Inspiration

Vintage home and garden fabric from 1979

Inspiration to create something, anything has been coming in spurts.  I realize now that you must take it while you can.  This is my last weekend of work for a month, as my bosses are taking a vacation, so I've been slowly getting my WIPS organized and hoping that some of that inspiration comes when I have time to actually play. 

new sham style covers for the couch. 

 This couch is almost 8 years old and definitely showing it's age.  It has been well worn, loved and jumped on, but  I couldn't stand the stains on the cushions anymore. Unfortunately my budget doesn't allow for a new couch, and I can't stand the ready made slipcovers  that are guaranteed to fit ( yeah right) I whipped these up out of the fabric I had on hand.  The bluebird fabric came from curtains that hung in the window of the house my parents bought.  The selvedge said 1979 and they probably hung in the window that long.  I do plan on redoing the middle cushion as I'm finding not having all three match distracting.

 

This rug is my current obsession Using different mediums , fabric and rope and seeing how they blend together.     Up until now i  have only used the toothbrush technique in making my rugs.  I found a video tutorial on how to crochet  them in half the time it takes me.  I had no idea how to crochet but have wanted to learn for a while now.  My sister recommended the book Simple Crochet by Erica Knight and I have been poring trough it practicing my stitches.  All the fabric is crocheted, and the roping is crocheted and then weaved in toothbrush style.  I'm happy with the results, especially after pulling the rope out and doing it again a few times as the tension was all wrong. This one may be another biggie 5' or 6' feet round. Slow and steady . :)

Take care,
Kendra.

More Martha

Take care,

"Don't set sail on someone else's star”.

Or so it is said in an African proverb.  When reading this quote I had an a-ha moment. I'm sure you've had one of your own at some point during your journey. This is precisely what I have been doing for a long time now. 

I have recently started to reevaluate my life and the things that are important to me.  I am closer to 40 than I ever thought I would be.  You see my mother always said  I  was lucky to live past 16 because I  was such a smart ass.  I still am by the by and am fine with that thankyouverymuch!

 Many of the things that I  thought were  important over the years have slowy faded away and become clutter.  Lots of clutter.  Clutter in my computer, my closets, my head, my relationships and  really in every aspect of my life and home and I have been facing it all head on.  I have collected  so many different things in my crafting quest, and life in general, if i were to be honest;  I lost sight of the things that were important.   My family, my children , myself...

I have been trying to make myself step out of my comfort zones and try new things and in doing so I have found so many things that I actually enjoy doing such as quilting vs. garmet sewing, hand sewing vs. machine sewing and even embroidery.   None of these things were ever a point of interest before.  During these moments of quiet stitching I have started to listen to myself and to my surroundings.  I'm not perfect and I will never be the perfect person , mother, crafter, blogger... insert any other appropriate title here, and that's okay.  Just doing it  and living my life day by day with laughter and love  is enough.

Trying to figure out a design for the star, finally decided to use a variation of 3  different patterns and adding my own twist.  ( Old table finally gone!!!!)

This table, as crazy as it seems has really changed the flow of our house and I am in love.  It was a garage sale purchase this past week and made me really pair down my "craft" excess in this room.  No more clutter.  No more folding chairs.  No more fighing for space No more trying to "make it work.   Real family dinners and gatherings at the table have been lovely.  Kaiya calls the arm chairs the "king and queen thrones" and only grown ups can sit in them.  It's good to be queen. 

 

These stars a part of my first ever "quilt as you go" with a hand quilting extravaganza!

 lots more of embellishment and more quiet and reflective moments with my kids as they too try their hands at sewing and embroidery

The clutter is starting to disappear.  The bluebird of happiness has come to roost here once again  and I'm looking towards my own star these days.

Take care,

Been quiet on the blog....

because...

New (recycled) kitchen towels and washcloths.

Appliqued beach and bath towels.

 much needed ORGANIZATION

planting and repotting.

 pot holder 2 swap.

finishing baby quilt gift.

and ... a whole lot of beach days.

with NO MORE WHEELCHAIR!!!!!!!!

or shoes for that matter.

