Comfort Circle

My day!

2012-02-12T19:18:00.001-05:00

My big weekend started off with a big bang! My mom and sister came to Raleigh and we decided to go to Poole's in downtown. It is a super amazing restaurant that has wonderful food and equally amazing cocktails! This was the best short rib I have ever had in my life. Everyone loved their meal and we had a great time chatting over cocktails.

It has become so important to me to make time for family and to enjoy life. We are so happy with all the amazing news that has surrounded us lately. I think I smiled all day because it was filled with relaxation, family, silliness, and yummy food!

The Big Life

2012-02-06T11:16:00.002-05:00

I have had a crazy stressful but exciting January... February is shaping up to be the same. I may have failed to mention that I have a very very big birthday this coming weekend. I have plans to try to relax and pamper me. I have been working super hard on my feet and I am getting a massage to treat myself and care for my body. This is something that I realize that I don't do enough of. I don't do much exercise other than yoga or chasing the dog around the yard.

I would also like to do more for myself beyond exercise. I would like to have regular hair cuts and eat more wholesome food. I feel I have come to a point where I need this in my life.
I also realized recently how much relationships play apart in my health. I carry all stress in my back and shoulders. I have gotten to the point where I have weeded out very negative relationships in my life and worked to surround myself with those who truly love me for who I am. I know life will throw me curve balls, but I also know that I am not going to stand in a batting cage with the pitch machine turned all the way up.
I want to make more time to do the things that make me calm and smile.

We had some dear friends visit us from the mountains for the weekend. We did nothing more than tell jokes, eat great food and watch movies, but by far it was one of the best weekends that I have had in a long time. I am hoping for an even better birthday weekend. I guess I am showing my age, because I want the simpler things in life, that make me smile.

MacBook Case

2012-01-11T20:50:00.000-05:00

I had promised my hubby awhile ago that I would make a computer cover for his new MacBook Pro. I told him this to deter a 48.00 purchase at the mac store. It took me too long to make it but, it had everything that I wanted to include. It is made out of duck canvas. I used lots of thick and rigid batting to pad the computer.

I made sure it had a big enough pocket so the power cord is always with the computer. I ended up stitching a pen pocket to make the pocket tighter. The pocket and computer opening have a large tab and button closure. I like buttons over velcro normally. This is an awesome vintage blue button from my great aunt's stash.

I used navy micro fleece as a super soft liner. Then I used navy thread with a zig-zag stitch in order to create a pattern on the duck cloth and quilting it at the same time. Making case included a bit of trial and error. At first it was too loose and then too small. I had a time getting my Singer through all the layers of the padding and canvas. My arms hurt the next morning from force feeding the fabric. The top thread kept. breaking. It took many adjustments to get it finally. He started using it right after I made it and loves it. I just hope it wont get too dirty, since the duck canvas is a light color. Next time, I hope I can get projects done when I want to. The entire project only took me four hours. Most of the time was spent troubleshooting my pattern and the sewing machine thread tension. I love the modern look of the finished project.

Camera Strap Cover

2012-01-08T20:25:00.001-05:00

I made this camera strap from $5 worth of velcro, scraps of fabric I had and about fat quarter of fabric, and batting. I looked up the sizing of the camera strap (Its a gift, I didn't have one to measure) on the Canon website. Make sure you find the width and lenght of the exisiting strap and double that and add 3 inches. Most padded part of all straps are 20 inches, but look that up too.

I started by piecing Kaffe scraps to make one side of my strap. It was about 30 inches wide and 10 inch tall.

I sewed on the 20 inch Velcro piece along the pressed scrap pieces leaving 5 inches at the top and bottom. The opposite side of the Velcro was attached to the outer fabric onto the opposite side. This allows for the strap to be reversed! I layered the scrap side batting and stripe fabric and sewed almost all the way around. I flipped it inside out. Then pressed with the iron. Then I top stitched all the way around making sure to seal up my hole that allowed it to flip inside out.

I picked a favorite fabric of Kaffe stripe for the other side and included a folder over pocket for battery pack or card. Batting between the two pieces of quilting fabric makes the camera much sturdier.

The Velcro hides the strap and is set back enough so it wont scratch your neck..well my sister's. This was her birthday gift from me. Love ya Lady!

Obsessed

2012-01-07T19:44:00.003-05:00

I am sorry, I have abandoned the blog since the holidays. Honestly, I am not that busy. We have been home for a week, took down the decorations and I am working (hard), but I have time. The time I usually spend writing on the blog has been pinning on Pinterest. I am officially obsessed. I have spent hours pinning and scrolling. I love the concept. I am not one to want to steal others ideas and act like they are my own. That is why every picture on this blog I or my sister took. Or, I asked if I could use it. I like Pinterest because it is a great way of keeping track of all the super ideas and inspiration that I see out there, Now I can hold on it with out claiming it as my own. I LOVE it! Check me out!
Hope you are having a more productive 2012 than I am. Use with caution.

I have been productive, if you can define that as getting well deserved rest and relaxation and feeding my heart and soul so I can start the year off filled with awesome ideas.
I am also obsessed with the Camellias from my back yard.

Christmas & New Years Wishes

2011-12-20T19:40:00.003-05:00

We have big plans for the holidays. The next two weeks including driving two trips and seeing my entire side of family, a seeing a huge concert with lots of friends, quite a few parties and work between! I am honestly rather excited to get on the road. I am not really tired or overwhelmed. I have been very excited to start 2012. I have many things that I would like to accomplish. One of those things being selling a few of my creative items. I am not really a promoter and hope to work on this. Before I get to far ahead of myself, I thought I would reflect on this year.
2011 has been amazing for my little family. I got two job promotions and love my job. My hubby got his Masters Degree and became a Professor of Linguistics. We were able to travel and see lots of N. Carolina this past year.

The wonderful trip to OBX in May was a great time for our family and two graduates! We had a great time visiting my aunts home in the summer on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. This fall we went to the N. Carolina mountains for my mom and hubby's birthdays. We just got back from visiting my in-laws in Texas and had a great time.

Kuma is in heaven in the back yard this winter, after the hot summer we had. She is still all smiles and make us laugh everyday.

I created two quilts and quite a few other items, I still love creating and cant wait to get started on some other projects. Hubby has started on his applications for doctorate programs and continues his research and works hard on his beard.

We feel very fortunate for all that we have and we are so excited to see what the future has to hold for us.
We have big hopes and dreams for this up and coming year.
Wishing everyone a holiday season filled with Love, Laughter, Friends and Family!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Molly

Gingerbread!

2011-12-13T22:26:00.001-05:00

I saw on The Daily What where someone had made a gingerbread house that looked like The Weasley's home from HP, The Deathly Hallows. It is dang impressive. It made me think of this huge one we saw in Texas at The Gaylord in Dallas over Thanksgiving. This bad boy in Texas had over 40,000 pieces of candy stuck to it.

They had Shrek in Ice on the other side of the hotel and this was in the giant atrium with "gingy" on it!
It had a candy store inside where a single lollipop cost 5 bucks! We'll I am sure it was an expensive house to build on prime real estate.

I love how children have pulled off pieces of candy. I cant imagine myself doing that even as a child, nor would my parents allow it! I made one once out of graham crackers when I was in girl scouts. Its just not the same as these masterpieces! I must say it is rather folksy and crafty and it crys out to my creative side saying oh you know you want to make one!

Busy Little Elf

2011-12-11T20:21:00.001-05:00

I have been a busy elf as of late. I wanted to try to make as many gifts as possible. I have not only made gifts, but I am also making gift wrapping. I gave my mom a set of different fabrics and sizes last year for her gifts. She said she would use them again this year. I wanted more for my self to use and so I made these today.
My original thinking was that I wanted to get away from the bags and bags of paper and trash that are created every year from the wrappings on Christmas morning. I realized how special the handmade bags made the gift receiver feel, which is an awesome plus. So, I purchased more fabric in January again when Christmas fabric is on sale. I use ribbon and bells that I have had in my stash to cinch up the bags. The bells keep the nosey types from opening before Christmas. I hope to have these bags for many more years to come. I hope to make more in larger sizes. Would you reuse a cloth bag like this if your gift came in one?

Pretties

2011-12-07T19:42:00.001-05:00

I helped my mom polish silver recently before Thanksgiving. She keeps these hidden away in the chest most of the year. When she was a kid this is what her family ate off of every single day. They didn't own cheap stuff until she went off to college. This pie server above is by far my favorite. The etchings on the handle are absolutely beautiful.

These are the dessert forks. They are so small and delicate most are engraved with either a M or a W. I can tell the original set from the pieces bought in the 50's.

This is about the size of a soup spoon. I have no idea what this is really for. I love the cut metal part. I feel very fortunate that my family treated them with care even after eating off them everyday for 60 years or more. I would never eat off them everyday but, I will never part with them.

Shrek in Ice

2011-12-03T20:41:00.001-05:00

We went to Texas for Thanksgiving to visit my hubby's parents. They wanted to take us to do something cool. We went to the Gaylord Texan in Dallas. It is a huge hotel with an awesome lobby. This is the glass dome over head.

Palo Duro canyon replica had a giant twirling frosty. There were many other sweet decorations. There was a life size ginger bread house covered in candy, huge sleigh to sit in and trains that ran through a mini village.

Then we went to the convention center part of the hotel to see Shrek made out of Ice. It was 8 degrees in there. The block of dyed ice are carved for 2 months in a giant refrigerator by master carvers from China. In northern China, they make buildings and temples to walk through with lights embedded into the ice before carving. I think that would be so awesome to see. This was the most fun thing that we did in Texas.

It's crazy I look at Shrek carved out of ice and I see Mike Meyers. These guys are artist.

I loved how intricate the detail and the work had been done. They had eyebrows and eyelashes. There were about 10 different little scenes that had been carved and a giant ice slide and inner tube slide

That's me and my issued coat. It was really cold in there! I love Shrek and Donkey! The Gaylord Texan reconfirms that Everything is bigger in Texas.

