Time Off
I'm afraid I've gotten to that time of the year when my sewing machine gets abandoned for a bit. So I might be taking a little time off from crafty blogging for a couple weeks. I am still in the doll quilt swap, and a mini quilt swap for August, but for the most part I'm not going to push myself to do much for a while. My Dear Jane supplies will stay out, but I'm lagging a little there still. I'm now the point leader for the QOV portion of the new military ministry at our church. So those things alone will keep my plenty busy. This weekend I finished a couple of mini Pleated Beauty Handbags ala Bend the Rules Sewing for a custom order.




And here's the lovely little mini quilt that I received Robyn. Love the colors, and the triangles and the itty bitty hand quilting. It's about 8" square.


And these are the two that I sent out. The first is a take on the Birds of the Air block. It's machine pieced, but hand appliqued and quilted. The second is a flower basket, all done by machine. The scallops were a little extra work, so I gave myself a break from the hand quilting on that one. I think it turned out being pretty cute for a last minute idea on the border.

Festival, Fabric, and Aunt Exie
This evening I went to the Denver Quilt Craft Sew Festival. I went because it was only an hour way (assuming no traffic!), and I've never been to any type of quilting show/festival. I was a little disappointed because it was smaller than I expected, and only about a quarter of it was quilting stuff that I was really interested in. Sorry. But it was only $4 with the coupon they mailed me, so I'm not complaining. It was nice to get away from the kids by myself.

I was tempted to by a whole quilt kit or two, but I resisted. Instead I got home with a simple baby quilt pattern by Deborah's Designs, and a scallop edge ruler. Funny, her booth was the first one I stopped by, and it was the one I returned to to purchase from after seeing all the rest. Deborah had this baby quilt on display, as well as another with different fabrics - both were just adorable.


It took me 1 1/2 hours to get there, but the drive home was just one hour. Here's a little Denver sky, and then the sunset in Colorado Springs. I just love it when you can see the rays shooting from behind clouds.


I've been commissioned to make a couple handbags. Both will be black. One with a black and white modern floral, and another just blue/green. Here's what I picked out today.


Oh, I got those from Ruth's Stitchery, a new-to-me quilt shop all of a few miles from home. I thought from the name, when I first heard of it, that it was a cross-stitchy/needlepoint/embroidery sort of a place. Try that, plus a huge selection of quilting cottons and patterns. It's great! And when there, I picked up the latest copy of Quilt Sampler Magazine (Fall/Winter 2008). What do you know but Ruth's Stitchery is featured in there! So check it out... that's where I'll be. Also of note if you are ever in Colorado Springs is High Country Quilts. They have a good (but smaller) selection and it's where I'm in a block of the month club. While on the subject, Ladybug Hill Quilts is a really cute shop, but it's pretty tiny.

Anyway, then I stopped by JoAnn's to pick up some basics. Crazy me, walked by the corduroys and found this super cute print. I think I'll make another pair of pants for Cosette, like these which she's sadly grown out of.


Alrighty... I think I'm getting back to Jane now. I'm 2 weeks behind. I should be 3 weeks behind except that 2 of the blocks randomly picked are ones that I've done, and another I already had in the works! I'm really wanting a break from the paper piecing. I'm dreading everyone of those just because of the time it takes. I've actually been enjoying my hand sewing for the last few days, including this E1 Aunt Exie's Phlox block. I've started a study of Psalm 119, so you might start seeing a lot of verses from that. I'm studying it one 8-verse section at a time, so don't be surprised if you see 22 verses from it! So to start it off with this one I'm going with Psalm 119:18 "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." I actually remember the pastor who married us once said that he prays this verse every time he opens his Bible.

Alright. I have more to share, but it's really really late and this post is quite long enough for today! Goodnight all.

Countdown from 25
Well, gee... everyone keeps mentioning their magical posting numbers and doing giveaways. I have a giveaway in mind... and this here is post number 175. And I need to finish my giveaway item anyway. So with that said, here's to my 200th post giveaway. That should give me about a month or so to finish. There. I said it. Done.

Because Food Posts Are Better With Pictures
It's midnight and I'm finishing off this bowl of black bean and corn salad on chips. (Beans are indeed the magical fruit, but it's worth it!)


That's right. I made it at lunch time, and the bowl is gone. This is a quarter batch (1/2 can of beans), so that I can make a fresh batch tomorrow if I feel like it. Because this is not pretty on the second day! But it is so good.

This was how I ate it at lunch. That's about half the bowl on a bed of lettuce tossed in that homemade ranch dressing.


I'm a snacker, so anything that can be served on chips is tops with me.

And here's just a cute picture of my son being sweet and cooperative at nap time. Notice the little stuffed animals tucked in next to him - thought that was cute!

July 2 and 4
Well, this last week was just a blur. Especially the part where I had a migraine for 3 days spanning Cosette's birthday and July 4th when we had family visiting.

Sadly, we didn't do anything in terms of a party for Cosette; for lots of reasons, one being she's two and won't remember! But the fairy costume and dress up shoes were a big hit just the same. She's been wearing them pretty much every day since receiving them.




On July 4, we went to my brother-in-law's for BBQ. Their cousin came down from Denver, and my father-in-law was also in town from CA.
Cosette received another ballerina dress from her aunt and uncle, and was all too happy to try it out.




I wish I had pictures of the food because it was good! Steve bbq-ed cilantro lime chicken. I brought black bean and corn salad, salad greens, and "Artisan" bread, plus we had chips and dips and pasta salad. The black bean and corn salad was a hit, and will be going down in my "keeps" recipe folder. The only changes I made were adding an extra avocado, and a whole 16oz bag of corn. I cut up my chicken and just made a huge salad out of it all. Yum! Also on a food note, I ran out of ranch dressing, and made this in a pinch (even using fresh green onion instead of dried chives). It is also a keeper. Finally, last night I made "passion bars." These are like oatmeal, chocolate chip, peanut butter fudge bar things. They are ok to me, but the kids love them. I'm now eating them because I don't really pass up cookies if they are in the house! Up this week, I'd still like to make cupcakes (ala Calamity Kim's sugar daisy cupcakes) for Cosette's birthday... month.

Our place is situated just behind a school, which is on a hill, that overlooks a stadium where there was a baseball game and fireworks. Around 7pm we sat ourselves down to some Taco Bell... and waited... and waited... We didn't realize that the game started at 7pm, and the fireworks would be at close to 11pm! But we had fun just hanging out. Josh actually took the kids in about 30 minutes before the fireworks, so it was king of a bust in that respect!


Quilty update up next...

Today Cosette is Two Years Old!


In two years she has...
been a "firecracker"
gotten all of her teeth, including her "two year" molars
grown lots of hair
talked up a storm
spoken into a microphone in front of a group
made a noise on a trumpet
been dedicated to the Lord
had an addiction (pacifier aka "pacisisa")
shared a room, and had her own
been covered in fabric strips
worn undies on her head
worn a purse on her head
counted to 12 (give or take a number)
been bitten by a human
broken her arm (20 months)
worn homemade clothes
fed a giraffe
been covered in Vaseline
been offered a beer (Uncle Steve's tradition)
lived in 3 different homes
lived in two different states
been on a plane
been on a train (cog rail to be exact)
been on a boat (Big Bear Lake)
been to the top of a mountain (Pike's Peak - 14,110 ft)
been in snow up to her knees
been Little Red Riding Hood
been to a pumpkin patch
pulled decorations off the Christmas tree
...just to name a few...
Photo highlights here.