hooray mamma made!

wow...exciting little review for mamma made designs at coolmompicks.com!
check it out! you have to scroll down a bit to see it, but then there is the adorable spider dress from rachel! seems like there's a bit of a contest there too (not sure if it is over)...anyway! way to go rachel! - and megan on the coat!

check out mamma made's website for the fall line. you'll see some great stuff (my sweaters, hmmhmm...)and adorable kids. (updated photos coming soon!)

ok...enough tooting of the horn!

swappity swap

love this.
the doll quilt swap was so stinkin' much fun. i'm planning a swap for project of the month...stay tuned.

so...i sent chris off to the post office to mail our usairways coupon for our flights to seattle (we're booked!!), along with my doll quilt to be airmailed (hint hint). you see, the recipient does not know who made her a quilt...just as i had no idea who was sending mine...well, i get home from work to find my little package!!! i was giddy with delight. mine came from virginia, from the lovely maggi
here it is:

the front

hand stitching detail...amazing!

the label!!

the lovely back...this fabric kills me!

so thanks to Lisa who organized the swap and my Swap Mama, along with the others who did so much work (there were 100 of us!!) PLEASE do it again...i had such a great time.

and did i say this was my first quilt EVER! scary and fun.

big sigh.

so i wanted to show off my other crafy goodies made while chris was on tour...all from bend the rules sewing by amy karol
but instead of all that uploading...please just click on over to my flickr page and take a gander. this book is heavenly. easy fun projects that are addictive to make!

so...i'm off to the farmer's market w/ my market bag...will post that photo soon!!
have a great day!!

big post on the way

i've been busy busy busy with finishing the quilt for doll quilt swap II among other things so have been neglecting the blog...but IT IS FINISHED!! and i'm happy with it...sending it off today...here it is:





sorry they are crooked...i'll fix it later and will show you all the other fun stuff i've been doing from bend the rules sewing (book by amy karol)!! FUN!

vacation at nana and papa's

well we had a wonderful week away. i am hoping to update with some photos tomorrow. we had a rainy but fun week in pennsylvania. i am blessed with a wonderful family. my mom and dad take care of anyone and everyone around them. me and the kids included! we spent time hanging out side, in the baby pool, rides on tractors, grilling, hammocking, all sorts of country fun.

but i must tell the sewing machine story!
i took my old singer 401a to a place to get it fixed (threads were breaking and tension was off)...my sister had heard of this guy irwin leininger who was excellent w/ any machine. well...he's been dead for 8 years apparently. but apparently his brother in law learned a lot from him...ed lives next door. so the next hour and a half was spent with ed in the little shack that used to be a machine repair shop tinkering around. he showed me how to adjust and diagnose my tension problems (he thinks i should never have to take it in for repair on account of tension!) he also pointed out that my needle was in backwards. i swear i checked and double checked....but it was. how embarrassing. it is sewing like a charm again. so top things off, there were a host of old sewing tables sitting around...the kind you mount your machine right in. and you guessed it...he custom fit one for my machine and gave it to me for $20. how amazing is that.

i'm out of time today...but will post more about the week when i find some time. unpacking and stealing time w/ chris is taking priority right now!!!

oh...and the Project of the month stuff will be finished soon...sorry for the delay!!!

just a funny thing...

so eli likes, no LOVES, to play with phones...all of 'em. but especially cell phones. he also loves to go into the bathroom and try to play in the toilet. yep. gross. so we all now try our best to keep the door and lid shut, but you know...it doesn't always happen. so yesterday, he grabs my phone from the kitchen and starts crawling away (have i told you how fast he is???) i jump up, and go after him, trip on the phone wire (don't ask) and see him going into the bathroom. as i turn into the bathroom i hear "kerplunk"...cell phone in the potty. yep. gross. i was a nervous mess thinking it was ruined (my last cell phone fell into a river while canoeing...ruined.) but thankfully, this morning...it turned out just fine and is all better. phew.

he is such a little rascal! just loves to laugh and stick out his tongue...and do whatever his big sister is doing (like trying to jump on the bed...hmmmmm)

so just had to share that.

off to make pancakes. love saturday mornings....but miss the sound of chris playing guitar quietly in the living room...he'll never believe me! but i do. (10days...)

have a good day, folks! will post my late night sewing projects later.

where has the time gone?

well...i don't really know, so i will just give you the short run down instead!
hmm.
chris left on tour yesterday...that day is always hard, especially for stella, but things are improving today (phew). i need to know how other mama's handle this...ann krestene... does ellanor break down??? stella is a mess EVERY time. it's awful. tears, sobbing, stomach aches. my poor girl. i'm trying to keep her busy with fun things like swim lessons, visiting friends and family, maybe a movie this weekend (ratatouille maybe???)

before that...well, i don't even know! i've been working on my quilt for my quilt class (dick and jane fabrics by michael miller - no photo right now to share) as well as my quilt for the doll quilt swap II. have a little sneak peek. i can't show it all, as it is a secret!!! but those mamas at the swap are quite something...my partner and i seem to have so much in common...it's killing me! i want to know how much thought was put into pairing up the quilters. anyway, i am doing some foundation piecing from patterns i got in the mailorder from kingpod those little square were so much fun - kind of addicting!

but then...my sewing machine is kaput. yep. snappying threads left and right, jamming. ergh. i love my 401a, but is it time to update? plus i want to machine quilt and don't know if it does that. i'm such a stinkin' novice. any advice????

alrighty, so when the machine broke, stella and i did these (she did most of it...i did the ironing on):
for daddy: a rocket ship (based on a story he made up for her)

for herself: rainbow kitty and a map to magical places only rainbow kitty can go...?


i'll post these up to the project of the month's site too..fun!

eli is now walking all over the place and cutting more teeth - JOY!
but this is my favorite. he walks over carrying his shoes
signs "more" and sits down for me to put them on him! he loves them! and his new favorite toy is a birthday gift from aunt lauren...he now makes mmmmrrrrrrrrrmmm sounds!!! i love it!


one last thing to share...stella has been amazing me with her drawings. check out these birds (i hope chris is reading...) she did these completely on her own. a mama bird with babies flying behind her...i think they are gorgeous! very graceful and dancy...

i mean she's only 4...as my friend loren and i say...it's because she's gifted...because all of our kids are gifted...just sayin'.

due to technical difficulties...

i will blog soon...

something is screwy w/ our dsl...they're sending a tech. hopefully i'll be back soon! i have lots of photos and news to share...just can't from work!

you'll hear from me soon!