WIP Wednesday

I wish that I could say I accomplished a lot this week, but it was Thanksgiving!  I spent the weekend with my in-laws, mom, aunt & uncle, sister and her fiance, and all my kiddos!  (My husband was only able to stay for Thanksgiving and had to leave late that night to travel back home to work on Black Friday and Super Saturday.  Poor guy, I think he slept a total of eight hours from Wednesday to Sunday).   I baked eight pies for the occasion: pumpkin, blueberry, pecan, cherry, 2 chocolate pudding, and 2 apple (one was gluten & sugar free).  On Saturday, we celebrated Christmas with my Mom, sister and her fiance.  The kids all loved getting presents early.  My sister and her fiance were up from Virginia and since Sean is deploying in December, they won't be able to drive up for Christmas.  My sister and her fiance got me a new quilt book that I can't wait to use, an Elm Creek Quilts novel, a Thirty One tote and the most delicious dark cocoa from Starbucks!

Okay, onto the quilting side of things.  I did finish up an etsy order.  It was three custom pouches:

  Now, onto the other two etsy orders.  I have all the fabric for the 4 custom pouches cut and three of them have their hexies basted.  I have the material for the custom circular mat and the two purses as well, now to cut them and sew them up!  I also have a Christmas gift that I must get done and done soon!  I have the pattern and fabric for that as well.  I am currently behind in two flickr swaps, ack!  I hope to catch up on those as well this week.  I never knew I'd become so busy.  Keep me in your prayers as I continue to prioritize my life and all it entails.

Finishes:  3 pouches
Ongoing: NuBee Blocks, Cups and Saucers Swap, Etsy orders, 12 Days to Christmas Sampler QAL
Need to start:  Christmas gift, charmed QAL, and any other things I'm forgetting!
No progress:  the many partial quilts sitting in my storage bin awaiting progress!

Linking up with Lee over at Freshly Pieced.

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Social Media, Behave! Day #1

My Expectations of Social Media

1.  It is a way for me to document my families daily doings.  How we're growing, struggling, persevering through life while looking to Christ for wisdom and guidance.

2.  An outlet for my quilting, a place to keep track of my projects, interact with others in the field in order to grow friendships, glean new skills, and improve my overall abilities in the sewing arena.

3. To encourage others out there that there are many ways in which we can minister, it's a place to keep one humble.  

4.  To interact with others who are homeschooling for encouragement and tips on how to better help my own family and to pass on what I've learned along the way.

With this list I've realized that I'm someone who likes affirmation.  I check into my 'stats' way more than is necessary.  I also tend to use it as a way of escape when it seems like life is getting difficult and I want to unplug.  I am allowing it to draw me away from more important things.  Thank you Laura, for bringing perspective!

WIP Wednesday

Well, it's has been a bit since I've written a WIP Wednesday.  Last week I was in a drug induced daze from having had major oral surgery the day before.  I am happy to report that I am feeling human again!

I worked on my NuBees blocks this week, three out of the five are done:

I have also been working on Etsy orders.  I have 7 pouches, 2 purses, and a circular mat to finish.  I will post pictures as I actually finish them; I am really close!  I have my sewing bag all packed to take with me to my in-laws in order to do so!

I did finish one order, which was a scarf.  I love the color!

Finishes: 1

Ongoing: 10+ Boy does that make me tired to think about!

New: 0

Need to start: 1

Linking up with Freshly Pieced.

With Thanksgiving being tomorrow I will be limited in my online presence.  My in-laws live in an area where my cell phone doesn't work, so I'll try and check in when possible.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!  I can't wait to celebrate with my family!  

Social Media, Behave!

Sarah Mae's friend, Laura…

…author of the blogs 10 Million Miles and The Homeschool Baby, and the eBook, Blogger Behave, is taking over Sarah Mae's blog for the week beginning on Monday! Why you ask? In her own words…

“God is calling us to use our online presence for His glory. He’s got big ideas for your every tweet, status, pin, and blog post… ideas that will bring real and meaningful light to this limitless online space.  Take a look around and you’ll see His ideas at work. He’s shaping our hearts to want what He wants. We are feeling compelled to write well, tell useful stories, speak out for the oppressed, promote ethical companies, steward our God-given abilities, and make the most of our time online and offline. This is a huge undertaking, and it’s not easy territory. We’re smart enough to know that by dipping our toe into the vortex of social media, we risk being pulled into its dizzying demands. But, don’t worry, He won’t leave us to fend for ourselves. He’s the one planting the desires in our hearts, He’ll equip us with the know-how. This week, I want to share a handful of ways in which I’ve come to enjoy making social media behave, so that I can hear God’s voice and happily obey Him. But I want to hear your ideas, too. I’ve asked Sarah Mae to borrow her space so that we can join together and begin a lasting conversation about how we can use social media wisely. I’ll need ten minutes of your time every day this week in the hopes of freeing you up for more. Are you in?”

Yes!

