Family Road Trip

Our family is heading out on a road trip. Since airline prices are so high we decided to find a destination we could drive to within a day for our Summer vacation. This photo is of course from the movie National Lampoons Vacation. Let’s hope that our road trip goes smoother than theirs did.

We decided on San Antonio Texas for our Summer Vacation. I think we figured it to be a 10 hour drive to get there. It looks like a pretty cool city and has plenty of family stuff to do with a toddler.

Bringing on the tripI am bringing the book “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” by Lisa See. This is one of my favorite books and since the movie based on the book is due out July 15th, I thought I would re-read it.

I am also bringing my Hexagon blanket to work on. I should be able to make a ton of the center flowers during the drive there and back.

I will be back soon with photos and a sunburn with plenty to share of our vacation. In the mean time I thought I would leave you with a list of blogs that are all doing the Farmer’s Wife Quilt Along. I have found so many cool blogs since joining up with this group; here are a dozen of the member’s blogs.

A Little SweetnessAlyson’s PetalsA Quilting LifeCharise CreatesHappy ZombieKD QuiltsMiss PrintQuilt DadSimplifyTwin FibersThe Enchanted BobbinWhy Not Sew

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along

A couple weeks ago I started seeing a bunch of my favorite sewing and quilting blogs mention the Farmer’s Wife Quilt Along. After a few days of obsessively watching everyone else, I took the plunge and joined in. I guess you could say the farmer takes another wife.

The quilt along is a large group of people on the internet all making the Farmers Wife Sampler quilt from the book. I bought my book from Amazon. I ordered it with free shipping so it took forever to make it to my front door. The quilt along was all started by Angela at Fussy Cut & Amanda at MsMcPorkshopQuilts. You can find all of the members on The Farmer’s Wife Quilt-a-long Flickr page. There you can see everyone’s latest blocks they made for their quilt.

The quilt once finished is a Queen Size quilt and made up of 111 blocks. The quilt along is casual and work at your own pace. The majority are trying to make 2 blocks a week. Even with this pace it will take a year to make this quilt. I decided to make mine Scrappy. I have accumulated a bunch of whimsical and cutesy fabrics since I was pregnant. So over the last 3 years I have a good pile of stash that I can use to make my quilt.

I am making the blocks in order and here are my first 2 blocks

#1 Attic Windows

#2 Autumn Tints

I am photographing the blocks on a diagonal because that is how they go in the quilt. I am still a beginner quilter and have not yet mastered getting my points exactly right. I am using this sampler quilt as a learning process to sharpen my skills and to learn new things. So far so good and I love how my first 2 blocks came out.

Linking Up
Our Creative Spaces

Feels Like Summer

When Chloe went with her Daddy to Lowes she picked out some flowers to plant at home. I believe they are a type of Zinnia.

Chloe and I worked together as I showed her how to properly pot a plant. She even has her own little watering can to help water all the plants.







Last weekend we went to the Cherry Festival and came home with a wonderful cherry crumble pie and 3 pounds of cherries. Yummy!

My Creative Space

I have been working on this American Wave wall hanging. I had ordered the kit a few weeks ago from Connecting Threads. Summer time always makes me feel patriotic. Right now I am cutting out the pieces. I am a little bit nervous about sewing all the curved edges together. Normally I would just modify the pattern and make the pieces rectangular to avoid sewing the curved edges. This time I felt the curved pieces were necessary to give the flag a wavy look. Plus this is the year for me to stretch my creative wings and to learn new skills. So bring on the curves baby, I am willing to give it a shot.

Joining in with Thursdays Our Creative Spaces.

Yarn Along

Ginny over at Small Things does a yarn along post every Wednesday where everyone can blog about their yarn projects and also the books they are reading. I thought I would join in the fun. I am reading Bob Greene’s book “20 Years Younger”. The book breaks down into 4 categories to work on; they are Skin, Diet, Exercise, & Sleep. It is a good read and is motivating me towards a healthier lifestyle. I am currently working on my Hexagon Blanket.

I decided on 2 groups of 3 yarn colors for my hexagon center flowers. This is the first three colors and their 6 color combinations.

Here is the second group of 3 yarn colors and their 6 color combinations.

So far I have completed 60 center circles for my Hexagon Blanket. I am planning to use a cream color to join them all together into Hexagons. Now that the pattern is pretty much engraved into my brain after 60 circles, I can get a handful done a day working here and there when I get a chance.