Work in Progress: Oct 2: Quilting is...

"Quilting is the crack cocaine of hobbies" - An awesome coworker
I chose to start this post by quoting a coworker who generously gave me a bundle of Oink A Doodle Moo fabric that she was not going to use any more of (she made 3 quilts out of what she had and wants to work with something new). And I have been pondering/planning/wishing to start making some baby quilts as I have 3 friends due to have their babies within the first couple weeks of 2014. My grandma was also digging through her stash and found a alphabet panel that she doesn't think she will use. So I think between these 2 awesome fabric shares, I should be able to get started on 2 more projects!!

One Oink A Doodle Moo Fabric

Alphabet Panel

This last week I took a wee break and did a ton of filing (which covered my cutting table for a couple days), and only did 4 more Farmer's Wife Blocks.

Block 48 - Homeward Bound	Block 68 - Postage Stamp	Block 103 - Whirlwind
Block 107 - Windblown Square

All 23 blocks together. 

I am running out of blocks to do without getting into quarter-square-triangles, paper-piecing and more complicated stuff, so a bit of time to work on baby quilts will be nice. I am signed up for the Farmer's Wife Class at the store I work at so I am waiting for the next month's worth of blocks to keep going.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced again this week.

Thanks for stopping by to read about my very addictive hobby. Hope everyone got their fabric fix this week.

GeoMama

September (Lack of) Fitness Update

To all my faithful readers I have to be honest. I have totally fallen off the exercise/fitness bandwagon that I had been riding since February. It started when I my back was out at the end of August and I didn't complete the 100 Day Burpee Challenge. When my back started feeling better around the 10th of September I didn't have any desire to start doing the last 15 days of burpees, so I called it quits. I should have immediately started working on my home work out routine that a personal trainer gave me before I was pregnant with LB, but I didn't. So to be truthful about it all.. I have been walking a bit with the kids, but that is it.

The last month our old house up north was for sale, we got an offer at the beginning of the month, but with it came conditions, and more repairs needed. This was more money we didn't really have, and trying to organize it all from 2600 kms away was very hard. Dealing with it was super stressful and I don't think I admitted soon enough how much of a tole it was taking on my emotional and mental health.

To add to that stress both kids have been changing their nap routines. LB has gone from being a very consistent napper early in the morning, and shortly after lunch to late morning naps followed by late afternoon naps, or only 1 nap. Monkey has stopped napping altogether (for the most part), which means  no R&R(or exercise) for me in the middle of the day.

When we moved to Calgary, one of my first goals was to find a gym right away, and now we have been here 4 months, and with only running 1 vehicle I am unable to get myself and both kids to a gym with childcare. (I suppose I could take the bus, but I'm not sure how that would go with having to keep both under control and by big stroller won't fit... and between naps, and LB eating almost continuously throughout the day it is hard to get out).

So there it is, September sucked. I didn't eat great, I didn't exercise at all, and I am emotionally exhausted from the stress of selling the house.

Here is the good news, the house sale is closing today, and starting tomorrow GeoDad and I will no longer be paying a mortgage and rent. We are going to recover and get caught up. And I am going to get back to focusing on my health and working towards my goals.

But I am not going to wait for tomorrow. I have finished my coffee, and I am going to go get dressed and do my first day of exercises from the personal trainer.

I am going to try to get through this set twice
Box squats 15
Walkouts 10
Toe taps 20 per leg
Bench dips 12-15
Lunges pulses 10 per leg
Opposite arm/leg lift 10 per side
Plank 30-45 secs
Knee push ups 12-15
Mountain climbers 10 per leg
Jumping jacks 30

Thanks for reading and being supportive. 

GeoMama

(PS. I know I said no more excuses in February, and I just gave a bunch today...  but at least I can pinpoint what was happening and why I was struggling.)

Work in Progress: Sept 25

Good day everyone,
I wasn't sure I was going to get a chance to post today, but I have found a bit of time. I was at a wedding on the weekend out in Banff and since then I have been busy finalizing the sale of our house (lots of paperwork, phone calls, and running around, etc.). Over the last couple weeks I have finished a few more Farmer's Wife blocks bringing the total to 19. The next 2 I plan to do are easy with just squares and rectangles, but I haven't had a chance to get down the sewing machine in almost a week. Here are the new ones:

Block 12 - Broken Sugar Bowl	Block 70 - Prairie Queen	Block 62 - Old Windmill
Block 34 - Calico Puzzle	Block 111 - Wrench	Block 81 - Snowball

And all 19 together:

While I was out of town on the weekend I had a good chance to start stitching some of my white hexies together. I made my first row and bit on the way to and from Banff. I laid out the first row on my queen sized bed when I got home and decided 33 is the right number to go across.

First row!

After stitching the first row I decided it was time to redo my design layout of the flowers. Ever since doing it the first time I felt there was a couple flowers that were out of place, and that the whole idea needed to be mirrored. I was picturing the flowers falling toward the bottom left corner of the bed, and the way they were laid out they were falling to the right. Silly I know. But I had to change it for my own piece of mind.

Before mirroring layout

After, minus the top blue flower.

I added the top flower to the first row, then started adding my second and third rows.

2 and half rows done.

Pretty blue flower for the top of quilt. 

I will need to make some half hexies soon so that I can feel like the rows are actually finished as I add them. And I still need to baste lots more white hexies.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by to have look. I am linking up with Freshly Pieced.




Happy Sewing
GeoMama