lately

The kids had TaeKwondoTesting yesterday.

Boys had mid-terms

and girls were both testing (again) for their black belts.

Gramma and Grandpa Bill came down to cheer them on,

but Jeremiah was the only one who passed.

The others were understandably sad,

but they were still happy for their friends and brother who did pass,

and I was proud of all 4 of them.

~

I was supposed to get a package yesterday.

Fabric - 

that I planned on playing with today,

but our mail carrier said it was undeliverable

because of "bad road".

I wasn't quite as gracious in my disappointment

as my children were.

Granted,

our driveway does get a bit sketchy,

but it certainly isn't bad enough

to warrant non-delivery of packages!

Tyler and the boys

fixed it anyways.

~

We haven't done just a ton of house projects

in the past few months,

but Tyler did finish making

 and installed the pantry door

a few weeks ago.

I love it!

(but it's terribly hard to photograph.)

He bought the window for $2.50 at a yard sale,

and built the door around it.

The barn door hardware was a bargain Snagshout purchase,

originally ordered for the upstairs bathroom,

but it worked even more perfectly in the kitchen.

We pretty much just leave it open,

but it's nice to have the option to close it.

~

Remember the circle centered granny squares?

I finally finished all 168 circles

and started turning them into squares and joining them.

I got 3 rows done super fast

(meaning - I ignored most other responsibilities

for a whole day

and may have even frustrated my very fabric-tolerant husband,

but I was trying to build muscle memory

so I wouldn't have to re-figure how to do it)

and then decided I definitely wasn't happy with my yarn choice

(I suspected I wasn't when I bought it...)

so I have been undoing

and redoing those 3 rows.

I like the new yarn much better,

so it was a wise call.

(but I still haven't gotten all 3 rows re-done,

and it's been over a week....)

I still like fabric

better than yarn.

~

The boys are taking a writing class on Monday afternoons.

They aren't exactly enjoying it,

but they are doing well.

Adding in another day of being out and about

is wearing out the momma, though!

In addition,

the class is only one hour long, 

and in an area of FSM 

that isn't convenient for most of our shopping needs

so I can't even redeem the time by running errands.

The girls and I did go to Michaels a few times

since it's somewhat nearby,

but that's not financially feasible

on a weekly basis

because it's very hard 

for 3 crafters 

to just 

look

at Michaels.

I am glad to have some assistance in teaching writing though.

~

Once I got all quilt commitments finished,

I started really hoping for a new commisioned project.

I've only given 2 machines this year...

I didn't exactly pray about it,

but God certainly knew it was on my heart.

A few days ago,

an old friend messaged that she would like to commission me

to make her a quilt!

I am so looking forward to reconnecting with her 

through the process,

and I'm excited to actually feel a little excited

about a project.

And 

of course,

 I am thrilled to be able to give a few more machines,

though this'll be a bit of a doozy

and it's unlikely I will finish this year.

that's just the beginnings of the fabric pull :-) some will be weeded out and many more will be added

~

If you'd like to see some of the progress pictures

from my dad's quilt,

you'll find them on instagram with the # lovebuildsahomequilt.

I am making a concerted effort to post more on the blog,

but there is no denying that it's much easier

to quickly post on Instagram

so you can always check over there

if you get tired of waiting for me here.