Fluff & Nonsense

And the Winner is....

2012-01-27T13:19:00.003-05:00

Thank you everyone for letting me know that you are still out there and still reading.

Have a great weekend!

Leslie

Scrap Happiness!!

2012-01-24T10:20:00.004-05:00

This week i decided i needed a fast and easy project(i am talking 24 hours from piecing to binding). I also wanted to have a go at some of my scraps!! A personal scrap challenge, if you will, which I found to be harder than i thought. I just can not help myself, i always want to make the fabrics match!

In comes husband....i asked him for help. "Please Hubby, go through my scraps and pile up the ones that look good." He sure did and even snuck in a challenge piece to see if i would use it...can you find the pirate ship?

This denim wonky star is my favorite one. I always see scrap quilts and am stunned at how great they look when nothing is the same color and everything is random.

Right down to the bindings i used scraps...these had been in my bucket all ready to go from previous finished projects.

Today i want to say thank you to the blog friends out there that are still reading my blog. I would love to send you one of these mug rugs as a thank you!!! Please just leave a comment to let me know you were here and i will choose a winner by the end of the week.

Leslie

Ruby Stacks

2012-01-16T11:23:00.007-05:00

Ruby!!

When i saw this new(ish) line i knew i wanted to make something with it...something that would live at our house.

Add Simplify with Camille Roskelley and i had the perfect combination. Her line of fabric and her book!

I am so happy to have a friend to quilt with so we are working on this quilt together...each in our own line of fabric. Makes it so much more fun!! Although she is much more motivated than me so she is a few steps ahead of me on this one.

I can not wait to see the finish on this!

Leslie

Hoarding? Addiction?

2012-01-13T19:41:00.005-05:00

This post is not nearly as dramatic as i made the title sound!!!

However, i have a confession, i have somewhat of a quilt book addiction, hence i hoard them. So many are new, thanks to my wonderful husband who surprises me with books from my amazon list all of the time. Sweet , wonderful man! There are so many amazing quilts to oogle in these!

It is my grand plan to go through these this weekend and pick some things to make. There are a few i know for sure, from Jelly Babies and Block Party....and a few that are already in the works from Simplicity.

I have also recently overcome my mental block with free motion quilting. I will likely save it for the small more manageable things while i get better at it, but i tried it out...just went for it and loved it.

I had a ah-ha moment when i was getting this table runner ready to quilt. I
realized that when i had tried FMQ before i did not set my stitch length to the shortest i could. Man did that make a difference.

These little bags are the completion of my first money making sewing endeavor. I am relieved that they all are off to their new homes. It felt a little strange to get money for my work!!! But cool too!

Leslie

Not Just a Box

2011-12-24T16:49:00.006-05:00

As all parents know, this time of year we often see our little ones having more fun with the boxes their new toys came in, instead of their new toys. Right?

I had seen this idea to make a box more fun one day when i was cruising around pinterest....wasting time. There was a surprise waiting inside this big box for Delilah when she woke from her nap the other afternoon.

That's right, this is no ordinary box.....it is Not a Box(check out the book it is pretty cute)...it is a box of lights, a disco box!!!

She entered hesitantly, but once inside she was amazed by it all. She makes the cutest sounds of wonder and amazement!!!

You can see the joy all over her face.

I love how something this simple can entertain and captivate a little one for so long. Even my big kids(9 and 7) were quite taken with it!

Lets be honest i want to crawl in there for a little while and just enjoy the pretty lights and let all the busyness of Christmas go away for a bit.

Merry Christmas to you all. Thanks for being such wonderful blog friends. I hope you all have a great Christmas with your families, friends and loved ones.

Leslie

In the Throws of it All

2011-12-14T16:15:00.007-05:00

Time seems to fly by so quickly in the time between the holidays. The days get past before i even know what has happened.

There has been plenty to blog about, i have just been remiss in taking the time.

There has been a big birthday to blog about. Our sweet little has turned 1. There will be more pictures of this to come, for all the aunties that might want to see.... How has a year flown so quickly?

There is a new money making craft project to blog about!!! I have never made money from my sewing before but i am committed and in the throws of it now. I made one of these for a little neighbors birthday and they were a hit. 10 have been ordered!!!

There have been other crafts(crochet and sewing)made around here to blog about too!

And of course there all the yummy treats to blog about and share this time of year. I can not make my blog friends a plate of this goodness, though i wish i could, but i can direct you to the links where you can find the recipes and make them for yourselves. Both of these are to die for....peppermint bark rice krispie treats from Our Best Bites and below is caramel popcorn from Making More with Less.

Who knew making your own was so easy and fast? We saw her post and had it made and we were eating it within half an hour.

Leslie

Gingerbread House of the Century

2011-12-05T18:49:00.001-05:00

My awesome friend JOnelle makes an amazing gingerbread house every year. This years, set to music, was awesome...no amazing...no fantastic. So amazing that i wanted to share it with any of you that were willing to watch it out there. You really must!!! She(and husband) is so talented!!!

Gingerbread House 2011 from Jonelle Yates on Vimeo.

Tree Pants....Destination Germany

2011-11-29T13:49:00.003-05:00

I learned from Sew Mama Sew blog that this is tree pants, not a tree skirt. I guess because it is square not round.

Who knew?! :o)

This was finally done and a long time in the making for my very dear and wonderful friend Jonelle in Germany. She, many moons ago, asked me to make her a Christmas tree skirt in blue, white and some silver. Then she trusted me to make something for her. Time passed, a baby was born and 2 Christmas's later it is under her tree instead of in my WIP pile.

I made it reversible, not so much by design, but because i wanted to make sure to use all of the fabric i had bought for the project. Chris(hubby) suggested the straight line quilting, hoping that it would look a little like a snowflake(roughly). All in all i am calling it a success....mostly because i know she loves it and it has a wonderful home.

love you Jonelle

Leslie

Scrappy Rail Fence Quilt Complete

2011-11-23T08:33:00.005-05:00

It is all done, and off to a new home! Auction complete. I love how it turned out.

This is my first experience quilting with minky and i think i am going to have to use it again. It made this little quilt go from cute to so warm and cozy and thick!!! So nice i might need one for me!

I had some concerns with how I was going to hand stitch the binding using the minky as backing, but i did not need to be worried. It worked out just fine. I think the only down side to using this stuff is the fluff and fuzz it leaves all over the house when you are cutting and sewing it. Oh my goodness.

I used simple straight lines for quilting. The best was the way the pattern showed through on the back.

Leslie

School Fun

2011-11-22T14:55:00.002-05:00

Aren't my students cute!? This is how we homeschool with a baby. By the seat of our pants, with many hands on the baby and lots of patience.

This day we had begun reading a book about a little boy who took his first flying lesson when he was 10. Then i remembered that i had seen this cool paper airplane while i was stumbling around the internet.

The Soda Straw Plane, on this awesome blog called All for the Boys.

this is all you need....a soda straw, some tape, scissors and a 4x6 or 3x5 card.

Cut the card into three strips.

Tape two together into a circle to make one end of the plane and then tape the last piece into another circle to make the opposite end. Tape them onto the straw, putting the straw on the inside of the circle, as straight as you can.

Then fly that plane. It is amazing, and flies worlds better than your traditional paper plane.

The kids had so much fun. And that is how i want every hoemschool day to turn out, in a perfect world. :o)

Leslie

The Toughest Event on the Planet

2011-11-14T20:36:00.006-05:00

So they claim!!

This weekend, past, Chris and his friends participated in the Tough Mudder. A long, wet, muddy obstacle race! They loved it! It is like a little boys, ahem, I mean big boys dream.

These first two shots are shortly after they had gone through the starting obstacles....wet freezing cold giant mud puddles.

The kids were all so excited to see everything they could and to cheer on the daddies. Good thing my friend, the other mom, was thinking and brought them things to make signs with, because shortly after this shot we saw them coming....

...filthy dirty from head to toe, in ears and across teeth, and everywhere else imaginable. Bumped, bruised and bleeding!
They say their feet have never been softer after running with shoes full of wet sand all day.

At the finish of the race they were given a beer and a headband to prove that they had done it. Delilah is modeling it quite nicely, and no we might have shared the headband with her but their is no Dos Equis for dos babies.

And the clothes, well they really will never be the same.

Hooray Chris, you did it. Months of planning and training are over. We are so proud of you, tough mudder!!!

Leslie

WIP Wednesday

2011-11-09T16:40:00.004-05:00

When Wednesday's come around i always try to decide if i am feeling wordless or have i been crafty lately and do i have WIP's i can share. Mostly the answer is wordless, so i show you a cute picture of my kids. This week i have actual projects to share. Hooray!!!

