Thursday, August 19, 2010

hopeless hipsta

discovered a super sweet iphone app for photography...lots of fun playing with it! It's called Hipstamatic. You can get these fun toy camera style funky retro images with lots of different options for lenses, film, and flash.

Sam with his ice-cream cone. Please pardon the mess in the back of my car...on our way to drop of some donations.






















Old spools given to me by my homegirl, Christie.























Alex on his new board...looks like a 70's scene, love it!























Sweet Sam the skater dude.





















Wednesday, August 11, 2010

fresh

...off the sewing table!
Looking ahead to this autumn with all three babies in all day school, I think I just might be able to crank out enough lovelies to "set-up shop" in some form or fashion. Yay!
School doesn't start until next week, however still managed to get my stitch on...and with a few of my most favorite fabrics! Thought I'd share a peek with you.



I can't believe I did this...I cut into my beloved Heather Ross Horses. As the pieces came together I had no regrets. Only one problem...finding someone who wants to pay what this is worth to me LOL! The pocket is another yummy little print from Fig Tree's Fresh Cotton line...good old-fashioned sweetness! Don't miss the cherry on top...that pretty little vintage button on the pocket corner.
ohemgee...to
o much!

Friday, July 30, 2010

mood

I considered the possibility that I might never be in the mood to put a blog post together ever again. But then this morning I found that I was in the mood...lucky you ; )

Life continues to be mostly interesting and quite entertaining...you will never hear me say "I'm bored." In my house, a typical 10 minute period goes something like this: Me thinking to myself "I sure hope I can go sew a little bit after I put this band-aid (the 10th one of the day) on Sam." Then a loud crashing sound as a glass (Sam's special Shrek glass from Burger King) gets knocked off the couch and shatters when my daughter, who is busy throwing up in a bowl, accidentally bumps it. I scream to everyone (including the dog) "Don't move! Stay! Sit!", get daughter settled down again, and commence sweeping up glass. This is where the interestingness hits a new level. I lift the corner of the rug while sweeping and out runs a lizard! And that is pretty much how things go around here most of the time : ) Sounds fun doesn't it? Can any of you relate?

Summer in Oklahoma is, to be accurate and articulate, gross...lots of mosquitoes, 105 degrees, and 105% humidity. But it's cool and bug-free (thanks to the lizard in the living room) at my sewing table : ) Here's what I've accomplished in the past couple of weeks:

For Baby Chloe...







Perhaps I will be in the mood to write up a tutorial for these baby boots some day soon...maybe, maybe not.



And for me...
a touch of shabby and vintage...the buttons are from a lovely stash of vintage buttons given to me by my sweet step-mom.







Thursday, June 3, 2010

Summer is in full swing here...the kids and I have had a great first-week-of-summer together. We're a little bummed about having to, almost certainly, change our big summer vacay : ( Of course, we're extremely bummed about the cause of it...the oil spill. So very troubling. We have other thoughts, maybe Colorado...is everyone going there now since we can't go to Florida?
So anyways, I just wanted to pop in to the ole blog and say hello, catch up a bit.
Besides hanging out with my 3 little party animals ALL DAY EVERY DAY I've been up to some reading, some sewing, & some purging. The purging is actually a bit exciting for me personally as it may lead to me having a pretty wonderful sewing space sometime in the foreseeable future...yay! More on that later.
As for the sewing, I'm currently working on a few quilting bee blocks, well actually I need to get 8 made by June, which is probably not gonna happen in a timely manner. Also, making an adorable colored pencil roll for my darling niece, Berkley, from this super awesome book...












It's almost complete, but not quite. I'll share a photo or 2 next time.





In other sewing news, I've lost my mind completely and signed up for two flickr swaps...The Scrappy Pincushion Swap and The Gathered Clutch Swap. Don't tell anyone, but I've never made either of these things. But I'm always up for a sewing challenge and can always figure out pretty much anything involving sewing, so no worries!
I mentioned I've been reading. That's because I finally went to the library (after a 7 month absence) to pay my huge fine. Turned out I did not even have a fine! I have no idea what's going on with that, but whatever. So we're back to invading the library every week. I read this book to the kidlets this week and we all really enjoyed it...you should check it out at your library.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

winner!

Danse De La Fleur is the winner!
The random integer was chosen using
http://andrew.hedges.name/experiments/random/original.html. I carefully counted (3 times!) the comments adding in 1 for someone who tweeted about the giveaway but didn't comment twice and subtracting for my own comment which doesn't count ; )
This was super fun for me so I want to thank all of you who dropped in and entered. I met lots of new blogger friends and received some great feedback about my beloved 1st quilt so this was a treat for me as well as for my giveaway winner!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

giveaway!

