Baby Apple Tree

It's been an amazing, sunny, warm, delicious, make you think of summer, and all those lazy days ahead kind of weekend.  Hope you and yours have found ways to turn the time into sweet memories! 

Also, Happy Mother's Day to all the strong women who make it look so easy.

The seedling is a baby apple tree grown straight from a seed found in a real life apple.  I took the seed from the apple core after eating the apple and plopped it right into the dirt.  Of the eight seeds I planted, it seems this is the one that will try to grow into a tree.  The 'greenhouse' is up-cycled from the top of a two liter soda bottle.

Nothing like a little new life to give us all a little perspective on this festive day!

Ciao bella, xoxo!

WIP {Bottled Rainbows & I'm Not Crazy}

I am getting back into my sewing groove coming off the fresh inspiration from the quilt show (which I will finally dish about tomorrow).  And I started to realize that I have a lot of ideas and quilts in my head.  So, I grabbed my trusty chalk board and began to make a list.  I think I have enough projects here to take me through the summer!  Wow!

This Week's Work in Progress (WiP) Stats:

Last WiP Wednesday Total: 1
New Projects: 7 (I'm glad I'm finally getting all these ideas in one place!)

Finished Projects: 0

Total WiP's: 8

Let's look in on a few, shall we?

The Bottled Rainbows pattern is coming along nicely.  Here you can see I was working up the turquoise block.  I just love that big orange in the bottom left!  You can also see Sammy stuck her nose in the photo.

I have also been hard at work making up the last 6 blocks to start filling in with scraps.  I have light orange, red, and yellow ready to go with the batting attached.

Here is light pink, pink, and a purple... the last three.  The blocks are together, I just have to sew the batting on and they will also be ready for scrappy wonderfulness!

I still have one of my sewing assistants with me regularly.  This is Sammy (aren't Katie and Sam looking so similar anymore?).  I had to show you the icky ball that Sammy insists on playing with -- good thing it doesn't smell.  The Mister grabbed it out of our lake... Sam just loves the thing.  So, I am typically sewing a little, throw the ball, iron a little, throw the ball... you get the picture.  Keeps me laughing!

I have also started designing and cutting triangles for my very own Patchwork Prism.  I'm doing my best to follow the quilt along found at Sweet Diesel Designs. 

The pattern (which is free!) caught my eye right away.  And I admit that I haven't had my fill of rainbow-y projects yet, so this is appealing on lots of levels.  And have you seen the prizes involved?  Ya. A sewing machine. Count me in!  Here's a sneaky of what direction I'm headed. 

I also wanted to share a new little fella that's keeping me company on my desk.  There was a vendor at the quilt show with lots of Japanese things, and I fell hard for this guy.  I think he's meant as a pincushion, but I haven't been able to stick him with a pin yet.  But, I grin so darn big when I see him!  I think he needs a name too, don't you agree?

I'm not sure I told you yet, but I joined Studio Art Quilt Associate (or SAQA).  Have you heard of them?  Well, they are a great group for artists that want to play with different types of art quilting.  Art quilting isn't traditional and in fact I love it because pretty much anything goes!  I'm sure I'll be talking about art quilting more and more moving forward.

So, anyway, SAQA had a call for entry on their site called "I'm Not Crazy" for the topic of mental illnesses (common ones like anxiety or depression, or less common ones, like schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder).  One of the questions they wanted the art work to explore was "How does the world look through the eyes of someone experiencing a panic attack or depression or other mental disorder?"

This really resonated with me; I'll explain why another time.  It resonated so much that I stayed up late to cut up the zillions of little confetti bits needed to cover the 4x4 foot area.  Below is a sneaky peak of it.  And yes, Sammy showed her approval by laying right on top of the basted start.  Argg!  I am in the process of quilting and embellishing this one and look forward to sharing more very soon ... especially since this one is due by May 31st.

And that's what's going on recently in my cozy little sewing room.  Lots of inspiration and my ever faithful pup getting in the mix.  I can't wait to take a peak at what you are up to this week!

Rambling Through the Garden

I'm in a bit of a rambler mood and let me share why.  Last night we were woken up by the alarming barks of one Ms. Sammy pup -- she is a brilliant watch dog and huntress.  She was adamant that something was out there.  We went to the windows to look and listen for anything.  And that's when we heard the most horrible shrill scream. 

Not just once, twice, but three times.  And loud.  And terrifying!

At that point I about swallowed my heart if you know what I mean.  The sound was hard to place.  Not quite human, but not an animal that I could identify.  The Mister and I went through the list of wildlife we know is in the area and started to cross them off one by one.  It wasn't a bear, coyote, wolf, mountain lion, owl....but what was it? 

By now all the noise had stopped and Sammy went on like she had defended the fort and we were safe and sound and snuggled back into bed. 

You can imagine I didn't get much rest after that jumping and fearing every silly little noise.

