Letting Go

(Pictures from my walk yesterday)

If there is one thing that I am pretty good at, it is not over scheduling myself. When there are too many too dos on the list my brain seizes, anxiety sets in, I turn into Sargent Mom, and no body is happy. I know this about me. So, I try to plan accordingly.

Sometimes you just can’t avoid it. If I know this kind of day is coming and I don’t let the thought of it overwhelm me so I can think straight, I usually do as much prep work that I can. You know, do and extra load of laundry the day before if it can’t wait. If dinner is complicated and I can’t change it, I try to as much chopping and what not the night before. Things like that.

Well, today is one of those days. I did as much prep work that I could and knew in advance things would be a little crazy. Said major prayers that I wouldn’t say anything I would regret and just left the day up to God. If I had to miss an appointment because one went too long or if the kitchen was a total disaster, I would just have to let it go. I would do my best.

Napping – totally out of the question. Blogging – not today. Ha!

Should I be surprised? NO!

One of the things I need to work on in letting go. Just doing my best and leaving the rest up to God. It always works out if I do.

Today I ended up with a three hour break. Three hours! I got a restful nap, dinner ready to slide into the oven later, pictures uploaded, and a this blog post written.

I do still need to prepare for anticipated crazy days. However once I’ve done what I can I just need to let go and let it play out.

 

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It’s April!!

April is MY month. My name and also my birth month.

6 years ago (if I did my math right) I got tired of being sad on my birthday and decided to do something for myself that at that time I desperately needed. 2008 my Birthday Give-Away was born. Fast forward some years, and in 2013 (last year) I officially decided to move on. While I still enjoyed the give away part I didn’t need an excuse to sew or create any more.

For a few months now I have been trying to decide what to do this month. I don’t want to undo all my birthday loving progress and so something must be planned.

This year I have decided to force myself to go outside. I have been hiding in my house way to much this winter and with the lovely spring weather here more than not, I have no excuses and need to fix that bad habit. So, everyday, I am going to go outside. I’m not talking about the time I pack up Hollis in the car and take and pick up the kids from school. I’m talking about taking the time to BE outside and enjoy everything that I love about being there.

I am also taking this month to do some soul searching. I have some big and I mean BIG changes that need to happen in my life and I am absolutely sure that it is time to make them happen. Now! I have been working on things actively for these same 6 years but really there are things that I have been trying to understand most of my life. I feel like I have learned all that I can for now and just need to get to work and make things happen.

Enter this acorn.

I was drawn to this acorn the first time I saw it. Just sitting in the tree while all the other acorns have long fallen or been plucked by squirrels from the tree. I would come out and check on it from time to time to see if it had finally fallen to the ground but it was always there. I started to think that this acorn was a metaphor for my life. Ha! But what? Hmmm. The acorn represents new life. It’s just sitting in the tree past it’s season. Hmm. Last month I found myself checking it almost daily to see if was still there. Yep it was. 

I came the conclusion that the metaphor was that I too was clinging on to a part of my life that was preventing me from progressing any further. I had everything I needed inside me but I just needed to get uncomfortable and let go.  

I watched it for a few days. Shook the branch. Wiggled it. Hmm. Sunday I was looking at it and just reached out and plucked it off.

I was shocked I did it. I knew that the metaphor was complete. I had just made the decision to move forward and make the changes. I was ready to be uncomfortable and embrace whatever comes.

I know that I am ready and am actually pretty excited to explore some things this month.

About a week ago I had the thought that if I was going to let go of some things I need to have something to replace them. So for this month I am going to search out who I am. Not who I have been hiding behind but the person the Heavenly Father knows that I am and get to work on becoming who He knows I can become.

I’m not really sure what will happen this month but I know that I want to start by exploring this talk. (check it out) I’ll just have to see where it leads me.

