A sampler quilt

A friend and I have been tossing an idea around since last March (last March????) to make a quilt together. Or rather, I teach her how to quilt and we each make a quilt. I had a new baby and then she had a baby and life got even more busy but we still kept bringing it up, mentioning it here and there and after we spent almost every Wed. afternoon together from Oct-Dec working on Christmas presents we finally decided to get our act together, order some fabrics, and pick a quilt pattern. Funny us, we thought it would be that simple. We both bought our fabrics, my friend for her daughter, me for myself and then we realized we'd come to a sort of dilemma. I had bought my fabrics with a specific pattern in mind and enough to make a queen size quilt (for my bedroom no less) and she had bought her fabrics for her daughter and for a twin size quilt. I was looking at a large scale repeating pattern and when we talked to the little miss we discovered she was wishing for a sampler type quilt with every block a different pattern. I had to to a bit of thinking. After a week of contemplating and fabric soul searching, I pulled out a stash of vintage Amy Butler prints and decided to use the to make not one, but two, twin size quilts for my girls since they will be sharing a room for the most of their foreseeable future in our home. And then my friend and I pulled out my quilt patterns and books and since we didn't see anything quite exactly like we were wanting, I grabbed a pencil and sheet of paper and sketched a rough draft of a twin size quilt, sampler style, based loosely on a queen sized quilt that we liked.
Now we were in business!
After we washed all of our fabrics and dried them and ironed them.

Did I mention that we have 8 kids between the two of us age 8 and under and we both home school?
Oh well. It's a bit slow going, but we are excited. And I can't wait to see them done and on the girls' beds.

After 6 weeks we finally have 4 blocks worth of pieces cut and 2 10" squares sewn. Progress I tell you!

March 10 on 10

March's 10 on 10 was a little more difficult than I had expected. Daddy being home put a whole different spin on the day and my photo taking plans. Plus we had a lot of down time which isn't really interesting for photo taking. So, my 10 on 10 this month is Saturday and Sunday. Just because. Two days are better than one, right?

Saturday

 - coffee making time

 - Sadie-Rose just up

 - Olivia's breakfast bowl

 - cleaning the birdy's new toys

 - the broom standing trick that has something to do with the equinox

Sunday
- my shirt details
- our herb seedlings
- cupcakes baking
- finished cupcakes for our AWANA kids
- ready to go

If you want to learn more about 10 on 10, please visit here.

February 10 on 10

February's 10 on 10

7am - a grey and smokey start to the day

8am - practicing skills

9am - in the kitchen

10 &11am - reading while Samuel naps on my lap

12pm - lunch preparations

1pm - craft project

2pm - practice

3pm - finished and hung

4pm - reading while Samuel naps on my lap again

5pm- wakey wakey

 

 

Feb. photo a day - day 13

last week was craziness with a sick baby and a cranky 4 year old. we were all fighting off the cold that had taken Samuel to the snotty side so none of us were at our best. many an hour was spent sitting with baby boy which was great for reading books (4 novels in one week!) and browsing pintrest and fb but no so conducive for being creative or taking pictures. but i'm hoping to jump back in this week since i finally saw that bright eyed smile i've been waiting for today.

february photo a day
day13 "blue"

today's gorgeous blue sky

Feb. photo a day - day 6

February photo a day
Day 6 "dinner"
Disclaimer: I am NOT a food stylist, so please excuse the unappetizing photo taken in horrid lighting. It was actually very delicious with Mike and I each eating 2 helpings.

Dinner tonight was cheesy potato soup which originally came from the Farm Chicks cookbook but has been moderately modified by me and corn bread from my momma's recipe. So yummy and perfect for a grey chilly day like today.

Cheesy Potato Soup
3 T. coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped smallish
4 cloves of garlic, pressed through a garlic press
4 C. chicken broth (1 32-oz carton)
5 C. peeled and cubed potatoes (4-5 med. potatoes)
1 heaping t. dried basil
1/2 t. salt
3 T. butter
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1/4C. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C milk
8 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese, grated ( 2 cups)

Make the soup: Melt the coconut oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until softened - about 3-4 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender - about 20 minutes.

Make the cheese sauce: Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute or until lightly browned and bubbly. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened - 2-5 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted and thoroughly combined. Gradually pour the sauce into the soup and stir until thoroughly blended.

Serve with an additional sprinkle of cheese on top. Some chopped bacon and chives would be entirely delicious as well.