Pioneer Week - Friday

Friday was a busy day- sewing day!

(our cat claims pretty much anything I'm working on as her throne- this fabric was meant to go into Kai's quilt because it's soft and cuddly, like he is)

I rummaged through my fabric stash and laid out about a dozen different fabric designs for the kids to choose from for their patchwork quilts.

Gregory chose 3 prints: a dark blue with silver stars, camouflage (for the Air Force, he told me), and a cat print.

The girls chose 4 different princess themed prints plus a kitten print. For anyone who doesn't know, my kids have a passionate obsession with cats.

I cut out the majority of the squares, but they got to wield the rotary cutter a few times.

(no, we never left Charla alone with that blade)

TA-DA!

Then the kids got to lay out the squares in any way they wanted to.

Gregory came up with a pattern. He would first lay out 1 block of each print, from left to right, and then 2 blocks of each print in the same order, then 1 of each again... repeated until they were all laid out.

I was afraid that it would be too obscure to even follow. But it resulted not only in a recognizable pattern, but resembled Gregory's favorite plane, the B-2! He was BEYOND thrilled! That boy never ceases to amaze me.

Using yarn, I laid down a grid on the carpet for Charla to use to arrange her squares. She was so delighted, prancing around the room, daintily laying those girly squares at random.


Charla often begs me to let her sew. Unfortunately, the sewing machine I got her is currently out of commission. She was sure excited to use mine to piece together a few blocks! She was so careful when feeding the fabric into the machine.

(all ready to be backed... sadly hers is the only one that is complete at this point. I still need to back Gregory's and piece Leora's and cut out Kai's!)

I cooked up a pot of dried pinto and white beans with some spices. We also whipped up another batch of fresh rolls. It was a simple, yet delicious dinner. It really reminded me of my grandma's beans- sure made me miss her more than ever!

(Eating only by candlelight that time!)

(My favorite picture of my dad's parents)