looking back

Did I show you the sweetest creation that currently adorns my wall?



I made this back in the year 2000 when I was pregnant with the B-meister.  It was his bunting bag that we would take him home from the hospital in. I've made special gifts for each of my babies while pregnant. Each one is unique in their own way. In this case I didn't know if I was having a girl or a boy, this would be the only time that we would not have that knowledge in advance.



I loved making this little bunting bag.  Each stitch and french knot was packed with loads of love and anticipation for my little bundle to be. The fabric I chose also went into the creation of the B-meister's quilt and lots of color was in order.



Well the babies are here, can you hear the thud of my hubby's head hitting the floor? No not my babies, two of my friends have had their little babes and it looks like the boys are ruling this spring.  I need to get busy and start working on some custom little baby boy stuff.  Makes me wanna have another baby I tell ya! (oops his head hit the floor again! )



Happy Monday everyone.  Hope you are feeling ducky.  ;o)

hello!

Studio organizing is done at last.  I packed 5 large rubbermaid bins with supplies and filled a bag for goodwill.  Generally, my space is by far, the messiest place in our house at any given time, partially due to a lot of stuff crammed in a small area and how much I have on the go at the moment.  Remember the before picture I posted a few days ago? ...the result of a massive spill over as we get our house ready to go on the market.

I ended up packing up almost all of my scrap booking supplies.   I
haven't worked on anything scrappy in such a very long time that it
seemed the most obvious to store.   My fleece fabric also ended up
being packed along with any winter/Christmas themed fabrics.   I moved
my sewing table into the closet and put my machine in
there as well.  If it doesn't work, I can always switch it back to the
spare cutting table that sits undisturbed.

I did keep enough fabric out for inspiration and crafty
moments.  Can't be all work and no play, right?

taking it in stride

Just another regular weekend of hunting for eggs in the snow. 



The weather is still chilly but the feeling of spring is in the air and that means winter is finally winding down. The kids are loving the longer, not-so-cold days. As they spend their time outside they grow ever excited about the little patches of grass they see. Miss A & Miss J are in constant chatter about the grass turning green and dry.



Our weekend was filled with family gatherings, parties, sick moments and big boys who still love to hunt for treasure. 



I managed to do a bit more studio de-cluttering. I've been packing away things that are not currently being used and all that alone time is only leading to more thinking on my part. The changes we are considering not only affect our lives, but the wee ones in our
charge. It doesn't take too long before things start to feel really unsettled and stressful. 

Breathe deeply, in and out, in and out. When the burden gets too heavy I want to be able surrender to it as if I am floating on water, for a few brief moments my body becomes one with the water and the waves. We are flowing and moving gently together, peacefully. 

'What will be, will be' ... and I remind myself that life is about the journey, not the destination. 

spill over

Oh my poor blog.  It is falling victim to that precarious shift that we are in right now.  We spent all, and I mean all of last week working our butts off finishing up tons of...

:: cleaning ::     little tasks...are people really going to be looking inside my cupboards??? *eek*

:: ceramic tiling ::     and the not so little tasks...see how straight my lines are *proud*

:: kitchen ::     we painted...from a mustard yellow to green, the color reminds me of celery and my son told me the color made him 'feel safe', can't argue with that.

 

:: light ::     I love how my pendant light looks with the new color.

and then inevitably the spill over occurred...

:: the studio ::     organizing...I decided to pack up the non-essentials that I am not currently working with like off season fabrics, scrap booking supplies and more.  It's a monumental task that is going to take me days to sort through if I just knew where to begin. *help*

art & craft

Yesterday evening I went to see my sons' film at the Film Festival.  Over 70 entries were received and theirs was a finalist!  I am so very proud of them.  Going to the Gala was such a great experience for all of us.  I didn't think the night could get better for my sons, who started creating this movie last year.  I am ecstatic to report that they won first place for Best Animation Film.  (*tears of joy* here).  They both put a lot of hard work into it along with their greatest supporter, my hubby.
It was awesome on the big screen but since that isn't possible on this little ol' blog, I can share it with you via youtube:


ETA: Some photos from the Gala last night...excuse the quality of the photos, it was dreadfully dark in the building.

shop update time!

Hello good folks, tune in at my shop around 2:00 pm EST.  I have some lovely mini quilts & coasters that are filled with patchwork, linen love.