So, this morning I google "animal that screams like a woman" and come up with all sorts of hits... and one kind of slams me like a mac truck saying that a female fox (vixen) makes that sound.  And sure enough, google fox screams and the youtube video clips are pretty reasonably the sound we heard.  Ugg!

And to think that I was on a forest hike early Saturday morning with the pups and we saw a fox cross our path ... and I was thinking to myself how nice to see wildlife that can't (really) hurt me (wasn't a bear, ya know)... little did I know how scary they can sound.  deep breath. 

p.s. I now feel inducted into country living properly.  Seems like a right of passage for every person living somewhat in the woods.  I can hear myself now saying to a guest, "oh yes, come stay the night, we'd love to have you."

And then in the middle of the night... "that noise? oh that's just the foxes getting their twitterpated selves on.  No worries.  We're perfectly safe."

I might even consider camping in the backyard once more.  Lastly, anyone have any ideas how I explain to Sammy that the noise is "normal" and she needn't wake us for it.  Sigh.

So, other than that weird event my weekend was amazing.  How about yours?

Yes, I did make it to my guilds quilt show and yes it was the most amazing thing I've seen in a long time!  I want to take the time to digest everything and then I will share my experience of being a quilt handler for the judging as well as what my first quilt show was like.  I have quilt-y eye-candy for you too!

One of the best parts of the show was connecting with so many people that adore sewing/quilting like I do.  And I want to say hello to Cathy!  Hello!!  It was so much fun to meet you at the show and thank you again for being such an avid Describe Happy follower!

Alright on with the day.  And now that we can laugh about this crazy fox incident.. how cute would it be to see baby foxes running around?  That is, as long as they don't sound like big scary monsters in the middle of the night. 

Have a fabulous day!

... Linking to Outdoor Wednesdays with A Southern Daydreamer ...
... Linking to Cottage Garden Party with Fishtail Cottage ...

Birthday-WIP-Catch Up-I'm a Slacker

Maybe if you stare in the pretty rainbow colored scrappy bottled rainbows blocks you won't much remember that I've been a total post slacker this week.  I am finally finding my first few moments this week and it's Friday.  When did the week slip by me?

There are a lot of things going on.  I had a big meeting at work which went amazing in the end, but took a lot of time and effort to prep for.  I have been going to dog training classes with both dogs.  Katie is in a nose work class one night a week and Sammy is taking intermediate obedience one night a week.  I still swear the training is mostly for me, they are just there to keep me company. 

And I got to volunteer as a quilt handler for quilt judging for the quilt show my guild is putting on this weekend.  It was amazing.  What an experience to be able to handle so many quilts and see them up close.  I was also able to listen to the judging and am really gaining an appreciate for all the things they look at.

And... I even got to hold my two quilts while they were being judged.  Talk about good luck!  It was nerve wrecking, but I am so happy with the positive feedback.  Yes, I have a lot to learn, and no I didn't place or get a ribbon, but I couldn't be happier.  And I am reminded that I am part of an amazing group of ladies!  Yes, they could all mostly be my mom or grandmom... but seriously I feel so loved with them!

I have manged to sneak in a few moments of sewing this week.  Not much, but this scrappy project is great for 15 minute snaps of sewing time.  And I'm happy to still be making progress.  I officially added the purple, pink, and deep blue blocks this week. 

I also made up a number of new color frames to fill in.  In this picture, you can see I've already completed the royal blue.  And once these are done I will move to the yellow, light orange, red, and light pink.  I feel like I am in the home stretch with this quilt.  And still loving every minute!

Sammy is still my sewing buddy.  Her favorite spot at the moment is under my desk.  It's like her bat cave.  And I'm happy she feels so safe there!

Here she is laying on my feet.  Does your pup do that?  Lay on your feet so you can't move without waking them up?  Such a smarty pants.

This past weekend we also noticed that there are now birdie residents in the bird house.  At different points there have been nesting materials poking out the front.  Fun to see them busy making a home.

You can see more pictures of the bird house from last year here, here, and here.

And the best for last?  Why yes, of course!  Our sweet Katie has turned 5 years old.  Her birthday was Monday and we spoiled her in proper goldie fashion!

Happy Birthday to my sweet sweet Katie, and many many more!

Happy Moment #53: Prepping For the Quilt Show

A Friday ritual with Soulemama.  A single (or a few) photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary, happy moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments too.

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

~Omar Khayyam

Plant Markers

I'm getting more and more excited about "hands in the dirt" season which is right around the corner!  So, I bet you're wondering why I'm showing you a bucket full of dusty tile? 

Well, aside from the fact that the Mister redid a floor... I found these leftover pieces to be the perfect material to make plant markers with!  Who's with me?

I took the pieces of tile, cleaned them off, and then drew on them with colorful sharpie markers.

And look how they turned out!!

