Quilt Top

Here's my quilt top. Originally I planned it as a lap quilt and it would be done at this point but looking at it spread out last night and conferring with Dr. Love, I decided to add a red border. Now, seeing it laid across my bed to take this picture, I'm thinking it wouldn't take much more after the red border to get it to queen-size. Maybe a strip all the way around of the chinese coin adaptation and then another border of....? I've planned the backing & binding to be one of the red on cream prints from the top. I might need more backing fabric if I make it bigger. Hmmmmmm, what to do?

Does This Look Like a Diaper Bag?

I found this sweet homemade bag yesterday at Goo.dwill for $3. It looks like it's never been used! Some sweet sewer put lots of effort into it--it's stabilized with interfacing and even has a hard plastic insert (covered by a fabric sleeve, of course), to keep the bottom stable:


Here's a shot of the inside pockets, they are the same on each side. Also, the stripey fabric on the outside is divided into pockets as well.


Miss B says that it looks like a diaper bag, complete with bottle slots on the ends. It measures approximately 10"x15". So should I fill it with baby things for a gift? Or can I get away with using it for a handbag without people wondering if that poor old lady has misplaced her baby?

A Day Well Spent

I spent most of yesterday leaping from blog to blog, finding a lot of pretty cool ladies with some beautiful quilt & craft projects as well as some gorgeous decorating ideas. I signed up to "follow" many of these blogs and added a blogroll to my own site. So check them out!
Happy Tuesday!
Leslie

Whew!

Last week was extremely busy! I know that Monday was full but I can't remember with what!

On Tuesday I cleaned the sunroom really well, including all the windows, even the high up ones! I re-arranged the furniture in there too. I also dusted off and in some cases re-arranged & re-attached my tins in there.

My neighbors (and friends!) next door are expecting their first baby in August and on Wednesday I helped scrape wallpaper off the walls in what will be their nursery. Now you know my issues with wallpaper! I prayed the night before, asking God to help it come off and He did! There were only 2 walls and it took up about an hour to strip each wall! Then we washed them with T.SP and did the remaining walls also. They're planning an elaborate "under the sea" theme that should be pretty cute.
I also had a friend of Charlie's overnight whose parents were out of town.

On Thursday a dear long-time friend arrived with her son for an overnight visit. We had a great time catching up and also got in a little thrifting. Here's a not-so-great picture of us:
Friday night was the Greater Lafay.ette Heart Ball and in preparation I had my hair styled at the salon I've finally settled on here after 2 years! In addition to my firend and I receiving complimentary parrafin hand treatments (because I'd pre-booked the appointment on a previous visit) I also received a complimentary make-up touch-up. Which in my case was my entire face done for the evening! That was a huge treat! After a wonderful day of friendship I had a marvelous date with Dr. Love. And, we're famous! A shot of the top of his hair and my back flashed across the local news as they covered the Ball. Good thing my hair looked fabulous!

Earlier in the week I had promised Miss B that I would sew her dress so that she could wear it yesterday. I stayed up pretty late Saturday evening getting it together. I encountered a few things with the pattern that I hadn't done before, and the zipper gave me some trouble too. The end result rivals any store-bought dress, in my humble opinion. Here's a shot of her showing it off before we left for church yesterday morning. She already had the red shoes from a winter outfit and so she chose the fabric to go with them!


At church, Pastor Viars began a new series entitled "Finding Hope From Your Past." This first sermon focused on ways our pasts can benefit us. When he was finished, he challenged us to examine our pasts and make four lists this week: victories, blessings, forgivenesses and failures.

Yesterday afternoon we dropped off Charlie at Purdue's College of Technology TOTAL Camp. He's got a fun week scheduled. Here's a picture of him with his roommate, a nice boy from Merrill.ville.

This week is shaping up to be slower. I'm hoping to work on my quilt most of today. I do have two pair of shorts to sew for Miss B and her 80's prom dress to alter for her theatre class but I'm planning to save those for tomorrow.

I hope you have a great week too!
Leslie

Strippy Bag

This is the bag that Miss B and I created together. She saw a similar bag at Target that she liked for $20 so we set out to make our own. She picked out the fabrics, made a newspaper pattern of the shape that she was looking for, decided how wide the strips should be and placed them as she wanted. I did most of the sewing except for the strap. The inside is lined with the beige-y fabric. She's been using it to tote her essentials to theatre class in the afternoons.

Tuesday Truth

Lamentations 3:19-25
"I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.'
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;"

Yesterday morning I sat down determined to "do" devotions for the first time in a couple of months. I prayed, confessing a sin that I thought I was done harboring which reared it's ugly head again last week; and asking God to help the knowledge that He wants to spend time with me persnally travel from my head down to my heart. I was reminded that His mercies are new every morning and in searching out that scripture I read the verses before & after it with new eyes. I remember my sins, past & ever-present, and my soul falls; but I have hope because of the LORD's great love for me......HE is my portion and I will hope in Him.

Grace & Peace,
Leslie

One week down...

three more to go. Miss B is taking two summer school classes, PE & Theatre. So I'm spending quite a bit of time in my car these days and our daily schedule changes from day to day (and if you know me, you know I abhor change!) I've been able to hang out with Charlie one-on-one and that's been pretty cool. And watching Miss B mature a bit is fun too.

Here's the quilt I'm working on. It's not coming together as quickly as I'd like....having to run Miss B here & there twice a day on top of overseeing Charlie along with keeping up with the house doesn't leave me much quilting time. Plus I've done two other projects and have a dress in the works.

This is the fabric for Miss B's dress. I wish I'd seen it first because I love it too!

I ordered four swim components off the clearance page ($35.00 total) at Land's End.com and received free shipping. I had to mix & match tops & bottoms but I think they look alright for backyard swimming. I love the "swim mini" bottoms. I don't feel exposed if I walk around to the front of the house or out to the mailbox.

Miss B needs 3 costumes for her summer theatre class so we scouted our 3 local Goodw.ill stores on Saturday. We may have found the dress she needs for the prom scene; she took it to class with her this afternoon see if it gets approval. I found these sweet little silver pieces and they look great nestled in among the silver candlesticks on my table.


We noticed on Saturday that Charlie continues to get taller. Miss B thought it would be fun to be the Veri.zon bars. Hence this picture.

This bag is probably my best sewing accomplishment this year. Miss B couldn't find an E.lmo backpack for her baby brother's 1st birthday and so we set out to make one from scratch. She purchased the canvas fabric and the zipper and we downloaded the photo from a free internet site and printed it onto heat transfer paper. Miss B added baby bro's name and then I found the red webbing for the back straps. We even sewed pieces of plastic canvas into the large sides & bottom to give it stability. And the whole thing can be thrown in the wash machine!