The whole world definitely moves quite quickly when I’m busy and don’t have time to do more than schoolwork. I started my second year of grad school about three weeks ago and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. Despite my feeling very short on free time, I did manage to pay some attention to the political conventions the last few weeks.

About a month ago, when I took the entire week off from work and spent the entire week sewing I finished a baby quilt that I can now show off. It’s a monkey quilt for my friend Brandi’s son. He was born over a year ago. I started the quilt before I started school last year and before her son was born.

I made it a personal goal to finish the quilt before his first birthday and I succeeded. He received it just a couple of days before and both boy and mom love the quilt.
It was really a fun quilt to make and I have enough fabric to make a quilt top for myself. I based the quilt design off of a photo I saw online last year but I can’t find the source now.

Also before school started I made another quilt for my cousin who is having a baby in October. It was a simple quick quilt to make and literally took me three days to make. The photos are on my mom’s camera since I finished it while we were visiting them in Kansas City over Labor Day weekend.

It’s been a very busy semester so far. My three classes are keeping me extra busy. I’m taking Special Topics in Book Arts, Youth Services and Cataloging. The Special Topics in Book Arts class is my favorite and it’s an intensive class being held over the first eight weeks instead of the normal sixteen weeks of the semester. It meets twice a week with one day being a lecture and the second day being a hands-on day. Two weeks ago we made a class alphabet book using rubber stamps. We learned how to fold a perfect accordion and then made a little cover for it. It was a simple little book but really fun to make. I can definitely see how it would be a fun type of book to make for friends and family. Last week we put together a zine based on a personal history paper that we each wrote a couple of weeks ago. The paper was a fun one to write and I had fun working on the layout of my zine. It took me a bit longer than I’d planned only because I got so side-tracked reading all of the kids’ books I loved as a small child. (I’ll post photos of both books soon.)

Youth Services and Cataloging are pretty standard library school classes. I hold out hopes that cataloging will be more enjoyable than I’m expecting.

All last week I was on vacation. It was a wonderful at-home vacation of sleeping late, reading and sewing. Definitely a much needed break.

The vacation started with a little trip to Oxford, Ohio to visit Miami University, where Bryan got his first master’s degree. It was a fun time of just walking around the campus and him showing me all of the places he and his friends used to hang out. There have been a lot of changes made to campus since he was last there. We also discovered an outdoor amphitheater he didn’t even know existed. It was definitely a nice get-away for a couple of days.

On our way home, we stopped in Indianapolis for the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting exhibit. It was an interesting exhibit with some amazing pieces, including huge lace panels cut with an exacto knife.

With my sewing machine set up in the living room, I got a lot of sewing done. This week I’ve gotten a lot of sewing done too while watching the Olympics. One project I can’t show until it’s intended recipient receives it. I started the project a year ago and then got distracted with school. Having nearly finished this quilt, I’ve been perusing the sewing blogs and flickr photos looking at quilts. It makes me long for the day when I can afford to buy fat quarters bundles. I’ve had so much fun with this quilt and I can’t wait to show it off.

I also finished a skirt and made a top on Sunday.

Pattern for red top is Simplicity 4589. Skirt is the basic a-line pattern from Sew What Skirts.

My first attempt of the top I used muslin and cut the size that corresponded to my waist and hip measurements on the package. The bust turned out huge and I ended up taking it in about five inches around the bust but leaving the hips their original size. I cut the red top out for the smaller size in the bust and waist and then cut the hips to the larger size. It turned out perfectly. I’m planning on cutting out another top this week so I can finish it and I’ve already started another skirt which I hope to finish before school starts on August 25.