Bored = Using My Scraps!

Waste not, want not?

I did up a bib for my friends Kristine and Chris's little girl, Lily-Anna, she's going to be teething really soon so you know the drool is going to start and not stop for a few months, and then after that it's solid foods. It's all quilting cottons and cotton batting, so it should absorb nicely, I did the closure with Velcro, and it seems to do the trick quite nicely. I actually used one of Jake's old bibs as a template, and it seemed to work just fine.

The front, the binding took longer than the cutting
and quilting itself. All those curves are a pain in the butt!

The back, note the little heart in the middle!

 After that, I still had a lot of energy left, and wanted to try out applique for the first time, it's sloppy, and I don't have any waxed freezer paper to do nice sharp applique's but the sharp angles on the flowers make me  happy to be honest. I liked the geometricity of it all. (If that's not a word, it is now!) I like the kitschy 70s colours, and really it was all an experiment, anyways. It's small, only approximately 10 inches high by 12 inches wide, and I could probably attach loops in the back to make it a tiny little wall hanging or something if I felt the desire to do so. I don't think my technique could stand up to much washing in the machine anyways.

I'll be picking up one of those teeny handheld irons and a roll of freezer paper to try out other techniques that I've seen online. I did a double trip around each piece with a blanket style stitch around the pieces, and I liked the definition that the stitching ended up doing.

applique, babay!

I hand quilted the outlines of the petals and outlined each flower, stalk and leaf, as well as did the corners of the binding where my machine decided that it was too hard to get through. I also broke my first machine needle, (almost on my left index fingertip, a close call!) after that I decided to hand sew the rest of the corners. To be honest, once I got into the rhythm of it, It was nice to sit in the quiet living room and just sew with the TV off after my son had gone to sleep and hubby was having a snuggle with him. I'd taken the liberty of escaping downstairs after dinner to ease the sewing craving. The rest was machine quilted with straight stitches and my favourite little bowtie stitch which is just adorable and I find an excuse to use it in everything if I can get away with it. It's on every single piece I've done so far since I got my new machine.

Kicking my Bucket List...

One item at a time. I decided to be less passive this year and more agressive at attaining my own goals. Afterall, if I won't chase my own dragon, than who will?

Item one on my "Bucket List" was completed last weekend, my auntie came over for the weekend and taught me how to sew a quilt. She helped me set up our spare room in our basement as a hobby/sewing room for me, she generously contributed the 5" squares for the topper and helped me pick out the other items I'd need, as well as setting me up with the basics for what I'd need to make more, which is definitely in the works, and sets me up nicely for number 2 on my list.

Action shot!

Do you think he likes it?

with it's matching pillow, in my sewing room.

Napping Daddy approved, though quite short for someone who is 6' 3"tall!  LOL!

Item number 2 is to make more quilts if I was any good at making the first, (which I seemed to do tolerably well, it's a cute blanket!) and I decided to make a matching pillow for the original quilt, I had enough squares left over and enough backing and quilt batting to do more. So sew I shall!

Other items on my Bucket list are:

Going to Scotland for a few weeks (Hubby and I agreed this would be our 10 year anniversary present! He wants to fish the river Spey, I want to go wandering around in castles wearing cable knit sweaters!)
Getting a large piece tattoo done from mid thigh to the top of my foot (a peacock)
Getting my drivers license (32 this year and I still can't drive, what a joke!)
Getting my passport.
Going to Mexico.
Achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Professionally publish some of my writing.
Creating something with pottery/clay, perhaps taking a class at a local college.

And many more items, but all of them achievable.  Some are mundane, some are extraordinary and will require a lot of planning and forethought, but it's not the intensity and difficulty level of these things That is the point, it's the journey that is life from start to finish. I want to be able to be there on my death bed, whenever that is, and not have regrets that I didn't do the things I wanted to do in my life.

I'll probably write more posts about my bucket list items. What are some of your life goals?

All Hallow's Eve... (Photos)

With a touch of the Day of the Dead. My Halloween Costume!
All the colours are old eyeshadows I haven't used in years,
mixed with a moisturizer. SMART.

Action shot.

LumberJake. He didn't want a moustache. Dangit!

LumberJake turned Axe Murderer action shot. 

