36 Weeks!

It's like crossing the finish line. 36 weeks is considered full term for twins, and we have made it to this critical milestone!

This means our little guys are less likely to have extended hospital time and the developmental problems of preemies. Yay! Fingers (legs?) crossed that we can make it to 38 weeks, which is the optimal time for twins to be born.

Maybe the babies are just waiting patiently for me to finish my WIPs ;o) The list is steadily dwindling.

I completed the little ball this week (pattern from I Love Patchwork: 21 Irresistible Zakka Projects to Sew by Rashida Coleman-Hale). It is so cute! I love the feel of the linen, the interesting pictures in each hexagon, and the size, which is perfect for little hands. I also enjoyed making something totally by hand.

Right in the middle of taking pictures, Mr Awesome couldn't resist playing with the ball. What in the world am I in for with three boys in the house?

That book, White Butterfly by Walter Mosley, is pretty good, by the way.

Notice that my camera is "fixed"? Um yeah, I had it on the wrong setting. How pro.

I also finished up the Gobbi mobiles. What in the heck, you ask? They are part of the series of infant mobiles recommended by education pioneer Maria Montessori.

I've long been intrigued by Maria Montessori and her methods and philosophy. It resonates with my husband and me, and seems like a natural extension of the way we already live. While we'll probably not have a perfect adherence, it's been a wonderful inspiration as we choose purposeful ways to begin our parenting journey.

One thing I wanted to invest in from the start was the lovely infant Visual Mobile Series. I've bought two Montessori mobiles from the lovely bellascasa on Etsy, the Munari and the bell and ring. But I figured I could easily make the Gobbi and octahedron mobiles myself. Okay, so it wasn't actually easy...but they came out alright.

One of Montessori's key ideas is freedom of movement. Here is our babies' play space in the living room. It features a futon covered by a quilt (someday I'll do a post on that one), a low mirror, the Munari mobile, and a couple of low shelves with items that will interest the babies. The bookshelf is bolted to the wall, so it is earthquake-safe (a genuine California concern), and won't topple when tiny movers use it to pull themselves up.

The babies will have access to the toys on the low shelves (when they are able to creep and reach), and just out of their grasps are some beautiful picture books that we look forward to reading to them. Yes, including some of the Philosophy for Beginners series - Mr Awesome's picks :o)

My final WIP is the second baby quilt. I've started the quilting, some by hand with perle cotton thread, and some by machine. I need to make some choices about the quilting pattern - only horizontal like it's twin, or horizontal and vertical to match the piecing?

Celebrate more progress here:

Finishes

I've been working on the duo of Mendocino mug rugs in the evenings after work. The wedding is tomorrow, and I'm really glad to be able to give them a hand-made gift (on time, no less!!).

But wow. They really look handmade. And not in a good way. I think I like the fabrics too much. Frankly it's been a little stressful.

Which has made me a bit disenchanted. I mean, does this look like a romantic sunset over a mystical ocean? I don't even want to obsess over it anymore.

I like to contemplate the process of determining when a project is really done-- how do you know it is finished? I'm afraid I may have rushed the last details because I was finished with the idea of the project altogether. I really hope the brides like their gifts, and they were made with love. I'm just ready to wrap 'em up and move 'em out.

I kinda like the back with H on it best of all. Ironic, because I was ready to toss the H in favor of a print but didn't want to deal with it as a scrap later on! Goes to show that sometimes the first idea is the best one.

I also quilted up the Wonky Stars Paintbox. I went with a simple quilting pattern in my fav thread, Gutterman Col. 22 (mmmm, cream-colored...)

I'm still pondering whether I ought to do double lines of quilting horizontally along the center seam. As for the back...

...what can I say, it was a week of pink! I think a quilt back is a good note to end this post on :o)

More Paintbox

Yeah, I know it's not really a paintbox. But I love all the colors and it reminds me of the messy watercolors I loved dipping into as a kid.

Making gifts seems to motivate me. I like having a deadline and knowing someone will soon be happy because they got a little something special. Designing something specifically for someone focuses my ideas. Then I look around my house and wish I had more stuff that I made. What I should do is make designs inspired by a person I love and then keep them for myself ;o) Hmmm...

In any case, these little stars are making me very happy:

They are so cheerful. This one is raising its hand: "Pick me! Pick me!" And I did pick it over the other one. I made each with 1.5" squares, so they came out about 3 3/4" square. Ish.

I love the look of them all together too. There may be more rainbows in my future!

Wonky Star Paintbox

After much hemming and hawing (and many strawberry Fig Newtons), I finally put together some of these yummy Mendocino fabrics for Mug Rug #1.

I wanted to showcase the fabrics, so I kept it pretty simple...but it was hard! Making a small quilt forces me to edit my many ideas and love of details to one strong picture. It also forces me to do math (grr, arg). I'm pretty happy with this one, but I don't think I'll love it until it's quilted.

Here's what I came up with for the back:

H is for Home, Happiness, and it's also the first initial of their new last name ;o) (These pics make the colors look much lighter than the top, but in real life they are exactly the same.)

Since I'm on a mug rug kick, I thought I'd make up another gift for a friend, just because. She is fond of saying that life is not black and white, but all the many shades of color in between. A paintbox mug rug is definitely in order.

Double whammy! It's a stash-buster! Muahahahhh...

Originally I wanted to do a wonky star paintbox. The wonky star is probably my favorite block, if I had to choose. It's what I go to in a pinch. I love looking at them and how easy they are to make. But when I made these...

...the star points seemed to fade into the background more than I expected. So I switched up the fabric placement. Which is better?

The top one is more like a color splash...but the bottom one is more paintbox-y. This is the problem with a definite plan...it invariably falls apart. Back to the mire...

Scrap Bustin' Sampler

Today, my overflowing jars of yellow and green scraps were calling my name. This (entirely candid!) shot captures the mood-- gray and windy, a typical San Francisco summer day. At least my fabrics could be warm and sunny!

But what to make? A little rooting in the ol' quilt cupboard yielded these forgotten finds:

A log cabin made from scraps sometime last year, with no purpose in mind other than to get that sunlight-through-the-forest-canopy type feeling...
















...and three little trees left over from these potholders I made my sister-in-law last Christmas. They have been patiently waiting to participate in a quilt ever since.


Since my attention span for repetitive block-making is at zero lately, this is the perfect opportunity to try my hand at a sampler. Some new blocks, a few old favorites, bustin' scraps...yay!

It's a challenge to stick to the scraps. I want to leap into yardage! But so far I've been pretty good. The trees got some roots from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow (which I horde):

I don't love how it looks right now, but I have some ideas on how to improve it. Like maybe adding a lil sun:

I'm reflecting that I may be a bit obsessed with sunshine. I'm a native of San Diego, and while I love the Bay Area (and the fog that comes with it), I often miss the desert and the big open sky. Especially in the summertime.

I also found some 3" HST. (How am I just "finding" this stuff? Who cut these?!)

Endless possibilities! Yet I had nothing big enough to put them together with, so I made some green "fabric" from the thin strips I had on hand.

 

I find myself doing this increasingly. It's a pretty effective base for any and all wonky projects (not that I've done that many), but I'm getting kind of bored with it. You see why I was so excited by those HST...I've been living in line-land.

I haven't committed to these pinwheels yet. They seem a little...pukey? Sorry, pinwheels. Just calling 'em like I see 'em. I need a sharper contrast. It may be back to the cutting board on this one...