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Union Jack Paper Pieced Block

April 25, 2013 in April May's Sampler, Life | 2 comments

I finally made the Union Jack block for my Sampler quilt.

Thank you to each person who gave me input on fabric selection.

There was an overwhelming response for this combination.

Which I was about to cut into when I realized I forgot one crucial piece of information: the overall look of the quilt. And I don’t think that that lovely blue as the main color in a block would have gone with my bright, Springy look.

So I went with the second-most-popular combination, and made this.

I love it. Though I keep wishing I had the time to make it in the darker blue, as well.

It took over four hours to make. This is my second attempt at paper piecing and I made the pattern and created instructions myself. Which is a feat considering I had only paper pieced once before! I am still amazed that it worked out.

Being a purist, I had to make my block to exact Union Jack dimensions. So the block won’t fill an entire square in the sampler quilt. I think I already shared that I plan to applique hearts with this fabric on a strip of fabric underneath the flag.

I’ve been unreasonably busy lately but am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I sadly quit one of my three part-time jobs. It was a job that I enjoyed but that had the fewest hours, so made most economic sense to quit. Now I am just working at Macy’s on nights and weekends and for grkids.com during the day. I also am wrapping up my commitments on the leadership team for my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. That was time intensive! Wow. Man, I’m on a roll! Let’s see, what else can I quit? … watching my children a couple of days a week? Oh, wishes…

That said, I hope to be sewing more again, and also have time to blog about said sewing. I have a lot of projects to get working on, but in true April fashion, none of them are easy to do.

One project is to make Izzy a throw quilt like Olivia’s, only with her favorite character, Babar, King of the Elephants, on it. They don’t make a fabric panel with Babar. So I have to create one. Or applique an entire elephant. Doh!!

Tags: quilt block, Riley Blake, Sampler, Union Jack

AQS Show pickings

September 14, 2012 in Fabric, Life, Random | 4 comments

The fabrics that O so desperately needed.

Grand Rapids was one of the four national locations for the AQS (American Quilter’s Society) Quilt Show and Contest this year. How exciting! Quilts from all around America, nee, the World, were featured at the show.

Prior to attending the show I had imagined myself entering a quilt in the show. Gaining national recognition for being so clever. Perhaps even winning a prize.

And…that daydream was effectively obliterated when my mother-in-law and I stepped into the show at DeVos Place.

Holy Smokes.

These ladies can QUILT!

And the worst part???

I can’t show you a single photo. Not one. Show rules don’t allow for photos of any entries to be posted on the Internets without express permission from the artist. I did find a video of the winners, though. Prepare to be amazed.

It was so fun to go to the show. My mother-in-law and I ran into a lot of friends.

We also ran into a lot of fabric. There were vendors galore! Ideas galore!

So, I guess I can show you SOME photos from the show.

Aren't these sheep so cute? I love wool crafting. Just hasn't made it to the top of my list yet.

Must. Make. This. Can't remember the name of the shop that displayed this. But I love it.

Okay. I’m breaking down. I’m showing you one quilt from the show. It’s my mom-in-law’s friend, and I don’t think she would mind. Ruth doesn’t have a blog or else I’d direct you there. When we saw her at the show she said, “Did you see my quilt? It’s a little wild and colorful, but they let it in the show! Mine was next to one that was picked as a winner. That’s the closest I’ll get to winning!” But I disagree. Her quilt was not too wild, and her skills are on par with the Big Girls. Maybe she’ll win next year.

Taken with my phone. Sorry it's not a better representation.

I went in not planning to spend any money on fabric, but that’s always a lost cause. Since half of my loot was picked by, and apparently now belongs to, my 3-year-old, I really didn’t buy THAT much for me. Ha.

I could not resist this fabric. Strawberries!! And coordinates for it! I must make something just for me with it. I just want to eat it up.

O's picks. That girls' got taste! Okay, so I did guide her by pointing out pretty colors, but she essentially chose these.

I love my daughter. She really does watch my every move and wants to do everything that I do. It’s so sweet. Today she helped me dust and vacuum. She was really into it. Yesterday she helped me bake cookies. And on the day that I photographed my new fabric, she did this:

Photographing her "fabrics," just like Mommy. She even got up high for a better angle!

