Quilt Progress

I've continued to work on the quilt (http://gillespietreehouse.blogspot.com/2014/09/chevron-quilt-begun.html?m=0) for Evie. (I allow myself only an hour during nap time). 

I cut all the strips into squares. 5.5x5.5 inches. This took 1 hour exactly! My time limit during nap time definitely motivates me! 

Then I laid them all out. The first row took probably 5 minutes as I tried to figure out the pattern but after that it was a breeze. 

Today I started sewing the rows together. I'm working through it diagonally (so starting in the lower left corner and going towards the top right rather than doing a tradition row from top to bottom). 

I was able to sew half of the quilt front today. (I know it isn't really half because I still have to cut the final project, back it, and bind it - but the progress still feels great!)

I didn't use any pins on the entire project until I started sewing the completed quilted rows together. I used pins because it's really important to be maticulous where the chevron points meet - otherwise the finished project won't be crisp. 

Red Week Days 2 & 3

We continue to work in the color red. Daddy and Ella sported red on Tuesday: 

Games on Tuesday: 

Find the red dice: 

Coloring with red crayons and colored pencil: 

Finding the red squares on the quilt: 

Finding the red objects: (yippee for my first laminating project!) 

This actually proved a little too challenging so we removed the other colors and just focused on the red objects. 

Wednesday, Ella and I were the red crew. (Although these are her Jammies). 

Ella's first braid: 

This morning we went to story time at the Cranberry Library. It was our first time, they did a really good job with it; 2 books a bunch of songs and a craft. There were close to 30 toddlers there. Ella was definitely overwhelmed. She didn't want to participate in any song hand motions or dancing. 

She rarely left my lap; I'll have to work hard to keep taking her so she gets to be around the kids more. 

They handed out hand bells - we got a RED one! 

Then for the craft of a colored pasta bracelet, we again did RED! 

When we got home, we had our first picnic lunch on the deck! Yippee Daddy!!!

More coloring with red. My new favorite coloring trick is taping down a few sheets of paper together to help protect the floor. 

Red finger painting (a first for us) after dinner:

Red mustache:

Then we finished up the day with a red bath. I bought water tablets at a yardsale recently (50 cents) so I dyed the water red, added some red balloons and only left in her other red bath toys. The balloons were a huge hit! 

The water didn't stain Ella, the tub, or anything else. :)

Who doesn't love a clean baby? (In RED jammies, none the less). 

Chevron Quilt Begun

I made a quilt for Ella and loved it. I know she doesn't understand the labor of love right now, and maybe never will, but I cherished making it for her and it will always bring joy to my heart when I see it. So...I decided to make one for Evelyn as well. 

We are 10 weeks out (although if history repeats itself, I'll be able to sneak in an 11th week) let's see if I can complete it before she arrives! 

Previously I had picked out the fabric. Period. End of progress. 

Today I finally got my butt in gear. I ironed the fabric, decided on the quilt size, cut my necessary strips of fabric, sewed together sections of two strips, and ironed the seams on those sections.

Fabric strips: 

I'm using this tutorial for a finished chevron product. She does such a great job walking through each step that there is no reason for me to detail all of that. 

I laid out my pattern. The trick: I didn't want 2 chevrons touching, 2 polka dots touching or the two corals together. 

According to the tutorial, (http://pinterest.com/pin/153263193544111594/) you then lay out two strips of each fabric. I ended up removing the last few rows (up to the last coral chevron print) because it seemed like the quilt was going to be way too long. We will see how it turns out - I can always add more rows. 

You can see that I sewed them together in chunks of 2: 

Now I need to cut my squares out and get my chevron brain on. I did a test a few weeks back and matching up the fabric correctly was definitely the most challenging part for me. 

Red Week - Day 1

Today we started learning about the color red. 

Of course, we are wearing red: (Thanks, Gram, for both of our shirts.) 

What better fruit to have at breakfast? 

What do you on your first day of freedom after a failed potty training attempt? Run errands! 

Library to pick out books to help learn about red: 

My first laminating trip: 

Home Depot to get paint for Ella's new room. And to get a few red paint swatches. 

Hugging the dog at Old Navy. On our way out, she kissed it 6 times, oh my germs!!

Coloring with chalk. I did give her more colors than just red; we only talked about red, though. Ladybugs, roses, hearts, apples, cherries, etc. 

Someone is a little OCD about chalk organization.  

After dinner, Ella retrieved all the red blocks from her bag.