Oh Odalolly!

This is the Odalolly Quilt, it was the project I chose for the final project in my Curves Class, I will also be participating in Scrap Attack over at Stitched in Color with her.

I think that this quilt is the most beautiful quilt I have made. It was also the most challenging with the improv curves and so much piecing. The original Odalolly that my instructor made was entirely solids but I looked at my twelve bins of scraps and decided to make the quilt as scrappy as possible.

Scrappiest back ever!

Through the last few weeks I have slaved away, cutting, ironing, piecing and often, complaining about how much work this quilt was or about a block being just 1/2 an inch shy of wide or long enough (arghh!). I worried that my choice to randomly piece the strips and blocks would turn beautiful fabric into an ugly quilt.  At one point intended to gift this quilt to someone or donate it to the silent auction at the gala for my son's school. That was all before the quilt came together.

Last Tuesday I laid the blocks out on the floor in sequence and was amazed at how well they fit together. By the end of the day she was pieced ; beautiful! The quilt would be mine, it was not going anywhere.

Last Tuesday I liked the quilt a lot and on Sunday night, I fell in love! I sat on the half quilted quilt in the middle of living room and ran my hands over all of the scraps; everything is in this quilt! There is so much memory, so much nostalgia, so much love in this quilt! I cried a bit as I saw pieces of my sons' and nephew's quilts and bits of the lining from every cape, bits of The Wedding Quilt and The Ugly Duckling. Some pieces are just scraps but others are gifts from friends, amazing thrift store finds or indulgent fabric shopping sprees.

This quilt makes me cry, smile and giggle all at once. This quilt could tell a lot of my story in this place, a place I hated at first and couldn't wait to leave but is now is somewhere that feels like home; a place I am likely to have to leave soon and that is why this quilt is mine.

Weekend Sewing Extravaganza!

This weekend we were stuck at home with our post tonsillectomy boy. It was a pretty chill weekend of the boys chilling out and watching shows. I took advantage of the quiet house and two parent situation and sewed all day and night on Saturday and Sunday. I even tidied up the scraps in my sewing room!

Treasure bags for forest walking and geocaching. Only 3
because The Man didn't want one.

Odalolly quilt top assembled!

Odalolly 75% quilted

I even hauled out the scary machine. Last year before Ian left he bought me a serger and I haven't had a chance to take a class. I have played with it a bit but I am a bit scared to use it on lovely fabric.

Mr. Scary

Sergered pillow cases. G asked for these last May, he picked 
the fabric, Batman for him and Superman for his brother.

Since I was trying new things, I decided to work on some really easy embroidery and practice ticker tape quilting in preparation for Bottled Rainbows.

Spring!

I hope I get better at this.

Getting Back to Life

I have been a bit lax in my posting since The Man returned. It has been a glorious week and a half of him being home; he has fixed things, things have magically fixed themselves and best of all he has taken over nightime parenting. Sleep, glorious sleep; I am finally getting some.

Home!

 What a great day the homecoming was, my amazing friend Jackie, organized an all day party so I wouldn't lose my mind waiting for the moment when we could leave and pick him up. Everyone brought food, played with the kids and in the end cleaned my entire house (and magically disappeared before we got back). I have amazing friends. The above photo was gifted to me by Jade Lavallee of Pounamu Photography through The Maple Leaf Mission, I am overjoyed to have had that moment captured.

The boys are loving having two parents again and are soaking up all the attention and activity. The Man is all ours, all day every day, until late May, when he will return to work but then he will still be ours at the end of every day and every weekend. So now I can do more of this,

While The Man does this, 

I Think I Can

I have nested a total of two times in my life and both times I was enormously pregnant and the nesting was a precursor to a baby.  I can see the goal post, The Man will soon be home and staring at our dwindling chocolate supply has triggered my nesting instinct and caused me to go domestically insane.

The Goal!

My house is cleaner than it has been in months (don't worry mount laundry still exists), I have made granola, bread and a huge pot of spaghetti sauce and I am sewing like mad. I have plans to bake a pie , sew some more and maybe even clean the fridge.

Success!

I am a week (almost two) behind schedule in my sewing class so I am hoping this nesting and my general goal oriented personality will help me get it all done. This has been the longest ten months of my life and we are almost there; I feel a bit like the little engine. I think I can, I think I can!

The end of this isn't really an end so much as a beginning. The Man has been gone so long and has missed so much that instead of getting back to life as usual, we will be creating a new, hopefully better than ever, normal. There is so much catching up to do and so much of our new selves to share with each other. One thing is certain this whole military family thing is never boring.

Little boys, almost a year ago.

Big boys!