Thursday, March 31, 2011

Stipple Me This

Yesterday I taught myself how to stipple.


I'll call that a success. Now I just need to watch my edges.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Little Red

Sweater. Recipient unknown, there are a lot of babies being born, but do moms really want a sweater they have to hold on to for 3 years before said babies can wear said sweater? I've been commissioned to make a sweater by someone and wanted to get in some sizing practice. This was supposed to be a 3 month size but had turned out to be more of a 3T. I started the neckline with a pattern I had an then made it up as I went! Eek! A little stressful but way rewarding!












Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Bound to Be Legendary

Our pastel 1830's quilt is finished! Pieced, hand quilted, bound and folded. This is a true heirloom worked on by my mon, sister and me. Woooh!


We had juuuuuust enough thread.


We're going to be quilting the primary color one this Sunday from 1-7 at our apartment. We'd love to have you join us! Open house!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Moving Forward

Today I'm putting the binding on the pastel 1930s quilt. It was recommended I use a walking foot, (This has grabbers on the top AND the bottom to pull all the layers of the quilt forward together.) which meant the featherweight got benched and moms old Elna came out.


Getting this machine out felt significant to say the least. Mom taught me to sew on this machine. Lesson one, a zippered pouch. (Mom was fearless.) Project two, a butterfly costume, (Mom was hands off because it was for Oddesey of the Mind and I couldn't have grown up help. They disqualified us anyway because they thought there was no way I could have done it.) Project three, baby quilt for one of the "o's" I didn't understand why the "quilt in a weekend" took sooooo long.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

It is March Madness!

That is the gift Jessica gets me every year for my birthday and I had to have the right words.  This year it is madness too! Still did a pretty good job of sorting through all the layers and made some good picks, but have no clue about Butler or VCU.  How does she give you a gift that gets played every year anyway? She gives the gift of time, lots of time to watch the games.  I love and appreciate that about my wife.

In other news I recently got a promotion.  Still can not say where I work, but I now have a lot more responsibility, will work a ton more hours, and get paid slightly more money.  This is a very exciting promotion for both of us because it gives us hope that we are doing the right thing for our futures by currently being apart and working through the tough stretch right now.  This glimmer allows some hope that god has a plan in all of this and that we are proceeding the correct way even if it is unusual.  Thank you all for your support.

Friday, March 25, 2011

One in Every Color, Egg-citing




Hard boiled and everything. I'm soooo tempted.
Also tempting: fruit by the foots. We(me and Luke) buy them at Costco. Funny thing, one in every color is not preferred with these guys. There are three fake fruit flavors. Berry, strawberry,


and mystery red, yellow, green.


Mystery red yellow green is our favorite. The catch? The individual packaging gives no clues. None. Luke finally figured out why I open his and bring them to him... It's not to be nice and get rid of his trash. The last box we got had all berry. We were going nuts. Every single one. Then Luke had to leave. I get back from dropping him off at the airport, was feeling rather sorry for myself about everything and grabbed three for "comfort." All had yellow. Matthew 5:4. Weird little things remind me He's there, and he has a plan. We just gotta get through the layer on top.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Stolen Sunshine

Luke left and he took the sunshine with him. We had a spurt of some of the best weather! BUT It got cloudy, cooled off, and it's been raining for DAYS it feels. Here's the thing, I need me some sunshine. Especially if my Luke has to be in Colorado. So Ill reflect on some of the sun we got last weekend when we headed north for the Bay Area Golf Show and some exploring.
We were supposed to leave early on Friday but an earthquake, tsunami warnings and road closures


helped us delay our plans until Saturday.
We left early and went to the show Saturday morning so Luke could get to know the California golf industry a little better. Then we headed out for some golf geared exploration. One of my classmate had told me that the 17 Mile Drive was a "must do" for my golfer husband. I'd never heard if it before. I was a skeptic. A 17 mile stretch of road with a glimpse of ocean, and a peek at golf course? Really?
Let. Me. Tell. You. It was beautiful! So fantastic!





And my dreamy husband? Quite the view!


Dragon's egg?

Ocean booger?
Bird representation for Grandma G. The cute little guys I wanted to take a picture of were too fast.


Meet my new beach side cottage:

The cypress... A golf symbol for standing strong etc...


Luke says they try to keep on on the dl but the trees keep falling down. Huh.

Also.
We saw geese on the beach. According to Luke I yelled that our rather loudly as people were enjoying the view.



What a gift.


We stopped in at 4 golf courses and peeked in at their pro shops.
Then on our way outa town we stopped an an Italian restaurant and shared bruschetta(so flavorful I'm sure I tasted it on my breath all the way home, so it might have had a little garlic), an amazing seafood pasta dish, and ?canoli?. My heart and tummy were sooo happy. The drive back was so mellow and warm. It was the best.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Quitin Time, Quiltin Time

Because the HAND quilting on 1930s friendship quilt #1 is DONE!