Quilting as a Job

2011-11-16T15:51:00.003-05:00

I have thought more and more about how thankful for the fact that I have a job and actually really love it. I worked in a very stressful job for years prior to this one. I very rarely get stressed about work now. Generally, its more about dealing with my staff, the 19 and 20 year old girls that work in the stores. Don't get me wrong they are wonderful ladies, but there is always some silly stuff going on. I find that it is generally boyfriends, parties, or school that keeps them focused on thing other than being at work. I have gotten to a stage in my job where I have made mistakes, learned from them and mostly perfected a routine. There are always things like staff and shipping that you can't control completely.
I am truly amazed everyday when my husband walks in the door at work to surprise me. I love seeing his bearded smile. I am one lucky girl that he works across the street. I mean directly out the store door is his office on campus.
I know that I cant keep doing my job forever. I have nowhere to move up. I occupy the top position with out being member of the family (I work for family owned and operated businesses).
All these factors makes me want to find a business that I can run myself. Something that I could do out of my home. I really want to do something while having a family. I love making quilts. I think that I want to buy a really high quality long arm machine. Then I would be able to help people with their quilts. I could finish my own quilts much easier and sell them. I think I could really do this and make enough money off of it.

Now, I have to figure out how I can afford to buy the long arm.

Sunday Drive

2011-11-14T19:33:00.001-05:00

When I was out of high school I did a lot of driving, not just back and forth from the mountains (college) to home. I also took many long distance trips including driving to CA from NC, and NC to Chicago and New York. I loved to drive and would travel great distances with out stopping. I never just pulled to the side of the road and got out to look around or take a picture. If I stopped there was a purpose; gas, food, sleep or when nature called. I loved to look out the window and watch the landscape change.

I drive very little now for many reasons. I have a 10 min commute to work, gas is expensive, and where ever I go the dog has to come with me! Also, we were involved in a horrific accident going 75 mph on the interstate with a tractor trailer that just pulled over on us and totaled our car. This accident happened over 5 years ago but, I have never really gotten over it. I rarely drive on the interstate and generally make hubby take on that task. I could drive from my home to my parents on I-40, instead I choose a mostly 2 lane hwy.

I find myself wanting to stop every mile to take pictures on the Sunday afternoon drive home. The sun is low and red. It creates a beautiful light to take pictures in. I resisted stopping until I got to the lake, I will admit I was talking to my boss and the phone kept cutting out on the hwy. It was perfect way to finish the conversation and feel safe while stepping out on my own and taking some shots.

I have changed how much I travel and which route I take but, I get to take a look at things closer. I stop along the way and take my time and enjoy my travel. Even though, it is not as adventerous as I once was. I have chose a beaten, slower path and have taken this 3 hour drive near 60 times and see something new every time. I get to see the real North Carolina. These lakes and trees and quite roads and farms are what I think of when I recall my road trips through my home state.

My Playground

2011-11-12T14:13:00.003-05:00

This is my Dad's yard and house. The land was purchased almost 30 years ago outside of the Charlotte city limits, in what I always viewed as the country. Charlotte has grown in leaps and bounds since then and so have the trees on his property. The house is now in the Charlotte city limits and near one of the busiest parts of town. While in the yard you are unaware of how close all this is. His home is a true oasis.
The house is considered passive solar. The sun shines in the high windows in the winter months and heats the tile floors and slab foundation in the main part of the house. In the summer the sun doesn't reach the windows and the ones in the back of the house are opened and the the high ceiling fans pull the cool air off the creek below.
When the land was purchased the lower back yard was a marsh land. Dad carved a trench out and the creek dug itself over time to almost 6 ft deep in some places. The scrub trees have been weeded out and large hardwoods were left. The canopy is very high and the yard lends itself to wandering around on the blue grass. I grew up playing under the canopy and in the creek.
Dad constantly maintains and cultivates the yard. It will always be a work in progress. He loves mountain homes that have stacked stone and wood. He is currently working on a bridge for a crossing over the creek to a path.

Vintage Clothing

2011-11-09T19:24:00.003-05:00

I am in love with these items of clothing that came out of my Mama's closet. I was helping her pick out and outfit of her own and was drawn to these on the storage side of the racks. I pulled these few items out and hung them in her sunny window. I enjoyed the outcome.

My mom was in high school in the late 60's and according to her, these Villager shirts paired with skirts were the uniform of the cool girls. She loved the blue and yellow shirts so much she has held onto them for 40 years. They are beyond being able to wear, but they are nice to appreciate. They are not preserved by any means and may never be. I still love the construction, the collar, and the tag where you can write your name in it. I see why she saved them.

The white blouse could still be worn if careful. I recall wearing it once as a teenager and it being small back then. The embroidery and smocking on the front and around the sleeves is gorgeous and all intact. It is probably my favorite except the velvet wedding dress from the 20's (I'll take a picture of that the next time I go home).

When my great-aunts passed they had no children of their own and so my mom and sister and I cleaned out their homes. Puggy had almost 30 of this dress in her closet. She made them all in different fabrics for different occasions. She was the same size as me, this dress fit me perfectly! It is a really great pattern, very flattering fit. Mama said that Puggy would come home from work with a 1 1/2 yard of fabric and whip up a dress for Church that week. I brought this dress home to wear with boots. I love it!

Fall has come home!

2011-11-07T20:45:00.003-05:00

I love fall, it is an amazing time of year in the East. I have traveled to Tennessee, Brookshires in Mass., NY, VA it is all beautiful and breathtaking when the oaks and poplars change. I lived in Boone, NC where people would drive from another state to look at the changing leaves in my backyard. The colors never ceased to amaze me when I would take the turn on the back roads in the Blue Ridge Mountains. There is something every year that gets me super pumped up when the trees around my home change.

Every area seems to boast about the trees. I see the beauty everyday, every where I go. I have been looking at these colors for a month a year my whole life. They make me feel alive. The pictures don't really do them justice. Its okay, my heart knows that golden yellow and scarlet red between the trunks and evergreens.

We took a walk around a lake near our home. It was amazing to take that breath of warm leaves on the ground as we made our path in the carpet they create. PS. That is Kuma's tail in the bottom right... I just noticed it.

It was a gorgeous day for taking a few shots around Lake Johnston on our 3 mile walk. The blue against the fall leaves and navy lake, I loved every minute of enjoying this opportunity to be outside and enjoying where I live. Its hard to imagine having much more beauty right outside your door.

Little Bit

2011-10-23T13:11:00.001-04:00

I have been completely in love with this gorgeous song for a long time. I get it in my head and the only cure I have found is to watch this equally amazing video. Lykke Li is beautiful. I enjoy watching her dance it is so organic and free. Oh, I could go on for days about this beauty, but just listen to the song and you'll see. I rarely talk about music on my craft blog but, it helps me clear my brain so I can think about crafty stuff. Christmas here I come. Must listen to "Little Bit" , one more time!

Strip Basket Making 101

2011-10-18T20:58:00.001-04:00

Fold ironed yard of fabric on long edge. Use rotary cutter and straight edge to make 1 inch strips

Chain stitch ends of fabric together.

Un-snip chain threads and roll in to ball.

Keep going.... this is going to be one huge basket.

NC State Fair

2011-10-17T20:17:00.002-04:00

I have mentioned that I love October and Fall many times. Since moving to Raleigh, October is even more exciting because its the NC State Fair. We only live 15 min from this temptation. I truly enjoy going to the state fair. My favorite thing about the state fair is the Yesteryear's building (of course, Chocolate Dipped Frozen Nanners too). I love the rag rugs and sweet grass baskets, so much inspiration in a tiny building.

The report was there was 150,000 people were at the fair on Saturday! Dang it felt like it, I haven't seen that many people together in a long time. Honestly, it makes me a bit nervous to be in huge crowds like that. It was hard to get around. I enjoyed working that evening and talking to people and let it all pass around me.

McBride's Turkey Legs are totally worth the wait!

Giant Sweet Taters!

I love the hair on the top of the calf's head. He looks like a old man!

I can hear the fireworks at my house miles away. It is an impressive end to a whirlwind of a day.

Free Fabric

2011-10-09T19:32:00.001-04:00


I recently received a large box of upholstery fabric from my aunt. I couldnt say no to the beautiful fabrics, I have very little upholstery in my huge collection. I made a deal with myself that if I took the fabric that I would start immediately trying to make stuff and use it up, or donate it. I am running out of room to hoard all this stuff.

From the box this beautiful floral brocade yelled jewelry roll at me. I found a coordinating yellow in the box as well for the inside. I did very minimal cutting, instead of using a pattern. I decided to make the jewelry roll the size of the brocade scrap that I had. I also used ribbon from a bag of ribbons that I picked up at the flea market for 50 cents. The only thing that I purchased was the thin zipper. I paid 1.50 for that. I am very pleased. For such a small price, was able to recycle and create beautiful gift.

This one is for my aunt! Thanks aunt Dee! I hope she like what I made for her. There is much more coming out of the box!

Mama's Bag

2011-10-08T21:48:00.001-04:00

I made this purse for my mama. She came to visit last weekend and we just hung out around Raleigh, eating good food and doing a bit of shoe shopping. My mama just retired from her state job of 30 years! I am so proud of her. She seems so excited about the future ahead. If I retired I would buy myself a new sewing machine and sew away.

This bag has the inside is the top of blue jeans that I recycled. I just sew the zipper and legs closed. It makes great pockets with out all the work. I cut the leg of jeans into strips and make these awesome bowls. I like how the stripes are on the side pleat and strap.

Here are the morning glories that are creeping up my fence still. They are amazingly resilient through the blazing summer and hung on into the fall. I still have slugs chewing up the leaves. I have been excited to turn off the A/C and open up the windows. Happy Fall Ya"ll !

Large Crochet Bowl

2011-10-07T22:21:00.001-04:00

I finally decided to cut up the three yards I had of this fabric when I discovered that something had cut through it while on the bolt, there was a small hole every 2 feet or so. I inherited this fabric in a move as well and was never attached to it. I loved the small pattern and neutral colors. It matches my decor, but I am willing to part with it. I used the rotary cutter to cut 1 inch strips. At the machine they were chained stitched the ends together. It took me about 1 hour to cut and sew the strips and then about 30 minutes in front of the TV trimming the chain apart and rolling two larges balls. It is fairly large bowl, from this point I am moving up. It is much larger than a plate size. I hope to go up at least 1 foot with the other ball. I love it already! The small print looks great all knotted up.
This crochet project does hurt my arms so I can only do so much at a time. I does progress rather quickly.

