Hexies, Helpers, and the Yard

I haven't been posting much lately, mostly because there has been so much going on that I haven't had much time at the computer with my hands free to type.

I've had three quilts that I need to get done by the end of the school year.  One black and gold hexie quilt is finished.

The Dr. Seuss quilt is still waiting to be quilted and bound.

And another black and gold hexie quilt has the top all sewn together, but I need to piece the back and get it quilted and bound.

I've had lots of help with the quilts though.

Anson loves anything with buttons which unfortunately means he wants my sewing machine...especially if he can play with my machine while sitting on my lap.

He also LOVES the basting spray can because of the little button inside that you push to make the spray come out.  No more basting quilts while Anson is awake for me.  (This picture was taken in the ten seconds he was actually happy between being given the can and realizing that he couldn't get the lid off to get to the button.)

We've also been doing The Big Sort for our most recent I-Spy Swap.  Becca has always loved helping me sort the squares.

Sneak Peek: More Hexies and Dr. Seuss

This was meant to be a Saturday Sneak Peak...but I didn't get it posted in time.  I didn't think I'd get much sewing done this weekend because I've been scoring SAT essays over the computer.  Since I only do that for a few weeks a year and it pays pretty well, I generally focus on that during most of my "free" time...but Eric needed the computer to work on a project was up against a deadline, so I got some sewing in after all.

Another hexagon quilt...the construction of this one is a little different from the one I'm making for Anson (which still isn't done) and it sews up SO fast.  I'm really in love with it.  I promised to make some quilts for the raffle for an upcoming fundraiser.  I wanted one grown-up quilt and we decided to go with black and gold since those are our town/school colors.  All the black and white fabrics are some I've ordered from Sisters and Quilters a while ago (and have been hoarding) and the gold fabrics I picked up a couple different places.  I'm planning on writing up the pattern for this.  It's easy enough that I think anyone with basic sewing skills would be successful.  Anyone interested in a little quilt along?  I'll have more details soon.

And I wanted one to be something kids would get really excited about, and that's the Dr. Seuss quilt...which still isn't finished, but did get it's white border added this week.  (This is the This Way and That pattern from Sister's and Quilters.  Their pattern has a thicker patterned border, but I liked the simplicity with just white (and I might be hoarding the rest of my Dr. Seuss fabric.)

And I also got a back made and it's basted and ready for quilting.  It's just a simple white back, with the random leftover ends I had from each row of strip piecing.  I think it was just what the back needed to spice it up from boring to fun...and give my backing the extra width it needed to fit.

And if you've been looking closely, you might have noticed the last little sneak peek into a new direction I'm taking the blog soon.  Anybody notice?

I've got some more projects to show you soon...but probably not until the SAT project is done.

Please show my sponsors some love...

Tuxedo Collection Fabric Bundle - From Sisters and Quilters

Create You Own Fat Quarter Bundle From Sisters and Quilters

This Way and That with Cat in the Hat Quilt KIT- From Sisters and Quilters

Kindergarten Book Quilts (Bloggers Quilt Festival Entry)

In the reading program at my children's school, the kids learn about a different letter each week, and during Q week, they read some stories about quilts.  I offered to help the class make a quilt of their own.  I gave the teacher a couple options that I thought would be easy quilts to put together that would have the kids involved in some way. 

I'm using this as my second entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side in the Group/Bee division.

Title:Kindergarten Book Quilts

Made by: Me (Polly Carlson)

Size: Approx 30"x30"

Division: Group/Bee Quilt

Techniques: Home Machine Quilting

She chose the book quilt option.

I figured as long as we were making one for the teacher to keep in the classroom, we'd also make a duplicate quilt for the elementary school librarian.  She's a wonderful librarian and has been especially nice to my bookworm kids.

I-Spy...A Unicorn (Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry)

If you're a regular of my blog, then you've seen this quilt before, but I've decided to enter it in the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side in the ROYGBIV division and that requires a new post.

Title: I-Spy....A Unicorns

Made by: Me (Polly Carlson)

Size: Approx 42"x56"

Division: ROYGBIV

Techniques: Home Machine Quilting, freezer paper stenciling, fabric printing.  There are 2 or 3 duplicate squares, but otherwise, each print is different.

I made this quilt for my newest niece.  My brother and his wife choose pretty unique names for their kids that have meanings and stories behind them.

This baby will get to hear stories about unicorns as she grows up, so I thought it would be good to incorporate unicorns into the quilt as I could.  (My next job for them is to come up with a stuffed phoenix for their oldest child.)  The only trouble was that this was the only square that had a unicorn on it.

So I started having a little fun and added a few.   I used fabric marker and some paint to turn a few horses into unicorns.

I also used some freezer paper stenciling to add a few unicorns in some other places.

This Way and That Quilt in Rocket Lauch Club Fabrics

I have a new favorite go-to quilt pattern...the This Way and That Pattern from Sister and Quilters.  (You can either just purchase the pattern or you can choose your favorite prints from their shop and theyll put together a whole kit for you.)  This is super fast to sew together if you're an experienced quilter and is an ideal quilt to start with if you're just learning.

I had some extra Rocket Lauch Boys by Sarah Jane fabric left over from making Anson's Giant Hexies Quilt (which I still have to finish).  I fell in love with the fabric because it features boys doing such fun and brainy activities...boys...rockets...math and physics equations...I'm in love with this print (which unfortunately is getting hard to find since it was released several years ago, but you can still track down most of the prints on Etsy).  I was trying to figure out who would appreciate the print and realized it would be perfect for the baby Eric's sister and brother-in-law are expecting since his brother-in-law majored in physics.

