the gentle art of baby corralling

So many projects, so little time.

My little one is perfecting his crawling technique. He's gone from that comical back foot in the air downward thrust to gain forward momentum to a very practical army crawl that gets him just about everywhere he wants to go.

He's currently on strike from all of his "toys." He'd rather chew on the very durable (and dirty) rubber mat in front of the door, any cord protruding from an electronic device. No teeth yet, but he's sucking on his gums like a little old man with loose dentures.

Yesterday afternoon I wanted to get some quilting done, so I stuck him in a rolling suitcase near the bed as I completed the final spiral quilting segments on my scrappy trip around the world quilt. He loved it. He was playing with all of the zipper and tags.

(As I write this he's scooting towards the very hairy dog bed.)

Time to sign off folks. More to come!

:) :) Jill

life in the fast lane

Life is streaking by. It's already the end of June. We're making plans to go up North near the Canadian border to go camping with my husband's family. We'll see aunts and uncles and cousins that he hasn't seen for years. I'm busy making lists and trying to figure out what to pack - figuring out what not to pack is probably the most crucial part.

I've almost got the quilting done on my scrappy trip around the world quilt. I'm trying to stay disciplined here, because I cannot wait to start working on my single girl quilt again, but I want to finish one before I start the other.  So far I'm doing good. I'll have to take some knitting camping, because a quilt is too big and I don't want it to smell like campfire smoke.

Hope June is treating you well!

xo Jill

sewn together

Another blessed weekend around here. We really don't do much. We sleep in, drink coffee, sit out on the back porch and contemplate the garden. We try to come up with a game plan. We scrap the game plan and do what makes us feel happy.

The baby laughs. He cries. He takes a nap. We take a nap. The grill gets pulled out. We find something to eat between the freezer and the fridge. It feels like a miracle, because we really need to go food shopping, but somehow we pull off (what feels like in our opinion) a gourmet meal.

The moon rises the sun sets. We take a walk at twilight, pushing the baby in the stroller. The dog prances along beside us. She barks at little dogs but keeps her nose down when a big dog strolls past.

In the in between moments I tiptoe up to my attic studio and madly cut out fabric shapes. Sew them together. I'm not much for perfection these days, just production and it feels so good to sew two pretty fabrics together and watch their patterns collide and interact.

The baby squawks from his crib and I cock an ear. It's a one in four chance he'll go back to sleep. The odds are in his favor. I set down my scissors and ramble down the stairs. Baby is awake. The dog wants her frisbee thrown. The neighbors are out digging in their yard. The baby is smiling at my husband. My husband smiles at me. 

Simple things. Miraculous things. Our family.

Hope you are feeling the blessings too.

xo Jill

P.S. Joining Nicole at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm and Keep Crafting.

strolling

Things I'm grateful for:

• Strolls with Dad and baby.
• All of the flowers that are popping up at the edges of the sidewalk.
• Sunny afternoons and long, lazy evenings.
• Crockpot recipes and coffee to go.
• Friday mornings with the weekend to look forward to.
• The look on my little one's face as he discovers new things.
• A big tilled garden with lots of dirt, and lots of seeds to plant.
• The start of a new quilt. I have my first quilt block complete for my "Single Girl" quilt by Denyse Schmidt. I love it! Especially the little owl print. Love their little owl feet. 

Happy Friday, everyone!

xo Jill

P.S. Joining Amanda for Finish it up Friday - this Single Girl quilt block was a long time coming. I'm glad I'm finally started.

wool + zinnias

Lots of wool around here - and flowers. 

I picked up a hank of some hand spun yarn that I made a few years ago and knit a pair of ankle socks. I Navajo plied this yarn so it was a bit twisty in some places. I also noticed that the size of the yarn changed from sport weight on the first sock to worsted/chunky on the second. The extra twist in this yarn should make the socks I made more durable, that's why I chose to make socks with this yarn. I only had a few yards left over when I cast off the last stitches. I will enjoy wearing these socks this winter.

You will be seeing a lot of blue yarn in my upcoming posts because we found out we're having a boy. I couldn't be more excited and I've already got a small mountain of boy appropriate yarn in my knitting basket. The little sweater I posted above has been a real stash buster. I need to find the perfect buttons.

This summer has been a dream come true. I feel so grateful to get the chance to knit a sweater for the baby that I'm carrying. I really didn't know if I would ever get this opportunity. I may be going a bit overboard, but I don't care. There has been a lot of wool piling up around here over the years, also a lot of hopes that have finally been answered.

Thanks for reading.

Jill

yellow leaves

This past weekend was crammed full with both work and play. I played around the house on Saturday, tidying some things up and roasting a pumpkin for a spiced pumpkin cake. Bree and I got out for a stroll around the neighborhood. The community garden is showing signs of fall. The zinnias are starting to look frostbitten and faded - yet they still make me smile.

On Saturday the community garden was filled with monarch butterflies. They must be on their annual migration, but a whole mob of them decided to dart down from the sky and enjoy the pretty blossoms of my neighborhood.

I had to work on Sunday, and it's those extra hours that made it possible for me to take the afternoon off today. I plan on making a pot of chili and some corn bread. If Bree plays her cards right we'll head out for a walk. It's a lovely, blustery afternoon. Part clouds and part sunshine. The leaves are skittering across the pavements.

Just perfect.

Have a great day everyone!

Jillian