I love this photo of my Dad and I!  This is around the time of my first birthday. My mom was just a few weeks shy of having my sister… I love the old stereo equipment- I wonder if I was plugged in and actually listening to something?  There is nothing sweeter than little baby fingers wrapped around big father hands…

Today is my Dad’s “50 something” birthday!  I made him a bow-tie for his birthday…I’ve been telling him for over 2 years now that I was going to make him one.  Took me a year to find the fabric (my Dad is picky- and silk tie fabric is hard to find), but then, it took me a year to get the guts to actually make it.  I don’t know why I was so scared to do it.  I did screw up royally and had to cut the tie out twice.  It did get finished- however I’m worried that the interfacing I chose is too stiff…(crossing my fingers and holding my breath that it will tie and lie right).  Happy Birthday Dad- if it’s the thought that counts, remember I’ve been thinking of this for 2 years!

See you next week…save me some birthday cake!

…died a few weeks before I was born.

I am named after her (my middle name is her first name).  What I know about her has been pieced together over the years.

I’ve always felt a hole in my life because I never knew her.  I’ve wondered about her my whole life; but more so since I became a mother myself.  She chose a life path similar to my own, and many many times I have longed to sit and talk with her about this path.  What were her struggles, her joys, what did she learn through the various phases of life, what advice would she offer, what encouragement could she give?

Sometimes I think that we would have been close, that as I grew I would have really appreciated her and learned from her.  Other times I wonder if I romanticize things too much, perhaps she wouldn’t have been interested in me, maybe she would have liked my sister better…she has the glamorous life my Grandmother never had.

I wonder if her 5 kids ran her ragged, did she like to take naps as often as she could, or was she one of those women that can run on pure adrenaline?  What kind of mother was she?  Did she read bedtime stories to the kids every night?  I’m told she never let her kids head off to school without a hot breakfast- cold cereal was for Saturdays only!

Some things I do know…she liked to travel- and managed to travel from the Marshall Islands to Saudi Arabia and many points in between. This photo is of her in Austria- it was taken within days of her death.  She was only 44.

I know she liked to sew.  I still sew on her machine, an Elna SU 62C.  What did she like to sew I wonder?  Could I have sat at her knee as a child and watched her sew, or did she prefer to sew alone?  Would she have made me little dresses?

My mother tells me I have my Grandmother’s nose.  I’m pretty sure I have her hands and her skin, my husband took one look at this picture and agreed with me.

Doesn’t she look so stylish here, in a Mad Men sort of way?  I suppose she lives on in the spirit of her children.  Little bits of her, maybe the way she rolled her eyes, or her love of entertaining, her sense of adventure…maybe those are sprinkled amongst my aunts and uncles….

But I wish I could have known her.

OK, before I get to the meat of this post, here are some linky loves that I must pass along.  Tasha, of A Little Sweetness is giving away some of her personally designed fabric.  It is SO CUTE, and if you don’t win, you can always pick some up in her shop!  I think the Little Red Riding Hood on white is my favorite!

Also, if any of you are a Flea Market Fancy fans like myself (I still have a few pieces I’m hoarding!), go sign this petition to get Free Spirit to reprint the line (oh to dream!), and while you are there enter to win this selection of 29 FMF fat quarters and some great books.  If you win, will you share a  FQ with me?

Yesterday my daughter was invited to a birthday party of a girl from her preschool class.  I always have a hard time buying gifts for families/girls I don’t know very well.  Not everyone appreciates the homemade, and I don’t want to waste my efforts if they won’t be appreciated.  Soooo, off to the big box store we went for some plastic Princess crap.

After getting it all wrapped up I felt guilty for A. Shopping at Target & B. Not making something…then I remembered all of the great felt I bought from the HB booth at Blissfest (you can also buy it online) and whipped up a little flower.  Not only does it look great as part of the wrapping, but it’s a barrette for the little girls hair!

First, I strongly recommend that you use wool, or wool blend felt for this project.  The cheap craft felt you can get at most craft stores will pill and stretch and not give you the lasting look you are going to want.  Here is what you’ll need:

2 colors of felt
1 piece of green felt
1 metal snap barrette (or a pony tail holder)
1 coordinating button
thread/needle/scissors
any other trims that appeal to you

Here is the pdf with the pattern pieces I free handed for the above barrette.  Cut all your pieces out, for the front circle, I folded it in half and cut little triangles out of it to give it the fringed look.

Layer the pieces as you’d like them to be, place the button on the top and stitch through all the layers.  For the back, take the circle and cut 2 small slits in the back about an inch apart in the center, thread the pony tail holder through.

Attach the circle to the entire flower, stitching through all but the top layer.  It should look like this when you’re done.

To do a barrette back, you can do it 2 ways.

You can measure your clip and cut out a piece of felt the length of your barrette, be sure to cut a small slit in it for the metal arm to go through.  Then sew this to the back of your flower, sewing through all but the top layer.

