Wake Up Susie

Recliner Redo

2012-01-24T20:17:00.000-06:00

I have been planning this project for about a year. Yep. A YEAR. That is about how long it took to get just the right fabric...

Feast your eyes.


I re-covered one (planning on doing the other one soon) of the recliners we bought for the boys a few years ago. I am sure you would all be shocked to know that boys are pretty rough on chairs...and toys...and dressers...and houses...

The one on the left is the old version. We just loved these when we saw them. That monkey fabric is the cutest thing since dimples on a baby. But, fast forward two years and what you have are two ripped, stained, lopsided monkey chairs.

I love how it turned out. I changed the back cushion by excluding the four buttons (they were the first thing to rip). Now it is a full, fluffy lump of softness. They boys have been arguing over who gets to sit in the new one.

Note to self - the camera preview window is not a good judge of how clear your pictures are.

I will try to work on my photography skills for future posts ;o)

A Day at the Park (in January!)

2012-01-22T20:35:00.000-06:00

It is January. Yes. This is true. Also true...it has been 70+ degrees in Texas this week.

I am bummed about this. I would like to have some winter weather. Some snow. Some fun times in said snow. Instead I have fun times at the park, in the sunshine, in January. The weather does not answer to me apparently.

The Proof is in the Pictures

2012-01-20T14:04:00.000-06:00

Today's post is a hodge podge of things. Sometimes I have ideas for posts that never make it to the page. Or I have pictures I want to share but I can't think of enough to write about it so I don't post them. Well today I am declaring to be 'Freestyle Friday' so I can share these random pics and ideas.

Here we go...

My boys are all country. See above for proof.

My little guy is super cute (when he isn't being a royal toothead). See above for proof.

My Hubby is a great Dad who would carry our boys on his back if needed. See above for proof.

Their bond can take my breath away sometimes. See above for proof.

My big guy can build some pretty amazing Lego houses. See above for proof.

Happy 'Freestyle Friday'!

Here a sheep, there a sheep, everywhere a sheep, sheep!

2012-01-11T21:07:00.000-06:00

My Farm Friends fabric is popping up all over the web lately. It is so humbling every time I search online and find a quilt shop carrying my fabric. I am so thankful for each and every shop that has ordered Farm Friends.

Here is a list of online retailers that pop up in a Google search. If you are a shop that has Farm Friends on the shelf or if you know of a shop that has it, please let me know and I will add it to the list.

Fat Quarter Shop

Heirloom Creations

Cabbage Rose Quilting

Thank you for your support and your orders! I appreciate all of you more than I can express here on this little space on the internet. I also have a Flickr group created for you to share all of your Farm Friends projects. See the slideshow on the sidebar and click on it to add your handmade goodies.

Christmas Morning at the Wood House

2012-01-03T20:14:00.000-06:00

This is what Christmas morning at the Wood house looked like this year...

It was perfect! We did not go overboard with presents this year, which felt really good. We really want to bring the boys up to know the true meaning of Christmas, not just Santa Clause and presents.

The packages wrapped in brown craft paper are the ones we gave the boys. Oh yeah, and the Angry Birds! Those darn birds are so cute and the boys were happy to see them when they got out of bed. If you happen to be one of the few who do not know what an angry bird is, see here. It's a fun game. Not rocket science but fun all the same.

The other gifts are from various family members. The ones that are not wrapped are from Santa, of course!

Santa also brought a really cool Hot Wheels race track. It is super long and super cool. See the action shot!!

Now the holidays are over and the new year is underway. We started the new year with a house full of sickies and we continue to be that way. All four of us. This is the first time we have all four been sick together. Hubby and I are exhausted. The boys are up half the night coughing. We spent $200 at the pharmacy today between prescriptions and over the counter meds. Surely that will get us on the mend soon. Not exactly how I thought 2012 would start but I am still feeling blessed by what I have and I know this year holds many exciting things in store. I am sure we won't be coughing and wiping snot for the whole of it, right? Right.

A Mixed Bag

2012-01-01T20:02:00.000-06:00

First things first -

Happy New Year!

Second things second -

We are sick. 'We' as in all four of us at the Wood house. 'Sick' as in runny noses, sore throats, fevers, watery eyes, chills, hot flashes, coughing (and gagging from said cough). Good times? Not really.

Third things third -

I want to show you what else (besides the Farm Friends robes in the previous post) I made for my family for Christmas.

This lovely table runner was a gift for my sister. I used two different mini charm packs that I picked up at Quilt Market. The mini charm packs are 42 2-1/2 inch squares. They give them away at Market. I think they are the cutest little pre-cuts. You have to think outside the box to use them since they are so small but believe me, there are lots of cool things you can do with these cuties.

I was looking for a pattern to use but then I decided to just wing it. I did a simple row table runner. I think it turned out splendidly. My sister agrees.

The biggest project I worked on for this Christmas is the quilt I made for my Mom. A couple of months ago I was at my Nannie's house (that is my Mom's Mom) and she gave me an old sewing bag of my Mom's. Inside the bag I found these finished embroideries along with a lot of unfinished ones. Nannie told me that Mom had worked on these before my oldest sister was born. Don't tell my oldest sister but that was 40 years ago!! I knew when I saw them that I was going to make them into something special for Mom for Christmas.

After I went through the sewing bag and determined that there were enough completed embroidery squares to make a quilt, I made up my mind. A quilt was in the works soon after. I can't tell you all of the emotions I felt when I completed this quilt. I didn't even realize it myself until Mom opened her gift. She recognized her embroidery squares pretty quickly and she started tearing up. Nannie was there also. I had told her when she gave me the sewing bag that I was going to make something from the completed squares for Mom but she didn't know what it would be or that I was going to give it to her for Christmas. She was also amazed by the gift.

I looked at my Mom staring at the quilt with tears in her eyes and I told her that we did it together, her and I. That was it...waterworks were well underway at that point. What a moment. I felt so proud and I know that she loves the gift. I will never forget that moment.

Here's hoping you had moments that will last forever this holiday season.

Welcome 2012. I can't wait to see what memories you have in store for me this year.

The Cutest Robes You Ever Did See!

2011-12-17T21:39:00.002-06:00

I have done quite a bit of sewing the last month or so. I really like to give meaningful gifts to my family for Christmas. This does not necessarily mean handmade but it never hurts ;o). I did make a few things this year. I can't show most of it just yet because if my family reads my blog then they will see their gift. Can't have that, now can we?

What I can show you are these:

These are the cutest children's robes around! I made these for my niece and nephew that live in Virginia. These are the first things I have made from my yardage of Farm Friends. The quilt and pillows I made for Quilt Market were from sample yardage. I have had the full yardage since I returned from Houston (October 30th). I washed it all, folded it nice, stacked it up and there it sat. I just wanted to look at it all nice and neat for a while...Then I decided on these robes from the Ottobre Design winter (6/2011) issue and I knew I was ready to get cuttin'!

These robes came together so easily. They are lined with super soft, yummy, warm flannel from Anna Maria Horner. I won a giveaway on her blog a couple of months ago and I received 2 yards of each seen above. I can't even begin to describe how soft and buttery these flannels are. Truly...they are amazing. Get some. Quick.

Back to the robes.

The smaller one is for my nephew and the larger one is for my niece. I was really trying hard to make sure that the one for my niece turned out girly enough while using Farm Friends. I hope I achieved that. She has reddish, brown hair and somewhat fair skin so the green will really compliment her coloring. The flannel is girly on hers and the trim around the neck and front of the robe is done differently than the one for my nephew. His version is all boy, all the way. Blue outside, boyish flannel inside. The style of both robes is similar to a karate robe (I know it is not called a robe in Karate but it is late and I am trying to get this post up before I put the boys to bed and I should have done that thirty-nine minutes ago so I don't want to take the extra time to look up the correct name, please forgive me).

I think they will like them very much. If not, my sister will tell me they do and I will be happy. That's what sisters do.

I will post the other handmade items after Christmas. There is a project that I am very proud of and I can't wait to share it with you.

Coming April 2012 - City Streets!

2011-12-15T15:11:00.000-06:00

My next collection is coming out in April 2012. I know that sounds like a bit far away but you know as well as I do how time flies.

The collection is called City Streets. I really like this one. I like it even more than Farm Friends, actually. City Streets has a modern yet classic feel to it. The colors are bright and vivid and the cars are totally cute!

These are the main prints for the collection. These come in blue ground, green ground and white ground. The scene is a busy city street with skyscrapers, office buildings, and the local deli along with a city park and all the cars travelling from here to there. There is even a stop light and some little birds in the mix.

These are the tossed cars prints. They are in red, orange, and blue. The background has a diamond cut texture like you would see on the chrome steps of a semi-truck.

These are the tonal prints. They come in blue, red, and green. The tonals are printed with half of the fabric in the checked pattern and half of it in the stripe. That provides the sewer with two tonal prints in one!

These are the stripe prints. How fun are they?? There is a red and a blue colorway. The red one is not translating on my screen correctly. It is the same red as above in the tossed cars print with the orange ground. The lines of cars are 4 1/2 inces wide on either side of the stripes. This provides two prints in one again. So much versatility in this collection!

And finally, these are the dots. Dots! Who doesn't love dots?!? They are so universal. You can use dots in every project. Here you have orange, green, and red options.

As with Farm Friends, my inspiration for City Streets are my two boys. If you have a boy, know a boy, see a boy - you know that they love cars. They are born with a love of cars. It is a part of them. They can play with cars for hours. Very strange how that just is.

Clothworks has posted the pictures of the collection on their website here. It is also on Fat Quarter Shop here.

Santa Elf

2011-11-29T19:34:00.000-06:00

You won't believe what the boys found in our Christmas tree this morning!

The boys were sleepy-eyed and I was just about to head out the door for work when Benjamin noticed this little guy sitting in our tree.

In his little hand he held a note tied with a green ribbon. Benjamin pulled on the ribbon and unrolled the note and exclaimed, 'It's from SANTA!'.

Here is the note:

The boys are excited and a little worried. They wonder, 'Is this elf really here to make sure we are nice??'

I say, 'We shall see...'

Six Years

2011-11-16T22:13:00.000-06:00

You hear it all the time - how fast time goes by. It is hard to believe that it has been six years since I became a mom. SIX YEARS! What?? How did that happen?

My little man is now 6 whole years old. November 11, 2005 was a day I will never forget. You see, my birthday is November 12. I had planned all along during the pregnancy that I would delivery my baby boy on my birthday. He was due on November 25th but that didn't convince me. I was certain. I had fate on my side. Both of my older sister's had delivered their first born baby on their birthday. When I went into labor on the 11th, I knew the circle would be complete. After all, first timers usually take a while, right? WRONG! I arrived at the hospital at 3:00 p.m. pm the 11th and out he came at 7:04. That is 5 hours from the 12th. 5 HOURS!

He wanted his own day. I can't blame him. And believe me...once it was time to push him out...well, let's just say I was not thinking about what day it was. ;o)

Here he is 6 years later. Isn't he the most handsome boy you've ever seen? Say yes. Or I will come over there and pinch your ear.

He is a big Mario Brothers fan. He especially likes Mario Kart for Nintendo Wii. He beats Hubby and I every race. There is no way we can compete. He knows all the tricks and shortcuts. It is neat to watch him play. Not so neat to get your butt kicked by a 5 (now 6) year old. Just sayin'.

Here is the cake I made for him. I tried to make it look like a dirt track. I crushed up peanut butter Cap'n Crunch and Chocolate Mini Wheats cereal to make the 'dirt'. It worked great! And he loved it so all the better.

You don't see anything wrong do you? There is no way that is a 3 year old finger sized hold in the front of the cake?! I would never let that happen. I supervise my 3 year old at all times. And I would never put the cake on the table within reach and leave the room...

I made this cute bunting for his party. It is just printed on card stock and cut out and strung on a bit of elastic thread for proper hang. I love how it looks hanging from the mantle. It has a black and white checkered background. Perfect accent to his Mario Kart party!

I also printed out a bunch of Mario Kart images I found online and scattered them around the party table. Easy Peasy. That is my kind of decorating.

Now the party is over and another year has gone by. Remember, time flies. Like really super, duper flies. Especially when you are watching your babies grow up. Sniff, sniff.

Good 'Ole Days

2011-11-11T16:11:00.000-06:00

Hello Friends!

I wanted to take a moment and travel back in time with you.

Hubby was cleaning out the storage room in our 100+ year old home when he spotted these treasures.

