SSSSSUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMEEEERRRR!!!!

Ahem.  Sorry.  My apologies.  Its the summer and I'm a wee bit excited.  Like excited in the cannot-possibly-keep-a-lid-on-it kind of way.  This year kicked my ass and I am so ready for 57 days of no stress and warm weather and cold beverages and sunshine.  I'm gonna soak up every sweet-assed moment of these blissful months that I can.

These days of bliss are hard earned though -- hence the absence from the blog.  In order to make it so that I didn't have to bring work home with me and so that I didn't have to come into the school at all, I worked my tail off in May and June.  And it paid off I suppose with 57 glorious days of FREEDOM!!!! Ahem....sorry.  I digress.  I was sewing though...and even crafting - I swear!

Early in May some quilty peeps arranged a hybrid retreat close to home.  One of the women has a family business with her husband and they transformed a production area in into a sewing haven.  Even though it was close to home, some of the ladies made a weekend of it and stayed overnight at a local hotel.  I went home each night so I could snuggle with the Tuckerdood but the weekend was awesome AND productive.

I finally finished piecing my Point Quilt which I shall now lovingly refer to as "Directions"

I also got the bottom portion on my paper pieced sewing machine.  I am LOVING how this looks and can't wait to finish it!

Next up, in May I got to go to Spirit Point Lodge with a bunch of peeps from my school board.  It was a FANTASTIC weekend full of traditional teachings and crafting and conversation and laughter.  I was really stressed out leading up to it.  But thankfully, the universe hands you the right experience, at the right time, with the right people and suddenly you feel like you're gonna make it.

These are some of the things I made at Spirit Point: a mini drum using deer hide and sinew, a beaded medallion (which was my absolute favourite thing to make and I think I'm hooked), and a medicine pouch complete with the four sacred medicines safely tucked inside. 

Then, after Quilt Market, one of the bloggers/instagrammers I follow was destatshing a bunch of stuff she picked up at sample spree.  I was able to snag a fat quarter bundle of Elizabeth Hartman's new Paintbox Basics!  Squee!!!  And it doesn't ship till August so I got it early!

I love her colour aesthetic - so saturated and delicious!

I also was able to take National Aboriginal Day off and used that time to get to the sewing machine in the midst of chaos.  Although I didn't finish it until the school year ended, I got the yellow scrap basket finished.

Now, I only technically have two more to go.  Although, in reality, the colour quality of my scraps means I likely need to make one that's pink and one that's chartreuse and then a black and grey.  Yikes.  I kinds feel like maybe I have a scraps problem.....nah!

And finally, my most recent milestone has been two more of those paper-pieced sewing machines.  I have a total master plan for them and am going for a big reveal once the whole shebang is finished.  I kinda like this secret sewing business!  It keeps me motivated.

I'm calling these "the triplets" right now.  I just need to add some paper pieced phrases to the bottom of these two and then I will officially be in business.

I'm officially off on my Epic Summer Road Trip starting on Saturday so the blog may be quiet for the two weeks I'm gone.  But I promise to visit lots of fabric shops on my tour of the Pacific Coast so stay tuned!

Happy Summer everyone!!!!