Spring is here!

I'm not sure what it is about this beautiful weather, but I have so much energy and motivation to get things done.  As the weather gets nicer, we're spending more time outside each day --although I'm sure my allergies are going to start at any second.

Emma & her rock collection

This little girl loves to spend time outside, especially if Maggie and Paige are out there.  That's perfectly ok with us because the neglected gardens need a lot of work.   We're currently working on cleaning up the yard, taking breaks to play with bubbles, and are planning to get a few toys for the back yard once we receive our tax return.  It's fun to splurge every now and then.

When we're not outside, I'm dividing my time between the woodland sampler {April is fabulous!}, my springtime sampler frames {never-ending}, sewing my hugs and kisses blocks, and knitting.  It's craziness.  The weather is almost nice enough to do hand sewing on the porch in the evenings.  Can.not.wait.

WIP Wednesday: On the Needles

Socks in progress for Emma.

It's far from perfect though.  I got to the part of the directions to turn the heel and I just gave it a shot.  I'm not sure I did it correctly (the short rows were weird), but it looks ok.

Sock/heel as seen on Instagram.
Pattern: Jelly Bean Baby socks in Toddler size.

I think from this point forward I should be good, until the Kitchner stitch of course. Hopefully I'll get feedback from my instructor tomorrow night so the 2nd sock is better.

April Just 3

A little March re-cap for you:

1. Finish hand sewing the binding on Emma's Smitten quilt - Done!  Can't wait to get outside to photograph it.

2. Piece blocks for my Hugs and Kisses quilt - Done!

I wish I could rotate this :(

3.  Knitting goal -  Finish finger-less mitts so that I can stop freezing my butt {or hands} off at work - Done!

Having goals definitely keeps me motivated to get stuff done :)

April's Just 3

1. Finish piecing the Hugs & Kisses and Cherish Nature quilt blocks into tops (baby steps here, people!)

 2. Knit a pair of socks (a sock,  maybe? baby socks?).  I only have one more knitting class left and I really need to learn how to turn a heel.  I'm hoping that by knitting baby socks I'll get to the heel quicker and my teacher will be able to show me how in class. {Pattern is Jelly Bean Socks from Spud & Chloë.}

3. Make Miss Emma some clothes - quick change trousers, anyone?  I'm hoping Emma will still fit into the 18-24 month size but I may have to make them a little longer for my string bean.

What are your goals for this month?

Linking up:

Bloglovin'

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Trying something new.

Google reader departs on July 1st so to prepare myself properly, I'm claiming my blog!

You should too ;)

P.S. Happy April!

Bee Wrap Up

The Simply Modern bee ends in April. I've done 2 rounds of a Garden Fence block bee and have enough aqua and red blocks for a quilt now!   I ended up with almost an even number of blocks with red borders and aqua borders --which is fantastic.

I completed both my March and April blocks this week and got them out the door.  I'm so glad to have these off of my plate!

March Simply Modern Bee Block for QuiltyGirl2

March Simply Modern Bee Block for fushigi88

April Simply Modern Bee Block for Quilty McQuilterton

April Simply Modern Bee Block for Quilting&Cussing

Fabric used in the blocks are a variety of Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets, Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow, Momo It's a Hoot and Oh Deer, and Violet Craft Madrona Road --all from stash

March - Just 3 Check In

It's almost April!!!  I'm happy and sad at the same time.

This little girl is getting so big!  Time is flying by and she is picking up new words everyday.  I want her to stay this age for just a little longer.

I'm looking forward to the beautiful weather, playing outside, and getting back to gardening.  And of course April 1st will bring the next month of the Woodland Sampler and the first installment of the Springtime Sampler.

I'm making pretty good progress on my March Just 3.....

1. My fingerless mitts are done (yay!), except I have to weave in the yarn ends and figure out how to bind off....

2. My Hugs & Kisses quilt blocks are coming along.  I am about half done sewing the blocks...and should have no problem finishing up the rest this month.

3. Binding is complete!  I finished it on a recent car trip to visit my in-laws.  Once it starts to feel more like spring around here, I'll take it outside for some pictures!

Pattern is Smitten by Rachel Griffith.

I'll have lots of time this week to catch up on my Hugs & Kisses blocks because Hubby is traveling for work :(

A week in the life of the CraftyProcrastinator on Instagram

If you're on Instagram, I'm craftyprocrastinator. And well, if you aren't, you should be!

Instagram is my new favorite social media app...I love seeing what everyone is working on (stitching, sewing, quilting, knitting), the materials/eye candy (yarn, aurifil - did you see the Tula Pink aurifil collection?!, and of course fabric), and even what everyone is baking/cooking/eating.  Yum!  Plus it was a great way experience Quilt Con last month without being there.

Bad {work} day yesterday...stopped at Starbucks for a little relief.  It only took 20 minutes with one person ahead of me in line!

Finished knitting a hat...quickly frogged said hat because errors (holes) and sizing

Birthday cupcakes made by Heather.  Yum!

The only way I get to sew during normal hours is to let her "sew" too.  Set her up with a pattern, fat quarter bundle, and sometimes a few blocks and she's entertained for awhile.

Birthday breakfast in bed on the couch.  I woke up too early to be surprised by Chris & Emma with breakfast in bed.

I caved....I said I wasn't going to, but I did.  Spring is my favorite season.  How could I not? #springtimesampler #frostedpumpkinstitchery

Part of my Just 3 goals for March.  I'm finished the 2nd fingerless mitt and just need to figure out a proper bind off technique.  Suggestions?

A little review...

I recently picked up a copy of Quilty magazine at JoAnn's when I was really supposed to be shopping for a birthday gift for my (almost) sister in law.  I spent so much time in the store trying to pick out yarn, needles, or even a knitting book for her but I wasn't having any luck and I really didn't want to leave the store empty handed.  I was deciding between Quilts & More and Quilty and I ended up picking Quilty because I had never read it/seen it before and it had an article about quilt guilds.  The quilty (ha-ha, get it?) content was ok.  The quilt patterns (previews here) are geared towards beginners so easy-peasy stuff.  There is a quilt that I've considering making, so that's a win!  I was pretty disappointed with the article about quilt guilds though.  It seemed more like, this is why you shouldn't join a guild, guilds aren't for everyone unless you have lots of time because we are all so busy.  Well ain't that the truth, but I still love my guild(s) and sewing with friends is so much better than sewing solo.

Borrowed from http://www.heyquilty.com/quilty-magazine.html

I did enjoy the article on batting, the fabric eye candy, & I really liked that they included information for submitting content (i.e. original quilt patterns).  Will I buy it again?  Sure...I mean just check out this cover, and this is pretty nice too!

Borrowed from http://www.heyquilty.com/quilty-magazine.html

My local JoAnn's is closing....well or as they say moving.  When you're used to having a JoAnn's less than 2 minutes from your house forever and then they decide to close AFTER they open the new one...they're really just closing.  They aren't moving merchandise, they aren't restocking anything...they are pretty much just selling what they have left and slowly moving everything up to the front of the store leaving the back half empty.  When I was there last night, the yarn was pretty slim pickings.  The magazines were gone.  I wanted to pick up the new Quilty but all of the magazines were removed. :::sad face:::