Colorado, Part 1

August 6

the couch with Sherman 

Last night we got in and made it to Eliza’s without any problems.  G. was already asleep but we did get to hold A. until she went to sleep also.  There was dinner and lots of talking.  Eliza & Sam have a beautiful house with lots of great space.  They have the kind of kitchen I dream of - lots of cabinets & counter space, and a huge deep sink!  There is also an amazing green couch upstairs, which unfortunately for me doesn't fit in my suitcase, otherwise it would be coming with me!

I have a feeling that the posts are going to get shorter and shorter because as much as I would love to talk and talk and talk about the babies, I am going to hold myself to just the big stuff, which might be small stuff actually… who knows what I am talking about?

This morning my cell phone woke me with a wrong number.  No biggie, I was waking up anyway and met Eliza and A. downstairs.  G. was up shortly after that and so was Julie.  I made pancakes for breakfast and we played with the babes all morning.  There was a nap, Eliza’s lasagna for lunch, and some showering.  

During the nap we had a great time mounting Sam on a piece of foam.  (I wrote it like that because that is Eliza asked us to join her in the activity.)  They printed out a picture of Sam so that his daughters could see him every day that he is in Afghanistan.  At first G. was a little apprehensive (rightfully so) but later in the day she started recognizing him as Daddy.  I digress.  Eliza, Julie, & I rolled out the larger-than-life-sized vinyl picture of Sam and then cut him out of the foam board.  I think it is important to note that this picture of Sam is from the mid-torso up and larger than real life Sam.  I think we are going to play hide-and-seek with Sam’s cutout (and scare Eliza) a few times this week.  **I hope that when he comes home at the end of the month he takes a picture with himself so we can see how big it actually is. 

This afternoon we left the house and went into Colorado Springs.  We hung out at Poor Richard’s, which is 4 stores (restaurant, book store, toy store, & coffee shop) that are all connected.  In the back of the restaurant they have a kid’s area with toys and books.  We hung out there for an hour and then walked around the block.  We also visited Terra Verde, a great shop with tons of variety of things.  We closed the store.  We also noticed a rather large amount of zombies walking around downtown.  So I stopped one and asked; there was a zombie bar crawl.  I wish I had taken more pictures of the better ones. 

On a side note, I got to talk to my wonderful husband tonight.  Our schedules have not been that compatible for keeping touch this trip.  We have video chatted twice but that is all during the whole time I have been away.  It was wonderful to hear his voice and hear all about what he has been up to these last few days.

We came home and the night got away from us.  There was baby dinner, bath time, and bedtime.  Julie went to the grocery store and then we cooked dinner.  We made my chili-mac-n-cheese.  I forgot to add tomato paste to the grocery list so it was less baked altogether, but it was still delicious.  We added zucchini = YUM!  And then everyone faded quickly and it was bedtime for us as well. 

That was a lot longer than I thought it would be.

August 7

So mornings, they have a routine.  We are all up by about 8:30ish.  Julie has probably showered.  My hair is probably standing straight up, like it does.  And G. is playing.  At some point G. will take a nap and we will enjoy the quiet or talk about playing games.    At some point we will be hungry and make lunch.  The afternoons have the most variety.  On this particular afternoon, we went to the park and played on the swings (exclusively).  When we got home, Julie and I tried to avoid a meltdown (not our own) and played the rest of the night.  

 

August 8

So today was a normal day. Got up.  Ate breakfast.  Played with the babies.  Naptime.  Went to Target.  Brought home Panera for lunch.  Then Eliza had a Dr. Appt.  So I stayed home with G.  When she woke up from her nap, I got her up, got a new diaper (for her not me), and had lunch with her.  We played outside and inside.  We sang songs.  We were happy with very few tears until G. heard the garage door and I thought “sure let’s see who is there.”  Epic meltdown because she just realized Mom had not been there the whole time!  OMG! It was fine.  She survived. 

the healthiest meal on this trip

Then I stole the car for the night to have dinner with my grandparents (on their way South from Aspen) Aunt Jody and Cousin Jake.  Jody has a beautiful house and a stunning eye for eclectic decorating.  She has the most beautiful art that her daughter Courtney painted back in high school.  And the hall bathroom is to-die-for-stunning.  I wanted to sit in the tub for hours (but it would have been awkward if anyone needed to use the bathroom.  

Quilting, what I have learned

So, this trip has been more than just an excuse to catch up with friends (although that was the primary reason).  This trip has also centered on quilting.  Specifically, teaching me how to quilt under the masterful tutelage of one Julie.  She has been beyond patient with me and has shown me all the finer points of Quilting for Dummies (although she would never title this course this way).

So from the beginning.  Julie took Tricia & I to the fabric store to pick out squares.  We each picked two different sets of fabrics.  Mine were a pink, purple, & cream, and a blue, pink, & green with stripes & polka dots.  Julie told us we would be making pot holders or pillows.  Tricia followed directions and made a pillow, but I had other plans and was not willing to tell anyone because I was afraid I would be told no. 

We laid out our fabrics to get a feel for how they would look together and where we wanted to start our projects.  We were following a log cabin quilt structure which meant piecing together all the fabrics into "logs" and then attaching the log onto the square.  We began by cutting our fabrics into 2.5 inch strips which allowed for a 1/4 inch seam allowance on each side.  Then we cut the strips to the desired length, again with the seam allowance.  Clearly, as you add logs to the quilt they get progressively longer. 

I continued to add logs to my cabin until I ran out of fabric, which happened to be much bigger than any normal sized pillow.

a few logs in

end of the fabric
32x36 inches

After each seam is sewn, you press the seam to help the fabric lay flat.  If combining two fabrics to make one log, make sure you press the fabric open.

After all the logs are attached, lay out from the bottom to the top your muslin, batting, and quilt (pretty side up) flat on the ground.  I hated this next step.  It was tedious and awful.  Then safety pin all three layers together.  You want to make sure that you do not move the fabrics at all while doing this.  You also want to pin more rather than less.  We had pins every 2 inches or so.

Now you get to quilt.  Up until this point, you are just doing the patchwork.  Quilting is the part where you sew over the whole thing and get it put together as one piece instead of layers.   ***** NOTICE: Julie has the sides all rolled up so that she can move the quilt through the machine.  First, you are going to "stitch in the ditch" - sewing all the seams again and trying to keep your thread hidden in the seams.  I liked being able to see the thread - so I quilted right next to the seam. As long as you are consistent, it is fine!

Quilt all the seams, then the outer edge.  The back of my quilt looks like a maze from the inside out.  Then it is time to add your binding.  I don't know any of this part because we were running short on time, so Julie did this for me.

Notice in that picture the outside edge of muslin.  That is the binding.  It is folded over three times on itself and then sewn onto the front of the quilt.  The stitching only shows up on the backside.  Then you fold the binding over itself and sew a blind seam from the back.  This way there are no binding seams showing. 

So clearly I am almost finished with my first quilt in about a week.  All I need at home is a sewing machine.  I do not think it would be realistic at all for me to sew a quilt by hand, even though I do know a professional (in my mind) who does and has been for as long as I can remember.

Also, I am not done learning what needs to be learned, so I have to find a quilting place near me to both take classes and research some machines for myself.  Good thing for the internet!  I have already found a place 5 minutes from my house!  CAPITAL QUILTS!  ***I am mostly inserting that link so that in 5 days I remember that I have found a place that I WILL FREQUENT on my quest to quilt.