Going Greene: Seven {Not} Quick Takes

Yikes! I blinked and suddenly it had been weeks since I last posted on ye old blog. Things have been…a little busy. Linking up with Kelly from This Ain’t the Lyceum to try and catch things up in 7 Quick Takes.

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Veronica had been expressing some interest in learning to sew for a while, so one afternoon we took the opportunity to sew up some paper garlands for Valentine’s Day. It’s a great, easy project for an extreme beginner.

And there they are, in all their blurry glory!

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This year Veronica had the opportunity to volunteer with Paul and the Greyhounds of Fairhaven at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. She wore the dirndl from my mom and I made her a cap to go with it. It’s based on the traditional German goldhaube from this post, though I definitely messed up in a few places and it certainly isn’t as fancy as the original. But it works!

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I finally finished Jacinta’s quilt early last month! Getting good pictures and getting them uploaded took a while, but here it is.

It’s a disappearing nine patch, which I learned to do from this video tutorial by the Missouri Star Quilt Company. I’ve done three quilts using this method, and I love how they each come out so different. I will admit I am not much of an improviser, so I usually plan out my pattern in advance instead of using the “tossed” approached that Jenny does in the video. Planners gotta plan.

A while back I asked Jacinta what her favorite colors were and she told me pink, red, and purple. I opted to go for aqua instead of purple and I love the prints I was able to bring together.

Those mushrooms! Too adorable.

As much as I try to plan ahead, it seems like I always have to cobble together my leftover pieces to get enough fabric for the backing. It makes it a little fun, I guess. Since I finished this, I’ve made one crib size quilt top and cut most of the pieces for another twin size quilt, so look out for more to come.

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February also saw this little guy get baptized. Sebastian is quite a bit older than any of the girls were when they were baptized, and we only just managed to squeeze him into the shirt I had picked out. You can’t see it in the photo below because his white garment covered his rolls.

Here he is – with Paul and me and his godparents – studiously avoiding looking at the camera in favor of his very interesting feet.

And then getting the most peaceful sleep of his life.

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For Mardi Gras, we had friends over for dinner and the kids all colored their own masks. But I neglected to get pictures until the day after.

This picture is not from Mardi Gras, but I feel it really captures that Fat Tuesday spirit. I just wish I had been able to snap the moment when she leaned over and licked the chocolate off of her tray.

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To keep life from getting too boring (ha!), we participated in our first peg doll swap with our homeschool group. Every family picked a different saint and ours was St. Patrick.

Paul and I painted twenty-five St. Patricks.

We couldn’t decide how to do the eyes at first so some of them have one kind of eyes and the rest have another. We like to spice things up a bit.

When they were done, I met up with the other moms at a restaurant and we swapped! At the bar! Here are some of the others. My favorite part of this picture is the collection of alcohol bottles in the background. We are Catholic, after all. I think St. Patrick would approve.

For more info about peg doll swaps, check out this post on Catholic Icing.

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Finally, at the beginning of March this guy turned six months old. And started eating food. He looks so thrilled! I’m not sure if it’s because of how much he is enjoying that Chicken with Chicken Gravy flavor, or the awesome pink bib he is wearing.