a bit of indulgence

Is it so wrong to devour a bit of chocolate so early in the morning? Before eating breakfast even?? Well, right or wrong, that's what I did. Gotta watch it though - it's a slippery slope!


Anyway, I'm excited to venture out in a new direction with my creativity. I got a book a few years back on fusion quilts called Fusing Fun! by Laura Wasilowski. I want to experiment with making some art quilts (I'll start small), so today I'm taking a trip to get the right supplies... I'm also going to sign up for a free motion quilting class at the local quilt shop - it'll be so cool!

What's that you ask? What about the laundry room? Yes, it's still there and I haven't made much progress. Most of the delay is due to our new floors getting installed and the massive amounts of dust that got scattered far and wide throughout the house! They'll finish up by Thursday, we'll move all the furniture back by the weekend and 'normal' life can resume. Here are some more photos of the progress.




Check out this 'goose egg' we got the other day from one of the chickens! It turned out to be a double yolk.

Tidbits and Inspiration

I haven't gotten to those pillows yet - there've been other little things I've been busy doing. I finally put up some curtains - yea! I love the curtains in my art room because of the aqua blue dingle balls - I think they're so cute. Luckily the cats are leaving them alone so far. I then got inspired to make some curtains for the laundry room.


I'll share my plan for that room in a little bit.

I also made a bed caddy for Nadine to have at her bedside or when she's lying on the couch (you can find the very easy tutorial here from SewMamaSew).



She loves orange and her carpet is green, so this fabric worked out really well. Nadine's doing really well right now. We had a little scare with blood clots, but that's all worked out for now. They still haven't named her cancer because they don't know where the primary site is, and they probably won't do any more searching for it because there's plenty to deal with in her liver. In a few weeks we'll see how her body and the cancer is responding to the chemotherapy.



I also made these cute bags for knick-knacky stuff. I reinforced them with interfacing and they actually stand up all by themselves.


So, for the laundry room....I've been struck by inspiration again and my accent color is: bright yellow!


This Martha Stewart tub is the source of inspiration. I'm planning on using these fabrics to pull the room together. The curtains are done, then I want to make a clothespin bag (I'll see if I can hang a small clothesline between the cabinets), a fabric box to put the dryer sheets in and maybe some more knick-knack bags - like for chicken scratch or gardening items.


I started painting(1st coat) this wall shelf to match the yellow tub.



I got these fruit crates last summer.


I'm planning on painting them the same yellow and distressing them, and then bolting them to the wall for storage above the washer and dryer. I'm so excited for everything to be done!

This week I'll have to confine myself to the art room or outside instead of the kids' work table because our flooring is finally getting installed starting Tuesday! It's going to make such an incredible difference in the overall feel of the room. I can hardly wait to put up photos for you to see!

One last little thing....as I was painting last night (hence the lowlight), I looked down and saw these two snuggling close together.

Aren't they beautiful?

It's not like I made them or anything, but I just can't help but be proud of our four hens' production. Yes, we started with six, but we lost two just a few weeks ago. We tried nursing one back from an injury, but she didn't make it. The kids took it well. I told them we could get some silkies in the spring.

Gavin's mom is doing better and it looks like she'll be able to come home this weekend. Yea! Her first treatment of chemo went well, too.


She loved the chemo cap I made for her, and I made another one that actually turned into quite a cute, stylish version because I added a little brim on the front. I got the pattern from A Design by Angie on Etsy.


I've made progress on the quilt - I added the border and pinned all the layers together. I tried the walking foot for the first time yesterday - so exciting! It's amazing how much easier everything is when you have the right tool.


Art Room Decor:




The other day I got inspired to organize a little more in my art room, so I hung some more stuff on the walls and added some shelves.




Then I got overconfident with the drill and tried to put up the toilet paper holder in the kids' bathroom (such a simple item that has gotten put off for a very long time), and it flopped! I didn't use wall anchors, and the whole thing was way too loose, so I took it down for now. Ugh! Just when you think progress is happening.....

I was looking at my past posts and realized that I completely forgot about making coordinating pillows for our reading nook. Seeing the fabric again was inspiring, so I'll put that on my to-do list for this week. Of course, as I add new things, the prospect of getting all the Christmas decorations put away is less of an immediate reality! I suppose it's human nature to put off the things we don't want to do. More photos to come when progress is made.

What have I been doing all this time?

Wow, I can't believe how much time has passed! In the past several months, there've been two birthday parties


(including a first-time ever sleepover party),


lots of soccer games, art docent presentations, I've watched my oldest daughter flourish with the flute, my middle daughter successfully learn how to sightread music and perform, and seen my son's sense of humor grow immensely. I've also made lots of stuff - more reusable shopping bags,


poodle skirts for the kids' christmas show,

dresses for the girls for Christmas,


hosted friends from Colorado and others from Washington, took a watercolor class, lost and found my wedding ring diamond (yes, found!), learned how to knit


(definitely still learning) and had our first Christmas in our own house!

It's been quite a busy season, and I've enjoyed every minute and every project. Of course, I also went through a period of wondering if I should be more purposeful with my creativity. So far, most of my projects come about when a holiday, school event or celebration happens. So I ask myself, "Should I forge into unknown waters and generate a project on my own? Will I be able to stick with it to the end? Will my confidence falter and I'll give up on it completely? How do I come up with something I'll enjoy but that won't overwhelm me? Is that just part of the process? Why do I always think of projects in terms of its completion? Am I capable of doing something creative and not worry if it ever gets recognition?"