 

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General Women’s Meeting

I just returned from attending the first time ever General Women’s Meeting with both my girls. What a blessing! To be honest, I didn’t realize there had been an announcement of a change to the annual Relief Society and Young Women’s broadcasts until yesterday but was trilled to be joined by not only Thisbe to a semiannual meeting but Bronwyn a well.

If you would like more information about the General Women’s Meeting see the link on the work announcement above and or this link to an interview of Sister Marriott.

Here are a few of my thoughts from the meeting

This gathering is GREAT!!

I am a  child of God. I am his daughter.

Christ will “Lead me, Guide me, Walk beside me, Help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do, To live with Him someday.”

As His daughters we all have a job to do. We are all needed.

Look to Mormon’s example of knowing who he is.

Look to the examples of great women

I am a daughter in the covenant.

“I will head not what the wicked may say, but the Lord alone I will obey”

I was feeling overwhelmingly (read tears) connected to the sisters present. Both in our meeting house but also all over the world. During one of the songs I thought about the fact that many of the women that I love were watching this meeting at the same time I was. My family and friends in Washington, and so many ladies I have known and loved in our travels with school and military. BYU, Huber Heights, Bothell/Kenmore, Turkey, Biloxi, and now in Lincoln, Nebraska. I could imagine them sitting beside me as we listened to the speakers and sang songs together side by side with our daughters. What a wonderful feeling.

You can find the conference and watch it yourself at LDS.org.

 

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So Blessed

photo curtesy of Whitney Jones

Isn’t this just a wonderful sight. All theses ladies came to join me for my birthday lunch. I love them all.

Each and every place I have moved I could probably have taken a picture just like this. A group of women I love. Ladies I feel comfortable calling on if I need some baking supplies, a baby sitter, a listening ear, or a shoulder to cry on. Ladies who have taught me, served me, let me serve them, and just plain loved me for who I am. I don’t know what I would do without these women in my life.

I am so blessed and am excited to add to this long list of women I love with our next move to Nabraska.

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Moving on

 A few edits I did today from our trip to Vicksburg

 I had a few reminders today like the stack of packages that went to the post office today (thanks so much for getting your addresses to me so promptly. All packages went out today except two that will be hand delivered on that will ship out tomorrow.) and the remnants of crafting supplies that still need to be put away, but other than that my Birthday seems like the distant past. Not just YESTERDAY!!! Crazy. I guess I have simply moved on. I really enjoyed focusing on sewing and crafting last month but all the while I was desiring to work on my new hobby. Photography. I’ve got a class lined up starting next week and I am ready to learn. During the month I snuck into my crafting time and read a wonderful photography book called Photographing Your Children. It really got my gears turning on how I want to photograph my children and document their lives.

So, I’m not sure what is going to happen with this blog. I don’t have a plan at all. I really like visiting this space so we will have to see what happens.

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Made the Cut

 

Well, I have officially decided to not cut this blog out of my life. Didn’t know I was thinking about it? Well, I was. Since I am tired of feeling guilty about not posting here I decided to set a goal and write here weekly. I’ve found a two hour bit of time in my life, once a week, that if I am prepared I can sit and upload pictured and actually think about writing a blog post.

 

The sad thing though is the fact that nothing has been going on. I started a project a few weeks ago… but haven’t touched it since. No new pictures had been taken. Nothing. Well, one thing has been going on. We decided to homeschool Bronwyn this year for first grade. It has been going smoothly and because of it I have this 2 hours where I sit at a table waiting for her while she enjoys an awesome art class and PE. Hollis is still young enough to sleep through most of it and so my blogging time has been discovered, but what to talk about??? Hmm.

 

 

Knowing that I didn’t have much prepared to post about today I snapped a quick picture of Bron as we were leaving. Nothing exciting happening at the time but I love the fact that she was so proud of her stripy outfit. She was beaming anytime anyone noticed it today. People can be so nice to notice and say something.  So, since I couldn’t get the Wi-Fi working during my 2 hours I spent the time reading my camera manual (again) and playing in photoshop and am just blogging about it all tonight.

