I've missed Blogging

I won't spend too much updating you on what has been happening around here...here are some photos for the year.

Zig Zag Quilt made with a Fig Tree Jelly Roll

Oklahoma Quilt Block

Teal Squares

Super Busy with Tiger Cubs

Modern Cross Quilt made with our Block Swap Blocks

Showing off the garden

Lots of canning, pickling and fermenting fun

One of my Oklahoma Quilt Blocks for the Tulsa Modern Quilt Guild

New Sewing Space

I'm still here!

I always think there are seasons to your life and there are definitely seasons to creativity.  I've been stagnate for awhile.  Its seemed like the stress of school and being a mommy of 4 year old and 7 year old boys took top honor.  Not to mention a work a holic husband.

I also was trying to make money by making quilts and crocheting.  I love to make quilts and crochet but the fun goes out the window once you start sewing and making things with a deadline.  I find that most people want to pay what a fair market price would be compared to mass produced items that can have a low price point.  So when people ask if I sell quilts I say no.  If you really really want one I will consider it, but know that I am not going to scrimp on my time and materials to make it affordable.  My husband called me yesterday asking me to send some pictures of my quilts and that someone might want me to make a quilt.  At first I said no, then I said yes, but gave my price.  I quilt these things myself and to send it off to a quilter is over 200 bucks.  You gotta think about those things.

So we celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary last week and we were very daring when eating out.  We had never tried Korean food or Cuban food and ate both.  We went a little crazy in IKEA.  They had some really cute house sets that said "my house in 730 square feet."  I told DH that I would have loved that place when I was a kid and would probably dream of living in one of those sets.  I definitely want to go back when I get rid of our massive sleigh bed, chest and nightstand.  I loved the duvet sets and the bedspreads.  We came home with two LACK tables.  They are made of corrugated cardboard for the most part so they are lightweight but are so strong.  When we redo my youngest son's room I will use one as a Lego table.  I have to glue a Lego plate to some wood though...

We tried some Cuban food for lunch after IKEA.  It was pretty good stuff, lots of lime juice, plantains and beans and rice.  Right outside the restaurant, There was a sewing and vacuum store.  I went inside to ask about foot pedals and then found this machine. 

It was a crazy impulse buy for sure.  I have always loved how quiet Janome machines are and this one is too.  I also love my acu-feed foot.  I just finished my son's bed-sized quilt and used the even feed foot for most of it.  It was so easy on my shoulders.  I was very happy. 

This was my latest quilt that I finished.  I bought this fabric on the sale rack at Jo-Ann's.  It made a very bright and cheery 4-patch posey.  I like to make other types of quilts I swear.  It seems that I always find good fabric for these though.  It's a nice mindless type of piecing and sewing with a lot of chain piecing.  I should have more quilts to post soon but need to find a good outdoor place to take pictures since I have a crazy Lab that ruined my usual picture setting. 

We've come along way as a family this year and that's another reason I have extra time to post.  My oldest son is doing great in the third grade.  We had  more adjustments for the 2nd grade with him being a year younger than everyone else.  He is really enjoying boy scouts and loves to read still.  The youngest had emotional problems last year and hated school.  I really think he wasn't ready for pre-K last year and wish I had kept him home.  We split up the boys into separate rooms over the summer and it was amazing how different the youngest became.  He woke up happy and ready to go.  He for the most part loves school and has two best friends that he loves.  Last summer I was trying to get him into counselling because when he misbehaved and got angry, the teachers at school said it wasn't normal.  Mommy started researching and revamped our discipline system.  I used to scold them when they tattled on each other, now I encourage it.  I have two kids that like to handle conflict physically.  I really had to work on myself and how I show anger too.  Consistency works for these kids for sure. 

Hopefully I will find a good place to photograph quilts and have more pictures for you soon.  