I'm sure you're assuming I'm leading up to New Year's Resolutions. Nope. I've never been one to do that. I try to look at goals in smaller chunks of time. However, as we begin this new year, we (meaning my family and I) have a new perspective and focus for an unknown timeframe. My mother-in-law just found out she has cancer. They're still trying to find out where the origination site is and simulataneously trying to deal with the mass that is currently in her liver and causing secondary problems. She lives in her house across our driveway and we're sure glad she's here and not on her own living somewhere else. Currently she's in the hospital and enduring a lot of tests. Actually, she's glad she's there and getting the care she was lacking over the last month. Gavin's been there after work everyday and they've had a lot of deep discussions and good bonding time. So far I've been able to take care of her dog and cat, clean her fridge, gather her mail, gather more toiletries, clothes, books and other homey items for her during her hospital stay, and done some research on the internet. I've also been able to make an eye cover so she can sleep despite the bright lights in the hall, and I've got a pattern for a chemo cap if we should come to that.


The complementary strengths of Gav and I are definitely in full swing: he's all about being in the moment, and just being; whereas I'm definitely a 'do-er' and I'm constantly thinking ahead for the next thing. The kids have done very well with all this news and although they really miss having Grandma around, they know she's getting help. Today we're going to work on a Welcome Home Poster as well as little notes we'll place around her house. She might come home tomorrow, but it's possible they'll want her to stay through the weekend. It's so touch-and-go right now and each test result leads to more changes.

A lot of blogs are coming up with a single word for the year like 'courage', 'change', 'leap' and 'expand'. All these are great words, filled with inspiration. It's weird for me to be living purely in one day at a time, not knowing what the next day will produce. It's a new perspective and quite an adjustment to this unsurety. Now, life definitely doesn't have to get completely put on hold during my mother-in-law's health issues. On the contrary, my kids especially need to have their routine and fun things to look forward to. Being mopey and worrying all day is not productive and not healthy for them to be involved in. That's helpful to keep me out of that mire too. There've been a few other times in our lives where circumstances have caused us to buckle down, take account of the things that matter to us in life, and get rid of or quit doing the things that are more frivolous. I'm sensing that we're entering into one of those seasons again. My goal will to not get so serious about the situation, and to embrace the laughter and fun things that happen in each day. Gavin and his mom share a dry wit together, and it's helped them to cope with all the stuff at the hospital. It's nice that they can be there together and share their sick jokes to keep the air light.

One short-term goal I have is to post more on my blog. Ugh, now I've set up an expectation for myself! That's ok, right?

On a sidenote, my parents gave me a new sewing machine and it's beautiful!


It's the Magnolia model by Janome. It'll be really great to use when I tackle finishing this quilt I started eight years ago!

snap, snap, snap

Get ready for lots of show-and-tell photos - yep, that's right, I found my camera! Since I'm terrible at remembering 'Before Shots' (I'm always just too excited to get started with a project), you'll just have to visualize this area with all beige walls and tools, bins and random paper bags strewn everywhere! Not to mention the shopvac, baseboard trim and uninstalled doors!


I thought this blue was so calming - it's very similar to the color in my craft room. The kids love doing their homework here and it keeps everything off our dining room table so I'm not just moving piles of papers from one countertop to the next. It's also easier for them to keep track of their homework papers. And now their backpacks aren't on the floor by the front door either! I decoupaged a board with an old Curious George book and Gavin added the hooks.


I still had the inspiration to decoupage, so I made this homework clipboard to keep their papers organized. We'll see if it holds up through the year.


And finally this bookcase I grabbed for $3 at a thrift shop, so I painted it orange and decoupaged pages from old books. The color inspired me on the opposite wall of this room which I turned into our reading corner.


So this is our new reading corner and we are always finding ourselves hanging out in here. It's not a great shot of the olive green chair I picked up off Craigslist, but it fits me and Worker Boy quite comfortably with a good book! It's been a lot of fun pulling each piece together to make such a comfy little nook. Can you tell I'm just a little proud??


This cabinet I found at the Goodwill - it was all wood with the ugliest starburst brass knobs! So I painted it, scuffed it and put on a glaze and new knobs and I'm so happy with it. It's a great piece with great storage.


I went nuts with this fabric combination. Now I just need to get in and sew up some coordinating pillows to bring all the colors together! I can hardly wait.


In the midst of creating new livable spaces, I organized our mudroom which was a complete disaster. Eventually we'll install cabinets (I love being able to close doors for a clean look), but for now this is soooo much better. Each kid has their own shelf with a basket for shoes and a bin for miscellaneous stuff like soccer gear, dance stuff, jumpropes, etc. Notice the paint chips on the wall? We'll see what happens next. I'm really enjoying adding color on our walls.


My desk needed some serious attention too - so I forced myself to go through most of the stuff and I got bins for the things that didn't really have a spot.


I've still got a long way to go this year, but I feel like this is a good start; "a great shot in the arm" as Gavin and I say. Hopefully the walls, furniture and organization distracted you from noticing our concrete floors (rough concrete, not the en vogue stained and polished kind) or lack of baseboards and window trim! I can hardly wait to sink my teeth into those projects.

More to come.....