***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED ***

I mentioned in a previous post that I would host a giveaway this week...so let's get that going! To celebrate the completion of my 1st quilt (http://amuse4me.blogspot.com/2010/05/its-official.html) I am giving one lucky Amy Butler lover a whole bunch of awesome bits of fabric! Over the past few years I have collected many, many prints from pretty much every line she's created prior to the Love collection. The winner will receive 45 different fabrics ranging in size from 5"-10" squares. Look at my quilt to see some of the fabrics...I didn't even use all of the prints that I have...should have planned a larger quilt!
If you would like to get in on this fun giveaway simply leave me a comment telling me what your favorite Amy Butler print is. If you feel like tweeting or mentioning my giveaway in your blog you can enter twice! Just leave a 2nd comment letting me know that you helped spread the word...the more the merrier : ) The winner will be drawn by some random to-be-determined method in...oh let's say 10 days which will be May 22nd. Be sure I can contact you or just check back here some time after that date...I'll post the winner's name.
Thanks for stopping by and playing!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

accomplished

It's official...I.am.a.quilter!


It's quite an accomplishment, though I feel a little embarrassed at how excited I am. My first completed quilt...yay!


Finally doing something in my sewing studio that will benefit my family...gotta keep my peeps warm and cozy!


This project was such a delight and I'm pretty pumped with the way she turned out...perfectly crinkled goodness! Showcasing Amy Butler prints from several collections, stunning gray Kona sashing, backed in Moda Bella white...joyful! I went with diagonal lines for the quilting with 3" between the lines...luckily I liked the way 3" spacing looked since that's the width of the only sewing ruler I have thus far. Of course I used my trusty walking foot for the quilting and easily followed along my lines of disappearing purple ink.
























2 bits of wisdom I can offer the 1st time quilter:

  • tape all the layers down on the kitchen floor and then safety-pin it until you can barely see any fabric between the pins. You'll know you've done enough taping and pinning when your legs, hips, and back feel like they're on fire.
  • only draw a few lines of disappearing ink at a time...you know why?

To celebrate the completion of my 1st quilt I will be hosting a little giveaway this week. If you or someone you know loves Amy Butler fabric designs you just might want in on this...details later.





















Now I'm off to get cozy with my gorgeous quilt on this blustery Mother's Day...hubby took the ducklings out for frozen yogurt so it's just me and my beloved quilt!

Have a super blessed Mother's Day friends!


sunday stash


Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow...
















I won these beauties during "Quiltdad" John's blogaversary celebration ~ still shocked that I won considering the number of entries : ) These prints are so lovely and I cannot wait to come up with the perfect project for them!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

yesterday

















It's a new day and, if you read yesterday's post, you know I'm hoping for a little less drama than the craziness yesterday morning brought. My son is still not well, but haven't seen him this morning so we shall see. So after that PITA morning (the day continued along those lines though in a less dramatic fashion) I was slightly shocked (almost had an out-of-body-experience) when I found out something wonderful. There's this very unused email account I have and I had forgotten that it was linked to this blog. So out of the blue, after having ignored it for a few months, I realized that I should go check that email. Was that God putting that random thought in my head? hmmmmm.... I logged in (took 5 tries cause I couldn't remember the password) and there was the sunshine of my dark day (yes, I'm a little dramatic). I was the 1st of 16 winners in John's giveaway!
un.be.lieveable. And my prize....a FQ set from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow...woooohoooo! See photo above and drool with me ; ) ~photo courtesy of John's blog~

*I read all comments and savor them...if you left one, thank you...I'll be saying hello to you soon : )

