Last two days produced finishing touches on UFO's- yeah!

The last two days have been great for all the new UFO sewing projects I have had going. I always seem to produce under pressure and these were a few things that I had kicking around for awhile, that just needed 5 minutes of time to complete. A fun blanket for one of my sister's upcoming baby showers with some of the fabulous minky we just purchased! A couple of blocks for the Saratoga Socialites Quilt Guild and the welcome banner for a block of the month club at my local quilt shop, KC. Then my new passion, baby shoes with the bonded sherpa fleece and suede footbeds! My mom is attending two baby showers next weekend in Seattle for friends children and I decided to give her a little something handmade to take. I love the various Japanese fabrics we have been collected for these shoes. The pink pair is a pair I finally finished to send to my sister. She is starting to hang out in the nursery they have set up and look at all the little baby things. I just sent off two boxes of Ellie's clothes that will hopefully go to good use. It was fun going through them, it was like remembering Ellie in all the various items and the events of her almost two years that took place in them. What fun! Also I made lots of progress in cleaning out closets (can I store fabric and yarn in them?) to take items to a local children's consignment sale that will happen this coming weekend. It feels great to get rid of some clutter. I also found some "new" clothes for Sam in looking through Max's old things. It is great fun to remember Max at Sam's age and then as I dress Sam, I see such a connection between the two brothers. What fun! Okay all kids in bed . . . off to finish a few more projects. Oops I need to turn the lights off for the Earth Day hour black-out, maybe a book by candlelight!

Another Quilt Finished and on its way

Have had this all but finished for the better part of two months! Love, love, love it! It is so bright, lively and fun. A perfect place for my cousin's fifth child and first boy to play! It has quite a few "oops" moments in the quilt, but I am guessing that little baby Knox who is a few months old will not mind. My cousin and his family split their time between their home in Livingston, Montana and L.A. Ellwood is a writer and is currently writing for the CBS show Cold Case. I was trying to pick fun colors that seemed Californian to me. I picked out fabric today for a version of this quilt in pinks for my sister who is expecting a little girl on my birthday in June. Stay tuned . . .

Eco Coin Pearls, Our Fav for Mother's Day

Darcy and I have officially decided we are getting busy for the spring shows, local stores and just because we need to be creative! Today we took some photos of our new favorite pieces, they are simple, clean and fun. We have been experimenting with various pearls and have are in love with these eco coin pearls. Also we have been working with various sterling silver chains and we think we have found the look that is right for us. What do you think? Stay tuned for more . . .

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Wow, would I love to be in grade school again, well maybe. I realized today St. Pat's is a big deal if you are Irish, anyone in grade school or drinking age to lets say 30. Today I found myself surrounded by people who were so excited about the day, which was fun to see. Max made sure his St. Pat's boxers were out of the wash, his green t-shirt with the clover was ready and that he had a green snack for lunch! He also made sure I dressed his sister and brother in green. When I got dressed, he sent me back to change into something green. Too funny! Then our single babysitter has been planning a pub crawl for weeks. She turned down sitting on Wednesday because she will need all day to recover. Oh, what fun to look forward to just cutting loose. I am not saying I need to go on a bender, but for a couple of days to either be thrilled by the little things like a 6 year old or enjoy the freedom of only being responsible to oneself. I will try this year to leave all my little people in good hands and take a weekend for just me or maybe I can talk Steve into being my partner in crime and we put the little people in the hands of somehow who is well rested and is up for the challenge! Enjoy your day and I think I will pour myself that green beer now, it is officially afternoon!

We've Got Cover Button Fever

Darcy and I are having lots of fun with all the cover buttons! We got them into the supply shop and have been so busy selling them, we haven't had the time to make any for craft shows or the local stores that carry them for us! We just count them! That is about to change. We now have the button operation running smoothly and are putting the final touches on our inventory "system" on Monday. We love the cute and practical bags we have been using, we are getting great feedback, so we are sticking with using them. Look for some fun tutorials at least on basic button fun coming soon! Now we just have to figure out how to put tutorials on a blog. . . We have been trying to blog (so far mainly on our personal lives) so we can get into the habit and become familiar with blogging. I must say I wish I could find a class on some basic graphic design, blog design and maybe even some accounting . . . Running a little creative venture takes a little more than a love of making things, we are quickly finding out. But we have almost put the whole business side to the side again (our taxes are paid, our taxes are being filed and we have quickbooks!) So we got together last night and started to dream about the future of our little company and the fun we want to have. So watch out . . . in the meantime if you see us, please forgive the scraps on our hands, we've been counting buttons and lots of them!