Aren't they great!? They are an old Fisher Price barn and farm house.

We saw these when we first moved in to the house six and a half years ago but at that time, I was just pregnant with Benjamin and we were busy spiffying up the place and didn't give them a second thought. Now, two boys later, these have been given a whole new life. I think they belonged to Hubby's parents and they were storing them, along with other items, in the old farm house that was on the property when they bought it. They never lived in the house, it was used for storage until nine or ten years ago.

Anywhooooo...

Hubby found them again while cleaning out the room for a garage sale. We thought about putting them in the sale but I couldn't do it. they speak to me. They say 'Simple Times' and 'Good Memories'. Do you hear them too, or is it just me?

They are not in pristine condition but let me tell you...what they lack in condition they totally make up for in character!

This is the inside of the farm house. It opens up to reveal the rooms of a cozy little two story home. The ceiling is being held up by a broken off paint stirrer courtesy of Hubby. There was a bit of a warp going on from some water damage some time in the past. I don't mind it one bit.

This is a closer look at one of the two upstairs bedrooms. Notice the little books and bowl of what-knots on the dresser.

The other bedroom upstairs is the play room. The checked curtains and the toy shelf are too cute! And look at the rug on the floor!

The barn makes me smile. It makes a moo sound when you open the door.

This is the back of the barn. Why, hello little goose, goslings, and hen!

Inside the barn you find the milk cans, hay stack, and feed sacks along with the little barn owl and barn cat. Look at how much detail there is in this. It really reflects the time from which these great toys came.

My little Maxwell approves! I am so glad to be able to share these toys of the past with my two guys. They have enjoyed playing with them and using their farm animals and little people to create their own farm.

Isn't it great when you can bring things from the past into the present? Did you have these when you were little? I think there may have been a barn like this one around my grandparent's house when I was a young girl. When I first opened the barn door and heard the moo sound I could remember playing with one like it long ago. Funny how memories work.

Thanks for travelling back in time with me for a minute. Do you have any similar stories you would like to share?

Quilt Kit Now Available

2011-11-06T11:40:00.000-06:00

My Zero Calorie Donuts Quilt Kit is now available on It's Sew Emma! You can get the pattern and the kit and the backing set so you can make your own Zero Calorie Donuts!! Now those are the kind of donuts I like! ;o)

Farm Friends is Here!!!

2011-11-04T18:48:00.001-05:00

When Hubby and I returned from Quilt Market last weekend, this is what we found waiting on us. Yay! This stack of fabric makes me so happy I can hardly stand it. This is really a dream come true. And if you read my blog on a regular basis, you know how I feel about making dreams come true. This sweet stack of fabric has sat on my couch all week. Just sitting, all nice and neat. Folded all pretty. Just a tall stack of color, fun and happiness.

Alas, last night I finally decided to do something besides stare at it. I decided to pre-wash and start planning what I will make. I know I will make the free Farm Friends quilt I posted a few weeks ago. I am just about done with the embroidery panels so that should come together rather quickly. I also have an ambitious project planned for recovering the two little recliners we have for the boys.

Here are the four colorways of the hay bales print. Lemon yellow, pumpkin orange, primary blue and grass green.

These are the cute little tossed animal prints. There are three colorways here. Barn red, pumpkin orange and sky blue. All the animals are hangin' around in this one; cow, pig, sheep, rooster and chicks. They are the 'Farm Friends'!

And here are the three dot colorways. Sky blue, white, and barn red.

Next up is the main print of the collection. This is the farm scene print. It is done in both an ocean blue and light green colorway. All of the characters are in this print along with the barn, tractor and apple tree.

This final print is greatness! These dots are 4 inches around alternate between solid color and motif filled. I just love it. The colorways are sky blue, olive green and white. I think I will have the most fun using this print to create some new things for my boys.

Farm Friends is now showing up in a fabric store near you and online. I set up a Flickr group so I can share my Farm Friends creations with you and you can show me all the fun stuff you create. I can't wait to see what all of you creative people come up with!

Quilt Market Pics with a Bonus

2011-11-02T11:52:00.000-05:00

Quilt Market in Houston went well. I had a great time with the Clothworks group. I made some new friends and was inspired by many things. I couldn't ask for much more, right?

Farm Friends was represented well in the Clothworks booth. Wouldn't you know it though, I totally spaced on getting pictures of any of it!?! I have no idea what I was thinking.

I feel like the weekend went by super fast. I was really only at the show on Saturday. We arrived on Friday afternoon just in time to attend the two Schoolhouse sessions that Clothworks designers were hosting. Then off to a fun, quick appetizer dinner before heading back to the hotel to watch the final World Series game (totally disappointing since we are Rangers fans). Saturday was a full day of walking the show floor. I had intended on doing an initial 'sweep' of the show and returning to the booths of interest later in the day. What I had not anticipated was for it to be 1:00 by the time Hubby and I reached the mid-way point. We took a quick lunch break and got back to it but by the time we got to the end it was nearly time to head back to the hotel to get ready for the Clothworks dinner. Wow! Time flew and there was so much to see!

I snapped a few pics along the way but had I known it was going to be the only time I would walk the floor, I would have snapped up a whole lot more. Sunday morning I went back and stayed two hours at the booth with my Clothworks friend, Brandi. She is the Marketing Coordinator. She also happens to be really nice (we have a lot in common, especially the nice part). I sat in on a couple of her meetings then it was time to head home. It was a quick trip but also a very enjoyable one.

Here are the pics I snapped.

Amy Butler's Booth. Stunning as always!

Natalie Lymer of Cinderberry Stitches had a really adorable display in the Lecien booth of her new (and 1st!) fabric collection, Woodland along with her A-mazing embroidery work. Love it!

More of Cinderberry Stitches display

This is part of the Anna Griffin, Inc. display. This particular collection was speaking to me. I love the flowyness (is that even a word?) of the little dress and the pielike (again, even a word?) pillow.

This is another Anna Griffin, Inc. collection. As a mom of two young boys, anything dinosaur is sure to get my attention!

This pirate display is too cute! The base is actually a sandbox but it is all done up in Pirate Monkey cuddle fabric (Shannon Fabrics) so it looks like the softest place for your little pirate to lay their head after a long day at sea.

I am not sure that words can even express how stunningly original these next three designs are. In fact, all of her designs blow me away. The details in these pieces are nothing short of amazing.

Totally rockin' Robots quilt

Awesome Little Monsters quilt

Bonus Feature!!

Halloween 2011...

Off to Market We Go!

2011-10-27T21:45:00.000-05:00

Hubby and I are off to International Quilt Market in the morning. I had to go without him in May to Salt Lake City because we just couldn't justify both of us going at that time. I am happy that the Fall Market is always in Houston so that means he will be able to attend every Fall. I like having him there for support. I also like having time to just be the two of us for the weekend. It reminds us of how it all started.

Anyhoo, we leave in the morning for Houston. I have a few Farm Friends goodies to take along with me. Farm Friends will be represented in full force this time since it is actually fabric now and not just on paper. I will take lots of pictures and share them when I get back. In the meantime, here are the things I will be taking along.

This is the Farm Friends quilt pattern that I designed for the Fat Quarter Shop's new pattern company, It's Sew Emma. It is called Zero Calorie Donuts. So cute! You can pick up the pattern over at It's Sew Emma and the Farm Friends fabric you need at Fat Quarter Shop.

These are some adorable overalls made by the lovely and talented Bonnie of Fishsticks Designs. She is going to have her first booth at Market this weekend and she liked my Farm Friends fabric so much that she asked to make a few of the items for her booth out of it. She was also kind enough to make the cuteness on the right for me to display in the Clothworks booth. So adorable!!

These are a couple of pillows that I whipped up at the last minute. I had to take the pictures inside because it is dark outside right now. I just finished the roll pillow. Bad pics...sorry. I am thrilled with how they turned out. I think they show a bit of the versatility of the fabric collection. There is a mix of small scale and large scale designs in Farm Friends.

I was hoping to make the Farm Friends embroidery quilt and hand out the free pattern but unfortunately I have not received enough yardage to complete the quilt as of yet. I am almost done with the embroidery panels, however, so once the fabric arrives at my door I should be very close to making the finished product to share with you. You can get started on your own by grabbing the free pattern here.

Have a great weekend!

Homemade Halloween

2011-10-24T18:18:00.000-05:00

Please allow me to introduce you to Skelly Skeleton and Caffie Cow.

These friendly fellas will be roaming the streets on Halloween night looking for candy. If you see them, please put some treats ~~chocolate~~ in their goodie bags. They We LOVE chocolate.

Moments of Motherhood

2011-10-20T20:14:00.000-05:00

There are moments in life when I wish I could stop time. Stay in that moment forever. Never forget the feeling, the faces, the words. I frequently feel this way when I am spending time with my boys. I will feel my throat catch and my breath gets taken away. I could almost just break down and cry thinking about it.

A couple of nights ago I was reading a bed time story to the boys. I decided I would pick the book this time. We usually let them each pick one (or two, or three...) but on this night I had a particular book in mind that we had not read in quite a while. It was Love You Forever.

This book is a children's classic. The first time I read it I thought it was a little weird but after a while it grew on me. The boys like the funny pictures of the little boy growing up and driving his Momma crazy. They also like the little song that the Momma sings to the boy while rocking him. It goes like this:

I'll Love You Forever

I'll Like You For Always

As Long As I'm Living

My Baby You'll Be

The Momma sings this little song to the boy all throughout his life. Even as he grows to be bigger than she is, she still holds him and sings to him.

I was reading to the boys and they were laughing at the funny parts and smiling at the sweet parts. There is a kitty cat that appears throughout the book and since we recently aquired four (yes, 4!) kittens, they have taken a liking to cats. I read about the boy growing up and moving into his own house across town. The mom drives to her son's house in the middle of the night to sing to him. It is a little weird but I can totally relate to the mothering instinct she must be feeling. I finished reading and closed the book.

As I was tucking my little munchkins under the covers, I asked Benjamin if it would be ok for me to drive to his house in the middle of the night to sing to him when he grows up and moves out.

My precious little five year old looked at me and said, 'Momma, I am NEVER going to move out. I am going to stay with you FOREVER.'

I said, 'What about when you get married? Your wife might want to live in her own house and not with me.'

He replied, 'I am not getting married, Momma. All I need is you.'

That was a moment I felt my throat catch and my breath get taken away. That is a moment I wish I could freeze in time. Right now, my little boy loves me so much that he cannot imagine a time without me.

I will hold this memory in my mind when he becomes a teenager and acts crazy like the teenage boy in the book. I will remember this moment when he brings his first girlfriend home to meet his Dad and I.

But right now, I am basking in the blessing of having two boys that love their Momma and Daddy so much that they want to stay with is FOREVER.

Another Day, Another Adventure

2011-10-15T21:23:00.001-05:00

I took these pictures about three weeks ago. Hubby and I like to take the boys out for 'adventures' in the pasture and around the house. We are very fortunate to live on family land where we have free range of about 180 acres. We walk, we talk, we sing, we laugh, we love.

These pokey little monsters are called Prickly Pear cactus. I am totally enamored with these things. Most of the year, they are just happily sitting in the pasture, minding their own business, blending in with their surroundings. Then BAM! These funky, bright red 'pears' pop out! I think they are so neat.


A word of caution...DON'T GRAB THE RED 'PEARS' BARE HANDED! My five year old can attest to that. OK, maybe I can too but I'm not telling.

On this particular adventure, we spotted a new fella. This little guy was born about a week before these pics. I had the perfect photo op when we came upon him. He as nestled in the tall grass, curled up in a cute little ball. Then he saw us. Or maybe he heard us because the two year old was jumping up and down yelling 'LOOK, A BABY CAFFIE!!!'. So before I could snap the perfect photo, he jumped up and headed for Mama.

Oh well. He is still really cute. Since this day, there have been about five more 'baby caffies' born. And there is a lot more green in the pasture. We were blessed with about 5 inches of rain last week and it did wonders for the pastures and the tanks. We can look out our kitchen window and see water. That has not happened all summer. The tank has been low since May. Texas will be looking at a couple of years to get out of the terrible drought we experienced this summer but 5 inches of rain sure was a blessing!

Free Farm Friends Quilt Pattern

2011-10-07T11:37:00.000-05:00

I finished the instructions for the free Farm Friends embroidery quilt pattern. I am still trying to figure out how to make this a downloadable file. As soon as I do, I will add it to the sidebar of the blog so you all can print away!