 

 

 

Here is the original and my favorite manipulations of the picture I snapped of Bron today.

 

 

 

Plastic Wrap (kinda creepy; just looking at it make it hard for me to breathe)

 

 

 

 

Gradient Map (not sure what that means)

 

 

 

Sketch Photocopy (my favorite)

 

 

Find Edges (very close second)

Well, thats all I’ve got for today. See you next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Clearing

Well hello there blog. It sure has been a while. While I’m at it, hello camera and hello sewing machine, I almost forgot I own you, let alone once loved you.

Never quite understood the whole baby fog term until now. It seems that a large portion of my life just faded away into the back ground. I know it is there but I just can’t see, feel, or remember why I once occupied my life with it. Well, I’m just starting to see it again. It’s still foggy but things are definitely clearing.

Don’t get me wrong, life is wonderful and uncomplicated right now.  It seems, without any forethought, I emptied my life of all the extras and have been enjoying the peace that this sort of purge brings. I am a little sad that I have not captured my growing baby’s littleness as I wanted. Sadly my camera has only come out a few times.

Here are a few milestones and favorites.

I’m also sad that I didn’t get his blessing outfit made in time (luckily Magnus’ still fit him. Barely) or that our summer is now over and it doesn’t even seem like it happened at all. I was shocked to realize that it is September.

But like I said, things are clearing. I feel the extras which I once enjoyed freely starting to enter my life again. Slowly.

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Peace

That is what I am feeling this morning. The sun in taking its time lighting up the sky and I am enjoying the light of a cloudy morning.  Oh wait, I’m starting to see long shadows amid golden light in my house. I’d better hurry. No, I think I can still take it slow.

I didn’t even know I was stressed. I’d been going about my days as normal but it isn’t until now that I can feel what was missing.

I am starting to hear the creaking boards of children starting to stir and my thoughts are starting to shift to ones of responsibility. I think I will fight it though and let the morning progress unstructured. I don’t think they will miss me.

My body is longing to snuggle up to my warm bodied husband whom, I suspect, wont let his feet touch the ground for a couple more hours. Awww. That’s better. The feeling of peace has returned.

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A Wonderful Surprise

Warning – This is not a crafty post but one I would feel ungrateful if I did not write, as I have been touched so much.

Yesterday Bron and I hopped on our bikes for a little ride just as the sun was getting low on the horizon. I had just finished my second gift for the month and wanted to get a photo of it down by the docks in my little neighborhood and also wanted to enjoy a bit the beauty that is found there.

As we approached my desired dock I ran into Whitney, a sweet lady in our neighborhood and church congregation with a contagious enthusiasm for life and also a talent and passion for photography. Before this particular meeting I had dreaded ever meeting her in a situation like this. And I have to admit that as I realized that our crossing paths were inevitable this particular moment, I cringed as I saw her pull out her camera.

I have admired her photography since the moment she passed her card to me and had a minute to check out her website.  Each photographer has his/her own style and I just loved hers. But it was my silly struggles with body image that kept me always trying to increase the distance between myself and her camera. This desire only increased as my body became more and more swollen as the months have progressed in my pregnancy.

So, it was only with love for her and her sweet enthusiasm that I agreed to “just stand there” and let her dance around me. After a few minutes, I relaxed a bit and after an agreement that she wouldn’t show me any photos of myself that didn’t look great, I let her do her thing. I found it all very silly.

Until I saw these

This first picture almost made me cry.

I have always wanted (secretly) a beautiful pregnancy photo. But have always settled for a quick snapshot just for documentation of what I looked like for the sake of the unborn child.

Not only does this photo give me a beautiful pregnancy photo, it captures so much about me.I have stood in this same area many times gazing at the beauty of the area in which we live with thoughts of deity, my life, and how blessed I am swirling in my head. I am looking toward the water just like my mother is always doing. This makes me realize the many ways she has influenced my life and how proud I am to be “just like her.”  Seeing me hold my unborn baby represents so much for me. The fears, trials, uncertainty, gratefulness, love and trust that this experience as an expectant mother brings.

