more scrap quilt squares

Hello there! Thank you for your comments and suggestions on how I should arrange my quilt blocks. I still haven't decided what to do yet, but it was fun to read each person's input. So, instead of make a decision on what to do with these, I thought I would make some more blocks. (This actually was the intention all along...I don't have enough for a quilt top yet.)

Have I mentioned how much I like improvisational piecing? It's great...no pattern to follow....just make it up as you go along. Love it! The white borders will be added when I get to the store to get more fabric.

As you can see, I made a dent in the yellow fabric bucket.

The pink still needs some work...another day.
Yes, I sorted out my scraps according to colors.
That was probably the funnest part so far.

These are some fabrics that I pulled out of the stash....I am planning a pretty, girly sampler quilt. Someday.

We are in the middle of a blizzard here. We have gotten lots of snow and strong winds. We have a snow drift in our driveway that is as tall as Kevin's truck. Some of our siding started flapping in the wind this afternoon. My oldest boy was scared....he thought the whole house was going to go. The house was creaking and groaning. He was more than a little freaked out. Thankfully, my dear Kev went out and fixed the siding right away and we haven't had any more problems.

We stayed home all day long. Kevin baked a sweet potato pie, made some cereal bars and banana bread. I made a pecan pie and some fresh salsa. Kev and I also did lots of talking on the phone. My family in MN are dealing with cold cold cold temps and some of them are a little bit jealous of all our snow. Well, we have plenty to share!

Did I mention that my daughter loves Boobah? She likes to pat his head.
SOOOOOOOOOOO cute! And maybe a little bit scary. :)

Gratitudes:
1. My warm house.
2. Plenty of food to eat as we are pretty much snowed in.
3. Even though my daughter has a severe cold, she is still sleeping well.

Happy February!

It has been a busy day here.

I got letters from both of my sisters today. They were both, in their own ways, gently reminding me to focus my time and energy on my family....a good thing to be reminded of. Especially in the middle of those nasty winter blahs. (Do you have these like we do?) I am selfish. I want to lock myself in my craft room and sew and create all by myself. I don't want to hear the arguing and fighting and whining. I don't want little hands to help me along. So this was a great reminder, especially when I am feeling burnt out. Like today. Like this week. I am working on it.

One of the things that my boys like to do is to help me cook. And bake. They jump at any chance that they get to pull up the dining room chairs up to the island and get involved. We usually have a good time. Tonight we made a simple recipe that was delicious! Found here.

These were seriously easy.

And seriously delicious. Not messy to make. QUICK. Fantastic!

After our little baking project, we moved on to Valentine making. It wasn't as fun as it may appear. My little one was sitting in the high chair fussing and wailing. She was tired and she has a tooth coming in. Once she went to sleep it was a bit more fun. The boys love doing crafts. It sure helps when my husband joins in. Otherwise crafting with kids isn't at the top of my fun things to do list. It does, however, top my list of stressful things to do with kids. We ended up having a good time as a family. Like my sister Clair reminded me, we are creating memories. That makes it all worth it.

The in progress shot is more exciting than the final results. But like I said, we are going for memory making. I am very thankful that my husband joins in and even suggests this kind of thing...he's so great.

Now, on to quilting. :) Quilting is really therapy for me. It may sound cheesy, but it is.
Here are two squares that I need to add the white borders on....

these 4 pink ones were made yesterday....

and these below were made before...

the blocks are almost entirely made out of scrap pieces....
(I save insanely small scraps of fabric, right Amy?)

Each square is randomly pieced to no particular size....

And then I add a white border to make each block measure 9.5"....

But now I am stuck.
Should I mix them all up? I don't really want to mix the pink and purple...it looks...uninspired? Too predictable? I don't like purple all that much, so maybe that is the problem.
Should I make a bunch of each color and then put all the pink blocks in one quadrant, all the yellows in another, greens and purples in another? Should I arrange them in rows by color, as shown in the yellow, green, purple shot? Or just plain random? Or, I got a crazy idea, (I can't actually believe that I am going to admit this) but I could do a series of quilts....one all purples, one pinks, one yellows, one greens. OK, that is really what I want to do! That would be so much fun!
Please submit your suggestions {other than the fact that I am completely crazy for wanting to make a series of quilts...I already know this :) } or any other ideas that you may have. I appreciate your input.

