WIP Wednesday

I tried out a few new things this week, and took a couple pictures too!  I have much more that is "in progress" and I even cleaned up my sewing space (and then messed it up picking fabric for the patchwork prism QAL).

First I wanted to share some non-sewing business with you.  I've been trying to hit the gym frequently to get rid of some "extra stuff" I'm carrying around and went with a friend on Monday.  This was new for me.

I don't really like working out around or with people I know.  I'd rather sweat like a fool and look like one around perfect strangers.  But, my friend had invited me to a class, so I laced up my Asics and went.  And I went to the wrong one...in the wrong room... It was an aerobics type class and wasn't super challenging except for the abs part (but holy cow have I been feeling it since).

Here's the thing though,  I am a 5' 10" uncoordinated mess when it comes to having "moves"... I look like a total loser in a room full of mirrored walls, and have always been shy and self-conscious...yikes...so the fact that I stayed and did the workout was an accomplishment for me.  So yay!  There's that.

In more interesting news, I tried Hexagons!  It was easy!  And fun!  I was prompted to make these because I joined a hexagon swap.  I figured I probably wouldn't give it a try unless I had a reason to make them and this was it.  I followed my friend Katie's tutorial and it was wonderful.  I don't use thimbles though and found my fingers were ok (so far - granted I've only made about 30...I made some more last night after I took this picture)

Then, I made these two blocks with fabrics from my scrap box for Katherine in one of the bee's that I just got a spot in.  She's making this quilt as a gift and I think it's going to look really wonderful!

And I picked out fabric for the Patchwork Prism QAL.  If you haven't heard about this yet you should check it out.  It's an amazing free pattern from Anna Maria Horner and there are some truly amazing prizes (like a new Janome sewing machine!!), so I'm all over this.  It's being hosted by Bianca who is amazing, and you don't want to miss it.  Seriously. 

It's much more color theory than I'm used to wrapping my head around so I kept this post from Bianca open while I pulled my fabrics (all from my stash so far) and I really like the way they look together.  I want to add a yellow and perhaps another brown and another red.  What do you think? Anything you would add or take out?

I really like looking at these and haven't moved them off the table yet.

I'm also working on the Zooey pattern by the great and talented LuLu (here's her Etsy shop) and should have the top done tonight or tomorrow (I hope) and then it can hang out with the other tops in the pile on top of the dryer :)

On an unrelated note we have also been trying no naps for either kid this week (their choice, not mine...) and Abby has been wearing real underwear and using the toilet to go potty.  She's doing pretty well so far, but I'll spare you the nasty details.   It's been an interesting week so far.

 To you experienced moms out there, what did you do when your kids stopped taking naps?  I'm trying to figure out how to still get that break in the day that we all need, and haven't quite figured it out yet.  Any tips or advice would be wonderful!!

I'm hoping to get to the post office today to annoy the mail lady some more, and hopefully I'll be able to get some things finished this weekend between potty breaks and laundry.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced (be sure to check out the other lovely projects over there!)

Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

p.s. This is my 44th post - I'm thinking something fun for my 50th!  Stick around!

An Award and a Birthday!

First of all, I have some exciting news to share.  I've been awarded the Liebster Award by Deanna of Little D and Me! Isn't that cool!

I'm totally thrilled, even though this award is a little vague in detail.  Deanna did some research though and here's what she found.  

Basically, it's an award that goes to bloggers with small blogs.  By small, I mean less than 200 followers.

So, thank you Deanna!  Deanna was my partner for the Covert Robin Swap and if you haven't checked out her blog yet, you really should.  She's an amazing woman, and super talented!

Ok, so here's what I get to do now. 

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award and link to their blog.

2.  Choose 3-5 blogs with less than 200 followers and pass the award on to them.

3.  Display the Liebster Award somewhere on your blog

Here are my nominee's:

stephjacobson - I got to know Steph a bit through an I-spy swap I participated in earlier this year.  Her blog is full of crafty things, and she is super talented and creative.  You should check out the Star Wars party she threw for her son!  Amazing! 

