kids craft corner

Here is my son's craft corner.
It is a bit of a mess right now - it was his birthday a few weeks ago, so he received new supplies and he's had a lot of projects "under construction".
You will notice my table to the left. That way (theoretically) I can be working and look up from my sewing machine to see what he's doing. It doesn't quite work out that way, but that's my dream! It also means that all my supplies are at hand, so if he needs to borrow my scrapbooking scissors or yarn or ribbons, we don't have to go far!
The baby gate is the entry to the kitchen so it's easy access for all things messy (paint, playdoh). The playdoh and paint are in tubs to take into the kitchen, and all other crafting things (pencils, markers, stickers, paper, pom poms, pipe cleaners, etc.) are in the drawers in the black and white plastic containers.
He also has a "road trip bag" for a quick grab if we're going someplace. It has a couple special things - wikki stix, post-its, clipboard, and a couple standbys like pencils and crayons.
You will also notice a cork strip above his work space - it's for displaying his special works. Right now it has a couple pictures from his birthday party.
Check out flipflops & applesauce for more kids craft spot ideas.

library time

I was a teacher and a librarian before I was a mother. This is my dream come true! (I only wish I had taken it on something besides my cell phone camera. It was the only one with me at the time.)

join us won't you...

my new brother

Yay! My BROTHER finally arrived.
No, my brother has not traveled from NC to visit me. I HAVE A NEW TOY!



Thanks SO much to my hubby for supporting my hobby. my insanity. my crafty side. Whatever you want to call it, THANKS sweetie!

We're going to spend a little quality time getting to know each other over the next few days. There is so much to learn!

Favorite things so far...
1. It's so quiet when it's sewing.
2. I could dump over the accessories box and nothing will fall out. They latch in!
3. Hard-core box for the embroidery stuff.
4. The manual is actually useful (as opposed to another previously owned machine which was not so helpful in the manual department.)
5. Self-threader
6. It's blue and white (my favorite color combo ever!)

(little) annoyances...
1. I'm supposed to be able to load pics for a screen saver, but it won't take my pics yet. :(
2. It sews so fast that it kind of bunched up on my trial embroidery run yesterday. Luckily it was a dumb design on scrap fabric. Gotta figure out how to slow this brother down!
3. Could they have maybe saved on the dust cover and given me $50 off? It's kind of ucky fabric and it's never going to have time to collect dust!
4. I did a bunch of designs on my old machine using a 40mm x 40mm hoop. That isn't an option now, so I have to redo/ rethink some of my old designs.

Last night I ran out of bobbin so my first job is to see if I can wind a bobbin without help from the saleslady! Wish me luck!

music pieces

I am the "typical" quilter - I make a lot of quilts for others, but not very much for myself. Time to rectify that situation! OK, I'm not actually quilting for myself, but I'm quilting for my kids and the quilts are staying in my house!
I bought a bunch of Eric Carle fabric to play around with - Very Hungry Caterpillar & Brown Bear. I haven't quite decided what I'm doing with all of it yet, because I want it to be special. But I can't let it sit around forever or my son won't appreciate it.

My other project is for my son. That one I started yesterday. He picked out some guitar fabric the other day. I am going to be paper piecing some music squares and mixing that with some bright colored squares and the guitar fabric.
I spent the afternoon nap cutting some of the squares and tracing a bunch of the patterns for the specialty squares.



Here are two of the squares done. I'm not entirely happy with how the notes lined up, so I may be ripping some stitches today. It was too late last night when I finished the square for me to fuss about it then. Really, I have been self-taught with a little help from a friend. I need to figure out a better way to make sure it will line up BEFORE I stitch.



Today I'm going to work on a few more squares, and I may head to the store for some more grays and silvers for backgrounds. I didn't have as much in my stash as I thought! It's snowing now though, so I may just sew with what I have and save the excursion for tomorrow.

he was teasing

I have always loved "Southland in the Springtime" by the Indigo Girls for a lot of reasons... but mostly the line "When God made me born a Yankee he was teasing." A part of my heart belongs in the hills of West Virginia and eastern Tennessee. I spent two summers there working as a staff person for Appalachia Service Project. Let alone numerous other week-long excursions as a high school volunteer and adult leader. In college I also volunteered with RedBird Mission in eastern Kentucky. Those experiences changed my life, for reasons to numerous to list - and for reasons I still discover here and there in my life today.

Did you watch Diane Sawyer's special?
Watch it here if you haven't already.

It reminded me again of this place that is hidden deep in my heart. The very first place I ever volunteered was in Hazard, Kentucky. The first family member I worked with sold me one of her quilts. I still have it today. It is nothing more than a bunch of scraps handsewn together, and the layers tied together rather than quilted. It isn't a work of art, but rather a work of heart.

I've been feeling kind of "lazy" in my life. I do a lot of work in my church and with various community organizations. But I haven't done anything BIG and exciting. I haven't been a part of something inspiring in a while. Yes, I've been a *little* busy being a mom. But I can and SHOULD do more with my life.
I think I found the answer. (thanks rachel g. for pointing me in the right direction.)



Thanks Rachel C. for giving me a way.
I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do, but my heart is calling me back to the hills.

waiting

Here's my son, patiently waiting for the 2007 4th of July Parade.

We're kind of in waiting mode around my house... waiting for my new sewing machine and waiting for the new cousin/ niece to arrive.
A waiting picture seemed appropriate today!


join us won't you...

let's talk about me

love for self.

That really got me to thinking. What do I do that helps me take care of and love myself? I started this blog as a journey of sorting out all the parts of my life that I love and trying to make time for all of them. It's still a long road, but both kids are sleeping so I have a little time to show the love.

Here's my list in no particular order of things I do: (some more frequently than others)
-blog
-spa days (pedicure, massage, hair cut)
-sleep in
-indulge in the many forms of chocolate - especially mint chocolate
-play piano
-sing
-quilt
-sew
-make cards
-go for a bike ride
-send my kids off with my hubby
-read a book or magazine

Nothing fancy, nothing out of the ordinary. But doing something on that list for as little as half an hour daily really helps me get myself back in gear to do all of the not-for-me and/or not-so-fun parts of my life that are important and necessary.