This photo makes me want to be a better mother. The way she is gazing up at me brings to memory the many talks we have heard in General Conference this past weekend that focused on my responsibility as a parent and gave direction on how to be the parent that my Heavenly Father and Savior want me to be. This photo clearly shows my daughters love for me and makes me realize that I am her mother and who else should lead her to God but me.

This last photo may only be meaningful to me but I love it.

I shows me, as always, as a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, holding my family dear to me along with trying to balance my desire to create and share this love of mine with others. The fact that I am laying on the ground in such beautiful location was just the perfect touch as it  represents my love of nature and desire to be near it. While I am on my back I am looking up which reminds me of my need to consistently desire to know how I might become better and the knowledge that I have  of my need to remember that this answer will not come from the world but only if I become in-tune enough to hear and follow the promptings that will only come from above.

Thank you Whitney for such a wonderful and surprising gift. I will treasure these always.

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Boy or Girl?

Boy or Girl?, a photo by By Small Means on Flickr.

I am getting ever so impatient. Hopefully we’ll know soon.

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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.

 

 

 

 

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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.

 

 

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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.

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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.

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I changed my mind

about writing on this blog. Somehow I think that if I am taking a break from planned crafting that I need to take a break from the blog. I forget that this place is window into my life and crafting plays such a small part.

So, I’ll see you around.

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Summer Vacation

Today is the last day of school for my kiddies and it seems that since I have already started my vacation from this spot, I might as well make it official.

By Small Means will be quiet for a couple of months while we enjoy our summer vacation together.

See you in August.

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Some Changes

I love the marking of a new year. For me the most significant marker is my birthday and I like to set my big goal and such at that time, but in January I like to take the time to think of adjustments I need to make in my life as well. This January I am mostly thinking about changes that can be contained within the name By Small Means: the blog, my Etsy shop, my Birthday Give Away and Gift of Giving.

The Blog –

This year I want to blog a bit more consistently. As I look back over the years of this blog there are huge gaps of time that are missing. I’m not thinking about blogging everyday or anything but I do want to have a presence here throughout each month.

I also want to be more organized behind the scenes. I use this blog as a window into my life and would like to have it organized in such a way that I can make each year into a book or some other tangible form. In order to do that I need to organize my pictures better. This requires cleaning up flickr and my wordpress gallery, uploading directly to the blog and also having a back up on flickr. It would also be nice to organize my photos on my computer as well. And maybe even have some printed off and put into photo albums or something. (I’ve given up on the idea of scrapbooking.)

Birthday Give Away –

This year and hopefully in years to come I want to include a gift to someone within my community, wherever I may happen to be. This year I’m thinking about making two quilts. One to give away to readers and one to give away to someone in need locally. I’ll discuss that more as April approaches.

Gift of Giving –

This is a relatively new aspect of By Small Means but I really want to see more of it. I have found so much happiness with it already. I’m hoping that time and means will allow an update of gifts once a month.

My Etsy Shop –

Here there will be a big change in my prices. In the past I have only been looking to move items in the shop, pricing them at or below cost. I really enjoy making the items listed but didn’t have a home or purpose for them and so the shop was a great way to find homes for them.  I never cared whether or not items sold and I often removed items to give as gifts.

I have decided to have the shop support both  the Birthday Give Away and Gift of Giving. In order for that to happen I need to price my items so I am actually able to bring in money to support these giving opportunities. I have given this some thought and here is what I have decided to do.

• Double the actual cost of making the item – This way I can replenish my supply enough to give away one items worth in the two giveaways and make another one to sell. I don’t think I am limiting myself to making and giving the same items that sell but I want to have enough money to replenish my supply to be able to replenish both the shop and support the giveaways
• Add in all PayPal and Etsy fees – I have always just eaten these myself and never considered them.
• Add in the price to ship the item within the United States – I will do this so that I can pay to ship a gift away. I know that if the gifts need to go outside of the United States it will cost more but this should cover most of them.