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

craziness

oh.em.gee....this day is wearing me out and I'm only 1/8th of the way through it : ( here's a brief venting session followed by quilty good tidings. Okay, not feeling great this week...could be worse and seems to be improving so there's that. This week is ca-razy at school for the kids...teacher appreciation week, 4th grade program, CRT testing...there's some pressure involved with these things. Today is bring-your-teacher's-favorite-flower-to-school day and I left the flowers at home (of course). So we rushed home got the flowers...whew! Then there is the ongoing saga of my 10 year-old's health...today, so far, is not a "feelin' good" day for him...and of course not since it's CRT today. I should stop there and quit being a whiner, but I won't. It gets even better. So I'm trying to get the preschooler across town on time (running a little late due to the forgetting of the flowers and having to run home and get them) and OF COURSE here comes a freakin' train. So I sit there and sit there and the stress level is starting to go up and up. Off we go and I think I really need to figure out how to work the cruise control because with this mood I can see that I have quite a challenge to stay at the speed limit and that's exactly when I see him...the police car hiding over there on the side of the road. And so OF COURSE I was going 60 in a 50 and here Officer comes with the lights on and I start crying and Sam is starting to worry about the whole ordeal so he starts crying. Now let me say, I am not normally a cryer but it was just too much in a 30 minute period of time for me to roll with it without tears. By the time Officer got to my window I could barely speak (okay, as I write this I'm starting to laugh at my pathetic self). Poor Sam, I was trying to tell him it really isn't that big of a deal. On the bright side, Officer just gave me a warning and asked me very gently to please slow down. Sam and I headed back home...he just was not up for school after that. He announced that if they do "good news, bad news" at school tomorrow he "definitely knows what he's gonna tell for the bad news" LOL! Hey, I'm good material if nothing else ; )
If you read all that, thank you...you are too kind.
















Now for the happier part of this post...I have my Amy Butler little log cabin quilt ready to sandwich...wooohoooo! I'm loving it so far and hope I don't botch things up when I start quilting. Getting ready to go mop the kitchen floor as that is wear the assembly will be taking place. Surely I can handle the quilting part of this one (unlike the huge one for Sarah that I had to set aside for the time being) since I'm just doing straight lines. Wish me luck! Oh, and stay tuned cause when this little beauty is finished I will be hosting a nice giveaway for ya'll : )

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Nonnie

Just sharing something that is very special to me. My Nonnie's sewing cabinet...























and here she is posing with a Summer in the City charm pack in a tin box...yummy!

















My Nonnie was my grandmother, but she was really more to me than my grandmother. Suffice it to say, she was more a mother to me in many ways than my own mother was, is, whatever. She passed away in December '08.


















Nonnie taught me many things...how to stand up straight for good posture, how to approach a group of people and introduce myself, how to cut up a whole chicken, the virtues of Wal-Mart (some of you may be cringing about that one)....and many more things I can appreciate without even knowing exactly what they were. But the big one, the thing that enriched my life beyond all the other lessons, was The Sewing Lesson. Nonnie very patiently taught me to read a pattern, transfer it to fabric (lots of pinning and marking), get it cut out, stitch pieces together with a 5/8" seam, press all seams (never skip that!), finish it out nicely, and then wear those crazy M.C. Hammer pants with pride!
I sewed a few things soon after that, but wasn't hugely interested...must have been distracted with Duran Duran, making my bangs bigger, going to the mall and hanging out with Jenny. Fast forward to the year 2000. The sewing addiction started simmering and I started making baby things...cloth diapers in fun prints, baby blankets bound in satin, burpcloths, wipies. And now here I am 10 years later still making fun baby stuff and discovering the awesomeness of quilting. Nonnie really loved it that I eventually became such an avid seamstress.
All this to pay a little honor to my greatly missed, amazing Nonnie.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

sunday stash



For a few months I have noticed 'sunday stash' blog posts and photos on flickr. Today I found the group...love me some groups!...so I am now a sunday stasher : )
I have been in love with this collection since the photos from last fall's Quilt Market started trickling in...it's Sandy Henderson's Meadowsweet. Of all the lines that rocked the QM, this was my fave. I finally gave in and purchased a few prints yesterday at OK Quiltworks...serious swoonin
g going on....

Friday, April 23, 2010

dancin' machine

Just a quick post for this morning. I realized I had not shared this on my blog and you guys gotta see this! My little white boy just happens to have a thang for Michael Jackson performances. And here he is...the one and only...Sammy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8X4S0L5DO4

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

fancy

lookie what I just ordered from amazon.com! I.can.not.wait!





















did you all know about this stationery?


I discovered it when I was looking for this.....



















Both of them are delightful and they're MINE...ALL MINE!

They will look glorious laying on my Nonnie's sewing cabinet next to my little stack of....
















I've heard that this is a super cool book. Of course, it is...Denyse made it : )

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

pieces

just some pieces of my day...

















a rockin' song while driving the babes to school...I like my inspirational music a little rough around the edges. Never Alone finds me where I am right now...download it and turn it up loud!




Alex & Sarah brought home beautiful artwork from school this week...just have to share! These are totally getting framed and hung ASAP.

by Sarah...
























by Alex...



















Stopped in at a brick-n-mortar fabric (quilt) shop I had never been to and found something yummy...















...found myself completely smitten with the little spiderwebs and had to bring the charm pack home with me : )
If you're in OKC or nearby, the newly discovered quilt shop is The Savage Quilter on May. Yes I realize it's not a new shop...I'm prolly the last gal in town to find it ; )





lovely Amy Butler fabrics cut and ready for the rest of my little log cabin blocks.


















