Pouches! Cosmetic Bags! Cuteness!

I'm seeing some of these in my future:

Found 'em here.


Thinking I'll use some of these designs (I L.O.V.E this book)!!

First I need to clear the decks in my sewing room and finish some projects that have due dates. These pouches just might show up under someones Christmas tree, this year, so if you are someone to whom I give Christmas gifts, no peeking!

The Ongoing Saga of My Quilty Obsession

 Continuing in my current subject of all things quilty, I went on a reconnaissance mission yesterday. I had heard about a quilt shop located fairly close to where I live and when my husband asked me to do a freecycle pickup in that area I couldn't resist stopping to check it out. What a treasure! Loved it!  I was chatting with the nice lady there and telling her I am teaching myself to quilt. I inquired about classes and was intrigued by the long arm quilt classes they offer. Apparently after a one day class I will then be accredited and qualified to use their long arm for $12 an hour. The lady there says that once I'm in practice I could do a queen sized quilt in under three hours. That's a HUGE savings on sending it out to be professionally quilted (something I don't like the idea of anyway...if I'm making a quilt I kind of want to do the whole thing myself. Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Only time will tell. I'm a purist and a newbie). It's also a huge savings in frustration of trying to quilt a queen sized quilt on my sewing machine at home. Tying a quilt is fine, but it's not always the look I'll be going for. So. Methinks a long arm class might be a good thing to put on my Christmas list. ;-)

What?

I know it's only August. I'm just thinking ahead.

Maybe once I get my shop happening I'll pop a few quilts in there along with the other things I plan to stock. Hmmm....the wheels are turning.....

I also picked up a copy of Doodle Stitching The Motif Collection by Aimee Ray. I've been eyeing it for ages and found it for a reasonable price that I was willing to pay. Yay for reasonable prices (and 40% off coupons too)!

I'm such a tightwad. In a good way, of course! ;-)

Image credit

Fifty Things

This gorgeous quilt can be found here. Actually, the whole website is super duper inspirational for me. (See #15 of my list below!) 

My husband turned 49 a few days ago. Some of his friends have already been ribbing him about turning 50. I'm looking down the barrel of 50 in a couple of years so this seems like a good time to make some goals. So! This is my list of 50 things to do by the time I turn 50. Not sure I'll get them all done, but I'm a list person and it gives me some focus. Focus! Reminds me...but I'll do another post about that and try to remain focused on one post at a time (haha!).... My inspiration for this came from this post.

1.Lead someone to Jesus.
2. Lose 50 pounds. At least.
3. Be able to run 5 miles easily. 
4. Do my part to put us in a position where my husband and I can both quit our jobs and he can pastor full time.
5. If I still need to make an income then I want to do it by making stuff.
6. Finish the red, white and blue quilt I started for my son many moons ago.
7. Make a quilt for our bed.
8. Make a fall themed quilt.
9. Get all my photo albums scanned and saved electronically.
10. Organize all my digital pictures on my computer in a way that makes sense.
11. Get strong. See numbers 2 and 3. It's all related.
12. Be able to do 10 pull ups (chin ups) (again see 2 and 3 and also 11).
13. Make a string quilt. This may be one of the quilts listed above.
14. Learn how to free motion quilt.
15. Learn to quilt in general! (See numbers 6, 7, 8, 13 and 14!)
16. Lead someone to Jesus. (I know this is here twice. It's at the top and bottom of my list because it is the most important thing in my life, from beginning to end. Everything else is good and important to me, but people have eternal value, and that's more important than everything else put together.
17. ....................................   --crickets--  ...............................

Ok. So maybe I can't come up with 50 things. That's a lot. This list is in no way complete even though I can't put my finger on more things I want to accomplish right at the moment. Also, I think if I add much more to this list I'll lose my focus. See my next post for my thoughts on focus! (Let's hope I post it sooner rather than later, as "later" seems to be my custom lately!)

Update! Between the time I started this post and published this post I gave my two weeks notice! (See #4) It wasn't an easy decision, but it was the right one. More on this in a future post as well.

This post has no title because I can't think of one.

Hello! Checking in after a long absence to let you know my mojo is back! ...And I'm glad. I was feeling mentally frumpy and scruffled*, uncreative, and generally not-able-to-get-it-together for the last few weeks, but the muses are returning and motivation in the area of all things creative, including blogging, is finally on the upswing.

Today is rainy and misty, which I love this time of year. I love crisp bright days in the fall too, but I'll take what I can get! Anyway, today was a good day for baking and thinking toward "home stuff." I made some cookies, per my son's request for Bible study tonight. He said, "How about some good old fashioned chocolate chip, kind of raw in the middle?" This is the kid who likes his pancakes literally oozing raw batter from the inside. So I made them. The cookies, not pancakes. Not sure about the "kind of raw in the middle" part, but they are definitely yummy and soft, not hard and crispy. Chocolate chips cookies should never be hard and crispy. Bleah.

I have lots of stuff piled up in the studio to get put together and post in the shop and I'm really looking forward to getting that done. Not in a "good-grief-I-wish-this-was-done-already" kind of way, but in a "looking-forward-to-the-creative-process-and-getting-my-hands-and-eyeballs-onto-that-yummy-fabric" kind of way.

In other news: I'm trying out a new whole grain bread recipe. Results to follow. Getting inspired for Christmas decorating. This is the first year in a long time that I am inspired to really do up the house. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this is the first year in a long time that I've been eating right and exercising regularly. Does wonders, wonders, people, for the general disposition! More on that in my other blog.

*scruffled: a mental or physical state of being scruffy and ruffled in an agitated and annoyed sort of way. syn.: scrumpled.

The sweet smell of success!

I did it, I did it! It turned out like I hoped it would! Next up...my sewing desk.