Quilt finally done!

I finally took pictures of my first finished quilt! I am really happy with it and thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. I just love this Urban Chiks 1974 fabric line. I decided to just do straight line quilting in the sashing and the border. I found the squares looked better without quilting inside them, I think the quilted sashing sets them off. I pieced the back with large pieces of several of the top fabrics. I love pieced backs. I am not crazy with how the binding turned out, I cut it on the bias and should have cut it on the grain so the polka dots would look right. I am already piecing the top of another quilt for my mom, I think many more quilts will be in my future : )

Back of the quilt.


Close up of quilting.

Catching up!

Well, I am finally feeling better! The nausea has been gone for the last couple of weeks, but we have been so busy, that I havn't had any time to blog. Some things that happened in my absence.

We lost our sweet little beagle, Pixie : ( She was hit by a car. She never went in the road, I don't know why she did that day, but thank God she was killed instantly. We found her right after it happened and she was still warm. We were able to love on her and tell her goodbye. This happened at the beginning of my pregnancy, and I was hysterical, the crazy hormones made everything worse. I am better now, though I miss her everyday.

The girls had two dance competitions on back to back weekends. Thankfully, my morning sickness was almost completely over. It was exhausting, but the girls had a blast and did great! The competition was in Baton Rouge, so we were able to drive home each night.

We took a trip to Houston for my best friend's grandson's 1st birthday. This was the weekend after the two weekends of dance competition. Can you say tired? LOL It was worth the effort though, we had a great time. My best friend Melinda is in her early 40's and her daughter, Kristin is pregnant for her 3rd child. Actually, Kristin and I are due 2 weeks apart! How crazy is that?! When I met Melinda, Kristin was 7 years old and I was 22 and pregnant for my second child, Parker. Now she is 23 and married with 2 kids and one on the way. Where does the time go? I think this means that I am getting old LOL

Most of that happened in the last month. Before that nothing happened, I pretty much just laid in my bed and was miserable. I am SO HAPPY to be past all of that! Except for my allergies, I feel great. I am sporting quite a belly : ) I always get pretty big, and being number 8, my uterus just kind of goes right to it's pregnancy size LOL I am 16 weeks now, so I should start feeling the little one move soon. I can't wait, feeling the baby move is my favorite part of pregnancy. I even love the karate kicks at the end. I will take a belly picture soon.

Oh, and I finally started sewing again! I finished an apron for a swap partner that is two months late : O I know, bad me. I am gonna have to add some extra goodies to make up for her wait. I also finished the binding on my quilt and started my Mom's quilt. I will have pictures soon, I promise! It feels so good to be creating again, I really really missed it.

I am still ALIVE (sorta)

This morning sickness is kicking my butt!!! I had it with all my others, but I don't know if it is being old this time or what, but I feel like I am dying! The reason I havn't posted in so long is because nothing is happening except me laying on the couch whining and watching way too much tv. My house is a WRECK and my poor kids are now behind in their school. I am almost 11 weeks, so it *should* be over soon (please God!) Even worse than the morning sickness is the total lack of motivation to do anything. I guess it is hard to want to do anything when you are nauseous 24/7, but I am starting to get depressed. Nothing interests me, not sewing or going somewhere, nothing. Of course, moving makes me even more nauseous, so I guess this feeling is understandable. I just want to be me again. I have always loved being pregnant, except for the first trimester, the first trimester sucks! So far, this morning I feel kind of ok, but this has happened before only to be hit with full blown nausea out of nowhere, so I don't want to get my hopes up. So sorry this is such a depressing post, but I don't feel good enough to be fake and pretend everything is great, and it feels kinda good to get these feelings out.

Oh, and I have already gained 5 pounds!!! This is because I have to eat something every 2 hours or the nausea is greatly intensified. Actually, the only time I feel decent is when I am eating, so I tend to eat more than I should just to feel good for a little longer. And I have to eat something with protein or carbs, not just fruit and vegetables to feel better, so lots of calories going in. Oh well, I will worry about the weight later. This little one is definitely worth it, but I will be so happy when this part of the pregnancy is over.