I am still here and making little projects.  School ended and I had to think about a few things.  I did not like how my family life was reacting to my full time student status.  I also was very troubled that I was getting a Masters degree in a field that suffers job cuts, and low salary while paying 6.8% interest.  My youngest son is having alot of emotional problems, mainly anger.  I definitely lean towards the expressive, passionate side of the anger spectrum and my husband does too.  My little guy has alot of problems when the adrenaline is pumping.  Fight or Flight for him.  So we are working on that at home and will be contacting professionals to insure his future in public schools.  He is my most creative child and his imagination can't be beat.

I finished a few long term projects last month.  The first of which is my zig zag afghan.  Gosh I love this thing. I will be making another one because the yarn is the softest while keeping a firmness that is really nice.  It's called "Impeccable" from Michael's.  I only wish they made a pink in that brand.

I finished using all my hexagons that I paper pieced.  This was pretty fun to do.  I sewed all these flowers onto broadcloth using a small blanket stitch on the machine.  The few blocks I hand sewed had problems shifting when I quilted.  I really liked how the back looked when I finished.  This quilted ended up really crinkly when I washed it.  It now hangs in my sewing room.

Some Lazy Angle Star Blocks for my blue eyed boy.

What would my life be without another crafty project?  I found these quilt blocks in Branson and had to make them.  

I have found the project for my Reunion Fat Quarter bundle.  I have been eyeing these Swoon Blocks forever.  I love how they all look so I am trying my hand at it.  I am not using white and opted for the the tea stained instead. I'm having alot of fun.  Each block is 24" so I will have a King sized quilt when I am done with my 12 blocks.  What kind of summer sewing are you all doing?
I had a whole bucket list planned but my oldest son wanted to go to summer school.  What?  yes...he loves school.  He gets to have a real fake job, earn fake money, pay fake taxes, spend money at different businesses.  He loves it so far.  He was a quality inspector then a cashier.  He's having a blast.  We are waking up early to take him to the bus, but he gets breakfast and lunch at school which is nice for me.  There has been a vast decrease in fights too.  There's a little boy that was my youngest son's friend and they have been playing alot together.  No matter how bad my son behaves I have to remember...All 4 year olds act pretty much the same way.  So when you see a woman with a 4 year old don't be too hard on her.

New projects= spring break + rain

  I love these fabrics.  I have a throw on my couch and it always makes me happy when I cover up with it.  I have two honeybuns and decided to make this pattern with it.  I paired the honeybuns with a cream solid fabric.  It should be funky and fun when I'm done with it.  Now that spring break is over it's sitting in nice neat piles next to my machine.

 Finished crib quilt.  I really liked these fabrics from Birch.  So cute and androgynous.  A good quilt for girls or boys.

 I turned out these pillow covers for my couch.  I love orange and I loved these riley blake fabrics from all the quilts I have made with them.  They make me happy.

I made a quilt with these Ann Marie Horner line in Voile.  I made a simple pillow cover with them.  They don't match my house.  

We are busy busy once again.  Boys are both in soccer, I have tons of school.  Why am I taking 3 summer classes?  Cause I want to be finished by Spring of 2014! 

We are also remodeling our house alittle bit.  We figure with the houses in our neighborhood that we are stuck for awhile.  We have a big yard, love the school and the fact that we are next to a park and a basketball court.  If we just make our current house more liveable for us we can stay.  The boys need their own rooms.  We are getting bids on concrete right now.  My father in law will build the cabinets and shelves for us too.  Its stressful in the meantime. 

This weather is crazy nice.  It feels like June in March.  It's hard to concentrate on school and work, I want to go on vacation!  I packed up all my winter clothes.  I sure hope it doesn't turn cold I will have to go dive into my storage bins. 

Breaking up is hard to do.

I'm breaking up with the whole Curly Mom Quilts thing.  If you noticed there is no facebook link.  I have things still in my shop but i will be selling them all or giving them all away as gifts.  I have several more quilts to make.  The hospice that took care of my grandpa had a new quilt and crocheted cover on the chair every morning.  I'm thinking some of my scrap quilts should go to them.

