For Mother's Day I made my mom and sister matching pouches for their Christmas totes. Mom needed a larger one and Katy wanted a coin purse sized one.



You can't see it in the photo, but the small one is pretty crummy. I definitely need practice with zippers. Luckily she still likes it! She's so sweet and enthusiastic about receiving all my imperfect prototypes.

Labels: bags, family, sewing

I love having both my mom and my mother-in-law in town, but it made for a busy Sunday! This morning we had brunch with Pete's mom, and I made a new make-ahead French toast that was so delicious.





The recipe is here except I used real eggs instead of egg substitute. Very yummy. And Mint Bellinis, too. We also went out to dinner with my mom and my sister's family, so it has been a day of eating!

Among all the cooking I did get time to work on a new project.



I do have all the pieces cut for the master quilt and I'll try to piece the top this week. Then I'll have three weekends to get it quilted to meet my May goal. It's nice to be able to still work on other projects, though!

Labels: cooking, family, quilting

My sister was able to deliver my grandma's purse and necklace to her over the weekend, and was thoughtful enough to capture this for me:



If people ever ask me why I enjoy crafting, I want to be able to show them this picture!

52 Nights Update - Are you sick of these yet? Night 10 I ran a ton of errands, worked on my quilt, and made dinner. I did cheat - I played a few games of the new MarioKart for Wii. My first slip in 10 weeks, not bad! And I still got so much done, which wouldn't have happened before with something like MarioKart to distract me. I look forward to Mondays, and I am treating more nights like no tech nights. I think this weekend I might make Sunday a no tech day - a whole day! On Mondays I don't count time at work since I need the computer. I'm not sure I can handle a whole day...

Labels: 52 nights, family

As the weekend winds up I hope you all had a good one! I got in my first swim of the season yesterday - not that it hasn't been warm enough before now! No April snows for us like for our friends up north.



Pete's birthday was last week and we went to my mom's tonight to celebrate, so I spent a little time this afternoon making honey peanut cupcakes. I must be on a peanut kick right now.



The honey taste came through wonderfully, and the cake was a little spongy and very tender. Love these recipes.



And of course I had to take my camera since I knew my nephew was going to be there...

Hope your weekend was good, too!

Labels: cooking, family

In addition to her bag, my grandma requested a colorful necklace. I hope this qualifies!



I was able to do something I've always wanted to do to make this - just rummage through my containers of beads and pull together ones I love. I'm not sure I could do this with other colors yet, I do seem to be drawn to blues and greens!



Of course, something also happened I've been expecting but not looking forward to... One of the cats jumped up onto my desk while I was working and knocked my entire divided organizer of tiny silver beads and pins off, onto the carpet. It's all picked back up but it will be a while before I get it resorted! The craft room is off limits to kitties until future notice!

Labels: family, jewelry

A few weeks ago I got a very special call from my grandma - she wanted to buy a purse and necklace from me! I insisted on making them as a gift, she insisted on being a customer, we still need to reach a compromise.



I got everything for this bag cut and almost ready to assemble during a no-tech night, which made me feel quite productive!



Her only request was that everything be colorful! The bag is similar to the last auction bag except it has an outside pocket for her handicap tag and it closes with a magnetic snap instead of a zipper.

It is SO much fun to make projects with a specific person in mind. I still have to finish the necklace, then I'll get everything in the mail soon, Grandma, I promise!

52 Nights Update - Night 8 showed that my productivity is related to how busy I am at work... I had a long day yesterday, and ended up taking a nap after work! I never do that!! But I redeemed myself by helping on the floor project, making dinner, and editing photos from a fun "session" I had on Sunday. I don't count using the computer for "to do" items like that as breaking the rules, since my intent is to get more done. So, overall, yay!

Labels: 52 nights, bags, family, sewing

I know I've bragged on here before about my mom. But I just can't resist another chance to show off how talented she is.



I saw this bowl at her house and pleaded until she sent it home with me - I love everything she makes, but I am so smitten with my new birdie bowl!



