One misty, moisty morning

When cloudy was the weather,

I chanced to meet an old man

Clothed all in leather…

(Our favorite Mother Goose book.)

We have been having quite a few misty moisty mornings lately. Actually our last few days in this part have been quite reminiscent of home (seattle area). You know cloudy with a drizzle here and there. Today got exciting for the kids with a tornado warning at school. I can only imagine the chaos in the elementary school when they say that this isn’t a drill.

No complaints. I don’t need the sun everyday. However, I have been itching to show you a quilt I’ve finished.

You know what?

The skies cleared this afternoon and I got in a few photos prior to taking it to a mama awaiting patiently for her little boy to be born.

I love it. I love the colors. I love the simple patchwork. I love the quilting.

You may be seeing more patchwork in these parts in the future. I am so pleased with how easy this came together. I may change up the quilting a bit or do smaller blocks. (mine are 6 inches) I don’t love how the fabric moves around within the blocks.

Tomorrow’s forecast (and on as long as they are forecasting) sunny.  I do love that we get so much sun here in the south.

 

I need to bottle this.

Today was great. Well, I guess the day isn’t over but “my day” was fabulous.

8:00 – The kids are out the door. I get some quiet scripture study in. Brainstorm for a new daily routine list and then head out the door to walk the dog.

9:30 – Decide to get dinner started and do daily chores prior to shower.

10:45 – Remember that my new shoes are ready for pick up. Change plans of going to craft store and decide to take my latest read to lunch and pick up shoes instead.

11:00 Have a quiet lunch with my book. ( and a piece of chocolate cake for dessert)

12:30 Head home with new shoes on my feet.

1 ish – Cross the street for a nice visit with a friend

3:00 – At home and decide 30 minutes is just enough time to get the machine out and piece my next quilt top minus ironing.

Since I need to do some pressing before I continue I call it done for now.

Here it is all spread out.

3:30 – Thisbe walks in. Time to clean up and get ready for the evening.

I love days like this.

 

 

 

 

Crafting these days

I’m not sure exactly when the shift happened or why but I am definitely sure there has been a shift.

For as long as I can remember, it seems, I have always been in a hurry. In a hurry to see the finished product. In a hurry to be finished. Then ready to do it all again. Sometimes exactly the same, sometimes with a new spin, always wanting to improve this skill or that.

Now this applies to almost everything I create: baking, sewing, knitting, spinning, quilting…. any time I get an idea or inspiration and set out to try it, the process is usually hurried through and repeated again and again.

In recent years I’ve tried to make a conscious effort to slow down and enjoy the process but  I always seemed in the end to be pushing through (even late into the night) to finish, only to find the next morning a strong desire to do it all again. Sometimes I have everything I need, and let myself do it, other times it had to wait until supplies could be purchased and time to be found.

The Shift

Again, I don’t really know what has happened. If I analyze it a bit I think of the fact that I noticed a definite difference when Bron started school. This change may have triggered my mind to realize that our daily home life had defiantly shifted, placing a greater burden on me to be in charge of daily chores and  evening preparations so that things can run somewhat smoothly when the kids get home. I also think about the fact that I’m starting to feel older. Not old like my body is aging (though I do notice that) but maybe my needs are changing and with that creating has taken on a new purpose.

Boy I seem to be rambling.

I’m still processing it all and feeling a little lost. I know I love to make things but I am not in a hurry at all. Projects have been terribly slow. With no real desire to even finish them but yet a desire to work on them. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe I’m finally relaxing and enjoying the process of making things but not letting this area of my life impede and direct my daily life as much as before.

I don’t like to think that making things was the center of my life but I suspect that it was a bit of an escape. Or maybe a way to claim something as my own when feeling overwhelmed by duties of motherhood.

Now that the kids are older and much more independent and I have large chunks of time to myself. I seem to be crafting much less than when I had very little time to spare.

With all that said I have a few projects I’m working on right now. That stack of cut and partially sewn fabric constitutes the beginnings of 16 camera straps, two totes, and some notecards. It is funny how I am working now a days. Today I only felt like sewing. Not turning, and only tolerated the pressing. Last time I had no desire to sew at all. But I did have a desire to cut things out and use my brain to practice math as I calculated the size of things and how to best use my fabric. Next time, I’m hoping I’ll have a desire to get out my iron and apply interfacing to everything. Or maybe I’ll decide to pull out my knitting project and sew up a few body parts or items of clothing. Or maybe I’ll start a new project. I’ve been hoarding fabrics to make a few quilts for babies on their way. Or maybe I’ll start sketching a blanket for my own summer baby.

