Rising Sun Quilt

Sorry I haven't been on in awhile. I had to do, you know, mom stuff. Yesterday my son thought he broke his arm, so I had to take him to the ER. Thankfully, not broken. Regrettably, an afternoon gone. But, such is the life of a mother, n'est pas?
Anyhoo, I promised I would post about my Rising Sun Quilt! It's a great quilt - quick piecing, a fun block method, and a little bit of handwork...my kind of quilt!


So, you can get the FREE pattern here:  Rising Sun Quilt Tutorial

Here are some pics of what I have so far...

Here is one block!

A group of them together :)

My husband thought, why not make them circles? And I thought, who wants to match all those seams?!
Besides, my husband is not permitted to advise me when it comes to anything sewing ;)

The only thing I have to say about the tutorial is that it has very confusing instructions. This is not a
pattern (or instructions) for beginners. Take your time reading over everything before you start and plan your cutting carefully. But the results are beautiful! And I plan on giving this quilt to my Mother-in-law for her birthday at the end of the month. She was the first to show me the quilt; I think she was was trying to hint at something :) I hear ya, Mom, loud and clear!

A Fresh Start

So what does one do when they are looking for purpose? Go shopping, of course! Well, I didn't go crazy.....I had a purpose for this shopping trip: to revamp my sewing area! It was looking blah. Really blah. So I gave myself a $200 budget to make my space aesthetically pleasing. I think it turned out great. Of course, I am not done, (the other half of the room is a mess!) but I wanted to post a few before and after pics! :)

Before...

see how everything was a complete mess?! who would want to sew there??

And After!

i added the storage in the middle, and put a design board in the extra space between the bookcases!

This room makes me sooo happy! And isn't that we all want? Some happiness in our lives? I am eager to finish my space so I can get back to sewing!
Oh, and the quilt blocks you see on my design board are called Rising Sun - I promise, another blog is coming about that quilt!

I Wish I Had Some Purpose

Okay! So this is my first blog post. I'm a little nervous. Not sure what to say, but I'm going for it. My name is Bethany. I have a husband, two boys, and dog. We live in Canada, but only because my husband is on a work assignment. Sometimes I miss the States soooo much.
So I'm starting this blog because I've been in this fog lately. You ever have a feeling like you have no purpose? You're not sure where you're supposed to be, or what you're supposed to be doing? I have a feeling I'm not the only one. Right now I'm a stay at home mom. However, both my children are in school full-time. So I have everyday to sit with my thoughts and drive myself crazy thinking, "what are you doing? why don't you have a job? this is freaking boring!"
I used to teach special education. I loved it. Really. But, due to circumstances I won't get into, I don't teach anymore. So, what else can I do with my life? Well, I've been sewing and quilting for 25 years. That's good, right? Wrong! Where can you get a job quilting? Nowhere, that's where! Believe me, I've looked!
So, that's why I'm starting this blog. To share my projects, my frustrations, my ideas, my "woe is me" rants, and much more. Come along for the ride......sounds fun, right? One can only hope.
I wish I had some purpose. If the Lion can find courage, and the Tin Man a heart, and the Scarecrow a brain, well, then, Bethany can find some purpose!