We Are Sewing

With the constant stream of very welcome company that has been journeying through our home and thue very time consuming nature of life in the mother hood, I haven't had a lot of time for sewing, crafting, and generally returning to the (in) sane state that I used to know and love.

But, with my sister here last week and my mother in law the week before, I was able to have them hold our sweet little girl while I finished some long overdue projects!

Ariel found one of my library books "Sewing Bits and Pieces" which is a great idea book for using up your scraps. She wanted to make this party garland so off to the fabric store we went!

I love how cheerful and happy it turned out!

Then, I finished my pincushions for my first online "swap". My partner picked this owl fabric for her sewing room, so I picked some up on Etsy and created these pincushions. The big one is a REALLY hard pattern from Anna Maria Horner's "Seams To Me" Book. It is the third time I have made it and it is` getting a little easier each time.

I like the little one a lot! It was my first attempt at "improvisational piecing".

And then, my new favorite project, my "mini wild thing" quilt by Camille of Thimbleblossoms. I LOVE how it turned out but I am scared to death to quilt it! I did just a smidge of quilting and then stitched the binding on. 

And I truthfully love the back just as much as the front! The huge Oz Floral just makes me smile and the four extra blocks from the front look great back here, if I do say so myself!

And last, but not least, I think we have some fairies living in our backyard. There are tiny toadstools everywhere!

So, have you finished any projects lately that you are happy with?

Do You See What I See?

Do you see something new?

Hint: There is something new in that smile....

Mother's Helper

Hi, Mama!

Hi, Abby! Wanna help me with the laundry?

That is a lot of laundry....

I guess I could help.

Is this helpful?

How about this?

Or, this?

Uh, Oh, Abby.

And, for all of you Abby admirers in diverse places, please enjoy Abby's new skill. My life is about to change...

America The Beautiful

What do you do when you are out of work with LOTS of time on your hands and it is the fourth of July? Well, I suppose its traditional to pack all of the comforts of home you can fit in your car, toss the baby in her carseat and take off with the family to enjoy the great outdoors. 

We chose to head over to Yellowstone National Park. And my goodness, it was PACKED. Not a unique idea, but, we had plenty of fun.

Abby's sweet Grandma and Grandpa came all the way out from Florida to spend time with her. They may say that they came to see us, but we know better.

My dad showed Abby Old Faithful Geyser. She thought riding on her Granddad's shoulders was pretty darn fun!

And when I said 'camped' I am not talking hotels, cabins, or trailers. I am seriously saying that we stayed in tents, sleeping bags, cooked over an open fire. It was fun, although cooking is fairly different when there is no stove. 

And did I mention it was cold? Cause it was cold. Really really freezing wind blowing in your face cold. 

But we did get to see the deer and the buffalo roam. Or lay around doing nothing. But, I guess it was a holiday. You can't roam all the time or you might get burnt out...

It was a pretty fun trip over all. We got lots of time with our family, good food, including my favorite sandwich, and to top it all off, Abby was pretty perky most of the time. Can't really ask for more than that. So, Happy Birthday, America. Thanks for our life, liberty and beautiful land!