:: Anna started a new elective at school today....."Mini Chefs Class". This is exciting on two levels....1.) She will have the chance to learn recipes with other children her age and have some fun making these cute things, and 2.) I get another hour and a half each week of "me" time.....tee hee....its a win win :)
:: Is this just darn adorable or what?! It was fun to see the look of pride and excitement on her face as she was telling me how she made her egg nest.
:: If you read my blog last summer you probably couldn't help but notice that I posted A LOT of flower pictures....mostly of my dahlias that I was so proud of. I seem to have a flower addiction going on here....and now its with fabric! I've recently fallen back in love with my sewing machine (like 2 months ago) and can not quit thinking about which quilt I will sew next. Currently I have three quilt tops done that I need to quilt. (I swear I'm going to finish them before I start another quilt top....I swear!....probably...I mean, I think I'm pretty sure with my fingers crossed).
:: I'm making this bright little quilt for Anna's school auction. 
:: Last summer I spent every non house cleaning-yard working moment stamping and making cards.....I'm thinking this spring/summer the hum of the sewing machine will be what you'll be hearing around my house. 
:: My big plan was to post pictures from the St. Patrick's Parade we went to this weekend....however, my camera (actually I was using Michael's camera, which isn't nearly as spectacular as mine....so I should have known better....tee hee) has locked up and foiled my plans. Instead I will share a funny little story with you.....
:: Remember...this was made with her 8 receiving blankets that I saved from when she was a tiny girl. I think this quilt will mean more to me, because I remember wrapping her up in all those blankets. Babies sure don't stay small very long. boo hoo
:: So how was your shower today?...relaxing?....yeah, mine not so much...For those of you reading this with children in your house, you will totally get what I'm on about here...
:: These cookies are a meal....if you've never had a "ranger cookie" before you should probably try them. Yum! I will put a printable recipe link on the sidebar under "Ranger Cookies"....(just as soon as I figure out how to do that....argh!...thought I knew how already....hold please and hum the Jeopardy theme song while I figure it out...and you're welcome since I'm sure that will be stuck in your head now). :0)
:: I am giddy over the fact that my sewing machine (her name is "Lucille" btw...what!...guys name cars) has a spot on my craft desk finally! You see it was covered with stamp/card making supplies before. Its not that I won't be making cards anymore...I have been taken over with sewing again lately so I decided to shift some things around and make room for fabric and the likes. 
:: I love it when everything has a place...to me that's half the fun of being crafty.... organizing my supplies! Here's a secret....sometimes its even hard for me to cut into a new piece of fabric, because then I won't have it on my shelf to look at anymore.....I know...there's probably professional help for people like me out there!
:: And, look....I even cleaned off Anna's little craft desk/table. Somehow though she is always trying to crowd herself on to mine. Silly me thinking that if I made her a desk of her own she would stay off of mine and out of my supplies....yea right!
:: Yep it would have been Theodore Geisel's 106th birthday today!...bet you didn't know his real name now did you? (1904-1991)
:: Seriously?!....
:: Michael has been working non-stop for the past few weeks...so much so that we went out to dinner for the first time in I can't remember how long last night, and I felt compelled to re-introduce myself to him....Anyways, I thought I would bake him a carrot cake today as a "hey, thanks for putting in so many hours". It was cooling...so I was doing things around the house. I hear the back door open (which is a funny all in itself, because really our "back door" is on the front of the house...I'll explain some other time) and think oh, he must be home. I find him cutting in to the cake! OMG! He looks at me with a smile like, Oh, was I not supposed to do that?....I just replied with NICE! }:-/
:: So much for making his surprise look nice....dork! He hasn't seen the cake frosted yet...it should give him a chuckle! Its the thought that counts right?
:: Anna was sick for what seems like forever, but really only about a week and a half...she had me pretty concerned. I missed her laugh and smile. The other day we went to visit Linda, and she gave Anna these glasses. I'm not sure if Linda was Elton John in a past life, or maybe Anna, or both?....they seem to have a thing going with sunglasses. Linda finds all kinds of different ones for Anna. This is the latest model~
:: And, notice the quilt?....(insert self indulgent smile here). I'm so happy to see her using it:0) 
:: Why am I showing you a picture of our living room couch you ask?...That might be what most people see when they look at this picture. The actual purpose of this picture is to show you something that I don't often see.....THE FLOOR! No toys, no pillows, no blankets....just a nice area rug....aaaahhhhhhh.....
:: Look!....here's another view....careful you don't trip, oh wait...that's right...there's nothing to step over or trip on! Bring your eyes up to the mantel shelf....see my new cute barn stars. I bought them online from Etsy from a seller called lil' miss crafty pants (you can click to see her stuff). I noticed she doesn't have many stars left, but I'm sure she'll be making more.
:: Well I'll be!....I finished it! I am usually one to start a project and then get side-tracked on to something else and end up with a few unfinished projects laying around. I'm so happy to say not this time! And, what's even better....when I gave it to Anna, who has been patiently waiting for "her quilt", she immediately threw it over the piano bench and made a fort out of it! Success!
:: What's that?....have I finished the last quilt I started for Anna? Well no, silly! That's not how it works....have you ever met a creative person who only works on one project at a time?....I sure haven't! We like the chaos of more than one thing going at once after all! :0)
:: Do you cheat like me and use the Shape Cut?....its so easy you SHOULD!
:: Here are the strips I cut with the Shape Cut guide. It seems even with a ruler I can mess up a straight line, so I love the Shape Cut guide. Where can I get one you ask?...I found mine at Hancock Fabrics, but if you search it on-line you can find them all over. There is also the Shape Cut Plus (the one I really wanted)...its 12x18 I believe.
:: And whalah!....here are the quilt blocks all ready to be sewn together. I haven't forgotten about the other quilt I'm working on....I'll probably finish that one before I get back to this one.
:: I just had the most exciting morning! I found a new little shop called "The Top Stitch". I was searching for Amy Butler & Heather Bailey fabric and ran across this little shop right here in Spokane. Imagine my delight! Something cool and funky in Spokane...almost seems hard to believe...I know! The owner, Carrie, is so nice and helpful. She answered all of my silly questions and didn't make me feel ashamed of my lack of sewing knowledge. She even offers classes. I am so happy I stumbled across this place.
:: Lookie what I did during the Super Bowl! Well okay, I had the game on, but I don't think I watched a single play, because I was sewing my guts out! Um yea, I did look up from my sewing machine to see the commercials though.
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