The rockets just want to blast off the quilt and right up into the sky...

I used fewer squares...and fewer prints.  I just have 5 prints plus a double dose of the dark blue rocket boys.  Using so few fabrics made it a little tricky to figure out a good layout (I think I spent more time switching around the squares trying to get the layout perfect than I did actually sewing the top together.

If you're looking for a fast pattern, this is it.  I sewed it a little different than the directions by using strip piecing and sewing strips and then cross cutting.  That mean that I couldn't be quite as choosy with the direction of my prints, but it sewed up SO fast.  Most of my prints had a definite "up", so I just made those go every which way so there is no particular "up" to the quilt.

I ended up with a few extras squares, but my sister-in-law wanted a small quilt the right size for tucking around the baby in his stroller or carseat.  So instead of adding the extra squares onto the quilt, I made a small doll quilt for baby's big sisters to use.

Repost: To all you Other Mothers

If you've been a reader for a long time, you might recognize this post...I wrote it two years ago...and reposted it last year...and I'm reposting it again this year, because I know how hard Mother's Day can be for some people and I want all you "other mothers" out there to know you are thought of and loved...

So here's to all you amazing Other Mothers...

...I'm thinking of you.

Especially my kids' birthmoms...who gave me the ultimate gift...their most precious treasure...

I'm so glad they're a part of my life and my kids' lives.

I'm thinking of all you other birthmoms out there who get to see or hear from your child...

And I'm thinking of you birthmoms who wonder...where they are and who they've become...

I'm thinking of you who considered adoption and chose to single parent.  And I wonder how that little baby is...

I'm thinking of all you foster moms...

And single moms...

And moms who have angel babies waiting for you in Heaven...

And all you who desperately want to be moms, but aren't yet...

And all you moms who love your children who struggle...

Mother's Day used to be hard for me.  Not just because I didn't have kids...but because I didn't know if I would ever have kids. 

Seven Eight Nine years ago for Mother's Day, Eric and I told our parents that we had started paperwork to become approved for adoption.  Six Seven Eight years ago, I celebrated my first Mother's Day as a mom.

I.   AM.   SO.   BLESSED. 

If Mother's Day is hard for you...I'm sending a hug...and thinking of you. 

Progress on Dr. Seuss, Paper Airplanes and More

Like many people my sewing and crafting seems to come in spurts depending on how much time I have and how the creative juices are flowing.  I've been on an upswing the last couple weeks.  This week I'm taking a bit of a forced break because I'm scoring SATs.  (Yes...if one of your kids took the SAT a week or so ago, I might be reading and scoring their essay over the computer.)

But I'm still squeezing in some sewing since I can only do so much scoring.  My friend's son wanted to make a quilt for his teacher who is about to have her first baby.

He picked out the background fabric and she was going to bring her son over to choose some different scraps to make something similar to Becca's Bird and Bunting Quilt.  As soon as I saw the background fabric, though, I knew it was perfect for some of the Children at Play by Sarah Jane I had left from Anson's quilt.  My friend and her son agreed and we decided that a paper airplane instead of a bird would be the perfect choice considering the theme in the fabric.  (It's hard to tell from the picture, but three of the prints have paper airplanes in them.)

We've got the top finished and I'll show her how to quilt it the beginning of next week. 

While my friend was sewing her quilt, I cut into the Dr. Seuss fabric I ordered from Sisters and Quilters.

Their This Way and That quilt pattern was so easy when I tried it with my last quilt (that I'll show you soon), that I decided to use it again.  I still need to put a border on it, but otherwise the top is done.  This one is destined for a Histio Heros fundraiser our neighbors are organizing.

And I was blown away at the amazing box of fabric Patty from Granma's Treasures sent me this week to use in I-Spy and other charity quilts.  This picture really does not do the fabric justice.  Granma's Treasures is currently getting a complete update and will be reopening  under a new name in about a month, so I'll get to introduce her as a new sponsor then.  Until then it's driving me a little nuts to have to spend so much time scoring essays instead of playing with this new fabric...but the essays help me justify the time for playing with fabric later.  I've already got some fun plans for that yard of yellow banana fabric...I've been pulling all the monkey themed squares out of my I-spy stash...

Soap Box Moment...

Okay, this post pretty much me on a soapbox...sorry!  And it's not even a super well-timed soapbox since there aren't really any elections coming soon, but this is when I'm thinking about it.  For the last while, our school district has been trying to pass a bond to build a new school.  We have three schools in the district and they're all bursting at the seams with nothing but more growth on the horizon.

A bond ran in November and failed...by 15 votes. 

They ran the bond again in February.  This time a lot more people, including our family, got more involved in getting word out.  After all the regular votes were tallied the day after the election, it was winning by ONE vote, and there were still 18 "contested" votes that someone needed to look at to see if they could be counted...and then add them to the tally as well.  We just found out a couple days ago that the final official count showed the bond passed by TWO votes.

I think everyone who helped this bond pass can stand back and say THEY made a difference.  Without ever single effort this would not have passed and our kids would not be getting the new school they need.  Getting involved in politics and elections and going door to door to talk to people about politics and elections is WAY out of my comfort zone, but I did it anyway...and in this election, I can say it made a difference.  I also did a few things that were inside my comfort zone like design Facebook picture messages and the design of the door-hangers we passed out.

So get involved...find something you're willing to take on and do it.  Write letters to the editor, help put up yard signs, get the facts out, talk to your friends, distribute fliers, make phone calls whatever.  What one person does CAN make a difference.

Okay...that's the end of my soapbox. :)

Now I'm hoping they'll let me make a quilt to help decorate the new library...in two years...definitely more in my comfort zone...