WIP Wednesday - #babyburfs room

This week I have made no progress on quilts.  I already posted #babyburf book I started so the only other work in progress is his room.  Which is very much in progress.  

This is because I ripped out the carpets Friday night.  What a difference this makes.  

The carpets have been here longer than me so 10+ years and while I have cleaned them once they were still gross.  This was a big debate for Dust and I as he still feels strongly we should have carpet for the baby - I could not disagree more.  

I won by just ripping them out while he was man timing.  And luckily they are in good shape.   Extra good.   I was very pleased.   Kathleen helped me remove the tack strips and staples and soon they will get a good thorough cleaning, followed by a new coat of seal.  But for now I feel extra lucky they are not rotted or damaged.  I consider that a major win.  

#Babyburf's baby book

I debated making a baby book for #babyburf because we already have project life.  But I figure if we have more than one kid I'll want to give them each their own book.  With that said I knew I didn't want a traditional one where you fill in the blank.  I also didn't want a traditional pastel baby scrapbook like I have seen with a bunch of firsts and goofy stickers.  So instead I bought a Sn@p album and dug out paper and embellishments in blues, greens, black and white that I already had.  This is much more me and it goes together super simply.

I made sort of a fake "Polaroid" for the front cover and I plan to add a photo of him when he's born matted on the star paper.    I also want to include the date somehow maybe with a date stamp.  It was a pretty simple design but I didn't want to much busy-ness.

The pages inside will be a combo of pockets, sleeves and 6x8s.  These first two are 6x8s slid into a protector that came with the album.  

This one is our social media baby announcement (it's brighter in real life).  I also have some personal journaling I have been writing that goes with this but I haven't determined how I want to do that.  Perhaps with an sealed envelope for him to open when he's old enough.

This is his first baby photo aka ultrasound.  I have had that bingo card for like 6 years and when I saw it had a 6 and 16 I knew I should finally use it since that's his due date.

That's it so far aside from that personal journaling.  I figure at some point we'll put in a baby bump photo or two but then I am waiting to fill pages until he's born.  I also might include the pregnancy test photo but it's really kind of a horrible photo so maybe not. 

WIP Wednesday - Arrow Quilt/Nursery/Sushi Quilt

So I finished the quilt top for the arrow quilt.  However I have no place to pin it up right now due to the nursery projects in progress.   So I laid it on our bed which makes it hard to photograph.  But here it is.   I have been envisioning the backing in some kind of tangerine orange but alas that is not available in my stash.  So I haven't started it yet.  I might have a yellow vintage sheet that will work but the new gym equipment is blocking that part of my stash.  So it waits.  

The nursery projects - I have been reducing my craft supplies in the nursery so they can move into my closet.  My purging has reduced the active stash from 3 bags to 1 of stash.  And it's organized by project.  Winning. And tomorrow after work - I hope to start ripping out the carpet in the baby's room pending Troy or Dustin getting home early enough to help me swap beds and move the bins around in the babies room tonight.  

Sushi Quilt - I actually started the back of this based on dimensions I estimated (no place to pin fabric up see arrow quilt update).  I am hoping to get this one ready for quilting by the May IMQG event.

(ps I wrote this yesterday but never hit post).

#myweekinscraps

Because I needed a new project like I needed a whole I my head I started one back in Feburary. I have been following this artist adamjk from adamjk.com on Instagram for a while now and I always love his paper bits from each week.  

And since I already was saving many paper bits for project life I figured this was up my alley.  And now I when I forget to put in my paper bits I can have them in photo form instead which takes up much less space.  

Basically here's how this documentation project works:

1: I save my paper bits each week (I actually usually save them in my phone case and bigger bits in my purse).

2: On Monday (or really whatever day I remember I snap a picture of them).

3: I then Instagram said photo with hashtag #myweekinscraps

That's it.  I actually love seeing my scraps.  I save them all for Project Life however I find sometimes I still forget them and when I do into the trash they go. These are neat little additions to my efforts to record daily life.  If I was still doing a year in a jar I would add these there but that was last year.

2014 Best of Life Video - Winter 2014

Instead of creating videos for each month I needed to downsize this year and with that I decided I would do them quarterly.  This way we'd still have these videos which I actually really do like but we'll have less of them.  They'll still include the everyday but will be hopefully slightly less boring.   Here's the first one for 2014 - the song is Send Me on My Way - By Rusted Root.   If the below preview won't work you can find the video here on youtube.  However with this reduced approach I took a whole lot less video but I'm sure that will change in the next few months as Jono and Lo get married and we have a baby. 

One

We have been married for one year (as of Sunday). We went to Bluebeard to celebrate. We still agree Black Market is tops.

We have been preparing for being parents. 
We bought things for the baby. 
We really started to see the baby move and grow. 
We painted and purged to make space for the baby. 
We discussed the idea of possibly (later) adopting a foster kid or two.

We spent one month focusing on saving. 

We actually saved quite a bit. 

We also spent money on things like a new home gym, a new dishwasher, a baby rocker, crib, and a new photo printer. 

We started tracking all our spending. 

We gave more. 

We went on a babymoon to the Pacific Northwest. 

We discovered we like Oregon and Washington even with their whacky weather. 

We ate many fun things. 

