pin cushion obsession

I finished one row (of three) from my quilt!

And to celebrate I made a cute little pincushion.

I have been wanting to make this forever and I finally ordered the pattern.

I think I will have to make a few family companions for this pear. And then I may have to make some cousins. Ha ha. Is there something wrong with me that I have a mild obsession with pincushions? Every time I get a new crafty book I want to make the pincushion first. I've been drooling over Anna Maria Horner's pin cushion caddy ever since I got the book. But I have plenty others. So I wouldn't make it. But... if I start a pin cushion collection, then I can make as many as I like guilt free!

Today I'm thankful for collections! I knew something key was missing from my life. This must be it.

things that don't go together, things that do

Nail polish + applique=

not good.

Especially because I forgot my topcoat. Or maybe this new brand is not good. The color is a dark purple. But it looks black, right? I'm probably too old and granny-ish to be wearing dark purple (could be confused with black) nail polish. But I think it's kinda fun.

Snow days + applique=

Very good! Look how much I've gotten done! (More than half of the smallest row.) Chris asked last night, "Is that your last row?!" (NO) Well maybe it would be if I hadn't devoted most of my snow days to sleep. Or if I were faster. But I'm pretty sure I can feel the speed gaining!

And well, I did bring dinner to my neighbors, the Birds. And I probably wouldn't have been up to it if it weren't for all the glorious sleep I've gotten.

sleep+good deed doing abilities= most excellent

P.S. I love that I live in a place that can be completely shut down by 5 inches of snow. It's like a spontaneous gift from nature!

sewing a landscape

As promised, here is what I'm working on for my bed! Chris asked for bedding for Christmas (I know, I'm so lucky!) and I used that as an excuse to make a new quilt for our bed. Of course.

I love that this quilt is called Hills 'n' Hollers. The hills are all applique. I am definitely no expert. I sewed on these two hills last night. I'm pretty sure it took me an hour or more. Hopefully by the end I will become a super speedy applique expert. Otherwise, this could take a while.

wish me luck!

Out with it already

My poor, sad little blog. It kind of matches poor, sad little me. I was just asked to talk to the girls at church about how I use my blog as a journal. Super casual just for a few minutes. Still, how embarrassing. I haven't blogged in like, a decade, in blog years (what do ya think...too many commas?). Truth be told...I have three blog posts in draft mode. I keep wanting to share the sad news about how my fabric line got the ax about a week before my Grammy died (yeah, months ago). But I somehow never found the words. So there it is. bleah.

And we have been wrestling with some kinda tough decisions around here. But I think we are finally decided and clearing the air like that really makes way for life to start happening again. Tonight I'm working on this in blues and greens. I'll take a few pics of the very beginning stages tomorrow.

It feels good to be blogging again.

RIP Magnolia Westwood

10 things that make me happy

I found this list on a scrap of paper.

1. paper (Aches 88 is my fav! It's so gorgeously thick and smooth!)

2. mechanical pencils size .5

3. swing dancing

4. baby legs

5. kettle corn

6. my morning runs

7. self help books

8. making something, anything

9. pretty pictures

10. a day of reading snuggled up with a blanket

The pic is from my booth at a local gift fair last weekend.

Going to see New Moon tonight at midnight. So excited!

Finally finished!

I finally finished chickie's quilt. Just in time for her birthday.

Truth be told, the night before her party I stayed up till 5 am trying to finish the binding. I was watching Anne of Green Gables (love!) and I think I must have been half asleep because I only got one long side done. And I was a bit grouchy for a few days. No more all nighters for me. Which means I'm going to have to make this Friday movie morning instead of movie night since I'm going to see New Moon at midnight Thurs with some crazy girlfriends of mine!

As you can she she was very excited about it (the quilt--she's not quite old enough for vampires and werewolves). Actually she really was. I don't know how many 7 yr olds would be excited for a quilt. I think she gets that it's important in our family.

think, think, think.

Is it just me...or have you noticed that since I've become a photographer my blog has been sadly lacking in written content. Maybe because a picture is worth a thousand words?

The other night Chickie couldn't sleep. My great-aunt Jean gave her some bedtime music when she was born. My favorite was the Bedtime Bethoveen CD. So she has listened to it almost every night since she was just a baby to go to sleep. And yes, she loves classical music. Today she was looking for her ipod. She didn't want to listen to mine, she wanted to listen to pretty music with "piano's and flutes" while she painted.

Lately she has been calling me in at night asking if I will restart her bed time music. She said she forgot to listen and she apparently likes to fall asleep during the first two or three songs. She was really upset one night because she said she just couldn't stop thinking. Turns out that first graders have a lot more on their minds than babies do. In the end we decided to turn off the music so that she could devote her last waking hours purely to thought.

I had a similar experience with my Grammy shortly before she died. It was early in the morning and we were getting ready to take her to dialysis. She was all dressed and I needed to go get ready. I asked her if she'd

like to turn on the TV while I got dressed. We flipped through a few channels together and then I left. When I came back to her room it was quiet again. I asked her if she couldn't find anything interesting. She said, "Sometimes when your own life is so full, you don't have any room for that.... Do you know what I mean?" "Yes, Grammy. I know what you mean." We sat there quietly. Sometimes life is so full there are no words for such a moment.

Just a few unrelated thoughts about thought. I've had a lot on my mind lately. But none of it is conclusive. Does that ever happen to you? I think too much in general anyway. At least now I know I'm not the only one.

And I thought I didn't have any pictures for this post until I remembered our recent trip to the corn maze. Yes sometimes in life you end up at a dead end or biff it in the mudd, but it is still quite the adventure! You might as well laugh and enjoy it as much as possible.