Growing up way too fast

When did our six year old, seven this summer, become a teenager? Inside he is still our sweet loving boy, but on the outside . . . he is too funny right now. He tells us he is going to "chill" "hang" and "kick-back". I know I have done something right when he writes in his school journal that "snugglin with my mom rocks - I love it" and his favorite winter activity is "havin a snowball fit with my dad". So even though he is growing fast, his writing and spelling reminds us he is still in first grade. That has started to change, he was given a chance to try the challenge words to spell in the last few weeks and he loves it. He comes home each Friday afternoon so proud of himself, opens his backpack and pulls out the test. His arms go up and he explains "100 percent baby". I keep reminding myself to stop and enjoy these little moments, before I realize he really will be a teenager and I am sure that will be wonderful all the time . . .

Sam's Quilt - this kid appreciates a good blankie

We should have named him Linus, Sam loves his blankies. Actually he is into all comfort items that start with B. His trifecta of comfort is his Blankie, binky, and bottle (in that order). How much do I love that he loves the quilt I made for him. It is bright, fun and sassy, just like my sweet little man. It was the second quilt I made and I finished it during the holidays. He has slept with it faithfully ever since. When I put it into the wash, he cries. When I move it to the dryer, he tries to get it back even though it is wet. I have spent a lifetime of making things for those I love. Some of them seem to appreciate my handmade items and some are as I say, off my list! Max, our oldest, was a lover of all things handmade, he now looses hand knit hats and quickly tells me "oh that is nice mom" when shown my latest creation, then quickly gets back to what he was doing. He is almost off the list. My father-in-law has turned his nose many a time at hand knit socks that he deemed too colorful, or a wool hat that didn't have a fold-up brim, etc. I am sad to report, although he is a wonderful man, he is officially off my list. Sam I think will always have a spot on my list for his LOVE of this quilt. It makes me happy that he is comforted by something I put a lot of love into. . . and the quilt is almost as cute as the kid, isn't it?

Orla Kiely part two

Never too young to appreciate good design . . . after taking a few shots of all my Target goodness I stepped away to read to Sam. It got a little quiet in the kitchen, which made me nervous, so I thought I'd see what little miss trouble maker was into . . . this is what I found. . . A pint-sized Orla Kiely fan who had climbed onto to the table and was handling the goods. I quickly grabbed the camera and sat back to enjoy the show. She stacked and re-stacked the cups, she wiped her cookie crumbs with the tea towels, traced the pear image on the tablecloth with her finger and repeated her favorite adjective, "pretty". When she realized Sam and I were watching and knew she was caught on top of the table red handed, she picked up each cup and showed them to me, "pretty mommy pretty". How can you get mad at someone who appreciates good design?

Who can pass up Orla Kiely, colorfully cheeky and down-to-earth practicality?

I have stayed out of Target for the last month . . . it has been hard but somehow I managed. I knew the Orla Kiely line was so close, but thought maybe it would all be gone. Of course with two almost two year olds and a Target within moments of ones home, at some point I needed diapers! I must say her designs are so simple, graphic and wonderful I just had to bring some goodness home. (forgot to mention I had to hit two Target locations to get my full fix) All of the prints are so fun, but I LOVE the pears and am sure the slop I serve for dinner tonight will somehow taste better on our beautiful new tablecloth! Target, thanks for all the fun you provide, while not breaking the bank!

How lucky are we?

As I was frantically searching for various tax documents early this am, I came across some receipts that made it into the wrong file. They were a series of shipping receipts for various fedex envelopes from exactly two years ago today relating to adoption. Then it really hit me, our journey to add to our family really kicked into to gear 2 years ago. After dropping Max at school this am, I decided to enjoy the moment with Ellie and Sam before they are full fledged two year olds! Who would have guessed two years ago as I ran around filling out paperwork, talking to birthmothers and hoping . . . that we would be blessed with two amazing human beings to become a part of us. Everytime I kiss them goodnight or pick them up, I want to pinch myself. . . So when they wanted to "shoval" "shoval" "mamma shoval" this morning, I canceled our plans and we played. We played in snow. We played in the puddles. and we shovaled, shovaled, shovaled. I think all three of us thought if we could get all that snow and ice off the driveway and enjoy the wonderful sun, that maybe spring would finally come! We even walked up and down the street with our shovals in hand! Then I was brought back to reality, they got tired and did what any almost two year olds would do- melted down, just like our "nomans". Enjoy the sunshine, Ellie, Sam and I have shovaled out the snow!

Pop Garden Coin Quilt - I think I am in LOVE

You know how some things just speak to you. The coin quilt is just the ticket for me. I love the crisp white cotton with bright pops of color. Somehow I think this will be the quilt I am destined to make over and over. As this sewing obsession continues to grow, I find myself jumping from blog to blog inspired by the talented community that shares their brillance through their blogs. The coin quilt fixation came from looking at the Film in the Fridge blog Then I found the Piece-a-long, Coin Quilt group on FLIKR and I was inspired! This weekend I finished piecing the backing strips. I love Heather Bailey's Pop Garden line, I had to put the big strips on the back! I can't wait to finish, it is going to be Fabulous!