Blog Hopping and Hopping Kids

It's my turn in the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop! I think we all agree that Beth over at Plum and June has been doing a fabulous job organizing this blog hop, from the guest posts to weekly challenges and *everything* in between. Thank you, Beth, and welcome all you hoppers!

So, here's a bit about me! My name is Suzanne and I am a 32 year old teacher-turned-stay-at-home Mama from Wisconsin. I've been married to my college sweetie, Ben, for almost 8 years (our anniversary is next week and I'm actually making him something!!!). We met on our college track team and after a l-o-n-g break, I've started running again and I've recently started training for a half-marathon. Eek! We have two little ones who insist on getting bigger day by day. Charles is 6 and Abigail is 3, lovingly referred to as the boy and the girl:)

I bought myself a sewing machine for Christmas 2010 without ever using one in my life! When my son started school it seemed like I was constantly having to make costumes for one thing or another and I decided it was time to learn how to sew. I have always loved to craft, but we just didn't have a sewing machine in the house growing up. So with the help of my mother-in-law, I figured out how to use my machine and I haven't looked back! Above is a mosaic of all my quilts I have made:)

A bit more about me:

-How long have you been quilting: About two years

      -Favorite quilting tip: Take your time! I have always been the type of person who wants to finish a project ASAP! Quilting (and sewing in general) has taught me to slow down and enjoy the process.

       - Favorite blogging tip: Um. Yeah. I'm still figuring out how I want this blog to work, so I'm probably not the best person to ask! I guess it would be just let your blog be a reflection of you, no one else.

       - Favorite fabric: Soul Blossoms by Amy Butler. It's what started my love affair with fabric! 

       - Favorite quilting tool: Seam ripper, ahem.

       - Favorite music to listen to while quilting: Chris Isaak, Counting Crows, Adele, Bruce Springsteen, Indigo Girls, Otis Redding...I should probably stop there otherwise you will get a complete list of my Pandora stations:)

       - Favorite TV show while hand stitching: Eek! I'm actually in Rachel's Handstitched Camp and I'm loving it. Therefore I've actually had time to craft this summer, otherwise me and the kiddos are outside! My husband and I have recently discovered the Big Bang Theory (don't know why it took us so long!) or we are usually watching some Milwaukee Brewers baseball on TV. Ripping out seems has proven very therapeutic in this lackluster season:)

       - Binding - by hand or by machine? I'm going to make myself hand bind my next quilt...

These above are my current WIPs. I try not to have too many quilts going at once. I currently have three: My Cloudy Skies Rainbow Picnic quilt, my London Baby! quilt (fan of Friends, anyone?), and my Dogwood Medallion quilt for my Handstitched class. My Rainbow quilt actually will go along with the tutorial I have prepared for you today. You can find the tutorial here. Huh, you say? What do picnic quilts and bean bags have in common? When the quilt is finished, I hope you'll pop back in to see! I'll keep you posted!

For now, here is what I plan to use the bean bags for:

*Number recognition for Abigail

*Sorting objects by number

*Teach Abigail how to spell her name:)

*Bean bag toss in the play room when it's too hot to be outside!

*Adding and subtracting practice (using a complete set up to 20)

You could also make this for toddlers to practice stacking. You could make them and give as gifts, too. Such a versatile little project, no??!!

While I was finishing up sewing the bags shut, the boy and the girl stole their 'C' and 'A' bean bags and went outside to play hopscotch. Clever little cookies:)

In case you missed it, here were the two stops earlier in the week.

    Jennifer from Sewlandia

    Nicole from Mama Love Quilts

And now be sure to hop over to Mina from Kindaquilty. I snuck a peak earlier in the week and I can't wait to see what she has to share! Thanks again for stopping by!