I unearthed some of my Amy butler stash from the very bottom of the pile and put together this topper! I did it with strips(fast) but added the diagonals to make it a little more interesting. Husband thinks i should try to overcome my fear of FMQ and go for it. Do you think? Or hand quilting?

I have also been working on a baby quilt...it is a scrappy rail fence. I used the same fabrics i had in my fall table topper and just went for it...trimming as i went to get the right size and i really think i like how it came out. The blocks are trimmed to 6" making the quilt about 32"x40".

I think i will be backing it in minky to make it really cozy and a little more interesting, and then it is going to auction for my husbands work. I hope it finds a new happy home. :o(

it is the WIP Wednesday anniversary, go see what all those crafty ladies have made.

Leslie

Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry

2011-11-04T17:38:00.004-04:00

I am barely making the deadline in time!!! I wanted to share a quilt i just was not sure what one. So i went to my trusty quilting assistant, Avery(my 9 year old) and she voted for Delilah's Delilah quilt.

Not very long after she was born that Tanya Whelan came out with a new line called Delilah...how could i not buy some and make something for my sweet baby Delilah.

And with a few small charm packs(love those) and a little bit of time and a lot of love i made her this quilt....Delilah's Delilah.

I can not believe how much she has changed in what feels like just a few short months. Why does the first year have to fly by so fast?

There are so many amazing entries in this years festival over at Amy's. I love finding new creative ladies to inspire me. I am going to cozy up with one of my quilts and a cup of tea this weekend and have a marathon blog session....ooogling all the pretties! If you have not been there already you should definitely do the same.

Amy'sCreativeSide

Leslie

Halloween Snapshot!!

2011-11-01T17:22:00.003-04:00

Here are the kiddo's in costume. not sure what that face Mitchell is making is all about.

Delilah was a frog, Avery was a Eskimo girl and Mitch was a fangless vampire. I think he did not want to scare anyone.....enjoy Aunts and grandparents.

Update

2011-10-31T07:58:00.002-04:00

We got walloped by mother nature this time.....tons of heavy wet snow and leaf laden trees do not mix. On the right of this picture you can see where 3 trees went down early in the storm, leaving 2 trees in a row that used to have 5. Sad trees.

although it was beautiful the next morning with the early sun making it sparkle!!

now i want fall back!

Leslie

One Can Not Believe One's Eyes!!

2011-10-29T13:50:00.003-04:00

This is the view out my backdoor today. Can you believe that? It is not even official winter here yet. Or does this make it official?

No, i don't live out west in the mountains somewhere....i live in the North East where we don't get this much snow during a storm in the winter.

I don't think there has been a storm that dumped and accumulated snow this early since i was a little girl!! They are forecasting 12 inches!!!

Are you kidding me?

Updates to come....

Leslie

Fall Topper

2011-10-24T19:36:00.005-04:00

Recently i was looking at my bare dining room table and thought it needed something. I had this runner that had been displaced when we sold the table it used to live on, so i threw it on...why not?

But the weather cooled down and breezes began to blow and the leaves started falling from the trees and somehow this springy green table runner seemed out of place.

SO Saturday i cut some strips of varying widths from a stash of fabric i had set aside for a quilt and made this log cabin block....bordered it with some solid brown and osnaburg i had in my stash.

It is more of a table topper than a runner...and i think it needs a little something on it to make it look more complete...that will come.

I used quite a few of my favorites in there....the DS tan floral...Momo wonderland floral...and the pez in red. love those pez. Did you know American Jane is selling them again?

I am linking this up to Amylouwho's sew and tell.... and Crazy Mom Quilts! it is so fun to see what everyone else has made. Go check it out.

Leslie

Wordless Wednesday...scrap bucket fun!!!

2011-10-19T19:18:00.001-04:00

Leslie

Flea Market Find

2011-10-16T14:57:00.005-04:00

I love going to flea markets!!! This past week was no exception. They are always so full of so much fun stuff that has so much potential.

This is my find!!! Isn't it amazing! I can not believe that i walked past it once without seeing it.

The price was amazing and it is in pretty great condition. A few marks and a stain but i think i can take care of those. Anyone have any tips or hints on cleaning old quilts?

What struck me the most about it was the simple colors. It is vintage but the colors are so modern. It is all hand pieced and hand quilted with such tiny tiny stitches. I love it!!!

Leslie

Winner

2011-10-15T08:51:00.002-04:00

Thank you everyone for being so interested in my giveaway. I threw your numbers into the random number generator and the winner was

LUCKY 13!!!!

Eli, please contact me so i can get this gorgeous fall fabric mailed to you.

A Finish, at Last!!

2011-10-12T13:46:00.004-04:00

The giveaway is still open....click over here for the giveaway post.

This week i was able to spend a little quality time with my recently tuned up sewing machine. We went straight to the WIP pile for something to work on. This "filmstrip" quilt was all pinned and ready to go. A little straight quilting and it was done!

I began this quilt with Deb from Works in Progress a long, very long, time ago. I was enthusiastic, but easily distracted...because it has taken me a really long time to finish. I am not sure why it took so long. I really love it now, but somewhere along the way it just stopped calling my name.

This one is definitely staying here at home with us. It fits right in with all my other American Jane quilts and fabrics that abound in my living room. It is also the perfect size for snuggling up under. These Snippet charm squares were fun and cheerful, and charm squares are always so easy to work with.

How about a little linking up fun?!

Leslie

Giveaway!!!!

2011-10-10T12:41:00.003-04:00

I thought it was high time i had a little giveaway!!!

In honor of my 700th post and the beautiful fall weather we are having here are 7 Forties Fat Quarters from my stash.

pretty!!!

No hoops to jump through, just go ahead and leave me a comment and i will pick a winner on Friday. Feel free to spread the word around to your blog friends if you think they might be interested.

Leslie

A Birthday Week

2011-10-07T14:35:00.004-04:00

Chris had a birthday this week. I imagine i am not the only one that has trouble buying the right gift for the man in my life. He really likes to buy his own and feels that birthdays are just any other day so why should we make a fuss.

Well i feel that a fuss needs to be made even if it is a small one.

So we fussed and made him some homemade goodies that are his favorites. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach right? I had never made peanut brittle before, or any hard candy, so this was new. But it turned out great and he loves it. Can not beat that. I found the recipe here.

And this beauty was his birthday pie. He asked for banana cream, and that is what he got, and then some. I remembered seeing a recipe on the food network. I hunted around a little and found the Salted Caramel Banana Cream pie (something else i have never made before). It was amazing. Like, cry when you take the last bite amazing!!!

It was enjoyed to the last bite!!! Happy Birthday honey!

Gratuitous baby shot coming up!!!(napping in the highchair again)

Leslie

For the Far Far Away Auntie!!!

2011-10-04T08:24:00.005-04:00

Delilah has a little secret to share!

Are you ready for it?

This is what Avery looked like before(a little nervous maybe)

And this is what she looks like after!!!!!!

I know right!!! I hardly recognized her myself!

I threw in a few bonus pictures of myself, Aunt Colleen, so that you could see how i have grown and how silly i am now!

Enough blog jacking by my 10 month old. Avery has been wanting this haircut for ages, and i was the one that hesitated. She looks so grown up, hence the hesitation. The hair will be donated to one of the locks for love like organizations.

Leslie

I Apologize in Advance

2011-09-27T11:58:00.003-04:00

But these had to be shared.

The name i have seen given to them is 'better than crack brownies', but with kids i really don't want to explain what crack is and why that is so true!!! SO i think i am going to call them Regret Bars. I think that sums them up pretty well and if you make them yourself you will know why it is so fitting

but you should make them because they are insane and really are that good! I had to make a second batch because i forgot to take a picture the first time around. :o) Oops!

Regret Bars

1 package Brownie mix
1/2 c Dry roasted peanuts
1 bag mini PB cups(the already unwrapped ones)
1/2 jar creamy PB
2 T Butter
1 bag milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 c Rice Krispie cereal

1. Make the brownies according to the package. Bake for about 23 minutes in a 13x9 at 350.

2. Take out and sprinkle on peanuts and PB cups, evenly. Bake for 5 more minutes.

3. Throw PB, chocolate chips and butter in saucepan. Melt. Add in rice krispie cereal. Mix well.

4. Let cool on counter to room temp. Then place in fridge for about 2 hours before serving.

original recipe adapted from and found here

Leslie

She's Crafty

2011-09-23T16:54:00.004-04:00

I have a budding crafter in my house!!! Avery has been a making machine lately. It is fun to see how excited she gets about her projects. I can relate!!!

