What luck!

I've had a streak of luck recently in the quilting world and I am thrilled!  I recently entered a giveaway on Diary of a Quilter and won a $30 gift certificate to Bloomerie Fabrics.  I would normally drool over fabrics on a site like this for hours, but I decided I would try something new ;)

Hooray for winnings!

Please excuse the terrible photo as it was nighttime and I was just so excited to get my new toys!  I chose a package of small Clover Wonder Clips, my first spool of Aurifil in Dove Grey, and the Night Sky pattern by JayBird Quilts.  I broke open the wonder clips right away and used them when binding my Penny Patch quilt for my mom.  They were amazing!  Because I only had the 10, I used them in conjunction with pins, but I will be purchasing more of these little guys.  The were so simple to use and held the binding without distorting the fabric, which has been my experience with pins in the past.  They were especially helpful for getting the crisp mitered corners.  I definitely recommend these clips.  Have you used these clips before?  Do you have experience with the other sizes of Clover Wonder Clips?  What size would you recommend?

I haven't used the other two items yet, but I will let you know how it goes when I do!

Penny Patch Finish

Success!  Completed just in time to deliver to my mom during our visit with her in the hospital, my Penny Patch Quilt was a thrilling finish for me.

It is a lap-sized quilt with simple cross-hatch quilting based on the QAL at Stiched in Color. I really enjoyed using so many neutrals so those pops of purple and teal really come out of the quilt.  I back the quilt in a fun flannel combo of purple chevrons and that fun little bird print.

Thankfully my mom's stay at the hospital was mostly successful as well.  Her cardiologist is hopeful that this new medication will work for her and she will be able to avoid surgery.  Thank you all for your support.

Squishy Mail!

My husband doesn't get it (do any of them?) but the best thing about coming home from work, after the hugs from my kids, is getting squishy mail out of the mailbox!  I recently received a package with this batch of fabric.

From Windham Fabrics, these are all selections from a line called Harmony.  After the cool jewel tones of my Penny Patch Quilt, I think these warm colors will make an excellent project for use in my home in the fall. 

What would you make with this little fabric bundle?

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday at QuiltStory, Sew Cute which is being hosted by Sew Delicious this week and WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

It's a process

My husband is out of town this week for a business conference and man, is it putting a damper on my goal to have my Penny Patch Quilt finished for my mom's stay in the hospital next weekend.  Most days I can get about 30 minutes of uninterrupted time after dinner is done and the baby is asleep.  But this week that 30 minutes is spent more like this -

Yes, it seems that my son thinks the best way to baste a quilt is with a John Deere... perhaps he is right! 

Thankfully, hubby comes home tomorrow and I should be able to make more progress.  

Linking up with I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins, Esther at Esther's Blog, and Fabric Frenzy Friday at Forth Worth Studio.

Penny Patch Quilt

My mom is amazing.  I won't get into all the reasons she is the perfect mom for me here, but just trust me ;)  I have been working on the Penny Patch Quilt with Rachel at Stitched in Color since she began her blog series last fall (yes I am slow! I have 3 tiny humans!).  But recently, I have found the motivation to pick up the pace on this fun project.  My mom is going to be spending three days in our local hospital for monitoring as her doctors adjust her heart-related medications.

Penny Patch Quilt

Now this is all standard and totally precautionary, but three days in a hospital, regardless of the reason, is no day at the beach (something my family much prefers)! I want my mom to have something special with her so this quilt is for her!  I have two weeks to finish it up.  I have one final row to piece and then it is on to basting, quilting and binding!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Can I Get a Whoop-Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Thanks for stopping by!

Tiny Habits Day 1

This week I am participating in a program designed to help you create new habits in your life one tiny step at a time!  The Tiny Habits program, developed by Stanford professor Dr. BJ Fogg, helps you begin that new habit with the smallest first step.

The program lasts only 5 days which is great for a busy, working mom like me.  Once you determine the 3 habits you would like to cultivate, you then determine what the very first step to take in that habit.  For instance, if you want to develop the habit of running everyday, the first step is to put on your running shoes. It is much easier to accomplish this simple task than to actually go out running!  Each day for 5 days, a personal coach sends you an email and all you have to do is respond - and hopefully follow through on the 3 tiny habits you have decided on.

So here are my tiny habits for the week and my intentions behind them:

1. After I get up from my desk, I will pour a glass of water. (I want to drink more water but the first step is to put it in a glass!)

2. After I put the kids to bed, I will go downstairs. (Instead of going to straight to bed, I am trying to accomplish more in the evenings.)

