Craft Room Redo

I've said this before and I'll say it again: my husband is AWESOME! While I was visiting my parents this summer, he repainted my craft room.  And let me tell you, this was no nagging and begging him to do it, he volunteered for this project.  And then, THEN! when it was all beautifully painted, he organized it.  I am a collector, and an unorganized one at that.  I love my craft room, but even I was a little overwhelemed by all the materials it contained.  Now, there is a place for everything and everything in its place.  I love it so much, it makes me so happy to spend time in there.  Here is what it looked like before.

(Man, my old camera took crummy pictures.)  I didn't think I minded the yellow walls, but once they were repainted I realized how fantastico it could really look in there.

Ta-da!

That bookshelf on the right used to be dark brown, which Michael painted white.  I also love that I have a bulletin board now, and a quilt design wall. (The design wall is a re-purposed baby blanket that a quiltie friend of mine made.)

 This is my happy place.  

Now, who wants to get crafty?

Lost and Found

I have moved a number of times in my life.  These events are usually precedeed by a feeling of panic, where I get rid of a number of items that I would keep on a regular day.  The pre-move garage sale is always a useful purge, but is often followed by regret for years to come. (Just ask my sister about the time we held a garage sale when our parents were moving from Michigan to Arkansas.  We were literally selling the pictures off the walls.  What were we thinking?)

Michael and I held a garage sale right before we moved from Saratoga, Wyoming to Fort Collins.  Granted, most of the items I haven't missed, but for some reason I've been pining for a shadow box that was made especially for me.

Let me back this story up a little bit.  Michael and I lived in Gillette, Wyoming for a year while he was on vicarage.  Gillette will always hold a special place in my heart because it was there that I learned to quilt.  The ladies of the church there welcomed me with a gusto and taught me all the foundations for quilting, many of the skills that I still use today.  When we left, Dianne gave me a shadowbox filled with all kinds of little quilty notions. 

I loved that she had put all those goodies in there just for me, and I had it up in my craft room in Saratoga.  But then when we moved, I just figured I wouldn't have a place for a shadow box, so I sold it to a lady who was going to give it to her daughter who was also sewer.

Oh how I regretted doing that.  I don't know why, but whenever I was sewing that shadow box would pop into my mind.  I remember that Dianne had told me I could take it apart if I wanted to.  Why didn't I do that?  Why?  Why didn't I keep the little scissors and the golden needle?  So I didn't have room for a shadow box.  I certainly had room for some wooden spools and a few buttons.  For some reason the scissors plagued me the most.  I use little thread snipping scissors all the time when I'm sewing, especially because I do a lot of chain piecing.  Whenever my usual pair had wandered away from my sewing machine I would think, "Why didn't I at least keep the scissors?"  This would sometimes be followed up by, "I bet that lady's daughter took the shadow box apart.  I bet she's using the scissors!  Why didn't I think of that!?"

Fast forward a few years.  I was in Saratoga a few weekends ago visiting my friends.  Carol and I decided to go downtown to a thrift store that wasn't even in existence when I lived there.  We had fun wandering around and then I stopped dead in my tracks.  There was my shadow box! The one I had been pining for! There is was, four years later!  I couldn't believe it!  And it was exactly how I remembered it, not a button missing.  There were my little scissors, calling to me.

I would only have to pay $14.50 to get it back. 

Oh my, I had a personal crisis right then and there.  I am super thrifty.  That is WAY too much money for me to spend on an item, especially one I had once owned for free.

I walked away, I came back.  I showed it to Carol, I put it back.  Then I wandered around the store holding it, trying to figure out if they would just let me take the scissors out, and they could still sell the rest.  A saleslady noticed me and said, "I think you want that."  "I do!" I said, and then I told her the WHOLE story.  I even pointed to the little note.  "That's me! I'm Karen!"

She talked to the owner of the store and they told me they would sell me the whole thing for $3.50.  Deal!  Hurray!!!! I almost cried.

I now have all the goodies in my new craft room, where they belong.  And I have a little bit more peace of mind.

P.S.  A few days after I had taken the above picture I was sewing and my usual thread snips had again wandered away.  "Now, where are my little scissors?" I said to myself, and I reached over and grabbed this pair and happily snipped away.

Landscaping -- Karen Style

I have mentioned before that I have a handy husband.  This spring he took some bricks and lined our flower beds in the backyard.  They look so much better than the haphazard dirt areas that they were before.  I was so excited envisioning all the lovely things that would grow in those flower beds. 

Here is the problem, though.  Neither my husband nor I have a green thumb.  We both love the outdoors and love nature, but we never really seem to cultivate that on our own. 

So sadly, our beautifully outlined flowerbeds stayed dirt areas all summer long (with the occasional weeds, of course). 

So I was thinking to myself that it would probably look better if we at least filled them in with woodchips.  I like woodchips, but unless you have a shredder and can make your own, they cost money (and I don't really like spending money). 

Then I had a brilliant idea.  Peach pits! We have been eating peaches like crazy lately and we don't usually compost the pits because they take so long to decompose.  So we were just throwing them away (which I hate doing).  I thought, what if I filled the flower beds with peach pits?  This is a good idea, but it would take forever to fill the space, so I expanded my brain-storming. 

Pine cones! Yes! They are everywhere.  They are all over our backyard and around our neighborhood.  So I started gathering them.  One of the neighbor kids saw me and actually joined in on the fun. I have filled one flower bed and I'm working on another.  I decided to throw the peach pits in with the mix because they are just so colorful and a fun addition.  The round balls are avocado pits. 

