Christmas gifts

         On Black Friday there were some great deals on charm packs of different fabric lines.  A charm pack usually has about 40 - five inch squares of a certain fabric line. I decided to purchase some to play around with the color combos to make some unique table runners. 

         The first table runner was made out of Red, White, and Free fabric by Moda.  I used the five inch squares to create 3 pinwheel blocks tied together with some coordinating red fabric.

       Then I tried out a new sewing foot used for free motion quilting.  It was my first try at free motion quilting...not bad for a first attempt, but room for improvement.

     The next one I tackled used fabric from a line called April Showers by Moda.  The duo that designed this fabric line is a mother and daughter team.  Earlier I used a different line of theirs to create a baby quilt. (Sorry for the poor quality of pictures.  It was a cloudy day, but also Christmas Eve when I finished.  No time to wait for better lighting.)

        Upon closer inspection you notice the turquoise fabric is a raindrop print and the red semi -circle print is actually umbrellas.

      The last one is from the fabric line Elementary.  As you can see, some pieces have the alphabet while others have mathematical equations. 

         I love the color combo of this line!

 

      The fun part about charm packs and table runners is when you are done with one, you still have plenty leftover to make another one with a different twist.

       Meanwhile my husband was outside playing with our dusting of snow the other day.  Merry Christmas!!

Tummy Time - November 22

     Evan is still not a fan of "Tummy Time."

Any time with Daddy, though, is his favorite.

Evan's giggle

       

Five Months - November 30

       Our little turkey is five months old.

       He is full of energy and loves to play.  He is now a pro at grasping his rattle and chewing on it or any thing within reach. 

        Come here...just a little closer...I think I can grab your hair.  Yes, he has learned how to pull Mommy's hair or Daddy's beard.

         Looking at this smiling face you can see why he draws everyone to him.  It doesn't matter if we are visiting family, at the grocery store, or in church, he is always trying to get you to interact with him. 

Where did I find his shirt you might ask?  Well I used some scrap material and made an ordinary onesie festive.

Rice Cereal

         Now that Evan is four months old, he gets to try his first taste of something other than milk.  Before he gets started he is very clean.

        Learning to open our mouth and swallow can be challenging.

       The end product is one messy baby.  It's a good time for a bath!

Picking Corn

        Evan & I had a beautiful view from the cab of the tractor the other day.   Derick had two people with semi trailers helping him haul the last of the corn to the elevator, so we ran the grain cart. 



         Evan was a trooper in the cab all afternoon and part of the evening.  He only got fussy once when he was getting hungry, which was amazing after a crabby morning.  We have an outside loving boy.  Who needs baby toys when you can watch corn being picked and the wildlife that scares up.  I will have to say bunnies are not that smart.  Run away from the combine instead of in front of it.

        We only got to unload on the go once since the rows were too short in the back field with ditches.  I have a feeling now that Derick knows we can do it, he will utilize us more next year.  Most of the time we shuttled grain from the combine to the semi tractors by the road. 

         It's hard work helping mommy drive the tractor. 

         By the end of harvest season the combine is getting really dirty.  After today it's back to the shed until another fall comes around.

        We did get the chance to ride in the combine a couple rounds.  I bet Evan will be happy to be out of the Baby Bjorn for awhile.

Baby Koopmann

        My cousin and his wife are expecting their first precious bundle at the end of December.  Boy or girl nobody knows, but this darling baby quilt can go either way.   

        This quilt was made from some oink-a-doodle-moo fabric line that was out last fall. 

         I love how the cow, horse from picture above, and barn are framed in their square. 

      The lighter blue fabric has baby chicks with chicken scratches while the darker blue fabric has different colored horse hoof prints.  I feel in love these prints online, but it took me a long time to figure out how I exactly wanted to put them together.  I'm very pleased with how it turned out. 

        For the backing I used some extra squares from the front mixed with a gray & shimmery print.  It's almost pretty enough to be the front except the quilting doesn't line up with the squares. 

Baby Blue

        I heard the word SNOW the other day.  Time to make Evan a warm hat for all those cold and windy days ahead of us.  This quick cap took around an hour from start to finish.  My baby makes it look good!

