this was only my fourth attempt at free motion quilting)

Here is the back-

 

 

I love how it turned out and it is hanging up already on the wall. Well, I hope that you have a great rest of the weekend back here on Monday with some more fun projects!

A birthday and some other random stuff!

My little man just turned two- Here are some of the highlights:

 

I made the rockets from this tutorial- Rocket Man  from the http://thelongthread.com/ 

I added each child's inital and i also made some bookmarks for all the adults. Xavier had a great time and it was a lot of fun!

In other randomness, here was a sunset from the other night:

 

 

I have been enjoying my morning cups of tea:

 

and the leaves are starting to change:

 

 

 

 

 

well, off to work on a few things, I have some fun projects in store for the blog and hopefully I will get some new tutorials up next week. Have a great one!