I will be getting my Farm Friends yardage any day now and I plan to whip up one of these cuties. What do you think? Pretty cute, huh? :o) I think a baby nursery done in these bright, fun colors and super cute embroidery animals would be just perfect! If you do that please send me pics and I will totally feature you in a blog post!!

Farm Friends will be in a store near you in the next couple of weeks. Go to your favorite quilt shop(s) and ask for it.

Make These. No, Really!

2011-10-03T21:43:00.000-05:00

I like to cook. I have mentioned it here before. I especially like to bake. This past weekend I found myself inspired by the most unlikely of things. I will share that in a bit. First, I have to share what I made. And be warned...these little sweeties are deviously delicious. There is nothing healthy, low fat, or low calorie about the yumminess I am about to show you. Sometimes you just have to go for it!

I give you.....Dino Doughnut Bites (you will see why they are called this in a moment)

Step 1. Dry.

Step 2. Wet.

Step 3. Drop.

Step 4. Roll.

Step 5. Dunk.

Step 6. Flip.

Step 7. Stack.

Step 8. Helper.

Step 9. Want.

Step 10. Enjoy.

Step 11. Inspiration. (yes, that is a coloring book)

Step 12. Share. (don't knock it 'til you try it)

You're Welcome.

Sewing with Farm Friends

2011-09-26T10:47:00.000-05:00

Look what I have been doing! My first yardage of Farm Friends arrived last week and I have been busy making the quilt top for my Fat Quarter Shop quilt pattern sample. I am off to the quilter today to have the custom quilting done. It has been so much fun sewing with these prints. The colors are so fun and bright!

I pre-washed all the fabric before I cut the pattern pieces for the quilt top. I have to say that I am really happy with the quality of the fabric. It is very soft and durable and a breeze to sew with.

Here is a look at the sample yardage I used for the quilt top. This only includes the prints that I needed for the quilt. I should be getting yardage of the entire collection in the next two weeks. I will do a full reveal of the collection when that happens, you can count on it!

Did you notice those cute monkeys in the background of the pic above? That is probably my all-time favorite collection of prints. It is by Erin Michael for MODA. She is known for her monkey prints. I used some of her monkey prints to make a couple of diaper bags for my second son before he was born. We still use those bags almost three years later. Anyway - the monkey print in the background of the above pic is the bottom edge of one of two pint sized recliners for our boys. We love these things. I have plans to re-cover them in Farm Friends soon. The monkey print is adorable and it has been through two years of rough and tumble use by two very active boys...suffice it to say, it is time for a redo.

See that? That's me! My name is on that selvage! Yay! (sorry--couldn't help it)

So that is the update from my sewing machine. I can't wait to share more pics with you in the coming weeks. It has been 11 months since I made the announcement that I signed with Clothworks Textiles. Now the time has come to enjoy the fruits of my first collection. I am eager to see what happens next and to share each exciting step with you!

A Simple Girl, A Simple Dream

2011-09-21T18:57:00.000-05:00

Have you ever thought about owning a cow named Bessie andpouring the milk from Bessie over your cereal in the morning?

How about collectingeggs from Henrietta each morning and whipping up an omelet or two for you andyour family?

Maybe you want to add some onions and peppers to your omelet? Welljust send your cotton-topped little boy out to the garden to pick a few for ya.Ahhh! The simple life. Raising your own animals, growing your own veggies,bringing your children up in a wholesome, simple, easy going lifestyle…what afantastic dream!

Did I say DREAM? Why yes, I sure did. This is not myreality. I dream of a life like this. A life where I am like June Cleaver andmy boys are just like Beaver Cleaver, all wide-eyed and full-to-the-brim withcuriosity. I imagine myself cooking all things from scratch and making do withwhat is readily available. Are these thoughts a thing of the past? Can a familyreally do that in today’s crazy world? I sure like to think it can happen. Iwant to believe a life like this can still exist.

This is not June Cleaver

Of course I would need to make lots of aprons and my boyswould have to love wearing denim overalls.

Have you had a chance to visit The Pioneer Woman website?Please do. You won’t regret it. She will have you rolling on the floor fromlaughter and deep in thought about family and the simple life.

My little family shares a few similarities with The PioneerWoman; the biggest being Homeschooling. I don’t think I have mentioned on thisblog that my husband and I are homeschoolers. We really wouldn’t have it anyother way. Maybe I will write down all the reasons we have for keeping our boyshome with us. I will put it in a post so you can better understand our position.Be looking for that soon. In the meantime just try not to think we are freaksbecause of it, ok? Back to The Pioneer Woman – She had a vision of what herlife would be. She had the big fancy job in the big fancy town making the bigfancy bucks. She thought she was on the right track. Then fate stepped in. Iwon’t do her story the injustice of trying to retell it here. Please take amoment to visit her site and read for yourself. The point is, sometimes yourpath needs to be rerouted. Sometimes where you are is not where you should be.Sometimes you think you are on the right track only to find out you are headedto Timbuktu instead of Fantasy Island.

Now, back to June Cleaver…

We DO live in the country. We DO gather Henrietta’s eggs forbreakfast. We DO have some cows out in the pasture but we do not milk them(they are not the milking kind, and we do not own them so we really shouldn’tcarry our bucket out to the pasture and try to milk someone else’s non-milkcows). We DO raise a garden (most years…not this year though because, in caseyou didn’t hear, Texas had the hottest summer on record). I have been thinkinga lot about the kind of life I want to live. A simple life. A life that isfull of fond memories and homemade biscuits and aprons and denim overalls.

Remember, I am a dreamer.

Always have been...Always will be :o)

I Made Something!

2011-09-09T20:19:00.000-05:00

I want to start off by saying how much I have missed my sewing machine. I didn't realize just how much until I sat down last weekend and started sewing. I have had a lot of projects swimming around in my head lately. When Hubby asked me if I wanted to have some sewing time my mind jumped from one thought to the next. I finally settled on a new shirt for me and a cute little teddy bear that I have been wanting to make for quite some time.

First off...the shirt.

I used a pattern that I have had for about two years and some super cute fabric I got on clearance about two months ago. I knew when I bought the fabric that I wanted to make a shirt out of it.

The pattern was very easy to follow and only contained 5 pieces; front panel, back panel, sleeve panel, back trim panel, front trim panel. The sewing went well. I used a coordinating blue Gutermann thread. I am really glad I did my research and found a good quality sewing thread. It has made a world of difference in my sewing. Not near as many thread clogs or tangles in my machine. The fabric I used was something I have never sewn with before. I am not well schooled on the different types of fabrics other than cotton. This fabric is not cotton. It is definitely meant for clothing. Maybe voile? I am not even sure what voile is...who am I kidding?

Anyway, the back panel and front panels went together very well. I did a french seam in the back so there would not be any of those pesky shedding loose seams down the back. The front has dart detailing and adorable pockets (first time I have put pockets in a shirt). The darts and pockets turned out perfect. Now is where the fun begins...

I cut the pattern a size larger than what I wear so that 1) it would accommodate the french seams and 2) it would not be too fitted. I like my shirts to have some flow to them, know what I mean? Well, for all the good I did with the front, back, pockets and neck detail, I negated it all on the sleeves.

Somehow I ended up with sleeves that are about 5 inches too large for the sleeve opening! Five inches!! What?! How in the world does that happen? I was following the pattern! Now I have a really cute, unfinished, currently sleeveless top (not what I was going for).

On to better things...

The bear. The cute bear. The really cute bear. See? I was not kidding. This thing is cute!

I used a cotton/linen blend fabric with little hedgehogs on it. I have had this fabric for over a year. I didn't want to cut into it. I only had 1/2 yard of this color and 1/2 yard of a beige. I made this little guy loosely based on a pattern in the book you see here; 'Bearmaking 101'. This book has been on my shelf for well over 7 years. Just sitting there, collecting dust. I rescued it last week and cracked it open (cue the dust bunnies).

I think my first bear making experience went pretty well. Maxwell sure seems to like his new buddy. He has named him Teddy Bear. Very creative, huh?

That wraps up my sewing adventures of last weekend. Who knows what I might get into this weekend. You know, I think I have an unfinished shirt hanging around here somewhere.......

Here's hoping your weekend is full of family, fun and inspiration!

Waiting Game

2011-08-31T14:38:00.001-05:00

Soon I will be able to show you some actual Farm Friends fabric! Soon I will be making some fun things to take to Quilt Market for the Clothworks booth! Soon I will be making the sample quilt to be photographed for my quilt pattern with Fat Quarter Shop! Soon I will have my first sewing pattern ready for print (took way longer than anticipated)! Soon it won't be 100+ degrees in Texas (I hope)!

That is a lot of stuff happening soon. All it takes now is a little patience. Ok...a LOT of patience, but I know all the waiting is going to be worth it. Having Farm Friends fabric in my hands and seeing it with my eyes is going to be a big moment for me. I have dreamed of that moment for quite a while. I will probably have a hard time cutting into that first yard but I bet I get over the hesitation pretty quick.

On a somewhat different topic...

I designed a Farm Friends quilt pattern featuring embroidery. I thought I might put it on this here blog as a free pattern. Would any of you like to have this pattern for free? Here is a link to the free pattern.

I am not sure how many of you follow the trends in the crafting/handmade world. My guess is that many of you do or would probably not read this type of blog. Anyway, there has been a big rise in hand stitching popularity recently. I designed this pattern a couple of months ago and wasn't really sure what to do with it. I have decided that it is a simple enough pattern to offer here for free if there are some interested people. I thought the embroidery panels were just too cute to keep under wraps where they may never reach the light of day. I have not made this quilt yet since I don't have any Farm Friends yardage (see above). I would like to make the embroidery panels though. I have done some cross stitching in the past but never embroidery. I think I will give it a try. Not sure when that might be but I have good intentions. Don't we all?

Sneek Peek

2011-08-17T09:55:00.000-05:00

Did I mention on this little blog that I think Fat Quarter Shop is the best online source for fabric, patterns, notions, books, AND the most fun to view and easy to navigate web design that I have found? Well if I haven't, let the record now show that I think FQS rocks!

When I first saw my fabric collection on the FQS website, I was so thrilled. It was a dream come true. Hubby and I were talking about quilt kits and how they were created and what was included and so on. I told him the best place to look was FQS. He went online and started browsing the site and a few minutes later he said, 'Look, Farm Friends is on here!". My heart skipped a beat, I was so excited.

Speaking of quilt kits... I may have designed something special with FQS to be released with Farm Friends. In fact, I just may be giving you a sneek peek right now!

See this? You can also see it here. This is my very first quilt pattern, to be sold exclusively through FQS and their new pattern club, 'It's Sew Emma'. The pattern and quilt kit will be available on FQS in October. I will do a full post on it when it is available. For now, feast your eyes on these guilt free, Zero Calorie Donuts!

Zazzle Giveaway

2011-08-11T10:34:00.000-05:00

You have seen my Zazzle store, right? Just look over to the sidebar to see a preview of the items I have created. How would you like to win one of those super cute items? I am going to GIVE AWAY the product of YOUR CHOICE to a lucky reader! Did you read that right? Product of YOUR CHOICE? YES!! You decide what you want to win! Sweet, huh?

Here is how it works...

Browse through my offerings in the store and choose your favorite product.
First entry - Leave a comment telling me which product you like the best.
Second entry - Follow my blog.
Third entry - Follow me on Twitter. Tweet about the giveaway and show me your tweet.
Fourth entry - Friend me on Facebook. Post on Facebook about the giveaway and show me your post.

That's right...four ways to enter the giveaway! I am going to give you plenty of time to enter this one. The winner will be chosen on August 31st. That gives you 20 days to spread the word and enter as many ways as you can. Also, if there is a product you would like to see my designs on, let me know. Maybe your favorite Zazzle product is not in my store yet. Let me know what it is and if I decide to add it to my store, you could win it!

Who doesn't love a giveaway? Now get busy browsing and commenting. Tell a friend, a co-worker, your mom, your dad, your dog, your cat! I can't wait to see what products you like the most! I will chime in on the action with my favorite product too...look for me in the comments list soon! I have a number in mind for the total entries I would like to see on this giveaway. If that number is reached, I just may giveaway two items! I will share the number when and if it is met. So get out there...spread the word...

UPDATE...No entries = no winner. Kinda bummed about that.

What a Vacation!