She planned out her quilt block canvas, inspired by the one i had made, and had a lot of fun deciding on colors and placement of said colors!! But if you wanted to know my favorite i would have to say it is these yarn wrapped twigs. I love them, especially the rainbow one! They remind me of the urban knitted trees projects.

Leslie

Wordless Wednesday...because sometimes there are no words!!

2011-09-21T12:57:00.005-04:00

Leslie

Stacks of Wonderful Things

2011-09-17T15:39:00.009-04:00

We have undertaken a change to our schedule....

homeschool.

Summer is over and our real life routines begin again. These routines have been keeping me from sharing all these lovely stacks of things that have come my way lately.

It was my birthday not that long ago, and it was a very booky birthday indeed! I was surprised and thrilled to find all of these wonderful books wrapped on the table waiting for me to open them...pour over them and love them!!!

I am excited to make my next quilt project with my neighbor and new quilter from the book Simplify. I have already ordered a jelly roll of Ruby fabric. I can not wait!!!

Then there was this stack of utter and total yumminess. Hubby asked what cake i wanted for my birthday and i said i wanted a pan of rice krispie treats. Apparently that seemed to simple so he took that simple idea and went big with it....ending with a multi layered neapolitan rice krispie tower complete with its own set of calculations to make sure that it would fit in all the pans he had chosen. I love it when he nerds it up!!!

Oh the chocolate ones were my favorite!!! I think i might make another pan of those very soon.

Last of all the stacks is this set(stack, only if you look at it just right) of domino rocks we made. Avery, Chris and I collected up lots of flat black rocks from the beach at our cottage in Maine and made them our own rock dominos!!! Fun right....do you think anyone has played this yet? Nope, but they were a fun idea and fun to make. Just used a paint sharpie and did some dots and lines. Couldn't have been easier. Maybe we will use them for school or something. Or they could be just another bag of rocks for us to move around with! :o)

She is no stack...unless you want to call her a little squishy stack of lovin!!!...but she is pretty cute!!! I was feeding her lunch and before long it all got to be too much and she just zoned out and then passed out sitting there. Like a good blog mom, i was sure to take this picture before i rescued her and got her settled into be for a real nap somewhere more comfortable than the highchair.

Leslie

Nursery in Progress

2011-09-05T08:47:00.004-04:00

I know that i had 9 months of pregnancy and now 9 months of baby should be plenty of time to get her nursery worked out and finished, but it seems to never happen like that for me. it has been a work in progress....still is really. But some of her pictures and things finally got hung, and i love them!!!!

I bet you have seen this idea stumbling around blogland or pinterest or somewhere like that. I knew it was for us as soon as i saw it. I already had a whole bag of vintage hoops my mom had given me and several scraps and pieces of vintage fabric. Adding in a D for her name to personalize it.

This side of the room was finished off with some adorable little prints i bought ages ago on etsy. We have a little bit of an owl theme going on. Oh, look at that little face peeking over the bumper. She already knows that if the camera is out she should do something cute and smile.

Leslie

A Safe New Home

2011-09-01T15:56:00.003-04:00

It is always good to know that a quilt has made it to its new home, but in this case i feel a certain sense of relief...because this quilt found a new home in Vermont. A place that has been unexpectedly torn apart by the flooding and aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

It is so good to know that its new family is safe and dry and that they are all ok. If you have a moment go on over and check out TJ's blog. She lives in the middle of it all.

Leslie

Wordless Wednesday...sorting!

2011-08-31T13:59:00.002-04:00

Leslie

The Best Book Ever

2011-08-28T11:51:00.003-04:00

My sweet husband was ordering on Amazon, not that long ago, and asked if there was anything i wanted...."anything?" I asked.

My running wish list was consulted and we picked a few quilty books. Among them was Block Party, by Alissa Haight Carlton and Krisitin Lejnieks.

This book is ridiculous good. So good you have to go get yourself a copy. I think i have read it cover to cover now several times..studied it even. That good!!! It is so full of great patterns and amazing inspiration. I loved reading every woman's quilt story.

There are many wonderful projects to choose from but these are some of my favorites. Ones i hope to make sometime. After all that is what i buy these books for right.....they aren't just for eye candy, are they? Ok, mostly they are...but this one makes me want to sew!!!!!

As an avid blog reader i have seen this quilting bee and that quilting bee pop up...and they all look amazing, but documenting this one the way they did was genius! What a wonderful way to feel a little of that old fashioned comraderie that came with coming together with other quilters to make something beautiful.

How fun would it be to make a sampler quilt from all of these blocks?

**this is all just my humble opinion. I am getting nothing out of this!**

Leslie

Have a Peek at This

2011-08-26T20:01:00.004-04:00

I hope to be able to share the whole of this little quilt, or big really...cause when it came to making and sizing it i got a little carried away. There are no babies that are this big, however it is something to be grown into and used for a long time. i digress...once i know it made it to its new home i will share more. So just a peek for now.

This one too is going to be off to a new home soon, but i have a terrible aversion to the post office(long story). There are a lot of little babies in our life right now. I was really pleased with how the fabrics all came together and the straight line quilting was definitely the easiest way to go for me.

The pattern for this was pretty modern but the fabrics were very vintage. They made a nice contrast and compliment to one another.....is that possible? :o)

Leslie

Quintessential Maine...to me....

2011-08-14T08:29:00.004-04:00

I went through our vacation pictures looking for the pictures that said Maine to me. This is what i put together. Maine ,to me, in a series! ok you could probably just translate that as a lot of pictures....but i could not help myself. I wanted to share with you what we love about it there, other than everything!

...lobster dinners! Yes, he is waving hello(with the help of my wonderful Aunt)...

...beach combing for shells and mermaid tears(aka sea glass)...

...blueberry picking in the wild barrens right on the coast...

...relaxing on the beach...i know the picture is blurry/weird but i love how it came out...

...the fruits of our labor in the previously mentioned blueberry barrens...aren't they pretty? they are the shade of blue that Delilah's eyes are!...

...the lobsters, getting comfie together before the unfortunate demise for dinner!...

...Delilah getting to know the lobsters. the picture looks like she is asking Chris if it is ok for her to touch it!...

...My Dad and Mitch hanging out at the beach campfire, waiting to roast marshmallows...

...The kids waiting for the next big wave at our favorite stop in Maine, Schoodic Point...

...there is that wave they were waiting for!...

...and this is the picture that tells you why my kids don't eat lobster...it is pretty hard to eat something you made friends with and named(Bob and Larry, if you were wondering) a few hours earlier...

Leslie

Delilah Update

2011-08-11T14:20:00.004-04:00

It has been a little while since i had pictures up of the baby...or it seems that way to me. As all you mommy's know, a lot can change in a little bit of time

...shaking hands with a real Maine lobster...

...sitting up like a big girl....still a little tipsy at times but she is getting the hang of it...

...plain old cuteness!!!...

...her first time in the playground swing...

...stuck under the coffee table, and like a good mom i went and got my camera before the necessary rescue!...

....tooling around with Daddy on vacation!...

Leslie

Crafts on the Road

2011-08-10T08:21:00.004-04:00

As I try to put my vacation thoughts and pictures together i thought that i would share with you a few projects that i worked on while i was gone.

I like to have some hand sewing with me when i go away....and this time it was primarily bindings that i wanted to complete....so packed up and off they went with me.

The first one that i finished was this retro potholder/hot pad. My wonderful aunt had brought me one that she found and wondered if i could figure out how to make it...well, honestly, i had no clue how they did it and then one day i ran across a tutorial for one from Going Sew Crazy. It was easy to follow and i learned a few new things. It is not perfect but my aunt loved it and that is what counts.

I also made a matching/coordinating dish rug for her, and another for the owner of the cottage where we stayed. The tutorial was from Jennifer at That Girl...That Quilt. She gave great easy to follow instructions. I modified it a little by using a old bath towel instead of a dish towel...consequently that made it too thick to turn out so i put a traditional quilt binding on it instead of top stitching the outer edge..

i hope to make at least 2 more of these to use the other recycled towel pieces that i have left.

i will catch you soon with more projects and vacation pics!!! it is good to be back!

Leslie

Escape

2011-07-30T16:13:00.002-04:00

Hello to all my blog friends...I have been a bit quiet lately for a excellent reason. Summer vacation...slow lazy days at the beach soaking in everything wonderful that Maine has to offer(most especially, the cool weather). The pace of days on vacation changes in the most wonderful of ways...I don't even know what day it is most of the time. I have had chances to take naps(sometimes twice a day), and work on some quilts and other handwork/crafts that I wanted to take some time on. I promise pictures of all the fun things when we are home...crafts, and the vacay pictures! In the meantime, I miss you all. Hope you are having a wonderful summer too!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wordless Wednesday....Confetti!!!