I have no idea why he's holding up 4 fingers.

More hot live jack-o-lantern action. People loved the MJ!

Sitting outside supplying trick-or-treaters with tootsie rolls.
I stayed outside until my nose ran.

Overheard: On Paper

*Jake farts around with the printer while I'm on my computer*
Me: Hey! Don't touch that babe!
Jake: But I need more papers!
Me: What? You had three sheets, did you finish cutting them with your scissors already?
Jake: No mommy, I didn't cut them, I raped them.
Me: ... Uh.... Ripped them?
Jake: Yes!
Me: It's all about pronunciation, my love. R-IIIII-pped.

Overheard: on the Potty...

Jake, while sitting on his potty: Mommy, I have to talk to you. This is SERIOUS talk. I are a serious Jakey. You sit down and look at me. (This is exactly what I say to him when he is in trouble after a time out. LOL!)

Me: Am I in trouble, buddy?

Jake: Yes! You were a bad mommy!

Me: Okay kiddo. But can you at least try to pee while you tear a strip off of me, so that we can tackle two things at once?

Jake: Okay Mommy!

My Husband, Super-Consumer...

My son is almost 3 years old, and like most toddlers becomes fixated on particular movies. Right now, it's Disney/pixar's Cars. Lightning McQueen is Jakes most obsessed over Character. Follow closely by Mater. 

He's got lines from the movie down pat,  and my husband is a BIG sucker for picking up stuff that will drive Jake gaga. 

From small to large figures of the characters to pencils with Mater and Luigi erasers, to the potty we are using to potty train Jake that revs it's engine instead of flushing, and a dozen other things that (in my opinion) our son definitely does not need as he ignores 50-70% of his existing toys Jake is getting very, very spoiled.

Last weekend, my darling hubby took Jake out during the morning and they stopped off at Princess Auto Parts. On the way out of the store Jake spotted miniature traffic cones which made his day. Why? Well for anyone that has watched cars, one of the main characters (Sally) owns a motel in the shape of traffic cones. Jake gleefully exclaimed "Look Daddy! Cozy cones!" and because they were inexpensive... We now own four small traffic cones. AS WELL as all of his other cars related toys. 

Seriously. 

Quite a task Ahead of Us...

Man, there is so much work to be done in my back and front yard this spring that it's almost a daunting task. I'm glad my husband is as into garden work as I am. Though, if you'd known me 5 years ago, I had little to no interest in anything green and living, as I usually ended up killing it. LOL!

At the moment everything has been kind of piled up against the house that was throughout the back yard last summer, so Jake's toys, trucks, slide, everything, is piled underneath our patio table which has been covered with a tarp. Our patio itself is strewn with vegetation debris from the pines surrounding our yard, and our yard itself is a just a field of pointy, pokey pine/juniper tree bough landmines. I've got to re-prune my Juniper tree in the back which is shaped like a bonsai tree. Last summer after 3 years of overgrowth, it took me 4 hours of pruning to make it look decent and well shaped again.

I'm hoping we can fill the sink hole in the back yard before Jake's birthday rolls around in the end of June, as best as Cliff and I can guess there was a septic tank in the back that has been disconnected and collapsed. We have no desire to dig it out (as we are renters) but filling in the hole and rolling a few rolls of sod over the soil would definitely benefit Jake's heedless scamper across the grass without worrying he was going to go ass over teakettle into it.

Because we had such a mild autumn, my rose bushes in the front were still blooming in November so I didn't get the chance to cut them down, afraid that it would kill them. I was still able to include the deep pink rosebuds in my wedding bouquet! Then, it got cold and I turned into a bear, hibernating for the winter. The same for my Jasmine bush on the side of the house, which I am planning on putting a lattice up behind this year so that it can be more of a height dimensional thing, with tiger lilies below it.

In my front garden, I have to prune my Japanese Maple tree, three juniper bushes (I hate juniper bushes, they always poke me, and not in a good way!) Re-plant my tulip and daffodil bulbs after they have flowered and even out the soil/rake the dead leaves out from underneath my Japanese maple and junipers.

I figure by the end of May, my house will be looking fabulous again, because at this point I don't even want to look into my back yard, and all the clutter!