An Afternoon Project

I decided to jump into a project today. I haven't been sewing lately...life is rather stressful, and my heart just hasn't been in a sewing mode lately. But today, I decided to change that! Sooooo, I made the pretty springy looking handbag. I've been admiring all those pretty (and pricy) quilted handbags that are in style and I KNEW I could make one even better,...and MUCH less expensive. =) I used fabric from my stash, and scraps of batting. The ONLY thing I bought was the pattern (which I purchased last summer,) and the zipper. It needs some buttons on the ends & the outside pocket - which I plan to buy tomorrow...but other than that, it was cheap & fairly easy. The pattern was somewhat hard to follow at times, but once I caught on - it all came together. From start to finish - 3 to 4 hours.

What really surprised me - this purse held everything my old one did! It has lots of inside pockets to keep thing neat & organized.

So, all in all.... that mountain of laundry didn't need to be folding today. This handy dandy handbag needed to be made! *G* I feel better for having spent the time on it.

Photoshop ~ what an awesome thing

Last Sunday was Easter. He is Risen! He is risen, indeed!

After church we did the usual family pictures
1. because it has become a tradition, and
2. because it's rare to see my family dressed nicely, clean, and all together respectable looking. (The boys are usually in t-shirts, and ragged jeans..by choice. Blake is usually in a denim shirt & jeans...by choice, and I'm just not a dressy-dress type person either. *G*)

ANYWAY,.... we dutifully stood in front of a peach tree in full bloom, smiled & tried to look happy & Eastery. I didn't look at the pictures until later that night. Lo and behold did I get a surprise! Dear Cole had made a wacky, weird face in EVERY family picture! The ones taken by either Blake or I were fine. But the ones of all 4 of us together - taken using the tripod & timer - were all Cole-ified. Eyes crossed, contorted face, and smirks are over the place. Grrrrr! I stopped myself from deleting them....I think I'll keep them for future 'black mail' usage.*g* So this afternoon I made a first MAJOR attempt of 'photo magic' with Photoshop. WOW! What an awesome tool! You can hardly tell I took Cole's head from one photo & plopped into the family photo. Cool, huh! And no wonder the tabloids can make it look like Britney is dating Elvis, or George W is dancing the hula with Hillary. This tool is cool - but dangerous. *G*

Our Other Family Members

Here are some pictures of our other family members...the 4 legged ones. Riley the beast is huge, funny and lovingly protective of us...unless it's storming. Then all bets are off, and he hides under the bed! He weighs almost 100 lbs...it's so funny to watch him squirm his way underneath our bed, but I guess that's where he feels safe. He sleeps there a lot too. It's hysterical to wake up during the night to the sound of Riley howling in his sleep. He must have some wild & crazy dreams.

Ethel is our sweet quiet calico cat. She's just too much of a lady to put her face into Riley's water bowl & drink. (Riley drank up all the water in the cats' water bowl.) So she touches the water with her paw & delicately licks it off.

Bobbin is bobbin, she has no tail. She hunts creatures at night, and she has a personal problem with feline flatulence. She can clear a room in .01 seconds. But other than that, she's sweet. She sleeps in her own personal "cat box" courtesy of the USPS. I don't know WHAT she was doing in this picture...but she's squatting like a bullfrog! Maybe she's practicing for catching frogs when it warms up soon? Maybe she's trying to look 'all pumped up'? Maybe she ate too many squirrels? Funny little cat.

Our Wall of Weapons

My boys LOVE nerf weapons. While I'm not all that fond of weapons, Nerf stuff is pretty fun, and cool. We recently came up with this idea for storing and displaying their collection.
Initially, we were going to paint it with a paintball gun, but someone informed us that paintball paint tends to fade. So instead we had a splatter paint party. We put some paint on a plastic spoon & in variety styles, managed to sling it, fling it & slingshot in all over this pegboard. It was a blast! We ALL got into this little activity. I highly recommend a splatter party for some good family fun. =)

Another Fairy Quilt

This is Roxanne's Fairy quilt. I designed it on EQ and had a ball doing it. I think this is one of my most favorite quilts. I put a lot of thought & planning into it, as well as a lot of free motion quilting. (My first attempt at freemotion, after taking a class.)

The flowers are columbine - the Colorado state flower. The name Roxanne means 'dawn', therefore the colorful sky, and fairies....just because they are perfect for such a cutie-patootie little girl.

Naomi - here's a first.... a picture of your kid on someone else's blog! *G* Hope you don't mind. =)

Fairy Quilt

This is my niece Courtney's Fairy quilt.
The top center block is mine, all the rest were from my dear friends the LallyQuilters. A while back we decided to do a block exchange with a fairy theme. ALL the blocks have fairies - fairy fabric, designs, or appliques. I love that fact that here are blocks from all over the world on this quilt...all over the US, Canada, Scotland, Italy and Australia! Living in a household full of boys, I had no idea what I was going to do with these blocks, ....until I found out that Courtney loved fairies. Then I knew I HAD to make this quilt for her graduation.
At this same time I was making Mama's birthday quilt, and Alishia's graduation quilt...3 major quilts going at the same time - all to be given to these dear folks while celebrating Thanksgiving/Christmas at Mama's. Whew! At times, I thought I was crazy for trying to tackle that much all at once...but it was worth it. (I'm trying to find a digital picture of Alishia's quilt. It's really special. Hopefully it will be posted here soon.)

