3 month catch up

Hello friends!  Anyone still out there?  Has it really been 3 months since I was here?!?!

To state the obvious- life is busy.  Blame it on the kids.  When I started blogging they used to take naps and go to bed at 7:30.  Fast forward 4 or 5 years and they are up late doing homework after a full evening of hockey, ringette, dance, playdates and so on.  Not a lot of time for Mom!  But it's all good. They are fun and quirky little humans and I am just going with the flow and trying to enjoy and keep my head above water.

But today I have a day off- it's my birthday :)  Woohoo!  So far that has meant crossfit, getting cranky and tired kids to school, several loads of laundry and painting cabinets.  Do I know how to party or what? But while the paint dries, I am taking a break, having a cup of tea and some chocolate almonds and am going to chat a bit about my projects over the past 3 months...and you are going to have to cope with mostly crappy iPhone pictures, usually taken late at night in my bathroom.  Nice!

So, there has been knitting.  Knitting is my go-to these days as it is portable and can travel with me on the chauffeur circuit.  Made this cozy fall sweater:

And this one:

Started this one:

And just finished this one, which I am wearing today for the first time, yay!

Also knit myself this hat:

And made a good friend at work this shawl for her retirement. I think I need one, too!

I haven't done as much sewing as I'd like.  I had a 2 month no-sew hiatus but managed to get these in before and after that time.

The HOPE quilt.  This is a special one to me, made for a little girl in our community, Mackenzie, who was diagnosed a few years ago with Batten's disease, a terrible hereditary illness where a once completely normal child begins to suffer increasing seizures, motor loss, mental impairment and loss of sight until they are eventually lost to the disease.  There is no cure.  Mackenzie's family has been working hard to raise awareness for Batten's at their blog Mackenzie's Hope.  They are such an amazing and positive family. I wanted to give them a little "hope" back!  So I put together this happy rainbow quilt for her, quilted with hearts.  It was a pleasure to make and to give.

After my unintended quilting break, I felt the need for a quick instant gratification project.  I had received this gorgeous pack of Liberty hexies from my bestie Sam so I had my first go at putting those together.  I arranged them into a larger hexie shape, appliquéd it to some Kona Snow and did some grid quilting to add some texture. I now have a lovely mini quilt to go on my soon-to-be sewing room wall!

We have also been busy with crafts of a different variety: renovations.  We are fixing a few final things in our home, including converting the front living room to a sewing/craft space for me!  Yippee!  I think I will sew so much more if I don't have to make a production of hauling everything out and cleaning up each time.  Hoping to get that done in the next couple months.  The bigger renovations are happening at our cottage, which had water damage due to a hose that broke in our fridge and ruined most of the flooring and then some.  We have decided since the place is getting ripped apart that we might as well also do some other updates we had wanted.  So we have been busy scouting out lighting, painting cabinets, making curtains, choosing new counters and vanities and faucets and all sorts of fun stuff.  Really excited to see the finished product!


More to share, but that's enough catch up for now.  Hope you all are well!

Kristie