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.