Add this all up and it equals a significant increase in prices.

Before coming to this conclusion I looked at Pink Chalk Studios post called The Business of Craft: Pricing Part 1 and realized that what I wanted to charge for my items came out to be similar to what she has broken down in the post. So, I feel ok about it. I do still worry that by increasing prices so much it might deter people from purchasing and then limiting my resources for giving but I will just have to see how it goes.

In addition to the changes with By Small Means I also want to be better at corresponding with friends and family. I am shamefully bad at putting off replying to e-mails. Sometimes I even never get around to it. This is something that needs to change. I have to opportunity to move around a lot and with each move I meet people who change my life. In order to keep that relationship I must make a bigger effort. (I know, I know, shame on me.)

I love this little area of my life and am excited about these changes. Thank you so much for your support in 2010 and years past. I’m looking forward to this new year.

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2010

1. i love my sunny, 2. Robot Quilt Front, 3. Quilt for little miss b, 4. My side, 5. Finished Quilt on Chair, 6. Pin Cushion Stack, 7. 001, 8. 11 of 16, 9. All tied up, 10. Covered Notebooks, 11. Nicole’s Quilt, 12. Double Coin

I’ve always wanted to make one of these mosaics. I love how it showcases everything so beautifully.

So here are all my 2010 quilts plus a few other sewing favorites from 2010. I wonder what 2011 will bring.

Happy New Year!

 

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Merry Christmas

I know, it’s a little late but it still feels like Christmas around here. The only word I can use to describe it is SLOW. And I love it. Magnus had been threatening to get sick for a couple of weeks but only seemed to have mild symptoms. Last Tuesday, the 22nd, it caught up to him and the other kids as well. The next day we went to their Christmas piano recital with fevers and all. They just didn’t want to miss it. (I justified this because it was a private recital between a couple of families and the others were aware and encouraged the participation) This was the last of our pre Christmas duties and so when we got home that night we settled into the SLOW. With the illnesses, Christmas Eve and Christmas day were very peaceful and snuggly. Presents were opened and enjoyed but it was done in a very calm way. Sunday and Monday have also been a lot of reading, snuggling and napping. (With video games and movies thrown in for good measure) So peaceful and wonderful. The kids have been handling their illnesses like a champ. Patient and submissive.

I do think that since fevers gone (crossing my fingers that this will be the case when the kids get up) and it seems that only a cough is lingering we might be ready to pick up the pace a little and do some of the traveling we had planned for this week but at a greatly modified scale.

I hope you all are still enjoying your Christmas and wish you a very Happy New Year.

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Has anyone ever read this book?

I first heard about this ladies method of keeping your house clean back in 2005 while living in Ohio. At the time I had housecleaning method I’d been wanting to try in the beginning stages and so I didn’t pay much attention to the this. Fast forward five plus years and I am still in the beginning stages of organizing my housework.

I was lamenting to a friend the other day and she dropped this book off. I’ve only read part of it and seems pretty logical but am wondering if anyone else uses her method of house cleaning.

My home is pretty decent most of the time. On the outside anyway. I usually have a stack of clutter in each room but not much more than that. My main problem is organizing myself so that the not so obvious chores such as cleaning the bathroom, mopping the floor, bathing the dog, cleaning out the crumbs in the toaster, washing the windows, changing the sheets, sweeping the garage, mowing the lawn, dusting, oh the list could go on forever, can get accomplished on a rotating at least semi regular basis.

If you have read the book. What do you think. If you haven’t, what system do you use to keep your chores organized so that they actually get completed?

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Just a quick little note

…to say. I am offering free shipping on all items in my shop for the month of November within the USA. Let the holidays begin!