There and Back - I've become Katie's Flickr stalker, and first found her from being in We Bee Modern together.  Now we're in several swaps and bee's.  She knows how to find the good ones! Remember those plus blocks with Echo I made a while ago?  Those were for Katie, doesn't she have great taste?  I'm not sure how many followers she has but I really enjoy everything she posts.  She's one of my creative idols, everything she makes is awesome, and I love how she writes her blog.  

City Stitches - Megan is amazing.  She leads bees, QAL's and does everything in between.  She is a wonderful crafter and has fantastic skills.  She's super nice and so talented.  We're about the same age and so I love hearing about her experiences and ideas.  

Mommy Made It! - I just recently found this lovely blog and really enjoy her posts.  She dives into projects and shares her experiences with them.  I like the guts it takes to do that.  I'm excited to see how her Hopscotch quilt comes along too!

Anyway, be sure you check those out. Congratulations blog friends!

In other news, it's my son Matthew's 3rd birthday today!  So we're going to have a fun day of Lego's, Mario Kart, brownies, playing at the "home park", and French fries - per his request.  

 There was a ladybug in the yard yesterday that they watched crawl around for almost an hour!  

I'll be back later with a WIP Wednesday post.  I've been busy and have lots to share!

Happy Birthday to you!

Lady Face is two years old!!!  Yesterday was her birthday. 

That's right.  Until next Wednesday I officially have two two year olds running around the house!

I can't believe this little girl is getting so big. 

She is such a happy, dedicated, and intense soul.  I learn so much from her.  She is constantly seizing the moment, enjoying every little thing, and loves so much to make us laugh! 

She is sure of herself, she is beautiful, strong, smart, and so caring.  I'm so proud to be her mom.

She had a great birthday (there was snow on the ground in the morning!) and enjoyed every second of it! Even if she didn't quite understand the concept. 

She learned how to blow out a candle, and loved her gifts. 

I'm so so proud of her big brother too.  His birthday is next Wednesday and he's turning three.  He wasn't jealous that she was getting special treatment, he was excited for her!  All in all, I think my kids are pretty awesome.  They make me so happy.  

I got this toddler "pack-pack", as Monkey Pants calls it, from a great Etsy shop called MarineParents and I couldn't be more thrilled with it (wonderful shop, take a look!).  Lady Face loves it.  I've decided this balloon print with the girl and the bunny from Sarah Jane is her fabric.  If Lady Face was a fabric, this would be it.  Slowly, I'm collecting lovely things made of this print, and hoarding as much Sarah Jane fabric as I can get my hands on (aren't you all?!). 

Anyway, Happy Birthday darling girl. 

I blame spring break...

...for my severe and ridiculous absence.

My almost 3 year old  has been severely testing limits this week and it's been spring break for my husband so...I haven't done as much sewing as I wanted to, but we're all still alive and well (as I wrote this he was trying to have a conversation through the window with the man fixing the neighbor's roof...).

This same child has recently taken to responding to everything with "Yes Sir!" or for me, "Yes Mom!" and saluting us (thank you Toy Story army men...), and both kids discovered how awesome the Muppets are.  So much that i've been going to sleep with Rainbow Connection stuck in my head. 

 See that yellow spot on the left side?  That's the first flower on the side of our house!

Guess what else.  I went to a tea party yesterday!  It was a fundraiser for the ISU Honor Society (I'm pretty sure) and a friend of mine sponsored a table and had an extra ticket!  There were real teacups and real teas - I tried the herbal huckleberry one - and even finger sandwiches, it was yummy.  Great to chat with adult friends too.

Remember the scarf I won from Rachael at Imagine Gnats? Well...it came in the mail yesterday!  And it's so gorgeous.  I love it and can't wait to wear it.  Of course I did have to pry it off of my little Lady Face first.

Oh boy, she loved wearing this!

Ok.  On to the quilty part!!  I do have one thing I want to show you today, and I think it's pretty great. 

I finished my Dream Big quilt top!  I absolutely love it.  This one is all for me and it's my favorite project to date! I'm trying to figure out what to use for the backing and think I might use the same fabric as the border fabric (California Girl by Moda and Fly a Kite by Riley Blake).  I love those prints.

This is a terrible picture but I'm totally loving this pattern and can't wait to finish this quilt!

