Work in Progress

This is what I like to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon, when the boys are asleep and Little Bit is outside helping her Daddy clean up the truck, the sounds of outside (the wind, the neighbor's windchimes, the birds) mixing with the comforting sounds of home (the dishwasher and the dryer going). This time is precious to me, and fleeting, too, as we will soon have to jump up and hurry and get supper ready and eat (I never start supper soon enough on Sundays...) and get ready for church.

I have also learned that, impatient though I usually am, there is just something so insanely satisfying about quilting something by HAND. I just love it, and, naturally, I'm doubly proud of my creation when I get it finished. All that time and work put into it, and I usually sit and work on it at night while Jason and I watch TV at night, and it's interesting. I can look at a quilt and remember practically EVERY show or movie we watched together. My last hand-quilted project was a compilation of Bones episodes and Into the Wild. Go figure, but I don't think I'll ever forget that. shrug. Weird how the memory works.

I told myself I wanted this one done, that I was just going to do it on the machine and have it done within a day or two, but it just kept calling me, beckoning me to get out that old quilting hoop and have at it. And so, the quilt won out, I suppose, over my impatient nature. And yes, I am perfectly aware that my stitches aren't perfect, and I rather prefer the bigger ones, opposed to the ones that are tiny and hidden. Truly, I'm not using excuses here. I like that old, folksy look, where I can see each stitch, each step of slow labor and smile, because I am happy with how it turned out...

And here I go, again. But oh, isn't it worthwhile. :)

Bot

Okay, my boys are IN LOVE with the new Nick Jr. show Team UmiZoomi. (My daughter, too.) But the boys scream "Bot!" "Bot!" every time it starts to come on. So, I figured for Valentine's Day, a little "Bot" of their own would be good. :) So, as I've already made them Spaceboy for Christmas (who looks a little like Geo from the show), I turned to a cute little pattern by Hilary Lang at Wee Wonderfuls. Anyway, I was pleased with how they turned out. And, my daughter calls them "robot friends." Too cute. Now, let's just hope the boys are as impressed!

Awesome Muffins

I thought I'd share these...These are very possibly the best muffins EVER! They're actually supposed to be Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins, but I'm not really much of a pumpkin fan, so I switched them out for sweet potato, but I'm telling you! Wonderful! It's an Emeril recipe from foodnetwork, though I switched out the pumpkin, put the cranberries in the food processor (for the kids' sake, though I actually like it better that way, myself--distributes the craisins all over, so you get a little in every bite), and I also made them mini size, again, for the kids. But who doesn't like a mini muffin? :)

Homemade Pretzels and Recycling

The first photo is of the delicious pretzels we made the other night, hubby and me. He is absolutely addicted to these big soft pretzels but gets mad at the mall when they want $3 or more for one. And so I became determined to make my own at home and dang it, but these were so good, I just had to post a picture. :) Thank you, Mr. Alton Brown!

The next pictures are of my Little Bit and her version of recycling. See, I make felt cookies for my etsy shop, and I had one from long ago that was a trial as I was determining how best to sew up the edges. Anyway, Little Bit wanted it to play with, so I gave it to her. Skip ahead several weeks... So, I have this Kimochi bear thing that my dear friend gave me for Christmas a while back. It's the cutest big green bear that "eats" emotions. The little emotions are little round "people" that fit into his mouth and stomach. My daughter FELL IN LOVE with him and plays with him all the time in my sewing room as I sew (because that room is his home, and he doesn't want to leave it, as she informed me.) Well, as I was cutting off my way too long pants to hem them today, and she asks me for the cut off part. I ask her why, and she tells me that she wants to use it to make arms and legs for her little "K'mochin." (What she calls the people.) At this point, I'm looking at her like she's lost her mind, having no idea what she's talking about. So, she tells me that that's "recycling" when you use something old to make something. To which, of course, I'm thrilled to hear her say. Well, I gave her my fabric marking pen, and she gave it a face, then she told me how to cut out the fabric to make "bumps" for the arms and legs. She wanted to glue them, but I convinced her sewing would be a bit more sturdy, and so, her new "Happy K'mochin" was born. And naturally, happy is a fitting name for him...and her.

Space Boys and a Potholder

I am SLOWLY getting to take pics of and post the Christmas presents I made for the kids. Here is one of the boys' gifts, two Space Boys from Hillary Lang's wonderful pattern. The boys like them, as does my daughter. She made them hold hands for the picture. Too cute. Anyway, I was pleased with how they turned out. I plan on making the robot, too, but I just haven't had time to get him finished.





And this is a little potholder I made from my scraps. I got to playing around with my leftovers from a quilt I'm making, and I've really been wanting to try out my new walking foot, as well as this thermo. batting stuff I bought. So, I thought, "Hey! Why not make a potholder?" Besides, mine have the uncanny and inconvenient habit of getting up and walking off somewhere, so a new one is always welcome in the drawer. :) Anyway, it's a little wonky...I got in a hurry (you tend to do that close to 2am...) and my binding is a little wrong. shrug. It's just a potholder, and I was just playing around, so I didn't feel it worth it to take it out and redo it. Besides, a couple times of spilled spagetti sauce on it, and it won't look so great anyway. :)

Thrifty me!

Okay, so I realize two things...1. I am not very good at remembering to take the time to sit down and blog about what I've done and 2. I suppose that this makes it look like I accomplish nothing. Not true. Really, it isn't. :)

Anyway, I did these pants of Little Bit's so long ago, but I never got around to taking a picture and posting them, though I am so incredibly proud of myself for them.





First of all, I got the pants (actually THREE pairs of pants, two jeans and one kind of parachute pants material khakis) for 10 cents a piece at a yard sale!!! I so love good finds like that. The only thing wrong with them....holes in the knees. Naturally. What kid doesn't wear holes in the knees of their pants??? But I'm looking at them, and inspiration struck. I thought, "Hey, I can put patches over them, and they'll be good to at least wear to play in, so I won't have to worry about her messing up her good ones outside in the back yard..." That was the plan, then I got the patches and more inspiration struck. "Hey, what if I cut the patches into cute shapes and embellish with embroidery?" Is it wrong to like her play clothes more than her "nice" ones???

Anyway, she loves them, and I got away paying only about $2 a pair for them. (Though the khakis were fine, only missing a button, I think, and needed no such attention). She esp. likes THIS pair in the pics, because of the little bird. I admit it, though, I like it, too. She and I kind of have this weird thing for birds. Go figure. For Christmas, she picked out a blank journal with a bird on a branch on the cover. I, of course, LOVE it. (I would have loved anything she picked out, but dang it, if the girl doesn't have taste!) :)

So, not a very festive post, but at least I managed to get something up for the month of December. :)

Happy New Year all!

You have to try this!!!

Thanks to Amy Karol at her angry chicken blog site, I found this cool little website that lets you take clothes, shoes, etc. and mix and match them to make your own little wardrobe combination. Polyvore VERY ADDICTIVE, just as she warned it would be. Well, here it is...a piece of my wishful closet, though technically, I do have some things that look like some of this stuff... Actually, it's a pretty darn good representation of how I dress...

Lori's closet by celtic19 featuring J Crew

Some of it, of course, I will never be able to afford...the boots are over a thousand dollars!!! Yeah, right. But some other things, like the J.Crew shorts are actually rather affordable (on sale!). Really neat! You have to try this!