I don’t think this change is a bad thing, it’s just a change.

 

 

Little Pieces

Lots and lots of them to be more precise.

Back in 2005 and 2006 I had grand plans to finish overhauling my knit bunny pattern. Adding instructions to make it a bear and some really cute clothes. I’d add a link but for some reason all my old links aren’t working anymore, hmmm. Well, here I am again. The pattern is finished. All I have left is to knit up a sample set for pictures. Correction, all I have to do is sew up all my little knit pieces and take some pictures.

My original plan was to make a cute little booklet full of illustrations and tips. Since the pattern has sat for so many years and to prevent 6 more years from passing by I’ve decided to scale things down a bit and simply get the pattern finished. Take out some of the bells and whistles and simplify the format so it works for a PDF that hopefully wont be a too long.

So, hopefully in the next month (I’m really hoping it wont take longer) I’ll have a pattern ready to show you.

Christmas Break

Hiller Park

(Zoo photos by Thisbe)

Rapunzel’s Birthday Party

Its been a few day since the kids have been back at school. I’m feeling caught up with things and so I am here today! I do love this place.

So… Christmas Break,

I love, love, love it when the kids have breaks from school. It takes no time at all for the cleansing from structured school to begin. Usually it starts with a healthy dose of electronics. During the school weeks these are basically off limits and so they usually spend a day or so if it is a long break or a few hours if it is just a short one plugged in and entertained without very little thinking on their part. This is not my favorite part of the break by any stretch of the imagination but these devices are part of our family life and so I do allow it. I have found that if I let them have a good dose of it right off the bat and then a little here and there, the asking for it and addiction that these devices have is at a minimum and we always make sure to mix in an extra helping of imaginary supportive play afterwards. Usually inspired by said electronics.

This break I made an extra effort to schedule in a couple of play dates away from the house with a couple of other families. (this can be tricky) Both times we ended up at Hiller Park. I love this park. I do wish it was a bit bigger but as it is I feel comfortable letting most of my kids wander off with friends unsupervised. Free to explore, imagine, and bond. It also lets me have some wonderful time with only the  littles left behind so mamas can catch up as well.

Other than the actual holidays themselves, Dave only had one and a half days off this year. A little sad, but we did enjoy the time we had with him. For the one day that was not holiday related we headed to New Orleans to go to the Zoo. Over the years we have been to many zoos each its one or two attractions that set it apart from the rest. This zoo offers a fun dinosaur exhibit and the Swamp, featuring local animal life. The kids enjoyed them both.

Finally on our very last day, Bronwyn celebrated yet another birthday for her beloved Rapunzel.

*****

Now I spend my days alone in a quiet house. It is a little sad but also pretty nice as well. Today I’m feeling good, like really really good. Maybe sticking to my diet and actually exercising is helping things. We will see.

 

 

 

The Tree

The tree was up before December this year but it isn’t until just yesterday that I corralled the kids around it for a picture.

After I snapped a few shots I couldn’t help but laugh. If all goes well, next year,  we’ll have a little one in the pic as well. (And maybe, finally, a new tree)

2009 – 2010

Knitting again

It has been quite a while but I’ve picked up my needles again. It took me a while to find them too. They were scattered among various started and finished projects in various places of storage. Sheesh! The last time I remember knitting regularly was when Bron was a baby and that was almost 6 years ago.

It’s about time!

Shop Update

Thank you for your warm wishes. I am getting more and more excited as the days go by. It seems that I caught a stomach bug over the holiday weekend and am not feeling so desperate today. I’m hoping that how I’m feeling today will be the norm for this early trimester. Nothing like getting sent to the ER to make you appreciate the what a normal early pregnancy feels like. I feel so much better today that I was actually motivated to get something done. (this hasn’t happened for at least a week)

A few weeks ago I participated in a craft show here on base in Mississippi and so I had quite a few leftover items to add to the shop. Today: Added (note – this also included taking all the pictures need to said Adding)

And just in time for cyber monday no less.

 

I’ve got some covered planners and a bunch of new camera straps along with a few sets of button magnets. And just so you know… All items are in my shop are 25% off thru December.

