Week 46 | Farmhouse Granny Square #2 + Yankee Puzzle

Week 46 | Farmhouse Granny Square #2 + Yankee Puzzle

Annetta | I just love this square. I've said it a couple of times that some squares I would make a whole granny square blanket out of them and this square I did just that. Of course, it's a separate project and my mom crocheted most of them, but it's still a blanket from one of my favorite patterns. The ones I made for this week are tiny compared to the blanket I just finished as the yarn are different which gives it it's size. I love this pattern because it is so simple and mindless, but the result is stunning. The beauty of it is the color variations. I have my usual colors and just a couple of squares for this week.

Favorite moment of the week: This week was so great and yet so heartbreaking. I'll spare you the heartbreaking story and share the love story. My husband and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. Every year we go somewhere. On special years it's somewhere far and on regular years it's somewhere local, but we ALWAYS have that time for just the two of us to invest into our marriage. This year it was a local trip to the Slovak Tatry mountains and some historic cities near there. The weather was perfect and so was the whole trip. There were so many favorite moments that I am listing the trip as a big favorite moment of my week.

Stephanie | So I spent time during the week prepping the remaining blocks I have for this project. My to-do list and calendar are filling up more and more each day, its overwhelming. Picking fabric, ironing the fabric and cutting it out to size is a job just in itself, even with just these little blocks. But folding and re-ironing the same fabrics week after weeks is a bit redundant. So I just decided to select the fabric for the rest of my blocks, spend one time ironing and cutting the fabric. Each block is cut and prepped in a ziplock bag waiting. I wish I had done this earlier in the year, now all I have to do is grab a bag and assemble the block. I feel like the universe knows when you have no time, no patience and you just need to hurry and get something done. Because this block was such a pain, that I ended up throwing it across the room and walking away. My HST keep getting jammed up in the machine since the top point has diagonal seems on it, usually on both the top and bottom fabric. Every single one was being a pain. Last week I had the same issue and ended up breaking my needle in frustration. In the middle of my jam session, I noticed I had sewn a piece together in the wrong direction, which really sucks as half the block was already together. I have yet to fix or finish this block.

Favorite moment of the week: I did get a boarder sewn onto my completed quilt, I put a 4 inch white boarder around the whole thing and finished embroidering my Autograph block from week 25. Now its all ready for the batting and backing fabric. I am hoping to get that done next week.

Week 45 | Diamonds + Daisy #2

Week 45 | Diamonds + Daisy #2

Stephanie | So I thought I was making this diamond block completely different this time, but it turns out, I made almost exactly the same. I though last time I just used scraps and it was kinds thrown together, so this time I wanted to make it like the pattern says, with 1 main color and a little of a second color. I didn't look at my previous block until just now, and I used practically the same fabric. Too funny.

Favorite moment of the week: This has been an intensely busy week. I was painting the church again, making a parade banner, girl scout painting night, church groups...its been crazy. My favorite part was getting a phone call from Annetta. It was so good to talk and catch up, its been forever since we had a good chat on the phone. It was so good, that I lost all track of time and was late getting my kids from school!!

Annetta | I usually love my second squares so much more than my first ones, but not this time. I changed a stitch in the flower part to make the petals be more defined, but instead kind of ruined the whole look of the pattern. The middle looks more like a circle now versus what the first one was like. I actually also like the colors in the first one so much more than my second daisy. Guess I need to re-do this one at some point or just keep it as a reminder not to fix what isn't broken. Which one do you like best?

Favorite moment of the week: Aside from the wonderful 2 hours I spent on the phone with Stephanie and making her be late for her school run I really enjoyed game night after church. If anyone knows me they know I love to play games. There are a few things more entertaining then games with a big group of people who don't like to lose. We had our church family come over for waffles and after we ate all the waffles we could eat we played BS. Nothing like watching church people lie to win at a game, lol.

Week 44 | The Compass #2 + Tulip Ladyfingers

Week 44 | The Compass Granny Sqaure+ Tulip Ladyfingers

Annetta | When I made this square the first time I remember loving it. The second time is no different. Actually, I would love a whole granny square blanket with this pattern. I love the it starts out in a circle which is the opposite of a square, but in the end, the pattern forms a square. So it has a fun element and surprise to the pattern. This also means that color variations are limitless. I've been stitching with the same color scheme as I started out. 

Favorite moment of the week: We went somewhere! It was a holiday week for us and my husband stated he did not want an overnight trip. In the end, we went on a local hike to a place called White Stone. I'll add a video if you want to see. It was a really fun day out as a family. The town itself is also a really beautiful place where there are many fun wineries.

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Stephanie | I am done to my last tiny bit of white fabric, so out of the last few blocks I have left, I picked the one that required the smallest amount of white. I ordered more white fabric and my backing and binding fabric for both quilts. I cant believe we have less than 10 weeks to go! When I did this block last time, I stayed with a pink vibe. This time was going to be blues, but I changed it up and made it a combination. I also used the same style print in the corners as I did the first time to make them somewhat similar.

Favorite moment of the week: I was happy to have power come back on!!! It went out on Saturday and didn't come back on until Wednesday in the later afternoon. It was stressful, boring, and cold! Its been quite the week emotionally and mentally. So we had no power, so we had to buy dry ice a few times to help preserve our limited food we had in the fridge, the kids didn't have school because our small country school doesn't have a generator, I had to shower at my pastors house because our well pump runs on power, and we had a rattlesnake in our garage. We also had Halloween in there, which I made costumes for this year that I had to try to finish around the power outages, and got them done finally by noon on Halloween.