Gratitudes:
1. A quiet house....(the kids are sleeping)
2. Clearance shopping at Target today
3. My warm house (it's cold out there!)

soup

I tried a new recipe last night. I got the link from creative little daisy. She was inspired by wise craft. I must say that I am loving this blog thing. Especially when it helps solve that never ending question, "what am I going to cook for dinner tonight?"

I like to cook. Mainly because I love to eat....but I do enjoy the process most days. And I like to try new recipes. I get really excited when they exceed my expectations (this rarely happens). This is one of those recipes. The original recipe is here.
Here is my take on it.
Asian Chicken and Chili Soup

6 cups chicken broth
1 red bell pepper thinly sliced and cut into 2" pieces
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon ketchup
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of ground red pepper
3 cups diced cooked chicken
angel hair pasta
about 3 sprigs of fresh cilantro coarsely chopped
2 scallions thinly sliced lenthwise and cut into 2" pieces (for garnish)
Combine first 6 ingredients and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add chicken, pasta and cilantro. Simmer until pasta is tender. Garnish with scallions.

I adapted the recipe to what I had on hand. I don't know much about watercress, but I think that it is close to cilantro? (Don't laugh at me if I am way off here.) I did a google search on it last night and didn't find the information I was hoping to. Any insight that you may have would be much appreciated. So if figured I might as well try substituting cilantro and see what happens...it's not like we were expecting company or anything. The flavor that the fresh herbs added to the soup was perfect. And as cold as it has been here, the soup was the perfect meal. On a side note, the kids didn't eat this due to the cayenne pepper in it.

We all survived our snow day, and I ended up getting all the sewing for my job done, but nothing else. I did indulge in a little on-line retail therapy. I made it all the way through the day without, but when I checked in at 10 pm and my fabric bundle was on sale I broke down and bought it. My husband heartily approved. What's up with that, you may ask? I know I did. He loves to on-line shop....then he gets a package a few days later. It is weird though, my husband urging my to buy fabric, especially when I just added a lot to my stash. He is a pretty sweet guy and he likes to spoil me.

Gratitudes:
1. For my husband, who works hard and puts up with lots of junk at work without complaining
2. For a funny sweet guy to walk through this life with
3. And that our marriage keeps getting better

so much to do...

...so little time!

I've been anxious to get working on some quilting...



...as you can see, my scrap basket is overflowing! Thanks go to Amy and Taia for their contributions. :) Hopefully in the next few days I can make some progress and put a dent in this scrap stash. I have some ideas for little patchwork projects and I also have some scrap quilts that I will be adding to. My goal is to be able to fit all the scraps into my scrap jar again. This is a fairly aggressive goal, just to let you know.

I have also been working on this purple scarf....it will be going to my neighbor when it is done, since she gave me the yarn. This yarn is fine, it tangles easily and it takes a long time to knit. I am telling myself that once I finish this scarf I can start another crochet project....so far that has been a good motivator.

Beyond that, not too much excitement here. We have another snow day, so there is no school today. It sure is pretty and I am thankful that I didn't have to go out this morning to take my son to school. I am hoping to get lots of sewing done today, but I have a guess of how that will all pan out. My daughter has a tooth coming in, and she is in a lot of pain. My boys have been whining and arguing...come to think of it, I'll be lucky to get any sewing done at all. If all else fails, I might have to resort to some on-line retail therapy. I'll let you know how it goes.

Gratitudes:
1. My sewing machine
2. My warm house
3. The beautiful snow, and the fact that I don't have to go out in it today.

a little bit of everything

First off, I'd like to thank you for all your kind comments about my modern quilt. I have to admit that I wasn't all that excited about the quilt when I was finished. I was glad that I was done, but the quilt just didn't seem quite right. Then I washed and dried it. Now it is all crinkled up and I love it. I am relieved that the backing flannel color didn't bleed. I don't pre-wash my fabrics and I was holding my breath until the wash cycle was done.