 

the Easter bunny. Kaiya had no interest again this year.

singing and swinging.

 and Jamie Cullum.  If you don't know who he is, you should.

 I'm still trying to get things finished/ sorted /sent/ freecycled or tossed and found I get more done * suprise*  if the computer/TV isn't turned on. 

Take care,

Score!

 Yesterday was a rough day. Lil' miss decided that she wanted salsa at 7:30 am and brought the jar into our bedroom with salsa cover slippery hands and accidently dropped it. She didn't mean to do it she just wanted a snack or so she said. The look of horror on her face was immediate. The look of horror and then anger on our faces sent her screaming down the hallway; slamming her door with her body and then slumping to the floor with a thud. A salsa bomb was delivered swiftly and effectively as it went EVERYWHERE. In the midst of our angry stomping during clean up we noticed a trail of salsa down the hallway leading straight to Kaiya's door. Upon opening the door and telling her we were coming in, she ran and took cover in her bed. Her dress and hair were casualties of the salsa bomb as were her sheets, quilt and toothbrush rug.

UGH.....


We went ahead and got everything bundled up to immediately put everything in the wash , got her showered and changed telling her in the sweetest voices we could muster ' it's okay honey we all have accidents. We know you're a big girl and sometimes even big girls need help too". Brody and I were both still furious he being much more vocal than I.

Meh... we got breakfast together and everyone dressed and discussed the events of the day.
I checked all my email entered a blog giveaway and replied to a post on my local freecycle group about fabric and craft supplies that were being put in the alley behind a house. We decided that we would stop by this  house before we went on to do the weekly grocery shopping and errands. There was nothing left except some vases and platters by the time we had gotten there as it is first come first serve in most cases, and we were on our way. Brody did score a modem though.

Shopping with my family is always an adventure, good or bad, we eventually get through it, usually leaving Brody and I exhausted. This day was no exception. Things went downhill quick. The store was mobbed leaving Brian little room to maneuver his wheelchair through the crowd without smacking my shins or sweeping the legs of a little girl nearby. He loves to help me shop now as we give him an item off the list and he races off to find said item and race back. He's gotten very good with the chair, not so much with people around his chair. He's seven and tends to forget that there is a great big world filled with people all around him so a few people got their shins hit as well. Thank goodness that  most of them gave sympathetic nods when he apologized, but some people were mad and we had to nix the racing. Brian was upset and started to get mad and curse his "stupid legs and damn chair". I shot him a look that said “um...excuse me"  and gave him a hug telling him things will work out. It's tough for him, and I feel so bad for him at times.

Kaiya decided that she no longer wanted to walk but refused to get into the cart so she hopped a ride on the back of Brian's chair with her feet resting on the stabilizer bars. Brian was fine with it and soon forgot that he wasn’t helping and they made a game out of it. It was nice to see them getting along after a morning of bickering and annoying each other just because they could.  People were enjoying the spectical my children were making of themselves, so all was right with the world at that moment. We finished up and ran the rest of our errands and needed to get them home for lunch and quiet time.  The car ride home was a nightmare.

By the time we got home were all once again cranky and annoyed with each other and just all needed our own space. We had forgotten how wrecked the house was and that there was still so much clean up from the morning salsa bomb , laundry to fold, computers to fix and fabric clean up from my folding and packing project, making all the beds up again and just general clean up that we jumped into gear as soon as we got home. The kids were fed, kissed and sent on their way to quiet time. Brody and I having been together for so long and professionally worked together in the past , that we work very well together when the kids aren't underfoot. In about an hour we had gotten most of it done, save the laundry, which honestly was going to be a two day project. We both took a break and a breath deciding to relax a bit. He immediately went to play a game and I went to check my email and goof a bit on the computer.

It seems that the woman on freecycle still had the fabric and craft supplies; but that the original person didn’t come to pick them up and did I want them? I grabbed my keys kissed Brody goodbye and went off to collect these goodies. I'm so glad I did.

