Bee Blocks on the brain

Okay so I have spent WAY TOO much time stressing and working on this quarter's bee blocks. I have no idea why it went south . . . but I think now it is just me not paying attention!

I was determined to learn to paper piece and do a 10 point star. I spent HOURS working on four blocks and only one really came out good enough to send someone. I did learn a little and I promise when I am not under the gun time wise, I will go back and master this block. Here are some photos of the good, the bad and the ugly.

the good

the bad

and the UGLY!

Needless to say I was stressed, I didn't want to give up . . . but I just don't have two hours to work on a block and then have it crash and burn when sewing the two pieces together. I was blog surfing and cam across this lovely tutorial from Twin Fibers and decided to change course.

I have now made four of these and when loading the images into flickr I realized for one, I added a color in that the was not requested. At this point I am banging my head against the wall. So I am back to 3 down and 3 to go, with one lovely block for me to use at a later date!

Here are the three I have so far. This block takes me about 2 hours to finish as well (including fabric cutting) but at least when I am done, I know it is something I can send!

Block for Karie, she asked for blue, orange and white or gray.

Block for Marianne, she asked for lime green, soft pink and grey.

Block for Valerie, she asked for purple, grey and white.

I hope to get these finished this weekend and then I will be in a good position to get all swaps mailed and delivered on time. I look forward to getting back to the Urban Home Goods Swap!

I have two projects basically done and want to work on a few small fun items!

This morning the kids and I reviewed our list we made in June of fun things to do this summer. After finishing his cereal Max pushed the chair back and told us it was time to "sieze the day" and check a few items off our list! Too funny. I am getting ready to leave on our adventure, but not sure I have the right seize the day clothes!

Finding a new normal and some sewing!

Life has been a lot out of control the last two weeks. It all seems to be calming down and getting to a new normal for us. We are dealing with the after effects of the infection that made its way from our vacation in Mexico into the bone on Steve's big toe. He will be home for a couple more weeks recovery and giving his foot time to heal. Spending a week plus with him in the hospital has been hard on all of us. The laundry has piled up. The kids haven't been getting the attention they deserve. I have had to learn to cook, mow the lawn, take care of the pool (including fishing out dead mice) and the list goes on and on. The good news is we know that Steve has diabetes and catching it early is great. Both his parents are diabetic and although he is often tested, Dr's always doubt he has it, since he was never really overweight. Well he has lost about 20 lbs. in the last two weeks . . . and yes he officially has diabetes and neuropathy in his feet. We will deal with all of these things and they are our new normal.

The first half of the weekend was spent with a great friend who was in town from Chicago to watch her high school daughter compete in the National Scholastic rowing competition. They made it to the finals and placed 5th in the country. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed my time with my friend.

Sunday afternoon finally came to be time for me! I have been itching to sew for weeks and finally got the chance. First up was starting and finishing the 3 x 6 blocks. This was actually my third attempt and with the stress I was starting to feel, I decided to create a block that wasn't overly complicated and find a less is more kind of feel. The blocks being made are amazing, sewn with persision. At first I tried a Dresdan and it was a bad failure, they just didn't lie flat. Then I attemped a flying geese and they just didn't well . . . fly. I pulled out the blocks I received from the last round and decided that if I was making a sample quilt for myself, that I would make some blocks with a big piece of solid and some splashes of color. My eyes sometimes just need a rest! With that in mind this is what I created for five of my blocks.

The last block I made I decided to try a little something different, because Tasha had asked for a block with some woodland animals . . . the fabrics I wanted to use wouldn't be showing their stuff on the 2 inch blades of the windmill portion of the block, so I did an improv block instead. I think I will also make a block to match the others, but here is the improv block. I have never made one before and loved the go with the flow kind of feel!

We finished off the weekend with a trip to see Steve's parents in Williamstown, MA and we pulled off celebrating my baby's turning three. Happy Birthday Sam! I will post all about his big day and pictures of my sweet little guy in action. He had a great day and loved his party. He is easy to please and we had his three party musts - CAKE - BALLOONS - and singing cards. What a joy and wonderful little person he is!