3. After I put on my pajamas, I will fold any clothes that I wore that day. (Instead of leaving them on the window seat to gather in a pile that I never put away.  Perhaps they won't actually get put away, but at least they will look nicer than a huge pile.)

I look forward to working on my goals this week, but only a tiny bit!

Beautiful, thriving

I am struggling.

That is my reality.  I am struggling.  I don't care for my job.  It frustrates me, depletes me, it does not fulfill me.  My house is chaos.  I don't mean the life in my house - although 3 very small children are in fact their own chaos - but I mean my actual house.  I feel that the walls are caving in on me.  The STUFF we own is too much.  There are repairs that need to be done and changes I want as well.  My marriage could use some work as well, as I'm sure all marriages and particularly those with small children do.  Our nanny quit yesterday too.  There are moments when it is devastating and moments when it is okay.  It is a lot to process.  I am thankful that we have time to process.

Perhaps many people would read that paragraph and say "Welcome to Adulthood" or "Well, that's life" and I don't blame them.  I read it and agree for that matter.  But I am wandering through anxiety and depression and so these things seem overwhelming.

So what's the point of writing all of this down and putting it out there?  I believe that I am on a journey, a really important one.  The journey where I find the woman I am supposed to be - the thriving woman with a beautiful life.  Not the perfect one, not the pristine one, but the beautiful, thriving life.

I think that is why I started quilting.  Quilting is a place to be creative.  It is a place to take something whole, cut it up into tiny pieces and put it back together into something still whole, but more complex and beautiful.  In many ways that is what I am trying to accomplish.  And just like quilting, this is a complicated process, and it may require a seam ripper.  But I will know in the end that whatever the result is, it is beautiful in its own right.

Goals for the week of 3/20

Something about making your goals for a week on an odd day is refreshing.  I don't feel so restricted!

Anyhow, goals for this week:

1. Sew the remaining rows for my Penny Patch Quilt together.  

2. Blog about 3030SC challenge progress

3. Organize my fabric

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30 Minutes for Me in March

I should be able to do that, right?  I mean, 30 minutes is really not much....except when you have three children 4 and under.  I might get 30 minutes to myself in a day, but they usually come one at a time ;)

I have been struggling with some anxiety and a touch of depression recently.  Sewing has become an outlet for me to release some of this mental struggle and just be calm.  It is a type of meditation for me and I find myself craving it often.  So my goal for this month will be to treat myself to that 30 minutes of sewing only for myself each day.

So, what to sew...?

1. I have been working on my Penny Patch quilt inspired by the tutorial on Stitched in Color pretty faithfully since December.  I have all of the blocks pieced now and I just need to piece them together.  I decided I wanted to make a throw size quilt that I could snuggle with while I read or sew in the basement.  Part of my sewing time yesterday included trying to layout the blocks but I really struggled to find a place to lay everything out.  I'll have to figure out what to do about that....Goal #1!

Fabric Pull for Penny Patch Quilt

2.  I would really like to try making a bag for myself.  I'm not sure if that means a purse or a tote or what I really will use so I'll have to spend some time looking for an excellent pattern.  Suggestions are welcome!

3.  I don't anticipate actually being able to accomplish both of those things, but if I do, I will also be looking for patterns or tutorials for a rainbow quilt.  I am participating in a color wheel brick swap and I am excited to put them to use once they arrive!  Oh! Or a great sewing machine cover!  I really need one of those too!

Linking up with the 30/30 Sewing Challenge at Berry Barn Designs!

Intentional Resolutions

I am participating in Amy at Stitchery Dickory Dock's Sugar Block Club this year as part of my new quilting adventure.  As part of her monthly club, she sends a dessert recipe (Sugar), a quilt block pattern for a sampler quilt (Block), and a personal message.  This month's message is about Intention.  January is a wonderful time of year to resolve to do new things, but Amy's message this month is not just simply make resolutions, but to do it with intention.  One of Amy's key suggestions is to make lists.  So here is my quilting list for January as well as some for the year!

January -
1. Buy fabric for Vice Versa BOM with GenX Quilters
2. Select fabric for Sugar Block Club
3. Complete blocks for each of 2 BOM Clubs
4. My Dad's 60th birthday is coming in early February and I would really like to gift him a quilt that is part my grandmother's work and part mine.  My grandmother (my Dad's mom) passed away a year and a half ago and I think that a quilt from both of us would be something that he treasured.  At least that is my hope.
5. Finish cutting the fabric for my Penny Patch quilt

Quilty Goals for the future -

• Trivets for my mom's newly painted kitchen (have fabric)
• Placemats and pillows for Krista's kitchen/living room (have fabric)
• Penny Patch Quilt (have fabric)
• Celtic Solstice Quilt for my Irish parents :) (need fabric)
• Purple Quilt for Ashlyn (have fabric)
• Craftsy Mystery Chain of Stars quilt (have fabric)

I think these are pretty lofty ambitions, but hopefully writing them down will help me find some focus and initiative to make some time for myself to sew.

