Hexi

Wow I've enjoyed this project.  Two weeks ago, I had a down day.  AKA the kids were playing well together, the cleaning was caught up, no activities were planned. I started this and slowly made 38 hexagons come together.  I say slowly because I did it by hand.  I loved it.

Then I challenged myself to sew the whole thing by hand.  I may be a little crazy! It may take quite awhile to actually finish this table square runner thing.

But since I've now moved onto the hand-quilting phase, I am still enjoying the process, though it does go slow.

It reminds me of how sometimes the simple things bring joy. I'm savoring this project!

Spring

I'm working on some new embroidery, which flour sack towels are my favorite for drying dishes.

However, do you see all the black labels, those are new colors I just bought today. Now do you see all the matches from my stash? Cleary Spring-tones are speaking to me.

Next up is using that green & yellow pile for a really cute March pattern I found on Pinterest!

Stolen

I stole a few minutes last week and whipped up a modern update for my knitting basket!

 With a super cute zipper pleated pouch!

 A small bird bag for my embroidery!

A dainty ruffle for my Bible Study notebook! 

Don't worry, I included a little something for my girl too!

Kitchen Refreshed

I have found a sewing friend who is a beginner. This week we made towels and aprons. I love that she lives 5 minutes away and when I text that my sewing machine is fired up, she packs up her 3 year old son and joins me!

Sewing Gadget

I've had this sewing gadget for about a year, but couldn't figure out how to make it work for my sewing needs! Well, I took it to CA and it basically replaces the need for chalk. It helped with straight lines and cutting and putting embroidery designs. It is like a Mark-B-Gone, but it evaporates after a few days OR has an eraser pen that erases immediately. Versus the Mark-B-Gone which uses water. I love both, use them both, but for something temporary like a straight line on fabric swatch, this is my new go to!

Netbook Pocket

New Dress, New Outfit

So what did I do with an old t-shirt, 1 yard of denim fabric, a fat-quarter of red printed fabric, and my new Gathering Foot for my sewing machine? Well, I made a new long mini-dress of course! I have some great navy tights with pale blue flowers on them, which will finish off this outfit! Of course I threw in my accessories into this picture too!

Dress My Temporary Nest

In my crazy attempts to make this boring-ly decorated apartment more like home, I have completed a few projects. First the doily pillow, found the idea in blogland and I used fabric Mom gave me. The ruffle is made out of Alexander Henry's bird fabric and I love it soooo much because Maizie's winter hat is the purple version.

Secondly, I finished this quilt in two days with one Moda JellyRoll! I made it a lap-size width but longer in length so James can use it! I am sooooo in love with the fabric colors and quality is fantastic! I spent over an hour working on hand-sewing the binding and only sewed a few feet. So this is my TV project for the next few nights!

Finally, here is a simple side dish I made last night with Wheat Berries (a grain with 7 grams of protein per 1/4 cup):

1/4 cup wheat berries, prepared like package instructions
2 cups of frozen peas, thawed
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup turkey bacon, diced
salt & pepper to taste

A Reason to Figure Out Crochet

Sometimes, I just need a little inspiration to gather the motivation to learn something or learn something better; in this case, Jennifer Paganelli Crochet Edge Pillowcase is just what I needed.


http://jenniferpaganelli.typepad.com/

Handmade Holiday

This year I made and gave many handmade gifts, and the ironic thing is I did NOT take any pictures. I'm hoping that the recipients take photos and email them to me. Then maybe I'll blog about them further~hint, hint!

Project Completion with some M&J

Change is coming again! So whenever I know things are going to change, I somehow find moments to surround myself with things that are familiar. Sewing is familiar. Sewing is creative. Reading about sewing is inspiring. Sewing is practical. Seeing pictures of other's successful projects in enjoyable. Bringing all this together is the few moments I stole this morning to remind myself of that which is familiar.

These pictures do not look as good as I had hoped. The skirt has accents of pink and lime green, so I chose to add the ruffle to the shirt in lime green. We all know how I feel about black and I would look at this outfit thinking it could use something...something less depressing. Insert some inspiration from ruffles and I love it now! This was a great little project for learning how to take t-shirt fabric, run a basting stitch on the machine, and pin to shirt! To make it fancy because Maizie is into being Fancy Nancy!

Here is my Little Buddy eating cheerio-type things! He struggles to put them in his mouth, but occassionally he gets one! This time it was funny because it looked like he had big teeth!

This is that precious day last week when she crawled up next to me on the couch, put her head on my shoulder, and fell asleep!

I call him the "MAD SCIENTIST" because his hair reminds me of Albert Einstein! It actually curls all over when it's wet and pushed up! Hummmmm...does that mean he'll have hair like Maizie's just blonde? Wouldn't that be adorable!

Project Completion & Domesticity

My Little Girl is having her 3rd Birthday on Monday and I've been secretly working on a few projects like these Fancy Nancy jammies & of course I made some for her baby Sophia too! I can't wait to see her reaction. She has this little book she picked out in KC and it's called Fancy Nancy Pajama Day. Basically, we read this story of Fancy Nancy wearing her PJ's to school...and we read it allllll the time! Maizie loves it. Fancy Nancy wears a white nightgown with lots of lace and ruffles, Maizie just thinks it's sooo beautiful! Previously before all this, Mom told me she needed measurements to make Maizie a nightgown AND robe, won't Maizie be surprised and feel so FANCY!!!



Here's is her birthday dress, which, truth be told, I started this summer! But hey it's finished now and in time for a perfect event! I loved sewing this, I decided at the last minute to change the straps to ties, I think it was a good move!



While still in Michigan I began the Eat-Clean Diet! I love it! For once, I feel as though all the knowledge I have gained about healthy eating, organic foods, varying proteins, and maintaining a healthy weight have come together! Here are a few of the meals I've made from Eat-Clean Diet Cookbooks and eat time I'm impressed with the simplicity and flavor of each recipe! The meal pictured above is Julia Child inspired with Eat-Clean guidelines Potato & Leek soup...simple 5 ingredients and we enjoyed this delicious soup with Roasted Garlic Parmesan Toast & a Smoked Mozarella Salad! Below is a simple pile of veggies on their way to be roasted in the oven, which is my new favortie way to cook & eat veggies. We picked up golden beets, red peppers, and a variety of other things at the St. Lawrence market!