Finally, I received my gift from my Cover Robin swap partner!! Holy smokes is it beautiful!  I'm really excited about it.  Stay tuned, you'll get to hear more about it this month, but here is a sneak pic.  It is perfect.  Now I need somewhere to go so I can show it off!

And do you remember those two log cabin blocks I made some time ago for Avery, the gymnast?  Well...they are now part of a gorgeous quilt!  I'm so pleased and thankful to have been part of such a wonderful project.  I hope Avery will enjoy it, and didn't Carrie do a wonderful job!  Here is a picture of the finished product from Carrie's Flickr (my two contributions are top row middle, and 5th row far right)

Happy Weekend!  We're going to make cookies today and get ready for Lady Face's 2nd birthday tomorrow!!!

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday survival wishes to all!

Here's what I've got to show for my absent-ness lately.  Our little ones have been trading colds and coughs but I think we're over it.  We did a lot of this recently...

 This is their new favorite book and favorite story - The Gingerbread Man.  And yes, that is me.

I finished my bee blocks for this month of the bliss circle of do. Good Stitches.  I winged it and I think they turned out ok.  Next time though, I've got to make sure the edges aren't going to be lost when all the blocks are sewn together.

I am currently hand quilting my husband's quilt!  Yahoo, this beast has been weighing heavily on my shoulders.  Here's a very badly lit photo of the top, which measured 81x91.  And it's pretty great.  I tested it by falling asleep while working on it yesterday and it was very nice. It has flannel on the back :)

Here's a sneak peek for my partner in the covert robin swap!  I'm hoping to get this baby on it's way this week.

I started a new project from Camille Roskelly's book, Simplify, last weekend and got all the strips sewn up last night.  This is the Dream Big pattern in the book and it's been a super quick and painless project so far.  I picked out a bunch of spring prints from my stash to use here as it was grey skies and almost rain/snow/sky-spit yucks last week...blah...this quilt will be a reminder of happiness even when the weather sucks.

I still have to pick border fabric.  This pattern has a couple borders and I might do white as one of them...or a solid...any ideas?

Hope you all had a happy St. Patrick's Day this weekend!  We had corned beef and cabbage for dinner, per tradition, and saw the first green in the grass in months!

And to leave you with something that makes me smile

It's so nice when we all get along! 

Linking up at Canoe Ridge Creations for Sew Modern Monday  

and with Sew Happy Geek's Manic Monday

I am going to copy this awesome post idea from Tanesha at Crafty Garden Mom. Love this idea and it's great since I haven't posted anything in a while (it's almost March...what?!)

Today...
Outside my window... It's 10:40pm.  Dark and very cold with remnants of the snow that came while I was asleep Friday night/Saturday morning.

I am thinking... Lady Face's birthday is only about 35 days away.  She will be 2 and I want to be in better shape by then...so March will be super fun!!! right. Just found a blog that I am really really enjoying, especially this post (about white trash cooking - soooo funny). Her posts remind me of my grandparents who were from Kentucky and my years in Virginia in college in what I considered "The South".

I am thankful for... My family.  The ones that live in the same house as me especially.  They are so good to me.  I love them tremendously.  Even the furry one. 

I am reading... Well, at the beginning of the year, every year, it's my dream goal to read a book a week.  I love to read, but lately quilting and sewing have been my go-to free time spenders...so I've only read one book so far this year.  I am reading The Dog Who Came In From The Cold by Alexander McCall Smith.  I love all of his books.  He writes about happy things and real stuff. Little victories and life things that make us all part of the same goodness. Absolutely adore it.  Life's too short to read crappy books that make you feel terrible...
 

I am wearing... um, Don't look now but I got some pj pants at T.J. Maxx and they are too short (I'm 5'10") which is what I get for buying girly pj pants and not man ones like I usually do.....but I'm wearing those, a BYU Track t-shirt, and (get ready for this one...) a blue Ralph Lauren jacket....from Costco. Almost thought I'd classed it up for a second there, right?

I am creating... a quilt that has been semi finished for months now, a quilt for my husband, and three wedding quilts.  A me that is  leaner, toned, and almost constantly sore from being shredded by Jillian Michaels...I'll let you know how it goes during March when I actually do the workouts more than once a week :)

I am hoping... that I can have more patience this week, and that comfort will find it's way to those I'm worried about.

