We’re heading out tomorrow, so I won’t have internet access for a while. I’ll see ya in Denver!
Oh, and thanks sooo much for all the nice comments about my quilts. It especially made me miss you Ohio girls all the more. I love you guys!!
I’ll be back in a week or two.
xoxo
To start with the most important news: I have my husband back and we have a house to move into next week!!! It is so good to be a family again. SO, so so good. There is a light at the end of the tunnel of chaos that has been this summer. YIPPEEE!!
And, drum roll please, I have completed 3 Big Zig quilts for my boys.
I started on Saturday, August 29th and worked non-stop (except for Sundays) until they were done on Tuesday, September 9th. Whew!
Details of Jonah’s (front/back):
Logan’s (front/back):
Ian’s (front/back):
I didn’t have my book (it’s packed in storage somewhere in Denver), so I was probably reinventing the wheel with a lot of it. I even remembered that on triangles a squared plus b squared equals c squared, but in the end I didn’t need all that fancy geometry because I just ended up cutting squares the size I wanted the long side of each triangle and cutting them diagonally into 4 triangles. That way when I was piecing the long strips of triangles together I was working safely with the straight grain and not the crazy stretchy bias. Getting my triangles overlapped just right so that my seam allowances were lined up was tricky at first. I ended up tearing apart the dark green zig zag a few times, but by the time I was on quilt 3 I was a pro. Just marking the quilting lines took a whole day, and then I just used my mom’s regular sewing machine, with a walking foot, to do the quilting. That took about a day each. A long day each. Go, stop, pivot. Go, stop, pivot. Over and over. And over and over.
But they’re done!! The boys love them and I got them out of my mind and into reality!
Now it’s time for a road trip, a stop at Ikea, some supervising of the movers, arranging furniture, unpacking boxes, meeting neighbors and getting on with this move already!!
My mom made Brenna a beautiful quilt for Christmas. While we’ve been here they put all the scraps to use.
Brenna did all the designing and sewing, Granny did the cutting. Their goal– to make a little quilt for Buttercup. (Oh, and I did the quilting and Granny the binding.)
It turned out very cute, and has been put to good use.
Ever since Denyse Schmidt’s book came out I’ve had it in the back of my mind to make some Big Zig quilts for my bunk bed boys. I’ve picked out colors over and over, figured out dimensions and yardage, just never got around to actually buying fabric and making anything. Well, since the house we were planning on moving into the middle of August, then the end of August, then maybe sometime the beginning of September has just fallen through altogether and I’m living with my parents for another couple of weeks, I needed a project to throw myself into to distract my mind from all the uncertainty that has become my life of late.
I’m making three. Two quilt tops are done, one even has all the quilting lines marked. They should all be ready to baste and quilt in very short order.
So, the moral is– when life throws you lemons, make lots and lots of quilts!!
Yay for finally going home. I hope your trip is fun and uneventful. Good luck with everything.
Comment by glittersmama — 9/15/2008 @ 9:46 am
Good luck with moving and all that. We miss you here!
Comment by Jill — 9/15/2008 @ 1:06 pm
Wow! So much added since I checked last… That’s so exciting about your pregnancy! Is Brenna handling “another boy” ok? I know she’s a great big sister anyway. That’s exciting that you have so much to show for your summer with all of your beautiful creations! I hope all the unpacking and organizing goes well. I look forward to seeing your future blogs!
Comment by Sherry — 9/29/2008 @ 3:51 pm