2011-07-20T10:25:00.003-04:00

Leslie

Friday Finishes in Paint and Fabric

2011-07-15T17:06:00.004-04:00

My modern barn quilt canvas is finished! I am really pleased withh ow it came out and with the colors i chose. I had originally intended to do some accents in hot pink and yellow but now i am glad i did not. I could have changed and modified it a hundred different ways...another strip here or another color there... but at some point i had to choose to just walk away and let it be what it was.

I really enjoyed the process. It sat on my counter and periodically over a couple days i would just walk back and forth and tend to the next part of the project. Peeling off that painters tape was always a thrill. I think there might be some companion pieces in the future...perhaps a wonky star or something like that.

My fabric finish is for one of our wee little friends. There seem to be many babies being born, and shouldn't every one have a quilt of their own? i hope to mail it out to the intended family soon. i hope they will love it as much as i do.

You can read a little more info on this quilt here. I finished it with some fairly random straight line quilting and bound and backed it in a fabric from my stash that just happened to be the right blue. Another reason to have a stash!!

Leslie

Wordless Wednesday...Progress

2011-07-13T11:55:00.002-04:00

Leslie

Recycle Sewing...and Plushies for the People!!!!

2011-07-11T17:41:00.003-04:00

I am on some kind of sewing roll....getting small things done for some instant gratification. Love that!!

This past few days i have been making some new things out of old things. I cut into some old t shirts that have been lying around the house to make a softie for Delilah and this awesome headband for Avery. It is 5 strips of t shirt and then those are braided together. I will be honest, figuring out how to braid 5 instead of 3 took me a few minutes, but i got it.

Best is that it fits her and she likes it!!! She is wearing it as I type! The tutorial that i followed can be found here.

This bunny tutorial has been marked in my bookmarks for so long....it was about time i got it done! It is the Mooshy Belly Bunny from Chez Beeper Bebe blog. SO cute right? The old shirt is so soft and that little face i stitched on turned out adorable.

And bunny has a little friend, sunshine plushie. This tutorial was also form Chez Beeper Bebe. Such well planned and easy to follow directions for both softies.

The best part of the sunshine plushie is the story behind it....you have got to go to the link and read it. Basically some large company would not allow these to be sold because of some patent nonsense from a large toy company that they feel gives them the exclusive rights to sewing ribbon to toys!!! This plushie is a protest against that....she asks that many be made and shared!!!!

Leslie

Small Sewing

2011-07-08T12:42:00.003-04:00

I finished some small sewing recently that i wanted to share.

The first project was this turtle softie from Bend the Rules Sewing, by Amy Karol. I confess that dolls and softies are not something i am very good at, but this one turned out well enough...it was the crazy felt eyes that made me fall in love. Best of all Delilah loves it and chews on his legs and head often. Her best sign of affection.

Many moons ago i made a pirate quilt for mitchell....you can see it here. This week i suddenly had the idea to make him a matching pillowcase since that is the quilt he uses every night in bed. I found a tutorial from Ashley at Film in the Fridge. It was so easy. I loved it and would definitely use it again.

The kids recently had a week of VBS. Before it began one of the requests from Avery was that she have a bag to carry her water bottle in. So, google came through once again and i found a tutorial from the Long Thread.

I had seen this one before, but this was my first go at it. I thought sewing the circle bottom was going to be really hard but it actually was not. We embellished with fun iron on patches we found and for straps i made Avery's with some fabric i had about and Mitchell got some army style webbing/strapping. Perfect and heavy duty for that little guy.

I might add that Mitch was an excellent model this afternoon so i could get a couple shots of the carriers.

Leslie

I Love Packages!!!

2011-07-07T12:02:00.003-04:00

I have been meaning to share a few new treasures with you for a little while, but seems like life got busy. You know how that goes.

Not that long ago i saw on Erin's blog, Why Not Sew, that she was looking for Flea Market Fancy fabric and she was willing to swap something she had for some of the precious FMF. I just so happened to have quite a bit in my stash. A swap sounded like fun so why not. I went for it.

This gorgeous pile of Denyse Schmidt for Joanns came back to me. I had been meaning to go and get some for myself for the longest time but never made it....so when she offered this up i was on top of it! Erin was more than generous...thank you blog friend.

In the same week that the fabric came i also received a little package from Tara, of Tiny Hummingbird. She, so sweetly, made me some note cards as a thank you for crocheting her little man a gnome hat. It was so unexpected and they are all so beautiful....thank you so much Tara.

I can hardly fathom writing on these and then giving them away, they are so pretty!! I just might need to find a way to frame them and enjoy them for a long time.

Leslie

(semi)Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-06T23:12:00.002-04:00

I am in so much trouble!!!

Leslie

Wordless Wednesday, the Sleep Series

2011-06-29T08:45:00.004-04:00

Leslie

Summer Sun Tea

2011-06-28T17:10:00.006-04:00

I occasionally get something in my CSA farm box that makes me wonder to myself...."What on earth am i going to do with this?". Yup, that is exactly what i thought when i saw the bouquet of mini daisies in my box. I thought that it was nice of them to give us flowers.....

Come to find out that they are chamomile flowers. They smell sweet and like honey. So i got to googling and somewhere came across the idea to make chamomile sun tea. Brilliant! Cause what else was i going to use them for. Then i had to wait nearly a week for a sunny day.

When it was all brewed and strained and sweetened up....it was the best chamomile tea i have ever had. I wonder what strange things i will get in my next box?

Leslie

Modern Monday Finish

2011-06-27T10:54:00.005-04:00

This is my first time linking up to Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations. Today i am sharing a baby quilt that i just finished for a good friend and neighbor. I was able to give it to her this afternoon and she loved it(yeah!!!)

I don't usually name my quilts but my 9 year old looked at it and dubbed it the circus quilt. It stuck!! I am going with it. She was also my quilt holder for the photo shoot and she was my design assistant when it was time to lay out all the blocks. She might be 9 but the girl has a good eye.

This was the first time i have used the Yellow Brick Road pattern from Atkinson designs. I was so pleased with how easy it was to follow and how versatile it can be. Plus you can make it in all kinds of sizes, so it really can be whatever you want. I wanted to make this all from my stash, and i was so pleased that it cooperated. I was able to use several vintage reproduction fabrics(my fave!), polka dots(a must) and some yardage i had from IKEA(hippos).

Take some time and go see what the other ladies have made this week. There is so much inspiration to be shared, and lots of pretty things to look at.

Be sure to check out the awesome giveaway she is having as well.....ROYGBIV is my favorite! i am also adding this to this weeks we did it at Sew Much Ado blog

Leslie

Barn Quilt Block

2011-06-20T18:07:00.003-04:00

I have my supplies all ready to go for the Modern Barn Quilt Block Paint Along over at Olive and Ollie.

I was so intrigued when i read her initial post on these...so much so that i wanted to make one for myself from her tutorial even before she decided to make it a paint a long.

I am excited to make what i love but in such a different way!! There is even a flickr group to join in and share your blocks! Go and check it out!

Leslie

Summer Fun

2011-06-18T10:11:00.003-04:00

I have been trying to collect ideas and put things together so that we could have a fun summer that does not include the words, "I'm Bored!". No mom wants to hear those words.

Here is the first of the projects.

Is this not the coolest sprinkler ever?

My kids don't like the kind that shoot at you but this spray mist is awesome. Mitchell ran and ran through it....fully clothed as you can see. Chris is awesome. He put this together in no time flat. Seriously in about a half hour.

We found the awesome directions for this at Instructables. We are already planning on having a neighborhood bike wash. A few buckets of soapy water, sponges and of course ice pops for everyone, and we have an awesome summer afternoon of fun with our friends.

Leslie

Friday Finish

2011-06-10T18:03:00.005-04:00

I did it...finished the vintage primaries!!!

This pattern was so easy to use and came together so fast! It is a pattern called Wickedly Easy Quilts. So true!

It was a stash buster for sure. Yet even though it came together fast it was not without a few kinks. Seems like even when you have been quilting for awhile(i am not claiming to be a seasoned veteran here at all) there is still so so much room for error...which creates more room to learn. The process is about growing right?!?

I am not one to repeat a pattern, i like variety(or maybe i get bored quickly), but this is the second time i have made this one(see my first here) and i can see me making it many more times. Perhaps in the near future. If you look at my first you will see that this one provides variety every time you make it.
I love that!

