Make-A-List Monday: Hello October!

It's October. The skies are clear, which must mean that the fires are out or close to out. I don't have a cold anymore. Kids are healthy. Open windows, fresh air, sunshine and falling leaves. My life is great!

It's going to be busy around here this week. I've got the 3Q FAL link up, plus my 4Q FAL list to post. Then there's the Friday Finish. And I'm gonna share with y'all how I multi-task and get my prep work done for the next several quilts.

But, for now, let's see how I did.

Last week's list:

• Quilt and bind TWO Christmas quilts

Half done.

The double hourglass quilt was finished by Friday, but I complicated my life (I know, shocking, right?) by adding a border and rendering the backing I'd made kind of useless. Which is sort of fine with me. I'm thinking I want to back it with Minky anyway. If I ever leave this Minky-free zone I live in.

• Make chair cushion to go with my sewing machine cover

Pattern arrived in the mail late Saturday afternoon. I finished the last of my daughter's dresses, pulled out my yellow and aqua stash and started cutting. Not quite done, but soon!

• Piece back for R2D2 quilt (please let that stuff arrive!)

Not done. Not my fault. Trying to find yet another source for Minky. Third time's the charm. I hope. I really hope. Because this quilt needs to be done by his birthday.

• Finish at least one dress 

Done. Times four. And of course she gets the cold going around and doesn't get to wear one to church yesterday, but she's excited to have so many choices now. Her favorite is the aqua and red one (that's my girl!).

Just some sneaky peaks for now - I've got to have a finish for Friday, don't I?

Love this pattern. I did things a smidge differently, but I'm happy with the length and the bodice. It's just so darn cute. And my girl loves it, so I'd say it's a win.

The other two are made with this pattern from Simplicity. Jo-Ann's is having a 99 cent pattern sale soon. Check your flyer - that's when I stock up. I just browse online, write them down and go pick them up.

• Work on paper pieced wall hangings (maybe, which means I'll probably do this first!)

I got so caught up making those dresses that I completely blanked on this one. That's okay. I'd rather have the dresses done. Now I'm off the hook until she gets too tall for them!

 Phew. That was a lot of work! I'm tired just blogging about it.

On to this week!

• Pressing prep for cutting day on Saturday (more on this tomorrow)
• Sew together Lucy's Crab Shack triangles (at least the first 8 rows)
• Press Halloween HSTs
• Press spiderweb quilt strips
• Plan and start a birthday dress for my baby girl who turns ONE in two weeks!

I'll stop there. The prep work for Saturday is going to take some time. At least two Downton Abbey reruns. Which I'm okay with, since I can't watch the new episodes until January. JANUARY? For reals? Makes me wish I lived in England every fall.

Finish it up Friday: the one with the excuses

What with teething babies, sick everyone, potty training toddlers and law school finals (not for me, but the studying meant for an absentee husband and father), I haven't spent a whole lot of time sewing. I did manage to finish up these two dresses for my oldest daughter:

 They are supposed to be "play" dresses, but if that were really the case, I should have made them dark brown. This girl loves to play in the dirt. So they will be playdate dresses, when I know she'll be having tea parties and such.

I do have some beef with the pattern companies. For the bodice, I made a size 7, but the tiers were on the short side, so I made the size 14 tiers and the dress is still just mid-calf (I was thinking it might even hit her ankles!). I'm not neurotic about modesty, but I'm not happy with the super short stuff I see in pattern catalogs these days. It's bad enough to see it in the stores. What will I do when she's actually 14? Yikes. I'm going to bury my head in the sand and avoid that thought.

I've also pulled out this quilt and am cruising away getting it finished. I've got about 10ish more blocks to go. If I'm lucky, I can get it completely done by next week. If I'm feeling nice, I'll send it to Seattle with my husband while he's on his internship.

If I'm feeling nice. I'm going to back it in yellow Minky, so it's going to be super warm and cuddly.

Linking up at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Can't wait until Amanda Jean starts up her Friday Finish linky parties again. In the meantime, I'll keep finishing things up!

Have a lovely weekend - it's cold here, so I'm cooking a turkey dinner tonight. Thanksgiving in May - can't beat it!