Learnin'

I've spent most of the day trying out an idea I had for a class teaching proposal.

Reverse Machine Applique using freezer paper.

I really like how the block turned out but. . .

 

. . . I don't like what I put together with the blocks.

While I was throwing it together it was "okay" but after taking photos I see that the plaids not matching up looks really bad.  I wanted to put a blue border after the red but I didn't have enough of any fabric to make it happen and now I hate all the green.

The great thing about this project is that I have learned that the seam ripper is my friend and our friendship is about to get stronger.

I'll post more after some rippin' and shoppin'.

24 Hours of Snow

. . . leads to a picture postcard setting and the kids still had to go to school.

They were very disappointed but after a very long weekend with a house full of people I'm grateful for a few minutes of peaceful quiet time.



Memories

My family doesn't look anything like this drawing but the artwork depicts the idyllic feeling we all strive for at this time of year.  A table full of the bounties of the earth surrounded by the people we love.  These are the events of life that memories are made of.

I'm looking forward to having my children home, as well as my sister visiting for the weekend and my mother-in-law and brother-in-law up for the Thanksgiving meal.

These are the days of my favorite memories.

Thanks for A Hard Working Man

Do I really need to say more?

Electricity

When I posted my gratitude for light I assumed the electricity that makes it work.

Last night and today we were blessed with a LOT of snow!

This beautiful snow caused electric outages of over 10,000 customers.

The church across the street

and many of our neighbors were part of that 10,000.

Our ward decided to go ahead and have Sacrament meeting in the dark.

The back of the chapel was closed off and members were encouraged to move up to the front and cuddle close to keep warm.  The building was still fairly warm until the end of the meeting but the Spirit was definately warm throughout.

After church our power at home went out.  We had been lucky enough to have power to shower and blow dry our hair before church.   It was a gentle reminder to be grateful for the power we receive that helps to make our life a lot easier.  It was also a reminder to be grateful for promptings the day before that tell you to pre-make cold chicken salad for dinner the next day.

Inspiration

There is so much that inspires me to create better, to do better, and to be better.

There are hundreds of blogs with such talented people that inspire and teach me.  These talented people range from designers to magazines, writers to everyday folk and published artists to friends.  

A few of my favorites are:

http://quiltingarts.com/

http://melanietesta.com/

http://lyrickinard.blogspot.com/

http://judyperez.blogspot.com/

http://alijoy313.blogspot.com/

http://orangeismyfavoritecolormostdays.blogspot.com/

http://chickpeastudio.typepad.com/

http://amyscreativeside.com/

http://artfabrik.blogspot.com/

http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/

http://twelveby12.blogspot.com/

http://the12by12project.blogspot.com/

http://mellyandme.typepad.com/melly_me/

http://noimpactman.typepad.com/

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/archive10/index.html

HARMONY (Teaser)

Big Comfy Beds

My daughter has been sick all week and she has been kind enough to share her germs with me. Feeling tired and sick makes me appreciate my bed.

I wish my bed looked like these.

Perfectly made. 

Coordinated.  Lots of nice pillows. 

But when it comes right down to it all I need is a place to lay my head that cushions my body and makes me feel all warm and snuggly.

Modern Conveniences

It's really hard to say which modern convenience in my life

I am the most grateful for. 

This one is very helpful especially when the sun goes down.

This one just make life a little easier.

 

This one keeps my ice cream delicious

while this one helps me get to the fabric store.

I've lived without these next two before and

could manage life without them again

but I just love living with them.

 But when it all comes down to it I would have to say that these are the two modern conveniences I am grateful for on a daily basis.

Journaling

Once upon a time I kept a diary.

The diary looked something like this one:

Inside the diary there were only a couple of lines for each day.

When I remembered to write I wrote brilliant things in terrible handwriting. 

Things like, "Today was great!"
I guess I thought I would remember that day forever.

As I grew older and learned more about writing in a journal I wrote down a few more thoughts, feelings and day to day activities.

I have quite a few of these beautiful books:

I bought them because they were cheap and gave me a lot of room to write in.  I was very diligent in my journal writing for a long time.

Even after I married and started having children I kept my own journal as well as a journal for each new baby.  The baby's journal was started as soon as I found out I was pregnant and I did my best to document the pregnancy and the child's life until they could write for themselves.  Apparently some of my children are more intelligent than others because my last two children's journal stops about the time they turned one.

Then I went through a phase where my planner was my journal.  My planner was suppose to make my life easier and simpler as it was a place to keep everything together but it wasn't as private and so I wrote less and less.  Writing less might also have something to do with chasing after four children.

When I purchased my first laptop I started writing my journal on it.  I can type at least 30 times faster than I can write in longhand and I can fix mistakes without having to scratch things out.  I pushed myself to be consistent but consistency has never been one of my stronger traits.

Then I discovered blogging.  

Blogging is a lot like journaling but honestly I think it is more like writing a form letter to lots of friends; some of the friends you know and some you don't.  I love the experience of blogging but it is just not the same as a journal.

Today one of the girls found her baby journal.  

It's in one of these unassuming books.

She read the words with great interest and then asked me if I remembered something I had written down.  I honestly don't remember the experience at all.  I'm grateful I wrote the events down when they happened. This experience has reminded me just how precious a journal can be and that it's time for some every-day writing.  Or maybe every-other day.  Well, at least once a week!

Faithful Church Leaders

No salaries, just blessings are the pay they receive.  I don't think I can ever say enough about how much I appreciate all the work these faithful people do to help those around them.

And yes that handsome guy on the right belongs to me and I know how many hours he dedicates to the people around us.  Thank you!

Cats

I am grateful for cats who provide not only hours of entertainment but . . .

unconditional love.

Challenges

I am thankful for the sewing and creative challenges I have received through work:













































Magazines:

My Quilt Guild:

And My 12x12 Group:

Without these challenges I would not have tried, more or less created any of the above items that I love.

Thank you challenges!

Those Who Will

Thank you to those who have stepped up over the many years of this country's history to make this country a better place.  Your service is much appreciated.

Friends

I think this post is long enough to make up for yesterday when I forgot to post.
My friend, who happens to be my neighbor, just called and during the conversation she said that she never sees me anymore.  It's true - I'm a homebody.  I prefer staying at home these days.  But once in a while I literally drag myself out of the house and go somewhere fun like to last night's quilt meeting.  My face hurt from smiling so much.  I guess those are just another of the muscles I don't exercise enough. 
The meeting reminded me that I am truly grateful for my friends and the times I get to spend with them.  I'm also grateful the Internet has allowed me to keep in touch with them in ways I wouldn't get to otherwise.  I've stolen a few photos from the Internet so that I can share a few of the wonderful people I know and love. (These are in no particular order other than by groups and the photos are certainly not all inclusive because there were some people I just couldn't find photos of.)

The friend I've had since grade school:

 The friend I've had since middle school:

The friends I've had since high school:

The friend I've had since college:

Friends I met in Jamaica (I married one of them):

Friends I met while living in Student Housing:

Friends I've met at church in our current neighborhood (and the children of those friends who have also befriended me)

The friends I've met through my quilt guild:

The friends I've made at work:

My best friend, aka my husband, and friends who are also my neighbors and as close as family:

And my other best friend,aka my sister, and her friends that she has allowed me to share:

And then of course there are the other family members that I consider my friends, but that is a post for another day.  I am blessed.