2011-08-06T09:37:00.000-05:00

The Hubby and I are back from vacation and trying to get back in the swing of things. After being in paradise for a whole 7 days, it has been a chore to return to normal. We were very fortunate to get the opportunity to join my two sisters and their spouses on a trip the St John, U.S. Virgin Islands. WOW! It was probably the best vacation I have ever experienced. We went without any kids this time. It was hard to be away from the boys for 7 days but we checked in on them everyday (OCD parents!) and they were having a blast with their cousins all week.

This is what we experienced...

*These photos have not been altered in any way except for the rounded edges. This is REALLY the color of the water! It is breathtakingly beautiful!

The six of us chartered a boat for one whole day. That was the highlight of the week. Our captin, Mindy, was super cool and took us to some of the best places that you can only reach by water. Here is Hubby and I on the boat. It was a fantastic day!

I went snorkling!!! This was my first time to snorkel and to swim in open water like this. I have been to the beach before but I have never jumped out of a boat in the deep water and swam, much less with my face down and a snorkel in my mouth! I am so glad I did it! The coral was everywhere we looked and the fish were so colorful and plentiful! On one particular snorkel that my sister and I refer to as the 'extreme snorkel', we spotted a sea turtle on the surface and then it went into the depths where we were able to see it swimming. What an amazing site! Captain Mindy joined my sister, her husband, and myself on our 'extreme snorkel' and she spotted a small nurse shark in the water with us while we were snorkelling. Luckily she didn't mention it while we were swimming because we probably would have freaked out! :o)

Now....back to reality...

We are home again and I am back to work and the boys are back to being boys. In fact, last night I spent about two hours taking every last toy out of their room. I even had to take the pillows and blankets off of their beds until it was bedtime because they were trying to have pillow fights while I was removing all of the toys. OY! We have threatened to take their toys before but after seeing Hubby's face (defeated and exhausted) when I got home from work yesterday, I decided it was time for less talk and more action. The funny thing is...their room looks so much better without all of that stuff in there! hahahaha!

We shall see how long it lasts. I am hoping they will be good enough to earn a few things back this weekend. OR...maybe we will just keep it for a while...it looks so clean......

How about y'all? Any advice on how to get an almost 6 year old and an almost 3 year old to listen to everything you say?? (wink, wink!)

Summer Time and the Livin' is Easy...

2011-07-13T21:31:00.000-05:00

Summertime in Texas can be brutal. Even if you don't live in the South, chances are you have heard of the unusually hot summer we are experiencing. I know what you're thinking...it's Texas! It's supposed to be hot! Well, this is true, but, the heat that we have been having is this year is above and beyond the norm. I am talking about 95 degrees feeling like a cold front passing thru. The worst part of it is the lack of rain. We walk around outside and the grass just crunches beneath our feet. We are watering only the grass in the very front of our house. At least the boys can run around with a little bit of lush green stuff to stomp on.

In spite of this heat, we are having a pretty good summer so far. The pool at home is more like a hot tub but we make do. It is an above ground, 12 foot round pool. We can let some of the hot water out and put the garden hose in for a refreshing shot of ice cold well water. We have been fishing at the livestock tank on the weekends. I have enjoyed this so much. I used to go fishing quite often when I was young. I didn't realize how much I missed it. The boys like to pet every fish we catch before we toss it back in the water. Luckily we don't have to wait long between catches so their attention is kept fairly well. There is a nice shady spot to sit in and watch the turtles come to the surface for air and sometimes little fish come close enough to the edge to be seen. We pack a little 'adventure bag' with crackers and drinks and worms and camera and off we go. The tank is just a little ways behind our house so we take a little walk along a trail to get there. Every time we go on that walk I get an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the life I have the wonderful family Hubby and I have created. The boys are always excited and chatty and they switch from walking beside me to walking beside their Dada. I was able to capture a bit of the feeling in some photos this weekend. *Love*

I have some exciting news to share about my design adventures. I have designed a couple of quilt patterns for Fat Quarter Shop's New In-House Pattern Company! It is called 'It's So Emma'. They will be featuring one of my patterns in a quilt kit to accompany Farm Friends. I will share the pattern with you as soon as I am allowed. The instructions are being written and details still being decided. I just wanted to share the news since I am pretty stinkin' excited about it!

I am also putting together a free quilt pattern (maybe more) to make available here on my blog in PDF format. The one I am completing features some fun farm animal embroidery. Too cute!

I also have just about completed my first sewing pattern. It has taken me way longer than planned but there sure are a lot of details involved in writing your own pattern instructions and drafting your own pattern. Yowza! I think I will be done with this one by next weekend. Hopefully I am cutting all my teeth on this first one and can produce future patterns a lot quicker. I will be sending it out to pattern testers within the next two weeks.

Lots of stuff happening around here but we are still trying to fit in lots of summertime fun!
I hope you are too!

No Way!

2011-06-30T09:41:00.000-05:00

I was browsing my favorite online fabric shop, Fat Quarter Shop, last night and I stumbled upon this: EXCITING!!

I was shocked, speechless, over the moon excited! Since Farm Friends is not shipping to shops until October, I was not expecting to see it popping up yet. It makes me so happy to know that shops are ordering my collection. I know that there are so many talented designers and amazing fabric collections out there right now so to see shops stocking my collection is very humbling.

I had to share.
Thanks for 'listening'.
Have a great day!

Under Construction

2011-06-28T20:26:00.000-05:00

Please excuse my mess around here while my blog is undergoing a transformation. Feel free to give your opinion of the changes as they are happening. I am learning as I go so the content changes might be a little slower than most but I will get there eventually ;o)

We have a transformation of another kind going on here at home. The boys found a caterpillar on some milkweed while we were on a walk last week. We grabbed it, along with the milkweed, and found a nice jar to put it in. The caterpillar ate, and ate, and ate, and now it is all snug in its cocoon. I looked online to see what kind of caterpillar we have and by all accounts, in about 10 days, we will have a beautiful monarch butterfly to release. Yay!

Be Warned...It's Addicting!

2011-06-23T15:06:00.000-05:00

Notice that new thing-a-ma-jig on my side bar? Notice the items are designed using my Farm Friends prints? Yep...I've been bitten by the Zazzle bug! Those of you who are not familiar with Zazzle, this place rocks! You can put your own designs on a multitude of products. A few of the products you can customize are t-shirts, stickers, mugs, tote bags, magnets, shoes, hoodies, hats, and buttons. That is just the tip of the iceberg my friends! You can create custom gifts for all your friends and family for any occasion. And if you feel the urge, place your items up for sale.

I used elements from Farm Friends to create some pretty stinkin' cute items. You can check out all of the cuteness in my Zazzle store here. You can also click on the items in my side bar. I am telling you...once you get started, you will not want to stop. The limits are only your imagination!

I would love to know what you think about my products. I am not sure what a girl has to do to get you to talk to her but I would really like to hear from you readers...pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top??

Weekend Wrap Up

2011-06-14T16:55:00.000-05:00

I had a great weekend!

It started out with a fabulous Saturday morning of swimming and outdoor fun with my little guys. We have an above ground pool at our house and we sure do enjoy it. We have had one for the last three summers. It sure helps to beat the Texas heat! Although, it sometimes feels like a warm bath so we drain some of the water out and add new (ice cold from the well!) to cool it off. There is nothing more refreshing after being out in the heat than to jump in to cool water!

Saturday afternoon I made some amazing progress on drafting my first sewing pattern. The boys were napping and Hubby was working outside to enclose our back porch. I was at the computer, scanning hand drawn pattern pieces and digitizing them in Adobe Illustrator. I am super happy with the ease of use and the speed in which I was able to digitize and arrange the pieces onto one artboard in Illustrator. I have been putting this task off because I thought it would be a lot harder than it turned out being. Isn't that the way it usually works? We worry more about things than we need to. I guess we are our own worst enemy.

Sunday morning, the fun continued when all four of us marched down to our tank (i.e. pond, livestock water area) to see if there were any fish to be caught. Hubby's brother had put some catfish and bass in the tank a couple of years ago. We had a couple of spells of excess rain (boy, wouldn't it be nice to have some of that right now!) and the tank flooded. We thought the fish had all washed out. We no more tossed the line in the water and we had a bite. Everytime we tossed the line in, we got a bite immediately. It was so much fun! Most of the fish are pretty small but we did catch a good sized catfish (see below). We were catching and releasing. We don't enjoy eating fish but it sure is fun reeling them in!

Sunday afternoon was some much needed girl time for my sister and I. We met for lunch and then did some clothes shopping. She and I have not spent time together, just the two of us, since I cannot remember. It was very nice.

Sunday evening was capped off by watching the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat for the basketball national championship. WOOHOO! Go Mavs! What a great ending to a great weekend!

On the design front...

Since I am deep into the layout and writing of my first sewing pattern, I met with a local printer to get price quotes and I am hopeful that we can make my vision a reality. I am learning more and more everyday when it comes to pattern writing and pattern drafting. It is a lot of fun.

If any of you would be interested in testing my first sewing pattern, please let me know. The pattern is a boys play shirt and shorts in sizes 2T - 8. Any of my readers who would like to test the pattern would be appreciated very much.

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Mock Ups and a Giveaway!!!

2011-05-28T16:08:00.000-05:00

Since Farm Friends is not officially released yet and there is no yardage to make samples out of, you have to get creative with your promotional material. One way of promoting something that is not yet available is to create mock ups. This involves using an existing sewing pattern and digitally altering the photos on the cover page to look like they are made using different fabric (in this case, Farm Friends). I chose a few cuties from the Patterns by Figgy's pattern line (with their permission, of course) and here is the result:

Pretty stinkin' cute if you ask me! My hopes are to have a couple of my own sewing patterns ready by October when the next Quilt Market rolls around. That way I can use my own sewing patterns to promote my fabric lines but I do really love the Pattern's by Figgy's gals and their patterns are super cute!

Hope you like the mock ups! I will be rolling out lots of ideas for using Farm Friends between now and October. I am looking forward to getting some sample fabric in my hands to make up some of the many ideas I have rolling around in this brain of mine.

I would love to hear from you with ideas on how you might use Farm Friends. I think it is a unique and versatile collection but I may be partial. I have a honey bun and a charm pack of the Whimsy Collection by Fig Tree Quilts to give away to a random person who comments with an idea for using my Farm Friends collection.

Winner will be chosen Monday, June 6th.

Ready...Set...Go!!!!

UPDATE!
Winner is Sarah B! Congratulations and thank you all for commenting!

A Little History

2011-05-23T16:35:00.000-05:00

I began sewing about 4 years ago. It was right about the time when handmade handbags were popular. I saw them and thought they were super cute so I decided to give it a try myself. I went into my first fabric/quilt shop looking for fabric and patterns to make a handbag or two. I had no idea where to start so I went to Google and searched for fabric/quilt shops in my neck of the woods. I found The Cabbage Rose (see their cute blog HERE). I walked in and was drawn to a display of fabrics and handbags in one area of the store. At the time, I had no idea who Amy Butler was but I knew that her handbag patterns looked easy and fun and her fabric was ‘over the moon amazing’! I bought a few yards of four of five prints and two handbag patterns. I promptly went home and made a handbag...then another...and another...

As my sewing skills improved, I branched out from handbags and started sewing other items. I made some toys, a dress, a shirt or two, and then I decided I wanted to sew things for my boys. That is when I started seeing a problem. I would go to the fabric/quilt shop looking for fabric to make things for the boys and the selection was so limited that it was difficult to find a variety of prints to make clothes with. Sure, there are always a few fun boy prints but when you want to make more than one outfit, it is dufficult. You can’t make everything from the same set of fabrics. B-O-R-I-N-G!

I have a tendency to run away with creative ideas. Just ask Hubby. He can probably list about 10 ideas that I have run with over the years we have been together. I tried cake decorating, I tried selling handbags, I tried writing a children's book, I tried to illustrate said children's book (that is still in the back of my mind...the story is too cute!), I want to own a fabric/quilt shop, and now I am designing fabric and working on children's sewing patterns. I know there are more ideas that I have pursued. I have said this before...I am a dreamer. I do not like to be told ‘You can’t do that’ or ‘That is impossible’. I have always been this way. I have a dream...I pursue it. I really love the saying, ‘If you don’t have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true?’. I think of that as my personal motto.

Back to the fabric idea...I saw a need for more boy-friendly options. I decided to work on some design ideas. I decided to put together a portfolio. I decided to send out A LOT of emails to A LOT of fabric companies. I decided to carry my portfolio, and Hubby, to Houston in 2009 for the International Quilt Market so I could present my work in person. I decided that my work needed A LOT more work after talking with A LOT of fabric people. I decided to take the advice of the folks in the business and rework my designs. I decided to give it another shot in 2010 in Houston. I decided I did a good thing when companies were showing interest. I decided to sign with Clothworks. I decided I made a good decision. Wow! That is a lot of decisions...and I have decided that dreams are worth it!

