Bugs, Critters and more Bugs

I now know and have come to terms with that i will forever be plagued with bugs. Not just because of my son, the main culprit, but because of homsechool and admittedly sometimes they are just plain cool. Some more than others. He was gifted with a worm nursery way back at his last birthday and the eggs just finally cam in the mail....eggs, eeeewww gross! I know. We are waiting for them to hatch. Yuck! And then the boys will be responsible for transfering them to the dirt in the greenhouse side of the worm house. Ugh!!

It has a little magnifying lens where Mitch can watch for newly hatched wormy things. Yuck, again! But he is thrilled, that is what matters, right? At least that is what i keep telling myself.

Now, this i thought was pretty cool. This dragonfly was huge, about 3-4 inches long and the wings were even wider.. I am not sure what kind of dragonfly it is. I have never seen any around here that were any color other than blue. I love how you can see his huge eyes in this picture. Mitchell was there watching him too, just dying to touch it. I did not let him because i was sure that was to be its demise. The poor thing just wanted some shelter from the wind. There have been some great bug examples here that have lent some weight to our previous school science lessons. It is good to hear the kids recall things they learned as they tell their new little friends something about their discovery du jour.

Panda Quilt-a-long

As if i needed more projects to do...i joined another quilt-a-long. This one is meant to be a panda. It is crib/baby size. I think when it is done it will just be hanging on Avery's wall. This is part one, the head. Mind you, i am very far behind, because i think this week is week six. I have some serious catching up to do! With a few other projects finished i feel like now i can devote sometime to this one. I did not choose simple black and white fabric as the pattern called for so mine is taking on more of a abstract panda look. i think it is how busy the pattern is. But, i think i like it. You can check out all the details on AJ's blog if you are interested.

Farm Quilt....Finally

This morning, no joke, i woke up with a sewing hangover. I went to bed late, woke up with a headache and my sewing finger hurt. I hand did a binding last night and then got this one started first thing. That is 2 in under 24 hours!!

I got my farm quilt finished, nearly one year later. Check this old post to see the picture that inspired it. It is of a field on our CSA farm last year. All the lines were so beautiful and the fields were just perfect....this quilt was to reflect all the different things growing, even the fields that were prepared to plant. I hand quilted this in all circles. Not intentionally, it turned out a little like crop circles! :o)

My honey makes the perfect quilt holder/hanger!!! Don't you think? I love the feet just sticking out at the bottom. Looks like the quilt might up and run. This picture shows off all the different greens and browns better.

Nature vs. Unnatural

We have good news to share...there are babies!!! The momma and poppa bluebird have been oddly aggressive with the other birds and backyard creatures this last week. Like this morning i saw the momma dive bomb a squirrel, that fell right off the fence he was perched on!! That made me start to suspect that something was up, and then tonight i saw them take a grub or worm into the house with them. So as soon as the two of them flew away I grabbed the kitchen step stool, opened the door and these little guys are what i found. I can hardly believe that these two little ones came out of such tiny eggs. We had 5 eggs and only could see these two...so we suspect that all did not make it. We are going to call them Hope and Joy....baby bluebirds of happiness.

Now as for this unnatural creature...anyone guess what it is? Nope, it is not some kind of new, never seen caterpillar. My sweet children were playing with their sidewalk chalk tonight and this poor unfortunate caterpillar walked right into the middle of their mess. And before he knew what happened to him he was covered in pink chalk dust. i think in the end they dusted him off and set him free.

Defacing a Tree for Love

If you know me you know i love trees!! I collect sticks. I don't usually let the kids pull leaves or break branches. I see them as living things that did not do anything to the kids in the first place so why should they hurt it....a little tree huggy? I confess it is true...but i am ok with that. SO this is the story....

Long long ago when we were dating i asked my then boyfriend to carve our initials in this one tree in particular....covered with initials and hearts that went back in time at the very least for 50 or more years. I just wanted our initials to be there for all to see for as long as that tree stood. Needless to say at the time it did not happen...but since we have moved back here to our old"stomping grounds" we have found another tree with many initials carved upon it. I asked again and this time he obliged...forever putting our initials there for everyone to see. He loves me! So sorry tree. I did give it a little hug to make it feel better...that knife could not have felt good!! :o)

Progress

And a little peek for a very, very patient friend. I have been stalled on this project for a little too long, so i am trying to forge ahead.

**this line of fabric is called Recess, it is a Moda by, American Jane line. I used pre-cut charm packs. here is a smattering of the fabrics from a great fabric sight. You can check it out here.**

Scenes from our Day

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet and simple things of life which are the real ones after all."-Laura Ingalls Wilder
We took a impromptu picnic to the river today. The breeze blew, our table was in the shade and we stayed for hours.
We find her in this position so often....sketchbook in hand, watching the boats on the river, writing down her thoughts and sketching what she sees. She was calling this spot her thinking rock today.
i love this face!! And these feet together. Everyone was just enjoying time out together.