I promise to have happy posts soon with belly pics and cute stuff being made LOL Thank you if you actually read this, I don't blame anyone if they ignore it.

: D

So, where have I been and what have I been doing? Well, actually not much more than laying around only doing what I absolutely must! LOL You see, I am expecting a new little one and he or she has been making me quite nauseous and tired! I have been dying to share my good news, but I was waiting until my first u/s to make sure everything looked good. This is quite an accomplishment for me because I am usually the one shouting it from the rooftops the minute that positive test turns pink LOL I am still announcing my pregnancy a lot earlier than most women do, but I just can't keep it in anymore! My little bean looked perfect on the u/s yesterday with a strong and steady heartbeat. I am due September 14 or sometime after that (I have never
delivered before my due date). The children are beyond excited as are Chad and I. Yes, this was planned, we have actually been trying for about a year. So far, I can't sew or knit, it makes me nauseous. I have been trying for a couple of weeks to finish the handsewing on the binding of my quilt, but can only do a little bit at a time. I can't lie, I really don't enjoy the beginning of pregnancy, feeling sick 24 hours a day is no fun, especially with other children and a house to take care of. But, I know it will get better around 11 or 12 weeks and then I will love being pregnant : )

Tine interviews me

Sorry guys, I have been horrible with my blogging and everything really. I have a really good excuse, I promise! I can't share that excuse just yet ; ) A few weeks ago, Tine was interviewed on her blog, and I thought it was so interesting that I asked her to interview me : ) She sent me the questions over a week ago, sorry for just getting to them, Tine : )

1: You have a 7 kids....did you grow up in a large family?

Actually, no, I only have one brother that is 4 1/2 years younger than me. I really don't know why I wanted such a large family. When I was a teenager I didn't even want kids, how crazy is that? Funny thing, my brother has 5 children. Maybe having a small family makes people want bigger families LOL

2: I know your children love the beautiful clothes you sew. They pick out patterns and fabrics, how did you teach them to do that?

I really didn't teach them, they do watch me and all 3 girls love fashion, probably more than me. I guess it is just something innately in them. We love to watch Project Runway together, and my oldest, Sydney, seems to really have a talent for clothing design.

3: You have so many responsibilities...what would be a typical day's routine?

Hmmm, LOL I will give you a typical weekday routine including homeschooling.
I wake up around 6:30 with my dh and we drink coffee and watch the beginning of Good Morning America, I love our mornings together. He goes to work and I get on the computer and eat breakfast. After my breakfast, I wake the kids up and take my shower while the kids eat. Then we all do chores together and start school. Each child takes a turn with me to go over that days lessons and so I can explain anything they don't understand. Of course, there are lots of interruptions from Samuel and Ava during this time. I really wish this would go more smoothly than it does, but such is life with 7 kids! LOL Nothing ever really goes smoothly. We eat lunch around 12:30 and the kids are supposed to be finished with their schoolwork by 2pm. That isn't always the case : / After this, every day is different. All 3 girls are in ballet, and Savannah takes a sewing class on Thursdays. Austin plays golf and works at the golf course, and no I havn't let him get his driver's license yet lol Wednesday is my only day that I don't have to run someone somewhere. Dh is home by 3:00 a couple of days a week, but the other days he works with his brother in his plumbing business. We usually cook dinner together on the days he is home by 3. The other days we have leftovers. I really don't have much of a routine for the evenings, it just isn't possible with the kids extracurricular activities. I am usually in bed by 10:30 or 11. If I do get to sew on any particular day, it usually happens in the afternoons or in the evenings before bed.

4: Do you have an all-time favourite movie or book? If so which one?

Well, everyone on here knows how much I love the Twilight Series! LOL I would say my favorite all time movie would be Legends of the Fall. It is such a tragic and sad movie, but I still watch it over and over again. I adore Brad Pitt : ) That is a beautiful man, inside and out! I also love Steel Magnolia's and can't even count how many times I have watched it. It was filmed in Natchitoches, Louisiana, which is only a couple of hours away from where I live. Just a great story, of course it is a sad one too. I tend to like sad movies, what does that say about me?