Loosing a Loved One

2011-09-19T20:31:00.001-04:00

I have a friend that lost her father over the weekend, I am overwhelmed with sadness. It is odd, I don't know her well or have ever met her father. The few moments that I spent with her recently she seems depressed, not overwhelmed with emotion. I left her house and fell apart. She always seems sad, a bit like me. I have lost a lot in my life. So has this friend, she lost her mother to cancer at young age and seems to me that she has seen a lot at her age. I am not that much older, 8 years, but we seem similar. I have seen a lot that makes me sad about life. As my friend has, I too have lost a lot of people who meant the world to me. It is hard sometimes for me to have strong relationships with people I like, because I know it all goes away in the end. I want to tell my friend that things get better, easier with time. I can't tell her lies. It just fades away and it pisses me off that I can't remember. I miss faces, hands, laughs, smells that are getting weaker and weaker each day. How do you preserve this?

Pictures aren't the same but it can help. Video is nice...but takes planning before time of death. Who knows that? I wish I had a book, for the people I've lost, like I made for my autistic student when I left teaching. It was a picture of me an who I was and I why I was proud of the student and what we had learned together and then blank pages he could write to me when he was sad/ frustrated about my departure. This was a great healing tool for him and in my opinion would be for those who lost a loved one. It would also help me not forget those details about the ones I lost in this life.
Wake/ funerals are just odd and a whirlwind of people you don't know. I think folks would say that my book idea is a tad morbid, I think that funerals are worst. I need closure and departure but a funeral should be more for the living than the dead and mostly it is geared for the dead. The person's soul should shine through the day and be celebrated, cherished and honored.

That typically sad day ends and the sadness continues with nothing to do with the emotion and pain that you hold on to for ever. There is not a happy memory that I look back on and the tinge of sadness is non-existent, there is not a moment that I wish that person was not there with me on this earth in this life, I am selfish. It has not gotten easier, the funeral was not closure. I am unsure what I believe of the after life. All I know is they are not here with me and dreams and a red-tailed hawk*** are not suitable substitutes.
I know that every thing is cyclical and you can't have one with out the other but, again I am selfish, I am unsure how the loss I felt at the age of 3 and many times after has any real positive effects. I would never be able to weigh the positive effects if those people had been left in my life. I feel very certain that things would have been very different. People would say 'things happen for a reason', I just don't buy it.
If I cant have those people back then at least tell me why or let me hold on to memories forever with out fading.

*** ill explain the red-tailed hawk stories when I feel inspired

I Love to Travel

2011-09-09T21:58:00.003-04:00

I had an awesome summer. We have much better jobs that have given us the opportunity to travel with our families this summer. My sister graduated with her undergrad in May and a week later my hubby finished his master's degree. That weekend we took a trip to the Outer Banks of NC with my mom, sister and hubby's parents and some of our good friends too. We had a great week.

A month later we took a trip to Indian Beach and Beauford, NC for a friends wedding. The reception took place on the wharf in Beauford. It was wonderful weather and allowed Jason and I celebrate our 4th anniversary.

In July, we took a trip to visit a close friend who had relocated to Asheville, NC we had a great time drinking, telling stories and hanging out in the mountains.
Last month we were able to visit my dad in Charlotte, NC and cruise the lake and swim in the coves. My mom also arranged for us to go to the coast of VA to visit our Great-aunt at her home. I loved that trip and still look back on that trip with much fondness.

Over Labor day weekend, we went back to the mountains to celebrate two awesome birthdays and found ourselves floating on the river, eating great food and relaxing.

I am heading to Charlottesville, VA this weekend for work. I have a lot to do at the store while I am there, but it is always nice to get back to the cool mountains. I wont have an opportunity to really enjoy the area. At least I get paid to travel to somewhere rather awesome.
I can only hope that this fall and winter will afford us the opportunities to travel more.
We already know we are traveling to Dallas, TX for Thanksgiving. We are trying to make plans to get to New Hampshire for the birth of our friends' 1st child and Eugene, OR to check out the doctorate program for my Hubby.
I also accomplished a lot of craftiness!! That's for next post!

Brevard, NC

2011-09-08T22:00:00.004-04:00

Zinnias and monarch near the cabin at "Down to Earth" in Brevard, NC. We took a family vacation over Labor Day to celebrate my Mom and Hubby's milestone Birthdays.

The French Broad that we later floated down in a inner tube, it was lovely and cool.

View towards Tenn. from the Pisgah National Park. It was really overcast and rained the entire morning of the last day, but we had awesome weather prior.

Falls near Graveyard Fields, this photo doesn't do it much justice but, it was Labor day and it was very busy and tons of people. It was hard for us to get a shot that didn't have a human body part in it. It was beautiful and there were hints of fall in the air.

One of the Cabins similar to ours. The cabin we rented was two story and had a wrap deck with table and grill. They all had beautiful stain glass in most windows and simple decorations and tons of books to read. The creek near by was a nice touch. I didn't take a picture of our cabin. The whole thing was covered in kudzu. It was odd in a quaint way. We had an awesomely relaxing weekend.

Kaffe Quilt

2011-09-06T22:07:00.000-04:00

Here is the quilt top taped to the hardwood floor. I was preparing to add the back and batting. I do not use binding. It is not traditional or a particularly good way of making an amazing Kaffe quilt. I honestly am afraid of using a binding. I have never seen anyone put one on, I think that would be all it would take. I am a visual person and I grasp things if I can watch someone. I don't do well with written or spoken instructions.

The quilt on bed at the house we rented this weekend in the NC mountains near Brevard, NC.
The sky light highlighted it perfectly.

I stitched in 'the ditches' on this one between the diamonds. I like the way it turned out. It allowed the patchwork to show off. Creating the patchwork is seriously my favorite part of making a quilt. I hate putting them together. It is heavy and alot of effort. I am not a perfectionist so it never is as good as it should be, its the love I put in it. I think of the person that I am making it for a lot and send them my love as I make the item. It is easy to think of my amazing Mom!

Here is my happy Mama with her quilt. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you! She absolutely loved it.

Kaffe in Pieces

2011-09-05T20:06:00.003-04:00

I made this Kaffe quilt for my Mom's Birthday this past weekend. I was unable to share the process of making this quilt for fear she would see. I picked out the fat quarters for the most part back in February. I have been thinking about and planning this quilt for quite sometime. Of course I left the task of quilting until the morning of leaving for the trip. I am a major procrastinator. It is a genetic thing I believe. I am however more proud of the work that went into this quilt more than anything I have ever made. I absolutely love this quilt. Here area few shots from construction.
Rough rectangles that I pressed, starched and trimmed to perfection.

My two different sides of the triangles

Here are my triangles laid out on the futon. The instructions in the Kaffe Fassett book made it impossible to mess this quilt up. They were simply detailed instructions.

I love this shot on the clothes line, even if I forgot to rotate the picture before uploading. This is just the top no borders, no backing. My diamond points do not match up perfectly, Kaffe may not be as proud as I am of this quilt. Hey, it was my first of hopefully many more.

Tornado, Earthquake, Hurricane...Time to Quilt

2011-08-27T12:19:00.003-04:00

We had a tornado had a back in the spring that was life changing, on Tuesday the earth shook beneath our feet here in Raleigh from the earthquake in VA. Today, I am sitting here huddled on the couch with my hubby watching footage of the hurricane Irene battering our NC coast line. We too are seeing affects of the storm. Lots of debris on the road, bands of heavy rain and super gusts of wind. Overall a grey nasty day. We are not suffering here only the poor palm on the deck has been pushed over twice. There has been many reports of flooding on the Pamlico Sound near New Bern. People are in their attics with 12 foot storm serge in their bottom floors. It is heart breaking to watch. Sand and debris is blowing in some places while it is being washed away in other areas. It is really hard to think about all the clean-up that it will require. We are feeling very fragile, small and vulnerable. It is challenging for me to watch the world around me crumbling and changing. I want to think of things as static, but days like today remind me how little I can control on this earth and how ever changing they are. The one thing I can count on, is how much I enjoy making quilts and how calming it is to me. So, it is time to go quilt and turn off the TV.

I leave you with two more lovely shots of last weeks North Carolina State Flea Market. I Love NC!

Crochet for Babies

2011-08-26T10:01:00.000-04:00

I have 3 friends/family members expecting babies in the next few months. I have been working on hats, booties and eventually a sweater. I was having a hard time deciding what colors to go for, because I don't know the sex of any of the babies. I finally settled on a pale green and white combination. I am happy with it, fairly gender neutral. I worked in a baby section of a department store at one point and I absolutely hate how baby clothes are super specific to a gender. It is very hard to find gender neutral clothing. I love making handmade items for babies. It takes much less supplies and time to create a one of a kind cherish-able gift.
I have had a hard time finding free patterns of things I like. I like a more simplistic modern style. Most free patterns I find are from the 60's/70's with crazy decoration on it. I have made all the hats up as I go along and ripping out rows if I don't like it. I think this is why I am afraid of knitting because you cant rip out rows if want a different size. I am a bit concerned about trying to do the sweater with out a pattern. I have looked at quite a bit of images and I know what I want. I am just not sure about making the shoulder join to the sleeve. I will keep you updated on these projects.

Farmers Market Ya'll

2011-08-24T22:01:00.001-04:00

Yummy grape tomatoes.

These are funny little mini-eggplants "Kermit" they totally remind me of Kermie's eye balls. They were about the size of a ping pong. I wish I knew how to cook more vegetables like this one.

These are gooood tomatoes.

Amazing Apples!

I am blown away that these apples are here, is it fall? They are very tasty evident of the summer sweet heat and rain we have had recently.