So, I went to it and planted a few things.  Tomato's, peppermint, basil, stevia, bell peppers, and hot peppers.

I'll be putting pea seeds in this weekend.

Loving how the markers are bright and colorful and stand out!

I'll also start my spinach shortly. 

And three cheers for carrots!!  The dogs especially like helping me harvest carrots!!  Not much beats eating veggies straight from the garden.

Let's hear it for hands in the dirt!!  Are you starting your garden?

Happy Birthday Sammy!

Yes, it was Sammy's birthday Friday!  She got to start her morning with a special birthday cookie and yes, she even shared one with Katie!

Being one year old seems to agree with her!  She was all smiles all weekend long!  She must have known that all the fuss was for her.

She even took time to stop and smell the tulips!  And just look at those eyelashes!!

Katie enjoyed the plentiful sunshine and high spot on the rock to watch the neighborhood go by.

While Katie was on the rock, Sammy is a pup that is always by my side.  My shadow.  My companion.  My partner in crime who is always guilty of something.  Here I was putting my veggie garden in and she was on the other side of the fence sticking her paws under the fence and trying to help me dig.  My buddy!

And sure, she's a quirky dog.  I mean, isn't every dog a weird in their own special way?

- So, Sam rips apart a freshly made bed and get under the covers.  Normal right? 
- She has been know to put her head on my shoulder while we are in the car.  That's not too weird. 
- She moos at you if she wants something.  Every dog has a way of asking for things, right?
- She gets in the shower and leaves tracks of muddy paws everywhere.  How else would she keep her feet clean?
- She is the quickest hole digger in the east.  I have a few holes to patch in the yard.  Maybe she is trying to help me weed the yard?
- She has no idea that weekends are meant for sleeping in and constantly wakes up too early.  I have found so much extra time in the week for projects and reading books.
- She'll bark in your face just to hear how loud she can be.  We've all done that once or twice, right?
- She makes goofy faces in the mirror and has a stare down with the "other dog."  Hey, that other dog better watch out what house they think they're in.

Yup, I would officially say that I wouldn't change a thing about this pup.  She's everything this family needed and probably all sorts of things we didn't know we needed.  We're finding a wonderful sort of balance!

And my oh my, Katie and Sammy are the best of friends.  That was my primary reason for adding a second dog and although the two of them have their moments, they really do love each other!  And I am just so happy that I get to see their friendship blossom over time. 

Happy Birthday Sammy, you turned the big 0-1 and I am so happy you picked our family share to your life with!

And get ready... someone else that's furry and blond is turning a whopping five a week from today.

Happy Moment #52: Guess Who's Turning One Today?

A Friday ritual with Soulemama.  A single (or a few) photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary, happy moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments too.

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

~Omar Khayyam

Wednesday Work in Progress {Bottled Rainbows}

I'm finally getting back to my sewing machine.  And I thought it would be nice to ease in with a project that has been a waiting for me  for a long long time.  I would like to reintroduce you to the Bottled Rainbows quilt along sponsored by Stitched in Color.

Am I the only one who hasn't finished this one yet?  Come on... I know there must be others, right?

Well, either way.  It's back and I'm madly in love with the project again.  Here is the deep tangerine block.  I love spending time with the scraps, figuring out where I want everything, pinning them, and then sewing them down.

There was a lovely day this past weekend that I spent outside in the sunshine working with my scraps.  Darn near heaven!!

The girls thought it was divine too!  Here is Katie snoozing.

Sammy slept a wink here and there, but spent most of her time chasing ants and bugs and in general trying to devise a way to get her paws on my scraps.

Isn't that fox just adorable?

Once in awhile something interesting stirred the pups to move around. 

But I melted when I saw where Katie decided to rest her head.  Awww!!!

These two can be the best quilting buddies ever sometimes.  What more could a girl want besides sunshine, pups, and fabric?

Here is the lavender block.  I didn't have as many scraps that perfectly matched this color, but I decided that wasn't going to hold me back.  I think that was what stopped me the last time. 

So, in the hopes of finishing this quilt up over the next month or so, I pushed through and decided that as long as it complimented ... it would be used.  And I love it!

I also never really appreciated the portability of being able to pick, cut, and place fabrics away from my sewing machine.  And then later sew everything down.

Here are the four I have completed and sewn.  Although, somebody (no naming names.... rhymes with Whammy) thought it would be funny to run and slide through my squares.  Puppies!!

Here is a more proper picture of the four. 

I have the lavender one nearly sewn down and I am starting in on fuchsia after that.  I am still trying to come up with the name of this quilt, but am just enjoying this project again ... and that's what quilting is all about, right?

This Week's Work in Progress (WiP) Stats:

Last WiP Wednesday Total: 5
New Projects: 0

Finished Projects: 2 (The Lake and Sunrise -- finished pictures coming soon!)

Total WiP's: 3