One of my "after" projects.

I made the girls Valentine countdowns this year and they have loved getting up every morning to find their treasures. Caroline is not as interested in the days that she gets an eraser or plastic heart but just likes the days she gets candy.

Before.

I hope that I will be able to add a "after" photo to this before shot of my fabric store purchases today. It has been way too long since I have sewn a project and i am getting the itch. My embroidery machine has not worked since June and is finally in the sewing machine hospital to get fixed, it should be released with a clean bill of health next week.
So, in honor of my friend Mindy's birthday I spent the day at the fabric store (oh ya, and I also thought of my father-in-law while I was at the fabric store, it is his birthday too. I am sure he would have loved to be there with me searching through piles of fabric... huh Herb?)
Happy Birthday friends!

The More we get Together...
The happier we are

Tonight I spent 6 hours at the church, the ward close to our house, helping the senior girls for next year make their senior quilt. It was such a brilliant idea to team up one senior with a sewer to work together.
I got one of the cutest girls who also is one of the assistant swim coaches on AK's swim team.

We did foundation piecing with preprinted squares that you buy by the yard. the colors of the quilt were pink and green, so fun to work with fabrics you love!

This was the flavor table that we got to pick the sequence of our blocks.

This is the back of the block after it has all been sewn. If you can sew a straight line - you can make this quilt. (top photo shows them after they have been cut)
these are the block me and my senior got done.

some of the A day's girls were working on flag quilts.

But the best part of the night was Annie Kate's sweat shop she had set up in the corner. I brought her machine and a chunk of fabric and ribbon for her and the other girls to make whatever they wanted. She was the only one who knew how to completely thread the machine and fix the problems is things got stuck and such. I told her to just do what ever she wanted but that I really needed to focus on getting these block done on the other side of the room.

So Annie Kate started teaching some of the other kids how to sew. She had them sit on her lap because the chair was too low to the machine and it was easier for them to do it. (oh my I ran to the other side of the room to snap this shot and was just crying I thought it was so cute)

The girls got easily distracted with playing and dancing to high school musical in the center of the room. AK kept sewing away to finish a project.
she then walks over the the grown ups to show us her finished project.
a patchwork back from her fabric stash! Even the seniors were excited about it. So then the other girls asked Annie Kate to make them one too. So until 11:30 at night, there she was making 3 bags for the other girls. She would have them pick out the ribbon for the handles and what they wanted on the front and back. I used to have a business doing this for other people and watching and listening to her was just something out of movie. It was so cute to hear her.

So she sat and sewed while the other girls played. I was just so proud to see how well she could cut, piece and sew the fabric. On the way home she said it made her feel good to know something to be able to teach others.
It was a great night

AK also had a coach's pick swim meet today and swam freestyle and the butterfly and then was asked to swim in the team relay at the end of the meet. Me and the drowning victims stayed home but Jeff said she did great. The night before the meet she said again, "i am a little nervous, I have no idea what I am doing" just imagine how great she will swim when she does know what she is doing!