Oak City Treasures

2011-08-23T22:11:00.000-04:00

Its become a thing to go to the flee market on my weekend off. I never really had weekends off since I was 16 and had my first job. Well, maybe not that long but, it has been awhile. I am enjoying, it makes me smile.
I have been looking for small home decorations that remind me of NC. I recently found this oak leaf shelf at the flea market. The guy wanted $3- sold! I love this little shelf it is awesome for the crystals and shells I have collected.

I really liked the Indian bags that were made of leather and woven pieces. They wanted too much for the bags. I would have bought if they weren't $40, I am sure they are worth it but, I wasn't that loaded.

One guy had all of these large pieces of coral. I am not sure what I would do with it but, they sure are pretty. I love organic forms. Yes, those are my green toes and hubby's abnormally long ones. Not pictured prizes are NC state glass with wolf. maybe 70's for $2, and a Jersey for hubby, NC state Basketball- I think he paid $7.
We did rather well and had a bit left over for the farmers market. Pictures Tomorrow

Good Summer Eats!

2011-08-11T21:25:00.002-04:00

Have I ever mentioned that I live really close to the NC state farmers market... so close that it is dangerous. We have had fresh corn and peaches in our home for the last 2 months. I am not really sure what I am going to do with out it. I buy the peaches from Pee Dee Orchards stand at the farmers market, there are many other options but, theirs are the best, sweet and juicy. Their orchards are loacted in the Sandhills part of NC. We drove past the hwy road stand every time we went to my Mom's hometown when I was a kid. If we timed the drive right you could stop to get homemade peach ice cream. The Pee Dee Orchard family produces an amazing tasting freestone peach.

The lady who sells the corn out of the bed of her truck wears a shirt that says, "Born to Sell Corn". I love it, I love her sweet southern drawl too! You can get Silver Queen from other trucks, but my lady sells a variety of corn called Delirious. Oh my, it makes me feel really delirious, it has a crisp and creamy flavor. It makes me delirious happy to pay her $5 to get 20 ears of corn.
Hubby makes a mean meal and made an awesome piece of Sockeye with cool fresh herbs on top. Don't you wish you could come eat dinner with me?
If you are really nice I might try to make a peach cobbler. It wont be as good as my grandmother's. I haven't actually made one of these this summer. I feel this is a dessert that requires vanilla ice cream. I quit eating dairy about 8 months ago and I haven't enjoyed any ice cream replacement since (or found one under $3).
Can say that I made the tabbouleh, I wish I could say that the tomatoes came from our garden. Ours just didn't make it in the heat. There are fabulous heirloom tomatoes that have an amazing flavor and texture at the farmers market. We are so fortunate to have the treasure of the farmers market so close, but sometimes we wish there was a CSA option at the farmers market that was affordable. We are not vegetarians and Hubby is a well versed cook, but we lack the time to prepare food. I wish I was a better planner with food. The corn and peaches are wonderful rather immediately. Brussels Sprouts and Eggplant are not and greens go bad too fast. I think I am need to learn how to can peaches and freeze corn so I can have it in January.

Still a Kid

2011-08-08T22:00:00.000-04:00

I am close to being on this earth for ahem, 30 years. I still feel like a kid, with more responsibilities I don't really want. I am messy, sightly irresponsible and still trying to get a hang on what is going on out side of my brain. There are things that I have not lost, and do not plan on loosing. 1. Love of friendship bracelets. I made many back in the day. We started selling these at the store and I fell in love all over again. This falls right in lines with wearing stacks of colored bangles, I do this on the regular also. I have hardly taken off the colorful patterns of the friendship bracelets 2. Doodleing....I also have done more henna drawings. I have a blast doing it. I like doodles, free flow drawing. I am not very good at it but, something in my being wants me to do it. Henna is an awesome medium for me as is a thin tip prisma color. 3. Is swimming in a river/ lake. I don't do this enough. I crave to swim in water the color of the earth and smell like rain. I love finding a cool spot and balancing on a float until I become like a prune. I am a water child. I need it, it needs me. Floating is something I must do more and hope to do this weekend with my Dad at the lake.

4. Swinging,

high,

working hard,

and getting up there,

pumping my legs and flying.

Laying back,

locked elbows,

knees straight,

toes pointed.

Soaring through the air weightless,

careless.

Business Statement to Live By

2011-08-06T07:39:00.002-04:00

Continue the traditional crafts skills by bringing them into today’s environment.

This is what I do and want to develop!

Handwriting and Books

2011-07-29T20:43:00.005-04:00

I come from a long line of ancestry buffs on all sides of the family. I spent many childhood summer days with a family member in particular who wanted me to take an interest in my family history. Of course, I didn't really appreciate it at the time. I did fall in love with old handwriting, and would attempt to decipher it. Folks took their cursive seriously back in those days. They wrote captivating prose. You get a true sense of who the person is who wrote it. It is not a simple automatic response but with a narrative. I truly love seeing the original papers much more.
A cousin recently found a copy of a relative's old will in state archive.This lawyers hand writing is tight and precise. He uses a lot of legal rhetoric which is entertaining. I took pictures of the photocopy not for documentation of the content, but for the love of handwriting. I now enjoy looking into my ancestry lines and can get a super kick out of finding handwritten documents like that.

I also love books, especially really old books like these from the turn of the century. Such beautiful gilded binding. Oh, smell of the pages and the crack of the spine. I am in love! I don't dare open these.

All Complaints Aside

2011-07-24T20:07:00.000-04:00

I was recently complaining about how the nasty heat has killed my oasis of a backward. I failed to mention that my yard is full of blooms. We have a crape myrtle in the front yard that is going nuts.

Along the fence in the back I still have sunflowers, the smaller ones now. The morning glories took over this sunflower stock. Oh I love that dark purple!

This is the real beauty. This is our potted Hibiscus that was headed for a dumpster. When my hubby brought it home it was two sticks off a nub of a trunk. It has been with us for years and only bloomed once before that I recall. Hubby put coffee grounds in it this summer and it went nuts. I counted 12 buds the other day. She is a real beauty now, so green and bushy too. The summer hasn't been so harsh on some things... they actually seem to love it. Just wish I did.

Shell Necklaces and Earrings

2011-07-22T19:25:00.002-04:00

This project comes from two friends who stayed at our house after a family trip to the beach and before their trip to Chile to visit an orphanage. The were returning and wanted to bring small items for gifts. They picked up shells with tiny holes at the top. I taught them how to tie slip knots so the necklaces could be adjusted short and long (Yeah Girl Scouts!). We made quite a few. I loved how this turned out and thought it would be a great project with a few knot tying skills with kids.

The rocks were for the boys and our friends tried writing on them. I think we needed a better ink pen than a sharpie, but it wasnt bad.

We also made earrings. The ladies had sets of shells, I always loved picking these up. They were thankful for my love of craftiness. I had a few materials to help them with. E6000 being one and earring backs being the other. They loved how these sets of earrings turned out.

These gifts were almost free and super awesome. They are items from NC coast. My friends said they had a hard time thinking up gift ideas that weren't too showy or unusable. They were going to workers and children in the orphanage. I hope they really enjoyed giving these out.

Summer Kaffe Quilt

2011-07-21T18:18:00.000-04:00

Here is a sneak shot of a project I have had in the works for awhile. I need to rap it up soon. If I get too comfortable with the mess a quilt creates, the project will never get finished. I have truly loved working with the Kaffe fabrics. The quilt is a play on the dark and lights. It has been a crazy last few weeks off with every moment off of work planned out. That has come to an end for awhile. It is also become so incredibly hot here in the south, all I want to do is be inside near an air condition vent. I had beautiful sunflowers, tomatoes and green grass that is now a crispy brown. Really wishing I had a swimming pool right now. Hope to be able to show you the finished product soon on the quilt.

Great Aunts House

2011-07-20T21:13:00.000-04:00

I have a great aunt that is 92, she lives off a finger of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. She is a staunch democrat and environmentalist and historian. She lives in a home that was built in part of a 1800's farm house. It was added on to a few times with close attention to detail. She has a wonderful eye for antiques and decorating. We picked a wonderful weekend to visit. There was a nice cool breeze the entire time we were there. She has no air condition.

She lives on a few acres of land that consists of two fields split by this cedar lined driveway. The cedars were planted in the late 70's it is amazing how big they are.

Part of the family sitting on the dock. We had a great time together visiting, laughing and educating.

I took many pictures but, this is my favorite. I couldnt help but feel that the rest of our family who is no longer on this earth was with us in heart and spirit. I found it very healing to be in her home and with my family on such a beautiful weekend.

Pink Bunny For Emily!

2011-07-17T19:14:00.001-04:00

My niece turned 1 years old today! Happy Birthday Emily, we love you very much.
I made her this bunny and blanket last week before we went on a family vacation.
I know she will love the snuggle bunny! I looked at a few images on flicker and then freehand cut the pattern. I was really happy with the way it came out. I embroidered the eyes and mouth. She is slightly sad looking. It grew on me. I made the blanket from a scrap from the quilt I made for her when she was born. She has unstuffed arms and legs with knots tied at the ends. Her ears are also unstuffed which makes them super floppy. She would be fun to tie around your arm or stroller. She also has a a sweet dress that can be removed. No bunny is complete with out a fuzzy tail. I almost forgot....but found a scrap of santa hat trim. It worked perfectly. This project in total took me 4 hours. I loved every minute of making her. I will be making more very soon.

Kate and Wills

2011-06-26T19:25:00.005-04:00

So, yes I went there, and yes it is totally off topic. I am also not the type to keep up with celebrity doings, but I am having a total lady crush on Kate!

Look at this dress. She looks amazing! Oh and the hats! I love the hats! Why is that not appropriate here? Here being southern US. My mom has a nice set of vintage hats that were my great aunts. I just don't see me rocking them on top of my curls. Just saying.

Ohhh Babies

2011-06-01T21:02:00.002-04:00

Not Me Folks but, I found out two people I know are having babies. My Step-sister and her hubby are having their second and our good friends are having their first. We are so happy for them all! Of course I am excited for rather selfish reasons, other then getting to hold sweet little babies in 7 months... I get to make super awesome baby gifts! I love baby stuff. I worked in the baby section in a dept. store. It was awesome inspiration. I all ready have a few ideas floating in my head. Baby stuff is also super easy to make and always makes it that much more special. I have made a few items for my niece and nephew (who are almost 1 now!). I made a flannel quilt and baskets and these soft baby toys. How about a bag with a changing mat? More baby stuffed toys? How about a little outfit? Maybe these precious booties.

