Kigwit's Thoughtful Spot: April 2010

BonBon and I often talk about cultivating an attitude of gratitude. There are so many annoyances throughout the day that we often lose sight of the good things. Here are some things that I am grateful for:

that I have a good job that allows me to pay for not only our house but my sons' expensive Montessori school
that every time I turn the water faucet on I have good, clean water to drink
that my DH is willing to be the chief cook and understands that I am overwhelmed by the end of the day
that my sister got a vonnage phone so that it is a local call for me to call her in Europe nearly every day
that my parents live close by and love to spend time with the boyos
that the two people that are above me in the work hierarchy are of highest integrity and that I can trust them
that the boyos still love cuddles and reading together
that my oldest son likes to go to Mass with me- he calls it Mass Day and asks eagerly for it
that my Gma is one of my closest friends-it's a privilege to have a friendship with my only surviving grandparent
that DH gets why I sew, knit etc and why I am so compulsive about it.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Another finish!

I finished sewing the binding on my Easter banner last night. I really enjoyed this project and I am looking forward to making more Patchabilities. My sewing machine doesn't have a blanket stitch and the zigzag looked horrible so I ripped it out and handstitched each letter and egg.

I bought the pattern and the hanger when I was on the Shop Hop at Little Stitches. I signed up for the new Patchabilities BOM but I don't think they mailed it to me. Need to call them and find out. They aren't set up to mail but said they would do it. Ah well, It's a Stitch is doing it by mail so I can sign up with them. I love these little wall hangings.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Merry Christmas Gma!

I finally finished my Gma's Christmas present! This scalloped apron is from the Susan Branch pattern. It is modeled here by the World's Best Admin Asst. This is the second time I've made it and I think I did a better job this time. I sewed the pieces together before I applied the bias tape. It took longer to do each step but it made applying the bias tape easier. Next time I think I will top stitch to make the scallops lay flatter. Now I need to buy some chocolate to replace what I ate to finish off the gift!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Something for Jaynie

How many squares from a fat quarter?

99…..2” squares

56…..2 ½” squares

42…..3” squares

30…..3 ½” squares

20…..4” squares

16…..4 ½” squares

12…..5”squares

9…..6” squares

6…..6 ½” squares

I'm wondering because I bought all these FQs from Sentimental Studios Shades of Blue collection-they're bluebonnets. And I'm thinking of making a quick lap quilt for my dear friend Jaynie. She's a transplant from Oregon and I'm making her into a Texan girl. She's having surgery this summer on her eye and I want her to have something comforting to snuggle with while she freezes in the hospital. (Too much a/c).

Jaynie is one of the sweetest ladies I've ever met. She's been working here for almost a year and I'm so glad she came to Texas!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Suspenders Sam

My mom gave me this quilt last Sunday. She found it when she and my brother were cleaning out her garage. She said it was made for my brother by a neighbor lady who used to baby-sit us. So this quilt was made in the early 1970's. This block is my favorite one. None of the "Sams" are made with quilting fabric. The yellow one, for example, is almost a canvas. Some feel like a tweedy wool blend. The light green and the pink are polyester-it will be excavated someday by an archaeologist. Tig has already taken a nap with this quilt. It's very fluffy.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

On the design wall

I love this Heather Ross Far Away fabric. . . and Far Away 2 is coming soon!

I don't really know what I'm doing with this. The green and the orange are different shades than they looked on the computer screen. I thought this would be a lap quilt with a mossy green chenille backing. But now I think it wants a light blue chenille backing-which will be easier to find. Dunno. I may put this away and wait for Far Away 2. All three pics are of the same block-I can't decide how to go.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Kindergarten? Already?

So Red is about to turn 5. That means kindergarten folks! We met with his speech teacher, vice-principal and a kindergarten teacher before Christmas to talk about whether or not Red was ready. Basically at public school the rule is "we like for them to be potty-trained". DH was unimpressed.

However Red's teacher at the Montessori school didn't think he was going to be ready for K there because he's only had one year of preprimary.

What to do, what to do.

Well, today the Montessori school called and now his teacher thinks he just might be ready by fall. Red has settled down and is doing the Work and yesterday wrote the letter b. (That's what his teacher said anyway). Plus all his friends are going into kinder and she's worried it might upset him or cause self-esteem issues.

So in the Fall it looks like Red will be in Kindergarten!

Monday, April 05, 2010

Happy Easter!

My Gma gave me this Easter Egg Tree many years ago. I store the glass eggs in a styrofoam egg carton. The eggs are really pretty but I don't particularly like the tree itself. The "carrot" next to the egg wreath is based on the Carrot Full o'Candy. I had seen those Reese's Pieces cellophane carrots at Target but they were huge! No way was the Easter Bunny bringing those to my boyos. I reduced the pattern to make them much smaller for my little ones and we filled them with some Skittles and SweetTarts Duck and Chicks. The boyos were thrilled. They also got a new Thomas the Tank engine pillowcase (I used Mary's pillowcase pattern again) and a train and a Thomas video. After finding their baskets I scraped Red off the ceiling and we went to Mass. (He actually had a good time and I think he likes that it is one on one time with Mama-I leave Tig home with Dada.) The pillowcases were a hit-they both insisted on bringing them to school for naptime.

The Jim Shore Gentlebunny is new. I bought it when we were out to tea with Gma. I just loved him, with his parted hair and waistcoat. A very proper Gentlebunny.

We had a great visit with Gma. We ate a lot and talked a lot. I told her she needs to come down on a weekend that isn't a holiday so we aren't so busy!

Kigwit's Thoughtful Spot

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Some folks are just brilliant.

Monday, April 26, 2010

New totebag

Friday, April 23, 2010

Gratitude Friday