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Finding a place to sit

Each move affects me in a different way. This one had me pacing. Literally. I would wonder the empty house all day. Room to room, upstairs, down, again and again and again. Sure I stopped to make a meal or look at the computer or something like that but most of day I would just pace. It actually took me a week or so to realize it was happening. I mentioned this to a friend and  she laughingly told me that I was pacing because I didn’t have any furniture to sit in. Made perfect sence and I accepted that as the problem but then I realized it was more than that.

I had lost my routine and our situation here was different and so a whole new routine would have to be made. So I paced and paced some more but this time I was trying to think about what I should be doing. What would I do when I woke up? What time will I wake up? When the kids leave for school what would Bron and I do? How am I going to connect with the kids if they are gone for most of it? Pace, pace, pace.

I am still pacing… but not as much. Yesterday Bron and I left the house. It was a leaky air mattress that made this trip out a necessity. While out I decided to head over to a new found fabric store and see if I can get started on the quilt I mentioned last time. Bron brought the markers so I had all the time I wanted to wander the little shop and  think about something other than my routine. I think it is just what I needed. When finished , we walked around the cute little downtown area of Ocean Springs. Just what I needed. I came home and sewed.

Oh, it felt so good to do something familiar. Maybe that is what I need. More things familiar.

I think furniture and stuff will help. But my little outing has provided me somethings to keep my hands busy. My machine is here and I do have a few folding chairs and a shaky folding table. I think I will sit at the table and do some sewing today. After I clean up the breakfast on it.

First of 16 blocks for my quilting project with some friends from Turkey. (I’ll post more on this later.)

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Birthday Give Away Wrap-Up

So, my birthday has come and gone. Its been a week actually. While  I loved the increase in blogging time, sewing, and photo shoots, I’ve actually enjoyed my time away. I stop in today to wrap up the birthday give away.

This year there were a few snags on my birthday. There were a few repeats from last year forthe give away this year and in order to avoid sending someone the same gift two years in a row, I set up a blog  (feel free to go check it out) so people could choose their own gifts. Good idea right? Well maybe in theory.

The first problem was that when I set up the blog it didn’t test the comments. As it turned out my comments were set up so that I had to moderate a comment before it would show up. Well, I mass emailed everyone (almost) and then took off for an hour or so only to return to an inbox full of comments that needed to be moderated. The problem was that multiple people commented on the same gift without knowing it. As I hung my head in shame I sent out an e-mail telling them what a fool I was and how sorry I was and asked them to choose a different gift.

Problem number two was that I didn’t realize the amount of organization that needed to happen if I wanted to give a specific present to a specific person and send that to a specific address, multiplied by 30 (31).  Magnus and I organized gifts, recipients, and their addresses as best we could. To my knowledge everyone got the correct gift shipped to them but don’t hold it against me if I made a mistake. 

One last problem was that as I was choosing names I accidently chose 31 instead of 30, the number of gifts I made. I shipped out the bulk of the gifts on Monday and then finally figured out why I was missing a gift; I had 4 names and only three gifts. I recounted my the names from the list I made of people I chose, people I emailed, and people listed on the announcement post, yep I had chosen an extra name. I waited until all the gifts were chosen and then e-mail the last person, explained what happened and then offered a choice between a zipper pouch and a covered notebook. They graciously told me to surprise them and so I went with  a notebook cover. I really never tire of making them.

So here is the final gift of the year.

The final 4 gifts were shipped out today. So winners, start watching your mail boxes, presents are on the way.

Thanks again for a great month. While the actual give away part was a little crazy this year, the making part was wonderful. My brain is already spinning with ideas for next year.

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Birthday Give Away Winners

 

Thank you so much ladies.

Do you see this wonderful stack of presents. This is why I love having a birthday give away. Many of those presents were made this month because I had a reason to take the time and make them. I can only use so many notebook covers but I love to make them so much. I loved the process of making a throw pillow cover but really only needed two. Since I had a reason, I joyously made two more for you. The same goes for a zipper pouch and a couple of pin cushions. Oh, and the quilt; that top had been completed for months. I fell out of love with it and was ready to find it a new home. Because I had a reason to quilt it up, I took the time to try a new technic for me that is time consuming and laborious. I fell in love again with that wonderful line of fabric as I sat sewing for long early morning or late night sessions, inspiring me to make a few items for myself that I really didn’t need but have added joy my life.

