Our Fall Bucket List

I’m a list maker, taker and builder. I love this as much as my sleep and more than my coffee. So come this Autumn I am in need of a list of things we want to do:

1. Go on a nature hike and collect fun!
2. Go to an orchard and pick apples.
3. Rake leaves and jump in them.
4. Carve pumpkins.
5. Zoo Boo
6. Trick or Treating!
7. Roast marshmallows.
8. Make a thankful tree.
9. Roast pumpkin seeds.
10. Throw a Halloween Bash!!

I kept this list small and manageable. I’m sure there will be other things that make the list but this will be a great start!! Happy Fall!!

Supernova Block Swap #4

I think this is the first time that we have been behind the 15th of the month due date and the excuse is life is full of nasty tart lemons! We are working on selling our house and the Hubs had a drill weekend and she was out of town for a family vacation in which she came back ENGAGED!!

For this swap Christina came over to my house and I made her chili, rhubarb cobbler and some homemade whipped cream. She supplied the corn bread. I’ve been trying to use up whatever fruit I have in my freezer because I loathe having to pack up freezer items during a move. And well she had never had rhubarb.

Needless to say she was late getting here so it didn’t leave us much time to work on any projects. I worked on making a backing for my Halloween donut quilt (more on that later) and she ironed and trimmed some old hsts that she has had in progress for a while. We also swapped our blocks but forgot to talk about question of the month so did that via text later last week.

Here are our blocks together. And again I would have never thought to put together the fabric choices that she used and that is why I’m loving this swap so much.

And here is another picture of just my block. Don’t judge about how wrinkly it is. I’ve had it stored for about a month in a ziploc bag waiting patiently to swap.

The question this month was a pretty intense one and I don’t really feel like delving too deeply into the subject. But here it is.

Forgiveness is an integral part of any healthy relationship. What does forgiveness mean to you? Share with your partner an example of a time you had to forgive someone — or someone had to forgive you — and how it strengthened the relationship.

When discussing this Christina and I both realized that the time we thought of was the same. We both needed to forgive our fathers, yet another thing that we have in common. Mine is a very drawn out story that maybe I will share the entirety of but needless to say 20 years of being estranged from my father and for him to come back into my life shortly before the birth of my first child. To read about Christina’s head on over to her blog.

Yet again linking up to Stephanie and Sandra.

the why in the school

I have a college degree in early childhood education.

I stay home with both my kids.

Education can be such a bear on the wallet.

My children will have more individual attention.

We can go at our own pace and set the schedule we like.

No need to give up the 3 hour afternoon nap yet.

Attention spans are limited.

Learn during play.

Field trips and vacation whenever.

Well this list is incomplete and only partially true but true there are some valid reasons why we decided to homeschool this year. I’m not saying every year will have the same reasons or even look the same but for now this is what is happening.

We are in out third week of homeschool preschool with Archer our 3 yo. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen a couple pics of the first week. Then I had the intention to write a post about our week and the ins and outs of what we were doing. But then the second week came and well now we are on the third.

We are keeping things pretty lax and seeing how she handles working. We are now doing three mornings a week. I decided on which mornings based on other things we have going on during the week. We only do mornings because truth be told she still takes a three hour afternoon nap almost everyday.

We started just working with the calendar and counting the days and learning a letter of the week using the activities. I don’t take it too seriously if she needs a break, wants to work with something else or if Griffin wants to join in with the fun I’m totally ok changing things up. Some mornings she doesn’t feel up to it but as soon as griff shows interests she jumps right in where we are. Ok here are some pictures I’ve taken over the past three weeks. I think the picture pretty much explains what is happening but if you have questions I’ll be open to talking about it more.

taking stock 07

Making: a Halloween quilt and a coffee cozy with the scraps!

Cooking: up some delicious finds on Pinterest that even the kids enjoy.

Drinking: water.

Reading: My 132nd books since January.

Wanting: more patience to deal with the kids when they refuse to take naps.

Looking: for the first change in the leaves and the brisk breeze.

Playing: snakes and bears.

Wasting: my brain cells by staying up late.

Sewing: way too many things at once. Its time to clear out the WIP list before I start something else.

Wishing: it was easier to keep the house clean with two kids.

Enjoying: the late night hours to myself.

Waiting: for the weather where I can layer up and wear scarves.

Liking: the politeness that my kiddos show each other.

Wondering: where we will be in a few months.

Loving: my Griffin’s sweet words uttered in the night.

Hoping: that the person viewing our house decides to buy!

Marveling: how the daylight hours are getting shorter.

Needing: just a little more time to myself.

Smelling: freshly laundered clothes.

Wearing: my snowflake cuddleduds and a nursing tank. It is bedtime here!

Following: the same path almost every night.

Noticing: the minute pains in my shoulders and legs after a day cleaning.

Knowing: that tomorrow will bring a new day.

Thinking: life is going to get a lot more interesting here soon.

Bookmarking: quilt ideas and cross stitch patterns.

Opening: mail from Canada.

Giggling: at growls and laughter.

Feeling: immensely loved.