 

Week 43 | Fourth of July + Sunshine Square

Week 43 | Fourth of July + Sunshine Square

Stephanie | So  I am here frantically trying to get something posted before our power is shut off, AGAIN, due to high winds and fire threats. I want to have something posted, as I may not have power again until Monday or even Wednesday. It all depends on the weather. I am doing the Fourth of July print again and kept with the Red, White, Blue color scheme.**woohoo, I got it done in time!**

Favorite moment of the week: Being able to get paint done and decor up at our Church lobby. It looks so good!

Annetta | My squares are growing, but not fast enough. I haven't gotten enough square for an actual blanket and at this rate, I am going way too slow. This weeks square was simple as it didn't require any color changes and I like that. The first blanket that I did for the first half of this project few home to America with my mom. I was making it for her as a gift because she has made so many for me and it was time to bless her in return. 

Favorite moment of the week: The weekend was pretty awesome. We got to visit a town called Trnava. It's one of my favorite places to visit that close by and pretty. Also, my son got a haircut after refusing one for a whole year! Did I ever mention how much I LOVE living in Europe? It's just so so gorgeous and there is always something to explore. Soon the Christmas markets will start and those are fun.

Week 42 | Cluster Flower + Framed Windmill

Week 42  | Cluster Flower + Framed Windmill

Annetta | So... Last time I made this flower I hated it. As I was crocheting this pattern the second time I was getting the same exact feelings until... I finished it and don't hate it anymore. A simple switch of colors was all this pattern needed to shine. I also love the new border color I have chosen. I am still not sure how it will look when the whole blanket is put together, but I have high hopes. I love how the cream softens the pattern and then the teal edge adds that perfect pop.

Favorite moment of the week: This week was ROUGH. My mom was sick for the whole week. The day of her flight she was physically shaking and couldn't do much walking due to weakness. All of that had put a big damper on our final week of her visit. She flew out today actually and I am thankful for airline wheelchair assistance. On a brighter note, my favorite part was sitting with her while we worked on our separate projects. I will cherish those memories while she is back in the states.

Stephanie | This was the very first block I did at the beginning of the year. I was happy with myself for completing it, but as the weeks went on, it turned into my least favorite block due to color choice. I wanted this one to be prettier. It was startling to get too pastel-y, so I added the navy. Not sure how I feel about it yet. I'm sure it will blend into all the other blocks just fine. This one is a little tricky as its an actual framed block. All the others I feel have softer edges while this one has a firm edge, its set out from all the others. 

Favorite moment of the week: Saturday was a work day at church, getting it all ready for the new renovations. We have been talking about it for a while and now is the time to start working. The guys worked on finishing up a bit of landscaping while the girl finalized our plans for the new look and layout of the lobby. We picked out the furniture we want and got our plan ready. This week furniture will be bought and painting starts in the next week or so. Exciting changes are coming.

Week 41 | Posy Basket + Heart Square #2

Week 41  | Posy Basket + Heart Square #2

 

 

Stephanie | I remember the first time I made this block, I used a variety of colors and it didn't make the basket stand out. This time I tried to keep with the same color tones (except the one random blue block) and make sure there was enough contrast to make the basket pop. I used only scrap pieces again for this block. I was going to make a 2nd block this week to catch up from a few weeks ago, but I was unable to get it done. We lost power for 3 days this week due to the high winds and fire danger.

Favorite moment of the week: We are still dealing with sickness in the house, plus loosing power for 3 days which resulted in no school for the kids. I was a strange week here. I loved getting some happy mail from my friend for my birthday. She sent me several plant babies and some quilting magazines and fabric.

Annetta | We are back to making duplicates of all the squares. I had four contrasting colors and one main one. I am thinking about changing that up in the next following weeks to give the blanket some variety. I have two colors to choose from. For this week I stayed with white, but need to change the main color by next week.

Favorite moment of the week: We are still dealign with sickness here. Now my mom is sick and she flies out on Sunday. This is our last week together. Our past week was spent at home recovering. I guess my favorite moment was watching my son and dog cuddle on the couch together. Tucker doesn't usually let my son cuddle with him as he prefers my husband or me over him. It was a welcome change because my son had dreams of this day for so long.

Week 40 | Maybelle Granny Square + Flying Cross

Week 40  | Maybelle Granny Square + Flying Cross

Annetta | We are on our last three months of this project! I am back to crocheting the other half of my squares. This week it was one of my favorite patterns from this whole blanket the Maybelle. I love the way that the square comes out. There is so many beautiful version of this square and all you have to do is change the colors of the rows. I also wanted to knit up a few more then I needed so that the blanket had more of them. 

Favorite moment of the week: This week I had a sick kid just as Stephanie had. We planned a trip to Prague for the weekend and had already paid for the hotel, but the morning of our departure my son had a fever. I've had a cold for 2 weeks now, but his fever came out of the blue. My mom and I ended up exploring some of Prague by ourselves while my husband stayed behind with my son. The road trip itself was a little rough due to the fever. Despite it all, we did enjoy exploring Prague and having that time together because she flies back to the States all too soon.

Stephanie | This was a fun pastel block, easy with HST and squares. Since there was no white in the block, I kept the colors light rather than using the reds and navys. I think each fabric stands out on its own and doesn't get lost in the block.

Favorite moment of the week: This has been a rough week. Escaping goats, sick kids, and a call to 911. Luckily the goats have finally been contained, and 911 ended well, but we are still dealing with a sick girl who seems to want to get worse and not better. We had a Girl Scout trip to the pumpkin patch which was fun. My oldest volunteered to be a helper in the pig races and was selected, she never volunteers in settings like that, so that was fun to see her step out into something scary for her. The whole trip was a success and we left the patch with some fresh cider and sunflowers.