Fence Rails

This is what fence rails look like in a quilt version:

This was a fun chain-piecing quilt top to put together.  Gratefully, the baby isn't due until July, so I have plenty of time to layer and finish it up.

Little Men

I read and loved Little Women by Louisa May Alcott for last year's Classics Challenge, so I felt it only natural to continue with Little Men this year.  This is under Category #1:A 19th century classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.  (It was first published in 1871).

 This book starts basically where Little Women left off, but it is now focused on a school of boys run by Jo and her husband.  It still has Uncle Laurie and Meg, and some of the other characters from the original book, but it focuses on the young boys living at the boarding school.  Most of them are either related to the family or are orphans.  The sequel stays true to the original and again focuses on familial love and friendship.  It's a delightful book.  It is definitely an idyllic look into life raising 12 struggling boys, but her characters are also flawed and complex, so it's a happy balance and a sweet read.   If you liked Little Women you'll most likely also like Little Men.

Veteran Love

Little Man is finishing up some of his last requirements to earn his Wolf in Cub Scouts.  He needed to interview a veteran and send a thank you note afterward.  He wrote down a bunch of questions and then interviewed his Uncle Carson who served in the Army.  His wife, Jenn, texted me and wanted to know if it was too much information or too serious for an eight year old, but Little Man was really excited about it, because he said he learned a lot from Uncle Carson. Before mailing it off, I read Little Man's letter.  It was so sweet I had to take a picture of it.  It actually brought tears to me eyes, because he doesn't express that kind of love very often. 

Stitches Quilt Top

I finally got around to piecing together this scrap busting beauty for do.Good Stitches.  This is from the blocks I requested in February.  It's so happy and cheerful with the rainbow colors.

April Stitches

Well, the OEA caved and the kiddos headed back to school today.  I'm a bit miffed, because they didn't actually come away with anything except for the fact that they've extended our school year 2 days.  Sigh. 

On a happier note, I got my do.Good Stitches blocks done for April in the first half of the month!  That rarely happens.  It's about the only thing I got done these past 2 weeks, but we'll take it.  We had to make 2 Calico Spools.  It's so interesting to me how the look of the block can completely change simply based on fabric choice.

Checking Off Some Projects

I finished up a couple of sewing projects I've needed to send off.  First, I finished the Baby Girl quilt for the Lewis baby.  It felt good to finally mail that off since she's now a month old!

I also finished the applique bunnies for the March do.Good Stitches blocks.  These bunnies gave me a bit of a fit, because my adhesive paper for the applique did not want to work properly.  They're done now and off in the mail, so I'm going to focus on their cuteness rather than the headache they caused.

Wonkiness

It's been a while since I've done any Wonky Stars and they used to be one of my favorite blocks to piece.  I saw a cute quilt that had a star within a star and I knew that's what I wanted to try.  This quilt is "late" by virtue of the fact that they waited to find out the gender of the baby until the birth, so this was a quick option that came together in very little time at all.

I also finally stopped procrastinating and fixed a pile of stuffed animals and toys that my children have been begging me to fix for a while.  They were taking over my sewing table.

Dressed for Trek

Pioneer Trek is coming up for the youth of our church next week, so it felt good to finish up the skirt. 

 Here it is with the apron:

 Meanwhile, another family at church is in the process of getting their house up on the market and packed away their sewing machine.  They could find everything except for a pioneer skirt on Amazon, so they gave me the materials and asked if I would sew her one.  Gratefully, the skirt is easier than the apron to sew together.  Phew.  Trek sewing is officially done! (Knock on wood).