Hurray for productive days!

Thanks

Like all of you, I have so much to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving for me was spent mostly in bed. You know, cook a little, lay down a little, cook a little more, lay down a little more. By the time it came time to eat I was only interested in a few bites and then it was off to hang out with mr toilet for a couple hours. You know, visit my new friend, lay down a little, etc… Once I got sufficiently desperate it was off to visit the ER to make a new friend IV. Boy I love her. Then it was back to bed for a good 29 hours.

Today I am feeling so very thankful.

Thankful for my patient husband and loving children.

Thankful for modern medicine.

Thankful for being able to see a healthy fetus with a strong heartbeat on the monitors early Friday morning.

Thankful for a quiet house (again, awesome husband) to reflect on my many blessings.

Hoping you all are realizing the great bounty of blessings in your life as well.

Halloween

This year we had Pink Link, Harry Potter with his pet Buddy the Dragon, and Legolas.

It was a good Halloween:

First prize for best costume – Nice job Buddy

Enough candy to last the year

Pumpkin carved (with a proud owner no less)

Cant get much better. Well we could have done without the vomit but I suppose that comes with the holiday.

 

 

Biloxi Adventures: Beach at Sunset

It started out as an attempt to fly my new kites. After I  got over the disappointment that not even the blades of tall grass were moving, I set to work enjoying the beautiful sunset. As a Mama, on this occasion, it translated into watching my younger two discover the magic in the air that often occurs as the sun hangs low in the sky, just before it disappears behind the horizon. 

Camera Straps

It was last year about this time that I started my plans for making a camera strap for my DSLR. I also started my plans of adding them to my give away in April. Black backed vinyl, nylon webbing, slides and keepers were all purchased but just sat and sat and sat. My birthday month came and went and still no straps were made. Summer came and went and still no straps.

I think I was scared. (Or maybe just lazy)

However, finally, I started making them. And making them and making them. These are very rewarding and addicting to make.

Here a few I’ve made so far.

 Need to add some cuteness to your camera? Some of these are available in my Etsy Shop.

It is so nice to have my shop up and running again. I am excited to start adding to Gift of Giving again and scheming for next years Birthday Give Away.

 

Taking A Break

 

 

 

Taking advantage of our fall break from school we headed out to the beach for a much needed vacation. It is amazing what a little time away from the craziness of normal life can do for my soul.  It was even more amazing to watch all the stresses of life and school melt away from my kids as they left all their cares behind and got busy “playing.” I miss this part of life. When you homeschool you can find time to fit this “playing” in more often. But as things are I am glad that we all in our own way took full advantage and escaped. Even if it was only for a few days. Boy, those were a wonderful few days.

We have a teenager in the house

Another one

Bron in puddle with Nisa, a photo by By Small Means on Flickr.

Riding Home

Biking home from school, a photo by By Small Means on Flickr.

Discovering new tricks in Photoshop.

A blanket for Eva

This is a little blanket for a special little girl.

Since she is the 6th baby to be born in her family, I suspect that she needs a quilt less than any of her siblings. However, I just couldn’t resist.

To hopefully increase the possibility of it being used, I used a piece of flannel as batting. This greatly decreased the bulk of the blanket so maybe her mama will fold or roll it up and take it with her when she goes out from time to time.  I am very pleased with the nice drape that the blanket has as well.

For the quilt I cut into my Soul Blossoms stash and added some solids from my monthly solid club collection.  The only shopping I did was for the sashing on the front and the flannel for the middle. I was hoping to find a nice soft pink but didn’t have any luck in the local stores and decided to go with some Kona Snow and use pink flannel for the batting. My hope was that the pink batting would show through the snow and give it a pink hue but… since the back is so blue that really didn’t work. I did quilt with a soft pink thread so the white sashing does seem a little softer.

I did learn a lesson about prewashing fabric in quilts.

If you are going to prewash you should do it for all fabrics.

I had already prewashed the Soul Blossoms prints and decided to prewash the flannel so it wouldn’t shrink up too much but didn’t prewash any of the solids. This resulted in the solids shrinking and the flannel a bit too but not the prints. This wouldn’t have been a problem if I had done more of an all over quilting pattern. As it is, I showcased each of the 5.5 inch blocks by stitching 1/4 inch inside and outside them making them look a little stretched out when they didn’t shrink with the rest of the quilt. It doesn’t look bad but I notice it.

