A not so quick catch up!

{I apologize for the post full of stuff. I meant to do better blogging....hopefully I can get back in the swing of things!}

First - and most important! This adorable girl started Kindergarten at the public school a couple of weeks ago, and she LOVES it!!! It has been so good for all of us, and I feel zero guilt. We do her little homework packet together in the afternoons, and somehow it is so much easier than homeschool lessons ever were. And suddenly she just knows how to write letters. Zero frustration!! And B gets quiet time alone which she absolutely loves or can talk to mommy without having to talk over Katy, and I get things done (like her hair, which never happened when we were home all day). =)

The majority of my work the past two weeks has been putting finishing touches on our basement project. It has been a long time coming, and we've learned we aren't really big DIY people when it comes to finishing/remodeling things around the house. (Though both hubby and I can rock out some crafty DIY!) 2 years ago hubby framed the walls, did electrical, plumbing,put up sheet rock, etc. But those darn seams between the sheetrock....they just would not go away! It became the room to avoid! But I've got some awesome neighbors who came to the rescue and got it done for us and they did an awesome job! And then I finally got to jump in with my part - painting!

Pictures will never do the color justice. It's Valspar Sea Wave and it is FANTASTIC!!  There are just a few things we need to do to call the project 100% done - a door for the water shut off valve and some shelves above the washer, but I've already put up decorations!

I am so in love!
Finishing up painting meant I could finally get all the crap that has been sitting in our school area back where it belongs on the storage shelves. (thankfully this hasn't been sitting around for the past 2 years - the storage shelves were installed last year, I just took it all out so it wouldn't get covered with drywall dust.)

And somehow all of that organization lead to a need to rearrange my sewing area - yay I can now see my mini quilt wall, the window AND my design wall! (And the birdcage got moved over by the chalkboard easel.)

And somehow, in the middle of all of the business I managed to FINALLY finish the Giant Star quilt! I started basting in back in July! I finished basting it last week, quilted it in a day, and now it is waiting for somebody to buy it (check FB for an awesome deal, otherwise it's going on Etsy on Monday!)

It finished at 70" square. I used fat quarters from Bari J's line Lilly Belle and a whole lot of Kona White.
And finally - this month I was approved to join do. Good Stitches!!! I'm part of the Inspire group, and have already completed my first bee blocks. (And I'm not going to lie, these took longer to make than it did to quilt the giant star!!)

Improv Herringbone. Tutorial can be found HERE

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One of my online quilting friends, Jenn Michaels, just finished up this fantastic version of Drunk Zebra. After seeing it only in black and white I really want to make my own color version now (add that to the long list of quilts that need to be finished!). The quilt was made for her brother, who is big Packers fan, so she chose green and yellow. The Drunk Zebra pattern can be purchased on Craftsy or on Etsy.

I am just so happy with how it turned out that I had to share it with you all! If you've made any quilts from my patterns I'd love to see them (and share them if you'd let me)!!