Yesterday I finished piecing the last of the 9 Patch blocks I needed for DS#3's 9 Patch I Spy quilt. This morning I plan to get them all ironed and pinned together in groups of two so I can do my second round of sewing on them. Hopefully by the weekend I'll be able sew the rows of 4 blocks each together. Huge milestone for me. I took a quilting class 17 yrs ago. I was pregnant with DS#1 and he just turned 16. Seems like a lifetime ago. Since that time I've only made one other quilt top and it turned out UGLY! It was an attic windows and it makes me cringe to just look at it. I pieced the window frames in black and then the windows were all just scraps. There is nothing the least bit pretty about this top. YUCK!

I still have to finish up a fob for a swap. I was thinking about sending it to a finisher but I've seen some neat fobs finished with beading around the edges instead of cording and beading for the fob ribbon or cording. So I'm kind of pondering that at the moment. The descriptions I've read for how to do it seem really simple but then again I'm not the greatest finisher so I may go on and send it to a finisher even though it will be a little late.

Yesterday was beautiful down here but the wind was so strong going to the beach was no fun. I kept getting stung by fine grains of sand picked up by the wind. I only lasted about 30 minutes. The wind gusts were constant and made it impossilbe to read too.

DH still hasn't fixed the washer and are clothes are beginning to look dingy. Guess I'll spend part of the weekend at the laundromat unless I figure out how to fix it myself. I started to take it apart yesterday but I'm afraid that if I do I'll completely destroy it and at least right now I can get the clothes some what clean.

DS#2 has officially become a teenager. He hates his clothes, wants a tan and wants to start working out all like yesterday. He hates me at the moment because I can't just run out and buy him all these cool new tshirts he suddenly has to acquire. I've told him this is the first of the month, all the bills are due and if he gives me a week I'll buy him some tshirts and shorts that he wants. That's not good enough. He started giving me this long list of reasons why he's a good kid and deserves better clothes. Old Navy just doesn't do it for him any more. Oh and he no longer wants to share his clothes with his brother. They are the same size, go to different schools and since they could wear the same size I thought it just increased their clothing options but no more. They also share a closet.

I'm thinking about trying to make a trip to England in October to attend a Chatelaine weekend. If I can work this out it will be so cool!(for lack of a better phase.) I'm not sure who I think I am. I'm currently stirring my laundry, can't afford a new washer and by DS#2 standards he's dressed like a dork, and here I am dreaming about a trip on the other side of the world.

DS#2 is giving me such a hard time right now about all the things he wants. He's constantly complaining about everything from the cheaper snacks I've been buying(knock off Oreos and chocolate chip cookies) to his clothes. I feel like the biggest loser in the parenting department. I thought up until now that I had done a pretty good job making the boys look stylish without having to get in to brand names and now all of a sudden he's Mr. GQ. I cried most of yesterday just because it felt good to let out it. All the stress of DS#2 constantly being in my face. I've tried to raise them not to be so materialistic, to be thankful for what they have, and now it's just a constant whining and begging. I'm hoping it's just the age and eventually he grows out of this phase but I don't know. He's so sensitive, all it takes is one person making one derogatory comment about his clothes and he wants a new wardrobe. Oh well enough of that whining. I guess I'm hoping if I write about here I won't burst into tears for no reason today.