sweet friend!

today, as i sit in my house surrounded by a half foot of snow, the nice mail lady (i told you that i love her!) came to my door with a package for me.  huh, i don't remember ordering anything off of amazon.  i figured my husband ordered something and forgot to mention it... 

i texted him, but he said that he had not ordered anything recently.  weird.  so, of course, i opened it.  i mean, it did have my name on it and all.  this is what was inside:

the cutest, most interesting book about feltmaking by gillian harris.  who would have sent this to me?  one of my bestest friends ever, cam!  she actually lives in china at the moment.  but we get to see each other about once a year when her schedule and my schedule can intersect.  i am hoping our schedules intersect this summer at the beach!  what better place to intersect, right?

anyway, the book has some great projects with which to learn feltmaking.  here are a few out of the book:

now, i must find some merino wool and a few other tools and try this out.  i think they are just beautiful.  and i think cam is just beautiful as well!  thanks, cam!!  expect a handmade gift when we intersect this summer :-)

more baby bliss...

my new baby quilt is coming along.  i needed a little more fabric, so i was waiting anxiously for the mailperson to show up today.  she brought my lovely bliss additional fabric.  i love my mail lady!  last night i trimmed some of the squares with pinking shears and even the scraps looked scrumptious.  (i didn't eat it,  of course) 

i worked today on matching up pieces so that I can start piecing them together tonight.

the snow continued to fall today.  every year we move our christmas tree outside to our deck and let the birds hang out in there.  it has been fun.  we usually have plans to put some bird feeders in there also... hasn't happened yet though. 

and lastly, i received a nook for christmas from my sweetie.  i love it.  i am reading a book entitled the dirty life.  and i just found this story about kristin kimball on npr (check out the link).  hope you find it interesting.  the story is a great read, especially if you every thought of owning a farm.  i am realizing that i might not have the will power to do what she and her husband did. 

have a great night!

let's get started

it is a beautiful snow covered day here in ohio.  the sun is shining in my craft room with a lovely yellowish glow.  i love it.  it makes me want to sit at the craft table and just create all afternoon.  which is what i plan to do this cheery sunday afternoon.  my son is gone to a nearby snow resort with the snowboarding club and my husband is in his 'study' (a little bedroom with a card table set up for him to study on. ha) preparing for an upcoming lieutenant's exam.  it's quiet and peaceful.

here are some pictures of the fabrics i will be using in the new baby quilt i am starting today...

and...

i love the bliss fabric more than i should... the colors are just scrumptious.  really.

i am designing the quilt based on 'swanky' from dolls from the loft.  her blog is full of beautiful quilts and more.  check it out.

off to work on something cuddly...

new year, new things to do

i have been missing in action on my blog, but, now, it is a new year and i am determined to update and stay connected.  really.  i am.  when a year ends, it seems we always think about the past year and then make new exciting plans for the next.  i am no different.  2010 was an exciting year for our family as our daughter married her sweetheart from high school in July and lots of family and friends were able to join us in the celebration.

our son was home for a lot of the summer and was able to get his sky diving license!  He jumped 25+ times just in june & july!  we went to watch one day and it was lots of fun.  he also was able to jump some more near school in the fall.  he loves it.  he likes surfing as well and we were able to visit him in september for an army football game & surfing on long island.  we had a great time.

in november we went to see our son and stay for 10 days after he had a motorcycle accident.  he finished his semester with excellent grades even while dealing with the pain of his arm and hand.  he came home for christmas and it was great having him here!

we went to virginia to visit our families and went to our 'traditional' japanese restaurant dinner with my side of the bunch.  we take up 2 grill areas. the adults sit on one side, and the kids sit on the other... funny thing is... the 'kids' are really not so much kids anymore.  my youngest, eli, is the youngest grandchild, and he is 17 now... soooo, i guess the adults sit on one side and the young adults sit on the other side. only one grandchild was missing. (missed ya, lauren!) here are the good-lookin' young adults:

we came home and had 3 days before christmas, soooo, both my sons and one girlfriend jumped in the car after calling the christmas tree farm to see if they were open. 'well, we closed on sunday. but, some other folks called today, too.  my husband will be outside if you come within the hour."  it was go time.  we found a beautiful tree (that ended up only getting half decorated. sort of. let's not go there.)

my husband's sister and her two kids came to visit for new year's.  we had fun together and watched 'despicable me' as the new year rang in.  it was abnormally warm in ohio that week, and we even had the windows open!  we heard the fireworks go off and realized it was 2011.  i forgot to even drink the sparkling apple juice.  crazy me.  we are the last of the big partiers (is that a word?).

and my latest accomplishment was completing the baby quilt for our friends.  their son was born on december 31st.  i finished the quilt on january 4th!  we will probably give it to them this weekend.  it turned out nicely.

so, i sat down last night and made a list of the wonderful, crafty, colorful things i would like to make during this year of 2011.  here is my list:

another baby quilt (for another friend)

a twin quilt (or two)

some cute aprons

a carry bag (preferably with a lesson from sew to speak)

several floorcloths 

something crafty with felt

that is what i have for now.  it is subject to change on any given whim. since our friends baby is due in february (late, i hope) then this will definitely be one of the first projects i start.  good news is.... i already have the fabric ready to go!

happy new year!