Thursday, May 28, 2009

Vintage Gown

Here is Abram Oak, my friend Tracy's adorbale baby at 6 weeks old. I made this gown for him for his ma ma's baby shower. I used a vintage gown I had been given for the pattern. I embroidered an R on it for his last name to add a special personalized touch. At the time I was just sure he would be a girl, but I made sure that in case he was a boy this would be gender neutral. I think he looks adorable in it!! Can't wait to meet this little fellow.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Hexagon Quilt

A friend of mine made this gorgeous hexagon quilt over the holiday. She posted pics of it on face book and I fell in love with it. It's like a large version of the mother's flower garden, and she used 30's repro fabrics. I asked how she made it so quickly and she has offered to give me a lesson! I've never had a lesson from a quilter before, so I'm ecstatic! So look for this one made by me on the blog in the near future!

Monday, May 25, 2009

In The Garden

The garden is starting to bloom at long last! Ron has done an amazing job with the plants in such a short period of time. Many of them are in the ground already and thriving. We have two new additions to the garden as well - our cats Derby and Head. They are now officially out door cats, after being in doors for about 8 years. Due to bad cat behavior they could no longer live with us, (just imagine cat pee, lots of it.) They seem to be adjusting well to the out doors though they meow on a regular basis. Here are some pics of this morning's wanderings in the garden:

Everthing is turning up roses.

I'm not sure what this plant is called, but I love the petals.

The beginnings of apples!


Over heard this morning, "Dad, Headie clawed!"

Boy and cat.

Derby cat

Higher ground is always safe. (Taken by Sarah.)

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Flora

Sarah is gearing up for her spring dance performance, "Flora"! This will be the 6th ballet she has been in after taking ballet for 3 years. She will be in 4 dances and will be a Bluebell, Lotus flower, ant, and will do a finale dance. She's been working really hard and the dances are all beautiful. She has really developed her dancing this year, I've been amazed to see her skill level advance so much. I've been helping with the costumes which are gorgeous! Stay tuned for more pictures and info about the performance!


My stately dancer

Sarah practicing her modern dance as a Lotus flower.

Mother Daughter Date

Sarah and I had a great mother daughter date today after her ballet class. We went to a new ice cream shop called Scoop. It's all organic ice cream and it's SO delicious!! She had their Grasshopper flavor and I had Hazelnut Chocolate. While we were there I had a very proud moment. The worker behind the counter said, "Good morning!" to a customer. It was about 3:00 pm mind you. His co-worker then said, "It's always morning somewhere." Ron coined this phrase years ago at the coffee shop he started up and managed. People used to love it when he said it all times of the day, and I was happy to see that people are still circulating his original phrase in other businesses around town. We've had other friends tell us they have heard people say it as well. I said to the guy, "I know where that phrase originated." He said, "Really?!" I said, "Yep, my husband used to say it all the time to his customers." He seemed happy to know where this fun saying started. That just made my day, plus the great ice cream, the sun shine, watching Sarah's ballet practice, and being invited over to our friends' house for dinner. It was one of those wonderful days where the sun is shinning and all is right with the world.


Sarah had Grasshopper ice cream.

She really was happier than this picture shows

Cute ant sculpture we saw along the way

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Our Bedroom and Sarah's Bedroom

I finally got pics of Ron's and my bedroom and Sarah's bedroom. Believe it or not they weren't presentable up until now. I must confess there are still lots of boxes in our closets, but it will all be unpacked someday! Ron and I didn't have a bed frame until this past weekend. Our box spring simply wouldn't fit up our narrow Victorian stair case, so we have been sleeping on our mattress on the ground for a few months now. (Felt a lot like camping!) It feels so great to have a bed finally! Thank you Ron!! Here are a few pics of the rooms at long last!

Our bed! The quilt top at the bottom of the bed was from Ron's grandma. It is the fruit basket pattern. Someday it will be quilted!
The paint isn't quite this bright - I took this one with a flash.

Shot of my dresser and shelf. Our bed room is bigger than our last, we love it!

View when you walk in the door, bed is to the right.

View to the left of the door. I got this awesome antique armoir off Craig's list for a steal. I needed extra wardrobe space because we have a small closet.


Sarah's room - She picked out paint colors, curtain fabrics and rugs. At first I wasn't so sure about the Lime Rickey Green paint with the pink accent wall and bold prints she chose, but it turned out adorable! This is the view to the right when you walk in.


The Ikea rug she picked out.

Her new Ikea bunk bed she begged for. She's wanted one for years!


Another shot of the bunk bed.

View to the far right of her door. Her new (to her) desk. Now we just need to get her a chair!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

More Quilt Pics!