Any suggestions for what I should make her with her fabrics?

Princess Olivia

August 17, 2012 in Life | 4 comments

My husband has been gone to “geek camp” the last few days so I’ve been working extra hard to keep the girls playing and active for nearly 12 hours a day, with no parenting break.

Yesterday we made a fort in the girls’ room. We pretended to hide from the scary lions that wanted to eat us. I suggested to Olivia that perhaps they were just hungry, like the Tawny Scrawny Lion. She then decided we should make them carrot stew, roast beef, and dessert in our fort. Once the lions were abated we turned into princesses. Well, Princess Olivia and Princess Baby Isabel. I was the Queen Mum. The girls donned their tutu skirts. When Olivia asked me why I wasn’t wearing mine, I informed her that I didn’t have one. (Though if I did have expendable cash, I’d get me a big girl petticoat from DreamSpun Kids, fashioned right here in Grand Rapids!)

Outside we went. The princesses played on bikes while the Queen Mum took photographs. I was quite surprised at this Princessey turn of events. Not that we were suddenly thrust into the Royal Spotlight (after all, most of Olivia’s imaginary friends are princesses), but that Olivia was willingly donning a skirt for it.

She doesn’t wear skirts. She doesn’t wear dresses. And for the last week, she’s been convinced that she can pee standing up, just like a boy.

But yesterday, she was wearing a dress and a skirt at the same time. She was Princess Olivia. So I did what any quietly excited Queen Mum would do: I decided to take more photographs of this rare fashion moment under the guise of “going to the playground behind our house.”

The girls laughed and ran and played. I took photos in between keeping Isabel from getting into too much trouble.

We were having a great time. So were the two parents and their young son who were also there.

A beautiful day.

Until.

I turn to see Olivia squatted down next to the other family’s stroller. I run toward her, “Olivia, what are you doing???” My mind is racing. Her pants, skirt, and underwear are down, her little naked butt exposed to the world, and she is crouching in a way that I wonder if she is having diarrhea because she had been sick this week.

“I’m peeing mom!” she informs me, as if it’s just another normal thing to do at the playground.

I stop five feet away, staring in abject horror. The mom and dad behind me can’t stop laughing. For the first time in my life, when I should be disciplining my kid, I can’t keep a straight face, either. I look up at the Mom, “I’m so sorry!” I said, a laugh cracking across my face.

“Hey, now you’ll have a story to tell her when she’s older!” They both thought it was hilarious.

And so did I. But also horrific.

Olivia casually stands up and pulls up her underwear and pants.

“Oh no, Mom! I peed on my skirt!”

Indeed she did. Her petticoat skirt was piled up all behind her as she squatted and she urinated right in the middle of all the pretty purple-sparkled chiffon folds.

That effectively ended Playground Time. We walked quietly home. I, trying to explain to her (without laughing) why it’s not okay to pee in public. She, holding her peed petticoat out in front of her. I was annoyed with myself for being too “Spontaneous Fun Mom” to make her use the bathroom before we left the house.

I was so thankful that there wasn’t a crowd at the playground. Can you imagine all the little kids pointing in unison at the girl openly peeing in the playground? “Look Mom! She’s peeing! Why can’t I pee at the playground?”

I was thankful that I had gotten a few cute photos taken before the Incident. That she hadn’t been crouching to take a dump.

But most of all, I am just thankful that she hadn’t tried to pee (like a boy) standing up.

…Randomness

August 6, 2012 in Antiques, Life, Random | 6 comments

I have been inspired by my blog friend Stephanie, who was inspired by her friend Cindy to do a completely random blog post. I had told Stephanie that I loved her random post and how you can learn so much about a person from them. She agreed. So here is a little peek into my world.

I have been working on my book. I had to take several months off when my computer was down. I have two nice lengthy ones, but they’re lacking the general pizzazz that a story should have. Working on that. Here is a random snippet from another one I’ve started:

Reading all those Nancy Drew detective stories finally came to good use. In the falling darkness I could make out a 3-foot-high cinderblock foundation laid out in the general area of the missing house. A plank fashioned out of an old 2×6 stretched out across the cinderblocks (and what seemed like a dark cavernous hole in the dusk light) and ended precariously on what was left of the backporch: a small rickety wood landing with steps leading down into the ground surrounded by the cinderblocks. My father had kindly left part of the banister on, kind of as a reward for successfully “walking the plank” to the front door. Just when you might flip off the whole thing and dash your brains out on a random rock in the ground, there was the banister, ready for you to grasp it with your white knuckles.

