. monday .

Today was definitely a Monday! The things on my to-do list got trumped by more important things and the things that needed to be done today...well, didn't get done as quickly as I thought they were going to.

An exciting part of my day - my blog got redesigned by the fabulous Designer Blogs (http://www.designerblogs.com/). I worked with Emily and I love what she created! I wish I knew how to do this cutesy stuff - but since I don't, I'm grateful for Emily and people like her that are smarter than me!

I also got another picture from Kate in her series of hand-drawn pictures for my office door.

This is depicting an event that actually happened last week. I'm surprised she caught all those detail while she was wailing on the floor! So so funny!

Here's hoping the rest of the week is much much better (and goes by faster) than today!

{ projects in progress }

I got to spend some time in the craft room today – which was a pretty nice place to be since it’s so windy and nasty and ugly today!

I finished this quilt top this morning…I’ve been working on it off and on during this past week.

I wound all the bobbins I have in the white thread I use for piecing. You would not believe how much I love just putting in an already wound bobbin. Silly, isn’t it?!

This is the new quilt top I started this afternoon. It’s a plus sign pattern using some fat quarters that Nick and Kate gave me for my birthday.

And, the craft room mascot thrown in for good measure!

I’m snuggled up on the couch now, under a quilt that I’m binding, watching the Oscar Red Carpet Show. Love the red carpet!

{ happy birthday! }

Today is my dear friend Kate’s birthday.

I think birthdays are a day set aside to stop and think about that person and the impact they have in your life.

Kate is:

• a dear and consistent friend I’ve had from childhood through college and now as adults. Our parents were friends first and fostered our friendship.
• the wife of another one of my oldest friends. I don’t remember NOT knowing Nick!
• the mother of my goddaughter, Kamryn. Whenever I say that out loud or type it or think about it, I still can’t believe Nick & Kate asked me to be part of Kamryn’s life and their family like that. Love. <3
• my example for a genuinely happy and cheerful attitude, no matter the situation. I have a lot to learn from her!
• an outstanding volleyball coach (reigning Coach of the Year – whoop whoop!) who encourages her team through her positive demeanor.
• so gracious and kind and giving and loving…
• fun to be around (obviously!) and especially craft with. This girl does not follow a pattern to save her life! It makes me laugh (and cringe at the same time since I’m SO not that way!) – but it always turns out just the way it’s supposed to!

I’m so thankful for my friendship with Kate. She brings a lot of joy to my life and to so many others’ lives too.

Happy Birthday Kate!

{out of necessity }

How does that quote go? Every invention was born out of necessity?

If you know our extended family even a little, you know that we all have back problems. Ice packs are our friend! Everyone has a rotation of ice packs in the freezer ready to go at any time.

My Dad has been using an ice pack on his ankle for a few weeks after he stepped off a sidewalk wrong. He says he suggested this idea to me about two weeks ago, but I don’t remember that.

I’ve been using an ice pack this last week on my neck – I’ve had a sore neck, shoulders, and hips which have been contributing to a headache. Not fun. So this weekend, I thought out loud to my family and said, “You know, I should make an ice pack envelope out of flannel.” (Since usually we wrap it in a kitchen towel and it never stays the way it’s supposed to.)

My Dad started laughing and said sarcastically, “great idea…I wonder where you heard that before!” Oops.

So, here it is!

I had this flannel left over from the backing of a quilt – it was a pieced backing, so it already had these two pieces sewn together. I laid the ice pack on it to measure it (very precisely) and cut.

I folded it about 3/4 of the way up, right sides together. I pinned along the sides and sewed up both sides.

I sewed the edges of the flaps in about 1/4” (the white fabric part) so it had a finished look. I should’ve done all of that first, but you live and learn. :)

About 3” of velcro sewn on and wha la! An envelope just right to hold an ice pack!

I’ll be making more of these for the other members of my family!

{ Ethan Jonathan Perkins }

Ethan Jonathan Perkins

February 18, 2011
9 lbs, 14.5 oz
21 inches

Congratulations Todd, Jessica, and big sister Emersyn!

