homework

***giveaway announcement below - scroll down***

jill came over today so we could work on our quilts together. my bawthroom sewing area is only big enough for one, so i moved down to the dining table to accommodate jill. it was a breezy, beautiful spring day so i opened up the french doors to our courtyard opposite the dining room and we caught all the sunshine and fresh air while we cut and pieced. lovely.

i wore my hostess apron because i was hostessing or because it's the new fashion trend hot off the runways or just because i wanted to. any of the above. but it looks like i shouldn't have worn it quite so high. and i wasn't brave enough to wear it when i ran the girls on an errand to the pet store even though i was secretly hankering to.

we cut and pieced and pressed from nine to noonish. oh, yeah. and chatted a bunch. what a nice way to spend time with a friend.

these are the blocks i already had pieced before we started. there are 10 total with the "primrose tile" print in the center and a creamy moda solid "snow" border (not applied here yet) and 10 more with "snow" centers and "primrose tile" outer borders.

i love working with these bright, cheerful prints. in fact, i kept thinking "these are such happy, cheerful prints" so often as i've worked with them that i've decided to name the quilt "taite" which means cheerful. anyone who knows my 8-year old this quilt is destined for will know how appropriate this name and quilt is for her.

friday is designated "craft day" around here. part of our school time is devoted to crafting whether it be catching up on projects or a trip to the store. four of the kids were actually at the zoo with dad this morning, so it was just the older girls and i around to craft. after jill and i had been quilting for a while, i asked my 12 year old what she was going to work on. she replied, "a tie dye shirt." then i asked her when she planned on starting. she replied, "i already did it. it's out on the back porch." she'd dyed her tee all on her own with a kit she bought a few weeks ago. i was completely surprised at not only her initiative and independence, but her stealth. 

"i come in peace" she said when she showed me her crafty hands. then she looked at her green hands and pink finger nails and decided she had witchy hands, not alien hands. all kinds of imagination at work in this girl.

.

 i thought the 8 year old would get to work on her sock monkey, who only has a body and legs so far, but she hid out in her room doing some mystery project instead. then she came downstairs and mooned over her quilt, wanting to know if she could "help" with it or run the foot pedal for me. alas, no. this is not a project i'm comfortable involving the kids in.

jill was smart and chain pieced her squares like louise showed us to. she whipped out the first set in no time. when she'd finished the first run through and held up her chain, i thought it looked a lot like a cute party banner. i may  have to go get some of her blue polka dot material and make one.

i'd forgotten about the chain piecing and had spent much longer getting my blocks together. thanks to jill's example, instead of doing one block side and one block at a time like i'd been doing, i laid out my final 10 blocks then figured out how to chain piece and press them. so much faster! now i just need to put the outer borders on and i will be done with my homework.