Quilt Market in a Nutshell

2011-05-18T15:47:00.000-05:00

So, I am back from Quilt Market and I can hardly contain the ideas I have running through my head. I had such a great time meeting the people from Clothworks. We all hit it off immediately. I could not be happier with my decision to sign the contract with them.

Here I am with a few of them. I did not get a picture with everyone because some were busy with customers at the time the picture was taken and I was on my way out when I realized I needed photos of the group. Brandi is on the left, she is in charge of Marketing, then me, then Joyce, she is the Design Coordinator (and a great lady to work with, I might add), then Myriam, she and I toured Temple Square together and got lost on the way back to the hotel (don't tell anyone, k?) and our feet were screaming by the time we found our way, and Ted Hoffman, the Clothworks CEO, is on the right. I also met Ted's wife, Candice, who also works for Clothworks, and Angela, who is a lot of fun too! There were two other designers in attendance for Clothworks and they had their own booths set up across the isle from the Clothworks group. I did not get any pictures of them but they were really great folks! They were Lynnette and Laura from Beach Garden Quilts and Alyssa Thomas of Penguin and Fish.

Here I am with the Farm Friends 'cards'. These are what they use to show the customer the new collections for ordering. The sales reps get these cards to take with them while traveling to the shops in their region. I met a lot of quilt shop owners and some had already seen (and ordered!) Farm Friends from their sales rep in the weeks leading up to Quilt Market. Some were happy to meet me and hear about my inspiration for the collection. Mostly I bonded with the Clothworks gals and walked the show floor to meet and greet other designers that I know from Twitter and took in all the awesome displays of creativity that surrounded me.

Sale Lake City is a very pretty place! There were so many flowers along the streets and the landscaping in the downtown area was truly breathtaking!

These pictures were taken in Temple Square while Myriam and I were on the tour. The convention center where Quilt Market was being held was only about a block away from Temple Square and Myriam asked if I would be interested in going with her for a tour so off we went! I am glad we did because it was very pretty and the highlight for me was going inside the tabernackle where the choir sings. Neither Myriam nor I are members of the Mormon church so we did not get to go inside the temple. Seeing it from the outside was pretty cool though.

Now I will give you some of the highlights from my walk around the Quilt Market show floor. First up is Bari J.'s booth. Her new collection is with Lecien and she is super excited about it. You can read about it here.

I really loved the tiny dress forms she decorated and had in showcase shelves on either side of her 'paris apartment' living room. She is just as sweet as the macaroons pictured below that happen to coordinate perfectly with her new collection. I went to the book signing for her new (and first) book, Inspired to Sew, and I was lucky enough to get a free copy and have her sign it. Thanks again Bari!!

Next up is Sandy Henderson's booth. I have been a fan of her since I started sewing about four years ago. She always has a very creative booth set up and I love her use of color. She inspires me to be a better designer. Her blog is pretty cool too!

Here are some pics of her super cute sewing pattern dresses. She also designs sewing patterns for kids. Her booth looked like a real room, in a real house. Amazing!

Next up is one of my new favorites. Sarah Jane of Sarah Jane Studios. This is her first collection, called Children at Play, and her first Quilt Market booth. Just look at the awesomeness! This lady is super talented! She also happens to be very sweet. I stopped and chatted with her about being a blog follower and about designing boy-friendly prints, which she does.

Below is a pic of the boy-friendly prints in her collection. The collection is grouped into four colorways and each group is unique. I think there are 52 prints in total. Yes, 52!! That is craziness!

Next up is another favorite of mine, Birch. They are a husband and wife team and they do only organic collections. I love their use of color and they do lots of boy-friendly designs too. You know I love that!

They created a little bedroom scene with one of their collections. See how the prints are perfect for boys or girls?

Below is the booth of Oliver and S. I recently purchased the book Little Things to Sew by Liesl, the designer behind the brand. She designs all kinds of cute kid things, from apparel to accessories. There is a nice selection of boy items in her line too. She also has her first fabric line, Modern Workshop, with Moda this year.

They way she had the clothes hung on the hooks and lined up was very modern and simple. I think it worked very well. I like the look of it.

Below is the Sweetwater booth. They design some of the mose sought after collections on the market today. Their collections seem to strike a nerve with everyone, young and old. I am a big fan!

Now we move on to the Joel Dewberry booth. I have been to two Quilt markets before this one and I can honestly say I have never stopped to look in the Joel Dewberry booth...until this time. Boy have I been missing out! This guy is super nice and super talented! That portrait you see below is of his adorable family. His wife was in attendance with him and she was wearing one of the new dresses from the patterns he designed. C.U.T.E! He chatted with me and a couple of other ladies for a bit about his new sollection and his new patterns. He is now on my list of must see's!

Moving on to Anna Maria Horner...

I follow her on her amazing blog. She is an inspiration, for sure! There is never a shortage of ideas coming from this lady. I did not get the chance to talk to her because everytime I walked by there were tons of people already talking to her but I did snap a few photos. Her style is funky and cool. Check her out if you haven't already.

Now we arrive at the Amy Butler booth. I just cannot say enough about Amy Butler. She is the designer behind the very first fabirc I ever purchased and the very first sewing pattern I ever bought (and sewed). I talked to her this year...for the first time. I happened to walk by and no one else was there. That is hightly unusual. She is a very popular person at these things. I made the shirt I was wearing from one of her patterns and she noticed it. She told me what a good job I did on it and I told her that she inspired me to become a sewer. She was very gratious, and encouraging, just as I imagined she would be. Now I won't be so nervous to talk with her next time ;o)

Lastly I want to show you a pic of the Patterns by Figgy's booth. Patterns by Figgy's is made up of Shelly and Karen, two friends coming together for one cause...pattern design. They have an amazing new book coming out soon that is titled, Sewing for Boys. Can you imagine?! A whole book with sewing inspiration and ideas for boys. You know I am there!! I reached out to Shelly after hearing about the book and she was very kind. I loved meeting the ladies at Quilt Market and I wish them much success with their patterns and their book!

To wrap up this Quilt Market post I would like to give you an idea of just how big this thing really is. There are over 2,500 booths set up on the convention floor. Not one space is empty. This is a view from above, on the second floor. It took me two days to walk the entire floor. My feet were not happy but my soul sure was! Looking ahead, I am seriously thinking about having my own booth in October in Houston. Would you say that is a good idea?

That's a wrap!

Going Out On A Limb...

2011-05-10T13:16:00.000-05:00

I love this Mary Engelbreit drawing and quote from Mark Twain. I am applying this attitude toward my upcoming travels.

Thursday morning I am headed to Salt Lake City, Utah for Quilt Market. This time around will be very different from my previous two visits to Quilt Market. First, I have never attended one outside of Houston. Second, I will not be lugging around my portfolio and looking for the right people to show my artwork to. Third, I will not be attending with Wake Up Susie on my badge but I will be attending with Clothworks Textiles on my badge. Fourth, I will be attending some of the Schoolhouse sessions that Clothworks is presenting. That is like a mini session of how-to's and meets and greets with other designers. Fifth, I am going to Sample Spree!! That is happening Thursday night. It is a time when the fabric companies and the designers and shop owners and whoever else wants to participate, have special, limited quantity items for sale. I have been told that it is a crazy time and people go nuts for the things that are being sold. I cannot wait to check that out! Finally, my support system, my biggest cheerleader, my best friend and person with whom I have shared this great ride with all along, Hubby, will not be there with me.

I am sad that he will not be with me but I am super excited about the opportunities that I have been given. I am going to spend this time soaking up as much knowledge as I can. I will get to see first hand how quilt shop owners, sewers, and fellow designers all react to Farm Friends. I am also really hoping to get some time to talk to a few kids clothing pattern designers. I have a couple on the top of my list of people to try and talk with.

It should be a jam-packed, fun filled, exhausting, and inspirational weekend. I am coming home Saturday night so I will have Sunday to recover and fill Hubby in on all the happenings. I know there are a lot of busy folks right about now, running around like crazy trying to get their last minute projects completed and get their booths planned out. I am looking forward to seeing all the wonderfully creative people and the things they come up with to showcase their talents. If only a fraction of that creativity rubs off on me while I am there, I will be thrilled.

It's Official!

2011-05-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

Pinch me! I am now officially listed on the Clothworks Textiles website as a designer along with a preview of my Farm Friends fabric collection. I have my own bio and everything. What a dream come true! I will be attending Quilt Market in Salt Lake City in the very near future. May 12th thru 14th is when I will be there. I am really looking forward to it. I will get to be there representing my first fabric collection and I will be able to see first hand how shop owners receive the collection. I hope the feedback is positive and lots of pre-orders are taken.

I cannot put into words what I am feeling about this amazing opportunity that I have been given. I do not take one second of it for granted. I will continue to work hard and create designs that are true to my vision and my inspirations.

I do not get a lot of feedback on this here blog but I would like to thank those of you who have stopped by to read about my story and follow along on my journey to this point. I only hope that by reading, someone else will be inspired to pursue the dreams that they have pushed aside. I am proof that dreams do come true. However, just like the lottery, you can't win if you don't buy a ticket. You have to put yourself out there. It takes hard work, desire, commitment and the ability to pick yourself up and dust yourself off after rejection, but it CAN HAPPEN.

Only as high as I reach, can I grow

Only as far as I seek, can I go

Only as deep as I look, can I see

Only as much as I dream, can I be.

James Taylor and Parenting

2011-04-28T11:38:00.000-05:00

The Hubby and I went to see James Taylor in concert last night. He and his band put on a really great show. They sang for almost three hours. I have mentioned before on this here blog that the inspiration for the name 'Wake Up Susie' comes from one of his songs called 'Another Day'. The post about that is here.

Although he didn't sing that particular song, he did sing many of his hit songs. I was really impressed by his voice. He sounds the same at a live show as he does when you put his CD into your CD player. Very cool. He is also pretty funny. He was cracking jokes in between songs and he had the whole audience laughing. Hubby and I really enjoyed ourselves.

The boys stayed the night with Don's brother and his wife. They live next door to us. They have a son (12) and a daughter (14) that like to play with our two rugrats. Since we would be getting home late last night they offered to keep them overnight. We had to pick them up this morning at 6:30 so our neice and nephew could get ready and leave for school. We figured our two would still be asleep at 6:30 since they typically sleep until at least 9:00. Uh...wrong!

We walked into their house this morning and both of our boys greeted us at the door. The looks on the faces of our family told us that it had been a rough night. Apparently Maxwell (2 yr old) kept the place up last night until almost midnight crying and screaming for us (gah!) and then woke the house up with the roosters at 5:00 a.m.!

Don and I felt horrible about it but what can you do? Different surroundings, no Mom and Dad, 2 years old, etc... There are a lot of factors at play there.

We got the boys home and put them back to bed. Maxwell was not happy to be put back to bed at first but he had to get more sleep of Don would have a bear on his hands today for sure! I called the house at 10:15 this morning and they had just gotten up (all of them...including Don). I am glad they got more rest. Sleepy kids = cranky kids. Yuck!

It is difficult trying to make time to be a couple again. Once the kids come along, your relationship with one another shifts to the back seat and you become Mom and Dad. We have put our relationship aside too much in the past couple of years. We have been making a real effort to come back to what started it all twelve years ago. When you do get a chance to take a night away from the kids and spend it alone with each other only to realize your kid was a trouble maker for their caregivers, that is a total bummer. Makes it hard to break away again the next time.

Parenting is not for the faint of heart. Balancing kids, husband, career, family - it is challenging. We do the best we can with the tools we have at our disposal. Sometimes we fail, sometimes we shine. Hopefully the shining moments outweight the failures. Maybe it is 51% vs. 49%. Ok. It is still a victory! ;o)

Farm Friends Details

2011-04-18T09:39:00.000-05:00

I hope you had a chance to see last night's post with the debut of my first fabric collection, Farm Friends! I was so thrilled to share it that I put together the post rather quickly and didn't go in to much detail about each print. Now that I have calmed down a bit, let me share a little more with you about the collection.