I just thought I would put this picture in here.  This is my Grandpa Joe and I at my first graduation.  He's on my mind alot.  He was a new year's baby.  He would have been 83, but how blessed I was to share 35 years with him.   He left us mentally before he left us physically and  that's where my joy comes from, to think of him complete and whole.  He was known as Frito Joe in my hometown because he was the Frito Lay man.  Do you realize how many chip commercials and how many times you see a bag of Frito's  or a Frito Lay product in a day?  After the funeral my aunt talked about getting stuck behind a Frito truck.  I think he'll be sending us reminders every day like that.  I'm taking it alittle hard because I've been so blessed not having any loss of loved ones except my cousin who i think of  all the time too...esp once a month if i remember my self breast exam.  I can't help thinking it will only get worse and worse.  I have had all my grandparents with me this far in my life. It's amazing.

I will not have much time in the new year for alot of crafting because I will have my nose in a book.  I'm going to grad school starting January 9th, and I'm excited.  I'm alittle bummed because I won't get to see my quilting gals at the guild but who's kidding who?  I won't be sewing too much.

Some finished/and semi finished crafts.

So I have gone through my box of WIP's and churned out some this week on break/and this weekend.  This Riley Blake quilt is a testament to finishing your mistakes.   I didn't mean to make this quilt.  I was trying something else and got cutter happy and ended up with the wrong sides cut...  This quilt was supposed to look like bamboo.  But I finished it and it's actually better than I thought.

 Baby Clothes Quilt top pieced and ready to be sandwiched.--Memory pillows for the Grandma's.

My foray into the memory quilt.  This has been a difficult quilt to make.  I realized it wasn't about the pattern or the design as much as it was about the memories and the baby clothes.  To make this quilt match or be symmetrical, would involve cutting up these clothes and perhaps losing some of it.  I really like how it's turning out.  Some of these clothes are so tiny and had so many snaps the only option was sewing on whole.  I hope to have this baby quilted and on it's way this week....BUT....

My mind and creativity always gets ahead of my shoulder.  Any hours spent at my machine and my back seizes and then my neck is sore and frozen...it's a vicious cycle.  So while I want and need to finish all my WIP's I still need to pace myself.

I started the new years in the best way, going to my new church home.  I can't tell you how much i love this place.  Worship alone, I am fed completely.  Perhaps I have alittle depression or am extra sensitive these days.  I have been so emotional lately.  Not with sadness but with Joy and amazement.  I have such a renewal of spirit and of life lately.  Perhaps being home for 7 years wasn't good for my depression problems.  I tend to have problems every winter with the blues.  It's wonderful for creativity by the way.  I am a melancholy person and being home with crybabies has made me a cry baby.  Seeing myself as an intelligent person with more to give than my effort at cleaning and cooking and child care has helped especially since one of those skills I am terribly lacking.  What my children and my husband expect or believe about me isn't all there is.  I love them with my whole heart but I get resentful when I am not feeling appreciated, however it's unfair to place all your self-esteem on your husband and children's attitudes.  They are irrational crazy people most of the time.

I'm going into 2012 thankful for my salvation that is unwarranted, unmerited, and undeserved.  Nothing I do can ever give it away and I'm so thankful for his grace that I can be a human, and sin and fail over and over again and I know that i have "unmerited favor."

What do you think... too much?

 I've been making these mug rugs for my boy's teachers.  Do you think they'll like them or are they too crazy and far out?  They are all raw edge applique so it wasn't too hard.

  Hopefully these teachers will feel appreciated by me.  I may not be on top of it all the time but I do love them and think they are saints.

in the meantime

Source: fairyicon.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

"The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."—Mother Teresa

Ruby Flannel Blanket

I'm making a very sweet alternative to a quilt made out of flannel fabrics from Moda Ruby.  The tutorial was in  the August issue of Quilt magazine.  I've wanted to try this ever since.  It looks very cathedral window-like when finished.  I made this blanket in an afternoon.  

