flowers from my boys


I got flowers from my boys for Valentine's Day and forgot to snap a picture of them at the beginning of their long lives. Pro Flowers is definitely worth the money! These little guys came on Friday, the 12th, and the picture of them in the larger vase was taken on the 21st, I think.
Then I cut them down and put the best ones in my new IKEA vases two days ago.
They're getting a little wilty at this point, but only if you touch them and see that they're a bit floppy-headed. If you just look at them w/o touching, they still look great! If I'd gotten more than two packets of flower food, I'm convinced they'd have lasted longer. Can you buy that stuff at the store in a larger quantity than the little packets?
Thanks, boys, for my pretty flowers! I love you!

the anna bag




I made this bag for a good friend who's pregnant with her second baby, a girl this time. She needed something decidedly feminine, I thought. I looked at some bag pictures, measured the ones I had and liked, made notes, saw how much yardage I had of which fabric.... and voila! I love it! I will do a couple of things differently the next time around, but all in all, I think it's perfect! NOT what I can usually say for my first attempts at creating something from scratch.

And of course, as is the story for most of us creatives, I sat in our employee meeting the morning before the baby shower, sewing the changing pad's binding instead of knitting. Yeah. Creating always takes longer than you plan for it to. When will I learn?

Congratulations, Dan and Anna! And Aaron! Can't wait to see her! Hope she (and you) likes the bag! :-)

*NO idea why the mosaic maker isn't sticking a photo in that blank spot. I told it to. Computers. Can't live with them...

for haiti....or not...




I finished my first quilt today. (we won't mention the completely huge, time consuming, tedious, handsewn, and handquilted one I started in high school and finished after I got married, of which I then didn't take a single photo before I gave it away... Jamie, are you reading this? Can ya take a pic for me?).... This is my first "modern" quilt. Funky and bold fabrics, random sizes of fabric pieces, piecing on the BACK.... I discovered this blog a few months ago, and it's only pulled me deeper and deeper into the world of quilting and taking my sewing ideas to a new level. Thanks for the creativity and the inspiration, Ashley!

I donated the quilt to Craft Hope for their Etsy shop tonight. Craft Hope sends all the money (ALL of it; no administrative costs, no nuthin') from the shop to Doctors Without Borders for their work right now in Haiti. Craft Hope lists the items, buyers buy the items and pay Craft Hope, and we donors mail the buyers their items. It should be available in the next day or so, I think.

Well, they were overwhelmed with donations and with sales, and they decided to close their shop down before they got my quilt listed, so I'll donate another one when they reopen. It's on sale in my Etsy shop now. Oh, well. More time and more excused to keep sewing, right? Have to have something new for them when they reopen!
Now on to another one.... I have WAAYYY more ideas in my head than I have time in a day!! Sleep? I have to sleep?? And do the dishes? And....?