Leslie

Vintage Primaries

2011-06-09T10:52:00.006-04:00

It is so nice to be sewing and having time to sew. I finally took out all of my quilting stuff, and spread out all over my kitchen table.

There seem to be a abundance of babies being born to many of my friends...close and far away. So i started making the fabric stacks to see what i could come up with.

My stash of vintage reproduction fabrics did not disappoint me. I was able to make almost two so far form what i have in my stash! A little stash busting is good for the fabric closet!

I seem to be being drawn to very primary bold colors at the moment. Here is a little sneaky peak of what i am working with right now. I hope that the new owners of these quilts will like them as much as i do.

Aren't scrap piles so pretty?

It is a small visual reminder to me of the work i am getting done. It feels good to be excited about a project again...looking forward to how it grows and changes with each step. Maybe tomorrow i will have a few more pictures to share of the second top.

Leslie

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T22:03:00.003-04:00

...better late than never!...

Leslie

Everyday Should Be a Pie Day

2011-06-02T10:25:00.006-04:00

Wouldn't that be awesome....? Daily Pie!!

Start with a little homemade cream cheese pie crust.

Add in this perfect mix of strawberries and rhubarb!

Cover in delicious, buttery crumb topping.

Now bake!

I snuck a little taste of all that berry yumminess when it first came out of the oven and i think it was quite possible the best thing i had ever tasted!

But the best part was presenting it to my sweet husband as a offering for our 11th Anniversary, which we celebrated yesterday.

Can you tell that it was well liked? I had never made it before, but upon tasting it he promptly moved it to the top 5 list of amazing foods i make...in his opinion.

How about i share the recipe with you? So you can have a slice of the amazing summery pie!!

Thanks Dana for inspiring me, and helping me with a few quick directions!!!

Anniversary Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

pie crust:

2 sticks Butter, room temp
1 pkg. Cream Cheese, room temp
1 t. Vanilla
2 1/3 c Flour
1/3 c Confectioners Sugar

mix all together well in mixer. Separate into 2 balls. Flatten into discs. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. Second disc can be frozen and defrosted at another time for another pie. (this crust can also be used for savory dishes, just omit the conf. sugar.)

Fruit:

3 c Strawberry, sliced
5-6 stalks Rhubarb, sliced
2/3 c. Sugar
3 T. Cornstarch

mix all in bowl to combine. Will become juicy and thicken as it sets.

Topping:

1 stick Butter
1 c. Flour
1/2 c. Brown Sugar

mix flour and sugar with cold butter to make a crumb texture.

Heat your oven to 400. Now that you have all the parts ready. slightly roll out the dough. Does not need to be perfect. this is the rustic plan. place in pie plate and press in the bottom and up sides as evenly as possible. Now pour in the fruit mixture and top with crumb topping. Place the pie on a baking sheet with sides and bake for 50-60 minutes. Until your crust is becoming golden as well as the crumb top. Your fruit filling should be bubbling up.

Eat this and enjoy it as much as we did!!!!! It is excellent warm but just as good cold.

adapted from this recipe.

Leslie

Life is Full

2011-05-29T18:05:00.004-04:00

Life is full of the end of the school year activities!!!

the kids have finished up their first year of gymnastics. They both did so well. I was really impressed with all that they learned.

They are both so proud of the medals and certificates they earned.

Life is full of lots of baby loving!

Our wee baby Delilah is full of giggles and laughs lately. She often just chuckles under her breath at us when we walk in our out of a room. I can hardly believe that she is already almost 6 months old.

She had a lovely time out on the playground the other night with Daddy and the big kids.

I know i go on and on all the time about how cute she is but check out these knees!!! Aren't they awesome!?!

Life is full of quilt and craft plans!!! Always more than i have time for.

Seems like there are an around us awful lot of babies being born, and i really would love to give each one of them a little quilt to say welcome to the world. So it is time to start a new project.

Life is full of homeschool!!

School is almost finished for the year. We had our last group homeschool activity. I have to say that i am just as ready as the kids are to have a little summer vacation. Because of this there has been a lot more playing going on than school. We will finish, but in the meantime Avery has been doing a lot of monkeying around to blow off steam!

What has your life been full of lately?

Leslie

Fortunate Find

2011-05-18T19:49:00.002-04:00

Today was our lucky day!!! found by the household hunter and gatherer....Mitchell.

Leslie

How Does a Week fly by so Fast???

2011-05-15T12:48:00.006-04:00

After posting my last post i realized that that was my 666th post...make what you will of that! I think changing that number might make me feel better. I am not superstitious or anything, it was just 666 and that just seems bad....anyway....just saying

I have a few things to share here so it is a combined post of sorts. I finally finished Delilah's baby afghan. In truth it did make it to a finish much sooner than Mitchell's ever did...(when he was six years old). Her quilt began as a much different color...but i confess i made a total rookie mistake and did not purchase matching dye lots. i know!! what was i thinking? So i began it all over again with this gray, and boy am i glad that i did(check out the original start in this post). I do love it but it is not without its errors, sort of!!! Somehow it got a little out of control and grew and grew without me noticing. Changing from a sweet baby afghan to a decent size lap quilt, that likely weighs more than my actual baby!!!! Still love it though!

Then it was Mother's Day....my little's were so sweet. Buying me pretty flowers and making sweet cards. This owl was a gift from my hubby and is happily now residing in a tree branch above my tv cabinet.

It was my option to go out for dinner or have dinner made at home for me by him.... i chose dinner at home. Much cozier than a busy restaurant. He made me this wonderful curry chicken salad, that i could literally eat every single day. You can find the recipe here, i most certainly can not take credit for this fabulous dish.

Lastly, what could warm a quilt making momma's heart more than walking into a room to find all three of her babies happily snuggled up under a pile of her quilty creations!!!??? I tell you... there is nothing.

Who could resist this little face, happily whiling away the morning in her sisters lap with her two favorite fingers!

If you are reading this and have gotten all the way to the end, thanks for sticking with me even though this post was a little wordy and definitely picture heavy. Just thanks for being great blog/virtual friends.

Leslie

Bathing Beauty

2011-05-10T14:59:00.004-04:00

"Check me out!!!"

"What ?! I am not supposed to be standing? Who says?"

"But sitting is not as much fun!!"

My little ball of chub!!! She had such fun standing in the tub. I was holding her sweet little chin out of the water and the next thing i knew she was rising out of the water, stiff as a board! And would not sit back down. Could not get her to bend for the life of me. So we just finished up with her standing. Guess she has ideas of her own already!

Leslie

Easter Revisited

2011-05-02T18:39:00.006-04:00

My kids could not look less thrilled about sitting to have their pictures taken....

...but they matched and that was the thrill for me! Chris and i matched them too. Chris in a matching plaid with Mitch and i had a soft yellow sweater on.

In their defense, i think the sun was in their faces. :o)

Then we came in to get a few shots of my tiny marshmallow girl!!! She was all fluff and frills for Easter. Click on one of the other pics to get a close up of that bonnet.

Or maybe she looked like a Easter egg...either way we wanted to eat her up she was so cute!!!

Leslie

Happy May Day

2011-05-01T20:49:00.006-04:00

Today is May Day...celebrated in a variety of ways in many places. Today we chose to celebrate by making posies of flowers (the most charming way, we thought!) for our neighbors....

Ringing....

and running!!!!

How i wish all of you, my blog friends, were real neighbors....i promise we would have sent a happy bouquet your way as well.

Leslie

Wordless Wednesday...almost

2011-04-27T17:49:00.003-04:00

The kids were bored...it was raining. Out came the buttons for a lengthy time spent sorting and separating...and using chopsticks to pick them up and move them into a egg carton. How is that for some rainy day fun, and the rainbow effect of it is so appealing to the eye!!!

Leslie

Delilah

2011-04-26T11:57:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share Easter pictures but my computer has been behaving badly....so until i can get those i wanted to show you some recent pictures of Delilah. She is a small girl of many faces!!!

She is so sweet and so wonderful. I am often amazed that we got this lucky! We love this little person.

Right now she is a fan of anything she can put in her mouth....fingers, burp rag, toys, pacifiers, her clothes...anything!

She has just started in the last few weeks to roll over. I could not believe my eyes when one morning i went to her room after a short nap and found that the baby i had put in on its stomach was lying there looking at me on her back. I was shocked!! Now she has managed once to go from back to belly also. Always when i am not looking.

Leslie

A Very Special Day

2011-04-14T11:05:00.003-04:00

This week we celebrated Avery's 9th Birthday. How did this happen so quickly? How is it possible that i have a 9 year old daughter?

The weather was beautiful, just as she had prayed for. Though i think the presents were far more exciting.