My FAVE

2011-05-24T19:40:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love this new Anna Maria Horner Fabric collection. It is all beautiful. I cannot wait to get my hands on some!
She also has new beautiful embroidery threads. Lovely color choices.
Check her out
Anna Maria Horner

OBX Trip

2011-05-21T21:43:00.001-04:00

We went to the Outer Banks of NC to celebrate 2 family graduations, My hubby got his Master's degree from NCSU. My sister did interior architecture at UNCG. We had a blast this weekend. I took 200 pics this week. These are just a handful of my favorites. We all had a rather relaxing weekend. Lots of beach walks, pool lounging, sunset watching and good eating occurred. The large sand dune and sunset pictures were taken at Trail 2 on Jockey's Ridge. The beach shots are Kill Devil Hills Beach.

My hubby and FIL. I love this shot because I really dont generally like shots using a super zoom.

The Rose Garden

2011-05-01T18:46:00.000-04:00

This lovely rose garden is blocks from work and is tucked behind The Raleigh Theater.
I had too much fun taking pictures today. The sun had a great cloud filter today. The Garden was filled with flower gazers and picture takers. It is an awesome gem!

Kuma really liked it too! She kept putting her nose in the air.

These blooms were as big as my face!

Check out all the colors and varities.

Me and my sweet potato.
On a side note: This is one of my most fave dresses ever! My grandmother gave it to me years ago. I always thought it was an aunts...Nana recently told me otherwise. It is a Lilly Pultizer vintage 1960's. It is not in great condition, stains, broken zipper, ciggarette burn, frayed hem, odd straps. I thankfully did not do any of this damage...I could never forgive myself. I love the seersucker weight fabric and the print! It just so happens that it fits me perfectly. I wont give it up. It is also yellow which I love!

Henna Designs

2011-04-27T12:45:00.007-04:00

I am in love with using Henna. I get it from my favorite one-stop-shop, Sugar Magnolia. They have tubes of the pre-mixed Henna for $4.50. I have seen it for $15 at big craft stores, of course those are crazy colors that don't last as long. I love the traditional rust red color that it turns into anyway. I have seen many customers using it, they have amazing detailed patterns. I started off looking a few design books that Sugar has. The patterns and images on flickr were inspirational as well. I noticed that no two were remotely the same. Then it makes it so much more personal if the designer creates their own patterns.
I love flowers and mandala circles. I did use a few key design elements from the images I saw on flicker, the dark three leaves and lotus pattern can be seen. The rest I came up with as I went along. It took me about 40 minutes to complete the mini sleeve. The tube squeezes out a very consistent thin line. Much like a pastry bag to put on icing. Start big... the smaller your pattern the harder it is. It can be wiped off with minimal stain with in 1-3 minutes of application. Keep paper towel near by to dab the tip on or wipe away crazy lines.

Now, sit still. I find it is a very calming meditative task. I don't find it hard to sit for a while holding my arm up awkwardly, my hubby thinks I am nuts for taking the time to do something that takes forever to dry and only lasts 4-5 days if you don't scrub it. Mind you that is coming from a guy that has a few large tattoos. I am sorry I am just not into pain. This just tickles and you have to sit still for awhile. Its a cheap summer creative fun.
I used about 2/3 of the tube. I just put the yellow pin back in and put in a baggie to use later. I keeps for awhile in a normal temp. environment.

These images are of after it sat on my skin for about 20 minutes. It is dry to the touch but has a nice crust formed. After this happens you can move a bit more freely. Try not to peel it off at this point. The longer that you and leave it on at this point the darker that it is when you peel it off. You can tell when it is done because the lines crack and little pieces flake off. Patience and sitting still is key to having clean dark lines.

This is the next day. I actually leave it on all night. I would not recommend doing this, you will wake up with little black pieces in the sheets. As Leah puts it, little ants.

I love it on my finger tips. I thought it was really interesting that they black out their fingerprints in some of the traditional patterns. I need to find out why...Do you know?

I had to throw in a precious furry face that sat next to me the whole time to feed her. She has patience for days!

More Tornado Pics

2011-04-26T19:45:00.000-04:00

This building was not in great shape to begin with but its one of the first mill homes in Caraleigh.

There were a few huge poplars in this yard that they cleared out one already but you can still see the other one in the back. This was a beautiful yard! Now it is just piles of tree limbs.

Look at the size of that trunk that fell on top of this house. It has no glass in any windows. Fence is gone, Cedar is from a block away that ended up in the street.

This was a auto body shop across the Expressway from my neighborhood. It is less than four blocks from my home. Roof gone while the owner was untouched inside.

Tornado Links

2011-04-25T23:08:00.001-04:00

This is what it looked like in my neighborhood right after the storm hit.
http://www.wral.com/weather/image_gallery/9484158/
Unfortunately, I am in the very last picture walking the dog down the side of the road under I-40

Tornado Recovery

2011-04-24T18:27:00.001-04:00

This used to be our fence line. There were large trees through it. The house below is about the only two story house in the neighborhood. It had lot of damage. The tree that fell on it was cleared quickly. The chimney fell into the roof as well. There were three very large Oak trees in their yard that are now in their neighbors yard. It is crazy!

Today, I thought about rebirth on many levels. The most major rebirth on my mind is my neighborhood. I cry everyday when I drive to and from the house. It is heartbreaking the effect that a 2 minute long tornado had. It is a slow process and I know it will never be the same. It has been hard on all of us and my neighbors since it came and destroyed so many lives, houses, business and trees. These are a few shots from my neighborhood I took today. mind you this is almost 10 days after the tornadoes came.

There used to be 4 more huge oak trees here. The church is to the right with lots of broken windows.

These are what is left of the business that are three blocks from my house. These buildings no longer have roofs.

Life is Crazy!

2011-04-18T21:22:00.000-04:00

So, on Saturday I worked an outdoor festival in our city downtown square, at 2 we were told to pack up and leave due to a strong storm system heading our way. We packed up our tent and got back to the store about that time sirens at the campus across the street went off and we were informed to seek shelter due to a tornado. It passed very quickly and with lots of force. We were fine in the store and then quickly realized that others were not so fortunate. My neighborhood was leveled, thankfully our home is fine except for limbs on the house, missing shingles and demolished fence and yard. I live in a beautiful historic mill community with amazing small 100 year old homes. My hubby and dog were at home and were told to evacuate due to a gas main break and down transformers and power lines. I left work and got on I-40, because many lights were out. I got off I-40 a mile from my home and was told that I could not drive further. I walked up the deserted 8 lane highway to get to hubby and Kuma. It was a war zone and smelled of gas in the air. Large warehouses are gone, 70 year old businesses are missing roofs and flattened, 200 year old oak trees are shredded. Many houses are missing roofs just not there or have trees through them. I also know that some of our neighbors lost their lives. I was stopped by many neighbors to see if I was OK and asked if we needed help. I am so humbled by the experience and thank god that we are all safe and together and that so many were concerned with our safety. This storm system created 65 tornadoes across N. Carolina. It is terrible. My thoughts are with all those that are less fortunate than us. We are in a hotel thanks to our parents and will continue to be here until the neighborhood is no longer declared a disaster zone. I am hoping that comes much sooner than later.

This image was taken by a student on the 15th floor of the Campus Library looking in the direction of my neighborhood. You can see the dark center tornado.

Flea Market

2011-04-10T20:30:00.003-04:00

I have been on a hunt for chairs. We are having a party and we have no chairs. I am trying to keep it cheap and non-plastic, I have been to four consignment shops, and scooped out a few yards sales. I also went to Shelton's in downtown Raleigh on W. Morgan. I loved that spot. The older man that works there is not the nicest of man, but they do have a heck of a lot of awesome finds. I bought a sweet mid- century side table. Still is not a chair but, I love it and had to have it! Ill show you later. I also went to the Flea Market as it was closing up.

I have mentioned this before, but I would like to reiterate how much I personally enjoy the NC State Fair Grounds. I live 10 mins. from this awesomeness! I took my sister on the way back from Chapel Hill. My sister actually took these shots with my camera, Thanks Lil! The top shot is looking into this giant cart that is filled with small cast iron figures, hooks, and plaques. This cart is always there. I look in it every time I go, one day I will buy something from the menagerie.

Lil and I love these crystal door knobs. Our great aunt had amazing cut glass/ crystal door knobs in her home that our family built in the 1910's. It was an amazing place to grow up visiting, these reminded us both of that house.

Someday, I will own a dress form, this one was old and difficult to size. Also, Uncle Sam didn't give me that much tax money back. I finally found a cheap chair that I bought from this dude who wears a black velvet top hat. He is very animated and conversational. Always makes me smile. I have learned to look for certain faces. Some booths are filled with junk, but most are awesome.

Journal Cover

2011-04-09T19:31:00.001-04:00

Here is the journal cover I made for my self recently. I am a list maker, doodler and all around space cadet. This requires me to always need paper and pen. I make many lists through out the day, most are work and shopping related. My favorite list are pros/ cons and bucket style lists. I have gotten to many goals in life from a silly list. Silly as it may sound this is a huge tool that has gotten me here today.
I needed something pretty to mask how busy those lists make my life.
I love the mix of these fabric scraps. The teal to the right gets folded over to make the lining, don't forget a ribbon and a pocket.

Here it is with the teal lining folded and pressed under.

Yellow quilting really made this item more modern. I found a perfect purple velvet button for the ribbon to wrap around the back. Next time I'll make it a tad roomier and pocket much longer. I still love it and did you catch that it matches my sun glass case?

Oh My, Its April?

