Scrappy Trip Around the World

Quilters have been making "Trip Around The World" quilts forever.

I'm not a big fan.

But a Scrappy Trip Around The World?

And with a chapel baby expected in June?

Sign me up :D

Alexa didn't know the baby's gender,

but she assured me that blue is her favorite color.

Mine too!

And scraps... I have a'plenty, with a soft turquoise for the backing.

  

I used three different darker blues for the longest diagonals in each block,

to tie it all together.

And a few rogue squares that only appear once - a little eye-spy for me!

The photos don't seem to capture the warmth

of the blues and turquoises adequately.

It's just a little quilt... for a little baby.

Maybe for the car or the stroller :D

Alexa seems pleased.

And I added an Old Navy sleeper,

to remind this Canadian-American

of her American side ;D 

Labor Day... Well, That Escalated Quickly

It's Labor Day.

That means it's September, and

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN???

When I haven't been blogging here for so long

it feels awkward to start back up.

Do I try to fill in all the gaps?

No?

Maybe?

Just jumping in, for now...

I hope you're relaxing and enjoying your Labor Day weekend in proper style,

as ours appears to be All About The Projects..

a weekend of LABOR.

Boys are doing laundry (see above)...

and cleaned their bathroom (no photos, but WHEW!)

In anticipation of the changing seasons and an end to line drying,

Kerry cleaned out the dryer vent...

That ain't the half of it!

(Boy is that new leaf blower versatile!)

None of us felt like doing much in the hot, smoky weeks of August - ugh.

(Thanks B.C. wildfires...)

The beautiful sunsets were no compensation for nasty air.

Isn't that view depressing?

That's more like it.

So with fresh air and renewed energy,

back to the projects...

Gunnar (and sometimes other boys)

have been digging out the crawl-space under the house.

It's dusty.

Probably because the dirt down there hasn't seen rain since 1902.

Then on the outside...

We've had brick piled in the driveway for a couple of years,

and I've been wanting a little retaining wall to separate the so-called flower beds from the lawn.

And why do I refer to them as my "so-called flower beds"?

This is why.

Ravenous parasites.

 They're surveying the buffet, unfazed by the bricks and the work going on.

And it IS going on!

Kerry's teaching himself a new skill,

and saving us a boatload of money.

Meanwhile, I found some cute fabric at Ragfinery recently.

Probably paid all of fifty cents for the green polka dotted upholstery fabric and decided to put it to immediate use.

When I pulled out the red ticking, for the backing,

... suddenly they looked kind of Christmassy,

so they've gone into the closet for awhile.

Niko apparently didn't get the memo about working hard...

Whew.

I'm just glad for cooler weather!

I lounged in my (still-feels-new) recliner this morning,

sipping tea, and enjoying this dramatic sky...

... which has since cleared and given us a lovely autumn-feeling afternoon,

perfect for screen doors and porches. 

 And I cleaned our bedroom and moved the furniture again.

I like my head right under the open windows through the summer...

But everything fits so much better this way.

 I even hung a new string of colored lights, and put them on a timer,

so I have this cozy scene waiting at bedtime,

complete with a cat who thinks he owns the place.

And with that, we're launched into September.

Whew!