flying geese.

i've finally gotten around to making another quilt, thanks to the motivation from a certain pregnant sister-in-law. i think it's my new favorite sewing project.

i mean, what's not to love about those haphazard flying geese and that trendy baby boy colorway. i must admit, it was super hard to part with.

and then there's the back, in a complementary charcoal batik from alison glass's handcrafted collection. so. much. pretty. coincidentally, anna over at noodlehead posted a skirt made from this same fabric last week. i think i may need to make a margot sized version with the little bit that i have left.

i trimmed it out in a black and white stripe, which i love every time i see it in other quilts (which is all of the time, because it's mad popular these days). i'm glad i went through with it, because i almost chickened out at the last minute, partially out of fear and partially because i cut my first bias tape wrong (don't ask, it was terribly sad...). but i did it, and it's awesome.

gah! i miss it already. but, alas, it's gone to a good home.

and, at least i have lots of extra fabric left in my stash. be prepared to see these fabrics popping up in lots of future projects.

and yes, that is an abacus. who needs a quilt rack.

sandbox.

our yard has a new addition.

every toddler needs a sweet sandbox. for dinosaurs and trucks and the like.

and thanks to a some pretty awesome pin-spiration over at small + friendly, a magical three hour toddler nap, and a superhero of a dad, margot now has the coolest sandbox ever.

this thing has a deck people. a deck! for dinosaur plays.

and this deck has a secret. when the play is over, it hinges back to become the lid of sandbox. so. much. clever.

we modified small + friendly's awesome plans a little bit, using one by sixes on the top instead of two by fours to cut down on the weight a bit (it's still super heavy--i can lift it, but i count it as a workout) and instead of the handle for the deck to rest on we had to use four by four legs. since our yard isn't level, we needed them to be different lengths, which you can kind of see in the picture above. and to keep them from sticking ten inches up into the air when it's in lid mode, the legs are hinged so the swing out of the way. engineered.

the sand box is about four foot square. the perfect size for toddler play and visiting cousins.

and for lounge chairs. margot didn't think that the deck chair belonged on the deck. she remedied that, despite her cousin's best efforts.

since saturday, the sandbox has gotten a lot of action, as you can tell from the many outfits in these pictures. i'm sure it will continue to be the most popular spot in our yard for quite some time.

fun fact, margot refuses to step in the sand without shoes on. in the second picture, she's barefoot, and standing on the deck. no amount of coaxing could get her in that sand until i suggested shoes and she got super excited. weird kid.

treasures.

i now have a super awesome box of family treasures that i'm pretty overwhelmed by and in awe of.

these are my grandma's. my dad's mom. she used to quilt on saturday with the ladies. they were evidently super productive. in this box there is a finished twin-sized quilt top, enough completed squares for two more, a completed set of pinwheels, and the beginnings of another twin-sized quilt. there were also a ton of small quilted pieces with an unknown final destiny. those are my favorites.

like these navy and white half square triangles, that were perhaps meant to be part of a flying geese quilt? i think there are a half dozen or so of these, in strips of three or four.

there are so many amazing vintage fabrics, like this red and white one. i mean, it has birds, houses and lutes on it! you can't get this kind of stuff these days. i think there are only four half-squares of these, so i'll have to think of something super awesome for them.

i also really love this black and white one, with its happenstance polka dot style, and this floral one. i love how modern they seem, despite their age.

and i'm probably most excited about these squares, off-white with vibrant kelly green x's on them. they were going to have a floral motif on them, like in the center of the first picture. that square is the only one that got that far. i like them with just the x's though, and i think there's enough for a twin sized quilt. i'm picturing a margot big-girl bed quilt backed in something awesomely whimsical, like cotton + steel's mesa fern book, mochi mochi floral, or these adorable bunnies.

my mind is swimming with the possibilities of all of these beauties. the vintage patchwork may not always be my style, but i can't help but appreciate the masterful craftsmanship of them and their family connection. i think i should start up saturday sewing parties of my own. anyone care to join?