Kyla's quilt - sneak peak!

So, I may have taken the summer off from blogging - even though i really just started it I guess - but that was because I was sewing into the middle of the night many evenings. Kyla's quilt got started and stopped continually throughout the summer. I was working away on another crazy quilting project, plus I decided to repaint my floors and remake a slipcover. I also discovered Joanne's fabric in the States and bought enough fabric there to line up about 5 more projects. Why did I not know about this place before?!! Well, I kinda did. I've read many a blog that talked about a trip to Joanne's, but I had no idea!! We stopped in on the way home from vacation in the summer - when I had ten measly American dollars left in my pocket. Do you understand how tortured I was trying to just spend $10?? I did end up going back near the end of the summer - this time with just a bit more money in my pocket, so I have a little bit of a nice stash in my basement ready for evenings of coffee and sewing.

Well, after bits and spurts, I finally tackled sewing up Kyla's quilt in time for the winter. If you can tell from the picture, the front is assembled and sewn onto the back. I did a really simple "stitch in the ditch" technique to frame out all the amazing fabrics Kyla chose, but to me, it seems a little flat - not soft and quilty enough. I went to the quilt store and bought a free motion quilting sewing attachment for my machine, and tonight I am going to practice with it. Basically, you drop the feed dogs on your machine that would normally guide your fabric through, and instead you do the work. So, that means you can draw with the sewing machine. Mind you, this is all theory right now. I've seen it on a million blogs, but tonight i give it a go! I've seen quilts finished with flower designs quilted all over and I think this is a perfect solution to the squares. Once I get the hang of it and actually try it on my machine, I'll take a close up for you to inspect!

Now, just to be clear - quilting is a lot of work and very time consuming. But in a good way! I get lost in it some evenings, and watching all the fabrics get sewn up is very satisfying from an artistic standpoint. But, the true test is not so much how pretty or accurate the quilt is, but how much the person receiving it loves it and cuddles under it. Mine has already had a good test run! Kyla came down with an earache on Sunday afternoon and was generally miserable for the rest of the evening. We pulled out Little House on the Prairie DVDs and stayed up really late watching them together while I sewed the quilt and she nursed a very sore ear. While I was sewing, Kyla started moving closer and closer and eventually was all cuddled up under the somewhat done quilt, and fell fast asleep. I knew the project was a success at that moment.

summer is done - we made it!

I always seem to forget how challenging summer will be. I set out with great intentions - and although I did meet my expectations for the kids, I think I got lost in the mix. There was no end to running them here, there, and everywhere in the hopes that I am raising happy, well-adjusted kids. Friendships that aren't easily maintained throughout the school year are nurtured during the summer. Living in suburbia also seems to indicate you should put your kids in summer camps and such. I do see the benefit, but somehow, it still takes so much energy by the end of the summer. I forget to sit. I forget to eat. I realize at 11pm that I'm grumpy and tired and hungry. But, all the frustration aside, today I miss my kids! My eldest got on the bus, overjoyed to be going to school and seeing all her friends, and my other daughter got her much anticipated birthday present from my sister - a date at a restuarant with her alone! (since my sis is off work to get her son settled in school as well today).

Suddenly, all the tasks I've put on hold for my kids are staring me down, and it is all feeling very daunting I must say!!The reality of starting my own business seems to weight down on me as I sit staring at the computer screen. There's alot of self-doubt that creeps in when you're all by yourself!

But, having said all that - Guess what?!! It's time to pic up my daughter from the bus!! My first day back has ended! I made it through! I'm very happy at my success - as small as it is really. Tomorrow I'll make goals, schedules and send a thousand more emails, right now, I'm mom again.