 

wip wednesday

Ok so there is a decent list going on here in my work space. Lately I have not been able to focus on just one thing and have take a break from quilts to work on smaller projects. I was getting frustrated with some of the steps of quilting and needed to give it a break before I threw in the towel all together. So I have been on this that and everything else and took a much needed break and didn’t touch anything for a couple of days. This is what I have in progress:

 

Here is a secret project because I know the recipient actually follows along with my blog and pictures. It’s paper pieced and the second stab at what the end product will be. The first paper pieced pattern had way too many seams to be flattering.

 

This has been hand quilted and the binding has been partially sewn on just need to finish the rest and I’m waiting on a long car ride to finish it up.

 

I have begun to cut out my fabric for this donut quilt and have joined #mybooqal on Instagram. But then realized that I want more fabric choices than what it calls for so I am in need of a trip to the store.

I still have the Supernova Friendship Swap going on as well and soon will be able to reveal the next block I made for my partner. I have the pattern for a Tova cut out but have been trying to get my tension corrected in my serger before I give it a whirl. Also I’ve shown before a flying geese quilt that I have almost completed the top on but keep holding off since I just made Archer a quilt just recently. And finally the peacock feather cross stitch that will be part of a bigger project. Whew I didn’t realize I had so much going at once usually I try to keep it to one or two.

And then on my table now is a coffee cozy template from that I want to use with my Halloween scraps. Maybe I don’t need a break. Maybe I just need to tackle first what I have going on before I add something else to the list. Well until next time.

 

 

 

Linking up. Freshly Pieced

made: backpack version 2

As you might remember if you have been following along with this sporadic blog of mine that there is a similar post. I had originally made a backpack for Archer and I was so happy how it turned out and then there were some errors that started happening. Fraying straps, magnetic snap being too magnetic, tearing fabric and all around too small.

So I started taking it apart and kept fixing it and that’s when I decided I had had enough and was ready to rework the whole thing. Luckily I had some leftover fabric and one of my friends found a tut on Pinterest that she thought I might be interested in. So I started cutting right away and then realized I didn’t have any interfacing till I dug around in my supplies!

I took this past Sunday after making the peeptastic patchwork pouch and put together her backpack. I’m loving this design a lot more and how roomy the inside is compared to the first. Little miss was ready to pack everything in as soon as it came off the sewing machine.

I used already made straps and didn’t use lengtheners. I was just using what I had from the first backpack. And I also used Velcro opposed to the magnetic snap since it was causing so much trouble to the other backpack.

made: peeptastic patchwork pouch

School is in session here at the Schnell abode!! We have decided to keep Archer home and start a few lessons. Which works perfectly for our family and gives me a chance to use what I took from my college experience. I used to be a teacher and have done several things in education. Although it was very rewarding working with some adults and children I had a few extremely bad situations that turned me off of parents and working within a classroom. This is not at all the reason why she isn’t going to school but just a bit of insight of life here. If you are interested in knowing our reasons and plan, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Ok back to the purpose of this post. I’m very talented at getting sidetracked! I whipped up this bag in one night and one morning of a weekend. Which if you know anything about me it is great since I stay at home with two babes. I have been stalking heyporkchop on Instagram (because I seem to be drawn to everything she does. Plus her pictures are creative and inspiring. Probably want to be her when I grow up 😊) and found a tutorial on a peeptastic patchwork pouch and thought it would be perfect for an alphabet bag for the little miss.

I used the initial measurements but then had to tweak it a bit since I used a paper piecing pattern for the letters that ended up being a bit smaller than her first square. I also made a front and back to the pouch. I used interfacing and batting and did some simple quilting to finish it off.

I grabbed the alphabet fabric from Joann’s and had the rest as scraps. I love the orange hemp that I dyed myself. The little miss has ran off with it and can’t wait for school to start and to see what will be inside!

Here it is in all it’s glory!

If you follow me on Instagram you will have already seen most of these pics but I wanted to share this and to show where I got the tut of how to make this fantastic pouch!

made: pillow perfection

Pillow perfection or at least for my standards! I needed a little selfish sewing after a few projects I have been busily making as I thought I would try my hand at something new so I whipped up an envelope pillow cover for one of the couch pillows. And I’m seriously in LOVE!

First I have a deep obsession with the fabric and wish I would have grabbed more when I bought it. I’ve made a bunting and now this so far with it. But I could see a great many things!! I usually like solids when I’m planning but end up with so many patterns so this was a nice change for me to go directly to them. I also used some natural hemp that I have from a previously project.

Side note: I’m having an affair with hemp lol well not technically but I love that it gives me that “natural” look, sort has a linen vibe, gets softer which each wash and is cheap!!

Ok back to the details! I’m a big sucker for flying geese and have been itching to create a circle of geese. So I found a free pattern on Pinterest and got to work only to find out that the way Christina taught me makes everything backwards and therefore the geese don’t all point in the same direction. That’s when a pleasant happy accident took place.

See how there are two that touch on both sides making a diamond. I actually love it and if I would have known would have chose colors accordingly. I guess I need to learn the correct way if I want to make anything that goes in a circle again 😦

Here is the finished cover. It is a hot commodity on our couch and Archer claims it as her own and if she is awake no one else can put their head upon it.

Not too shabby for my first time, ehh?