Welcome to the world little Eva. I hope I get to meet you in person someday.

 

 

 

Tropical Storm Lee – The Good

That shirt makes me laugh. I couldn’t find a pic but she used to where it when she was this size.

 

Saved from someone’s garbage

This is what I found when I go home from walking the dog with a sick Bron in the stroller.

Brothers can be so sweet.

Forcing myself to use my camera – Keesler Birthday Party

I defiantly find myself labeling my camera as a tool for art rather than as a tool to document. This sadly leads to many many missed documenting opportunities. Ones that happened but will probably not be remembered very long. I think I have this problem because I don’t have a tangible way to keep photos. I really need to start printing photos, making photo books or something. It’s just not doing it for me to have files on my computer.

What do you do with your photos?

Anyway, here are some pics from the Keesler Birthday Party. I find these photos to be a little boring. They all seem to pretty much the same. I’m just happy I actually documented an event. And it helps that my kids look pretty cute as well.

Slowly Transitioning…

…and a finished quilt

This is our third week of school around here. I include me in that “our” as well. I am learning a ton about this new stage of life. You’d think that with the house quiet a peaceful all day long I’d have long hours to sew and sew. This is not reality, well not the reality I am choosing anyway. Instead I’m learning how to balance self and family.

“But no one is home, why do you worry about family?”

Well, I learned a while back that afternoons are the worst time of day for me. I am worn out and spent, ready for a nap and even cranky at times. (more times than I like to admit) Afternoon is also the time that all three of my kids come home.

I like to imagine happy kids skipping home ready to greet me with a smile and hugs. However, I don’t think this has happened once. Instead my kids are hot and sweaty (It’s nearly 100 deg. out of the house)  tired and ready to fight.

Add this to my tired cranky self and it can be quite a mess, I assure you.

Now try to add in making dinner, helping with homework, reviewing  notes from teachers, preparing for the evening….. The list could just go on.

So, I’ve been working on a routine that will help us ease into the evening.(one of my favorite times of day) Mostly I’m talking about cleaning, cooking, meditating, napping and finishing my duties as much as I can so that I can be rested and able to greet them, if they can not greet me, with a smile and a hug. Ready and in the right state of mind so that I can help them transition back home.

This of course has led to a change in my creating time. (or at least the creating time I thought I was going to get) Lets not even talk about blogging time. But through it all, I had some moments here and there to spend on this quilt and I’m even here talking about it.

I am loving it so very much. I did the same design as my last quilt and am thinking about putting directions together for it. Any one interested in hearing about it?

Anyway, here it is.

This one has been added to the shop.

Today’s the Day

All three headed off to school today. (Thisbe snuck off without a pictures. sneaky sneaky) As a mom I think I held it together pretty well but my heart is still worrying a bit. Also, the house just feels more empty. hmmm

Anyway,

After finishing up my duties for the morning I put my self to work on my next quilt. Nothing like the hum of my machine to help the time pass by.

 

A sad thing is happening

Our days of summer vacation are getting fewer and fewer as our stack of school supplies is getting larger and larger.

I can’t believe school is here already. I knew that summer would fly by and it sure did.

I guess things aren’t all sad. I will be entering a new stage in life. All three of my kids will be heading off to school this year. This gives me a large chunk of time every day (well, every school day) all to my self. Whatever will I do?

See you next week, I’ve got a few projects to show you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purple and Gray Quilt

Gray or Grey which one refers to the color. I should look it up.

Anyway…

I am back. I guess I ended up taking a blogging vacation after all. We were out of town for five weeks on a family vacation but is that an excuse? Do I need one? Is this what I was planning on writing about? No, no and no.

So purple and gray…

In february I signed up for Pink Chalk Fabric’s Monthly Solids Club. I have loved every month so far. However, my very favorite so far was May’s Pocket Full of Posies. I had just finished my birthday give away and was reminded of the quilts I made and fell in love with the idea of making a baby quilt in this color scheme. Grays and purples.

I took my stack of fabric with me to the fabric store (hobby lobby) and found some colors to add in and then got to work.

I had both sides pieced and had started quilting before I left on vacation but just finished it up this week.

I just love it. I love love love it.

For one side I did a mini stacked coin block surrounded by a bunch of gray.