I got to snuggle this little guy for a good hour today…he is so sweet and has super kissable cheeks! We had a great first bonding experience!

I finally got to give him this quilt that I’ve been working on for him! It is from fabric from one of my favorite lines of boy fabric – Riley Blake All Star. It’s made using the Raw Edge Circle Quilt Tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew.

I backed it with a blue sheet and machine quilted spirals in the middle of each circle. Yah! It was fun and it went pretty fast. It was good practice because it didn’t have to be perfect – in fact, wonky was better!

I hope Ethan will love it and get to use it lots to play on and keep him warm.

So glad he’s here so we can get to know him! His momma’s a champ and he’s got a pretty proud daddy!
Much love to the Perkins! <3 you Ethan baby!

{ quite contrary }

I just entered to win this fat quarter pack…

Click on the picture to go to the website to enter.

This fabric is designed by Jen Allyson aka The Project Girl. I’ve seen her name around the scrapbook world for a quite a few years now…and now she’s designing fabric! It would make the cutest summer quilt. I really really want to win it – which is why I entered all 5 times possible!!

You can purchase the fabric here.

{ weekend in Spokane }

Yesterday, my Mom, Grandma, Melissa, and I went to Spokane to see Legally Blonde: The Musical. The billboard outside the Opera House said “An Elle of a Show!” It was – it was a lot of fun and followed the movie storyline very closely. The music is fun and very energetic!

Melissa was so funny – after the finale, during the curtain call, the actress that played Elle came out in a super sparkly pink dress. Melissa gasped loudly and so forcefully that she made herself cough!

We went to River Park Square afterwards for dinner at Twigs. Such a nice setting and a great dinner!

Grandma and I stayed over night in Spokane last night so I could take her to her eye appointment today. Last night we went to a few shops that we never seem to have time to go to (as much as we could on a Sunday night when everything closes early!). We decided to find some dessert, so we went to The Onion. Check out the size of Grandma’s dessert!

She wants to make sure everyone knows that she did not finish it!!

Before her eye appointment today, we went to the quilt shop and picked up three of my quilts that I had dropped off there in October to be machine quilted.

I’m so glad to have them home and now I have some binding to do!

{ happy valentine’s day! }

I am finally sharing my new favorite quilt! It’s been hanging out on it’s new home on the couch for a few weeks now – I figured it’s probably time to share with everyone.

This is from the Double Dip pattern by Thimble Blossoms.

I’m in love!

I love the red ric rac….love love love!

And the pink and red polka dot backing is to die for!

I will definitely be making another one of these. It was pretty quick to put together and the finished product looks more complicated than it really is!

Look at this cute little Valentine bug. She just turned 10 months yesterday. Can't believe how the time flies by!

P.S. This is also my February 14th post - what I LOVE!

{ sunday }

Day 13: The organizing/cleaning tip I love the most…

I like to be organized – and sometimes it probably doesn’t look like things are organized, but they are! I’m one of those people that has to have things in close range or I forget about them. You can see that in my office and in my craft room. And my bathroom for that matter.

My crafty organization tip is to put your quilt projects into individual boxes. I put everything starting with the pattern to the backing and binding in one box. I also cut all my borders as soon as I bring them home so that I don’t forget what I intended each fabric for. It works for me. And I like seeing all my project boxes stacked up – and I like even more getting to put an empty box away!

My cleaning tip is using these-

 

I wipe off the bathroom counter with one of these every other day and it takes care of the surface spots and nastiness. I use powder mineral makeup and it kinda makes a mess everywhere.

{ showing some love }

Today’s love topic: The splurge to show myself love…

My number one splurge is Starbucks…a trip to the city isn’t complete without a stop at Starbucks. I don’t get one everyday like some people who live nearby a Starbucks do, so I feel like I’m treating myself when I get a delicious coffee drink once or twice a week.