I am hearing... Little Lady Face sing and mumble as she falls asleep, and the clicking of the Mr's football game on the Wii.  The classical station on Pandora - which is currently playing the LOTR soundtrack. 

Around the house... I need to accept the fact that I will be in a semi-constant state of doing dishes and laundry for the rest of my life.  It will never end until I do.  Shingles blew off our roof this weekend and since we're renting we came home from church to find the owners friend on the roof fixing them.  Poor guy.  It was like 25 degrees. We offered him some donuts but he said no :(

One of my favorite things... Our new leather loveseat (thanks tax return!), a hot shower, Starbucks hot chocolate mix, and the individually packaged skinless salmon fillets (yep, also Costco). And the instagram photo's I took this weekend (see below)

A few plans for the rest of the week... it's Sunday evening so the week is just beginning!  I'm hoping to do fun things with my kids, to get outside, to exercise every day, get the top done for the Mr's quilt, and get some more stuff checked off the mandatory to do list so I can work on some fun quilting projects for me.  I also want to start reading another book to the kids at nap time.  We read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to them a while ago a chapter or two a night and they loved it!  Time for another one. Oh, and to get more sleep...that'll probably help all the rest go better...

A picture (or four) to share from the weekend...

 

I am happy... Because my kids are healthy.  They are cute.  They love me.  I am happy because my Husband is pretty awesome all the time, and has made me confident that we will always be together.  It's reassuring to know that, and thinking about it makes me feel really special. I am also happy because our rental here is starting to feel like our space.  I'm starting to not be so hard on myself, and to realize that I have the next moment to do better than I did before.  Might sound lame, but that's a big one for me! And finally, I got to stay in my pajamas for 90% of the weekend and I let it happen.  It was glorious.



Bonus points if you can tell me who that little person in the hat looks like!


How was your weekend?

2012...

Happy New Year!

January is a big birthday month in our family, today is my mom's birthday, yesterday was my best friend's birthday, and the 4th is my sister in law, step brother, and nephew's birthdays! And yes, you are right, their cards aren't in the mail yet.

Here's what I did when the new year arrived: The single block in the left photo is the first block I made for the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along and it made me soooo excited to do more.  So, the photo to the right is what I have so far.  11 total and I'm hoping to add more in a few minutes when the monkeys take their nap!!

So far 2012 has been exciting, in little life moment ways.  Monkey pants learned to climb halfway up the fence in our backyard, all by himself! He was super excited about this, but when he realized he couldn't stay up there forever, he got a little more worried. Last night I had a dream where he was still almost 3, but as tall as his dad...scary...

I woke up this morning with my equilibrium all funky so my lovely husband let me go back to sleep from 9-11:30, during which time he rearranged the living room and cleaned it, and cleaned under the fridge and discovered the real reason our kitchen smelled a tiny bit...um..."off"...I thought it was the 50 lb bag of garlic that I'd bought at Costco with good intentions going sour, but nope...

...it was a dead rat...or mouse...I didn't double check...

One of the things I wish for most highly in my lifetime is to live in a house where we can have ZERO interaction inside our home with rats, mice, and all other rodents, living or dead.  So far, aside for the first place we lived after being married, we have had rodent battles in every spot since.  Which I think is ridiculously disgusting.  We aren't nasty hoarders, or even close to unclean...I'm not a clean freak, but it gets done as it should.  Why do we have these rodent appearances?! Yuck.

So, yes.  That happened.

Here's some more fun for our week.  My in-law's are coming this week to stay with us for a few days.  We haven't seen them since before we moved out here to Idaho in August, so it'll be great to visit again.  There are only two things I'm having a less than pleasant time with...

I don't know when they're coming, or how long they're staying (yesterday Lovely Husband said he thought it might be Tuesday, but at breakfast this morning he said he thought it was actually Thursday...??? No word on how long they'll be here, but school starts back up on Monday the 9th so...I might have to keep them entertained?! )
We have about 850 square feet in our house.

Wish me luck!

How is your 2012 going so far?!

p.s. I have a bunch of projects and goals and the like ready to show you soon, so watch for it and tell me what you're hoping to get done this year!