My husband and I live on a farm with our two boys. It is my husband's parents farm but we live on the land and help take care of things around the place. There are some cows, some chickens, some fruit trees, a barn, a tractor and bales of hay here and there. You can see where I am going wth this, I am sure. With the exception of the little pig and the fluffy sheep, we are surrounded by what you see on the main print of Farm Friends everyday. (I would not be surprised if a pig and/or sheep shows up in the near future!) We enjoy living in the country and gathering eggs from our chickens and watching the cows graze in the evenings. (I do not like it when said chickens dig up my flowers looking for bugs and worms, however.)

I found inspiration for Farm Friends in my everyday life. To me, there is no place like home!

On to the prints!...

The main print of the line is the farm scene. This print has the entire cast of characters and all of their accessories. There is a light green ground, and a blue ground.

Next up is the dot print. There are three coordinating dot prints that compliment all of the other prints in the collection. There is a red ground, a blue ground, and a white ground.

The hay bales are super fun and super whimsical. There is a round bale and a square bale tossed around here and there. With four coordinating colors, you are sure to find one that will be a perfect match for yoru project!

Next up is the large dot print with various characters and farm items. This print features larger, four inch, dots. I imagine this print making the perfect quilt backing and bedroom decor for your little farmer. I am planning to make some curtains for my boys' room once the yardage comes in. Each one of these circles can also be cut out to become applique for shirts and other items. Oh the possibilities!

There is a white ground, a light green ground and a light blue ground to choose from.

Finally we have the animal toss print. This one features the entire cast of characters all tossed about among little multi-colored dots. Three ground colors make for lots of coordinating options.

There you have it. Now you know more about each print so you can start planning your amazing Farm Friends projects ahead of time! Hehehe!

Farm Friends!

2011-04-17T19:30:00.000-05:00

A dream come true...seriously!
Here it is... my debut fabric collection for Clothworks Textiles.

Farm Friends!

Farm Friends is near and dear to my heart. Not only because it is my first collection but because it stays true to my inspiration. I have said it before on this blog - my two boys are the inspiration behind most everything I do. That includes my fabric designs. I was inspired to create fabric that is boy-friendly because, as a shopper, I was always disappointed by the selection of fabrics I found that I could use to make things for my boys. I set my mind to design for my boys and see if I could make it happen.

Two years and a lot of stepping outside of my comfort zone to present my work at Quilt Market and sending out lots of emails later...my dream is a reality. My collection will be pre-selling in Salt Lake City at Quilt Market in May. The fabric should start shipping in September 2011 and be in a quilt shop near you this Fall.

I am over the moon excited!

Look for sewing patterns by yours truly to come soon as well. You would be safe to assume they will satisfy all of you sewer/quilters who are looking for boy patterns!

Thank you to all of you for following me on this journey. This is just the beginning. I am finalizing the designs for my second collection as we speak. I hope you are already dreaming of the things you can make for your little guys.

Happy Sewing!

I Believe...

2011-04-06T13:21:00.000-05:00

This came to me in email today and I thought it was so wonderful and true that I would share it with all of you.

I Believe...

A Birth Certificate shows that we were born.

A Death Certificate shows that we died.

Pictures show that we lived!

I Believe...

That just because two people argue,

It doesn't mean they don't love each other.

And just because they don't argue,

It doesn't mean that they do.

I Believe...

That we don't have to change friends if

we understand that friends change.

I Believe....

That no matter how good a friend is,

they're going to hurt you every once in a while

and you must forgive them for it.

I Believe...

That true friendship continues to grow,

even over the longest distance.

Same goes for true love.

I Believe...

That you can do something in an instant

that will give you heartache for life.

I Believe....

That it's taking me a long time

to become the person I want to be.

I Believe...

That you should always leave loved ones with

loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe....

That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe....

That we are responsible for what

we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe...

That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...

That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs

to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe....

That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I Believe...

That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down

will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...

That sometimes when I'm angry

I have the right to be angry,

but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe....

That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had

and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many

birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe....

That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.

Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...

That no matter how bad your heart is broken

the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I Believe....

That our background and circumstances

may have influenced who we are,

but we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...

That you shouldn't be so eager to find

out a secret; it could change your life forever.

I Believe....

Two people can look at the exact same

thing and see something totally different.

I Believe...

That your life can be changed in a matter of

seconds by people who don't even know you.

I Believe...

That even when you think you have no more to give,

when a friend cries out to you,

you will find the strength to help.

I Believe...

That credentials on the wall

do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe...

The happiest of people don't necessarily

have the best of everything;

they just make the most of everything they have.

Howdy Y'all! Whatcha Been Doin?

2011-04-05T14:35:00.000-05:00

That is Texan speak for 'Hi! What's New?' I don't usually speak Texan eventhough I live there. I was born in Texas but moved away when I was six. I was raised in Michigan (a Yankee). Texans can sense it immediately when I start talking. I have not fully adopted the drawl of a Texan since moving back here in 1998. I have to say that I am little bit (ok, A LOT) protective of my Northern roots. Most Texans like to tell me that I got back here as soon as I could.

Anywho...

Let me tell you what I have been doing lately. My first fabric collection with Clothworks will be debuting at Quilt Market in May. I have already begun work on my next collection and I am working really hard on some sewing pattern ideas. I will be attending Quilt Market in May, YIPPEE! I will be a spectator mostly but since my first collection will be preselling, I am hoping to speak with some quilt shop owners about my inspiration and my plans for sewing patterns. I want to have the patterns ready by the time Quilt Market in Houston happens. That is the end of October. FYI - I am finding that writing sewing patterns is a lot harder than I imagined.

I think I have mentioned on here previously that my inspiration and focus for my fabric designs are my two boys. The patterns I am working on are also for boys. I like to make things for them; clothes, toys, blankets, etc... My sewing patterns will reflect that desire. I am pretty sure any mother of boys who likes to sew will agree with me when I say 'There is a terrible lack of boy-friendly sewing patterns out there!'. Hopefully I can help to change that.

In the meantime, I would like to introduce you to a couple of fellow MOBs (Moms Of Boys) that are already helping the cause. Shelly and Karen make the magic happen at Patterns By Figgy's. They create sewing patterns for kids (boys and girls) and have recently announced their first book called 'Sewing for Boys'. I reached out to them when I saw the announcement on their blog. I love that they did a whole book about sewing for boys. I look forward to meeting them at Quilt Market in May. Please hop over to their blog and take a look around. They have some super tutorials and lots of great inspiration.

I also have that circle quilt top lurking in the background every time I approach my sewing space. It is screaming to be made into a quilt. It is rather rude if you ask me. Maybe if it were nicer I would be glad to sew it up. ;o)

Happy Sewing!

Spring is Sprouting!

2011-03-08T19:08:00.000-06:00

Living in Texas has its advantages. While many people around the country are still bundled up and playing in the snow, those of us who live in Texas have had unseasonably warm weather lately. I am not convinced that winter is over though. Our fruit trees bloomed early last year and then we got a cold snap that froze all the buds. I am afraid the same thing is going to happen this year. Here is a glimpse of the peach trees and a couple of pear trees growing on the farm. These pictures were taken today.

We also have a really pretty flowering bush in our front yard that blooms at the first sign of warm weather every year. I forget the name of it. It seems to bloom earlier and earlier each year. I wish it would wait a while because it adds a great pop of color to the yard. After about three weeks, the blooms are gone and all the pretty color is gone until next year. Anyone know of a good flowering bush that flowers all spring and summer? Please tell me if that exists. I would love to enjoy the blooms longer.
Anyway, the boys and I were about to go for a walk this morning and we noticed a couple of butterflies in the bush. They were enjoying the pollen, I am sure. I ran in and grabbed the camera and I was able to get these shots. The black one was truly amazing. I have never seen one like it.

The boys have not been complaining about the warm weather one bit. In fact, they want to spend all day outside. We inherited a pretty cool play set from Hubby's brother. We moved it to our place about a week ago. Benjamin and Maxwell are loving it! Here are a few shots I took of them after Hubs finished setting it up last week. Notice the bright sunshine in the background? ;o)

If you are one of those people who are still building snowmen and sledding down your local snowhill, I am a bit jealous. We don't get to do that in Texas. If we get one snow a year (and by snow I mean maybe an inch or two) we are lucky. I grew up in Michigan so I know what it is like to experience four seasons a year. In Texas we have only two seasons...Summer and Almost Summer. I might be exaggerating just a little but it definitely isn't far from the truth ;o)
So, no matter where you are in the world, enjoy what you are given. Spring is a time for renewal and possibilities. My first fabric line is now in the strike off stage. A few weeks from now I will be seeing my designs on fabric for the first time. It is new and exciting. I am also working on a few sewing pattern ideas. They are for boys, like my fabric. How can I help it? With my two rascals as inspiration, I can't go wrong, right?

Happy early Spring from Texas!

I Can Cook

2011-02-21T13:13:00.000-06:00

I am not sure if I have mentioned on this little blog before that I like to cook. I also like to bake. There is a great sense of satisfaction that comes from preparing something for your family and seeing the joy on their faces as they take it in. I was not always a good cook. In face, if my sister saw this post she would laugh histerically. She is the cook. She can run laps around me in the kitchen. When I was first married, she too every opportunity to ask my guy what I had cooked for him lately. She knew it would either be spaghetti or hamburger helper. Maybe some mac and cheese thrown in a night or two. I was just not good at cooking. I was not comfortable in the kitchen.
Then the Food Network caught my attention. I watched it obsessively for months. I wspecially liked watching Giada because my favorite quisine is Italian. Of course who doesn't love Paula too?! I watched as the cooks diced veggies and seered meat. They made it all look so do-able. So I did it. I started buying spices and fresh veggies and meat. Guess what? It is easy! There are so many recipes I have yet to try but the thing is...I can do it. Sure, I have had my share of fails but those are just learning experiences.

Here is a roast I made recently. Crock pot cooking is wonderful...set it and forget it.

And some roasted veggies from this past weekend. YUM! Sweet potatoes, red potatoes, beets, carrots, and onion tossed in fresh herbs and garlic and olive oil. These are amazing. The recipe is from the Eat Clean cookbook. All of the recipes are healthy and contain no presevatives and no processed foods or sugars.

I have been coveting an iron skillet for a few years but I was always intimidated by them. What with the seasoning and the special cleaning needs. My Mom always cooked with one when we were growing up and she continues to use the same one today. I think it is a southern thing. I grew up in Michigan but was born in Texas (where I now live). My Mom was born and raised in Texas. All of my family is still here. I cannot think of a southern family that does not own an iron skillet. It is a staple in a southern home.

Well, my Mom bought me one for my birthday last year. I was super excited to get it. She told me how to use it, how to clean it, and how to store it. I have been using this beauty for EVERYTHING! I remember growing up that one of my favorite things to come from the iron skillet was cornbread. Mom would put a little grease in the skillet and place it in the oven to get screaming hot. Then she would pour the cornbread batter into the hot grease and bake it. The cornbread always had a nice crispy outside and a soft, fluffy inside. This is my first iron skillet cornbread. It turned out perfect! Just like I remember it.

I also bake and decorate cakes. I don't advertise this because it takes quite a bit of time to complete a cake but I do it for friends and family if they ask. My sister and I once considered going into business together and opening a bakery/coffee shop. We decided we were not ready for such an adventure. We were also broke so starting a business was not in the cards for us at that time. None the less, I was able to aquire some good cake decorating skills during our time baking together. I just cannot devote the amount of time needed to cake decorating. I have to keep my focus on designing fabric. And soon, sewing patterns!

I did this cake last weekend for the daughter of a friend. It was her sixth birthday. The inside of the cake is layered with green, purple, orange and pink cake. They had a picnic themed party so I did a basket weave on the outside of the cake. It looked good enough to eat!

I made up these cute pinwheels out of scrapbook paper to give as party favors. They were super easy to make and loosly based on the free fabric pinwheel pattern over at Portabellopixie by Sandi Henderson. Hers tells you how to make them using fabric. Mine are made from the lovely scrapbook paper by Amy Butler. I used a couple of plastic beads and a cute flower pin in the middle. They actually spin too!

There you have it. A few other things I am distracted by on a regular basis. This weekend I made donut muffins but I totally forgot to take pictures before the family and I devoured them. All the goodness of a donut but not fried. Woohoo! Still a lot of suger but who's counting? ;o)

On Working Out And Weight Loss

2011-02-18T16:46:00.000-06:00

So I have been working out six days a week for three weeks now. A co-worker and I began doing the Insanity workout program three weeks ago. This system is not for the faint of heart. It is an all out attack from beginning to end. You do get a 'recovery' day four days into the week but even that workout is grueling. I wish I could say that I have dropped pounds but I haven't. Hubs tells me that I am replacing fat with muscle so the scale will not reflect weight loss. Blah blah blah...I know that in my head but I really need that dumb scale to start being nicer! The program is sixty days in length. I will start it for a second time after I finish with the first round because I have about twenty (read fifty) pounds to lose. This body needs more than sixty days to get into shape!

