~A Little bit of this and a little bit of that~

We are into a new month and I feel so behind!  Hello July! Happy Birthday America, we love you and we are thankful for you~~!

  ~ I have taken a break from the cute little hexagon quilt. I just needed a break.  You know how it is when it is full steam ahead and somewhere along the way it kind of wears down a bit..  I have no problem with that, I just move on to a new project.

This is a baby slip, I can’t give much information yet as I am so fearful I will hit a wall and run out of ability.   I will not be lying by saying this project will stress me to the max, but in a good way..

~ I will be learning many new techniques that I have never done before, but if not now then when?   So, I will continue on. I  started with the easiest component and I will try to work my way up.   One guess who this is for??

oh well, I am excited can you tell? Well wouldn’t you be?

Here she is at 30 weeks.  I got the pleasure of going to her 4d ultrasound.  The miracle of life it is really awe -inspiring.

  ~ if you crochet, then you must try the Tiramisu Baby Blanket from Alicia of Posie gets Cozy I just love this pattern!   I used Lion Brand Organic Cotton I have to say I am very surprised how much I loved this cotton yarn. Really really nice yarn, I can’t say enough about it. It has a really nice feel to it. I used this ribbon from Farmhouse Fabrics . I think it is the perfect finish to a cozy little blanket.

I also want to mention this pasta I made for supper the other night~  (sorry for the blurry picture)

  ~ this recipe is from Heather of beauty that moves~ my gosh, it was so good. I have a really picky 6 year old and she ate 2 bowls full. All I can say is YUM!  It was a hit!   She also has an amazing giveaway going on right now.. go quick and check it out!

 

I have one more little bit to talk about…

A  long while back I won a free episode of Bommerang from Blair of WiseCraft I’m so sorry it has taken me so long to talk about this.. We chose the episode of Jacques Costeau and it was just  wonderful. We have had some major computer problems that resulted in a new motherboard~

but trust me it was so cool! You have a choice to either download to your computer or MP3 player, or you can purchase the CD. We went with the computer download, but after doing that I should have done the MP3 player. My daughter is 6 and she is a girl on the go.  The cd would have been a good choice for us as well as she likes to listen to the NPR/Classical station when she goes to bed.  (They share the same station.)

I love the format, it is presented by kids for kids. It is part humor, much education and really well done.   Now that I am pretty sure our computer problems are behind us, I need to go get another episode.  Thank you Blair! Please forgive my tardiness!

Wow,  such a long post for me, thanks for hanging in there! See you soon!

Wow, long post, who knew I had so much to say, thanks for haning in there!  See you next time!

Hexagon quilt beginnings.. piece by piece

 

 

~I have been slowly piecing my hexagon quilt together hexagon by hexagon.   I am loving this process. It is slow and there is no way to rush through the process.  This is a good lesson for me.. I am very guilty of rushing through a project to get to the end result.   I always want to get to the end and fast!

Summer is in full effect here, it is so so hot and dry. There is nothing to do except stay cool.  I have found myself working on more and more projects that I can just sit  quietly and work.  There is  a little bit of zen to be found in  sitting and focusing on one task.

~ I am not certain of my exact plan for layout of this quilt and I am not certain  how I will quilt it..

thoughts?

 This quilt is for baby Caroline  so it will be crib sized.  I can’t decide if I want to border it or not.. I am also not sure how I want to quilt it.  One thing is for sure there is enough time to decide since there is so much  work left to do.  

~A little bit of baby bedding~

Wow, major computer issues~ Major! Oh well, apparently I am back on..!

Ok, now to my post …

15 years ago my stepfather made a baby cradle with the hopes of having many grandchildren to grace it. We welcomed our first daughter soon after. She slept in the hand made cradle for the first few months of her life.  It was wonderful literally having her right next to us. Over the years it traveled to Indiana for another little one, then back to us in 2003 for our second daughter. Once again when our little baby was too big we packed up it and returned to our family.  Packed away until it is needed again.   In January when my  sister told us she was expecting  and soon after my mother brought out the cradle for baby Caroline she also brought out the cradle bedding.   It is practically fifteen years old and not only was it showing its age, it is not exactly heirloom quality.  No worries~

 I knew just what to do! I did what any good aunt would do, I started sewing.  Now baby Caroline will have just a little bit of bedding to keep her cozy.  I hope she knows how much her Aunt Jen loves her already!

 ~ coverlet made in with the floral fabric, reversed in the pink check made with a tan-ish ruffle

  ~ the bumper is the pink check with the floral piping..

Now, if I could just find some organic flannel for the cradle sheet I would be good to go.. any ideas? I just want an off white ~or  cream color..

~WIP~ Grandmother’s Garden

We had very exciting news … I am going to be an aunt very soon!! I am so excited to finally be an aunt.