I bought 5 1/2 yards of flannel for this blanket.  I would suggest much more fabric.  Then I made a template out of  cardboard.  My circle was alittle smaller than the 10" circles in the magazine.  Using a ten inch circle would be great for a flannel layer cake.  I made mine 9 inches.  Sew two circles together right sides facing using a 1/4 " seam allowance.  Using sharp scissors cut a slit close to the seam of the right side or side you want showing of the circle.  Turn and press all your circles.  

I made a template with my leftover cardboard of a 5 inch square or any other size that allows enough scallop on each side of the circle so that you can turn the edges and they don't overlap.  

 VERY IMPORTANT:  position your circles so the slits are under the scallop turn.

 See my fingers?  I'm showing you the aqua circle that has the slit..it's covered by the grey scallop.

 Press your finished blanket scallops down and then sew them in place.

 I've finished a few rows here.  I used my free motion foot to sew these down.

This blanket isn't completely finished.  I need to turn it backwards and hand sew the holes...there were some weird piecing issues but overall it's super cute and not too thick like flannel gets when layered with batting.

Facebook diet

These last few weeks I've wanted to not log in to facebook.  But my grandfather was in the hospice and we were waiting for him to pass away.  Everyone texts....everyone but me.  If i had my druthers we would write letters.  But I would find out about my grandfather's passing 1 week later because the man on the horse would have to ride 120 miles.  But what is it about facebook that makes people spill their guts, or comment in snide ways or overreact?  A lot of it is this imaginary wall that people think they have by saying things on facebook that they would never say in person.  After they say something terrible they say "just sayin."  Really you weren't being silent?  The younger the person on fb, the more outrageous their opinions are.  I have to say I remember those days, my parents thought I was a communist.  Back then I was very liberal and very mouthy.   But now I am on the other spectrum, but still see when people are talking "out of their youth."  It reminds me of the things I said about mothering before I was a mother.  I was a social worker with children and i would give a family advice and they would ask "how old are your kids"  --imagine the door closing ...NOW..

I get a kick out of people my parent's age on facebook.  They post a comment to their friend in their status.  Everyone reads  "that's great I love you too."  or worse when it's very personal information.

Facebook is this generation's attempt at community.  Something we have lost.  The next time you want to say what you are doing, how about getting on the telephone or better yet walk to your neighbor and share a meal or visit at the fence line.  I love my neighbors.  It's become a great thing for my kids and my family.  During the Ice storm our neighbors saved us and our neighbor across the street.  We all shared a generator plug.  I do live far from my family and have found great comfort in writing and reading from my 81 year old grandmother on facebook.  I also use it to "show" my mom and dad things and the boys.  so yes It's alittle hypocrytical at this point.   I would much rather get a phone call.  This is going to be a part of my Facebook diet.  I will be gathering phone numbers soon of all the people I want to talk to.  So be warned :)

So my advice  "turn off the computer" and "go meet some people"   learn appropriate social behavior.  If you see a friend how likely are you to slam  someone just to see how many "likes"  you get?  You will not learn how to treat others on Facebook.  Teach your kids to have friends in real life.

I haven't updated in awhile.  I cleaned up my craft space and started some blocks for the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along.  It's super fun.  I think i will buy some charm packs because these squares are all 6" finished...seriously could do it with a few charm packs.  Right now it looks clashy but i hope with the 90 more blocks it'll be nice and varied.

I'm making a tunic/dress to wear.  I want to get some tall black boots to wear with this.  I'm not sure if this look is flattering to me.  We'll see...

I'm working on the trim on the sleeves right now I hope i can finish before I leave my sewing machine.

