Pinterest

I came across the neatest website the other day- Pinterest.  It's a site that allows you to to save your favorite web ideas to one place where you can then organize and sort them.  The idea is that you "pin" your favorite ideas to different categorized boards (that you create).

I don't know about you, but my favorites folder houses a lot of tutorial links and things that I want to be able to go back to.  It's a bit out of control.  But Pinterest allows me to organize them in a sensible way, see the picture of the item and then click to get back to the original web page.  Awesome.  And you can have as many boards as you like- things for books, recipes, furniture, party ideas, paper crafts, sewing techniques, etc.

You can also follow people whose taste you admire.  The site is also a WONDERFUL search tool for anything you want to find.  Think patterns and tutorials galore!

I've put a little button on the side of my blog (below my Etsy stuff) so you can see my pin boards and get a better idea of what Pinterest is.  It's a little sparse right now but I plan to fill it up in no time!

Tea Party Time

My friend, Yvonne, and I decided that we must do a tea party together before she leaves for Florida.  We both love tea and any excuse to eat cucumber sandwiches is okay by me.  I've been in an English mood lately with all this Jane Austen and the Royal Wedding stuff. 

We even went to a tea store and bought special "tea party" tea.  We had a great time as we always do.

Here are some pictures of the day.

Here are the girls playing.   

Our set up.  We had raspberry scones (I substituted raspberries for blueberries), devonshire cream and some cucumber finger sandwiches.   

 Almost done.  Delicious.

Yvonne and Miss C even dressed up for the occasion.

What a fun play date!

Oh Mr. Darcy . . .

I can absolutely see your appeal.  I finished Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and can say, with absolute certainty, that it is my favorite Jane Austen book.  I can't even answer why it is so appealing, but I could not put it down and I even know how it ends.  Mr. Darcy is not even that likable of a character for the first 2/3 of the book, but you root for him anyway!  That, my friends, is a good author.  I was impressed- Ms. Austen has won me over.  So much so that I'm reading Sense and Sensibility right now- you know, just for fun.

Black Beauty and Others

I realize it's been awhile since I've posted anything about what I've read.  I'm really trying to keep the t.v. off during the day and there's not much else I can do when we are both downstairs together.  She's in that stage where she moves really fast and still likes to put everything in her mouth, so I don't dare try to sew or clean when she's awake and at play!  Not much left to do except read.  But that's not a bad thing!

I finished Emma by Jane Austen.  This book was the easiest to read of Jane Austen's work for me (so far).  Since I knew the movie so well it probably helped me to keep the characters straight, which, you know, is kind of important when you read.  Overall, I really did enjoy this book.  I liked the characters and I understood what was going on.  I have never read Pride and Prejudice (gasp), so I'm reading that now.  I'm finding that it is also easier to read and understand.  I don't know if it's because I know the story so well or am getting used to Austen's style.

I also read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  Super easy read.  I didn't think the story was very well developed but it was certainly enjoyable.  I guess that's it on that one.

My favorite recently has been Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.  Wow, that is a beautiful book to read!  If there are any animal lovers (especially horse lovers) out there, you MUST read this book.  It's told from the horse's perspective.  A reoccurring theme (for the humans) was to stand up to injustice.  Stand up for those who don't have a voice.  Much easier said than done, I know. Besides that, it emphasized how kindness and gentleness were the best ways to treat horses.  I've never trained horses, but I can imagine that is very true and extends to other animals.  I was so afraid it would have a bad ending, but it doesn't.  Thank goodness.  Anyway, it's a fabulous, easy read.   

That's it so far!

Coraline models

I'll admit the downloading of pictures from the camera to the computer and from the computer to this blog drives me insane and is definitely the reason why this blog lacks post.  I will have to do better if I expect anyone to read this! 

I made another "Abbey Dress" for Coraline.  Same fabric as before but in a bigger size.  I added 1.5 inches to every dimension she lists in her pattern. 

 Coraline shows off the back of her dress and bloomers.

 The front of the dress.

The bloomers were a new pattern for me and soooooo easy to do.  I recommend it to anyone and everyone for its simplicity and cuteness factor.  Here is the link to the pattern.

 She was not interested in standing and showing everything off for me, so she is holding on to her pink blankie so she'll be still.  But you get an idea of what it would look like.

The completed outfit.

How on Earth

did this sweet, tiny little thing . . .

turn into this mobile, climbing, squealing, singing, dirt-eating, food-loving, gosh darn cute slightly bigger thing?

I'm telling you- this was the fastest 365 days of my life!  And I loved every minute (almost every minute)!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! 

New Toy

This new toy has been taking up my time lately!

A Brother CS-6000i sewing machine.

I'm so excited to actually own a new sewing machine (that has a LCD screen mind you).  Now, it is by no means the top of the line, but it is faster and has more options than my old one. However, my old one is near and dear to my heart, because I got it when I was 12 years old and it is a solid piece of Singer machinery.  I can't ever let it go.

My tension in the old machine kept getting wonky when I would quilt and I was getting so frustrated with it (who likes to pull stitches), but so far this new one has done a great job of keeping the tension steady.

What was kind of special about this machine is that I bought it with money I earned from selling my quilts on Etsy.  Money well spent. 

So far I've quilted (and sold) a quilt, made a stroller blanket (to be added soon to Etsy) and made a dress for Coraline.  Time and money well spent.

Appliqued owl quilt

What a pretty quilt this turned out to be!  A sweet mommy-to-be contacted me because she wanted to have something special made for her little girl.  She picked the fabric and told me what she wanted and this is what I came up with. 

I love how the appliqued owl on a branch turned out.  

This quilt style of basic squares is turning out to be quite popular- probably because of how well it highlights the fabrics. 

This is another larger quilt (47 x 47).  I'm loving this size quilt- it's so thick and luxurious feeling.  It will certainly last through toddler hood and a little beyond.

Alright folks, onto the next quilt.

A fine day indeed . . .

It's a good day to be a mother.

My loves got me a fun basket filled with little treats.  And my mom left a little surprise on my door.  Everything was food or food related.  Wow, my family knows me well.

This is my first Mother's Day.  This year has been wonderful.  Who knew being a mother would be this great?!  Little Miss C has rocked my world (for the better, of course) and I am thankful she has.  I wouldn't trade a single day with her.  I hope the next year is just as great! 

Love her.  And I love Grant for making it a special day for me! 

Garden Adventure

We've been having some beautiful weather here lately.  A friend and I decided that a visit to a garden was in definite order.  And wow, Duke Gardens is beautiful!  I have wanted to go for awhile and it definitely did not disappoint.

 They have some of the most interesting flowers.  This one looked like a firework.

 Miss C enjoyed herself.  She wanted to pick the flowers, naturally.

 I let her eat a leaf instead.

We got to sit down and let the girls play on the grass while the grownups got to enjoy some pineapple tea.  It's the small things that make me so happy!  A beautiful day with friends and sweet (but not too sweet) pineapple tea!  Perfect.