I really admire the way my mom has used her pottery to express some of her grief since we lost Dad, and she's made some amazing pieces, but it made me smile to see something so cheerful.



In the bottom of the dish is melted glass from my favorite glass blowers, and it melted just right to look like a little birdie reflection.



What a bonus, to get to spend time with my mom and come home with such a beautiful birdie bowl!

Labels: family

I always appreciate having a few quiet minutes to spend in my sewing room. This is especially nice on the weekends, when we are usually going at top speed! Recently I was busy sewing, and glanced up to see my entire zoo hanging out with me.



Can you spot everyone? Click if you need help!

Labels: craft room, family

For my birthday (...in October...) I got a new lens for my camera. Well, the promise of a new lens - I had to decide if I wanted a better all-purpose lens or a fixed focal length "portrait" lens... After a lot of research I decided to get a lens that will give me the yummy shallow depth of field I love so much... I am already smitten with my new toy!! Just a few examples from the past few days...


My puppy DJ being silly.


My precious sleeping nephew.


Hitch looking out the window.


Our new pelican.

Do you see that last photo? That pelican? My mom made him! Isn't he gorgeous? Living on the gulf coast we have a special place in our hearts for pelicans, and now we have one of our own. My mom is so talented!!

Labels: family, photography

One Sunday before Christmas my sister was hanging out at my house with Charlie, helping me bake cookies for neighbors. (Hmm, my life is well-documented...) We had agreed a little pair of handmade earrings would be a nice addition to my mom's stocking, so I asked if she wanted to check out the options in my bead stash.

A few minutes later we had a very cute pair of earrings! Red chalcedony, a square wood bead, and a little silver.



Since Katy really like the chalcedony beads, I made her a similar pair with a blue bead. She wears smaller earrings so I left off the wood bead, but I thought they were still nice.



Well, turns out I gave her a very similar pair of earrings last Christmas so she asked if I had other red beads like Mom's. Unfortunately I didn't, but she was happy with my substitute...



It's fun to know my family is accumulating quite a collection of "my" jewelry!

Labels: family, jewelry

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. The long weekend was very nice, and though I've had to be back at work this week, it is very quiet in the office.

As you can tell, I've been very busy, doing things like teaching my nephew to bake.



I think he has a little ways to go with hand-eye coordination before he can completely take over...

Labels: cooking, family

Robert Charles - "Charlie"
October 3, 2007, 12:31pm
8lb 11oz, 20"

Labels: family

At my mom's house the other day she pulled out this box.



First, it's labeled in my dad's handwriting, which automatically makes it a treasure. I never realized how precious some things would become. Of course, what's inside is pretty great, too:



It's totally full of antique lace and trims. I started to spread it all out for a photo, but there is just too much!



I have been told to actually put this to use so it doesn't waste away in a box, and I do have a couple ideas for it, but it's going to be so hard to cut it up!! Probably my favorite item in the whole amazing collection is this vintage onyx trim:



As much as I really want to re-purpose it into jewelry, it's going to take a very special idea to convince me to break those threads.



What a treasure! I need to make at least something from it right away - my mom's birthday is coming up in October, after all!

Labels: family, misc, sewing

Early yesterday morning my dad passed away after a short six month battle with cancer. He is my hero, my daddy, the one I've always been able to call for anything. I'm not sure yet what I'll do without him.

I need a little bit longer break, but I promise I won't be gone forever.

Labels: family

I've posted before about the handmade things I've received from my family, and I have another treasure to share!



When I saw my grandma out in California last weekend she had brought with her this quilt she'd been saving to give to me.



This is all hand-pieced and hand-quilted by my great-grandmother - my father's father's mother. The craftsmanship is just amazing.



And one of the neatest things to me is that this type of fabric is so popular right now - I'm sure I could find reproductions of almost these exact prints!



This quilt is in remarkable shape. There are a couple stains you can see on the white backing, but that's it - no tears or loose stitches. Now I just need to figure out a way to display it!

