and one for the little guy

His school is the Foxboro Foxes.

Hugs and Kisses

http://janesfabrics.blogspot.com/2013/01/hugs-and-kisses-blog-hop-schedule.html
Here's the schedule for the upcoming blog hope hosted by Jane.  My day is Feb 14, which also happens to be Valentine's Day :)

I had better get busy on my project so that it is finished in time.  I just never seem to have enough time in the day anymore.  Between the migraines, walking with hubby, my new embroidery machine (way too fun) and feeding the family, the day is all gone.  I need to carve out a bit of time for myself.  Starting...right...now!

New Business?

So, what do you think?  I figured out how to get the embroidery directly onto the beanie caps and am going to see if the Robotics kids want to buy these.  I went to a different WalMart this morning and bought 15 of the grey ones and 16 of the black ones. (that's all they had left)

I also got some purple ones and some black ones in kid sizes for my son's class.  His school colors are purple/black/white and their mascot is a Fox.  I'm planning on making those up and giving them to his teacher.  She has an auction every few weeks for the kids to buy things that are donated.  They earn tickets for the auction from doing their homework and behaving in class.  I hope the kids like the idea of a specially made beanie.  Nobody will be able to buy one in the store.

Maybe I have found a new business opportunity.  I might even be able to pay my daughter's way through college!  Ha, if only she wanted to go to a community college :)

Mr. Roboto

I haven't seen my son much these last couple of weeks.  Build season started for Robotics and this year's challenge is to make a robot that can play frisbe golf.  They have goals the frisbe goes into and earn so many points for each goal.  At the end of the challenge, the robot has to climb up some steps of a ladder.  The higher it goes, the more points they get.  I believe this is the prototype robot.  They still have to build the real one.  He competes in three different competitions this season and is really looking forward to those events.

I hate wasted days

Super bad migraine today so I didn't get anything done that I wanted to do.

I did try embroidering right onto the stocking cap and LOVE the way it came out.  SO, I decided to head to WalMart and pick up some more hats.  Went to the local WalMart and they didn't have a single hat!  The one in the next city over had about 100 of them on Wednesday.  But, I wasn't feeling well enough to head over there today.  I hope I feel better tomorrow and that nobody else gets the idea to buy them all :)

I did have a great surprise this morning when I decided to take my car in for its smog check.  My car has been smoking since about last May.  It does it randomly, sometimes in the morning, sometimes after school, sometimes when it is hot, sometimes when it is cold.  I took it in back about July and the guy at both the Toyota dealership and our regular mechanic said it needed a new engine.  They couldn't find where the leak was, but they said it probably needed a new head.  I have no idea what a head is, but I guess it is pretty important for a car.  The guy at the Toyota shop said that I had missed too many oil changes and had been running the car without oil and that's why it broke.  Who knew?  I just figured the oil would get dirty, not go away.

I should know better because I'm always oiling my sewing and quilting machines.  But, those are more important to me than a car.

So, today I decided I had to at least try and get it to pass smog.  The renewal is due in March.  When I took it in, I was so nervous.  I just knew they were going to call a tow truck and take my car away from me right then and there.  But, 20 minutes later, the guy came out and said it passed with flying colors!  Woo Hoo!  I guess I had better keep up with those oil changes from now on and hope I can get another 2 years out of it.  By then child #3 will be going off to college and we will be poor again.

So, I guess the day wasn't a total waste. Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day.

hats

My son's robotics team is wanting to buy beanies with their logo on them.  I'm playing around with some ideas before pitching to them that I can make these for less than they are going to pay online.  I did the design on felt and then sewed it to a premade hat from Walmart.  Cost me about $3 to make ($2 for the hat) and the team was going to pay $22 each.  I have a second hat that has a smaller logo and an oval around the design.  Not sure which I like better.  I just have to figure out how to sew the patch on straight :)  It starts off straight and I pin it, but when I'm done sewing it is just a tad bit crooked.

All Northern Honor Band

Here is my son after the band concert.  He is getting so big :)  He plays trombone and has really come far in the last 5 years.  He also was selected for the All State Honor Band in February in Fresno.

These kids only practiced Friday and Saturday for the concert today.  They were crazy good.  There were about 100 kids in the band.