This is what happens when small children get a hold of your phone!

Quilting with Confidence

In September I attended my first Triangle Modern Quilt Guild meeting in hopes of gaining the courage to begin digging into my Grammie's quilting stash and WIPs.  Since then I have attended a second Guild meeting as well as three free quilting classes at a fun fabric printing shop in Durham called Spoonflower.  I have really enjoyed open studio time at Spoonflower as well and look forward to many more sessions.

But although I have found the courage to jump into a quilting community, I am still hesitant to do any quilting without a class structure to guide me.  So I am linking up with Quilty Habit's "Sewing with Certainty" linky party in an effort to hold myself accountable for quilting a little more fearlessly!

These are my goals for the next few months:

Completing the binding on the postage stamp mini quilt I began in the Postage Stamp class I took with Claudia from Snuggly Monkey.  Binding is a little bit scary but I want a FINISH!  I feel like completing my first project would really be a confidence booster to dive into the next one.

Sharing my postage stamp mini quilt at Triangle Modern Quilt Guild show and tell.  If I can find the courage to finish, I can find the courage to share!

I have projects in mind for my big girl, silly guy, and my mother-in-law that I need to start!  I cut material for A's quilt but I am nervous that I don't have enough fabric, or that she won't love it and my effort will be wasted.  This is an act of love that I hope she will cherish and I fear her rejection (4 year olds aren't exactly known for their praise!)  I have fabric for D's Wolfpack blanket but I don't have a plan for cutting or piecing so I need to work on that.  And then for my mother-in-law, I have some various fabrics that I think she will love but choosing blender fabrics has been a challenge so I hope to conquer that as well.

So many goals!  Thank you for the push Jessica!

Rejuvenate

My mom has taken a trip with her mom and 2 sisters each fall for many years. When my grandmother passed away a few years ago, my mom began to invite me and her cousins to join them. Each year the three of then take turns choosing a city to visit for a long weekend and off they go. Last year we went to savannah, one of my favorite cities. This year, my aunt choose because it is her 50th birthday and she wanted a big party - so off to Key West we went!

I have never been to Key West and really didn't know what to expect. For a town known for it's parrothead parties, I was surprised at the charm that abounded.

I will write more about the island in a later post but what I want my children and husband to know is that everyone needs time to rejuvenate and refresh. We cannot be at our best when we go day in and day out without a moment to step away and breathe.

Sometimes that breath is a quiet, secluded beach. Sometimes it is a glistening, snowy mountain. Sometimes it is a bustling city block. But sometimes it a simple time out from what is normal even in your own living room. I hope to cultivate more of those moments for all of us in the near future.

Creative Outlets

I am really excited to get home tonight.  I am excited to go home to my family most nights, but today when I get home, there will be a package waiting for me.  A soft, squishy package full of fabric.

I know, that doesn't sound exciting to most people.  That's okay.  Quilting isn't for everyone.  Yes, I said quilting.  The activity we envision older women or women of the 1800s doing all together in rocking chairs.  And no, I'm not either of those women (although sometimes I feel that old!).

There is a movement of women of all ages in the quilting world - modern quilting.  I'm giving it a try.

My grandmother spent a number of years quilting - mostly as a social activity.  She made some beautiful quilts.  Quilts that I now use in my daily life.  They are a reminder to me to see beauty in daily work and craft.

When my grandmother passed away last year, I received the majority of her fabric stash and her unfinished projects.  I have to admit, I let it sit on shelves for almost a year.  I found it intimidating.  I didn't want to mess up the beautiful things she had started.  I'm learning that it's not really possible to mess them up.

The amazing thing about quilting now, compared to the 1800s, is the vast blogging world!  There are endless blogs dedicated to quilting.  Who knew?!  I have spent the last two months reading a lot of them.  It is such a community - something I have been craving.  I also went to my local modern quilt guild meeting for the first time this week.  I am excited to have a local community to ask for advice and some guidance to finish many of my grandmothers projects.

So today I received a soft, squishy package with something I hope to infuse with love for my kids, and for my grandmother.

The ones who love you

Why is it that the people who are supposed to love you the most are often the people who hurt you deepest?  Our family is often times the group of people that take you for granted as an individual.  I find myself anxious when I know time with my family is approaching.  For a group that is supposed to support you, lift you up, encourage you, I find myself feeling excluded, unimportant, and discouraged most of the time.