Labels: family, quilting

We spent the weekend in one of my favorite places, a little town called Bodega Bay on the coast of California north of San Francisco.



My parents rented a beach house so family and friends could come see my dad - everyone has been wanting to visit since he found out about the cancer, so this seemed like a great way to do it.



We were able to stay for three days, and during that time saw my grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and many close family friends. We also got to explore along the coast, often going from fog to sun and back again.



More photos on my flickr.



It was a wonderful weekend, but we took the red-eye to get home and neither one of us slept much. So despite the clock saying 9pm, I'm going to go get ready for bed!

Labels: family, photography, travel

My family is really close, always has been. Currently, we all even live in the same city. My sister, husband, and I all work for the same company. We see each other weekly, if not more often. In fact, see how well my sister knows me?



This is what she gave me for Christmas: a subscription to JPG, owl fabric from Superbuzzy, and the totally great Sew U book, along with an awesome tshirt from Threadless I sent her a link to ages ago. Perfect, right?

I guess what I'm getting to is that I'm so lucky to have a family like this. We found out last week that my dad is pretty sick, and it's just brought all that into perspective. It's really too bad that it takes scary news to make me realize life is short, that I should really live each day to the fullest and appreciate what I have in my life.

I don't normally go into personal stuff like this here, but it's such a big thing in my life right now that it felt weird to just ignore it. Maybe I should start doing gratitude Friday like Beki, to help me remember everything I have to be grateful for. I'll start today. Today I am grateful for my family, my wonderful father who has had such a big part in who I am, and for all the amazing people in our lives that have been coming out of the woodwork to support us through this. I am one lucky girl!

Labels: family

I am so excited about the New Year. I'm starting a new assignment at work, which involves an immediate week-long trip out of the country (woo!), and I have all this energy to get things done, both craft-wise and around the house. I'm not going to make any resolutions, because I already have dozens of lists of things I want to do (what can I say, I'm a list girl), but I do hope this energy lasts. Do you like to make resolutions, or isn't it for you either?

After sharing the slippers from Peter's grandma, I was thinking about my grandma, and how she had a huge influence on my craftiness. I would go to her house and work on those yarn-plastic things, what are they called? Where you weave the yarn through the plastic grid to make tissue holders and coasters? Anyway, later she introduced me to cross stitch, which I still love, and it was always very special to work on those things together. So you can imagine my excitement when a large package came in the mail from her!



Isn't he gorgeous? He is completely handmade, and absolutely beautiful. My grandma's health isn't the best right now, and this Santa took her a very long time to make. She told my sister there were times she almost gave up. I am so glad she was able to finish!



She handmade the little teddy bear he's holding, too. And my grandfather even made a contribution, lending his woodworking skills to the little birdhouse.



This is one of those gifts that will be forever treasured!

Labels: family

Our Christmas package arrived from Peter's great grandma. This wonderful lady is 97 years old and sharp as anything, and she proved she still has some good finger dexterity, too!


Dishcloths (How can I actually use these??)


Slippers (Peter's are just tied instead of the pom poms, since pom poms aren't manly!)

I love all the crafting I've been doing to prepare for Christmas - sewing, cooking, etc - but it was such a treat to receive something a family member had made for us!

Labels: family

I had grand plans for crafting last night, but one of my kitties was missing when I got home. We stayed around a while hoping she'd show up (I used the time to mow the lawn, fun!) but when she still hadn't, we walked the neighborhood looking for her and talking to neighbors. No one has seen her. I went to Kinko's about 10:30pm to make fliers, and Peter is staying home today to hang some up and put them in all the area mailboxes. We walked around calling for her until about 1am. I'm really worried.



She's the brown one.

EDIT: Peter found her! Yay!! Instead of crafting tonight I'm going to hang out with my friend and her two week old son - recipient of the green baby blanket! Maybe a crafty post tomorrow finally!

Labels: family