Here's a link to the band playing on youtube.  Thanks to the guy standing behind us taking the video:
Video 1

Easy and cute

This is the first blanket i made with the quilt tops from the middle school kids.  Carla cut the fabric for Super Size 9 patch quilts and the kids sewed them.  150 of them since September.  We have not been able to keep up with these kids, but I think this will work well.  I just sewed flannel to the back, without any batting and then did the cute heart embroidery design in the middle with my embroidery machine.  I'm thinking I might go around the center piece with a straight stitch, just to hold it together a little better.  The red heart is ironed on and then stitched around because there was a hole in the fabric there.  I cut the heart with my Accuquilt Go fabric cutter.  I have to find a pattern for embroidering these on to the fabric, because I use them all the time to cover up little holes in the quilts.  Sometimes the stitches come out, or aren't sewn all the way and I end up with a hole.  Rather than going back and hand stitching the hole together, I just tack on a heart.  Cute and practical.  I have to make some more so I'm ready for the next hole.

Oh, and I have to share what I got today at JoAnn's.  They are having interfacing on sale 50% off and their serger thread is $1 a spool.  This weekend is also teacher appreciation weekend so I got 25% off everything.  I got thread and interfacing and saved over $106!  I only spent about $40 so I feel like I'm making money on the deal.  I'm sure they want me to feel this way, but I'm a happy camper.  I have enough interfacing to last until the next 50% off sale.  I already bought a bunch for regular price.  Never again.  This year I'm going to try and buy things only when they are on sale.  Makes me feel better about my purchases. :)

Frustrated with lack of accomplishments

With school being back in full swing, I'm feeling frustrated that I have nothing to show for my 'free time'.  Maybe because I'm not finding much free time, or maybe because I'm trying to figure out what to work on next.  I have a lot of projects that need attention: a memory quilt for a friend who lost her mother last year, another memory quilt for my sister in law, a quilt for my daughter, a baby quilt for a friend at work whose wife had a baby last week, and a whole bunch of quilt tops that need attention.

So, when I do go in the sewing room to work on something, I just don't know where to start.  I look around and feel overwhelmed and then go sit on the couch and crochet another baby hat.  Baby hats don't take any thinking.  I just grab the next color of yarn and crochet away.  It takes me about 30 minutes or less to make one and so I feel like I have accomplished at least a little bit before the day is over.  I'm collecting them all and hope to deliver them to the Nurse Family Partnership soon.

I've recently started making burp cloths out of the scrap flannel pieces I have laying around.  Those are even quicker than the baby hats.  This morning in about 15 minutes before having to go to work, I made about a dozen of them.  Just lay two pieces of flannel wrong sides together and serge around the outside.  They are all coming out different sizes and I figure I can drop them off with the baby hats and they will find good homes.

I'm also making flannel blankets the same way.  Two pieces of flannel, wrong sides together and serged.  I have a TON of flannel and little by little am working through the buckets.

I also have another idea for using up the flannel, by sewing it as a backing to some of the quilt tops.  Carla just gave me 150 quilt tops that the middle school kids made last semester.  There's no way I can keep up with the rate those kids are making the quilts, so I'm thinking of just sewing right sides together, the top and a piece of flannel, turning and then top stitching.  I want to put an embroidered something in the middle, to hold it together, and then be done.  The idea in my head seems to make sense, but I won't know for sure until I try it out.  I'm hoping this weekend to get a bunch done.  They shouldn't take very long and will make nice lightweight blankets for the spring and summer babies.

Lately it has been SOOOO cold here.  I know, those of you who have real winters are laughing at us in California, but it gets down into the upper 20's some nights and only into the lower 50's during the day.  Today was so warm, it got into the low 60's and I actually walked without my coat for a little bit, after I had warmed up.

Hubby and I are still walking and have done just over 50 miles so far this year.  That's 1/20th of the way to goal of 1,000 miles.  I've had a migraine almost every day this week and today's was the worst.  I also missed two days of walking this week and wonder if the two are connected.  I walked today with a terrible migraine and while the walking didn't make the headache better, my head was pretty numb while I walked.  Hopefully it will help in the long run.

 Three quilts I've finished but blogger wouldn't let me upload.  Now it seems to be working again :)

The weight isn't coming off, but I'm not gaining either.  I'm eating more vegetables and have almost completely cut out sugary snacks.  I can't remember the last time I had a cookie and I've resisted donuts twice when they were 'right there calling my name!'

Blogger troubles

anybody else having troubles with blogger lately?  For the past two days I have not been able to upload any pictures.  I got an error message this morning when trying to sign in.  Frustrating :(