Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Ol' Kit Bag

and smile, smile, smile.

Things are up and down still/again, and I'm still trying to see the up side of things. I did have a pity party the other day, but none of you were invited. Sorry, party of one ;)
Sewing up a little something fun is always a great cure-all for the blues. So I set right in on this little guy. My daughter snatched him up. She has cleaned out most of the dolls in her room and there is just one shelf left. It was nice to see that she kept all of the mommy made dolls.
So there it is my happy thought for the day and a little smile for you. The shop is packed full of pads and there is a new set -different color way- of flower hair pins available.

April and Marie - Julie and Julia Style

While flipping through a quilt book looking for some inspiration, I had a crazy idea.

What if instead of making one of the quilt blocks in the book I made every quilt block in the book? 72 quilt blocks in 72 days. Julie and Julia style.

I did come to my senses a little and decided that it did not have to be one block every day, but more like one block for each day. In reality some days I will sew one or two blocks and other days I won't have time to make any. Although, I have to say, I have been sewing at least one block a day since starting. I even convinced a friend to sew along with me.

Each square comes out to about 6" x6"

I'm going completely by the book and using the suggested colors for each block.

Cutting and sewing tiny little squares and triangles even if half square triangles seem like they would be easier.

If you want to join me -not that anyone else is this crazy-the book is called Teach Yourself Blocks From the Past by Marie Henry.

Hippie Genes

Aaron may have gotten his brown eyes from his dad and his curly hair from someone way back on the family tree, but he definitely got his hippie genes from his mama :)

He couldn't have been happier with his Hippie Jean Quilt. This quilt was actually a last minute gift that I pulled together just in time for his 16th birthday. I rounded up all of the outgrown and worn out jeans that were in the pile waiting to go to the thrift store and started cutting. While cutting I realized that going with a typical block quilt was going to take way too much time, plus it didn't feel right for Aaron. You know how the quilt chooses the person? I started piecing together legs, pockets and miscellaneous shaped pieces until I had a huge block - just like crazy quilting. If you look close, you can see how the quilt is basically four huge blocks made up of the smaller mismatched pieces. I backed it with a brown flannel sheet that was also destined for the thrift store and quilted along all of the seams. No batting - it's heavy enough on it's own. I clipped the edges so they would fray and popped it in the washing machine with some home-made laundry detergent.

Now it can be found on his bed, on the couch or on the floor - just like a teenager's hippie blanket should be.

Konnichiwa

Just popping in to say Konnichiwa

My computer has been down for a little while and I'm using our back up computer - the one without all of my pictures stored on it. So rather than post without a picture, I've had my lovely daughter "draw" this picture for you on Paint.

Oh, and thank you for the kind words about my hubby's new job. It's going really well - although we all got a little spoiled having him home all day. I've also posted some more flowers in the shop. More to come when I'm able to post pictures again.

The DayDawn is Breaking

My husband just left for his first day at his new job. I can't help but to feel like this is the beginning of better times ahead.
Sometimes I wish I knew what the futures holds, which dreams will become realities and where life will take us. Then I remember that the journey is what life is really about. While these past several weeks have been difficult, we've all learned so much and have grown even closer as a family. For now, I'm content with that glimmer of sunshine that is peeking through the window promising a bright day ahead.