2011-04-07T18:58:00.003-04:00

Wow, March disappeared. I have had grand intentions of trying to be better about blogging at least once a week, Ooops! Well, I am here now and that is what counts right? April started off cold, I was very concerned about the tulips that my hubby planted would not make it! Not all, but a lot did. I had yellow, dark pink and these orange tulips everywhere. It was super nice because they came in right after the daffodils finished up. I adore this shot of the tulips tucked in between the trunks of pecan trees. My hubby gets rather whimsical in his seed/ bulb placement. He was sooo excited about these coming up between the trees. I was a tad late in taking the shots. Most of the tulips have fallen open. However, it makes for an awesome display of colors. I hope to use the shot above in some artwork or masthead. I promise that I will try not to have just trees and flowers to show you. To be honest though, flowers, nature, and trees are a huge part of my life. I incredibly fortunate to live in N. Carolina surrounded by green and flowers. They are inspiring in many ways!

Rainy Spring Day

2011-03-26T19:31:00.007-04:00

Today was a rather cold gray spring day. I chose not to leave the house. Instead, I slept in, payed bills, did laundry, watched basketball and planned a graduation party for my hubby getting his Masters. I wanted to use this day to be crafty. I never get as much done as I want to but, I did put yellow edge on a few more granny squares. I love the first two rows that I put together way too early. There are other blocks I haven't even began, I generally don't move forward in my processes until the last task is finished. However, I always have multiple projects going on at once. I think that habit actually holds me back in creative exploration sometimes..I'll finish this someday!

I also found time today to make this skirt out of fabric I bought last summer. I had always pictured a skirt like this when I first laid eyes on this fabulous print. This fabric is way out of my general clothing color scheme. I tend to lean towards natural colors. for summer I will venture out of that box. I made it a bubble hem, It makes the hem look a little crazy in the photo. I used a heavier black fabric as the lining and cut it 5 inch shorter than the print. The waist line band is cut from a super thick stretchy knit. I have used this black knit for multiple clothing applications, this was the last scrap. Looks like I might have to take a trip to Mary Jo's to get more. I look for any reason to go to Mary Jo's!

Yard Art

2011-03-20T20:11:00.003-04:00

I found all of this glass in the new part of my backyard over the last few months. They sat in an old strawberry basket muddy and neglected for too long. I have had grand intentions on making some ode to Raleigh type project! I sat in the glorious sun and carefully rinsed these shards of glass. My favorite piece of treasure is the white and blue stoneware dish in the middle of the top picture. I have also unearthed two new bottles from the bottom of the pecan tree (not in photos)

There are parts of old and new glass, some have writing and designs. The white dish, in the front of the bottom photo has awesome lace pattern on the edge. After washing these pieces, I went right back out into the yard and found more. I sat under the pecan tree for awhile digging the two other bottles out. It was a little nutty acting, but everyone needs to be nutty acting sometimes!

Home!

2011-03-19T18:18:00.004-04:00

After my trip to VA i really wanted to relax and just walk around and take a few shots. I forced my hubby and furry one into going with me to the sculpture gardens. The NC Museum of Art was placed on a 25 acre plot of land that is not far from our house 10 minutes, if that. The old museum and the new museum (went there last year) are next to each other and close to the road. Behind the museums is miles of paths that link these awesome art installations. The one image at the top is my favorite from today. I also really like it because in Charlotte, my home town, the same artist created these "onion rings" at a intersection I drove through frequently.

Vollis Simpson created this amazing Whirlygig. He was a native N. Carolinian and a welder. I do believe that he past a few years ago. I know that at his home there are at least 30 of these 10-40 ft high structures all over his yard. I have made hubby promise me that we will go there soon. I think that it is so calming to watch. The entire structure rotates and spins in the wind. It was a perfect day for it to show off.

I took a few pictures in the yard as well, look what bloomed while I was gone! Mah, favorite!
Sunny yellow Daffodils!

Yeah Spring!

2011-03-14T19:31:00.000-04:00

I played with my babe today in the yard. Daylights savings has made it wonderful for playtime with the babe in the yard after work. She enjoys rolling in the yard after a good session of tug-of-war. Look at how green my our grass is!

The Daffodils in yard are up everywhere, not budding quite yet. I am feeling a bit nostalgic for home because I am traveling for my job tomorrow and will be gone for a few days. I am going to miss my babe, hubby and home for the next few days. It is awesome waking up every day to these wonderful parts of my life!

The Duke Gardens

2011-03-10T20:19:00.003-05:00

I promised to post some of the picture that I took on our day trip to Duke University. We went to The Duke gardens last weekend with my mom. I was in a early spring bloom. It was a overcast day, I was not expecting to see every part of the gardens being used. I was not really prepared that people would use it like a park; to play soccer, hold child's birthday parties, allow children to play in the water and fountains. I was expecting it to be more like an arboretum, where people tour around and look at the plants. I didn't take many pictures because there were people everywhere. It was also not that impressed with the cleanliness of the gardens either, grass was brown, dead lawn debris was all over the paths and trash was around. I know that we had a hard winter but, all of the grass was brown, I have a bright green yard 20 minutes away. Also, I am a huge fan of bulbs, especially daffodils. There were only tiny sparse patches of them. The front part of the gardens was under construction which also lead to my feeling of lack luster. The visitor's center was small and under used. The man inside never said "hello" or looked up the entire 20 min it took me to find a map on the wall and decide where to go.
I am not sure that I will take a trip to Duke anytime soon again. Maybe we'll have more fun at Chapel Hill!

Camellias and Stamps

2011-03-09T12:02:00.001-05:00

The Camellias are still going strong. I have picked many bouquets for the house. I wish I had a florist frog. Camellia stems are very twiggy and the heavy blossoms tend to want to turn the vase over. My Nana uses low flat vases with the frog to display hers. Out of all the vases that I have this is the lowest, not flat at all. The frog is heavy and spiky and holds the stems just in the right spot.

We have had even more beautiful days for me to take pictures. My mom came this past weekend and I showed off my Camellias. She referred to them as a "double camellia", obviously not their technical name. She said she had not seen many like them either. I am thinking about making a stamp of a Camellia based off of one the photos. That is a daunting task.

After my birthday, I was in a strip mall that has a Trader Joe's and an awesome art store. I still had birthday money burning a hole in my pocket. I was all laden with bags prepared for the zoo at Trader Joe's but, found myself walking across the parking lot into Jerry's Art-a-rama. I started off humbly picking out new colors of Prisma's out of the bin. Then it hit me! I have always wanted to make stamps. I read Geninne's Art Blog and she makes amazing stamps out of Mastercarve, check her out. I am a hoarder of many things, including stamps. I never use them because I want original patterns and designs. Not sooo perfect. I have been looking for a block of Mastercarve for awhile. Ta-Da there it was. It was pricey, but I figure I'll use both sides.

After rushing through Trader Joe's, I came home and sat down and immediately made these two stamps. The "M" on one side and the Enso on the other. I love them! I cant wait to start on the Camellia.

Day Trip to Duke

2011-03-08T15:49:00.003-05:00

I live very close to Duke University. I had never had the opportunity to visit the campus. I knew that it was beautiful, this was not what I expected. We went to Durham mostly to visit a BBQ joint with my mom. It was fabulous BBQ, sorry no pics of that. We also went to Duke Gardens which were only in spring time budding. I will post pictures of the gardens later. Most of these pictures are of the Chapel in the main part of the campus. There was a wedding taking place so we were unable to go inside.

I love the native stacked stone; the yellows against the gray blue was inspiring. It looked like a quilt with tan sashing. All of the buildings in the main part of the campus were made from this stacked native stone.

The detail in the granite surrounds was amazing. I am sure that the stain glass was way more impressive inside. We were able to walk all the way around the chapel. It sits at the top of the campus. I was very shocked at how dirty the surrounding grounds were. There was only one small quad that had pansies and dogwoods in it. The grass was non-existent else where on campus. There was trash in all of the shrubbery and a lack of pruned or maintained shrubs everywhere. We all commented on it at different occasions. We were shocked because Duke is an old established Ivy league school, it is very expensive as well.

Duke's campus makes up for its lack of maintained lawns and overall lushness is made up with by these beautifully impressive and inspiring buildings. I am still a Tar-Heel or NC State fan, but it was neat to visit the enemy!

Awesome patterns and stone detail!

The Dog is Too Happy

2011-03-02T14:39:00.004-05:00

This is my beautiful baby girl Kuma. She is a 7 year old American Akita. She is an extremely happy dog, as you can tell. She has a very large grassy green yard that is fenced in to run around in all day. She is all white and some how manages to keep herself very clean. She licks her self the way cats do. Its crazy. I personally have never given her a bath. My Hubby has probably 5 times. The spring weather has made her the happiest dog alive. She makes me the happiest Mama! She loves for me to take pictures of her. It generally takes Hubby standing behind me doing stupid things in order to get her to smile like this. She loves when everyone is together. She has been enjoying the recent family visits. She knew that my sister was at the door before I did. Kuma your Mama loves ya!

Sunny Days

2011-02-27T20:40:00.003-05:00

We have had some beautiful days in NC lately. This is is a shot of Hubby and I sitting in the new part of the backyard. It was a sunny warm day, but the wind was a little crazy. I sat in the grass for awhile. he joined me. I love this shot because as we sat there talking I was taking incognito shots. We both look so happy to be sitting in the sun. Grey sweatshirts and black sunglasses. The trees behind us are so bare and windblown. The sky so blue with whispy white clouds.

My house only gets sun on the front door for about hour. I never seem to be home for this occasion. Today I was there! Such a cute color scheme with detail on the porch.

When the new fence in the yard went up, I just about had a serious heart failure. I looked out the laundry room window and thought this beautiful treasure had been cut down. Just one limb was lopped off, to my relief. Another tree is growing in it as well. I am unsure of the other type of tree. I know what this one tree is for many reasons. It is a Camellia. This is a particular variety that I am not familiar with. My Grandmother, Nana, has many variety in her yard. However, they are not like mine. A more typically variety was planted at my Mom's family plot. Unfortunately, someone was allowed to cut that tree down. Possibly, the angst behind seeing chopped one in my yard. My mom has one in her yard now. So does my Dad. I have to say the ones at my Nana's house are huge 15 ft bushes and there must be 4 varieties that have impressively different blooms. They bloom at different times during the chilly weather with multiple shades. I am in heaven, I have never seen a Camellia tree that blooms like this! It is an amazing display!

