What I've Been Up To
Not much in the mood for blogging, but feel like I should post these pictures while I'm at it. (Who am I kidding, I am a rambler even with show and tell?!)

This is the doll quilt I received from the swap. This is after its washing to get all its quilty wrinkles.



Here's a market bag I made with red linen outer and Michael Miller's Fifties Kitchen fabric for the inner. It could be reversed, but I like the red side better.



After the movers broke half my dishes I treated myself to some new ones, which I found on clearance for 43% off! Then I found these tea towels that match my new dishes perfectly! And the set of 4 Martha Stewart towels were only $2.45, also on clearance. So I made myself a tea towel apron ala Bend the Rules Sewing.


Also since being here I finally sewed together some capri pants that I cut out some 2 years ago (pre-baby #2)! I'm not crazy about the khaki color with my skin tone, but they'll be good for bumming around.

I'll spare you all the boring pictures of our new place as I am not one of those people with an immaculate home with beautifully coordinated furnishings and decorations. But here is the view from my kitchen window (oh, I also made the curtains this week) and our back door. I've never lived in a place with a view of much more than the surrounding buildings, so this is a vast improvement. You can actually see tree and mountains!

Doll Quilt Received!
I received my doll quilt today from Suzie of Suzie Sews. She said she is a newbie to quilting and I'm so impressed! It's got patchwork, appliqué, embroidery, machine quilting, and hand quilting. I love the quilts with a mix like that. And it's all in my favorite colors, pink and green! I really do love it - Thank you, Suzie!

Signing for my quilt gave me the opportunity to meet our mailman. He seems like a decent, reliable, and capable guy, which is much more than I can say for the multiple carriers we had at our CA residence who could never get our mail straight.

We should have our internet hooked up here soon so I can post some pictures of the doll quilt. I don't have the equipment to do pictures from the laptop, which is unfortunate seeing as we have free WiFi access! Steve and Nikki (brother-in-law) have it at their place, too, although theirs was less reliable. Hmm... maybe we should invest in a photo editing program for the laptop rather than the monthly fee for cable internet...? Then we could actually get cable tv, which we have never had in our 5 1/2 years of married life, because we only get two horrible channels with the rabbit ears.

We are almost completely unpacked! Just a couple boxes of our framed pictures and my sewing stuff is left. My sewing things are having to go in our bedroom, and I'll just have to dig out and drag to the living room whatever I want to work on. Moving out of state was a bit depressing considering the condition our stuff arrived in. I ended up with a damp, dirty mattress and I'm down half of my dishes, not to mention a lot of other ruined stuff. Ho-hum.

A Brief Update
We have arrived safely in Colorado Springs. The flight with the kiddos went well. Cosette only got upset during the last 45 minutes, and of course fell asleep just as we touched down.

I'm not terribly impressed with the apt. my husband picked, but I can't complain as the rent is so cheap, the neighbors seem pleasant and helpful (a neighbor painted since the landlady was on vacation), and well, we're on a 1 year lease so I gotta just deal! Besides, it is growing on me as I think of its potential. Each bedroom has a bench/storage seat below the window that needs some cushions, so that may be my first sewing project. I think I'll use the curtains from the old place to cover them.

We are currently staying at my brother- and sister-in-law's place down the street because there is not much to do besides stare at walls in an empty apartment. We got word that our stuff should arrive in the next couple days and we will be getting a phone call 24 hours in advance of its arrival. All our furniture is not going to fit, so we will need to sell a couple things asap.

I'm eager to get some more purses and bags made once I get my sewing machine set up, so that I can start up my Etsy shop and bring in a little extra cash, too.

There It Is!
I'd wondered where that nervous feeling was. It hit me this morning at 5am, when I was woken by a lone cry from Cosette. She went back to sleep... I did not. My stomach was churning. I immediately started thinking about the fact that this is my last day to pack, I have errands to run, my husband is flying in tonight, not to mention some unbelievably crazy stuff that it going down with my extended family.

Maybe these powdered donuts will make it all better....

Goodbye California, Hello Colorado!!
Well, Josh didn't hear back on that job that he thought might be a sure thing. But we are biting the bullet and moving anyway this weekend. Since he was on the 12 month pay schedule as a teacher we are good for a couple more months. He's pretty sure he should get something by then... and if not... well, then we are screwed, but we will worry about that when or if it happens! It's not like we are going to unpack and he's gonna start the job search all over back here, so we might as well just go. A little scary? Heck, yeah!

Tomorrow he picks up the keys to our new place, a two bedroom apt. for less than half the average rent here in CA. It's only 1/3 of a mile from my brother- and sister-in-law, who Josh has been staying with all this time. We love them, so this is a good thing! ;)

As much as I'd like to go finish some sewing tonight, it's just not happening. Because I need to finish packing this place by myself! It's going well though, and I work well packing under pressure. Josh is coming back here tomorrow (Fri.) night, movers come Sat., and we fly out on Sun.... and the movers said our stuff gets delivered in 7-10 days, maybe earlier. So that should be interesting. But we have reasons not to stay here, like certain relatives that need to let go. I'm just excited to get out there. I've never lived out of Southern California, so this is a whole new adventure for me - Heck, I've never even visited Colorado!

So I'm off to make a shopping list for my husband so that we at least have some stuff at the apartment for the kids. Then is crunch time.

