back to school sewing

I ordered a mini bundle of fabric from bloomerie.  They have the cutest little bundles and pre cuts of assorted fabrics.  I like that some of the bundles are a mixed grouping of fabric and not all just from one specific fabric line.  I ordered the summer breeze bundle back when it was summer time and it just sat and looked pretty on my table until right before the start of school.  That's when I had the time and the notion to get a project going!

I made some pencil pouches for my girls for back to school.  It was so fun to mix and match the stack of fabrics and pair up the different prints.  (all the fabrics are from the summer breeze bundle except the yellow and white print...that was in my stash.  It came from Joann's)

Each pouch is a little bit different, in either size or embellishment...but that was what made these so fun to make.  I just did what I wanted to do without worrying about it.  (note to self:  do that more often!)

And if you know me at all, you know I only have 2 girls and since I made three pouches, that meant there was one left over for me!  I'll show you later, how I'm using mine!

And before you start to scold me, I did not leave my boy out.  I just knew he wouldn't want a girly pencil pouch.  Instead, he got a lego mini figure holder.  I put pencils (lego ones!!) in it for back to school, but he decided to use it for his extensive mini- fig collection!

Here's our breakfast bar all set up for the first day of school.  I've got kiddos in 5th grade, 10th grade and 12th grade this year!  The little dishes are holding their vitamins...their daddy faithfully lays those out for them every. single. morning.  They are not thrilled about that...but one day they will appreciate the sweetness of it.

 When I ordered summer breeze, I also ordered another fabric bundle (I'm not seeing that one on the website anymore)...but I'm thinking I need to find some time to make a table runner for autumn! Aren't these just the best colors for right now?! This stack of fabrics is just begging to be worked with!  I hope you find some time to work on something that makes you happy!

gah!

How did we hit the end of September already!?!  I swear it's only been about three days since I last posted!  I guess that's what happens when there is so much going on.  And we've had a lot going on...but I know everyone does!  This will be a catch up post and I'll be back later in the week with some sewing that was done a lonnnng time ago, but I never got around to posting about.  It seems like I'm not pulling out my big camera too often lately.  But thankfully my love of instagram has gotten me recording some of our busy-ness with my cell phone.  So here's the last two weeks+ of what's been going on!

 The girls and I got some shopping time together...it was so fun to have a day to look and try on and just be goofy together.  We were supposed to be heading to Jammer's baseball game, but because of rain it got cancelled!  The girls were just a bit tickled about that fact!

We stopped at Panera for lunch and my mother in law joined us for the second leg of shopping.  Mckenzie, Mamaw and I could have kept on going, but we lost Maggie after about 3 hours...she just doesn't have the shopping stamina that the rest of us do!

 Our wonderful "neighbor" has opened up a local shop and she sells the best produce and baked goods...she dropped some by for us to sample!  If you're in the area, stop by her place...you'll love what you find there!

 I found a tiny bit of time one afternoon to sit and knit.  I started the Textured Shawl and after some starts and stops, I finally figured it out...It's the perfect football game knitting!

 Our washing machine of 19 years finally bit the dust.  We got this monster to replace it!  My dad showed up and peeked in at it.  He thought he might just be able to take a shower in it, it is so big!  As I look at this picture, I realize I need to hang something pretty over that icky gray fuse box door.  Hmmm...

 So thankful for good coaches in our son's life!  He's playing fall ball (fall baseball for Little League) and is loving it!  He is learning so much!  He's playing up in the majors division and I'm amazed at his fearlessness.  Some of those boys are so big and they pitch so fast!

 My September Word Play finally arrived (yeah!)....with September halfway over (boo!)  It's stitched on  35 count linen with one strand of floss.  I need to be outside in the direct light in order to see what I'm doing.  Not thinking this is getting finished this September....you know what I mean!?

 I ordered this awesome journal for keeping track of our days...it's so fun!  I'll post about this soon too!

 My mom had to go in for a heart cath...they were checking her arteries.  She went to Washington Hospital Center and everyone there was super nice and friendly.  All is good and she got a great report from her doctor!  We were praising the Lord for His goodness!

