God Bless Baby Quilts

Year of the Log Cabin Quilt #2

(Yes, I managed to finish quilt #2 before I finished quilt #1.)

God bless baby quilts for providing instant(ish) gratification. I've been working on Log Cabin Quilt #1 and I have all the parts ready (top, batting, back), but I just don't want to do the required basting so that I can can get the quilting done. 

Basting. It's not my favorite.

So, I made the next quilt on the list which just happened to be a baby quilt for our brand spanking new nephew, Cody. In less than 24 hours I managed to put this one together. I'm quite pleased with that fact. As I write, it's in the washing machine getting it's first spin. 

The finished size is a whopping 36" x 36". Just perfect for playing on the floor, covering up in a stroller, or clutching for security. I hope that Cody and his mom and dad will love it.

It's definitely time for me to get over the whole sorting by colors for opposite sides thing and start sorting more by value. Obviously, this quilt would have looked even better if I'd switched the browns and the greens. I need to learn to spend more time on planning and not be so anxious to just get to the quilting already. 

Also, all of the supplies for this quilt came from the supply closet, even the batting. The fabrics were all left over from the Stripes for Charlotte quilt. So, if those two little ones ever have a chance to hang out together, they'll have coordinating quilts to play on.

I'm not sure if I'll ever hand sew another binding. I'm just a really big fan of knowing that binding is going to stay secure, especially on a quilt made for a kid. I fully expect this quilt to be washed many, many times.

And I went ahead and just labeled it directly on the backing. We'll see how it holds up to the first washing and maybe I'll embroider it if it looks like it's going to fade too quickly. 

So there it is. The first finish for 2014 and first finish in the Year of the Log Cabin Quilts series. Hopefully it won't take too long to get to the second finish, quilt #1, of course.

Clean the freezer day

Some of you know how when you're working 40 hours a week there are other things that don't get done, right? For the last year-ish while I've been working full time there are many, many things around my house that have not been getting accomplished. In the two and a half weeks since I've been home again, I've been a veritable whirlwind of activity.

Today, I cleaned out the freezer. Not the extra one in the garage, though that needs a good defrost and clean as well. I cleaned out the freezer in the kitchen. I've been waiting until it was almost empty to get a chance to clean it out. Today was the day! And it wasn't even on today's to-do list.

Also, this is how our kitchen looked before we moved in. I know you're jealous of that brown carpeting on the floor. And that really awesome wallpaper on that back wall.

The first thing I'll say is that sometimes, wallpaper can hide a multitude of sins. When we removed that wallpaper and painted that wall, it was no easy task.

And - look at what my fantastic husband, Jon, did while I was out of town in February. He refinished the floor in the kitchen! It is fantastic. It's amazing how much brighter the room is now that the floor is done. 

With such nice improvements and now a clean freezer you would think I would just love cooking in there, eh? Unfortunately, cooking is not one of my loves. Maybe I'll pretend it's crafting while I cook dinner tonight! 

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Make your own grass greener

The title of this post is funny to me because it is quite impossible to see grass outside my windows right now. We finally got snow in northern Indiana and we got it good.

What I'm really talking about is how it's so easy to think that the "grass is greener" on the other side of the hill, over the fence, inside your neighbor's house. Whatever. You get the point. We all think that somebody else has it better than we do. But we are comparing what we see, generally somebody else's best, to our worst.

It's not a reasonable comparison, it's not fair, and it doesn't make sense.

I'm not doing it any more.

So, in my effort to make our own grass greener, it occurred to me that we already own a plethora of entertainment. Literally. In the entertainment cabinet. The space given to music CD's is absolutely full. The DVD space has two almost full shelves.

Sarah and I started out by sorting them all alphabetically. Cause that's how I roll, yo. Honestly? I couldn't think of a better way to sort them than that. Anything else would have been more difficult anyway. And Sarah could help by identifying the first letter for me. Easy peasy.

The plan is to start at the beginning and work through to the end over the course of the year. I figure if we get to one and we're not willing to listen or watch that must mean that one can head out to the Goodwill.

Today's choices?

Music: 10,000 Maniacs Our Time in Eden (You should've seen Sarah dancing to this one. Good stuff. Evan - "Is she speaking English?")

Movie: Air Buddies (ugh - I wish this one could go to Goodwill but I have a strong feeling I'll be outvoted by Sarah)

I'll let you know how it goes. Have you watched all the movies in your cabinet lately? How about listening to those CD's you already own?