And no, I don’t expect anyone except my immediate family to have any clue what I’m talking about. ha.

My friend has commissioned me to make her some pillows for her living room. Squirrels are the bane of my exhistence but my friend and I both love this Tula Pink print.

My mother-in-law fell in love with this nail polish that my sister Annie was wearing. My sister told her the brand so my MIL ran out and got some. It was sold out at my local store so MIL ended up getting me one, too. Quite the popular shade! Even baby Izzy got her toes painted and we thought it was the coolest.

Reva and I

When I told my sister of our great fortune at finding the nail polish she sheepishly grinned–she realized she had told us the wrong brand she was wearing. So my MIL had gone out and inadvertently stumbled upon another new cool polish! haha.

I volunteered for Vacation Bible School this week. I believe we had close to 400 kids and over 100 volunteers. My church puts on a fantastically exhausting program. In fact, I am so tired from the ordeal that I am not editing any of these photos I’m posting.

I went antiquing with my mother-in-law last weekend. There we both fawned over this beauty. I already have a green and white Triple Irish Chain quilt (with pink!) but Mom-in-Law is waiting to see if it’s still there at the next Allegan Antiques show we attend. In that case, she may consider it meant to be.

This poster caught my eye. We already have one original WWI poster and I thought this would be a cute mate for it. I didn’t buy it and it turns out that JB isn’t madly in love with it. My grandpa was in the Navy though and I’ve always liked all things nautical–even though I can’t really swim!

In addition to fantastic finds at the Allegan Antiques fair, there is also a fair share of weirdness. Like this framed art.

Uh, how would this not depress you as you walked past it in your living room or hallway each morning? And isn’t that missing the purpose of art?

A more appropriate bunny picture would be the one in Noodlehead’s blog post. I made the mistake of showing Olivia the ridiculously cute bunny and now she NEEDS a bunny like she needs air. But ever since my pet bunnies died horrifically at the hands of raccoons when I was little I have been leery of having any new such pets.

Olivia also thinks that she needs a chicken, too. Her friends have chickens and this morning she brightly exclaimed to me, “I KNOW! I’ll ask for a chicken for my birthday!” Then she ran through the list off all the things she would need to care for her chicken: pen, food, leash (for taking it out to go to the bathroom), etc. When asked how we could keep the chicken warm in winter she smiled, “She can get a jacket for Christmas!”

And that, friends–picturing a Rhode Island Red strutting around in my backyard in a thick winter jacket–made me laugh really hard.

I hope you did, too.

Opening an old wound

May 26, 2012 in Life | 2 comments

There are several stages of mourning when a loved one dies.

First, it’s their death. The visitation. The funeral. The going through of their clothes and jewelry, etc. Then dividing their possessions. Then cleaning out old drawers, etc. Finding old notes and evidences of their specialness.

It been two years but I feel like the wound opened again last night when we started cleaning out G&G’s old condo. Grandpa moved to an apartment earlier this year and took what he needed, but the rest of the 3,000 square foot condo was left for us to split up and take away.

Last night we crammed a load of very nice furniture and decorations into a huge u-haul to go to my husband’s brother, who lives far away. Because he lives so far, the task of packing his inheritance was left to his parents and brother. It has been a very emotional week for me, as I surmise it has been the other packers, too. Several times I’ve been over there, photographing items, talking to my brother-in-law about what he wants, photographing more, going through drawers, trying to find things we missed.

I’m so drained after every visit. I finally realized it was because of all the emotions attached to the condo.

Grandma took great pride in her home. Every piece of furniture had a story with it. Every wall hanging. Every Knick-knack. Memories flooded in a lot this week.

JB and I used to live with Grandma and Grandpa. I feel so blessed to have had that experience. I cannot begin to write about that now. But watching the love seat or desk or framed cross stitch go out the door was like another nail in the coffin. Grandma is gone. Her era. It’s not coming back. I’ll never be able to walk into the condo and see evidence of her there. It’s scattered to new homes. Ready to be a part of new memories. Grandma’s presence has moved away a little more.