I don't ever want my children to feel that way about their family.  I want them each to know how much I cherish them.  I want them to know that I already find their uniqueness and individuality wonderfully exciting.  And I want them to encourage each other in their endeavors.  I want them to be kind to each other and curious about the others passions and interests.  I want to cultivate a sense of belonging, inclusion, and security so they can strive to be great at whatever they want to be.

The question for me is, how do I cultivate that environment for my family, especially when I don't feel it myself?

Blog Ideas

I am sitting at my desk thinking about all the different types of things I would like to write about in my blog, all the things I want my children to know about me when they are old enough to see their mom as something or someone more than just "Mom".  "How do I keep track of all of these things?" I ask myself.

Then it occurs to me - "Put them in your blog sillyhead!"  I love when Ashlyn calls me a sillyhead.  We use the term with such endearment at home.  I adore that my children are silly.

So here it is - a completely incomplete list of possible blog post topics :)

Money issues
Why do I work?
Debt free plan
What I want in a house
The journey to get the house we want
Organizing
Sewing - clothes, toys, quilts
My grandparents
My children's grandparents
Family history
The UN and International Politics/Relations
Our family religions and faith
Siblings
Family traditions
DIY craft projects
Instilling values in our children
Photography

There are so many more but I am glad I wrote these down - now I can get back to being focused on the task at hand rather than trying to hold onto those ideas before they got away!

Purposeful Living

I often find myself struggling to figure out what to do next.  I can't even count how many ways I can apply that statement to my life.  "I often find myself struggling to figure out what ________ to do next." - chore, project, complete life overhaul.  When I think about my current state of mind, the best way to describe it is 'out of focus'.  I feel guilt almost everyday because I feel like I simply can't focus on my children the way I feel I should each day because I have pounds of laundry to do and I could go on with my list of chores. But as soon as I start that laundry, I think, I would love to carpet my basement - how can I acheive that.  But would I rather carpet the basement or paint/decorate our master bedroom?  And so my thoughts go round and round and I feel mentally and emotionally exhausted and my pile of laundry is still sitting there.

The new year is a time for resolve, right?  I have so many goals for my life that I can't get them straight but I have decided that the first thing I MUST do is decide to live purposefully.  What does that mean?  For me, it means taking the time to plan so that when I am not planning, I am living and focused on my family, my chores, my projects, my complete life overhaul ;) 

So where do I start?  I have spent the last few weeks trying to find whatit is that causes the most "noise" in my life.  And the answer is finances.  It's time - it is time to focus on creating a financial plan for the short-term, for the long-term, and to begin living it today.  The amount of stress our finances puts on my marital relationship is unnessecary.  So it is time to get rid of the noise and focus.

There are so many financial plans available.  Internet plans, books to read, hundreds of philosophies I could follow.  More noise.  So I have made a plan to find focus in my financial life.  Beginning the day after Christmas, I began using Mint.com to track all of my spending.  I asked Sean to use it with me and thankfully he agreed - he is an amazing partner.  I have spent the time since then researching plans and methods to find focus in our financial life.  I decided today on Dave Ramsey's system.  I found a good deal on a bundle of materials and I feel like his overall perspective works for me and will work for our family.  The materials should be here in the next two weeks and I look forward to blogging about my experience with the program once we receive it.

Happy New Year and I hope you have found purpose in your life too.

Perspective

Yesterday I met our friend Amy and her daughter Abbey at a park near our home. We went pretty early because it is unseasonably warm for May and because Abbey had her first dentist appointment later that morning.

Dylan had been up three times the night before so I was pretty exhausted. The girls behaved pretty well and Amy helped me out knowing I was tired.

Ashlyn was having a snack and found her snuggle bunny in the diaper bag. Snuggle bunny is ashlyn's comfort toy and has her pacifier attached. I really should learn to just leave him in her crib so she doesn't want him in inappropriate settings like the sandbox at the playground.

I took snuggle bunny and put him somewhere Ashlyn couldn't see him in hopes of distracting her and encouraging her to play for another 30 minutes. This caused a complete meltdown. Dylan had not had a good nights sleep or a good nap so he was unhappy too so I decided it was time to go home. I spent ten minutes trying to get Ashlyn in the car. Once she was finally buckled in I gave snuggle bunny back to her.

As we were driving home I had a chance to reflect a little. I realized that when I hid snuggle bunny from Ashlyn she believed he was gone. And when I left the park without giving him to her, she believed we had left him. Of course she was upset! I had just left behind her most valued possession.

Sometimes we forget what the world looks like to a small child and if we would take the time to adjust our perspective we might be able to see a happier solution.

Swinging!