We saw many fun things.

We learned maybe we aren't so bad at comprise. 

He started a new job. 

She continued to reap the benefits of work from home. 

We got sick - 2 rounds of the flu, one of food poising. 

We cared for each other. 

We got a new roommate. 

We bought a second car.

We had people over. 

We went out with friends.

We had quiet moments as two and as one and one. 

We got thru what seemed like the never ending winter and did result in two ridiculously high gas bills. 

We started new small groups.

We began watching Lost together. 

We spent more time together in the last three months than probably the entire first 9 of our marriage. 

Dustin - 

 One year has passed. Each day we is a blessing even when there are challenges. Many things have changed in this year. Many adventures have taken place. And daily we work on the struggle of marriage. You constantly say it's not easy, and my easy going nature finds that it's not really that hard. I have found that even though I can't stand dishes left in the sink, and clothes not put into the hamper, washer or at least your spare room, that being married is a joy. I love waking up next to you, having discussions with you, going on dates, seeing you care. I'm still as much if not more in love with you as I was one year ago or when we had our first date of planting tomatoes. Soon we'll be welcoming our first baby and I eagerly await this new challenge and new dynamic in our relationship. In year two let's get out of our comfort zone, let's go someplace new, and let's start raising a child of god. 

 Love Katie

(on a side note, I clearly need to work on taking more photos of "us" I have about 1000 of Dustin from this last three months and just these with me). 

The Girlfriend Scrap Quilt

Let me just say I adore this quilt.  Luckily I adore the recipient as much because otherwise I would struggle with giving it away more than I do.  Before I started this it occurred to me that my gf Lynley has been my constant and loyal friend for over 13 years and I have not yet made her a quilt.  She has listened to me complain about dates, my family, struggles with my faith and oh so much more.  And then I considered why I had overlooked such a great friend why had I not made someone I love like I do her a quilt and it struck me because she has not yet married nor had a baby not had major life traumas.  When that thought popped in my head I immediately wanted push this idea away, and I instantly knew I had to do something about that.  That is not the me I know - I want to celebrate and cherish all my girlfriends whether they want to get married and have babies or not!  I want to give quilts because they are like an extension of me they are essentially my art. 

So I set aside the sushi quilt to start this quilt intending to give Lynley it for her birthday.  Well I missed that date but never mind that it can be the it's not your birthday anymore girlfriend quilt.  I started this to get out of my comfort zone with prints.  This quilt is extra special,  it's extra special because it has pieces of all these other quilts I have made or am making.  

I also super love the binding the newsprint I bought waaaay back in 2008 for the stash and the black pearl 2014 the really worked on this project too.  Anyhow don't be surprised if I start making more super scrappy quilts because I love this.  

PS and now that I have given her the quilt I must add she's getting married this October! 

Book 32 - Super Freakonomics

Holy cow book 32 done!  20 more to go in my 52 quest!  Book 32 was Super Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner.  

Let me just preface by saying this book is my jam.  This is the type of book I like reading, sure I also enjoy a memoir and biography and I really got into the Game of Thrones books but this is really the stuff I find interesting.  Its like reading about Detroit and other weird fascinations I have.  When I told Kathleen about it last night I was so excited about it.  

Anyhow let's just say I really enjoyed this book,  it makes me want to re-read Freakonmics.  I strangely thought the economics behind prostution were fascinating.  I also got into the information about Global Cooling solutions and finding cheap flexible solutions,  it makes you wonder where the lobbyists are for these types of ideas and creative thinking.  I know that there are some articles out there about how some of the quotes from scientists and researchers are misrepresented but I still enjoyed the book and would gladly read more on most of the topics covered if they are written in a similar manner.

WIP Wednesday - Arrow Quilt

So I know I should probably finish the sushi quilt but I started a new project this week.  I had made the arrow at the Indy Modern Quilt Guild Meeting in March it's not my usual jam but still I decided to somehow add it into a quilt.  PS it's also pieced from the IMQG tear challenge fabrics.  I quickly tossed together three other blocks then ran out of tear challenge fabric. I figured well this must be enough then.  

I dug into my stash for filler.  My initial though was to use a yellow vintage sheet I have but turned out that was yellow and green.  I actually have a very small amount of coordinating prints so I decided to piece scraps together instead.

That's when this started to happen.  

Yep I am using low value scraps and white/cream/gray from assorted projects, sewing them together and then adding them to blocks.  I am really staring to dig how it's turning out. I haven't got decided on the arrangement yet and obviously it desperately needs the iron. But I think it will end up turning out pretty cool in the end.  It's also amazing just how many remanents to mis-cut or leftover white I have. 

As for my other WIPs Sushi quilt on hold, girlfriend Scrapvomit done, table done, baby room painting done except for the baseboards, and purging of course that's on hold too.

Project Life 2014 - March

This month was mostly about our trip we did have some other regular life moments but I mostly added to project life photos from our trip.  I blew up a few pictures and then printed the rest on my new photo printer (ps I love doing it at home).

No real fancy techniques using the same calendar and Elsie printables. I also used some of my week in scraps I have been saving. 

I love that photo strip of us it was hard to cut it in half.  I still may scan it for the wall.  

I also chose to only use two of my 14on14 photos because sometimes that's all you need.