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Here is what the triangles turned into.  A colorful banner for birthday parties, BBQ's, and pretty much any occasion where you want some pop of colors in your room.  We are not buying any more streamers, and maybe won't even need balloons any more.  Adrianne and her kids came over for another sewing/play day, and we worked all day.  We were just finishing up the two 10 yard banners when Scott and Stu came home from work.  

Quinn got two teeth!

Project Day

Adrianne and I got together for another sewing day.  I don't know if I mentioned before, but the first time we made headbands and turned Adrianne's skirt into Hannah's skirt and a matching headband.  Anyway, Hannah and Kai played together well with some help and entertainment from Asha.  Grant and Quinn were happy going around the three stations, swing,  exersaucer, and floor time.  

We made Grant a few bibs using Stu's old shirts and Adrianne's skirt.  They turned out very cute.  I didn't get a chance to take a picture, so I made a few more today using the material Adrianne left, so I could show you.  We also cut out 180 triangles.  More about them in the next post.  

The preparation for the military baby shower is going well.  We announced it to the sisters in the ward, and the donations are starting to come in.  I found out more about these ladies that we are putting the shower on for.  I had thought that their husbands were in the military, but it was they who are.  They are new in the area.  They are in training.  They are pregnant.  And they are going to be deployed at some point.  Just sounds awful to me.  Alice, the sister in charge of this project wanted me to make burp clothes, so I made 12 of them using the flannel fabric I had bought in Evanston.   

I got some knit fabric in the mail today.  They are mostly cotton Lycra knit, and I am very happy with the quality.  I can't wait to see what I can do with it.  Seamstresses, be warned, I will be calling you with questions.    

Color Pencil Roll

I finally got to make the color pencil roll I had been wanting to make for quite some time.  I had seen it at baby/children boutiques, consignment stores, and all over the online shops.  I used a pattern from Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts.  It is listed in their 2- to 4- hour gifts section.  By the time I added the ricrac and made my own tie string, it was exactly 4 hours.  I am planning to make more, and hope it will go faster.    

More bibs

Jerome's den leader had a baby girl yesterday.  We are very excited for her and her family.  Jerome has had a fantastic year at scouts.  I give full credit to her dedication.  She even made me want to be a scout leader some day.  I never thought that would happen.  

I sewed up a bib to match the diaper tote I had made earlier.  I love how it turned out, but I don't know if she would use it.  It would take some courage to put a off-white bib on a baby.  Oh well.  At least it is cute.   

While I was at it, I made another bib.  I used a linen  (trying out the trend) for the base, and added Joel Dewberry fabric that I patch-worked.  Again, probably not the best color choice because of the lightness, but I have to say I really like how the linen and patch work look together.  Joel's fabric is so pretty too.  He is coming up with another collection in May, and I can hardly wait.  I should mention here that the linen was harder to work with than the quilting fabric I am used to.  It is harder to iron and the coarseness made it difficult to create smooth curves.     

My family at the reunion

Here is my family at the reunion.  Takuya and Sarah with their four kids on the left, Yu and Jamiee with Maile and Caryn (far right), Yurika, and us on the right.  We missed Ken, Hiroko, and their two boys, who couldn't make it because Ken couldn't take time off from b-school.  

Thank "Yu" for the picture!

Thank you for the great reunion, Mom and Dad! 

Bibs

We, as a stake, got an assignment to help the military throw a baby shower for 40 pregnant ladies whose husbands are deployed and have no family around.  The stake is in charge of making gift baskets that consists of a quilt, receiving blankets, footed pj's, onesies,  bibs, socks, etc.  The military throws one of these showers every quarter, and this is the first time our stake is  going to be involved.  We are going to see lots of cute baby quilts and bibs this month.  I am going to have to call on some of my friends to help me sew up a few.  So exciting.  

Pictured are some bibs I made last year.  I liked them better than the rib neck towel kind I used to have.  Kai kept these ones on better because he couldn't take the snaps off, and now Quinn is wearing them when he eats his baby cereal.  Also pictured are baby blankets the RS sisters helped me tie at South Philadelphia branch.  The sisters talked about this enrichment meeting forever because most of them had never tied a quilt before.            

Amy Butler dress

It has been taking us a while to get settled after our trip.  But now that I have started limiting the kids' screen time and sugar intake back to a minimum, we are a lot happier and things are looking brighter.  I may even be able to squeeze in some sewing time tonight.  

While I was unpacking, I organized every body's closets to make space for the new clothes we got in Hawaii.  In the process, I found some clothes that Scott and I haven't worn in a while.  Some of them are still in good condition, so I am excited to see what I can make out of them.  Maybe a denim blanket, Kai's pants, Asha's skirt, or a dress.  

Since I have no pictures of new projects, I will bore you with a dress I made for Asha last spring.  I used a pattern from this book.  I love the two prints together, and am so sad she grew out of it.       

Tie Dye with my family

I am now back from my family's reunion in Hawaii.  It was like a dream, and the two weeks passed by too quickly.  Before the reunion, I was looking for an inspiration for matching reunion shirts.  When I saw Alison's tie-dye project on her blog, I was excited about the possibility, and knew that it was what I wanted to try.  I ran the idea by my mom.  She thought it would be even better if everybody made his/her own at the reunion.  

After putting the kids to bed one night, the grown-ups went to work and made shirts for their families.  We all got really into it.  It was so hard to wait overnight to see how they turned out.  My mom created the two favorites, which you can see in the third picture.  She used thread instead of rubber bands for the small circles.  It was so fun that everybody wished they could have made another one the next day.  We are already thinking about the next shirt we are going to make at the next reunion.  I got some requests for different colors from my brothers too.  

*All the shirts, dye, other chemicals, and tools were ordered from Dharma Trading.  Their shirts were thick and good quality.