organizing and a gratitude wrap

i really like magazines.  i just do.  i like to see all the different ways to decorate, the many different meals i could be fixing, and ideas of things to make and/or do.  i used to get more magazines... but now i only get one or two.  i would look through them quickly, then look through them a little slower.  eventually they end up in a pile (or two) for me to go through later.  so, this week i have been going through my pile(s).  cutting out just the most interesting things or projects i might, really, someday try out. 

i have found a lot of interesting things.  books i had marked to read.  beautiful flowers i would like to plant this year.  a variety of vegetables to plant in the garden.  crafts to make.  and recipes that sound delicious!  ah, the possibilities! 

also this week, i found and completed a small sewing project... a gratitude wrap.  i found free directions at soulemama's blog.  she has other tutorials for recipes, knitting, sewing, and more.  her blog is great.  and it helped me start off with my first small project!  it turned out really cute!

and.... my books came!  i love each one!  they all have so many things i want to try my hand at.  (ignore my improper english grammar...  i am just typing as i would say it... so obviously my spoken language isn't too much better.)  i especially looooove the quilts in camille roskelley's book simplify!  i have already picked out several that i want to make.

sometimes there are just not enough time in a day.  other times i think i would be so exhausted if there really were more hours in a day!  :-)  i will just live with what the lord has given me.  as it is, this week has slipped by.  it is already saturday.  what happened to thursday and friday?  hmmm.

oh, and just a shout out to my youngest son, eli, who won his snowboarding competition this past weekend!  you rock, buddy!  we had a great time watching and taking some pictures.  my, my, i almost forgot that our sweet daughter who got married this past summer made the dean's list last quarter!  *proud momma!  our oldest, tone, arrived home tuesday night from school.  he is home for the semester on medical leave.  it is a blessing to have him home to heal.  he is amazing in so many ways.  i love my kids... way more than those silly magazines.

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!

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!