Most surprising of all my crafts this month is this beautiful Tiffany Lamp that I started when I was pregnant with Logan.  It seems like a lifetime ago that I cut this glass.  I'm thankful to my beautiful creative cousin Shanda for finishing the job and taking over all my projects that were in my mind.  I am so an idea person who loses her gumption.  I need to work on that.  Quilting seems to fit into my life better than shards of glass though.

If it's not one thing its another.

I'm thankful for all those things but we have been battling sickness over here the last two weeks.  My youngest son has not been sick very much in his life so we have been having a lot of "firsts."  Pink Eye and now stomach bugs.

This one has become VERY creative.  His teachers can't get him to stop drawing on things.  I have honestly never sat down and colored or drew with him until this year because he couldn't sit still.  He is already skipping ahead and connecting sounds with letters but let me say that his teachers have to be saints.  Some days I push him out the door and sigh with relief.  Grumpy is his nickname at school and home.  He eats breakfast, gets tons of sleep...so who knows.  

My oldest son got an evaluation for speech therapy.  I'm very happy about this.  Being in a grade older than his age he's automatically the baby in how he acts but speech will just help him in alot of ways I think.  He's modeling his newsboy hat I made him.  With the sickies, there's been lots of crocheting in the evenings.  

Yes there are towels under my granny square but i was blocking it best I could after finishing it.  It's  a big square and I should have stopped and made something else out of it...I thought about sewing it together and making it a shrug but i had a certain member of the family laugh about it.   Maybe a huge pillow? I dunno.  

hooking away --why i love crochet

fast

great gifts

fashionable/easy

portable  and inclusive---i can sit with my family and talk and be a part of the family while I make things.adaptable.  I can make so many combinations of this pattern!

F"Ahhhhh"ll (FALL)

It seems like everyone is SO excited about Fall.  I am one of those people especially when I look at my garden plot and feel so sad about what could have been.  Nothing grew and we put a lot of effort into that thing.  Okra is growing now because it survived the heat.  But it's the spiny tough kind.

I have been making a lot of the sock monkey hats.  I really should wash my kid's face.  This child always looks dirty, even 5 minutes after a bath.  He's also my accident prone one.  It's because he makes sudden fast movements at the same time that we open a door, walk around or are standing still.  He jumped up last week and collided with my temple and glasses and ear.  I'm still recovering.  Anyway the sock monkey hat was supposed to be OSU colors but the lighter orange just looked gold when all was said and done.  Luckily those are our town's colors so we are keeping it for the boys.  There's always spirit days at school.  I love these hats cause you can pick your child out of the crowd.  I'm not sure what crowd he would be in but I'm hopeful it will come in handy.

This is my latest venture.  It's taking FOREVER!  It's not knitting with needles it's knitting with a crochet hook.  They call it the Knook.  I thought it was the B&N reader, but no...it's just a crochet hook with a thread through it.  It's pretty mindless and fun with the ombre yarn.  Hopefully this will be a scarf for me.  Then I will make a stockenette scarf.

These guys are proving to be more work for me during the day.  They are escape artists.  I was quilting yesterday and had knocks on the door from my neighbor saying they were in her yard.  Today I had to put up chicken wire in several spots.  They will be too big to get out.  They are too big to carry (for me) now.

I've been working on my Amy Butler Lattice Quilt.  It should be done soon.  I finished Meander quilting the blocks now I just need to quilt the borders and then sew on the binding.  I will probably hand sew it.

I will be glad to get this last commission in the owner's hands and finish up some UFO's and start on my stash alittle.

I made this top with the Lazy Girl Lazy Angle.  I love it.   I don't love the quilt though.  I was trying a certain pattern and after piecing it realized I screwed up.  I may just take it apart and piece it a different way.  If anyone has suggestions I am all ears.  I may bring it to guild to see what I need to do.

I hope everyone enjoys the cooler temperatures and aren't caught in any wildfires or floods.  It has been a trying year for people.