Some of her things have come to our house. Since we already have a lot of things we only picked what was most important to us. Last night as I was sorting through things on my dining room table I picked up a beautifully knit “prayer shawl” that some of Grandma’s friends had given her when she had back surgery. The muted purple, rust, and orange colors in it are right up Grandma’s alley. As I picked it up I remembered sitting in the den with her as she told me all about it. Then I remembered seeing it draped across her lap as she did the crossword. And then over the arm of a chair when it was not in use. It’s not an antique. Or valuable. But it makes me think of her. And me with her.

I cried into that blanket. Just like Sandra Bullock cried into her mom’s clothes in Hope Floats. It came unexpectedly.

The condo still has things in it to remove. And then we’ll close the door on one of the only places I ever knew my husband’s Grandma. Thankfully, we still have the family cabin. She is still everywhere there.

And even more thankfully, we still have Grandpa.

Who had better never die.

Missing You

May 20, 2012 in Life | 2 comments

Oh, Polkadotsparrow, how I’ve missed you. I have what feels like so many blog posts to share. But alas, my computer has jammed up. I thought my feeble mind could reformat it but it turns out that my computer, which was created by my brother, is some sort of genius computer. So my attempt to fix it would be like attempting to get inside the mind of Albert Einstin. Something better left to the professionals, like my brother.

He lives in Chicago.

We live in West Michigan.

So I shall attempt to blog from my phone for the next four weeks…

But I don’t think I can post photos. What fun is THAT??

Reorganized Dining Room

April 30, 2012 in Home Improvement, Life | 4 comments

So….my sewing room also doubles as our dining room. This is not a problem except when people come over to play board games or eat a meal with us or hang out. Then I have to make room for these people by putting away all of my sewing stuff.

Oh, and also by putting away Olivia’s craft supplies, because the ~~sewing~~ dining room also serves as the classroom/craft center.

Some may consider my house to be small. But I like it. I don’t wish I lived in a McMansion. It’s hard enough keeping 1650 square feet cleaned. Please don’t give me any more bathrooms or bedrooms! Well, unless it’s a modest sewing room off of the dining room or something. I promise I’d vacuum it once in a while.

My tidiness situation was starting to get out of control. I might as well just show you.

Totally classy, right?

I really needed more storage for my fabric. That dresser does an amazing job but she just isn’t big enough. I searched every antique place around here, watched estate sales, and shopped online, but could not find an affordable tall bookcase that would fit a 32″ wide space. Until Ikea. The land of Swedish Decorating Wonderment and Affordable Prices. Sadly, the closest Ikea is nearly 2.5 hours away. I was making plans to drive there myself when a friend told me about ViaIkea. ViaIkea is an outfit run by a very nice man in Grand Rapids who makes regular trips to Ikea and picks up orders from locals for a fee. So instead of paying for a tank of gas and over 5 hours of my time to get it myself, I paid James less than a tank of gas and he got it for me. How neat is that??? And as JB pointed out, it saved us the hassle of buying a dozen other shiny things that would have caught our eyes if we had walked into the store ourselves.

If you live near GR and need Ikea items, just drop him a line. It’s worth it!

And now, may I present to you, a proper ~~sewing~~ dining room!

Wow, you can actually see the neat wood trim around the bottom of the walls!

Most of this houses sewing room runoff, but the middle shelf also holds Olivia's crayons, stickers, coloring books, etc. (And her beloved yellow chick.) I've also got a bunch of tablecloths behind the doors that weren't fitting in my china cabinet. And now I can see all the pretty sewing things that I admire, like my basket and the little spool drawers.

Peace has been restored to this corner that used to have the iron, a pile of quilts and blocks in progress, etc.

Isn't this a delightful bookshelf?

Being able to move my sewing books from this shelf meant more room for such important tomes as guides on surviving a Zombie apocalypse (we're so ready!) and White Trash Cooking.

We love our new bookcase so much that JB has suggested getting another for the left side of the window. I only wish that the height extenders that they sell would fit the deeper bookcase model that we bought. But alas, they are not deep enough. Perhaps one day. That would add another 24″ or so to the top. More storage!!