Using the circle pattern provided for the back, you can cut a small slit for the barrette arm and then stitch the whole circle to the flower.  The barrette side goes against the flower, the metal arm is what you should see when your barrette is finished.

I made this one to match one of my daughters shirts!  Be creative, try different shapes, add embroidery, seed beads, ribbon anything that appeals to you!

AND, because you made it through this whole LONG post, I made a holiday poinsettia barrette to give away.  Just leave me a comment telling me you’d like to win, I’ll pick a winner on Monday Nov 29th.

I admit, at this point (6months along) I have not purchased anything for the, still-unnamed, baby.  It’s a strange complicated hormonal thing I am sure that has prevented me from buying anything.  I think I have to get the nursery ready (Jaylee, can Clint come rewire soon???), then I’ll feel more like shopping….i think….

BUT, I have some wonderful people in my life who have already brought sweet little things for the baby.

My friend Jaylee found these barely worn Saltwater Sandals when she was at Last Chance and snagged them for me.  She knows I love them!  I can’t wait until Baby is big enough to wear them (probably around age 2 I think??), they’ll be perfect with something like this.

Last week, I met Georganne for breakfast and she surprised me with this sweet little thing:

Red gingham, vintage embroidery, great colors, and practical.  I couldn’t love it more! If you too love the bib, the company is Matti and Me, I can’t seem to get their website up??

Thank you both for the sweet little things- I love them!!

I rarely buy anything for myself…I can justify spending for other people but never for myself.  It makes no logical sense, I know this.  However a few weeks ago I ran across this etsy shop, and I found these CUTE red earrings and decided the earth would not stop rotating and life would not end if I spent $10 on myself.

I love them.  I love them so much that I confess to wearing them for 3 days in a row now…  I also really like these hairpins in the same shop…think I can rationalize another $15 or would that be pushing my luck regarding the earth’s rotation?

If you’ve never seem Camille’s blog Simplify you must go read!  I’ve been a bit obsessed with her blog the last few months, she has the best images!  I’ve been so inspired by her works that I wanted to try my hand at a little free-motion quilting.

It’s harder than it looks, and uses ALOT of thread (I ended up using 3 different threads on this one!) and very addictive!  The trick is to get your foot and arms in sync- moving the fabric at a consistent speed with the speed of your machine.  I used some scraps from my stash to create this little place mat for my daughter (hope to get a more masculine one for my son done this weekend)- the ric rac was a challenge and I will do it a bit different next time.

All through dinner last night my daughter kept telling how beautiful it was and thanking me for making it.  I’m trying hard to document and remember this because I suspect in a few short years she will be embarrassed to use anything I’ve made for her.

Have a fantastic weekend-never under estimate the power of singing loudly to the radio when your alone in the car!  It’s a total mood perker upper!

that i love this man.  it has been nearly 11 years and he really is my best friend.  it’s no fun having good news if i can’t share it with him.

and he is really good at keeping my feet warm.  i love waxing poetic about my husband, but nothing makes him cringe more than when I do.  so this is a brief tribute to my best friend, i love you and i love the life we’ve created together.

When I start formulating a plan for our Holiday Family Portraits. We’ve decided on a location already, the Mesa Arts Center in downtown Mesa, AZ. Today I am focusing on our wardrobe, we’ve done green (twice), white and navy.  This year I wanted a color that looked good on everyone, that we haven’t done before, and that would look good with various backgrounds.  I’ve decided Chocolate Brown will be this years color; and after some online retail searching, it looks like Old Navy is our one stop family shop (hooray that I can shop GAP and Banana Republic from the same O.N. window)!  I’m thinking we’ll all be sporting jeans, because we are a casual family and I think our pics should reflect that.

It goes without saying that Sarah will always shoots our family, she is simply the best.  Here is a shot she got of me and my sweetie at last years session.  If you are in the Phoenix Metro area you should schedule your appointment today, she books up quick!  We usually end up going out with her after Thanksgiving dinner because it is the only time she is free!  So, email (sarahephotographyATgmailDOTcom) her today to schedule your family portriat session!  Oh, and if you need a little eye candy, here is her flickr account, doesn’t she do extraordinary things with ordinary people and lots of natural light?

A few more days left to sign up!  Come make this Vintage Sheet Skirt with me on Thursday Oct. 2, $25 for the class and you can bring your own materials, or $15 and I’ll bring everything you’ll need.  You can sign-up online, or call the studio and do it over the phone.

Also, if your free Saturday morning (ie, not preparing food for 300 local people who’ll be watching this, like me) then you might want to swing by this charity garage sale, it promises to be good!

Oh, a little Post Script, to whomever it was that snagged my pajamas today at the Nie Recovery Etsy sale, THANK YOU!

Balloons filled with good wishes, hopes and prayers for The Nielsons.

At first I felt a bit silly about being there because I’ve never formally met Stephanie, but then I thought about how it wasn’t all about me.  I thought of their families, and I thought that a large turn out would probably give them comfort.  Knowing that so many people were praying and supporting them.  I may not know her in person, but I love the online Stephanie and hope for much good for her and her sweet husband.