She is fast turning into a young lady... with her own ideas, opinions and sense of style. I can see that the upcoming years are not going to be without their challenges. :o)

There were many gifts she wanted, mostly American Girl...but the one other thing she asked me for was the chance to hold the baby, while standing. Up to this point Delilah has just been too unsteady. I admit it makes me nervous, but i know i can not put it off forever. So we captured that moment so she would remember it until i let her the next time...whenever that is going to be.

Leslie

Playing With our Food

2011-04-08T09:20:00.013-04:00

Are these guys too cute or what? I was looking around on pinterest yesterday and came across this idea , from this genius woman right before lunch. Perfect timing!!! The best part was Mitchell's reaction....he was so excited. And i really think that this made eating that sandwich much more fun. They were so easy. Make sandwich. Cut wings. Add cucumber eyes and a cheese beak. Done!

Did you make anything fun this week?

Leslie

Caught Up!!!

2011-04-04T19:13:00.005-04:00

It feels so good to have these done finally. Note to self, don't join anymore Bee's that have time limits! Yikes!

I was supposed to have all of these done for the Vintage Sheet Freedom Bee before Delilah was born....4 months ago.Yeah, that never happened.

But she is finally taking a few predictable long naps in a day so i was able to pull out all of the sewing stuff again and get to cracking.

These are so fun and easy to do. There is no measuring or precise cutting involved in most of the process. I just take the fabric and scissors and start cutting strips. They each take on a life of their own and each one is a little different.

Some were harder than others for me. Color was sometimes a challenge and the quantity of fabric i was sent was also sometimes a challenge....to make sure i had enough to finish was a lot of pressure. But i guess part of the fun is making those things work.

This block in particular was really hard for me....when i opened the package I thought the fabrics were never going to work together...in the end i think it turned out to be my favorite. The challenge for me on that one was to make the color of the pink fabric stand out, not the actual pattern on the fabric.

Leslie

Now with Pictures!!!

2011-03-28T20:59:00.002-04:00

I had a technical glitch yesterday...but i think it got worked out...so now all the pictures are there to go with the post!!! If you are interested you can link through to it here.

This Past Week

2011-03-27T18:31:00.005-04:00

This was not an eventful week...slow in some ways, really. I had some things i wanted to blog but the computer needed some work. Thank goodness I have personal technical support(husband is a major geek)!!!!! So what did my past week hold, well....

Delilah is clearly going to be a computer whiz someday...that is hubby's new i pad there in the left corner. Clearly whatever she was watching was really good, or terribly shocking!

There was a little game playing going on with the big kids!!! Chris and i took this Jenga on a ferry trip once across the gulf of Alaska(6-7 days long). Rolling seas sure do add another dimension to this game.

I spent some time cutting and trying to get my piecing right for Lynne's QAL. It is coming along, slow but sure.

These little crochet hats both went to new homes. They do baby gift baskets when babies are born at the hubs work. They work up really quickly. I made a few when Delilah was born, but i think she is going to need another with the extras on it. My favorite is the yo-yo flower on the tan hat. I also quick made up a little flannel lovey blanket. Evelyn has a great tutorial for these. I love fast homemade gifts!

And how could i resist adding this last shot of the little lady. She has been napping in her stroller bassinet since she came home with us, but clearly she is growing out of it. I was sitting just to her right making the hats, above, when i heard a little noise and saw this silly little face popped over the top watching tv instead of napping. And looking so pleased about it too!

Leslie

Gnome Cuteness!!

2011-03-19T16:31:00.004-04:00

Not long ago i came across this awesome tutorial to make a gnome hat for the little one in your life. I could not resist!! Delilah had to have one.

That is why i love crochet. You can make a project like this in no time flat and get some instant crafty satisfaction.

The photo "shoot" went from good, to plain cute, to silly....

...to uh-oh pick her up before she starts crying very quickly.

The tutorial was easy to follow and fast to make. I chose a linen color yarn so that the hat was as neutral as possible. It is meant for a older child but since my kids have huge heads it is not too far off in size for little Delilah.

Mitch says it look like she has the Eiffel tower on her head.

Leslie

Lily's Quilts QAL

2011-03-17T00:00:00.001-04:00

Despite all the other projects i should be working on....and all the others that are still lyuing about waiting to be finished...i decided to try the QAL that is going on over at Lily's Quilts. Lynne is a brilliant quilter and has devised a plan to get the rest of us to come along on a dresden plate journey with her. I have never sewn or quilted anything that is circular and never used templates so this is going to be entirely new and totally out of my comfort zone. Will I it get done or will it be destined to remain in the WIP pile for a undetermined length of time? Answer is, i have no idea....but when it comes to something fun and new i have a hard time not wanting to join in. My plan is just to go with the flow and take it one week at a time, just like we are supposed to. Wish me luck!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-16T10:12:00.002-04:00

Leslie

3.1415926535897932384626433832795028

2011-03-14T21:08:00.003-04:00

... and then some. No, I did not just randomly type in numbers. Those were the numbers i was supposed to memorize(the amount of digits is how old i am). That is Pi because it is Pi Day!!! Chris said we had to memorize pi to get pie, but really in the end we all had pie no matter.

So, Happy Pi Day!!!

What did you do to celebrate? Isn't it obvious what we did? We ate pie. We even had pizza pie for dinner. Thank you sister for giving us a heads up, or i would not have ever thought to do it.

Easy Apple Pie

5-6 medium apples(I use a mix of braeburn and granny smith)
3/4 c. Sugar
1 T. Flour
Cinnamon, to taste
1 ready made Pie Crust

Peel, and slice apples evenly. Place in bowl. Add sugar, flour and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly. Now lay pie crust in pie plate, pour apples in and spread evenly. Place second crust on top. Seal edges, cut top to vent. Brush with water, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 375 for 60 minutes.

Leslie

Delilah's Delilah

2011-02-24T12:33:00.012-05:00

Could there be a model any cuter than this? I think not!!!

I was able to finish her new quilt in record time(for me). I think when you only have a little time available to you, you sure start making the most of it. I just sewed whenever i got the chance.

Look at that leg...chubby, chubby leg!! I love it!!!

i randomly laid out the blocks from the Delilah charm packs that i had and really had to try hard at not over thinking it. I did not want to get stuck at some point in the process because i have terrible analysis paralysis.

The backing is from the same line, and i accidentally overbought yardage so i have plenty for another project.

I quilted it using a hot pink thread that matched the pinks in the fabric...husbands choice. I wanted to play it safe and use my standard off white but he voted otherwise. He said live on the wild side, so i went with it...and i think i like the result. The above pic is courtesy of my little helper, Mitchell....he wanted to help me with my quilty photo shoot. Man, it is hard to hand a nice camera over to a 6 year old.

Sharing finishes over at Amylouwho's has been on hold for a little while, but today she is back and the linky for sew and tell is open. How perfect that i finished this just in time to have something to share with all of you lovely ladies. Go on over and check everyone's projects out, they never disappoint.

Leslie

Some Good Nerd Lovin'

2011-02-14T10:57:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all!!! Last night my very special sweetie wrote me a valentine program....his version of a love note!!!

For those of us that do not write or read programs most of this is self explanatory/obvious but the part he explained to me was the beginning....the 'while (1)' part means that while 1 is equal to 1(ie infinity), so Love will always equal Leslie and Chris. Sweet, no? In that special nerd way that i love so much and that he does so well!!!!

Here my love program is sitting amongst the start of my new project....it was good to dust off my machine(literally) and exciting to sew something again. And of course there has to be a gratuitous baby shot in this post....we love her bunches!!!

Just Hanging Out

2011-02-02T14:47:00.001-05:00

A Makeshift Start

2011-02-01T10:39:00.001-05:00

Now you see it....

Now you don't!!!

I don't have a lot of time or space for sewing right now so i went with the makeshift solution...a little batting taped to the wall(seen this around blog land for awhile now) in the most inconspicuous place possible....behind my dining room door. It is not big enough to get the whole thing on the wall, but it helped me get an idea of what i wanted to do and a chance to see all the fabrics together. Every time i look at it i feel like i am looking at a Cath Kidston catalog!

Good Things Come in the Mail

2011-01-24T17:00:00.001-05:00

Look what came to my door this week. The new Delilah fabric, by Tanya Whelan.

Could that be anymore perfect?

Where was this fabric when i was making Delilah her baby quilt? But, it sure won't hurt her to have another quilt...now will it?

The gray's are not from the same fabric line but i love them and they really seem to go well.

Now i am dreaming about when i will get a chance to lay it all out and make the top!!!

And the Winner is...