If so, click on the icon above and sign up on their page!  Also, I'd love to see who of you following me are also joining in, so if you would please link up with me as well!

See you all on Monday!

My mini-vacation!

This past week I've been busy! I went out of town with my Mom, Aunt, and oldest daughter Mariah for the weekend. We went down to Virginia Beach to be with my sister, Stefanie, as she tried to find the perfect dress for her wedding next fall. We arrived Thursday night and she took us out to dinner at a lovely italian restaurant. The food was delicious!

This was what I ordered.  Pasta with artichoke hearts, spinach and mushrooms sauteed in a garlic butter sauce!

Mariah ordered this dish, manicotti shells stuffed with crab, shrimp and lobster.  She loved it.











Friday was our dress hunting day.  We went to two stores.  We found the dress at the second store, sorry no pictures, but then you understand.  Can't be putting the dress out there for all to see!

We stayed in Friday night just enjoying each other's company and eating pizza.  Saturday we went out for brunch at Doc Taylor's, a lovely place that served breakfast and lunch all day.  We also went to the beach so Mariah could put her feet in the ocean.

I had my sneakers on and was walking behind her taking pictures, and wouldn't ya know it but I walked right into the water!
We then went to the Aquarium and had a blast!  We were eaten by a shark!

 Here is Mariah!

Here is my Aunt.  Notice, I didn't take any with me...
















We ended the night playing Rock Band at  my sister's.  Now, I could be cruel and post the video of Sean, my sister's fiance singing, but I won't.  :)
Sunday morning saw us heading back to upstate New York.  One consolation is that my sister and her fiance will be traveling up for Thanksgiving.  Then, I won't see my soon-to-be brother-in-law for at least 8 months due to the fact that he goes on deployment the day after Christmas.  :(
Well, that was a wonderful trip for us.  We all wish it could have been longer, but we had to return to the real world, which included major oral surgery for me.  I am currently recovering, hating how the medicine makes me dizzy and loopy.  I'm hoping to have some finishes in the quilting realm next week.  Have a great week everyone!

WIP Wednesday

Today is Lee's 1 year anniversary of WIP Wednesday posts over at Freshly Pieced.  Wahoo!  I've only been following for about two months, but my blog is still fairly new.

So, here are my stats for the week.  I am currently working on two orders for my shop, so cool!  I don't have pics of one of the orders yet as I'm waiting for fabric to arrive.  But here is a shot of the scarf I'm in process of completing:

 I also finished up a bunch of pouches for a business venture:

I also finished up my first ever purse for a friend having a bridal shower:

It was so well received that her mother wants one in purple.  So, after the holiday I'll be on the hunt for some purple fabric.
I also started cutting out my Nubee blocks:

I'll be using Angie's, from Cut to Pieces, Binary Block out of the newly published book listing 11 of her designs!
I also received a lovely package from the P{l}P Swap this week as well:

The pouch is already filled with my notions:

Totals:
Finished:  7
Ongoing: Too many to count!
New: 2 orders for the shop
I'm sure there are others, but I'm unable to process the lack of progress!
Well, I must go try and reclaim my house before we leave for a mini vacation.  I'm helping my sister look for a wedding dress down in VA this weekend.  Then, I'll be having major oral surgery on Tuesday so I may be MIA for a bit.
I'm linking up over at Lee's WIP Wednesday!

Manic Monday #3

This is my list from last week:
1. Getting the next set of school lessons written out
2. Continue my exercise routine
3. Finish Stocking for Stockings for Christmas Drive
4. Finish pouches for a business opportunity
5. Catch up my Christmas Sampler Quiltalong, my computer and printer weren't talking to each other.
6. Lonestar quilt
7. Table runner
8. Get my housecleaning back in check, it's run away from me!


Okay, so not much done off of the list-Yikes!  So for this week:


1. Exercise routine, fell off of the wagon last week trying to get those pouches made!
2. School lessons, the kids don't mind I've fallen behind.  :)  Really need to get some plans made for while they're out of town.
3. Christmas Sampler Quiltalong, my computer and printer are now talking to each other.  Yay!
4. Housecleaning, can't leave for vacation with a disaster of a house.  
5. Catch up on laundry and get the kids packed for a 10 day stay at Grandma and Grandpa's.
6. Charms Pack Quiltalong
7. Bee blocks!
8. Whatever else I'm forgetting, I know I am!  


So, what are you all doing this week?  


Oh, and I did have a finish this past weekend, I made a purse (my first one), for a friend of mine for her bridal shower.  She loved it!  Her mother wants me to make one for her in purple.  

I will be linking this finished purse over at Canoe Ridge Creations Sew Modern Monday:

Fresh sewing day

This last month, I made a few things:

1. Stocking #1, 2. 12 Days of Christmas QAL, 3. Ruffle Scarf, 4. Mug Rug Swap 3, 5. It's finished!, 6. Hexie Pincushion Caddy, 7. NuBees Hive #4, 8. Project Me, 9. Skittles