Playing Catch-Up

As promised, here are some of the crafty items I've recently made. I guess the best way to do this is start with the newest and work my way back. That nephew of mine that got married in March is going to be a Daddy come December. So, a baby shower gift was planned as soon as I knew it was going to be a boy. I found the adorable, vintagey, little boy print and knew a quilt would be just perfect.

I love pinwheel blocks! I finally finished this up less than 12 hours before the baby shower, but everyone loved it.


Here's the back.

Next up is a Trick-or-Treat swap I sent out last week. I've been hoarding Halloween fabric (mostly Fat Quarters) and I knew it was time to cut into some of them...

so I made this tiny owl ornament








 and then this Trick-or-Treat bag. I had a bit of trouble sending that bag away.

I love making Button Fairies and yet I had never made one in a Halloween theme. So here she is...

And lastly for this swap I made a SPOOKY banner. It's difficult to photograph the whole banner,

So here it is, 2 bits at a time.

And here's the whole swap package with a handmade card and a few more treats tucked in. I tend to get carried away with holiday swaps. My swap partner was thrilled. And that makes me happy.

Have you seen enough yet?
No?
Okay, you asked for it....

I did one other swap this fall and it was for an Autumn theme, handmade, or decorated tea towel. When I think of tea towels, I think of redwork style embroidery. I found an embroidery design (shared by one of many generous people on FlickR) with cornstalks and pumpkins. Just the thing for fall.

My swap partner loves chickens, so I added this pair from a different embroidery design. I thought it all worked out nicely. And here's the whole swap, including the required Autumn recipe and a bonus hand knit dishcloth.

Here's a few more dishcloths I knitted over the summer.

And some more knitting....
Slippers, tagged up for my craft show.

And a bow knot scarf in Autumn colors.

Well, that's all I have time for right now. I know I have a 4th of July banner that I haven't shown yet. Also a couple of new aprons were sewn up. I'll try to find those pics to share real soon. Thanks for visiting.

Back to School

After homeschooling my son for the past 7 years, he has begun his Freshman year at our Regional Technical Vocational high school. This is such a huge change for both of us. My natural born Night Owl is not cheerful when I wake him at 6:15 A.M. but he doesn't give me a hard time. He doesn't complain about PB&J for lunch every day. He is fighting to keep up with Algebra 1, but is making good grades. He doesn't like carrying 25 pounds of backpack to and from school during acedemic weeks. And the first two days were completely overwhelming in every respect. But...
He has loved U.S. History and Technology class since day one. He enjoys the small classes and is getting to know his classmates and teachers. And most afternoons when I pick him up, he has a smile on his face and tells me about his day. He likes school and is doing well with all his classes. He is doing so much better than I dared to hope for.
A quote from Winnie-the-Pooh keeps rattling in my head, "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. I'll always be with you.”



Now, how am I coping? Well... After almost 8 weeks, I still think about him many times a day, hoping he's having a good day. I'm learning that he is more mature, sensible, responsible and resiliant than I give him credit for. I am so very proud of him.
To keep myself busy, I am back to Flylady.net, trying to get some routine in my day and bless my family by slowly clearing out the clutter and keeping up with the chores. I have also been crafting and sewing. I hope to soon load in pictures so I can share all my recent creations.
Also, I've begun Crochet School with Dana over at her blog, Crafty Minx. Right now, I am a few lessons behind but I'm so excited to have someone show me the basics of crochet. If you've always wanted to learn to crochet, check out the step-by-step lessons that Dana is sharing with the world for FREE!