I am very happy with the way my flowerbeds are looking now.  I may not be a great gardener, but I am an excellent scavenger and collector.  Let's hear it for free landscaping.  Yay!

The Scrappy Rambler: Round 2

Jody was the next gal to work on the Scrappy Rambler.  I met Jody way back when at a fabric swap at Mama Said Sew.  Actually, I think I ran into her at a number of fabric swaps that were held there.  She and I would always be the last two people digging through the huge mess of fabric, oohing and aahing over the tiniest little scraps.  She is my kindred spirit when it comes to using scraps and leftover pieces.  How fun, then, that she would get to add some scrappy love to the Scrappy Rambler.

Here is how she described her additions: "Two very scrappy and happy (very Karen) wonky log cabins (very me) with 'traditional' red centers - an idea inspired by Karen's red pj label centered in her starter block."

Photo by Jody Deschenes

Aren't they so fun?  I love all the bright and cheery fabric all mixed together.  I also love how she took a very traditional quilt block and made it fun and funky, but still kept up the tradition of the red centers. Those are two wonky log cabins of happiness right there.  I love scraps and I love this quilt!  Thanks Jody.  :-)

The Bedroom Redo Redo

While I was in Michigan, my husband was a handy guy and painted our bedroom.  He is a super great husband because this is actually the second time that he's painted the same room.

When we first moved in the back wall was a really, really dark brown.  It looked nice with the previous owner's decor, but it really was not our style.

Mr. Paws was wishing we would paint in there.

So Michael did paint the room.  We both agreed on the color of blue, and then I left for the weekend while he painted. 

It was definitely an improvement from the brown, but it was just a little too blue.  You can't see it in the pictures but the ceiling was also painted blue.  It felt very closed in a lot of the time, especially later in the day.  And the color, as pretty as it is, didn't quite jive with the rest of the house.  It was supposed to feel serene and peaceful, and instead it felt like living in an aquarium.   

I was really happy with the new curtains, though.  So that was a step forward. 

So, Michael painted the bedroom again and I LOVE IT!  He did the walls the same color as our daughter's nursery and painted the back a wall a more slate grey blue.

It is so refreshing.  I'm so happy (finally) with the way it looks.  What a good husband to give it a second go.

Now I just need to hang some fun things on the wall and make a new quilt for the bed. Yay for the bedroom redo redo.

The Scrappy Rambler: Round 1

Let me tell you a long-winded story.  It had been way, way too long since I'd gone to the dentist.  I was carrying around this huge amount of guilt for not getting into the dentist for regular cleanings like I knew I should be, but there were a number of reasons why it just wasn't happening.  When I finally made an appointment with a new dentist, I went in sheepishly, knowing it would not be a fun visit, but thankful that I was getting my oral health care back on track.

The hygienist was very nice.  I was expecting a lecture as I confessed my dental sins, but she was very gracious.  Then we started making small talk.  She asked where I worked and I said that I'd been working at The Sewing Circle before I had my daughter.  She said, "Oh, so you know Beth."  Yes, I knew Beth, she was one of my co-workers and my friend.  I asked how she knew Beth, expecting her to say that they went to church together or something like that.  She answered, "I know her from the Modern Quilt Guild."  Then I looked at her name tag.  It said "Penny" in nice shiny letters.

OH NO! No, no no no no no no! is what my brain immediately said.

I had heard of Penny a number times.  Why? Because she is super cool.  She has an amazing blog, is published in books and magazines, and has a super talent for creating paper piecing and other beautiful sewn items.  Whenever I'd heard anyone mention Penny it was always like, "Penny, she's the coolest."

So there I was, with my mouth hanging open and spit running down my face, embarrassed by my overdue dental visit and meeting super cool Penny for the first time.  I thought I would die of mortification right then and there.

Lucky for me, Penny is as nice as she is talented and she wasn't fazed by my awkwardness in the dental chair.  I texted Beth later that day and said, "I met your friend Penny today."  (I casually left out the part about my bazillion cavities.) Beth responded with, "We have a Modern Quilt Guild meeting this week, you should come."  So I did go to the meeting and the rest is history.

The good news is, I survived that trip to dentist (and the fillings that followed, blerg), and I joined the Modern Quilt Guild after that first meeting I attended.  I'm so grateful that all of this happened because joining the guild has been a huge blessing in my life.  It's been so fun to meet other crafty people and also to have a creative outlet in my little-kiddo filled life.

With all that being said, let's move on to the fun stuff: the roaming quilt bee.  Yay! As you recall, this is what my starter block looked like:

Penny was the first person to receive my quilt. Inspired by the tiny pajama pants on the Old Navy label, she paper pieced a giant pair of pajama pants (15"x25").

Photo by sewtakeahike

Aren't they fun!?  I love them! I wish I could wear them around the house they are so fun.  I especially love the colorful fabrics she choose.

So now this quilt block will become traveling pants (haha) and roam around with the Scrappy Rambler.

Stay tuned for the next installment. :-)

P.S.  You can check out Penny's blog here:

http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com/

A Year of Baby

My daughter turned one year old this week.  People always say, "It goes by so fast," and it is crazy to think of how fast the time really flew.  What a blessing she has been! 

Brand New

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

 

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

12 Months

 Happy Birthday, my sweet little girl.