I just finished up two baby bibs that I started back in Nov. I needed to add the binding and the snaps. I am glad to have that off my in progress list. (This blog helps keep me on track.) They are 2 sided.

My not so willing little model.


The back of this one is just a solid blue.
(Why is it that diapers are the best toy???)

My dear friend Linda is looking for some quilt block swap participants. Read her Jan. 24th posts-there are 2 about the swap . I think this is in the very beginning stages, but if you are interested, leave her a comment. I am looking forward to this, my very first on-line swap.

Both of my little ones are taking naps and my older boy is at school. The house is quiet! This rarely happens anymore around here, and I am enjoying each and every minute of it. Ahhhh.

I haven't shown this baby in awhile....my stripey crochet blanket. I am on the 59th row. I haven't been working on it much lately, but will be returning to it soon. I don't know if I really like it that much. I would like to have someone else help me pick the colors of yarn next time. (I can't believe that I am planning my next one already!) Or maybe I should have tried the random stripe generator that I have been reading so much about. Anyway, I am enjoying the process of making this blanket. It is monotonous, but I enjoy that....(another weird thing about me, I guess) and it is a great TV watching activity. If I really don't like it when I am finished, I know who I will give it to. (Someone who isn't as much of a color snob as I am.) So there, no worries. :)

Gratitudes:
1. Friends who are coming over just to hang out tonight.
2. My husband getting home from work earlier than usual.
3. Craft blogs...where else can one get the wealth of inspiration that one can get here? I love it!

weirdness

I have been tagged on the weirdness game that is going around. (I absolutely love reading other people's lists....don't you?) I have been thinking on this for over 2 weeks to come up with my answers. Now that fact alone shocks me to my very core. I have banked on the fact that I am weird my whole life! Anyway, I've got to get this posted so I can start thinking about something else.

1. I have a hard time buying just one of anything, especially groceries. If one is good, two or more must be better.

2. I don't know if this qualifies as weird, but it is uncommon. My husband was my first and only boyfriend. (no, we didn't know each other in high school....we met when I was 20)

3. I sleep with my ear (the one that isn't on the pillow) plugged. I won't get into why. :)

4. I have a hard time using "nice" things....cute clothes for the kids, pretty note paper, nice soaps, pretty fabric, stampin' up paper, etc. I think I just want to save and heap and hoard. I am working on this-it drives ME crazy! What is the use of having the nice stuff if you don't use it?

5. Critical people scare me. Seriously. I don't have much of a filter (pretty much what you see is what you get with me) so I don't feel safe around these types of people.

6. This last one, I don't think that it is weird, but according to some people it is. I actually like doing the hand-finishing the binding on quilts....it is by far my favorite part of quilting. (This one is for you Amy!)

People that I am tagging: Linda, Clair, Di, Julieree, Anna Maria, Ashley, and Blair.

Gratitudes:
1. My husbands job that provides money to pay all the bills and allows me to stay at home with the little ones.
2. My son's school. He loves it, we love it.
3. My in home sewing job.

my completed modern quilt

pattern: plain spoken

quilting time: 5 days

total completion time: 3 weeks

size: twin

backing: brick red flannel

thread usage: nearly 1200 yards

collages

Last evening my husband suggested we make collages with the boys. I am not one to turn down an art project, so I dug through some old magazines and found a few that I was willing to cut up. We had much fun, although it took a good deal more time that we expected.

by Parker, age 3 (lots of help gluing from mom)

by Zach, age 6

Mine

And Kev's masterpiece. (this was my favorite)

And I finally finished up Milly's little dress. I added 3 snaps to the back and I sewed a little ruffle to the bottom to finish it off a little better and to add a bit of length. I am very pleased with how it turned out considering this was my first real attempt at doll clothes in a good long time. My little ones all love Milly. I am almost ready to try another softie, this time with wool felt maybe? But I am trying to be good, and I want to whittle down my in progress list a bit first. We'll see how that goes.

Gratitudes:

1. A shopping trip with my friend Rhonda and our little ones this morning.

2. My little girl. She is nearly 9 months old and such a sweet little thing...I love snuggling her.

3. My boys who add so much joy to our family.

more than a dishcloth

These photos prove that I can (almost) follow knitting instructions.