2011-01-23T21:21:00.002-05:00

...drum roll please!!!! The winner of the Robots Quilt is Kimberly of Perfection Not Included. I sure hope that you love it and it gets a wonderful new home with you and your family. I am going to go e-mail you right now!!!!

And thanks all of you ladies that entered...makes me feel like you know i am still here. I swear i will quilt again someday. :o) Perhaps there will be something coming up with some brand new fabirc that just came in the mail...i love good mail. I will be sharing it with you soon.

Delight

2011-01-23T09:46:00.006-05:00

Her name means means 'Delight' and she has truly been just that...a delight to have. This is a little video of her...be sure to listen to the music as well, it definitely applies.

**the giveaway is open for the rest of today, to enter go here.**

Giveaway Time!!!

2011-01-20T12:26:00.001-05:00

The time has come!!! This quilt needs a nice new home!

What do you think? Is anyone interested?

This was originally made for the possibility of having a little boy, but as any of you faithful readers know, we had Delilah and she is certainly not a boy!

So, if you are interested, no jumping through hoops is required, just go ahead and leave a comment. I will leave this open for a few days and pick the winner Sunday. How does that sound?

size: 40"x 33"
made with: Cogsmo by Cosmo Cricket

Late Baking

2011-01-18T18:49:00.002-05:00

While i recognize that most of us are over the whole cookies and holiday thing....but, we did not have time really for making all the yummy cookies and treats we make every year(baby). So tonight the kids and i made one of our must have christmas cookies, Fudge Balls. I have been trying to find the time to make these for weeks now, and tonight with baby sleeping in sleepy wrap we had a minute so we went for it. They are so good i thought i would share.

Fudge Balls

1/2 c Butter
1 and 1/2 squares Bakers Chocolate, unsweetened
3/4 c. Sugar
1 Egg
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1 3/4 c. Flour
Confectioner's Sugar

Heat oven to 375. Melt butter and chocolate in saucepan. Remove from heat and cool. Add sugar, egg, salt and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in flour. Shape into balls, about a tsp. each. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, bake 7-9 minutes. Roll warm cookies in powder sugar and Enjoy!!!

6 Weeks!

2011-01-18T09:01:00.001-05:00

How is the time going by so quickly?

These are some of my recent favorites of Delilah.

These little shoes used to belong to Avery. I kept them all these years, hoping...and sure enough we have another special little girl perfect for them.

But these have to be my favorite...especially that shot of her sweet little face. We love our tummy tub!!

Again, i can not say enough good things about that lightscoop...we used it for all of these pictures because they were all at night in our dark house.

A Few More

2011-01-06T14:53:00.002-05:00

For the family(and anyone else interested!)...here are a few more recent shots of Delilah!

Cozy with Daddy...i think he was humming in her other ear.

Having her first submerged tubby!!! This bath bucket is so great. She just sat and relaxed and loved it. She would have stayed in there longer but i did not want her to turn into a little prune.

And a little cuddle with Mommy...Colleen, this last one was one of the first sample shots with our new camera toy. We love it!!!

Baby Sampling!!!

2011-01-06T14:38:00.001-05:00

I meant to post a little every week, but taking care of her seems to take up much of the time around here....meaning very little time left over for blogging. Those bottom two on the right are her at 2 weeks and 3 weeks...i might be crazy but i think i can see a difference in her size. And is there anything sweeter than little tiny baby feet!?!?!?

What I Made This Year...

2010-12-31T21:12:00.001-05:00

Here i go, jumping on the end of the year, wrap up blog post wagon....Everyone is doing it!

This year, lots of things were made. Quilts were quilted, and assorted things were crocheted and sewn but most important of all...my most crafty endeavor by far....i made a baby!! She is the sweetest and cutest one you will ever lay eyes upon ( of course i know all you other mothers feel the same about your own little ones!! and that is ok, we will just agree to disagree!).

Who knows what this coming year will hold. I don't make resolutions because i really need nothing else to feel guilty about in my life when i inevitably don't accomplish it...so i will set some goals. Small ones are very likely, and crafty ones and perhaps a few that have to do with being healthier. I can't commit to any just yet, perhaps that will be another post.

Have a happy new year everyone...you all have been wonderful blog friends. I hope that you are doing something fun tonight. I will be back soon with some more baby updates, of course, and a giveaway to start the new year.

Baby Games

2010-12-23T11:12:00.001-05:00

Mitch was making paper mustaches for everyone in the house....

...why not make one for the baby too?

Easy Christmas Treat

2010-12-22T17:14:00.001-05:00

You have to try this....i was blog reading the other day and came across this recipe for popcorn cake. It was so easy and it is so yummy. Avery and i took a little time together last night and threw this together in no time. Go check it out at Blissfully Content blog.

2 Weeks

2010-12-21T18:16:00.001-05:00

Today I am practicing a new skill....blogging while holding the baby. Typing with one hand and bouncing the baby with the other is tricky!!!

This little bit of a girl is changing every day....she is not getting bigger, just changing. Is that not the sweetest smile. She has even been making little happy sounds and squeals.

Here she is having the classic nap with Daddy...we were all up a little more than usual due to a extra feeding to fatten this baby up and the lunar eclipse so sleep was in order!

I will try my best not to make this blog only about a baby, but at the moment i have to say i am quite smitten and want to share the cuteness with all of my blog friends. One day i will sew, craft, quilt and/or bake again! I am sure of it.

One Week

2010-12-14T12:36:00.003-05:00

Here is sweet Delilah, one week old...i feel like it is going fast already. :o( She is spending a little more awake time with us and is turning toward us when we talk to her. Isn't she sweet?

Here are just a few more pictures from the week. This one was while she and i were still in the hospital.

We are all getting to know one another and working on getting settled in.

It seems like Delilah might be a thumb sucker. I think i am ok with that. Why not right?

She is sleeping pretty great at night(one feeding and we are getting about 8 hours a night of sleep) and in the morning big sister takes over and holds her while we get dressed and have breakfast. I knew having big kids with a new baby was going to be good!

SHE is Here!!!

2010-12-06T23:04:00.001-05:00

Welcome our new, sweet baby girl! Delilah Adelaide joined us this morning at 8:42. She weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and is 19.5 inches long.

Everyone was very excited to meet Delilah, especially Avery. She spent several hours holding her new sister.

So far she's been a very happy baby. Very mellow and quiet. She spent a lot of time today awake and very alert.

The Big Day!!

2010-12-05T23:24:00.003-05:00

No pictures yet...but by this time tomorrow we will have a baby....well in under twelve hours we will have a baby. I am going in the morning for a planned c-section. I can not wait to share our new little person with everyone!!! We are split here in our house on whether it is going to be a boy or a girl. So keep us all in mind and say a little prayer if you think of it.

I am also being featured over at quiltstory tomorrow for the quilt i made my friend as she is going through breast cancer treatments. I hope if you have a minute and you have not already seen it you will take a minute and go check it out. Thanks Heather and Megan for featuring me, i am flattered again!

Look and See

2010-12-02T22:50:00.001-05:00

What came in the mail for us. I have the coolest blog friends!!! These two packages came to my door over the last weeks. I was shocked, excited and thrilled to receive them. Thank you's don't seem like enough.

This first one is from Kristin of Woollypetals blog. I have no idea when she had the time to make or send me anything when she is about to have a new little baby herself any day now. Isn't that the cutest hat you have ever seen?...and that beautiful fabric back there is a hooter hider, I love it!!! She also sent this adorable snowman as a memory/reminder of the time of your our new little person would be born. Isn't he cool? He is a little jar full of "snow". Thank you so much for thinking of us and taking time to make these things. I love them!

These cute things were sent to me from another blog friend....around our house we call her the other Leslie, since that is me too! She makes all sorts of fun things to gift and sell in her local area and blogs at Chasing Bluebirds Blog. She sweetly set aside this soft block for our baby. I love the ribbons all around it for the baby to play with! She did not want my big kids to be forgotten so she sent along these adorable owls that have a little pocket there on their bellies....for teeth. They are tooth owls! Cute right? Leslie, you already know i love it all. Thank you again.

Blog friends are awesome! I only hope that i someday get the chance to meet these girls in person.

Time Lapse Fun

2010-11-28T11:38:00.002-05:00

Chris and the kids were busy geeking while i was getting ready this morning. They were inspired by a article on Geek Dad about claymation with the iphone. Here is the amusing results of their work!! Enjoy!!!

Day off Breakfast!!!

2010-11-12T09:34:00.001-05:00

Mitchell insisted that this was meant to share with all of you, our friends in blogland!! We knew you could not be here to have breakfast with us but we'll share the recipe so maybe sometime you can try it on a day off with your family!! It is very very yummy! He would not let us eat until i took a picture!

