Child Free Weekend

Both children were with other relatives this weekend. It was like old times, Ralph and i relaxed.... and i finished projects!

I bought a box of fabric and these 6 blocks were in it. I made them into this table runner during the playing at the orphanage day!

The purple fabric is from scrubs (i am actually planning a quilt of solids from scrubs for my niece who is a nurse.)

I ordered thread from connecting threads.... this yellow is one of the colors i bought. It is very Mardi Gras ish against the purple. (and on my computer the solid is looking royal blue but really it is a deep purple.

I had started the quilting before the donation quilt... yesterday i finished it and put the sunny yellow and orange flower binding on it. awww weee how pretty as alyssa my other 2 yr old granddaughter would say. I think im going to sell this one. I haven't decided. I may keep it for my Mardi Gras decorations!

My pastel and pink 9 patch table topper. I made and finished this one a while back, but just now getting pictures of it. So sweet and dainty!

and a vintage sheet table topper from 2 1/2 in squares. This was also finished a while back but Im just now getting pictures of it to put it up for sale. 

Lets see if i can do some simple goal setting for this week.... i may be over confident since ive been kid free.... but how about i set 4 goals.....

1. quilt and bind the cowhand quilt.

2. Finish piecing the Liberty Quilt top. I need border fabric for it so i may not be able to totally finish it this week... but finish as much as i can.

3. Quilt and bind another table topper or runner that i have started but haven't finished.

4. Put in 6 new listings on etsy (I have about 100 things i can put!)

ok... there lets see how i do!!

Progress on Liberty Quilt

My first quilt where i have followed a pattern!!!

I am loving it. I love the colors, and as far as the pattern goes, i have always wanted to make a log cabin quilt but i have NEVER seen a layout of one i like... till this one.

Im not going to show the whole thing till im totally done because it is looking awesome. I have half done right now. Well, more than half, i am sitll making stars but the log cabin blocks are done.

I dont like the stars. the little 4 triangles are cut in quarters so they are on the bias where i am sewing and and im having a heck of a time with them. If i hadn't already cut them all i would figure out how to do the cheating way where you draw a line down the center and sew on either side. That would be so much easier!

Our family life has not slowed down. In fact it has gotten crazier. The kids now live with us and probably will for at least the next 6 months. Their mother is in a nursing home. Their dad is trying to pull his life together. It kinda all crumbled. At this point  he still cant accept responsibility for it crumbling... at his low times it is all my fault. (I am the perfect person to blame, im the step mom and i am raising his kids and he cant) I love him and care so much about him. But his hatred toward me is hard to take sometimes and his behavior makes it really hard to love him. His dad and i lay in bed trying to think of a happy ending for this drama and unfortunately unless there is a miracle, we cant see one happening. It is overwhelmingly sad.

It is the children who will suffer. The older child will remember his mother and miss her when shes gone. The baby wont remember her. I was taking them to see her, but the doctors have her on pain meds and the kids dont need to see her this way. She has her cell and hasn't called for a week to see how they are. I honestly believe she doesn't want to live anymore and has given up.

Both boys will always be looking for their fathers approval but unless he gets help he will always be so wrapped up in himself and his needs he cant see their needs let alone meet them. We play over the scenarios in our heads, what if their dad never gets better and gets them back... we will be raising these children... what if he does get better and takes them back... will they have a good life with their dad??

Meanwhile life goes on, we still get the older child on the bus every morning, and put them to bed every night. There are boo boos to kiss, and hugs to give and praise to lavish on them.

Which means im moving my sewing room again!!! Remember i moved out of the bedroom to part of the family room??? well, Ralphs daughter has moved into that bedroom with her 2 year old so i have to move my sewing room AGAIN because we are turning the space i moved to into a room for the boys

Its going to have curtains and not walls separating it from the house, but what can i say... they decided to turn the ranch house into a 2 room house because they had empty nest syndrome... who would have known the flock would come home and we would need more than 2 rooms! my sewing room is moving to the living room (yes, half of my living room will be living and the other half sewing!) That means we can make the bedroom their bedroom. That has created chaos and im trying to fit a bunch of fabric into a little bit of space! wish me luck on that one!

my new sewing space. Not sure what to put on the big window for covering, its great natural light, but bad for fabric!!

of course im using restaurant shelves in my sewing area! I am also looking at a bunch of ufo's in this picture, If i would finish them i would have room for fabric!! (I still haven't moved my neatly folded quilting stash!! this is a problem!!)

what the?? this is the i have no idea what to do with this fabric pile. Alot of it is stuff i plan on upcycleing, alot is not cotton fabric that has been given to me. I think if you watch etsy i will be putting alot of non cotton fabric on there soon!!!

but.. that is life.. I had left my camera in my pants pocket and washed it so pics were hard to take. I have a new camera now so im going to attempt to keep posting blogs.