Other splurges:

• Acrylic nails – I try to keep them looking fresh and manicured, but sometimes, like today, they’re looking a little beat up. Time for a polish change! I splurge on this because #1, I am not good at polishing my own nails AT ALL, #2, my own nails are fairly thick, but they peel badly and my cuticles are terrible, and #3, because I want to and I can. If I couldn’t afford it, I wouldn’t do it. I definitely do not enjoy getting my nails filled – it’s not my favorite thing, but I love the end result.
• Getting my hair colored – to me it’s a must, but I guess to some it could be considered a splurge!

{ friday }

Today I felt like I needed some retail therapy and guilty pleasure indulgence – so Mom and I went to the Tri-Cities after school.

First stop – The Country Mercantile for delicious avocado salsa, chicken enchiladas, red apple caramels, and coffee praline ice cream. Success!

Second stop – Costco for gas – boring! (and expensive!)

Third stop – Craft Warehouse – AHH! I picked up some fat quarters for my next Buggy Barn quilt and the backing for that quilt. I think this is my 5th quilt in Bliss by Bonnie and Camille. I think that will deserve it’s own post!

Fourth stop – Starbucks! Of course! Yum yum yum!

This quick trip (round trip in 2.5 hours) was just what I needed. My exhaustion at the end of this week is not work related. I’m still recovering from our fun craft weekend and was busy pretty much every night this week. We’ve (Mom, Melissa, and I) been dealing with some frustrating and hurtful things lately from an unexpected source. It seems to have taken a lot of energy to process it and deal with it.

So, tonight was a great ending to this week. Another highlight of today was lunch with Megan to celebrate National School Counselor’s Week! Us counselors have to stick together! Counselors don’t seem to get much love, so we make our own fun. 

{ today }

Last night I got to teach some fun paper crafts to my friends at the LDS church. It was a fun group of ladies and we made some pretty fun Valentine things! The one on the left is called the 2-5-7-10 bag and on the right is the pull candy treat bag. Fun stuff!

Today’s love topic is { The vacation (big, small, far, or local) I love to take } – this is easy – and I think if you’ve been reading my blog very long you probably already could answer this question for me!!

My favorite is Priest Lake, Idaho. You guessed that one?! One point for you!

This was a very fun girls trip!

Guanajuato, Mexico is where I loved spending a month in college and where I’d love to go back again.

Lausen, Switzerland is also where I loved getting to see where my family roots are from and where I’d love to go back again…

And this is where I’d love to go for the first time!

And if I’m staying close by,
I love getting away to the more urban cities in WA – Seattle or even Spokane, like we’re going to this weekend!
My Mom, Melissa, Grandma, and I are going to Spokane on Sunday to see Legally Blonde, the Musical! Fun stuff!

{Day 10 of February Love}

10. The book/movie/tv show/website I love love love

Ok, so I LOVE this topic today! I could go on and on and on!

The book I love:

Sarah’s Key was definitely my most recommended book of 2010…

Others that I have enjoyed lately are The Help, The Glass Castle, and Still Alice.

The movie that I love lately is The King’s Speech. Highly recommended from me!!

I also saw Country Strong recently and really liked it too.

The TV show I look forward to each week is any of the Real Housewives, expect for Atlanta. Never got into that one.

I also love Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Modern Family, and any reality – Teen Mom, Toddlers and Tiaras, The Amazing Race, Tabatha’s Salon Takeover.

This is one of the quilty blogs that I get excited about when I see there is a new post.

The other is definitely Camille Roskelley’s Simplify!

{ February Love con’t }

After the craft weekend I got incredibly behind on what was supposed to be a post every day for the first 14 days of February. Epic fail!

I’ll try to catch up for the past few days…

4. The cookie recipe you can't help but love

I love love love Sugar cookies. Love them. I shared the recipe HERE.

5. The winter activity I love to do with my toddlers

I don’t have toddlers….
 
6. The workout I'm loving to do

Melissa got Just Dance 2 for Christmas and I enjoy doing that. Just yesterday I emailed her and told her that I heard a song that it is on Just Dance and it made me want to dance! Time to play again!
 