A wee potty break...pardon the pun!!!

I am always amazed at how well they get along when we are outdoors away from the house. And they are entertained with little more than a stick, some rocks and a little bit of sand.

Now this....this is a picture of the husband behaving badly....lighting some whittled wood with the kids nature magnifying lens. Of course the kids were none the wiser because i think it better not to teach them this little trick.

Real Life

...real life is what happens when you are not looking...when you are too busy enjoying the nice weather...when somehow your family used up all their clean clothes. Apparently i have been neglecting things because my poor girl had no clean unders in her drawer tonight...when it was time to get out of the bath she opted for a pair of mine, that were obviously too big, rather than go without!!! I admit, this is my life, i would rather we all enjoy being outside...or me doing sewing projects rather than housework. Now i must go finish playing catch up with the laundry

Vintage Pillowcase Redux

I had a pair of vintage pillowcases that needed to become something new!

I debated for a little while on whether it should be curtains or pajama pants for Avery. Since i could not figure out where i would hang said curtains you can see the pj's won the debate! She got all kinds of sassy when it came time to model them. And wore them as soon as they came off the sewing machine!

I sewed a little loop of ribbon into the back of the pants so she could tell front from back in the homemade jammies. I saw this on some ingenious sewing blogger's blog, but can't remember where now. I still have one pillowcase left. What am i going to do with it? Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

I am weak...

And he is happy!

That is my sweet husband under that helmet...after nearly 9 years of asking...lots of hints...many arguments...and months of the silent treatment, i finally came around to his side. I agreed to let him have the dreamed about and much sought after motorcycle. The ultimate toy. I have even seen him jump up and down over this. I on the other hand have panicked a few times and even had to take a minute to put my head between my knees as i hyperventilated when it was unloaded in front of my house. But he is happy, very very happy! Thank goodness he is safety guy. I am trusting in that.

9 Patch...Second Batch

This is my next set of blocks for the 9 patch quilt a long. It is fun to mix and match. This one is going to be pretty bright and fun. Today was much better for picture taking. i was able to take it all out in the sun and get a few shots. I think this is day 23 and i have 24....one ahead! Doing these blocks is so nice...they are fast and easy and it never seems hard to keep up. I hope it stays that way

Fabric Finds and then Some

I don't live that close to a Joann's anymore, so whenever i have a chance to go i am sure to take it. This past weekend i made it to one about 45 minutes from home and i was so glad that i did. They had several fabrics that i knew i could give a good home to. More of the goldfinches...those pears and lemons i love! And I found some Heather Ross horse and riding fabric(thought of you Quincy)....joann's never has nice stuff like this. **There was also some of her matroishka fabric so run don't walk to Joann's and check out their fat quarter bundles.

I am also always on the lookout for vintage glassware with glass lids, and i have not had much luck with that. I am trying and have been trying for some time to phase out the plastic around here. Not as easy as i thought it would be. But Martha Stewart....I love to hate her!! This glass storage ware is from kmart/martha. The absolute last place i think to go to get something, but whenever i do go i find something great like this and wonder why i don't think to go there first. I wanted you to see it Colleen...i love it.

Scrap Stars

What started out as these....

Followed by a pile of this....

Became these three beauties!

I was inspired by this blog post that i saw, and knew right away that i had to find me some stars!!! Her project used scrapbook paper....but i did not want to go out and buy bunches of scrapbook paper....

...then it hit me!! I have tons of fabric scraps laying all over this house, why don't i use that instead! Using those would put a small dent in the scraps and i would be able to enjoy some favorite fabrics from past projects again.

As in the project i saw, it was my intent to make these weather proof and hang them on our front door or on the porch somewhere, but they turned out way better than i thought. I might want to enjoy them every day inside my house. Now i just have to decide where to hang them.

Backyard Babies

We are now awaiting the arrival of our new little babies...our sweet bluebirds of happiness have a little clutch of eggs. They are the tiniest, sweetest little things...just a little bit bigger than a jelly bean. We saw momma fly away from the birdhouse the other night and took the opportunity to check on her family. The prospect of new little babies is almost more than Avery can handle, the real momma of all the backyard birds around here. We checked with a local naturalist and did some reading online before we opened the box, and we were assured that it was not harmful to check on them from time to time to make sure things were progressing well.

And these are one of my other personal favorite backyard visitors....the goldfinches. I think they are one of the most beautiful birds ever. I am even overtaken and obsessed with a particular fabric with, what else, goldfinches on it. I have made several yards my own over multiple trips to the fabric store....perhaps there will be a sighting of that soon. Until then, enjoy our bluebirds of happinness and goldfinches, we do...