Time to organize!

So lately my life has pretty much been in an upheaval. And ever since moving into my apartment I've had little or no time to organize and find homes for stuff - which surprisingly I have a lot of....... 

So I put together a list (Yay for lists!) of things I want to organize and hopefully can tackle them this fall.. so far tackled 3 items! 

My pan cupboard, my growing collection of scarves, and my vinyl!
The best part?  All three projects cost me under $10!

Mom and I like to hit the thrift shops and consignments stores every once in a while and this time around I stumble across this magazine rack for $0.50! Perfect!

Boom! - Organized!

For my scarves, I snagged a broken/mismatched hanger the hotel could no longer use and picked up some shower curtain rings from wal-mart for $1.16! Done!

Shazam! Love it!

And finally my vinyl, which at the time was just sitting around my apartment waiting for me to trip over during the night.... After brainstorming with mom and researching on Pinterest, I came up with this solution :)

All my vinyl rolls will... safely... be hung on my closet door. I used an old sheet from the hotel (FREE!) and had to run to Bomgaars for the door hangers and the dowel ($4.50)

Hooray!! Someday I'll make a second one as my collection of vinyl grows!

Phew... That's all I have for now :) Do you have any easy organizing tips? Please share!

Quilted Tote Bag

This was my first attempt at sewing/quilting together a bag that has round handles and a diamond pattern instead of squares. It was more challenging than I anticipated and should I ever decide to do a similar project in the future - I think I will try a different approach.

However, I do think it will work perfectly for carrying my laptop and notebooks to class this semester!

Colorful Creations

So... I know that I said my quilting was finished for the summer... but on Saturday night I was playing around with some scrap material and ended up with the beginnings of another quilt. As a result, I have decided that this one is going to be my side project throughout the coming semester - when I need a break from reading and homework. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. It will be the first quilt I have made without a plan or pattern created beforehand!

Swenson Quilt Finished!

I finished the quilt I was making for my grandparents this weekend.

I will be sending it out in the mail tomorrow - so you only have to keep quiet about the surprise for a few more days.

Sadly, Cassie's husband, Andrew, is no longer with us, but he will always be close to our hearts. Whenever I see his name on this quilt I will be reminded of their wonderful marriage and the love they shared.

The final size of this quilt is 68" X 68" and the back is a dark purple print with roses. I quilted it by hand with purple yarn. Previous posts about this quilt include New Quilting Project and Swenson Quilt.

Wedding Anniversary Picture

Today my husband and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary and started a new tradition. I made a quilt square of the number three and put it in a frame. I made the square out of the colors of our wedding, which were red, black, & white. We took a picture with it to mark the year!

I am hoping to do this every year on our anniversary and make a quilt out of the squares one day!
- maybe for our 15th or 20th.

** Make sure you right a caption with your picture if you decide to do this with an explanation.
Reason - because it is our third wedding anniversary a few people thought this picture meant we were pregnant.. not yet!

Swenson Quilt

Started sewing the squares together for the last quilt of the summer. School will start on August 26th, which means that my time for quilting projects will be replaced with time for homework. This quilt is for my paternal grandparents who celebrated 60 years of marriage this past June. My pattern is located in an earlier post and can be found at New Quilting Project. It is going to be a surprise.. so if your name is on this quilt or you know my grandparents.. your lips are sealed! Thanks!

Letters (purple with a light purple floral design.)

Rows 1 - 6

]

Rows 7 - 12

 Rows 1 - 6 sewed together

 

Getting fit to Graduate!

Last week Monday I started using Myfitnesspal.com (a free website) to record and track everything I eat throughout the day. It helps me to set goals for eating and maintaining a healthy diet, and it allows me to track how much exercise I do each day.


My current goals are 1) to get my weight down to 135 by the time I graduate in December, 2) to make healthier food choices when the options present themselves, and 3) to continue to exercise on a regular basis when school starts at the end of August.

Last week I swam laps on Monday and Friday and ran 1.5 miles on Tuesday and Thursday. I know this coming semester is going to be very busy.. I will just need to get my butt out of bed in the mornings to continue exercising.. which is probably going to be my greatest obstacle. Wish me luck!