One of my good friends bought a beautiful home here in the bay area. And while she and her family now live a little farther away, I'm so excited for them! And I'm looking forward to lazy days in their backyard. I wanted to make them something special. Buying a home in the bay area is kind of a big deal. I really enjoyed working on this quilt. I think it came together beautifully. I used solids in purples, blues and blue-greens. The backing is more solid and a little bit of pattern. I had originally bought another fabric for the binding, but I prefered using this citrone. I was glad that was sitting in my stash! The quilt was well-received and that's always a happy moment for me. 

My hometown, Calgary, flooded severely in June. I felt so inspired by all the hard work and service family members were donating and I wanted to do something myself. I made 3 baby quilts and I donated them along with 2 baby quilts and a lap quilt I originally made for my etsy shop. Even though making these put me behind on my sewing list, I loved doing it and realized that I want to sew more for charity. Earlier this year, I spent a morning with a Dress a Girl Around the World group and I really enjoyed it. I'm a talented seamstress and I'm quick and motivated. I'm not sure what my future charity sewing will hold, but I want to make a plan and do some goal setting. Here's some photos of the new quilts I made. I'm nervous that no one will need them and my donation will be insignificant. But I can only do what I can do. 

If you know someone who could use a quilt in Southern Alberta, please let me know!

We didn't just work this labour day weekend, we played a little too. We went to one of our favorite parks in Fremont at Elizabeth Lake. Unfortunately, our stroller tire was out for the count so we couldn't do the walk around the lake like we had hoped, and I'd like to say we still managed to have a good time, but I was feeling tired and stressed. #keepingitreal But, I took some cute pictures and am going to pretend like it was the perfect morning at the park.

This labour day weekend, we got to work. I've been craving a good project that requires some hard work and this was just the ticket. A couple months ago we had purchased unfinished pine bunk bed from Ikea for Holly and Greta with the intention of finishing them. However, our apartment at the time didn't have a great place for us to do the work. Lucky us, the new place that we live in (we moved in last weekend) has a backyard with a patio. I was very excited to make the bunk bed look a little more upscale. We used a dark walnut stain and applied a couple coats of protectant. It was about 10-11 hours total of work for me, and a little less for Conor. I'm so glad we did this! The bunk bed looks so much more refined. Now I'm dreaming of doing a dresser and I think I have a good idea brewing in my mind. Pressure's on to get cracking and finish up the quilts I'm working on for the girls! I'm very excited about their room!

Conor assembled our bookshelves this weekend too, which means we can finish unpacking all the way. It's starting to feel like home... and was definitely a weekend of labour!

PS: my instagram username is bekatelyn. Feel free to follow!

This is my last Yahk post. The vacation feels like a dream and too far away! I want to go again!

On our very last full day in Yahk, we went to tour a dairy. It was a big hit with the girls! The poor cows, Holly really wanted to feed them and they probably felt forced fed and worried they were going to slaughter. There were cows of all different ages, some very, very new! At the end of our tour, we bought some delicious cheese that's made right there at the dairy we went to. Next stop was berry picking. A massive success with both children. We picked just over a pint of raspberries and then picked blueberries. Greta was picking blueberries and putting them into her mouth as fast as she could! She completely ignored us when we asked her to stop, and instead, she moved to a bush further away from us and continue to pluck the fruit and eat. At lunch time, she ate half a pint of fresh raspberries on her own. Later in the day, she puked them up. Oi! But, the entire morning was picturesque and happy. I loved it and I'm so glad we snuck that into our schedule!