I’ve got a thing for bookcases. There are at least two in nearly every room in the house. What is YOUR favorite storage method?

In Like a Lion

April 3, 2012 in Life, Things I've Made | 5 comments

Well March may have had considerably milder temps up here in Michigan than we’re used to, but this March was still “in like a lion,” for me.

Life has been almost maniacally busy and stressful. There are too many things to name, but a few things are that: We are refinancing our house and it was taking forEVer and taking a lot of my time chasing down paperwork. Our computer broke, leaving me blogless for two weeks. My iPhone broke and wasn’t covered under warranty. I barely got the phone in the first place because they’re so expensive–it was a birthday/replace-old-breaking-phone combo gift. And then I had to buy it again? Not. Cool. I was so stressed out about a dozen other things that I was constantly tired and therefore too exhausted to carry on normal tasks, which then added to the mountain.

Agh!!!!

I am not sure when/if life will return to “normal.” Hopefully soon.

So, in lieu of wordy blog fodder, here’s a little photo show for you of HAPPY events of March.

We checked out the Butterfly exhibit at Meijer Gardens. O loved searching for caterpillars on the plants.

Meijer Gardens has a beautiful orchid display, honoring Anne Frank, I believe.

Izzy went on her first swing ride and loved it from moment one. She's my adventurous girl!

Izza also got a little cuter last month. She does that every month. I'm waiting for my camera to break from the cuteness explosion.

O made a cute bird craft at MOPS. The sweet girl tried sharing the craft with her baby sister, who immediately ripped it up. O was so forlorn.

She was forlorn until we did our OWN bird craft together, adding a Daddy bird, a nest, and four eggs. On popsicle sticks. Problem solved.

And so you don't think I'm a complete craft slacker, I did manage to make these burp cloths for a friend having a baby in April. The gender is a mystery so this is my attempt at gender neutral. Ha!

Thumb Life

January 13, 2012 in Life, Random, Things I've Made | 7 comments

I need a good tagline yet. Any suggestions? So far I've got "Ordinary till you cross the county line." And the cover image isn't set in stone.

Well guys,

there’s a reason I haven’t been sewing as much and blogging as much about sewing.

Can you guess???

Okay, yes, Children have interfered. Illness. The Holidays. Mouse Wars. Social Life. Working Nights and Weekends.

But when I still find a few free moments here and there and those moments have been spent on Writing a Book.

There, to all of you who ever said, “You need to write a book!”

I am.

Who knows if/when I’ll finish it. What it’ll be like. But I’m doing it.

This, my 33rd year, is my year of adventure. My year to accomplish one of my life goals: write a book and put it on my bookshelf so as to admire it.

If I deem it sensible enough I may make a few copies to share. Mostly with you, you who have encouraged me to write a book. But this dream can only come true with a little help. Can you help encourage me? I can get easily discouraged when writing my book because I don’t want to do it unless it’s perfect. Or perfectly funny. Whatever. And for me, I can’t just sit down and write. The story has to come to me.

Good renditions of tales usually come to me when I’m relaxed and not stressed out. When I have had a significant amount of quiet to think. I won’t even be thinking about the story I write but then BAM, words are there in my head, stringing themselves together in clever ways. And if I can get to a computer, all is well.

The last time that happened was this summer when I was on vacation. I penned Buzz. And only those who took Biology in Mayberry will know who THAT one’s about.

So now instead of writing one tale every 1 to 2 years, I am trying to slap down 10 in as many months. A few I’ve already written (they still need editing and to be made longer if possible, though). The rest are just waiting to be told!

Crazy G

November 11, 2011 in Life | 2 comments

A quilt that G made for my Mom.

A few months ago I posted about my Grandmother, Crazy G. And the response was overwhelming. Between facebook and email and comments here, I was really touched by how that story touched so many people.

So I thought it might be nice to give you all an update on G. To ask for prayers for her. She is nearly 90 years old and her body is shutting down on her. The sad part is that I worry that her body will only partially shut down on her. That she’ll be stuck here on earth in a bed-bound state, her body hanging on while her mind has left years ago. She doesn’t deserve to be like this. I’ve been praying that either God takes her now or he completely heals her so she can have quality of life. If you’re the praying type, can you pray, too?

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