Mama's Quilt

When my mama was turning 80 she told me she DID NOT want a big party or anything made over it. She's a quiet person, and that's just not her style. But I knew we had to do something to mark this momentous occasion. So obviously my brain turned to a quilt. I sent a letter to each of my 3 brothers and their families & asked them to send me a piece of fabric that represents them. One piece for each member of their family. It could be anything - a work shirt, a piece of fabric with something on it that is special to them or represents their passion/hobby or life. Most of the family responded. The ones that didn't, I choose a fabric for them.

The center block of the quilt represents my parents. It's a crazy patch design that has pieces of a hanky mama's mama gave to me, one of grandma's aprons, & daddy's shirts, fabrics with Bibles and faith, music, oranges, and travel - various things that 'are' Mama & Daddy.

Each side of the quilt is set up to represent me, and my 3 brothers, then our families.

Gary's 'Winter Park Design' shirt & houses. Carol's red hats for all the hats she wears, Courtney's 'Flighty' birds, and Roberts FSU.
Johnnie's US Marines & old houses, Connie's peacock feathers, Luke & Sarah's Co.snow & columbine flowers, and baby Milo's toys. (Baby Lucy wasn't around yet.) Naomi's paintings, Matt's rockets, and Rocket's rockets, and baby Roxanne's dedication dress.
David's - tools and footballs, Levi's sports, Alishia's dolphins.
And lastly - my sewing & horses, Blake's gardening & camping, Ian's science & stars, and Cole's hopping frogs.

It's not a traditional quilt of blocks...but is shows a family and it's ties. I know Mama treasures it.

From my Valentine

My dear hubby is a poet. He writes poetry whenever the mood or inspiration hits him. Sometimes they are short, sweet & simple. The color of the springs leaves or the simple beauty of the Lord's creation, or musings on the cat's dreams as she chases imaginary mousies & twitches in her sleep.
Sometimes they are deep, thought provoking statements about life, and human nature - the good and the bad.
But always...they are from his heart.
This was my Valentine's present...

Forever We'll Be!

How far is forever?
Look to the starry skies!
How far is forever?
Look deep into my eyes!
How far is forever?
But why keep asking why,
Don't you see,
Together you and me,
With God's Grace,
Forever we'll be!
HBMc 2-14-08

This picture from our last anniversary.
I love my Valentine's poem, my fresh from the ditch daffodils, and most of all - my Blake.

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OTHERWISE - it's Saturday. I'm going out with some friends tonight...WAHOO! Haven't done that in ages & ages & ages. We're going to see a movie...Wahoo a chick-flick, (instead of a cartoon or action picture...what a pleasant change!), and then who knows what kind of trouble we'll get into. =)

Also - here's a random picture... need I say more as to why I need a night out with the girls!?!

My fuzzy valentine...

Happy Valentines Day! My dear sweet, huggable, loveable, hunny-bunny brought me some early daffodils he found along the side of the road. Those are better that fancy smancy roses any day!
Why do I love him? The list is endless...but here's the short version:
We make beautiful music together...really! We do! We played our flutes at our wedding reception, and still play guitar/hammered dulcimer together for fun.
He takes me camping - what better way to spend time together with someone you love. Snuggling in a sleeping bag or sitting by the campfire beats the Hilton any day!
He doesn't mind my many quirks & hormonal moments.
He loves our boys, our dog, and our cats.
He cooks.... I don't.
He knows lots of things about the stars, wildflowers, and all kinds of interesting stuff.
He keeps me warm at night....and doesn't complain when I steal all the covers.
He takes beautiful pictures...even if most of them are bugs & flowers. (I take all the pictures of the kids & other family stuff.)

I could go on & on...but lets be real. We were meant for each other.
Thank you Lord, for sending me my soul mate, My Inspiration...which by the way is 'our song.' When I moved to GA all those many years ago, I didn't know it was a part of God's plan to put me near Blake...but now we know.
I Love you, Blake! Happy Valentines Day!

Just an old barn

This is the old barn/garage at my Granny's house in FL. The old weathered boards, brilliant blue sky, and flowers are not really anything special by themselves, but they caught Blake's eye when we were there one Thanksgiving. Together, they make a grand picture. (FYI - nothing has been altered in this picture - no Photoshop magic or color enhancers.) I'm so glad he took this picture...because the old barn is gone now. Replaced by a new, stronger, structure. I know they needed to replaced it with a safer structure...but the old one had such character. Those old boards saw a lot of Thanksgivings and a lot of Hancocks. I'm glad we have this picture.

In the Beginning... to The Beginning

I finally finished this wallhanging. Since I have no windows in my office, I wanted something pretty to look at on those bare, drab walls. I call it 'In the Beginning...to The Beginning'.

Smiling Riley

We ALL enjoyed our snow while it lasted....yes, even Riley. I just know he's smiling.He looks like he's having so much fun. We all did. Thank you, Lord, for the snow. =)

Autumn Leaves in the Dew

Heres a picture Blake took last fall. We went for a road trip in the mountains & had stopped to look around at the view. I saw these leaves covered with the morning dew & brought them to Blake's attention....thats all it took. He took a really lovely picture.

Beach Baby Quilt

Here's a quilt I made last summer for one of the ministers at work. He & his wife were expecting their 2nd child, & had decorated the baby's room in a beach theme. The ladies at work & I gave this quilt to them in celebration of Layton's birth.

This was a fun quilt to make - lots of cute critters, and bright colors. I had a lot of fun designing this one on EQ & seeing it come to life in fabric. It came together really easy too. I think the little octopus on the corner in my favorite. And the quilting on the sun came out really nice, too.