I found more pics of the rest of Grandma's quilts! I forgot I had taken pics of most of them, wohoo! I counted 20 total, so I guess 30-40 was an exaggeration. It sure felt like she had that many. I know that Ron's grandma's mom hand made quilts for all of her grand kids, so she has done many more than what you see here. There may have been a few more that weren't in good condition that I didn't get pictures of. Anyway, here are the rest and what a collection she had! It's interesting to me that she keeps all these quilts packed away. None of them see the sun, how sad is that! I feel like they're lost children with no one to love them. They are amazing heirlooms though, what amazing gifts to leave for your children and grand children.
Grandma's Flower Garden quilt top. Made by Ron's grandma's mom in 1941. Ron's aunt has already claimed this one, darn!
This one didn't have a tag. I love the design, so pretty!

Made by Ron's Grandpa's mom. No tag, but the fabrics are old and look like turn of the century.


No tag on this one. I like the monochromatic colors.

No tag on this one. I love these fabrics and the quilting. I assume Ron's grandma's mother made it due to the quilting style.

I love the fabrics on this one! I think it's my second favorite. Ron's grandma made this one.

I think Ron's grandma made this one.

Ron's Grandpa's mom made this one.

Made around 1915.


This one had no tag. The fabric looks really old.


Made in 1934 by Ron's grandpa's mom

This is the quilt made out of prisoner clothes in about 1936.

Grandma's Quilts

If you know me you know that I love anything hand made. Quilts are one of my favorite textiles, and I have made 4 in my life and I hope to increase that number! I have so many patterns I really want to make I almost don't know where to start!! Now that Justin is a little older I plan to get back into it. My friend Liz invited me to become part of a quilting exchange at her shop, Scottie Dog Quilts, and I am thrilled about it!

I began to be interested in quilting about 10 years ago. Ron and I had visited Ron's grandma in Boise Idaho after his grandpa had passed away. While we were there his grandma was kind enough to show me her wonderful and amazing family quilt collection. I can't even remember how many she has, but the number between 30 and 40 sticks in my mind. I was in absolute awe of these intricate and artistic works in fabric. Her mother was an avid quilter and was a true artist. Her hand quilting is beautiful artistic designs and the stitches are perfect. Her husband's mother also quilted and her style was simpler, but beautiful. As I looked at each quilt I found out the story behind it: Who made it, what year it was made, who it was for, etc. I wrote down all of the information on a piece of paper and pinned it to the quilt, (now I hope that won't leave rust stains on them!) Ron's grandma was in her late 80's at the time, so we wanted to get all the information while she could remember. I remember that one quilt was made from inmates outfits from the local jail! Many of her quilts were given as wedding presents. There were quite a few tops done by her mother. Her quilting was so intricate and perfect that she didn't have the time to finish them all. She also designed her own patterns - I wish I could have met this lady!

I'm really bummed I didn't get pictures of every quilt, but I did take some of my very favorite ones. I remember there was a pretty mother's flower garden one as well that I wish I would have gotten a picture of, ah well. I found a fruit basket design top that I loved, and his grandma gave it to me with the stipulation that I would hand quilt it...ten years later and it's still not done, but I promise I will do it eventually!! I will post pics of that one later. I'm so glad I have one of her quilts and I feel fortunate to be blessed with it! Here are the pics of my favorite quilts:



The Fan Quilt: Made by Ron's grandma's mother. This quilt takes my breath away! The colors are so bright and cheerful, and the fan design is gorgeous. The picture doesn't do it justice! The hand quilting is intricate and beautiful. This was my favorite in her collection. I can't remember the exact year it was made, but I think around the 20's.

The Sun Set Quilt: Made by Ron's grandma's mother. I think she may have designed this pattern, but I'm not sure. It's a true work of art.


This quilt top has such beautiful red fabrics in it. I'm not sure what the pattern name is, but the fabrics look very old, maybe Civil War era.


The Wedding Ring Quilt - I'm pretty sure Ron's Grandma's aunt made this for her wedding. It is in such great condition and the fabrics are beautiful! I think it's a 30's quilt.

Found the tag for this one! Made by Ron's ggg grandma in the 1890's - what a beauty!

Sun Bonnet Sue Quilt top: Another one made by Ron's great grandma. It looks like it was made in the 30's. Love this pattern!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Thrift Finds!


Thrift scores: 2 shirts for Justin, 1 pair of pants for Justin, 1 shirt for Sarah, 1 vintage pillow case & 1 fire and light butterfly. Cost: $10!

