New Rims & Tires
At the beginning of the summer AJ tried everywhere to get a job with no luck. He was very fortunate to have understanding Grandparents who offered him a job mowing their yards each week. He has taken this responsibility very seriously and has only missed his mow days when the weather didn't cooperate. He has been very good at setting goals and saving every bit of his earnings for his Jeep. Next on his list is a new stereo.
AJ
AJ's team has won all but 1 game so far this season. To be honest it has been a little frustrating for AJ. Until last week he really hasn't gotten much playing time. Just his luck during last weeks game he got a minor concussion on the last play of the game. As we were walking him to the locker room afterwards he said with a big grin on his face "I got playing time today". Even better, he did really well. Hopefully the coaches notice and he will continue to get playing time for the rest of the season.
Mike
Mike's team is un-defeated so far. His games are really enjoyable to watch. It's amazing what a difference a good coaching staff makes. Mike has learned a ton and has the desire to continue to improve. Last nights game he sacked the quarter back which he was really excited about.
As a mom, I have to admit that I am not looking forward to another month of cold, wet games. I have turned into a big wimp.
I haven't hit the "What was I thinking" stage yet...
My postage stamp quilt is turning out great and I am really enjoying this project! I try to work on it when I can which is only in the evenings a couple times a week at most.
One month has passed and I am almost a third done.
To be realistic, at some point I am going to hit the "I'm bored with this project" or "What was I thinking" stage and it will sit for awhile. I am concerned that I am going to run out of a few of the fabrics. I think I will go purchase some more fabric just in case I need it. I would hate to get it most of the way done and not have the same fabric throughout the entire quilt.
Postage Stamp Quilt Update...
I am making great progress on my postage stamp quilt. So far I have sewn around (300) 4 patch blocks. This weekend I pinned them all onto a blanket and arranged them into 16 patch sections. My only goal as far a pattern goes is to not repeat the same fabric in a 16 patch area. Once I get these 16 patch blocks sewn together I will start all over again by sewing more 4 patches together. It's hard to tell right now but I think I will need to do this process a total of 3 times to get the size quilt I want.
What's a man cave?
man cave n. A dedicated area of a house, such as a basement, workshop, or garage, where a man can be alone or socialize with his friends.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if Adam was forced to watch his prized Utes on a T.V. anything smaller than smaller than a 60" screen? Well, ask Keith's T.V. Repair what happens when someone messes with Adam's "Man's Cave" during football season. Needless to say, we now have our big screen T.V. back just in time for the Ute game this Saturday. Wow, that was a close one!Postage Stamp Quilt
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together."
-- Vincent Van Gogh
This is a long post but its mostly just for myself...
I was inspired to make a postage stamp quilt at a time when I have no time for such frivolous nonsense. Football season is a time demanding season at our house. Both boys are in school; they both have practices at different times of the day and games on different days of the week plus other commitments that require us to be in three different places all at once. As strange as it may sound, that is exactly why I wanted a long term project. I liked the idea of a project with no pressure to complete or deadline to meet. But I am also the type of person that likes to see a project through to the end and it would give me something to look forward to and to work on. As a mom, there are times when you feel like you are nothing more than a cook, a maid and a ride from one place to another. It’s easy feel taken for granted and burnt out wishing you had time for yourself. I was determined to find a project that allowed me to use up some creative energy and something to look forward to at the end of each day or on the weekends. After I started constructing my quilt, I came across this quote which I love!
"Stop fighting your creative spirit that is struggling to break free inside you. You will not be the person you were meant to be until you free this creative spirit and find ways to put it to use. Freeing your creative spirit will not send you into financial ruin or cause havoc with your life, if you acknowledge the creative side of you and find ways to gradually blend it into your thought process. What will happen is that you will find happiness you didn't know existed and you will become the person you were meant to be."
-- Edward W. Smith, The One Minute Motivator
As I was searching for a quilt to invest my time in I came across one called a postage stamp quilt which consists of thousands of 1” pieces sewed together. It gets its name because the pieces are about the size of a postage stamp. They can be sewn randomly or rearranged into a pattern. I found a color scheme that I really liked and mapped it out the best I could on how to accomplish a similar design (above are the colors I chose to use). I purchased 19 print fabrics and 8 cream/plain fabrics. I then washed, dried and ironed all the fabric. 
Then came the fun part… no I’m not being sarcastic, I actually enjoy the cutting part although my right thumb is still numb a week and a half later after cutting somewhere around 6,000-7,000 squares in three days (I must have damaged the nerves in my right thumb).
I then organized all the colors and matched them up into color schemes. I store them in sandwich baggies with numbers on them to try to keep everything straight. 
As I get time, I pull out the baggies and sew the color schemes together, pop the seams then press them.
Here is some quilt math. I want a throw that will measure approx 70"x80". That will take 5,600 individual 1" squares or 1,400 completed 4 patch blocks.
It is going to take a LONG time but its fun to have something to be working on and something to look forward to completing (someday).
Here is an example of a competed 4 patch. As you can see, they are very tiny squares.
More updates to come...
To be continued...
Labor Day Weekend!
We had a great Labor Day Weekend. Our niece, Kammie flew in on Friday so we spent the weekend with her. On Saturday we went to the zoo with Adam's parents and enjoyed perfect weather! All the animals were all out and very playful. On Sunday, we took a jeep ride up through American Fork Canyon to Midway with Kindra, Lee, Dad & Lindsay. We then enjoyed lunch in Heber. On Monday we did absolutely nothing! I love days that we can take a two hour nap and not feel guilty about it. Unfortunalty, now its all over we all have to go back to work - UGH!