Oh so reminiscent of Spring!  See you there!

shop update Monday, March 17th

I had a few hours to myself this weekend and I spent them all in the studio calmly, creating and rejuvenating this winter weary soul. The timing couldn't have been better as we head into what promises to be a busy, busy week.



We've been mulling around the idea of selling our home and feel we are ready.  With that there are a heap of unfinished tasks that need to be taken care of to make our home 'market acceptable.'  This week will be pretty labor intensive with patching, painting and of course more necessary decluttering. Thankfully my hubby is home from work all week to help me get things ready. Using his holiday time isn't exactly the best way to spend your holidays but he didn't have much choice in the matter as he had to use up his last week before the end of March. Poor fella.



While I'm not looking forward to the whole process of destabilization that comes with moving, it's a reality if we hope to move on from this abode that we have called home for the past 6 years.



If you don't hear from me this week you know what I'm doing, okay?



Before I go, I will be updating the shop on Monday March 17th. I've been having a lot of fun embroidering on linen and the items you see pictured will be available in the shop as well as a few other goodies, on that date. Stay tuned and wish me luck this week with the home repairs.

longer days

The cold weather has not let up and that's a big mood buster around here and general drag. To add to it, we will set the clocks forward this weekend to bring longer days but it does not necessarily bring a quicker spring. Is this post going quickly downhill? Yeah, I'm trying to stay above it all with the self talk of "soon enough we will back outdoors" and "soon enough the snow will melt and the grass will appear."  But for all my positive-isms I'm feeling grumpy.  Did I mention that I am a beach girl?



I'm still working steadily on my therapy and thought maybe you might need a little boost too! While I'm at it, here are some sneak peeks of a future shop update.  I'll finalize that date next week *xfingers*



Have a pleasant weekend everyone, in spite of the weather.

looms

Photo courtesy of: http://www.ramseycrafts.co.uk/new.htm

I picked up these looms at the big box giant craft store (BBGCS) last weekend, it was one of those spontaneous 'must haves' on the way home from Costco.  Both my sons have been asking me to teach them to knit and after giving it a go a few times with the J-man, who is doing quite well I might add, I wondered if the B-meister would get too frustrated with the sticks method.  Then I remembered that I had seen some knitting looms at the BBGCS before Christmas, which were initially interesting to my eye but not tempting enough to for me to purchase for myself.  I'm a stick girl I said.   But hey, I may be tempted away from my sticks long enough to give these looms a try.  The B-meister is already becoming adept at the knifty knitter.  With a bit of instruction at the start he was comfortable with the whole process and well, it was simple enough to work with.



I'm happy that he picked it up so quickly. The B-man is a math genius, completely brilliant with numbers but has a tendency to question his own abilities outside of that realm. Probably the combination of his personality type, birth order and who knows what else. I can relate to him though, not the brilliance but the questioning, and I just want him to know that whatever he wants to try to do, he should.  Even if it means stepping out of his comfort zone. 



Be a good lesson for me to follow too...stepping out of my comfort zone...hmmm.

amazing or weird

We covered a few of my oddities last week and then it occurred to me that some things really are genetic.  My girls love their Schleich animals so much that every time we pass our favorite Schleich toy store we usually leave with a new friend, or two.  I don't mind so much, the animals are loved to pieces and very durable.  The other day the girls were playing so nicely with them in the living room and then it became unnervingly quiet.  When I went to check on them I found them gathered around the coffee table entwining the animals in the lamp fringe. 

Certainly brings new meaning to 'caught in the thicket.'   

loving linen

Well it was good to get back into the studio yesterday for a little creative therapy. My stomach was not at all right last week and through most of the weekend. I've been tired, nauseous and food has not been sitting well. Good thing my hubby had the same symptoms or I'd of thought I was pregnant. Those things do tend to be a bit contagious with friends having babies right now.



I think I am desperately craving spring because my eyes couldn't depart from the yellows and greens in my stash. These colours are destined to chase the winter blues away and here's the recipe: Take a bit of patchwork...



...Add a bit of linen; mix together as creatively as desired and you have sure delight. At the very least you are on your way.  

Thank goodness the linen I ordered arrived in time to refresh my senses. Happy Monday to you!