7. The fancy dinner that I love to serve to guests

I don’t serve dinner to guests often – or really at all. If I did serve a nice dinner that I made, I’d make coconut chicken tacos (something I love but don’t make EVER). If someone else was making it, it’d probably be prime rib. Love that. 

8. The date I love to go on with the hubby

Again – no hubby – but with my friends and family I like to go out to dinner or maybe to a movie.

9. Ideas to show my pre-teens and teens I love them

I think I show people I love them by giving them things – things I make usually.

{ 4th Annual Crafters Getaway }

Whew! The weekend we’d planned and prepared for for so long is over so quickly! We all gathered in Richland on Friday afternoon and by Saturday, there were 52 of us!

Friday was the annual Go Red for Women Day or National Wear Red Day – I kept finding both names used interchangeably. Anyway, it’s for women’s heart disease awareness and we encouraged everyone to wear red. It was amazing seeing so many women supporting heart disease awareness – which has taken on such a different meaning in the past two years in my life.

The Koch/Heider ladies ready to retreat and craft for the weekend!

Mom & Bonnie fooling around…silly ladies!

Kamryn got to come to the retreat and her red on Friday was in the form of her Whitworth Pirates onesie I got her. SO CUTE!!!

She and Melissa were overachievers and even wore red shoes!

We had so much fun with Kamryn and Libby and Colton and Ellie. They were so good!

This picture of Kamryn is cute, but check out Melissa and Karlye in the background!

Kamryn and Auntie Beth

Candace and Libby

Karen, Beth, and Kamryn

This is where Kamryn took most of her naps this weekend – under the table! We might have been caught snuggling during a few of her naps!

And here’s where we found Jenni on Sunday afternoon…in the playpen with the babies! She waited all weekend and finally dove in!

Remember this picture of Kate and I from last year with our “telephones?”

Look at the new generation…

And more cute pictures of Kamryn….

So – I didn’t get any pictures of my projects or with my friends – but I got things done and they were there!! I had such a fun time with Amy, Jessica, Beth, Bonnie, Mom, and Grandma at my table. I got brave and started my Buggy Barn quilt. I got all 4 birdhouse blocks and all 9 flower blocks done! I tried to lay it out on Sunday morning, but it was too distracting and it required concentration!
I also got 15 out of 30 blocks done in my Verna quilt – oh, and a few zippered pouches! And a lot of baby holding!

EDIT: I borrowed some pictures from my friend Amy’s Mom’s Facebook….she did a much better job of taking pictures of other people besides Kamryn!

My Grandma – I’m afraid she didn’t have such a great weekend like the rest of us. She’s dealing with eye issues and can’t see well. She wasn’t able to do much  and Kate & I didn’t have any pressing for her to do this year. She was able to help Bonnie tie her quilt on Saturday night and I think they got a good chat in.

Here’s Melissa, Karlye, Amy, Jessica, Lindsey, and Martha’s table – lots happening there!

My birdhouse block! I love how it turned out and I can’t wait to see the quilt come all together. I’m already planning my next Buggy Barn quilt! I can’t see where it gets addicting. It’s such a sense of accomplishment!

Melissa was scrapbooking our most recent Vegas trip – I’ll have to check her pages out when I go to scrapbook my own Vegas pictures in a few months!

Kate had a terrible time with this quilt – it should’ve been fairly quick and easy, but nothing seemed to go right. Dangit. Well, she did finish projects that were still WIPs from a year and 2 years ago! YAY! That’s always a great feeling!

My Mom worked most of the weekend beading some ID lanyards. She got to scrapbook a little on Sunday though. I think she felt like she got a lot accomplished.

Jessica and Amy – It was fun to spend the weekend with them. I don’t get to see Amy much at all anymore so it’s fun to hang out with her. I see Jessica everyday but we’re usually talking work stuff – definitely not as fun as this!

Thanks for the pictures Jan! You helped fill the gaps in my story of the weekend!

On Friday night I was feeling discouraged that I hadn’t gotten much done but talking – but the rest of the weekend sure made up for that! It was so fun just being with friends and not having any responsibilities but sewing and talking all weekend long!

Looking forward to next year already!