Yellow Butterflies Quilt

Tuesday, September 18, 2012


My friend is having baby number three this month (or early next).  And it's a girl!  So when I told her I wanted to make a quilt for her, she asked for something yellow with butterflies. What is going on?  Two baby quilts in a row?  Well, they are fun.  
Still need to quilt Cruz' quilt, but school started and sewing time is rare.   

This one went together really fast and I think she likes the fabric...which is the hardest part for me when I'm making something for someone else.  
and I love the blue floral one on the back. 



Butterfly quilts seem to be pretty popular these days, no?  Here are a few more from the interwebs:
Red Pepper Quilts-a scrappy one on black
Little Birdie Secrets- appliqued butterflies
Sew Mama Sew- paper pieced butterfly block

Have you made a spools/butterfly quilt?  I'd love to see!

Top Ten Read-Alouds for Kindergartners

Saturday, September 15, 2012

according to Jim Trelease, THE authority on reading aloud:


Jim's Favorite Kindergarten Novels
(in order of difficulty)
  • Two Times the Fun by Beverly Cleary
  • Chibi: A True Story from Japan by Barbara Brenner & J. Takaya
  • Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park
  • The Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla
  • My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
  • Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith
  • Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne
  • The Reluctant Dragon adapted by Inga Moore
  • The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron
  • The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith
  • Wolf Story by William McCleery
  • James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Read Aloud Handbook is probably my favorite book I've read so far this year.   It confirmed the value we've always held and encouraged me to squeeze more and more time in for reading aloud.


Since my two boys are around Kindergarten age (5 and 7) we are working through this list together.  A few weeks ago we read a Junie B. Jones book and, I loved it.  I found myself cry-laughing at an unexpected funny part.  I will grant you that I might have been overly tired but it was a good read.  

We started school two weeks ago and I'm feeling pretty good.  Hope your school year is off to a great start too.  Any books you're reading to your kiddos this year?   Any perennial family favorites?