Baby Quilt Completed

It's finished and was a pleasure to work on from beginning to end. This quilt was made with love and will be one of many traveling to an orphanage in India on July 25th as part of the Craft Hope project. The size is 40"x50", hopefully just right for a very small child. It's made of cotton prints from my stash with a layer of flannel in the middle to keep it lightweight due to it's warm destination.

The fabric for the next one is ready and waiting to be cut. It will be receiving blanket sized, just right for a newborn. I can hardly wait to get started, but for now, the laundry pile is calling.

Just Popping In

Just a few photos to share as I'm running out the door this morning. I'll be back tomorrow with my first finished quilt for Craft Hope. Have a wonderful day!

Learning About Yarrow

Gardening is definitely a learn-as-you-go hobby of ours. Lots of research, lots of trial and error and a little luck thrown in too. The Yarrow's been a beautiful ray of sunshine in our garden beds for the last month or so. Now, it's starting to fall over and look a bit tired so off to Google I run to figure out what to do.

:: A little harvesting ::

:: A little leaf stripping and bundling ::

And in a few weeks we'll have nice dried flower heads to use in arrangements or potpourri. Much better than ending up in the clippings pile at the dump like they did last year!

Homebodies

It's hard to believe we've been in our home for three and a half years now. The building process was definitely a labor of love, as hubby and I attended to every little detail knowing that this would be our "forever home". We are definitely homebodies in every sense of the word. We find great joy in fiddling in the yard or working on some kind of new project.

I am truly grateful for having a partner who supports my excitement when it comes to changing things in the house or discussing a new decorating idea. He doesn't always agree, but he's usually willing to go with the flow. This red ceiling, however, was a different story: He fought it. I begged. And pleaded. And whined. And promised to repaint it if he absolutely hated it. He relented. He thinks the red ceiling makes the powder room look like a brothel. It's been red for three and a half years now. I still love it.

My mom recently gave me the cross stitch picture. It had been sitting in her basement collecting dust. Thanks mom:)

I'm thinking of making a new shower curtain for the summer - maybe out of a Liberty of London print for a lighter, airier feel. What do you think?

**Please pardon my formatting issues - I'm working through some difficulties**

The Magic of Seeds

We have one of those big ugly green electrical boxes in our side yard. You know what I'm referring to, don't you? Definitely necessary (I'm an air conditioning girl all the way) but not very attractive. Last year hubby created a large bed around it and our plan is to fill the bed with beautiful shrubs and perennials to detract from the box. We haven't finalized plans for that bed yet so this spring we decided to spread some wildflower seeds for a pretty little temporary solution. One box of seeds and some rain from nature and we are thoroughly enjoying this:

Pretty amazing when you really stop and think about it!

Blankets for Babies

There is energy and excitement in my sewing room this week as I find just the right fabric to begin my next project. This one will be extra special as it's a quilt or two to donate to a project called Craft Hope. On July 25th, this organization will be sending blankets, booties, and beanies to children living in orphanages in India. Click on the icon to read more about their amazing work.

Harvesting and Healthy Snacks

Our new strawberry plants are now producing a little more than the birds can eat so we had our first official harvest last evening. I read that during the first year, it's best to pinch off any blooms so that the plant's energy goes to the root system instead of producing berries. That sounded like a great idea....but I didn't do that....the flowers were so pretty.....and I wanted strawberries this year. Impatient I know. And have you tried these Mrs. May's Trio bars?

I picked up a box at COSTCO and boy are they good. They are made from nuts, seeds, and berries (hence the name Trio) and make a really great snack. The blueberry is my favorite. You can read more about them here.

Linens are Laundered

The linens from last weekend's estate sale are washed, pressed, and ready to be used. There was a little mishap with a mustard-colored apron that apparently wasn't colorfast. After much soaking and rewashing, most everything came out fine. The mustard apron, however, didn't survive.

There are two of these cheerful red and white dresser scarves that someone lovingly embroidered and this apron is also handmade. It's a little worn but I love the feedsack fabric that was used.

And I'm happily the proud owner of five vintage dresser scarves that are marked and ready to be embroidered and hemmed.

:: estate sales :: yard sales :: thrift shops :: great fun ::

Two Good Men

:: My Dad ::

handsome :: smart :: hard-working :: loyal

:: He Loves ::

family :: baseball :: Ledo pizza :: Gunsmoke reruns :: Louis L'Amour books :: Dr. Pepper *************************************************************************

:: My Hubby :: handsome :: smart :: hard-working :: loyal :: (Do you see a pattern here?) :: He Loves :: working in the yard :: filet mignon :: cars :: family :: very old T-shirts :: sharing baseball with our son :: ice cream ************************************************************************* I am lucky to have these two amazing men in my life! Happy Father's Day

Loving..........

:: This summer color ::

:: This storefront ::

:: This emerging bloom ::

:: This new (first ever) dish drainer and the vintage pyrex that's in it ::

:: This subtle and refreshing gift from a friend ::

:: This note found on the chalkboard ::

:: This thrifted juicer ::

:: This little creature found on the morning glory leaf :: And this movie that I saw last night with the girls!! :: Happy Weekend ::

It's Finished!

This quilt pattern, called Two of a Kind, was featured in the April 2008 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting by Better Homes and Gardens. I purchased a kit that included the magazine and all of the fabric to make the top of the quilt. It was bright and cheerful, it looked like it would be fairly easy to construct, and it was on sale for half price so I couldn't resist.

I've been working on it for quite a long time, in little bits and pieces here and there. It's now ready to be sandwiched together and quilted. I'm thinking of tucking this one away to give as a gift to a special friend when the time is right.

I'd better run....my design wall is empty and I must get busy filling it back up again!

Summer Joys

:: Farmer's Markets ::

:: Berry Picking ::

:: Sunflowers ::

My kitchen's been bustling this week with lots of berry preparation. Here's what's been made so far:

:: frozen berries for smoothies ::

:: strawberry bread ::

:: strawberry cheesecake ice cream ::

:: strawberry puree for belgian waffles ::

:: just plain sliced strawberries ::

:: strawberry garden salad ::

The strawberry salad has been our favorite. We've eaten it for three days in a row. It's this one again, but for the salad we used farmer's market lettuce mix, feta cheese, red onion, toasted pecans and a generous helping of strawberries. We've decided this is perfection - no need to tweak the recipe any further. The only change I make to the Cinnamon Vinaigrette is to replace the 3 tablespoons of sugar with 2 tablespoons of agave nectar. Delicious!!

Whew! The kitchen is officially closed for today......I hear my sewing room calling.

A Beautiful Arrangement

Over the weekend we picked up the final round of flowers to finish potting our patio containers. The bright yellow spring pansies were beginning to look a little tired from the hot sun so it was time to replace them with some flowers that will last the duration of the summer. It was slim pickings at our favorite nursery but we ended up with petunias, geranium and, for the life of me, I can't remember the name of those adorable little orange flowers. Anybody know? And about the beautiful arrangement :: it wasn't the pot of flowers at all. It was the fact that I showed hubby exactly where I wanted them and then went inside where it was nice and cool while he did all the dirty work. Why didn't I think of that earlier in the season when all of the other containers needed planting? Yes, a beautiful arrangement indeed.