Little baby Caroline can not get here soon enough. I have been busy working on several different projects.  I will be sharing those soon enough. First though are some ideas I have had in my mind for this little sweetie~

I used this method and it is slow going. I love it though. I really enjoyed the handwork involved in creating these little hexagons. I can just imagine a little quilt made up of these. However, I do not know if I have enough time. She will be here soon (Sept). I have been playing around with a few other ideas and I am not sure which I will choose. I really like these though. One thing for sure is you need to have your thimble ready. Ouch, my fingers are sore! I am not very coordinated with mine.

  ~2 down, 100 more to go??? Oh dear….

Craft Hope project 2 ~ ready to travel!

My little doll friend is ready to go to her new home.  She is tucked in and ready to be received by a little girl who needs someone to love.

She has a little quilt to accompany her on her long journcy~

Quilt details~

and here~

back view~

I used a vintage sheet and kona cotton solids.  I love the colors of the sheet, they seem to pick up on the little doll’s fabric body. I love her big brown eyes and her cozy quilt.  I really hope a little girl over in Nicauarga loves her as much as I loved making her.  It feels good to have another project done. I had really lost my mojo for a while. Hopefully it has come back as I have lots of ideas and not so much time.  

~ please excuse the dark photos(yet another dark gray weekend)  and the bit of ick on the pink block. Not sure what that is but it is not really on the quilt…. now!

Welcome And A Boomerang Giveaway!

Welcome And A Boomerang Giveaway!

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~Hummingbirds and other garden delights~

My little friends are back!   We have had our feeder up since late March, but it was not until April 8th that I saw my first little friend.  Last year it was April 14th.    The family and I are  just thrilled to have our buddies back.  Oh how we’ve missed them!! Now if I can just arrange to have my camera ready when I see one!

We had to get a new feeder  our previous one  lasted a few years and we finally wore it out.   There  is our new one  all pretty and filled with  fresh  nectar Yum!

My roses are really behind this Spring.   It has been rather cool  so far.  However, a few have popped open.   Martha Gonzales is a found china rose.  Love love love it. If you need a great little nonstop bloomer then this will work for you.

Baby Love miniature rose. I really love this little beauty. It is hard to find a really strong and healthy yellow rose. This one is outstanding. I love roses that just do their thing.. no fuss, no worries..  they just shine.

I wish I could remember the name of this clematis.. I need to go back through my records.  I know I got it from Silver Star Vinery.  Actually I believe it is Artic Queen. It is a beautiful white. It appears to start out with a touch of a blush on it and then turns to a clear beautiful white.

Happy Easter!

In the garden with a new linen dress….

Spring has arrived in our garden… we are loving that. It has been too long since we have been able to linger in our garden.
Six year olds grow so fast. A new dress was in order. A cute Butterick pattern was selected along with some red and tan linen. I see a little french girl in my mind…

Our garden is an enchanting place for a 6 year old girl. There are flowers to find. Sticks and stones to be gathered…

There is a soothing rhythm to our garden.  Things happen in the same order each Spring.  Old friend are rediscovered.

Hours in the sun playing make believe games and building fairy houses..  Some of my fondest memories of my children is seeing them huddled over smelling flowers. That is a joyous sight.

Antique rose “Old Blush” is always first to bloom..

Bright magenta azaelas are always pleasing.  Enjoy your Spring!

~Shalom Cardigan~

I can’t stop ~I’ve got the knitting bug.  I seem to go from one project to the next.  I usually obsess over one craft until I burn out.

I was all about the quilting until ~wham~ I got the itch to knit.  I haven’t done much since last fall, but a few weeks ago it hit and now I am totally into it.  With all of the worries in the world knitting just  grounds me. It seems to comfort my worried mind.  It’s so peaceful to just sit and knit. 

I love this pattern, love the yarn I used. It is so soft. Love the color. Kind of a plumy color. Now that I have made the pattern, I know some changes I would make. Cast on fewer stitches to begin with. I did some short rows for the back, don’t think I needed them. Some how I forgot to continue the garter stitch border whoops!

I need to pay more attention….

It will do though I think for a light weight spring/summer cardigan..

Raverly info here.  If you need a summer cardigan….

Juliet Sweater done!

(Please excuse my mirror, it is clean now!)

This is my attempt at Juliet. I am not sure what to say. It was challenging to make. I started in the fall of 08. I guess I had to much going on to stick with it. If I remember right the pattern part of the sweater was off and I got mad and just put it away. Fast forward to March 09, I felt like getting it off my list of UFO’s. So, I frogged back to the yoke. I started over and it seemed to go better. I think I had a few issues now looking at it. For sure, I made it way too big. I made the large. Should have started out with a medium neckline and then went into a small. I opted for the cropped length and that part is ok.
You can really see on this photo that the bottom 4 rows are right and the top half something is off.

The sweater kind of swallows me up. It is really full. Again, all going back to the size choice I made. I used wool and it is heavy the pattern calls for knitting with two strands. I would certainly use different yarn and size down.  I think this would be so cute for summer evenings when you will be in air conditioning. I always get cold  in a movie theater, or restaurant.

I will call this  a learning experience.    My grandmother would say a man on horseback… so, I am going with that.

note to self, fix crooked buttons…