Camellias are dripping off of this tiny tree. I love how it reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.

While sitting in the yard I asked Hubby to pull this out of the ground. It is says that it is a Seltzer Drug Bottle. I think that there must be 6 more buried in the base of the pecan tree. The bottles are small, no bigger than my hand. My yard is even more like Alice in Wonderland. Bottles in the bottom of trees.

Vintage Buttons and Turtles

2011-02-20T21:22:00.001-05:00

I have a nice collection of vintage buttons and earrings all were my great-aunts. I have always wanted to glue some to posts for earrings. I pulled out a few choice sets of buttons. I used E-6000 that is the best clear glue ever. I am letting them sit for a day. I stuck sewing pins through the button holes on the back so that I might add a dangle bead or something. I am thinking this is a good thing to sell on etsy. I have to figure out what to do with the collection of turtles. My mom is a turtle lover, but I am not so sure that she would go for that many of them. I'll see what happens. I will show off the button earrings soon too!

First Project from B-day fabric

2011-02-16T10:50:00.001-05:00

This was the first project that I have created from the fabric that I bought. The flowers match every single hand bag that I own. Obviously, I love the colors in this fabric. The brick looking fabric is part of the new Amy Butler, Central Park group. I was starting to ruin my glasses by dropping my keys down on them. Hopefully this will protect them. I made it slightly too small, but it still works. Next time I'll know better.

My Birthday Gifts

2011-02-15T20:13:00.001-05:00

My Birthday was last week. I got some great gifts. Mainly because I bought most of them for myself. My hubby did give me a Kaffe quilt book that is Amazing! Many bonus points to him for remembering that hint!

I also went to the fabric store and bought myself a heck of a lot of fabric that I have been wanting. This is only part of it. I think that I went a little nuts. I found a new shop to go to. So I took my day off and treated myself to a Whole Foods breakfast bar on the way. I found the fabric store in the middle of a construction nightmare, but it was totally worth walking through the super crazy scaffolding around the building. I almost teared up when I was greeted with a southern hello, I felt like I was home. The lady in this store was awesome! Much much better than the other stores and my experiences with folks that work in fabric stores. She knew what she was doing, helping me pair the fabrics. Oh the racks of Moda were all so beautiful, which I never get see in person before I buy. I spent over two hours in the small store, soo much to take in. I am so pleased that I have found this spot. I have a few projects in mind. I will share soon.

Sewing room

2011-02-10T23:37:00.002-05:00

This is my office/ sewing room. I am sitting on a futon on the other side of the room. I made the desk out of a solid wood door and PVC legs. Believe me it is one heavy/ sturdy sewing table. I have a large self healing mat at the left end. The self is sitting on recycled milk crates. I recently bought the letter press tray at the NC state flea market for $5. I love it for showing off all the antique sewing notions I have. I have many painted glass jars holding crafting goodies. I also have put to use my blue jean boxes and pin cushion. The shiny black filing cabinet is super duper heavy and sturdy. My dad saved it for me from the neighbors and repainted it for me. I love it. It holds a ton. All of the pencil artwork was done by a friend/ old roommate. I have lots more of his artwork. I have enjoyed having this space to sprawl out and create in. I have huge bins of fabric under the table. I generally have a ironing board set up where the chair is. I just got awesome lighting to help me out on these dark dripping winter days!

New Recycled Bag

2011-02-09T17:51:00.003-05:00

I am lucky to have three days off this week. I have been trying to make a few of these recycled bags. I use blue jeans mostly to make the bags. In this case I used a pair of super heavy duty Abercrombie and Fitch khaki. They were mine in high school, they have super deep pockets, which is perfect for this project. The had one small stain on the knee, but other wise in perfect condition. I think that was the only part of the pants that I didn't use. I generally reserve the long leg panels to make recycled bowls. I love this Amy Butler lotus fabric, it was the perfect complement to the light khaki. Here are a few shots of the progression of making the pants into the bag. In this case the leg pieces were used as panels around the Amy Butler fabric. I will show you the finished product soon!

Valentines

2011-02-07T20:56:00.001-05:00

I have always enjoyed Valentines Day. Mostly because it is right around my birthday. I have many Valentines themed birthday celebrations. I started hand making my valentines for family a couple of years ago. I love these mostly because I am using up thing I have at home. When I got married we made our own wedding invitations. We ordered too many beautifully lined envelopes. I purposely made the cards to fit in these envelopes because they seem romantic to me. All of the scrap-booking, construction, card-stock paper I have had stored away for awhile. Most I simply folded in half and cut hearts in the middle. I use the cut out heart on the next valentine. I wrote my message on the back in a washable marker. The prisma colors bleed through too much.

Me

2011-01-25T22:32:00.000-05:00

This is me. I really like how this self portrait turned out. I took it after going to the spa, I had my very curly hair straightened. I look like a different blurry person. I have been doing a lot of personal reflection lately. Trying to be a peace with myself and my surroundings. I have the constant feeling that I need to be trying to do more with my life. I am not really sure what that I should be doing though. I need larger blocks of time in order to be crafty. I think that I need to be more comfortable about where I am. I have a great family, job, home, hubby, doggy and friends. Everyone wants what they don't have. I want many things that I dont have, but maybe it is not in my cards. Maybe, I am not meant to do those things. I feel like I am talking about pre-destination with out trying to. I believe that we are on this earth to accomplish things and we are all better at different aspects of the task. I am unsure about what is to be accomplished or the task, though...maybe Peace, Happiness and Love? I think that I analyze to much and read too much into things. I skip over those important things that are generally right on the surface.

Granny Squares 2

2011-01-23T19:23:00.003-05:00

I had left overs from making Lil's Granny Squares Blanket. I decided to use some other yarn to make another Granny Squares Blanket for us. I think that I am super excited about using the yellow as a border. I think that it will make it match the Kaffe quilt and pillows I made last year. What do you think? I love the Kaffe colors. I am hoping to have a little more time in February to make a Kaffe quilt. I have been working a lot recently and I am hoping to get more time off soon. I really need two days back to back in order to get a quilt rolling. I have been working 6 days a week. I think that my new Nikon does an awesome job at capturing true color. It makes me happy!

My Kitchen

2011-01-22T19:50:00.003-05:00

Food is a great way to feel connected to people, places and feelings. My hubby is a wonderful chef. We have started asking for high quality cookware for gifts. We asked for a dutch oven or cast iron pot so we can make good roasts. The awesome cast iron pot my mom got for us has yet to be used to make roast, but we have used it for quite a few soups. Chili is a favorite. Warm spicy chili and corn bread reminds me of living in the mountains and the deep drifts of snow that would make me stay inside. It was awesome! I love the teal color of the cast iron pot. It matches the rack, a $5 flea market find. Parents In- Law found the art work of Akita with glass of beer. We love it! I made the pot holders and got the Vera tea towels for free at my previous job. I love the the color scheme. It reminds me of my grandmother's kitchen in the the 80's, she had these super awesome cabinet and drawer pulls that were lemons and limes. She also had bright yellow wall paper. And yes those are super awesome double chocolate cookies in the background. I do the baking, hubby made the chili.

Seriously missing summer!

2011-01-17T21:05:00.004-05:00

I miss summer. I am wanting to make a quilt that has a summer theme. Flowers, beach, I don't know i am looking through past summers photos. I like these. I don't know how they would transfer to a quilt.
The yellows make me really happy!
I am hoping this task will cheer me up.

Sister's Granny squares

2011-01-08T18:49:00.002-05:00

So my great aunt taught me the basics of crochet when I was a little girl. I called her Sister, everyone called her Sister. Sister was a very creative woman! She is the inspiration for a lot of things that I make. My Little sister's birthday is two days after Christmas. She slept on my couch one night last week, I had crocheted her this lap blanket. I thought about our great aunt a lot while I worked on this project. I laid it on Lil' and woke her up taking pictures of the the Granny Square blanket. Lil' seemed to like it a lot. I loved making this and will make another very soon.

She had to get her glasses on before she could see it! We are all blind!

Christmas Bowl

2011-01-08T18:37:00.000-05:00

Here is a Christmas Bowl. It is made with scraps from Christmas tree skirt I made last year for my mom. It took me like 1 1/2 hours to sew the strips together and crochet. I think ill make more. I made it for family dirty santa. My Dad got it. He loved it!

Texas Quilt

2011-01-08T18:01:00.002-05:00

Here is the finished Texas quilt. I worked on it right up until Christmas. The Star part was very daunting task. It is still too small in my opinion. Hubby's parents came to our house from Texas the day after Christmas and we had a great time with them. They seemed to really like the quilt. I wish I had time to take better pictures of the quilt. This is the only picture I took. I am still trying to figure out my new camera. The shots in this series is all yellow. See the process of this quilt here.

Inspiriation

2011-01-05T20:39:00.000-05:00

I love Daffodils! These are awesome!

Yeah 100th post!

2011-01-05T19:53:00.001-05:00

I really enjoy blogging. Unfortunately, I don't make enough time in my life to do it. The sporadic way I keep up with my by blog is much like my sewing room, stacks of promise in need of a lot of straightening
Well In 2011 I would like to be a more on point person, I guess keep up with the things that I do and follow through with the things that need to be done. I don't feel as though I am spelling this out very well. I want to stop slacking, sleeping in, and being lazy in the evenings. I want to create and do a lot more. Be more productive. Hopefully this will include blogging more than 100 times in 2011. I think it took me a year and a half to get to 100.
Here is my list of things to do:
Kaffe quilt--done
2 baby toys- -1 done
table runners
mini-quilt

Fractals

2010-12-19T21:15:00.001-05:00

So I noticed on Facebook that my cousin saw a Nova Special on PBS about Fractals. I love fractals. I think that quilt making is quite fractal like. I went hunting for Fractal images to share. They are all mind-blowing. You should check them out.

Birthday Bowl

2010-12-15T21:56:00.001-05:00

I made this fabric crochet bowl recently for my friends birthday. Happy Birthday Liz! I recently gave her the birthday bowl, so now I can share my creation. I make them out of strips of fabric. This one I used 1 inch pieces of fabric, so it looks chunkier. Now back to elfly duties.