 

Harvest

        In little over a week Derick was able to start and finish the 2014 soybean harvest.  This year was filled with it's share of surprises due to the very wet summer and fall we are having.  In late summer sudden death syndrome started appearing in soybean fields across the area.  At a distance it appeared the beans were turning early, but what was actually happening was the plants were dying prematurely causing some of the pods to not fully develop.  We knew it would affect yields.  Field averages ranged from 65 to 40 bushels per acre with some spots hitting as high as 95, but others only getting up to 29.  This year's best field was rolling ground on the backside of the golf course where water was able to shed easily and sudden death syndrome stayed away. 

      Evan had his fair share of first, too.  His first Caterpillar ride strapped to the front of Momma as we pulled Daddy out in the combine.  Later in the week he helped drive the cabless tractor as we pulled the semi out in a different field.  Since Derick couldn't park the semi in the field he had to cart all the beans out.  Literally going over the river and through the woods....but no grandmothers house at the end of the road.  Everyday he helps shuttle daddy back and forth between fields during the day and home again in the evenings.  Needless to say the Baby Bjorn carrier we are borrowing from my aunt has been a lifesaver when getting in and out of equipment.  Maybe once harvest is over we can work on a daytime schedule, as for now naps and bottles are squeezed in wherever we happen to be. 

4 months old

        Our snuggly dinosaur outfit we wore yesterday on our trip to town.  Even though the picture shows something different, these days we love to chew on our thumb and two fingers, blow bubbles, and sit up so I can look around.  I still have my flat spot, but that is because I refuse to sleep on my other side.  When I get crabby mommy holds me on the top of the couch so I can look outside to see all the fall leaves whirling around. 



       Our little fireman just like daddy.  Thanks Grandma for the onesie!       

 

 

    Check out those little socks that were made to look like fireman boots.  How cute!

    Enough, Mommy, I'm done!!!

 

Repurposed wedding decorations

        For our wedding I made table runners in both green & yellow.  They have been hanging out in tubs in our spare bedroom since then.  Now with a baby we can use all the extra space we need.   I decided to make play dresses for some lucky little girls in my life.    

          Here is my version of Tinkerbell.  The purple was also apart of the décor.  The only thing I didn't have on hand was a little bit of tulle to fluff the skirts up.  After making four copies of this dress, my green stash is much lower and the purple is gone.   

         The yellow ones are my version of Belle from the Beauty and the Beast.  The pink thread adds a little bit of flair around the neckline.   A lot of these had burned holes or candle wax on them.  Therefore my yellow stash was much smaller, so I made only two copies of Belle.

        My grandma had a family reunion this past weekend when I gave three dresses to some cousins.  The youngest was more interested in finding a quiet place to play, but that is why I made her dress a little bigger for when she grows into it and a more interested in playing dress up.  For now it fits her older sister, Anna. 

       It proved to be more challenging than I thought to capture a good picture of both girls in their dresses.  Anna was such a little poser.

         Jenny on the other hand didn't want to stop playing long enough to get a picture.

Birthday treat

         We are getting closer to finishing our big project for the year. 
front porch        check
siding                check
soffit                 check
fascia                check
tin roof             check
shutters         half check
gutters          last on the list...maybe this week

          For my birthday we went out to a simple dinner and picked out some shutters to complete the north side of the house and one for the west side.  Now when my husband's birthday comes around in a couple weeks we will finish the rest of the house. Our house is looking good!

3 months

        Our sweet baby boy is three months old already!  With his baby blue eyes he has stolen the heart of anybody who gazes upon him.

         He loves to smile, laugh, and talk to you, a real happy boy.  Being more active came with a bonus, a few nights of uninterrupted sleep.  It was a great birthday treat!

         At three months we are on the verge of moving into our 3-6 month outfits.  The onesies fit alright with room to grow, but our short little legs get lost in those long pants. 

         One of our new discoveries, is our tongue.  It can entertain us for hours.  You can really get him laughing if he watches you play with your tongue. 

       Another recent discovery is our thumb.  The other day while on a walk, he refused the pacifier just to put his thumb in two seconds later.  Oh-no, like mother like son.  He hasn't totally switched though, pacifier still does a better job of putting him to sleep. 

        This week Evan cooperated enough that mommy was able to put away 10 quarts of apples and make some applesauce.  The applesauce will be very handy when Evan starts baby food, which might be sooner than we think.  He loves to watch you eat.  Looking from your silverware to your mouth and back again, he is trying to figure this thing out.