One of the things I've been so excited about since we've moved to this house is the thrift store that's only about a 2 minute walk from our house - I think I've died and gone to heaven. I get excited when I see thrift stores, seriously! My grandma used to take me thrift store shopping when I was a kid. She was the thriftiest woman I've ever known. She was waaay ahead of her time when it came to recycling as well. She recycled everything! She hardly ever bought clothes new. Her mentality was, "Why do that when you can get them so much cheaper?" Back then you could buy antique dishes for 50 cents a pop. Wish I had collected more at that time! She and grandpa lived on a farm and had cows and chickens so they had organic fresh eggs and milk all the time, (and beef too.) Anyway, yesterday Justin and I made a trip to the thrift store and I am so thrilled at the treasures I got! That's what I love so much about thrifting. It's like a treasure hunt and you never know what you will find. All kids clothes are 1.99, and at 40% off I made out like a bandit! These prices are even cheaper than a local consignment store. The clothes were in great condition too. I also found this really cute vintage pillow case and a Fire and Light butterfly for Sarah's room for only $3.50! Fire and Light is locally made recycled glass and isn't cheap new. I love the fact that when I buy used I'm recycling and helping take care of the planet, plus it's easier on my wallet - I can't lose!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Super Man Likes Smoothies!


Justin rarely smiles big for his picture, so when he does I have to show the world! He asked me today to tie on his cape and said, "Super Man!" Then we had berry smoothies and he went out to the back porch and was hanging out on the bench. I'm digging the purple stash he's sporting!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Say No To Road Kill

I rarely vent here on my blog. I feel it should be a happy place that others can come to, which is a good thing, right? It is, but lately I've been feeling the need to let some things out, to "let her rip" as they say. I see others letting loose on their blogs and honestly it feels good to see that I'm not the only one who faces difficulties, struggles, etc. in my life. Not that I'm happy about their struggles, I'm not, I just like to see that others who always seem to have their act together are human as well and have days that they wished they could hit the delete button on. So that's my little disclaimer - you've been warned! If you don't want to read a vent then please, by all means don't read further! It may get a bit chunky, but I promise I won't use any expletives or say anything that could get me arrested!!

So today I opened up my face book page and I see this quote a friend had posted: "In order to be walked on, you have to be lying down." - Brian Weir. This quote was like music to my ears - I really needed to read this today! For years I've been working on kicking the habit of playing the victim. I know quite well that I am responsible for my actions and that others are responsible for theirs, ya da ya da ya da. But, there are times when all of that training and work I've done to reprogram myself goes out the window and I feel like I'm on the ground becoming road kill yet again for the bullies in my life. The bullies - we all have them around. The people in our lives who don't respect us, who seem to try to push the buttons that make us go off, who cause us hurt and pain - and the hardest thing about it all is that they do NOT seem to care about how we feel!! They refuse to take responsibility for their actions and they lay the blame on us. It hurts, it's unfair, it's unjust.

Such a situation happened this week. A similar scenario has happened before with this person but on a much grander scale. For some reason this time I felt really sad when they decided to "go there" yet again. I was surprised I wasn't angry this time. I think all the anger has been beaten out of me honestly. I would have thought that they would have learned a lesson after the first round, that they would have become more respectful, that they would have learned from the past...oops, here I go again with the "they" thing. See, it's really not about them, it's about me. I tried to learn from the past. I agonized for days, weeks, months about what I could have done differently. How did we ever get to this place? What happened? But none of that matters either. I can't go back, I can't change the past. I can only deal with what I have in front of me and make the best of it. There is so much more I could say, the story is long, much too long for any blog post.

So here I am today mulling over the phrase and I ask myself, "Am I laying down...oh my Gosh - I am!!! Why am I laying down?" It's easier to lay down honestly. Getting up requires energy, strength and fortitude. In this situation it takes all of my energy to hoist myself back up from a horizontal position and pull myself up by my boot straps. Dang it's hard! But luckily I don't have to do it alone. God is there to help. But why isn't He making it easier? Why isn't He telling people to help me out here? Wouldn't that make more sense? It's part of the process, it's my journey and my road. I knew it wouldn't be easy, He told me that. He said He would be with me though, not make it all go away. But I want it to all go away!!! Perhaps He is trying to help it all go away but I'm not listening. I feel like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place and they don't care - the bullies that is. They...there I go again.

I follow a radical faith, a faith that makes no sense at times. A faith that calls people to give up their under wear if their clothes are stolen. (Seriously, it's in the Bible.) A faith that calls people to let someone hit them again; to make that second punch easy. This second round was different. I went out of my way to die to myself, to be a nice person even though I knew they wouldn't return the favor. I think that's why it hurts so bad...I really tried, why didn't they? There is a fine line between laying down and turning the other cheek. There really is. Laying down means giving up, giving in. Turning the other cheek is strategic. I'm still learning the fine line between the two. I thought I had it down, but I'm realizing I'm still a novice.

It's not about the fight and it's not about what they do. It's about me, period. All these emotions of anger, fear, doubt and anxiety that rear their ugly heads are here for a reason. They haven't died yet obviously; they're alive and well. People talk about karma coming back to people; call it what you will - justice has a way of winning in the end. Even when all the world seems blind to it the scales will tip eventually - it's just a matter of time. In the meantime I'm scraping myself off of the road and refusing to end up in a burger at the road kill cafe.