One of the things that really drew me into Stephanie’s online life was her beautiful portrayal of daily life.  I don’t believe for one minute that her life was roses all the time, but I do believe that she chose to see the good in everything that came her way.  I’m sure like many of us she could have complained about the diapers, or the messes her kids made.  Yet, she didn’t.  She chose to find the humor and the fun and the sweetness that comes from being a mother and wife.  She reminded us that “Men (& women) are, that they might have joy”.

So, here’s to helping the Nielson’s & for finding our own daily joy!  Be sure to check out the complete list of auctions here.

I’m offering 2 auctions today, a J Crew Blouse & a Fabric Bunting (click the links to go directly to the auctions for each item).  Please be sure you read the “rules” before posting your bid.

I will have 2 auctions running at the same time, they will go live around 10am Pacific Time (unless I am totally on the ball and get it done before preschool starts), I will leave a comment with the opening bid on each item.  In your comment please leave your bid amount, bidding will end about 8pm Pacific Time.  I’m working on over-riding the comment moderation for the auctions so that your bid will be live immediately (instead of waiting for me to moderate them).  Winning bidder will send money via PAYPAL to the Stephanie Nielson Recovery Fund, be sure to send me a copy of your receipt.  After I get a copy of your receipt I’ll ship out your lovely item!

Be sure to check out all the other bloggers holding auctions as well, Design Mom will post a full list tomorrow AM.

Oh- check out these lovely ballerina’s I found today!

Trying to decide whether or not to keep it for my kids…it does match their room…but I don’t have any idea how to go about matching a shade to this lamp.  Oh, I found this on ebay- same lamp!  It came with the balloon lampshade but their were only 3 balloons left on it and I thought it was ugly (so I threw it away…).  I thought the plastic balloons were an after thought add on, oops, better go digging.  Mine is missing the “balloon’s for sale” box too.

Machine pieced, but hand quilted, for only $1!!!

Added this one to the shop.

I’m both excited and nervous, in some ways success scares me.  I’ll be teaching a pillow making class and a vintage sheet skirt class.  If you are local, I’d love to meet you, so please sign up and come sew with me!

Big thank you’s to Georganne- for believing in my work, to Kristin for allowing me to be a part of her studio and to Sarah for making me look pretty!

Also of note- I will be participating/hosting in a silent auction to raise money for Stephanie & Christian Nielson this Thursday.  Check out Design Mom to get all the details.  From what I understand it won’t take long for Stephanie & Christian to max out their insurance benefits, many of us on the internet are doing what we can to raise funds to help cover their soaring medical expenses.  If you would like to help, you can donate using the button in the side bar, wait for thrusday’s silent acution, or come back next month and purchase something from here.   Oh, and if you are local you can come to the Blissfest Market in October and take part in the raffle.  Whew!  That is a lot of options!!

Thank you to all of my readers/customers for your support of my work and creations, I totally would not be here without you and your encouragement!

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.

I love me a pretty cover.  I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but chances are if it isn’t pretty I’m not going to pull it from the shelf to read its description (unless one of you readers have told me fabulous things about an ugly covered book, I love recommendations!).  So I brought this piece of eye candy home with me.

And what a lovely slice of wonder bread reading it was.  If you’ve been following the trends in furniture lately (which I only sorta have) you’ll know that “Mid Century Modern” is making a comeback.  The whole “form follows function” mantra of design from the ’50’s is hitting again (did IKEA ever stray from this design theory?).  I learned some new foreign words regarding these esthetics- Bauhaus and Mondrain.  Bauhaus was a school of thought regarding design- it gave rise first in Germany following WWI, but didn’t gain popularity here in the US until after WWII.  Their main idea was to bring back design and funtion in its purest form- not superfulous detials.  Mondrain was an artist whose work inspired color and design in the “modern 1950’s”.  However, I do not remember touching on this man at all in my college Art History classes…all the craming I did in that class, I would remember!

The book was a quick read full of fantastic illustrations/Ads from the day.  I enjoyed it and feel that I was given an enlightening- albiet brief, view of white suburban middle class life and style of the 1950’s.  Check it out if you happen to find it laying around your library!

I was thinking that I would make a purse/bag with them, the green rectangles being the lining.  Now that I see the fabrics together I don’t think I like the purse idea.  No worries I have about 3 other ideas!

Also, making some progress on the holiday project.

(she is gnawing on the pink plastic camera she got at the dentist office)  I measured her head- 20″ (not too far off her circumference at birth- my kids have unusually large heads at birth), cut some ric rac at 18″ and a piece of 1″ wide elastic at 1.5″.  Stitch ends of ric rac to ends of elastic-voila, new hair accessory!  I’m thinking it would also be cute with 2 strands of ric rac, you could seperate them on the head for a layered look.

I used to always laugh at the people in the quilt shops buying their holiday fabrics in july- now I get it.  Lots of ideas swirling around, need to start writing them down!

One of the things I have always loved about the blogging world is how small the community becomes when there is a tragedy.  We daily step into other people’s lives by reading their blogs, after awhile you begin to feel like you know them.  I think some of the best blogs are the ones you read and you think “If she lived in my city, I bet we could be friends”.  I am also keenly aware that while it feels like we know people, it really is only the part they want you to see.  None the less, they open a part of themselves up for the world to share.

For some time now I have been reading NieNieDialogues,  a delightful little blog written by Stephanie.  A woman who is really a woman in all senses of the word- femininity is the name of her game.  Her blog is incredibly upbeat and artistic.  She is a mother and a wife, she writes and photographs her life- showing us all the good and fun that is to be had.  She is local and lives not too far from here.  I had hoped to meet her through Blissful Living in the next month or so.

This weekend she and her husband were in a terrible accident, her family and friends are appealing to the masses for prayers and good thoughts.  Again, I believe in the power of prayer.