And a better photo of the blocks completed so far for what will be my very 1st finished quilt!
























Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, April 9, 2010

quiltery

"Admitting you’re a quilter can be daunting: mention to someone at a party that you quilt and their eyes immediately scan the room, looking for someone they’re sure is a more scintillating conversationalist." -Linzee Kull McCray
I giggled when I read this bit of Linzee's Etsy Blog post on Modern Quilters at http://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/modern-quilter-meet-ups-the-quilting-bee-comes-full-circle-7505/


Aren't these yummy? Here are the super cool blocks I received from my honeybees, way to go Beehive 1! You all are rockstars! Aren't these yummy?


















Thank you Tiff http://tigglegiggles.squarespace.com/, Michelle http://michellesews.blogspot.com/, Karen http://www.badlandsquilts.com/, Donna http://differentmeasure.squarespace.com/, Amber http://oneshabbychick.typepad.com/one_shabby_chick/, & Jenni (blog TBA : )

So off I go now to crank out a few more of these lit
tle cuties...







Tuesday, April 6, 2010

blessed

Time to catch up here!
Easter was wonderful...beautiful weather, swanky outfits, family fun, lovely worship, smelly eggs.
















The hubby, who (or is it whom) I also like to call Mr. Incredible, surprised me BIG TIME! After driving "the hoopty" for several months following the wreck that totaled my Honda Odyssey, I received my dream car...Rockin' Ruby. Boy, am I ever blessed!
I couldn't resist putting this around my tag plate thingy...also a
gift from Mr. Incredible.










As for my sewing and fabric addiction, lots of fun stuff happening there. Colorful baby bloomers & burpies and satin ruffle blankie just finished and delivered to my best customer (how did I forget to take photos?)

For round 1 of the little quilting bee I'm participating in, I completed and sent off 6 adorable whirlygigs to my fellow honeybees. See...aren't they so fun!?














So far I've received 4 blocks in my requested colors. I'll post a pic of all 6 when I receive the last 2. Now gearing up for round 2 with 6 new honeybees...such a blast!

In February, I started the OKC Modern Quilting Guild by way of www.TheModernQuiltGuild.com. I'm so excited to be connecting with modern quilters (so far no dudes in the group) and now maybe I can get this whole quilting thing figured out ; ) Thankfully the adorable Miss Erin joined me in leading the OKCMQG (boy, we need a cute little name to replace that!) Erin got the word out by way of Quiltworks (an awesome local quilt shop) monthly newsletter and we now have 48 members in our group...yeeeeehaw!
We are planning our first meeting for May. Interested in joining us or a MQG in your area? Check out those spiffy badges over there and click --->

Next on my sewing table...I cannot committ to anything so I won't even go there. I'll tell ya next time.

***if you are a quilter, sewist, crafter...leave me a comment or follow me and I'll follow the trail over to your blog...I love me some blogs!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

destiny


<----for your viewing pleasure...my gorgeous niece swanked out in some hand-made yumminess!


Boy, it's been a long time since I did some rambling here. I've been very busy doing a tiny bit of a million different things...so nothing is really done...that's how I roll ; ) But not for long! Oh the plans I have and have started and WILL complete! I have some awesome fabrics waiting to fulfill their destinies. Destinies such as pimped out burpcloths and onesies and blankets fit for a rockstar just to name a few. I'm playing around with photo editors and website building to get this goal within reach...not sure about the website building thing. Perhaps that complicates things too much at this point in the game. So maybe I'll just post my swankies here....we shall see.

I hope all of you are finding time to create, dream, or maybe just get a nap in...whatever your thang is, I hope you are doing IT!



So now I'm off to enjoy some of this gorgeous day before I pick up my sweet Sammy from preschool. Ciao baby!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

head(er)less

Yes, I realize I have no header on m'blog. But I am very thrilled with my sidebars now thanks to shabbyblogs.com! I'm working on that header...the size was all wrong so I have to resize her. I installed GIMP (is that the right name?) last night so I should be able to get the header thing figured out. I gotta make the place look nice for my 6 followers : )

So the winter blizzards and ice storms have come to an end (?) and the sun finally made an appearance yesterday...I was starting to slip into a cloud-induced coma. We did enjoy all those days out of school playing in and enjoying the lovely snow.

Our baby lost his 1st tooth! This was our very last very 1st lost tooth : (


If you're a die-hard fabric junkie, you'll enjoy looking at my sweet little stacks of Katie Jump Rope...aren't they cute?!