Val put the last stitches in this morning. Ok, more like noon. I slept in. Here's the view from underneath the quilt all spread out again. It's like a stained glass window when light shines through. Fun for lying under and looking at the pattern, fun for making a fort, fun for playing games under.


And it's done.
Ok except for the binding.
Oh yah and the sibling quilt in primary colors. What do you think cam we get it done by May 12? Anyone interested in helping?

Friday, March 18, 2011

Luke

This is my husband. I think he's the most handomest man in the world. It his birthday. You'll never guess what I got him.



Okay I'll tell you. It's this basketball tournament thing. It's called Mad March...March Mayhem....something like that. He gets it every year for his birthday and it makes him soooo happy. Icing on the cake: if North Carolina wins.

Anyway, Luke is turning 23. Here are 23 things I miss about him since we're long distance newlyweds.

1.) His heat. He's my portable heater. Someday I'll figure out how to make the cooling feature work in the summer.
2.) His appetite. Kid can sure make cooking dinner worth my while. I now know why people serve fillers.
3.) His height. For everything I can't reach.
4.) The twinkle in his eye. I call it sparkle.
5.) The way he picks me up and gravity pulls my bones back to where they should be.
6.) The way he's better than me at massage and I went to school for it.
7.)His relaxedness in just about any situation. You just can't shake him.
8.)His willingness to watch a show of my choosing once before he refuses to watch it ever again.
Pass: Traffic Light, Fairly Legal, NCIS
Fail: new jungle doctor show with matt serreson, Grey's Anatomy
Epic fail: Supernanny
9.) His excellence as a golf instructor to his spouse. This is rare. Very rare.
10.)His appreciation for my projects.
11.) His large laundry. It fills the basket(ca)/bins(co) faster and keeps me on top of the laundry.
12.) His rapture style laundry leaving habit. It makes cleaning up a room easier as it all goes in the laundry bin/basket.
13.)Sitting/working next to him while he reads. I like that he reads a lot.
14.)His driving. Usually I prefer to take the wheel, not as much when he's here.
15.)His shopping cart maneuverability. Especially at Costco.
16.) That he loads big things onto the cart. And also carries them in.
17.) That he can/will tell me how a suspenseful show/movie ends or if the person lives through tue scene.
18.)Kisses on the forehead!
19.)Playing pass back words with friends with him. I knew he'd like scrabble once he learned how to beat me.
20.) That he unloads the dishwasher. Apparently I'm too painfully slow to watch.
21.)His armpit shoulder notch. Its just perfect for head-resting and then falling asleep on.
22.)Falling asleep in the shoulder armpit notch while he's reading or working on his computer.
23.) Listening to his heart.

Happy Birthday Love! I'd marry you again every day of the week!

Rollin'

For those of you who have seen Clueless my Aunt Maggie can do the Rollin With the Homies dance better than your Aunt Maggie.
Why do we know this?
Because we had another quilting night and we rolled a lot! That song came to mind and I asked if they knew what I was referencing. Aunt Maggie didn't have to say yes, she knew the dance! This made me happy.

Know what else makes me happy? How close to done we are!!!



Know what else else makes me happy?



Skippyjon Jones. The best books to read aloud ever!
Know what else else else makes me happy?
Petunia's Place in Fresno where I bought the book. The people who own the shop and work there can make any recommendation! Young adult, children's lit. They're awesome! It's a great place to get baby shower gifts for new parents who don't have a kid library yet!
Today was my first time at their new location! Its great!
They're having a Dr. Seuss party this Saturday. Its $5 and this covers material costs for ALL supplies. I wish I was a kid, it's gonna be a blast!

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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Retired Rainboots

A couple weeks ago I discovered some cracks in my rubber rain boots. I felt the need to post a blog commemorating just how great my $20 Target rain boots were. They got me through snow, rain, and kindergarten sub jobs all while looking fabulous! Alas cracked rain boots no longer serve their purpose of keeping my feet dry.


Imagine my dismay when I woke up this morning to rain!

Husband Time

Due to some interesting things happening at Luke's work, he got the chance to tack two weeks onto his originally week long visit to see me! We went to a Fresno State baseball game.


We did quite a bit of grocery shopping. I don't know why...well I guess I do. But when Luke and I are together after too long apart, more than anything else I like to do "normal" married people stuff. I like to grocery shop, do laundry together, make dinner. You know, fun stuff haha.
We also had lunch at Sal's,


went to the driving range,


hosted a couple quilting nights (Luke was extremely helpful with food at both of these)


He got in a round of golf, built a fence and helped out at our Wednesday afternoon tutoring. What a guy. I'd marry him again in a heart beat! For those of you who wondered about my excessive Facebook check ins, I figure I've got to get em in while I have the chance to include Luke. It's not everyday I get to do that ya know. He left on an airplane today. He has an important interview tomorrow for another potential promotion. Keep us in your prayers as we've got lots of big decisions to be making in the near future. Stay tuned for another post from our fun weekend day trip!

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