The people in the videos are ~~annoying fit~~ in really good shape and are a great source of motivation but what I like best about them is that they seem real. They have to stop for breaks like I do. They look exhausted like I am. They are making faces and groaning like me too. I really appreciate that they are digging deep and struggling right along with me. Even the main guy says it is hard.

Now that I have the workout thing down, I HAVE TO CHANGE MY EATING HABITS! I would like to say that I am one of those people that can start working out and the weight will fall off. Believe me, I wish that were true. However, I am one of the many people who can go from hardly working out to working out six days a week and still not see results. I have to workout AND change my diet. This really stinks for me but I know that I am not alone. This is the reality for most people, women especially.

So there it is. I put it in writing. I am hoping that writing it down will help me stick to it. I have told myself over and over again to stop eating M&M's and start eating carrots but my evil twin takes over and sticks her hand in the candy bowl. I tell her to stop but she is very aggressive. What's a nice twin to do?

Maybe I will also keep a food journal. Who knows. I have so many things I WANT to do but never make it around to doing. Maybe you all could help by leaving comments and asking me how the weight loss is going? I still feel like I am talking to myself on this little blog even though I can see that people are stopping by.

Now I have to go and work off some of the fried chicken tenders I ate for lunch. Darn you evil twin!

Look Who's Two!

2011-01-30T21:24:00.000-06:00

Maxwell turned two on Friday. We had a fun weekend celebrating with him. He is a super spunky little guy and is usually fun to be around (I am sure this needs no explanation since I just told you his age). He had a great time at his birthday party playing with his big brother and cousins. The weather this weekend was AH-MAZING! We had the cake and ice cream outside. It hit 75 degrees on Saturday and 70 degrees today. Here are a few pics from the party.
And just so you know...Barns made out of Rice Krispies need support in the middle. I may or may not have had to redo the roof of said barn because of a cave in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today we went to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas. It is only about 35 minutes from where we live. This was our first time visiting there and it was really great. Most of the animals are roaming free and walk right up to your vehicle. I got some cool photos while we were there. I have shared a few.

The first animals we saw were a couple of Ostrich. We purchased a bag of pellets to feed the animals along the trail. One Ostrich came up to the truck and Benjamin (5 year old) threw some pellets out the window. I guess that was not satisfactory to the bird because it proceeded to stick its head into the window and grab his hand with its mouth. Benjamin yelled and we pulled away. Here is the result:

I was editing the pictures just now and he saw these and said he didn't like them and didn't want to see them anymore. Hehehe! Guess who will probably be having a bad dream about a deranged Ostrich tonight?

We really enjoyed ourselves. Having the animals that close was a treat. Both of my little guys were amazed. Hubs and I were pretty stoked too. On more than one occasion I was concentrating on taking a picture out of the driver side window (where Hubs was sitting) and I feared that something would walk up to my side and scare me from behind. I started putting my window up when taking pics from his window. He probably wanted to see me jump through the roof of the truck from one sneaking up on me but I got wise. Sorry honey...not this time!

This is what a worn out 2 year old looks like after an exciting adventure to a wildlife center. Too cute!

Update

2011-01-26T15:27:00.000-06:00

I have not received any updates from Clothworks about the counter sketches for my fabric line. I do not expect to hear from them for another couple of weeks. Of course I will update you when it happens.

Hubs has an appointment Tuesday, February 1st to determine if he needs surgery on his neck.

I have mostly finished organizing my sewing space. I have not started sewing again but I plan to soon.
Total body cleanse is done. The only thing I can say about it for sure is that it increased my unrination and gave me horrible gas. I do not feel..uhem...cleansed.

Insanity has arrived. It is recommended that you start on a Monday so I shall begin on January 31. I have read all of the inserts that came with the DVDs and I can now consider myself warned. This workout WILL kick my butt. Hopefully the kick will take about 40 pounds off with it. (I would be happy with 20 too...just sayin').

The kidney stone has either passed without my husband being aware of its exit or it is still lurking inside, planning its next attack. I am praying it has passed. You know how men can be when they are not feeling well. In case you need a refresher on the subject, please view this...Man Cold.

The Waiting Game

2011-01-18T14:08:00.000-06:00

I am currently in a state of waiting.

I am waiting to hear from Clothworks that the counter sketches (c/s) of my first fabric line are back from Japan so I can review them before they go to the next step. I was told it will be 8 to 10 weeks from the time we finalized the designs. We did that on December 1st.

I am waiting for my husband to find out if he needs surgery for a ruptured disc in his neck. He has been in pain since October and he is ready to be done with it. I can't blame him. I had a ruptured disc in my lower back that required surgery in 2001. Back pain is not fun. I hope we get an answer soon.

I am waiting for my sewing space to be reorganized so I can get back to it. I miss it. We relocated my sewing space and it has been a mess since then. That was a few weeks ago. I am slowly finding the top of my sewing table again. I bought some small 3-drawer storage boxes for my tools and paper items so they are no longer stacked on top of the table. Maybe next weekend I will be done with the organizing and back to sewing. In the meantime I thought I would look for inspiration from others and these are some of my faves. My sewing space will look nothing like this, of course, but I can appreciate the efforts of the folks behind these spaces.

I am waiting for the total body cleanse that I started today to take effect. I have never done a total body cleanse before but I feel like I need it. I bought a total body cleanse from GNC. It is a week long program consisting of a package of pills in the morning, a package of pills in the evening, a powder drink mix of fiber and prebiotics once a day and a probiotic pill once a day. I am also trying to eat a 'digestive friendly' diet for the week. A meal guide came with the kit. I was told that the one I bought is the most popular one for women. I just hope it doesn't send me running to the bathroom!

I am waiting on the Insanity workout DVDs to arrive at my house so I can start kicking my own butt. I have a co-worker who owns the Insanity workout and she has been telling me about it for a while. What I know so far is that I will not be able to finish the entire 45 minute workout but I should do all I can and then push myself to do a little more. I have to get serious about losing weight. Hubby and I are going to St. John this summer and I CANNOT go with my current body. No thank you!

I am waiting for my husband to pass a kidney stone that had us in the emergency room last night. He was in a great deal of pain and needed relief. They found a 4mm stone between his left kidney and his bladder. The doctor told us that anything under 5mm will usually pass on its own so they got him comfortable, ran an IV thru him and sent us home to wait it out. As of right now, the stone is still reeking havoc. He was prescribed some pain meds. Hopefully it will pass soon.

Waiting stinks. Whoever said waiting was a game was mistaken. Where I come from games are fun. This is not.

How about you...what are you waiting for?

Search and Tell

2011-01-15T16:48:00.000-06:00

Okay...Judging by the fact that NO ONE linked up last week, I think my idea is not as popular as I thought it would be. Oh well, I still like the idea of keeping track for myself so I will continue to post about my searches but it will no longer be a linky thing. I don't think you will mind.

Searches for this week:

First movie ever made. I bought Beauty and the Beast for the boys (and maybe for me too) last week and there is a Steamboat Willie short in the introduction. Benjamin was asking me about Steamboat Willie and I told him it was the first Mickey Mouse motion cartoon that Walt Disney made. I told him that it was released in 1928. He asked me if it was made before people were here. I laughed. Then I explained that people drew the pictures and then they were played back in such a way that it looked like the characters were moving. He then asked if it was the first movie ever made. I told him no and then he wanted to know what that movie was. In case you were interested, there are a couple of answers to this question, depending on how you look at it.

The First Motion Picture Ever Made - The Horse In Motion (1878). See it HERE.
First Home Movie Ever Made - Roundhay Garden Scene (1888). See it HERE.
First Movie Ever Shot (U.S.A.) - Monkeyshines No. 1 (1889 or 1890).
The First Copyrighted Movie Ever Made - Fred Ott's Sneeze (1893-4). See it HERE.
First Movie Ever Made for Projection -- Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory (1895).
First Motion Picture Projected for an Audience - Berlin Wintergarten Novelty Program (1895).

Steamboat Willie. Of course Benjamin wanted to see the original Mickey Mouse cartoon. We found it HERE. Benjamin laughed so hard he had tears rolling.
Insect sting treatment. My hubby was stung in the neck by a flying insect of the wasp, hornet or yellow jacket variety (not sure which one). He is allergic and his neck started swelling up pretty badly so I wanted to put our minds at ease and research treatments and what to look out for. We discovered that his reaction is still considered 'mild' since he did not go into shock or have a seizure. Boy and I glad for that! He had that kind of reaction in his teen years but never since we have been together. Now his neck looks like that of an NFL linebacker. He said this gives him a glimps of what he would look like if he gained 25 or 30 pounds and he is definitely not interested. Poor guy. He is already dealing with a ruptured disc in the base of his neck and the sting is on the same side.

That is all for this week. I hope you all enjoy watching Steamboat Willie. I am a HUGE Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse fan. I think that Walt Disney was a visionary and his imagination was something I remain in awe of.

Happy Weekend!

Search and Tell...The Kickoff

2011-01-08T16:30:00.000-06:00

I didn't touch a computer until Tuesday of this week. I was home sick on Monday and I returned to work from the holidays on Tuesday. On Thursday I did not touch the computer because I was away most of the day. These searches took place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

This week I Google searched the following:

Bari J blog. I like to read Bari's blog. I find her inspiring and true to herself and her style.
I Should Be Folding Laundry blog. This gal cracks me up. She writes from the heart and does not hold back. She makes me feel like it is ok to be grouchy, or fed up and still be totally happy.
Kelly Blue Book value of 2006 Toyota Prius. I currently own one and I was wondering if I would lose money on it if I decided to sell her (her name is Scarlet, she is red). Luckily, I found that we would be okay if we decide to sell her. The jury is still out on this one.
Airport code for St. Thomas airport. My two sisters and I, along with our spouses, are going to St. John this summer for a week. We will have to fly to San Juan Puerto Rico, then to St. Thomas and board a ferry to ride over to St. John. I was looking for flights and costs. In case you were wondering, the airport code for St. Thomas is STT.
Clothworks Textiles. I am currently under contract with Clothworks as a textile designer (woohoo!) and I was doing some research on the company and looking at past fabric lines.
Victoria's Secret website. They are having their semi-annual bra sale and I was browsing the selection. I have not purchased yet. I am still considering. I like to try bras before I buy them. I have a really hard time finding the right fit. Sizes vary from style to style. Is this a universal problem or just for those of us who are blessed (cursed) with a large chest?
Pizza Hut phone number. I ordered pizza for dinner. One pepperoni and ham and one beef and black olive. I am the pepperoni, hubby is the beef.
Barnes and Noble nook books. Hubby and I bought a Nook Color for our 'together' Christmas present. We did not buy each other individual presents, just small stocking stuffers. I was browsing the nook books. I downloaded some samples. The new Nicholas Sparks book (really like his books) Safe Haven, 90 Minutes in Heaven, The Scarlet Letter, Pride and Prejudice, and a few others. All samples. Apparently I have trouble committing?
Mario Lopez, Saved By The Baby. I have been watching a few of the episodes on VH1. It makes me laugh. His pregnant girlfriend is pretty tough on him. They had the baby in the season finale and I was searching to see pictures of the baby girl.
Khloe Kardashian pregnancy. I saw the cover of a magazine at the check out line while buying groceries the other day and it said Khloe was pregnant. I have to admit that the Kardarshian sisters and their antics have been known to get my attention. Turns out she is not pregnant. She claims she is just gaining weight.

Hopefully you are learning things about me. Now I want to learn about you. Link up below and tell us what you have been searching for this week. Read the previous post for details. This is the inaugural post for the 'Search and Tell' Link Up. I hope you enjoy it. Now go blog and link up! Let's get to know each other :)

I will have a blog button in the near future for the Search and Tell posts. You will be able to copy it to your blog if you want to. I am still working on the logo.

All you have to do to link up is enter the required fields in the box below. MAKE SURE THAT THE LINK YOU ENTER IS TO THE BLOG POST ONLY! NOT YOUR BLOG HOME PAGE! That way if future readers want to see the other posts from this week they will be directed to the Search and Tell post and not whatever your current home page post is.

