Weekend joy and a pillow case

Yesterday was such a beautiful day! 
I filled it with the things I love the most...family, sewing and being outside. 

Backyard soccer session!

The little garden gnome

Working on some new landscaping...it was a jungle out there.

New house project number 101...getting ready to put up a new privacy fence.  The work is never ending!

My older crew hit the creek banks in the morning, ushering in the first day of fishing season and I took Malcolm with me to complete some errands before his second indoor soccer game of the season.  Part of my job as the FACS teacher is taking sewing machines for repair and picking them up, so I lugged three machines back to my van and made a few more stops before going to my LQS.  

I was searching for some Robert Kaufman Architextures Crosshatch fabric for a special project, but had no luck.  Instead, Malcolm found a kit for a cute soccer themed sausage pillow case.  I thought, why not!  After sitting down around 8:45 PM, we had a pillow case about 20 minutes later. 

He loves it!  Unfortunately, the pictures where he looked enthusiastic about it were too blurry from all of the excitement.

This pillowcase is actually a project that the students in my school district do in 8th grade.  Most of them tell me that they still use them when they get to my class at the high school.  I really love this project because it can be personalized to fit anyone.  I think I will be making these for kiddo birthday parties this year. 

Anyway, I was looking for the Crosshatch fabric to tie my blocks together for the #TellMeAStoryQuilt sew-along over at During Quiet Time.  Amy's new book Intentional Piecing is stunning!  You should definitely pop over to her blog and check it out!

 I've made a few blocks so far, but I really want to make a quilt top and the ones I've made so far are just a menagerie of scraps from my old projects.  I was hoping to use Crosshatch, but I'll probably use plain white instead.  It will be easier to find in my little town and I'm too impatient to order online.  We'll see...

My first and favorite block so far!  Coffee is the story of my life!

These paper-pieced blocks come together so quickly and they are really fun to look at and to make.  I have been admiring all of the blocks that have been posted on Instagram.  So much talent out there!!

Guess who learned the JOY of paper piecing!

That would be me!!  Oh how fun!  

So I had already gotten a babysitter for last evening because I was going to go run.  Great intentions, right?  That is until I walked a block in the snow and wind the night before and wondered what in the world I was thinking.  There is no way I can run outside until spring arrives!

I hated to disappoint my sitter, so I got online to see what kind of class I could take.  Just my awesome luck!  A paper piecing greeting card class for just $10!!  It was FABULOUS!!!!  I've already signed up for the next class in March.  That one will be a Christmas tree card.  

I finished one card completely and made the block for the second one.  All I have to do is tape and glue it together and it will be ready to make a special friend's day!

A finished card!

The back...

The front...