I am so thankful for your lovely words of support this month. While I didn’t explore a ton creatively with my camera, I learned a lot just taking photos of my gifts. All month it was off automatic and I am feeling much more comfortable with my camera and my editing software. OK, OK, I will get on with the winners, but thank you so much for making this a wonderful month. I have improved my sewing and photography skills and learned a ton. Thank You.

The Quilt –

When I finished quilting I counted up all my quilting lines and I had 189. This number surprised me; I was expecting it to be less than the projected 176 lines. So the winner of extra 10 entries is Jane with her guess of 192; the closest one.  When figuring out winners I first added Julie’s extra 20 entries into the mix then I added Jane’s.  Next I, headed over to the Random Number Generator and come up with a winner…..

Jane!

Winning the quilt with one of her extra entries.  Congratulation!

The winners of my general birthday give away are…..

Katie H, Melanie, Megan Presley, Kristin, Sara, Elizabeth, Anna, elsa, Rachel, Julianna, Ashley, Andrea_R, Jessica, Natalie Shirley, Melissa R, Sylvie, Brandi, Jen, Mom, Julie T, Kris, Nova, Honor, Jordee, RaeLyn, Jessica, Shannon, Camara, Julie, Annie and Donna.

If you see your name here and have not received an e-mail notification yet, please e-mail and I will let you know how to select your gift.

Thank you all for such a wonderful birthday month.

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Game On and some rambling

Thisbe and Magnus had their first ever baseball games this weekend.

 

If you haven’t noticed, photography has taken a back seat this month. I realized about a week and a half into the month that what I love about photography was the finished print in my hand. It was the whole process of it; taking the picture, developing the negatives, exposing the photo paper to light, watching the magic as it soaks in the baths, drying, and mounting. With digital photography a lot of the magic is gone; it’s just files of forgotten photos on my computer. I’ve tried scrapbooking, but that really isn’t my thing. I’m thinking about trying a photo book; maybe that will inspire me. How do you stay inspired to take pictures?

To be honest I don’t mind having photography in the back seat, I have been loving all the unexpected sewing time this month.  I will revisit photography , if not sooner, at least when we get back to the states. There, at least,  I can have my photos printed easily.

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Biloxi, Mississippi

If you haven’t heard we will be leaving Turkey and moving on to a new location.

Now my true love is the forest and the mountains but I don’t think it will be  hard to enjoy my upcoming  surroundings. A friend just came from that city and I sat and listened to stories of boating, dolphins, sea turtles, long boardwalks, and so much more.

While I am getting pretty excited, there is still a ton I want to do and see here. Here’s to making the next months count.

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Slowly Restocking

It’s crazy how busy my life has gotten, but I love everything that has filled it. I’m learning a ton about balance and priorities. So, with that said, I’ve opened my shop back up. I’ve got a stack of items still to add and will be adding them as windows of opportunity arise. Have a look around but be sure to stop by again.

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Come on now

99 deg F in the shade. I thought it was support to be fall. Apparently, not today.

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New fabric to play with.

Isn’t that a lovely stack? They’re all washed up and I have been touching them all afternoon. Kathy amazed me as always with her super fast shipping. I swear there must be a direct flight from her home to mine. The whole stack is made up of her sugar cube (a 28 x 28 inch piece) stack packs. The bottom 12 are Denyse Schmidt and the top 6 are Amy Butler.

Now if I can just decide on a project.

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Time for a break

All packages except two were mailed out on Friday. I’m still waiting on a couple of address so if  I hear from the winners I’ll send them out. If not I will choose two more names on Thursday.  Other than that I am going to be taking a blogging break for a little while.  Maybe a week or two, or maybe till June. We’ll see.

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