Search and Tell

2011-01-07T16:49:00.000-06:00

During the latter part of 2010, I had an idea. It just came to me one night as I was lying in bed. I had been searching the internet that day for a number of different things. While I was at work, I searched for work related things, I reached home that evening and I searched for crafty things, family things, educational things, things to buy, things to eat. My five year old wanted to know about the planets; I told him we would Google it. My husband was looking at e-readers and wanted me to look at a few; I told him I would Google it. I have an Amaryllis flower growing at the office and I wanted to know how tall it might get (it was already taller than I thought it would be); I decided to Google it.

All of this 'Googling' gave me an idea. I thought it would be interesting for me to keep track of the different things I searched for. I was pretty sure I would be amazed at the variety and the randomness of it all. Not only did I want to document what I was searching for but I also wanted to keep track of 'why'. Since it was close to the new year, I decided to begin documenting my searches on January 1st. I thought I would just keep a hand written journal; buy a notebook and write all of the searches down as they happened. I began to think of it as a kind of 'self reflection'. Not a spiritual search but a LITERAL search. This journal would reflect the things that I literally search for.

Skip forward a few days.

Me: Wait!
Me: What?
Me: Wouldn't it be neat to see what other people are searching for too?
Me: Absolutely!
Me: I would see things that I never thought of searching for. Cool things. Random things. Interesting, crafty, helpful things too.
Me: I need to do this on my blog!
Me: Yes, you do.

Ok, enough talking to myself. You get the idea.
I decided to document my searches publicly...and ask you to share yours too. I am happy to announce that I will host a Mr. Linky link up every Saturday right here on Wake Up Susie. This link up will be titled 'Search and Tell'. You can list one search or one hundred searches. I will include every search I performed during the week. You can do the same or include only the ones you think we all will find the most interesting. The only requirement is that you give the reason for each search. This won't require much. Just a sentence or two about why you were searching for that particular thing. You will have my list to use as an example. Also, any search engine will suffice. I happen to think Google is great so I use it. I also think it is funny how we use the word 'google' as a verb around our house.

Benjamin (5 year old): Momma, how many dinosaurs were smaller than a man?
Me: I am not sure. Let's google it.

Husband: How long does it take to drive to Las Vegas?
Me: I am not sure. Let's google it.

Maxwell (almost 2 years old): Momma, Dada, Bubba, please, mooie (movie), bye bye, lu oo (love you).
Me: Aww! Let's google it.

Just kidding on the last one but I had to include the little guy.

So...what this means is that tomorrow I will post my searches from this week and why I was searching for them. I will include a linky box at the bottom of the post and you can include a link to your post. It's that simple. Now we can all learn from each other and share our searches. Who knows what we will find.

Sights of the Season

2011-01-03T15:47:00.000-06:00

My Mom and her new husband had the most wonderful decorations around their home for Christmas. The nativity scene is a pert of the Willow Tree collection. I think it is wonderful. I collect Willow Tree angels but I do not have this set. I need to get it for next year. I love it.

These drummer boys were festive and the golden deer along with the sleigh were delightful. Why do I feel like I am on Martha Stuart? I am using words that I don't normally use but I am really trying to set the mood here.

The Wood household had a wonderful holiday season this year. We spent quality time together and with loved ones. Who could ask for anything more? Santa came and left gifts for young and old alike. My only complaint is that it could not last a bit longer.

As usual, we did not stay awake to greet the New Year but we did have a nice meal and we visited with family on New Year's Day. I don't remember the last time we stayed up to watch the ball drop in Time's Square. My guess would be January 1, 2005...before we had kids!

I wanted to show you a couple of things I made this year for my family. I have been updating you all on some quilting I had started. Now you get to see some of the results.

This first one is a quilt I made for my sister. I made both of my sisters a quilt this year but somehow I did not get any pictures of the one I sent to my sister in Virginia before I packed it and shipped it off. What was I thinking?? Anyway, I can show you this one. It is the one I mentioned a few posts back that I used a lot of different fabric lines to create. I had quite a few charm packs on hand and I found this great pattern at the Moda Bake Shop so I went for it. My sister loved it and I am pretty proud of it myself ;o) It is probably the size of a full bed. All of the quilting was done using straight lines. I tried to do stippling but it seems way too hard on my normal sewing machine with that much fabric to deal with.

When I finished the above quilt, I was left with a bunch of little triangle edge pieces from cutting the edges off to make the stars in the middle of the blocks. I thought I could make something neat with them so I started to work. I did not have a plan at first, I just started sewing. Here are a few pics of the process as it started shaping up. The squares are 2 1/2 inches each...and there were 120 of them!

There was a lot of trimming to do at this point. See my little trim pile? What I ended up with was a totally cute wall hanging for my Mom. I made the squares into little pinwheels and used a neutral background to create a larger finished product. I think it has both a modern and classic feel to it. It ended up being about the size of a crib quilt. I made some corner triangles and a center tab for hanging a hidden dowel rod in the back. My Mom and her new husband were happy and I was proud to give it to them. I just love hand made gifts. They mean so much more to the receiver and the giver.

Here are a few pictures of the scene Christmas morning at our home. This is what Santa left the boys. They were thrilled to see it when they got out of bed. It is so much fun to experience the season through the eyes of a child. Our boys bring so much joy into our home...and a lot of chaos, but I will pretend they are angels for the purposes of this post, k?

Our oldest, Benjamin, got a telescope from us. He is interested in space (note the pajamas) and we thought it would be really cool to look into the sky at night and see the stars and the moon up close. He agreed ;o)

I hope your holidays were filled with joy and love as well. Here's to a new year full of dreams coming true and making wonderful memories.

Felt Flowers

2010-12-21T10:08:00.000-06:00

I am suffering from serious craft addiction. Is there such a thing as Crafters Anonymous? If so, I need to get to a meeting ASAP! As if I do not have enough projects going, I have now discovered felt. Yes, FELT! I know I am WAAAAY behind on this one but I have never really given felt much thought. My neice was recently telling me about her friend at school who wears really cute flower clips in her hair. I quickly informed a friend of mine who makes the most adorable flower pins and clips out of fabric, and old handkercheifs, and old doilies, and other seriously sweet items, that I needed a few of her clips for my neice. She delivered some really cute clips that I am sure my neice will love!

In the meantime, I turned to Google. I thought I would just take a look at what others are doing as far as hair accessories. Whoa! There are things people are doing with felt that are incredible. Check out what the crafty lady over at Bella Dia can do...

This does not appear to be on the level of a beginner so I drooled over these and then moved on to something more along the lines of this tutorial over at Craft Leftovers that is simple and quick and the results are fabulous...

Then I found the following pictures. I am totally going to make myself one (or ten) of these beauties! Just as soon as I figure out how to do it. There was not a tutorial for these but I think if I just pinch here and twist there and glue here and stitch there...voila! I should have a felt flower brooch like these in no time, right?

Check out the perfection at The Purl Bee. Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I must buy some felt to make one or two!!!

This one comes with a great tutorial too.

Lastly, I present to you these cuties. Perfect for the little girly girls in your life. I love the stitching detail on them, and the little flower buttons; too cute!

So now I have yet another crafty interest. I still need to finish two quilts and piece a pillow cover before Friday. Now I have visions of felt flowers dancing in my head. I made a few because I could not stand it. Too many ideas, so little time. I need to focus!

Hello, my name is Jamie, and I am a craftaholic.

Anyone with me?

Meet The Designer (Me!)

2010-12-16T11:12:00.000-06:00

The vote is in and the winner is...

This is the photo you will soon see on the Clothworks website when you click the 'Meet Our Designers' link. Yep--Clothworks! They have been very kind and wonderful to work with so far. I am very much enjoying working with them.

I will alert you as to when my picture will be on their site. My first line is supposed to debut in May and ship in the fall if all goes according to plan. The designs have been approved and submitted for mock up at the printer so the process is well underway. I promise to show you as soon as I can (a couple more months, sorry)

Thank you for helping me choose the pic. I am happy with this one. It was my favorite too!

So This Is Me...Please Help!

2010-12-09T15:56:00.000-06:00

The pictures below are of yours truly. I need your input. The fabric company that I recently signed with is needing a picture of me to put on their website. I have not had a picture taken of myself that I have liked in quite a while so I would really like your opinion on the following options. My friend was kind enough to take these shots for me and I narrowed them down to what you see here. Please leave me a comment with the number that you like the best. I would really appreciate it :o)

Thank you so much for helping me decide!

Quilt Top Number Two

2010-12-06T14:18:00.000-06:00

Well, I have gone and done it again! I have completed another quilt top and I have another one in the works. This is totally addictive! Of course, I have not actually 'quilted' anything yet. That may turn me sour on the whole thing but I am optimistic. I purchased fabric for the backing and I have the necessary batting so I have no more excuses. Plus, this one is a Christmas gift so I can't delay. Here are a few really poorly lit photos of the finished top. It was dark outside last night by the time I finished it up and I am so excited to share it with you so I am going with these pics.

I used a recipe from the Moda Bake Shop for it. It uses charm packs (love them!) I think I have fabric in this from four different collections. I used two complete charm packs and I cut some 5x5 squares of complimentary fabric that I had in my stash.

It came together very fast. I think I have somewhere between 8 and 10 hours in it. That is perfect for a busy working mom like me. I am not counting on the quilting and binding being that quick, however.

On a side note, this is my 22 month old right after slipping on the tile floor by our front door. The pic is really blurry but you can clearly see the busted lip. Yep, he busted it pretty good. And for those who are wondering...a busted lip sure puts out a lot of blood. We thought his teeth were bleeding from the looks of his face when we scooped him up but luckily it was just his lip.

This is him a little bit later. I think he is going to make it ;o)

I will let you know how the quilting is going soon. Happy crafting!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

2010-12-02T10:18:00.000-06:00

At our house, we like to decorate for Christmas as soon as Thanksgiving is over. We trim the tree, hang the lights, and sing carols all the while. Good times! Here are some of the fruits of our labor. Take a close look at my tree and tell me if you see a theme? :o)

This is my first time to make these guys. They have been a big hit! They were fun and easy to make too. I made a few gingerbread girls so that I would not feel left out. There are too many males in my house.

My guys sure enjoyed them. Why do they always go for the heads first? Poor gingerbread guys.

These shots are taken with the Christmas tree lit and the lights off in the room. I like how the glow reflects off of the one below. Each of us has our own Mickey Ears. These are mine. I love them!

Santa has his place on the front door knob. He used to have jingle bells but those have fallen victim to curious little hands.

The penguin on the front porch is a new addition this year. Benjamin is smitten with penguins lately so when I saw this at the store I had to get it. Both boys have really liked it so far. They will go outside at night and 'greet the penguin' on the porch. It has been fun.

We live in the country and we are on a dirt road and down a long driveway so the lights are really just for us. They are so worth it though. They liven things up and spill light onto the front yard. We have had pretty mild weather here in Texas so we have been able to sit outside and enjoy the glow a few times.

I hope you all have...

And I send you all...

Wake Up Susie

Recliner Redo

A Day at the Park (in January!)

The Proof is in the Pictures

Here a sheep, there a sheep, everywhere a sheep, sheep!

Christmas Morning at the Wood House

A Mixed Bag

The Cutest Robes You Ever Did See!

Coming April 2012 - City Streets!

Santa Elf

Six Years

Good 'Ole Days

Quilt Kit Now Available

Farm Friends is Here!!!

Quilt Market Pics with a Bonus

Off to Market We Go!

Homemade Halloween

Moments of Motherhood

Another Day, Another Adventure

Free Farm Friends Quilt Pattern

Make These. No, Really!

Sewing with Farm Friends

A Simple Girl, A Simple Dream

I Made Something!

Waiting Game

Sneek Peek

Zazzle Giveaway

What a Vacation!

Summer Time and the Livin' is Easy...

No Way!

*****Under Construction*****

Be Warned...It's Addicting!

Weekend Wrap Up

Mock Ups and a Giveaway!!!

A Little History

Quilt Market in a Nutshell

Going Out On A Limb...

It's Official!

James Taylor and Parenting

Farm Friends Details

Farm Friends!

I Believe...

Howdy Y'all! Whatcha Been Doin?

Spring is Sprouting!

I Can Cook

On Working Out And Weight Loss

Look Who's Two!

Update

The Waiting Game

Search and Tell

Search and Tell...The Kickoff

Search and Tell

Sights of the Season

Felt Flowers

Meet The Designer (Me!)

So This Is Me...Please Help!

Quilt Top Number Two

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Under Construction