Included in all of this is a sewing machine and all the accesories . This will go to  Brian ( if I can get it working)  as he is desperate to learn to sew. A  box of 30 plus floral ribbon with and equally big box filled with little silk flowers, Beads and hemp rope and instructions for macrame and lover's knot bracelets, all this fabric, spool and bobbin holders and some craft books, and sheets which were immediately cut into strips for toothbrush rugs and a lot more that I couldn't even list.  If you don't freecycle in your community I highly encourage it.  I have helped a few people and have been helped out many times including a nebulizer for the kids that my insurance company wouldn't cover and it is all free- recycling, reusing, reducing.  Thank you Susan  that which  I can't use will in turn be freecycled.   Off to play....

It is what it is.

 I have been sewing like a mad woman finishing up gifts for "holiday packages", I swear.   After Brian's Perthes diagnosis, we all just kind of shut down and just laid around together watching movies and reading books trying to keep it as normal as possible at home ; all crafts just stopped. We had to go through a mourning process of sorts. Neither Brody nor I had a desire to look towards Christmas . We were anything but "giving or joyful", when this terrible life altering  and painful thing was happening to our child. Our poor sweet boy. Instead I would go off and cry feeling mother's guilt and  bad for him and our family and what all of this would mean for the next 2-3 years and Brody would just get angry. We really were starting to get twinges of bitterness.  Okay, alot of bitterness.

Our bitterness has melted away and an overwhelming feeling of gratitiude has taken it's place.  We are privilidged to live in the community that we do and have the friends that we do.  We are thankful  for the kindness that has been shown to us & to Brian during all of this.  We are not accustomed to asking people for help, so when people just started doing nice things and volunteering their time to us, we were blown away.  Thank you so much to all of you for your kind words and gestures it really has meant the world to us and to remind us that we are not alone. We are loved. Our families have been a great support.  Old ties have been rekindled . We will get through this, because it is what it is and that's what you do.  Things are good.

Okay on to the crafty part of this blog. I was reading through some of my favorite blogs, trying to find some pretty last minute gifts to make .  I came across  Wendy at Dozi Design  and this tutorial screamed  "MAKE THESE RIGHT NOW!!!!" She had made hers out of a heavy weight paper. 

I decided I was going to use suede from an old skirt that I picked up at a yard sale, as it would require little to no sewing. As I started to make these, I got the idea to soak some very thin felt in Linit Starch and iron them to a crisp finish.  I then followed the tutorial cutting out my spirals and started rolling them as it instructed.  I added some green felt leaves, onto which I will hand sew some little details and add a pin backing that my folks had sent.   This will defiantely be a project for many future events.  Thanks you so much Wendy.

I wish you all warm hearts, full bellies and feelings of love and kindness during this holiday season and in to the new year. 

Take Care.

Surfing Quilted throw.

This is Brody's throw.  It  measures 46 "x 56 ".  I made it with  any and all surfing shirts the boys have had.  There are two t-shirt panels in it as well that were Brian's . He he wore them  a lot.   There are also panels of linen and corduroy .  i finished off the binding with navy blue cord.   I still have more scraps and

plan on making a few more of these after the holidays pass.

 ( blast from the past.  2006)

It was fun to make and I finally feel like I'm accomplishing the "I'll do this someday" pile.  That pile has gotten huge.  I have collected and collected saying "someday" the whole way through.   Someday is now.  :)

Take Care.

Brr....It's cold outside baby.

Here's a new movie blanket for the cold weather. The kids have been curling up under this happily especially in the morning before school.

I used a tapestry that my parents had given me awhile back and added a piece of repurposed Microfiber blanket from a yard sale. I did straight line quilting, keeping it simple. It measures 35"x70"and has an embroidered denim binding.

I 'm working on a Surfing blanket/quilt now for Brody. I have saved all surfing related clothing and fabric including board shorts, button downs, and some baby onsies from both children for the last seven years to add to this project. I figure it's about time to make him something, and most of the other blankets are all too short for him so his piggy toes stick out and are always freezing. :)

Take care.