A Quilt to Remember

I have been very excited to get these pictures posted! I have completed my first quilt. My first post on this blog was a quilt that I had started, well that has turned into a gift to be made. And I figured I better make sure I could do this before I make a gift. So here is this process of a quilt for us...

Any little bit the girls could help they did! I think they are just as excited as I am. This seems like it should be a winter project but first of all I was so excited about it I just couldn't stop. And second it was so hot and humid here last week I couldn't stand to be outside. So, playing inside it was, fun for all!

I wanted to make a throw for the living room. We lack color in there and we are going to need something to cozy up with this winter. When I started I was just going to do 12 inch squares (which I did) but they turned into diamonds, a little more design I guess. Figuring out the size was another issue because once I got started Stephen and I discussed why not make it a queen so that it can be multi purposed. Yeah, why not :) So, it was a lot to work with, but fun at the same time. Also the size was an issue because I used an old sheet for the backing. So, it turned out a bit smaller than I would like, but I still love it!

Here it is in the living room, but doesn't it look great on the bed?!

From Garden to Table

I feel like our garden is a little neglected these days. When I walk out there it feels like there is nothing much I can do. I feel like we are still waiting for "the big harvest." We have been harvesting pretty consistantly but I was still feeling the lack of sustanibility until the other night. I made a great dinner right from the garden. Okay, so I added a few necessary items from the cupboard, but ooooh it was all so good together!

Today's Garden Pasta:
1 lb pasta of your choice (I had some tortellini and macroni)
1 tomato
3 cups basil
1 small zuchinni
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
olive oil
salt
pepper
Cut up all ingredients, place in bowl sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss. Serve.
We also had a lot of leftovers, it made a great cold pasta salad. I couldn't get enough!

I don't know why, but I didn't take a picture of the final product. Guess I'll have to do it again :)
Still putting zuchinni in everything and....
Tomatoes are coming!!!

Little Helping Hands

Saving seeds is so much fun in so many ways!
I thought I would sit down, save some seeds and watch the girls play. They thought what I was doing looked like more fun than what they were doing. So I had a few helping hands, and A LOT of Kale seeds to show for it. Next....arugula seeds!

Handmade Gifts

Gifts, gifts and more gifts....
I am now able to post a couple handmade gifts we finally gave away!

A gift is the most fun thing to make because it is for someone else. I seem to finish most of my projects that are being made for someone else. Plus, then I get the pleasure of watching them open their handmade gift. Above, I gave our girls art bags for our recent airplane ride to Minnesota. They knew about the bags, just not what was in them, and they had to wait to open them until we got on the plane. Fun for ALL! The"Art-On-The-Go-Bag" idea is from Amanda Blake Soule's Book "The Creative Family." The fabric is from Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks collection. Beautiful fabric that is finding it's way into many projects.

This octopus was made for our nephew's First birthday gift. For a beginner at crocheting it was fairly simple, a fun project for any crocheter. The pattern came from the July/Aug. 2008 Crochet Today! I hope it holds up for him.

Lastly this is the bag I made for my sister's birthday. The girls helped me pick out the fabric, because they know how much their Aunt likes purple. Fun and also simple bag to make. This pattern "I'll Have One of Everything Bag" came from Anna Maria Horner's "Seams to Me." This is my new favorite sewing book.

So, now on to the projects I am working on for myself, again why do they seem to take so much longer?

Hometown Fun

This weekend was our local Summer Festival. Carnival rides, crafts and lots of junk food!!!

I am not a big fan of fairs and rides, but from a child's point of view it must be one of the best things in the world. This was a lot of fun for them, and thier daddy, so in the end it was fun for me too!

What I Missed....

While we were away I missed our overgrowing garden...

But boy do I love this garden!

Also whlie we were gone I missed the contractors at our house...

So, actually I gained a new view out my back window. Which means I also gained a newly landscaped backyard!

Stephen is refferring to it as "good bones" which means we still have a TON of work to do, but we are both so pleased and so happy to have this major work done.

Being a Landscape Architect, Stephen was able to pull this off without a word to me. I knew it was supposed to be done sometime this summer, but I had given up hope that it would really be done this summer. So, I was shocked! The only thing I think we both wish was that we had pictures of the process, they did A LOT of work! But oh well!

Now we just have a house full of restless little ones, mostly the Dog. Soon we will be able to enjoy the New Backyard, I hope.

What I Gained....

Two weeks vacation in Minnesota...

I gained wonderful time spent with family...

A lot of fun....

And a whole lot of peace of mind.