Reusable Gift Wrap

2010-12-05T18:49:00.002-05:00

Ive been thinking beyond the normal reuse of gift bag, bow or shirt box. I purchased quite a bit of Christmas fabric back in January when it went on sale. I wanted to put to use so, I have decided on making draw string bags for gift giving. I hope that the receiver will be inclined to reuse. I used awesome ribbon as the drawstring and added bells to a few. I admit that I like glossy wrapping paper, however it takes up awkward space in my closet and year round which is a serious nuisance to me. I would like to use up what I have, and work toward future nullification of the wrapping paper. I think these bags will be good to give to immediate family, so I can explain my idea in hopes of getting them back. I don't think this will work for every gift I give. I would like to cut down on bags of paper after Christmas unwrapping.

Snowflakes with the Force

2010-12-02T21:12:00.000-05:00

I have been a very busy elf. Sadly, I am unable to share these awesome handmade gifts in fear of some one seeing. I am very excited about the holidays. My In laws are coming, so I cant wait to decorate up big. My husband came home today and asked me to make these Darth Vader snowflakes. I am a huge fan of snowflake cutting so I am gonna give it a try.

More Yard

2010-11-14T16:14:00.001-05:00

My yard is much greener now! I love to hang out in the sunshiny privacy of the new yard. I wonder up and down, periodically playing with the dog, glancing at the ground. I was picking up glass and now rocks. I started throwing the rocks around the base of these beech trees. I noticed today a glint of blue. I began to scrape away the dirt and found the bottom of an old pharmacy bottle. It is super wedged in there. As I dug I looked up and saw the bottom of another one that is super close to the trunk of the tree. I really hope that they are intact.

New Backyard Inspires Art Project

2010-10-28T19:28:00.002-04:00

So my backyard just doubled in size. What was previously scrubby shrubs and kudzu is now a beautiful fenced in backyard. Some would cringe at the amount of grass that we will have to mow come spring, but this area was a problem. I live in an area where there are lots of vagrant folks and they were hanging out in the shrubs at night. Not cool. Our landlord received access from a home that he recently purchased that backed up to the shrubby lot, so he went for it. He tore down the nasty chain link fence that ran behind the shed and gave us this beautiful 8 foot high wood fence.
We love it!

In this shot I am standing in our original yard looking into the new yard. They left some beautiful young beach trees in the new part.

This is our old yard, new grass going in. The dog still lays in the same spot under the magnolia even though she has such a huge yard to run in. She loves it when she gets whipped up!

I am standing with my back to the fence at the very back of the property. The little picket fence is to keep kiddos from fall over the low concrete wall that was not going anywhere. I kinda think it adds some charm. The green shed is falling apart and can't be moved. Its not loved by anyone, but it is necessary.
When they tore up the yard. All this old glass and dishes came to the surface. Originally, I was picking them up to save doggie paws. Now, I want to make something beautiful out of them.

They will clean-up nicely!

Floorplan Doodle

2010-10-12T19:32:00.000-04:00

This is my future home. I drew this months back when I had to do jury duty. I have always enjoyed drawing floorplans. I generally do not care so much for true dimensions. Strangly this floorplan resembles my dads home. I think I just expanded thing and changed celings.

Etsy here I come!

2010-10-10T20:24:00.002-04:00

I have decided to start an Esty account. I am going to sell Blue Jean Baskets, Handbags with blue jeans in the inside and crochet crafts. I am also wanting to sell some of the massive amounts of vintage jewels that I have accumulated. I am using ComfortCircle as my page name as well. Please check me out and recommend me to your friends! I am going to be done setting it all up by ~~10/16!~~ 10/18

I am slightly proud of myself

2010-09-28T12:54:00.001-04:00

Today, I accomplished something that I have been trying to do for 7 months now. I figured out how to use my scanner in the printer all-in-one. I just haven't had the true need or want to do it. I think that I will enjoy sharing more of my quilting processes and general art, I doodle alot. I prefer black ink pens or markers. I use cheap generally scrap paper. I am unable to keep up with a journal, I literally have 20 of them around the house. I always rip the pages out. The pages end up on my desk and next to my bed side table. Hopefully, this will be a good way of keeping up with them.

These two collections have been hanging out on the desk for months. I am excited to be able to share more of my creative processes. Maybe one day my sister will bring photoshop and I will be able to do more with coloring them. HINT HINT!

So It has been awhile...

2010-09-23T20:40:00.000-04:00

I have a new job. I have been absent for awhile because I have a new job. I worked two jobs for awhile. I love my new job. I am learning new things everyday. I am so much happier than where I was. I have neglected my craftiness. I am super excited that I will have a bit more time to accomplish craftiness.

Since the summer ended the other day, I was thinking about the awesome trip to the beach at the beginning of the summer. I love this face that Kuma is making, all squinty eyed! The beach was completely empty and amazing.

Vera Scarves

2010-09-11T21:03:00.002-04:00

Here are my favorite things:
Vera
The Color Sunny Saturated Yellow
Scarves
Fabric

Vintage 60's and 70's
Daffodils

Finished Projects???

2010-09-11T20:19:00.003-04:00

There is a major lack of Finished projects on this blog. I have just changed jobs so I am very excited about the more free time that I will have to complete projects. I have a serious long list of projects to complete before the Holidays. I feel that I have to write it down.
So here:
Granny Squares
Dads Stitching
Two Blue Jean Bags
Blue Jean Basket
Baby Gifts
T-Shirt quilt
Texas Quilt

Granny Squares

2010-08-24T21:24:00.000-04:00

I have always admired granny square blankies. Here are some awesome shots of some inspiration.

I recently purchased a bunch of yarn on sale. I am gonna work hard on one.

Purchases and Progress

2010-08-21T21:27:00.002-04:00

I recently made my hubby wait in the car with the dog while I purchased these fabrics. I pined over them for quite some time. Pillows and quilt are in mind. My husband picked out the large targets for the living room. I love it because it is all Kaffe.

I also have spent way too long on this quilt but I actually have long strips of the mountain fence rail quilt. I cant wait to sew them together and get a better vision of the final product. I am worried my blocks will be off. Wish me luck!

Kaffe Fabric Spotting

2010-08-19T19:53:00.002-04:00

I recently went to Crate and Barrel at the local mall to purchase a wedding gift. I was checking out a few items on the registry in the linen section. On the bottom row of the shelves of place mats and napkins there was this lovely jewel of Kaffe fabric.

I had a mini stroke. Napkins out of a heavy canvas. I am probably the only one who cares, but I was so proud that I actually knew. I am sure over the years of Kaffe creations that this is not the first mainstream application of his fabric. However, it was my first sighting. All the hours looking a fabric paid off. Oh, how I wanted them. I put them into the shopping basket.... and begrudgingly (ps. I really like this word) put them back. I have this fabric in the Kaffe quilt. I really like it....... the blue teal background is wonderful.

Texas in panels

2010-08-18T20:27:00.001-04:00

I am one star away from having a Texas quilt. Here are the panels of strips. I am also including my favorite snack... chocolate and popcorn.

Thread lights

2010-08-16T23:23:00.000-04:00

Super cool light fixtures!
I think I am in love!

Saturday Off?

2010-07-31T12:25:00.002-04:00

I never have Saturdays off. This is a very exciting day for me. I have already accomplished alot, am hike, laundry, dishes, sewing, brunch, and we are hoping to go to the party in downtown later. Here is Kuma today after the walk...she loves any time she get to go with... thank goodness it was cool.
She does not have blue eyes... the flash just reflects funny.

My final, largest sunflower is fading. I am sure it will soon be attacked by the wood pecker just like the other ones. I have enjoyed every aspect of growing these beauties. I will definitely be growing them again next year.

I also finished the blue section of Texas. Check out the teal barbwire fabric. I am so happy with the ease of this project. I know it will be greatly appreciated too. Working on the white and red next.

More Strips!!!

2010-07-25T19:28:00.000-04:00

My Mom's friend gave me a huge box of her Dad's jeans. I sat down one day recently and cut up these strips. I need to sew them together and figure out how big I want to make the basket. My hands did hurt pretty bad after cutting so many of the seams. I try to keep them at least an inch. Wish me luck.

Texas in scraps

2010-07-24T20:26:00.000-04:00

Here are the majority of the 11/2 inch strips that I spent the last two days cutting out. I was really excited to get a jump start on this project. It is intended as a Christmas gift, therefore I will only show this quilt in small pieces. I tried really hard to pull out the scrap basket. I wanted to buy as little fabric as possible. Currently, I have spent about $25, mostly on Texas themed fabrics. Eventually, I will need to purchase backing. For now I am just excited that I started it. I was really rushed last Christmas and did not have enough time to make handmade gifts for all. I planned this quilt just after the Holiday season. Well, we are almost half way there.

More Sunflowers!!!!!

2010-07-23T19:36:00.002-04:00

Here is the final sunflower trying to open. It is very tall, almost 8ft. They have been a joy to gaze at right out the living room window.

This is the same sunflower only two days ago.

I think the birds are enjoying the drying out sunflowers. I caught a wood pecker going after this one the other afternoon.

Back to NCMA

2010-07-11T20:50:00.001-04:00

Mom and sister came to town this weekend. We went to NC Museam of Art it was just as crowded as before. We really enjoyed walking around and the building is such a lovely space. Here are a few more shot of awesome images.

Three different Art Nouveau paintings with different artist all framed similarly.

Andrew Wyeth

Earring Screen and Beaded Necklaces

2010-07-08T23:24:00.000-04:00

I have had this screen frame for a really long time. I sprayed painted a lot of frames silver all at one time. I really like the way that this turned out. I keep up with the earrings much better this way. I have a small dish underneath that collects the studs and rings. The daffodils are my favorite flower ever. I keep fake ones... the only fake plant in my house.

I painted these beads awhile back. I tied knots in this natural twine. This is actually a few necklaces. I quite like the statement they make all together.

The Arboretum

2010-07-02T19:41:00.001-04:00

We visited the NC State Arboretum this lovely cool summer day! Check out the glory that is oh so close to my home.