I got the pattern from the Mason Dixon Knitting book.

I used peaches and cream cotton yarn.
It took me 3 tries (at least) to get this one completed.

But now I know that I can follow a pattern, which was the main goal of this project. Never mind that it was the easiest pattern in the book, and it nearly stumped me. So now it is back to improvising! What I do best. I knit these on bamboo skewers because I only had size 8 needles or larger in the house, and I needed something a little bit smaller. The skewers worked well once I sanded them down a little bit. I read in a book that someone actually used turkey basters to knit a scarf! Isn't that crazy?

Gratitudes:
1. The China Inn - my family's all time favorite resturant
2. My warm house
3. Lots of quilts (I have been so cold today!)

some much needed encouragement....

...after an extremely tough week. (One of Zach's kindergarten papers from yesterday.)

Gratitudes:
1. Enough money in the bank to cover some unexpected van repairs. (It's a 1993 and we have had it for 6 years with very few problems...ok, so maybe the repairs were a little expected...)
2. Kevin's Friday off coinsiding with the above van repairs...it sure helped with the logistics of it all.
3. A nearby mechanic that was able to do the repairs quickly and inexpensively. Seriously, all 5 of us in a S-10 extended cab pickup??? We managed once, but not so much fun. Thankfully it was only one trip.

the fattened stash

Thank you so much for your sweet comments on my crabby post yesterday. I really appreciate all of your words of encouragement. This mom thing is hard, and it is so nice to know that I am not alone in my rough days.

Last weekend JoAnn's had a lovely little 4 day sale. I buy most of my fabric there, and I kind of have a love/hate relationship with them. I know most of their employees by now, and I even gave directions to the thread isle to a fellow customer last week. I shopped 2 out of the 4 days of the sale, and I had a blast. I am absolutely sure that I had never bought so much fabric in 2 consecutive shopping trips. You see, after making 14 quilts last year and very little shopping for craft supplies in the month of December, I was in dire need of a stash rebuilding. This is solely my opinion. This opinion is not shared by my husband.
various calicoes

these next several are Tracy Porter prints.


Reminds me of a grandma pillow case. Looks vintage, no?

I got 7 yards and 11" of this one above. I first asked for one yard. I must not have released hold of the bolt of fabric or else an endless stream of drool was running down my chin. The guy that was cutting asked if I was sure I wanted just a yard. I told him I'd think about it (as I filled my cart with fabric for the second time). The next time I was at the cutting counter, I asked for 6 yards. This will be some lovely quilt back! There was 1 yard and 11" left, so they gave it to me for 75% of the sale price (which was $1.50 a yard). So the last yard and a third was 48 cents. Totally worth my trip right there. I love getting a good bargain. Then they asked if I wanted the cardboard bolt. I declined, saying that I don't want to look conspicuous. :)

A lovely Alexander Henry print. This is so much better than the photo depicts.

These polka dots look equally good in each color way.
I *heart* polka dots.



more Tracy Porter....

these are from my lovely friend Amy Jo...I love them so!

I am certain that my stash has never, ever looked this good.
And apparently, I am ready for spring to be here.

Gratitudes:
1. Pretty fabric
2. More pretty fabric
3. You, my lovely blog friends

my crabby post

Can I just say that I am crabby today? I sure don't want to be, but that doesn't help. I am so tired I could 1. cry 2. scream 3. fall asleep standing up. Today I am one VERY burned out mommy. Let me tell ya.

So I am trying to combat the crabbies.
By listening to this album.

By cleaning up my house, again! (A dirty house makes me crabbier.)


And after I wash the bedding that my son wet last night, and after cleaning up the ton of hair on the bathroom floor that I just cleaned up 2 days ago, and vacuuming up all the dirt in the entryway, I am going to give myself a day off. Minimal cooking, no more laundry than necessary, I am going to sit on my hinder and read a book. And maybe get some ear plugs so I don't have to listen to all the crying of the little people going on in the house. Or who knows, I just may join in. Tomorrow, please be a better day!


thank you for letting me vent....tomorrow, a happier post or no post at all. I promise.