 The next day, Maggie and I headed out for a college visit.  Her friend Abby came too and we stopped at this fun sandwich place called Which wich...it was really good!  I stayed one night and did some important parent stuff and then left them for the weekend!

It was a good visit and exciting to see all of the wonderful opportunities that are available to students!  We'll keep praying and visiting and waiting to see where God will direct.  This was the convocation assembly we attended on Friday.  The place was packed with students worshipping the Lord and soaking up the message.  It was incredible.

So...that about does it...hope your days are filled to the brim with good things!  I'll be back later in the week with some sewing.  Have a great start to your week!

insta-friday

Well, it's taken me all day to get to this...but that's OK, because it's still Friday and I'm sharing my Instagram pics from the last week (actually the last two weeks).  I'm linking up with Jeannett at Life Rearranged!

 In the mornings I do my quiet time out on the deck...still having good weather, so I'm still out there and so is my ever faithful Molly girl.  She sits in one of the chairs and keeps me company!

 I'm teaching a class this fall called "Forming of America" for 4-6th graders.  My little guy is my guinea pig...I'm running it all through with him first to get his 'take' on things.  He'll be in art class during the actual class time (it's an academy that we go to once a week) but he's getting to do it with me at home.  He takes his role as consultant very seriously especially after I told him I would show his work to the kids as my example!  He was thrilled about that!

 The girls went in the for their yearly physical...only 4 years late!  There were some hilarious moments! They both got four shots...yikes!  Don't they look adorable in their paper gowns!?!

 This has been my afternoon snack all week long...fresh peaches and cottage cheese!  Yum!

 We spent last Saturday on the lake with our friends at their lake house....it was so much fun!  We went knee boarding and tubing.  These are the kids jumping off the lake house roof into the water.

My sister in law is in the process of rearranging their house.   One of the upstairs bedrooms was stacked full of deer heads....kinda freaky!

 I had Maggie sit down in the room for a picture....it was totally unplanned for those antlers to be right behind her head!  We laughed so hard!

 It is awesome having a teenage driver! They can pump the gas, while you check instagram!  This was on our way to the local community college to get a look at where her class was going to be held...she's a senior in high school but is getting a taste of college by taking English 101.  So far, she loves it!

 My sweet friend made me a set of coasters a while ago...I put them out for the beginning of school and every time I see them, they make me smile!  Hope your week ends with something that makes you smile too!

stash building

Dishcloths...I love to knit them.  I've gotten into trouble before with my wrists from not knowing when to stop.  I like to keep a stash of them in my 'gift drawer' for when I need a gift for a special friend.  My stash has been running low and so this summer I've been trying to replenish it (in moderation).  Here are a couple of my favorite dishcloth patterns:

~this is the "granny dishcloth"...my dad requested these for Christmas last year.  He does the dishes at my folks' house and this is his dishcloth of choice!  Gotta love that!  This is the easiest dishcloth in the world to knit.  (follow the link above to see a full shot of the granny dishcloth)

~this is the "waffle knit dishcloth"...it's easy too and it's a fun one to add stripes to.  I love to make two of these that match and give them as a set.  I only have one of these done, but the next one will be the opposite of this one.  It'll be cream with a tweedy red stripe.

~this next one is fun when you want a bit more of a challenge but aren't wanting to tackle a big project. Dishcloths are great for (almost) instant gratification.  This one also knits up the biggest of all of the ones I show here.  It's called "spring is in the air"...but you can knit it anytime.

~this "feather and fan dishcloth" pattern is my favorite.  I especially like it knit up in the variegated yarns...the color patterns are really cool.  This one actually got finished and was immediately employed in our kitchen....before I got a finished picture.

~I just knit two of these "double bump" dishcloths and I have to say, they are fun to knit...very easy and the pattern is quick to memorize.  I picked these colors out because they reminded me of summer fresh tomatoes...yummy!

 I have enough dishcloth yarn to make some more....the only trouble will be deciding which pattern to work on next.  How about you, do you have a favorite dishcloth pattern?