For the other side I did an all over stripy design and I just love how this side turned out.

A few more pics for good measure.

I quilted this one in an all over grid placed on the diagonal at varying intervals. I’m loving the grid on it. Not sure if I love it as much as I do having the grid horizontal/ vertical but its a pretty close race.

I’ve add it to the shop and am hoping it will find a home where someone will love it as much as I do.

 

{this moment}

Joining in with Soule Mama today.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Rose Cake

I recently discovered a fun blog with a ton of cake ideas.

This past week I gave her rose cake a try. I used two cake mixes (one white, one red velvet) and her best buttercream frosting recipe. I was very happy with the frosting and how easy it was to make the roses. My roses are pretty sloppy since I don’t have a steady hand or much patients with details like this. I get in a rush to finish it. It did still turn out pretty good. I made two cakes and this is the second cake. A bit nicer than the first.

I wanted to try her vertical strip technic with a slight twist giving it a  checkerboard pattern. I did accomplish the desired pattern but the little blocks of cake separated from each other. (the above pic is missing the center tip blocks.)

To make the checkerboard pattern I just cut circles from all four cakes separating the rings and reassembling like in her tutorial but then placed one of the cakes on top of another that has an opposite outer ring color.

Then finished with the simple syrup (my red velvet cake bled) and wrapped it in parchment paper like in the directions. Next time I will fuse the opposite color cakes together like she did in her tutorial in hopes that they don’t fall apart so much.

Adventure on the Bayou

Since our moving plans have been canceled and we’ll be spending another year here in Mississippi, we thought we’d check out some of the southern attractions.

Airboats on the bayou!!

It was a scorching 100 decrees but since we were on the water and moving at such high speeds the heat was pretty doable.

If you were wondering that is not my husband kissing an alligator. I was pretty surprised when our tour guide planted one on it. These beauties were so calm and peaceful swimming around us. I was tempted myself  touch them.

We did all get to hold one. It wasn’t one that is currently living in the bayou but our guide’s pet. He found him a couple of years ago and will be releasing him back to the bayou in another year.

This was a blast and I highly recommend it if you in the New Orleans area.

A Success

Finally!!!

Magnus Coneflower

I have long been familiar with Echinacea and thought it was a pretty cool plant, but it was when discovered it under a different name “Magnus” that we fell in love with it.

Last september we were pretty settled into our new home in Mississippi and I found this plant at the hardwood store on clearance. I have wanted to try this plant in my garden for a while but just never got around to it, so I picked it up and took it home. Magnus needed this plant after all.

I dug a hole for it and wondered if it would grow here. You see our house and yard is built on sand. Not wanting to go get any dirt I just planted it and hoped for the best. Within a month the flowers were dead and the plant look just about dead as well. I shrugged my shoulders and moved on.

About February, I think, I noticed that it was coming back. And just this week the first of about 12 buds is fully opened.

Hurray!!

Since that first planting I have tried a variety of other flowers in the sand. Some have lasted longer than others but so far this is the only one I’d call a success. It actually came back the next year!

Monkey Quilt

This is the quilt that I made for the baby shower on my birthday.

This quilt was so quick and refreshing to make. I knew well in advance that I had a baby shower that day but it wasn’t until just before I left for Hawaii that I received my monkey fabric. So, it would have to wait until I got back from Hawaii giving me only a couple of days to make it. Because I was so short on time I went with a very simple pattern. I just started cutting and went with it as far as my stripes go but if your interested in an informative tutorial on how to make a stripe quilt you can find it here. I’ve made them before so I just went with it.

The back stumped me a bit but in the end I made it similar to this quilt I had made a while back. I’m so glad I did, I love it.

For the quilting I did the same thing I had done on my Birthday Give Away quilt; Vertical lines at various widths apart and then stitching in the ditch of the horizontal stripes on the front.  This is my new favorite quilting pattern. I’m sure you’ll see it again.

My Few Minutes

It is not unusual to find myself up before 7:00; I have long had early morning rising tendencies. So there was nothing unusual about this particular morning, but when I found myself alone downstairs in a very quiet house I could recognise the peace I was feeling. The early sun was chasing away the shadows and my mind was calm. Thoughts of life, deity, family, and love filled my heart.

It only lasted a few minutes before life resumed as usual but those brief moments have returned to mind many times since.