Craptastic pictures!

I sew almost every day.....and if there wasn't any sewing, I am sure there was knitting. I need to create. It is me. It keeps me sane. I used to write. I have journals full of poems and stories. Somehow, when I stopped being the tortured depressed soul that I was as a teenager my need (and truthfully, my talent) for writing vanished. Sometimes it makes me sad. I miss putting my thoughts down on paper and having them become beautiful creatures of their very own. I tried to recapture my affair with the written word, but it was never the same. So I left dejected, and somehow feeling like a part of me had died. It was my own creative "dark ages", no, that's not right. It was more of a rediscovery. That time was spent finding me. Amid that search, I found my soul mate, got married and had children. So I guess creativity wasn't gone, I was just creating lives. First my own, followed by my sweet children. It was so easy to become wrapped up in motherhood. What a rewarding thing to be wrapped up in! Still, part if me was trying break though. Then a little over a year ago I learned to knit. It was like something awoke in me. Something long forgotten. I got the same sort of emotional catharsis I had lost when I stopped writing. It was intoxicating, and I was addicted. Knitting gave me the courage to want to create again. So I started sewing. Knitting keeps me balanced, sewing is different. When I knit it is all about the process. The stitches, the yarn, the rhythm. Sewing, for me, is like knitting on speed. Instant gratification. Plus, I just love fabric. I tried to love scrapbooking, I really did. I did love buying the paper......that is where fabric comes in. All the patterns and colors and textures. I could happily get lost in a fabric store.....no a quilt shop. I could live surrounded by yummy yarn and stacks of fat quarters. They just make me happy. Why am I telling you all of this?? LOL Well, I was trying to figure out why I don't update my blog more. I am creating almost daily. I figured it out today. I take craptastic pictures. I will finish something I adore, and want to share it. I pull out my camera and get the most subpar results. It is so disheartening! I need to carve out the time to take a class or something. A New Year's resolution perhaps??

So, without further ado, I give to you my most recent quilt. It was a Christmas gift for the inlaws. I am really pleased with the quilt......the pictures I detest. The only one I have of the completed quilt is blurry, so I will also include some of the top prior to quilting. Maybe next time we visit I will get a picture that does it justice. I should finish another quilt (my parent's belated Christmas quilt) in the next day or so. I am hoping to get some decent pictures. There is always hope, right??

You've got mail!

I had the best surprise yesterday! About a week ago Amanda Jean from Crazy Mom Quilts let me know that I had won her recent giveaway for a purse. Well, it arrived yesterday and it is fabulous!! It is the perfect size; big, but not too big and SO cute! I promptly transferred all my things into it! Thanks Amanda Jean!! I love it!! (I also love the quilt my bff made me......not only do I curl up with it pretty much every evening, it is also a frequent back drop for my pictures!! Thanks again Janelle!!)

























I did find my sewing machine cord. It had been packed up with my old sewing machine. I now have 2 cords so this never happens again! I am REALLY glad to have the use of my machine back and have been sewing as fast as I can........I am still not going to be done on time. Oh well, people are willing to wait for a quilt right?? Besides the on going quilt projects, I have also been working on some little gifts. Sew, Mama, Sew! had fun gift ideas complete with tutorials everyday in November. I have been using these ideas, and they are fun! I made myself and some friends these patchwork scarves (they are fleece on the back and oh so warm!)
Don't you love the headless photo?? LOL Then I have been making these fabulous crayon rolls for all the little people in our lives......I'm thinking about making one for me! :)

Have you seen me???

My sewing machine cord is gone. Yes, I am freaking out. This is my holiday crafting season! I am in the middle of making 8 sets of gnomes and 2 quilts. Plus, I still need to start 1 more quilt, 4 sets of pajama pants, a couple of skirts, and possibly some aprons and purses. I need that cord! I suppose this means that I will have to give up the ambition of making little Mr. and Mrs. Santa gnomes for everyone at Thanksgiving. :( *sigh* I will consider this fate and reevaluate my holiday sewing. I do still want to give mainly homemade gifts.......I wonder how long it would take Sears to send me a replacement cord??

Getaway and a Makeover!

I am spoiled! Not always, but in the past week, I have been spoiled rotten!! I could get used to this. I need to start working on becoming independently wealthy so I can keep this up. :)

I had a wonderful weekend away. It was so fun to have such a large block of time to myself. It was spent laughing, crafting, and most importantly in the company of great friends. I was able to get some good sewing in, and made (with help) 2 beautiful Christmas dresses for the girls. The girls love them, and Aurora declared them to be "even more beautiful than the Santa dress at Costco" LOL Good thing! I worked hard on those dresses, there is no way I would buy another one. The dresses fit perfectly, and I just need to hem them.
I also got up the courage to start on the quilt kit I bought for myself on my birthday. It is such a fun quilt. I am excited to finish it up......I just need to buy some more thread.
Now, last, but not least. I have the sweetest husband in the entire world. He has been telling me all week that he had a surprise for me. If you know me very well, you know I hate surprises. Okay, that is not exactly true. I love to be surprised if I don't know it is coming, but waiting for a surprise is torture for me. So this has been driving me CRAZY! So today Jeremy gets home from work and tells the girls we can go for a bike ride and then they will take me to my surprise. So out the door we go, me with no make up and my hair in a pony tail (ie my uniform). We get to the end of the block and Jeremy stops in front of this amazing salon. Then he says "Surprise! You have an appointment for a make over!" It was SO fun! They cut, colored, and styled my hair and did my make up. I felt like a movie star. Eve didn't recognize me....heck, I barely recognized me!! So here I am, new and improved! :)