5: What makes you happy?

My family makes me happy, of course. I also enjoy my time alone with my husband. Sewing and creating is right up there, as well. It really relaxes me and makes me feel like I have accomplished something. I love to look at beautiful things in nature and art. Seeing anything beautiful immediately lifts my spirits.

Great questions, Tine! I hope I adequately answered them : ) Just wanted to add what a lovely person Tine is. She makes beautiful quilts and other lovely things as well : ) Most of all, her genuine kindness shows through in her blog. I really really wish you didn't live so far away in Denmark, Tine. You are someone I would just love to meet in real life : )

Want to be part of it? Follow these instructions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

A little knitting.....

While I was having my sewing funk, I did get a little bit of knitting done. I had this 100 Pure Wool that was supposed to be a diaper cover, but I don't cloth diaper anymore, so I figured I would make a scarf. I picked the Brioche stitch. An easy repeatable stitch, but a little more interesting than plain knitting. It was an enjoyable project and the scarf is nice and warm.



I enjoyed knitting my scarf so much, I decided to knit another one. We have a brand new yarn store here in Lafayette called the Vermillion Yarn Company (I am pretty sure that is the name lol). Dh and I had a lunch date Friday and afterwards we went check out the new yarn shop. It has a male owner and he has beautiful yarn. The other yarn store here in town sold more of the novelty yarns (not my taste), so I usually bought online. I am so excited that I can see my yarn before I buy it now! He has mostly natural fibers, which is what I prefer. I bought some beautiful dark gray Merino wool by Debbie Bliss. It was 30% off too : )

I know these pictures aren't great, I had a heck of a time getting a good shot, even outside in beautiful light. If you click on the picture you can see it better.


Here is the Brioche stitch pattern if anyone is interested : )

Cast on an even number of stitches

Foundation row *Yo, sl 1 wyib, k1; repeat from * to end
Row 1 *Yo, sl1 wyib, k2tog (sl st and yo of previous row); repeat
from * to end.
Repeat row 1.

I just kept repeating this until my scarf was long enough. VERY easy!

I won something and new shelves

I can't believe I am just now posting this, I woke up in the middle of the night last night and remembered I hadn't thanked Jana of Lola.....Again for the lovely gift I won. This is my first ever blog giveaway to win! Isn't this bag adorable?! Isabella thought it was so adorable, she stole it from me and is using it as her ballet bag! She claims until I make her one, she gets to keep this one LOL Jana is hilarious, if you haven't checked out her blog yet, I recommend you do now. Thank you Jana : D

I am finally sewing again! I have been in a creative funk since before Christmas. Friday night, I finally felt like cutting out the fabric for my Mom's new quilt. This is even though I havn't finished my quilt yet lol I am using several fabrics from the Ava Rose line by Tanya Whelan. I bought all of my fabric from Jona at Fabritopia. She carries the whole line. While I think these fabrics are beautiful, they are not something I would normally choose for myself. So, I am really enjoying working with new prints and colors, it is always fun to change things up. My Mom picked this fabric line herself, she loved it! I still need to buy 3 or 4 coordinating solids from my local quilt shop and then I can start assembling the quilt top.


I also got my quilt out and am trying to finish up the quilting. I am *almost* done! Can you say slooooowpoooooke! LOL Some of you ladies have started and finished 3 quilts since I started this one! Do you see that kitty looking out the window? The little turd almost threw up on my quilt last night! Thank God I had thrown a pair of shorts on top of it that needed mending before going to bed last night. The shorts caught all the puke! I never leave things out like that usually, now I know why.


I also spent yesterday cleaning up my sewing space. My mom gave me two shelves that she had replaced, so I moved a lot of the junk that was on top of my cutting table to the shelving. What an improvement! I can use my cutting table now, and everything looks much neater on the shelves. I should have taken a before picture of the cutting table, so you could fully appreciate what a mess it was.



Now, I just need to refold all of my fabric and stack it neatly. I have kinda just been throwing things up there, as you can see lol