Chris was home, day off for Veteran's day, so we wanted to make our morning special. No cold cereal for anyone this day. We got to spend some time together because it feels like lately we don't have much time. Hmmm...and i am not sure there is going to be any more after this baby comes.

French Toast Souffle

1 French Bread(long baguette) cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pkg.(8 oz) Cream Cheese, softened
6 Eggs
2/3 c. Half and Half
1/2 c. Maple Syrup
1 1/2 c. Milk
1/2 t. Vanilla
2 T. Confectioners Sugar

Place the bread in a greased 9x13 pan. In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese and eggs until smooth. Now add in the half and half, maple syrup, milk and vanilla. Pour mixture over the top. Don't worry if the cream cheese gets a little chunky, it looks a little funny but it tastes good. Cover the pan and place in fridge overnight. In the morning preheat the oven to 375. Take pan from fridge and let sit out at room temp for 30 minutes. Then bake, uncovered for 30 minutes or until done. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Serve hot with Maple Syrup.

33 Days to Go!!!

2010-11-03T09:32:00.002-04:00

But who is counting?

I thought long and hard about this, but i figured it was time to keep it real, people!!!! Time to share the real current me!! :o)

I am 34 weeks pregnant. There is one big, real baby in there. We are all getting very excited....we have nothing ready in the nursery to share, but when we do i will take pictures. I am feeling ready and not even close to ready all at the same time!

I know that the counter says 39 but it is off by a few days because of my c-section date.

Halloween Recap

2010-11-01T09:25:00.003-04:00

There was some serious pumpkin prepping...i think this was the first year that Avery carved her own pumpkin...with just a little help from Dad. She did such an excellent job

And, despite that look on his face, playing with the "guts" of the pumpkin was his favorite part!!!

We had gone through so many costume ideas before we got to the final choice...mitch was going to be Johnny Cash or a ghost or Snakeye's!! He finally chose a knight. My favorite part of this costume is his head piece, and his much loved duck taped sword! This is his serious business knight face.

Avery originally wanted to be a pirate girl. Her back up plan was being a snow princess....i was a little worried. But Target was able to back up her plan and there it was the snowy outfit. I think she looks like a Victorian caroler. In the end she was glad to have made this choice because several of the other girls on the loop were pirates and she wanted to be original. Mission accomplished.

We only managed a few snapshots of trick or treating before it got too dark!!! This one is my favorite. Chris accidentally shot it like this but it seems kind of halloweenish to me...you know a little ghosty!!!

In the end they had fun, and that is what matters....after all for them Halloween is only about candy and costumes...none of the scary stuff!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

2010-10-27T22:05:00.008-04:00

You can never really know what is going on in the lives of the people around you, can you? The struggles others go through behind closed doors are often unknown to the people around them. I live in a very small community and had the privilege of lending a hand and a little comfort to someone that needed it. In turn she gave me inspiration.

She is such an amazing woman, fighting breast cancer and being all the things all women wish to be. Strong, beautiful, inspiring. She is always cheerful and happy in spite of everything. Her love for and relationship with God shines through her.

When i first heard what she was going through i kept asking myself what could i do? how can i help her? My skill set is quilting...so, I presented our homeschool group with the idea to make this quilt for her and was pleased that they wanted to take part and participate by writing personal messages to her. I just pray that they do not fade or wash away...i wanted to have the chance to wash it first to see if there were going to be any great catastrophes but i ran out of time. Pray!! pray hard.

I could not bring myself to quilt through any of the personal messages so i just outlined each box in pink. Then i spent what felt like forever straight line quilting, of random sizes, the rest of the quilt. It looks beautiful but was a lot more time and work than i anticipated.

I also wanted to hand stitch in some things that would be personal to her so i did a pink on pink breast cancer ribbon...a purple on purple cross...and the names of her husband and children, so that they would be with her when she used this quilt no matter when or where. I had not originally intended to make it pink but it turned out that they were her favorite colors. What a perfect coincidence.

She in turn gave me a gift...the gift of gratitude and appreciation(and a few tears) which really meant a lot to me. It is hard to know what people really think when you make something like this and then mail it away...and kids don't necessarily love getting a blanket.

This is ironically Breast Cancer Awareness month. What a perfect time to honor her fight by bringing her this quilt. If someone around you opens that door a little and lets you in consider it a privilege to do what you can....what seems so small and insignificant can mean so much to someone that is struggling. I know you don't know her but if you think of her take a minute and say a little prayer, every single one counts!

I am linking this up to Fabric Tuesday this week, as well as Amylouwho's for sew and tell. Got to Amylouwho's and see what everyone else has made and leave a little comment behind so they know you were there.

Proof

2010-10-22T09:31:00.001-04:00

Yup we are still here....still plugging along...still schooling, crafting, sewing and baby growing. But i am having a serious lack of creativity and inspiration when it comes to blogging. I am slowing down a little.....but i am here and reading all of your lovely blogs, enjoying what everyone else is doing while i finish up my dead-lined projects.....breast cancer quilt, Christmas tree skirt and Christmas quilt! I promise i will show and share when i get them to a point worth showing!!!

A certain little man around here is not lacking in creativity...he was a old man last night(beard and mustache made from paper)...but if you look real close you can see that the tooth fairy has been here again. To the cheers and jeers of a crowd of teenage boys(college students my husband works with) Mitchell used a plastic spoon and pried his tooth out of his head! Crazy i know.

The Big Moments

2010-10-13T08:26:00.002-04:00

This was a big weekend for Mitch....

Not only did he take the training wheels off his bike and give it a try(they are back on but he is still trying)....

If you look real close he is missing a tooth....he pulled it out himself. Yikes! The kid means business!!! Now we know what he can wish for for Christmas! :o)

Sneek Peek for Jonelle

2010-10-13T08:04:00.001-04:00

Back a little while, before i knew i was pregnant....my wonderful friend Jonelle put a lot of faith in me and asked me to make her a Christmas tree skirt. I ordered up the fabric right away, but in typical Leslie fashion did not get started right away....it was for Christmas, i had lots of time right? Wrong!!! This week its time has come, it is my designated project. I need to get it done before this baby comes. She is so nice she did not want to bring it up or put any pressure on me about it. But here is your peek Jonelle...since we kind of went into this whole project blind. All she told me is the colors she wanted and left the rest to me. That is why i am telling you, she put a lot of trust into this!

Bee Blocks Update

2010-10-10T21:45:00.006-04:00

A little while back there was a huge earthquake in New Zealand, near Christchurch where the wonderful Deb from Works in Progress lives. She has a giving heart and wanted to do something for those that lost everything....she started a earthquake quilts project, and asked for a little help.

I was able to make up a few blocks to send to her this week. She specifically requested that they be in blues and reds. I hope that they work out Deb, i enjoyed making them.
The first two were made from a simple tutorial she provided in case we were stuck and could not think of what to make.

These wonky stars were made for Deb from my favorite star tutorial at Silly Boo Dilly blog. They always turn out amazing and i always love them!

These last three blocks are for my vintage sheet freedom bee, also started by Deb. I am plugging my way through them so that i can be done in time to have them back to all the other ladies before i have this baby.

for Deb

for Tracey

for Jilly

Sew and Tell- Baby Week

2010-10-08T19:54:00.003-04:00

Ahh, it feels so good to get some of the things done that have been in my WIP pile for the baby. My to do basket is almost looking, dare i say, empty!!!!

I have acquired several cute flannel prints from Joann's with the intentions of making lovey blankets. Some i have had in stash for a long time, like the baby food jars print. Lovies are our favorite and every one we have given as a gift has been favorites for the new families too!!! They are versatile and warm and just so cute! These were made with two flannel prints(i am loving the animals)...squared...sewn right sides facing...turned out and top stitched! Easy Peasy.

I thought the baby food print would be good for some burp clothes. You can never have too many with a little on, i think....and all the ones i had made for my other two have since worn out. New ones were in order. I cut these into 8 pieces and then used the same sewing method as the lovey blankets.

Oh, and last but not least the Katie Jump Rope Hooter Hider!!!! I love this print. I used the tutorial here to make it, as i have for all the others i have made. Pretty simple and straightforward...but with pregnancy brain i am afraid i did some incorrect measuring. I am not sure it turned out the way it was supposed to, but i will reserve my final judgment until there is baby to nurse under it.

i am so thankful for Amylouwho and the motivation she provides!!! I am joining in this week at sew and tell. There are so many great finishes, as usual. Go and have a look and give them a little comment love!