Finished and WIP
I've packed up all the stuff in the computer cabinet and the parts of our desktop computer that enable me to upload pictures. So that's it for new pictures in CA. Of course, posts are just more interesting with pictures, so I'll reuse and link!

Last night I tried to finish up the shirt for a second pair of pajamas for Connor. I was having fits though. I sewed the collar in 3 times! I kept thinking, maybe I should look at the instructions again. But I just didn't feel like digging them out. I'd already pulled out the pattern pieces to check my markings. I finally got it in though, and moved to the sleeves. The defective pattern sleeves that gave me fits last time! Of course, I had to start by making them according to the pattern because I didn't know if it was in fact the pattern, or I'd done something weird last time. Well, now I know it IS the pattern. So I straighted out the arms and then I called it a night. If only these weren't such a cute set of pajamas and I hadn't found the adorable car flannels!

Last Sunday I finished that hand quilting project I was working on. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I do like hand quilting more than I expected to, but I don't know that I would ever try hand quilting anything larger than this.



For hand sewing, I will just stick to applique. That, I really enjoyed doing. And hand sewing the binding - I think it just looks so much better. Speaking of these things, my swap partner received the doll quilt I sent her. And here it is:




Fun, fun. When is the next Doll Quilt Swap?! Heehee! And I haven't even gotten mine yet! In fact, I asked that my partner hold off on sending since I'm hoping to have a CO mailing address here by the end of the week. I don't want my quilt being passed through the post office's forwarding system because God knows where it could end up!

Today I'm continuing to tie Connor's quilt/blanket. It's flannel patchwork on front, and I chose a light blue chenille for the backing. No batting for this one, the chenille is so fluffy and soft. Tying is going well thanks to the tutorial at Happy Things. More firsts for me, I have never tied a quilt blanket before or used chenille. I could not believe the amount of lint that came off of it when I pre-washed it and even then had to shake it out really well. My nose was itching the whole night. Anyway, tying... my fingers were getting sore, so I'm taking a break. I think I'll definitely be able to finish it up this week.

Closure
I got a button closure added on to my purse, and figured out a way to do it so that I didn't have to rip any seams. I just made a little tie and anchored it under one button so that I could loop it over the button on the opposite side. Simple, and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

My Therapy
I know I said I wouldn't start any new projects, but if you actually start and finish something then it cancels itself out, right?

Last night I decided I needed a new purse. I had this great green fabric that I bought for nothing in particular, and I had some faux microsuede I bought forever ago for a bag I never made (because I didn't have a pattern and didn't know what I was doing!). I love the Pleated Beauty Handbag in Bend-the-Rules Sewing. But it was HUGE! I'm not big on huge bags (pun intended). So I figured out how to make a small version of it, and here is my first bag ever:



Um, yeah, I stinkin' love it! Working with the faux microsuede was not so fun though, but it still worked. I just would probably never use it again. I had to do the straps as tubes and turn them right side out to avoid crazy stretching, then top stitch them, where the directions just had you press the seam allowance and sewing them together. All the top stitching is done in pink because I didn't have brown, but I love how that turned out. I didn't mark where to put the pleats on the lining, so those don't match up, and my pocket gets eaten by the inside pleats a bit. Other than then that, I think it's great. I might see about adding a button just to keep it closed, but I leave my purse open 75% of the time anyway.



Let's see - it's about 5 1/2" deep and 10 1/2" across the bottom, the width on the bottom is the same as it would have been with the original pattern, about 3" or so. I like the size, but if I did it again I'd probably make it more like 12" across the bottom just for a tiny more room. I can get my wallet, phone, and other small items in it, which is all I prefer to carry. I just got some great buttons, and will probably try adding a loop and button for closure.

But like I was saying... Therapy. Sewing is mine. In between drooling over how great my bag is, I'm dealing with Connor being uber defiant lately. With all my stress over moving, I just don't deal with the defiance well. So sewing and making pretty things makes me happy after he goes to bed! So I'm trying not to start new projects, but if I MUST, then I must!

Anxiety
All week long I've been feeling anxious, thinking we may finally get to move on Sat., July 7th. Just thinking the word 'anxious' always brings to mind Philippians 4:6 and the accompanying Sunday school (or camp?) song I learned so long ago. I take a deep breathe and continue to just "wait and see."

As that day to move approaches we find that we're having to push it to July 14th. My husband has been gone to CO for 3 weeks tomorrow. And I think I'm going to lash out at the next person who comments on how little I've packed or how happy they are that we're not leaving just yet. In reality I have packed quite a bit and much of it will have to wait until a couple days before the move. People seem to forget I have two little ones to entertain, and taped up boxes just don't do it for them. I miss my husband. I hate waiting on the unknown. Two more things that make such comments really annoying. I'm carrying all my tension in my neck and shoulders, have been the the chiropractor twice in the last two weeks, and still don't feel much relief. Josh has an interview tomorrow that sounds promising, and I'm really hoping for a miracle.

So I don't feel like blogging much (although I am long winded apparently). We just had cupcakes for Cosette's birthday with my in-laws and a couple friends, and some pictures are on my Flickr. I'm doing well with my promise not to start any new sewing projects. I got my doll quilt for the swap in the mail, I'm 2/3 of the way through hand-quilting my mini log cabin, finished the pants and 1/2 the shirt of Connor's second pair of pajamas.... Once I finish a couple more of these projects I'll start organizing my fabric and sewing supplies into boxes.

Ugh...