My new projects

Just over a month ago, my husband let me know that I seemed to be unhappy and stressed all the time. And he was right. At first I wanted to blame work, etc. But then I realized that I was spending all my spare time reading books. Those who know me well, know that when I start a book I read it cover to cover, not often putting it down. Its kind of an addiction to me. At the end of every book I would feel guilty for not spending my time doing something useful but at the same time justifying my use of time thinking it made me feel better. I decided to try an experiment. Instead of picking up a book when I had some spare time, I wrote a list of projects I would like to complete instead. The first one on the list was a new quilt for the twin bed Emily will get when we move. I had purchased the material months ago but hadn't cut it out or sewn it together. What I thought was going to be a quick project ended up lasting me a good three weeks. I had it cut, pieced and sewn together within two days. It was beautiful, but because of the animal pictures on it, I would have to hand sew the details to keep the quilt together. I was going to post a picture but I still have a couple of hours of sewing to do on it. :) But Emily loves it, I am happy to have completed something and it will look great in Emily's room. I will post a picture as soon as I am finished. Its my first quilt. I have made a couple of wall hangings but nothing ever this size. It won't win prizes but I have something to give my daughter and a memory. But the project that I really enthusiastic about it the entertainment center I built on the weekend and finished last night. I designed it in June but kept putting off building it. I built our last one but it is too big for our current tv and it will be my future bookcase/reading alcove. Everyone who looked at my design thought I was biting off more than I could chew. They just couldn't see the simplicity. My dad helped me refine the design after I found a similar one in the Sears catalogue and liked how they finished it off. So Friday night, at Rona, my dad helped me cut out all the pieces. And my angelic mother helped me put it together on Saturday. (Forsaking her garden for my sake. Thanks mom!) There are some down sides of being pregnant and not being as flexible and not carrying heavy things is are two of them. Last night my dad helped me with some mitered edges and all the small details. He then sanded it for me because he didn't want me breathing in sawdust. He did a fantastic job. I stayed up to 10pm conditioning the pine, and staining it. I couldn't belive the final product. I won't be able to put the final varnish coats on until tomorrow. Plus two small shelves have to go in with brackets but I wanted to post a couple of pictures. The glass doors won't be ready for a couple of weeks but we move this weekend so I wanted the basic part done. Enjoy!