picture of love

i found a wonderful link for a photography 'class' which is FREE and runs through the month of February.  it is presented by willette photography and is called 'the joy of love.'  are you looking to hone your photography skills this year?  i definitely need that... and what a great topic!  love.  i love love.  it's fantabulous. warm and snuggly.  this one is for me.  want to join me in this endeavor?  just visit the joy of love blog...

i am excited about it!  this will give me a little motivation to be creative with my picture takin' skills.

can you believe it is almost february already?  craziness.  now, go make sure your camera battery is charged up... 

little projects

i have decided that i need some small projects to work on while i am hand quilting.  something that gives me a little more satisfaction... you know, that i completed a task.  i was reading a blog last night (i can't remember which blog it was or i would give you a link) and the blogger was talking about how she makes to-do lists.... so she feels that she accomplished something when she checks them off.  and she said that sometimes she adds extra things she did to the list (which weren't on there to begin with) just so she can check them off... i smiled and thought, 'me, too!'  hey, i did accomplish those tasks and it should be noted somewhere. right? 

i ordered two books yesterday.  oops, three.  when they arrive i will post more about them.  one is about embroidering which is new to me, but i think it is beautiful.  one has small, cute projects.  the other is about quilting by camille roskelley.  i can't wait for them to arrive!  but, i was cheap and didn't want to pay for shipping... the free shipping is 5-7 days... hope i can hang on that long. it will seem like fooooreeeever. 

i am still not sure why when i download my photos into iphoto and/or apeture, they don't show up as a choice for uploading them to the blog.  but, if i upload directly from my camera then it works.  just can't tweek them at all.  anyway, here is how the bliss baby quilt is coming along so far. 

still surfing and looking at blogs to pass along the liebster blog award.  it is giving me a chance to see so many blogs.  it is like meeting a bunch of folks at a gathering and thinking how amazing they all are!  so much talent and creativity.  soon.  i will award some awards soon. 

we again have about 6" of snow.  school wasn't canceled though because it was a teacher work day already.  my son ended up with no exams this past week, so you would think he had an easy laid back week.... no such luck.  he is homeschooled (classes online, actually) part of the day and had gotten behind, soooo he has spent most of every day catching up because he has exams next week in those classes.  bummer.  but tomorrow is the 'big air' competition at the local ski resort, snowtrails.  he is hoping to compete.  maybe i will go take some photos?  might be fun. and cold... it is 10 degrees out right now... and it is 11:30am.  brrrrr.

better go and start planning my small project today though.  (and need to order some wool to try making felt, too!)

an award? aw, shucks!

this morning i did my usual morning routine which eventually leads to me checking my emails.  as i opened them up and scanned what i had received through the night, i saw a sweet note from my quilting mentor, mary.  fyi: if it weren't for mary, i would not even be quilting. how sad would that be?  since i love it so.  anywho... mary had nominated me for the liebster award!  how exciting!

it is an award given from one small blogger to another.  by small, i don't mean 5'1"... i mean under 300 followers.  ha.  which is me for sure.  mary, who gave me the award, has a fabulous blog: mary flanders.  she is so talented!  please take a minute to check out her blog.  you will be amazed at all she has created!

in return, i get to also give the award to 3 other small blogs!  now i wasn't prepared for this, so i will plan to award a few of my favorites tomorrow.  come back tomorrow and see those i chose.  in the meantime, i will be starting to quilt the cheery baby quilt i finished piecing together.  i will add pictures tomorrow, also.  my pictures are not downloading properly, so i will have to get that little kink worked out. 


and just in case i didn't make it clear:  thank you, thank you, thank you, mary!  it is such an honor for you to pick little 'ole me!  (p.s. i love that stuffed doggy you made!)

yummy mornin'

it's a beautiful sunday morning here.  snow is still on the ground, but in the melting stages.  the sun is shining.  it is a great morning for some oatmeal.  what? you say... oatmeal?  well, my husband and i discovered steel cut oatmeal awhile ago.  i think it is delicious.  prior to christmas i found some at the world market store but with the name of irish porridge. now my breakfast sounds much more exciting, even international.  anyway, this morning i whipped up a batch.  they take about 30 minutes to cook, so you have to be patient.  it is worth it though.  and when they are ready...

 put it in a favorite dish...

 add some fruit (i am partial to strawberries in my oatmeal)...

 and a little brown sugar...

eat up...  who doesn't want some of that?  mmmmmmm!

also, on friday i picked up my daughter and she went out shopping with me.  we made our last stop at 'sew to speak.'  their simple & sweet paper bags with their logo are even cute.

have i mentioned i love that shop?  if not, i do.  and i picked up some more cute fabric.  i have a couple projects in mind.

 have a great sunday!  hope yours is sunny & bright!