Blind Quilting

I am a self-taught seamstress of sorts. I followed the advice of Whit a few years ago and purchased a $50.00 Brother Sewing Machine and some good scissors... What has blossomed are many adorable custom fit shirts, christmas stockings, three sets of curtains still in use, original purses by Oertli Original (thanks Katie) and one finished photo quilt. Now today I am going back to the Brother to whip up a family photo quilt for Kevin's Grandma for Mother's day. She is the ultimate Super Mom.

Here is the first I made for my own Grandma at Christmas....

I have no idea why this photo is sooo small...


Anyway, I have started from scratch again with 9 photos printed in sepia onto printable fabric sheets 8x11 (found at JoAnn for 5 bucks for 4 sheets) Most are group photos from over the years...










I Then bought a bundle of 5 fat quarters and a couple extra stray colorschemed quarters (about 10 bucks from JoAnn) and cut them into the following: 2- 3"x16" strips for the sides of the photos, and 2-3"x12" stips for the top and bottom of the pictures to creat the "frame" of the photo.

My tools of use and luxury-


rotary cutter and mat

measuring guide

fabric/thread

pins

and of course the brother

iron with ironing board

PATIENCE...


Of course this quilt is a work in progress, will update once complete...

...well the day has come and the quilt is finished. This took about 6 hours to complete, but stretched out over a week or so, it goes pretty easy.

The Finished product....

New Hobby

With the new changes, always comes a bit of creativity. I have started to put my screen printing set up to good use. Check out my Esty shop ShareABitOfLove if you get a chance, pretty bare for now, but as I get going more will be added. I adore simple clean design with a personal touch.



My first item is a silhouette of our sweetie pie Timber....

Travel

I adore airports. I am first to volunteer to take ANYONE to the airport. I love the coming and going-business, vacation, reuniting, and departures. LOVE airports. I have had a very blessed life in travel, I usually get a couple trips per year. This one happens to be from Whit- for her birthday. This girl is flying me out for HER birthday. I am just so lucky.

I am sitting in Seatac Airport at 9pm- people watching, listening to the subtle sounds of voices, ventilation systems, announcements. The lighting is pretty mellow, and there are the occassional soft sofa like benches that I have managed to hog. Lets hope that the seat next to me is empty, perfect for putting my feet up and sleeping. Its a long trip from one coast to the next. I managed to bring some tunes and my newest project to allow myself to crochet mindlessly. I of course had to ask my airline savvy aunt if a crochet hook would be allowed... FYI totally is...

Here's to the next four days of spud buds reuniting... I plan to spill out the story of Whit and Monica in the future.....

Fair Warnings

The time has come where I will be sharing my thoughts online. I make no guarantees that anyone will find these interesting, but I do plan to post photos and links to things I have discovered, made, or seen.


First are introductions:

Meet Me: I am your average Northwest Grown 25 year old- I work an office job, I love mother nature, and sing very loudly in my car. I have lived in cabin on a farm, downtown apartment in the city, and adore both equally. I have friends to kill for and know it.













Meet Kevin: He is my loving husband. We were married in August of 2009. We met when I was 6 and he was 15 on a frozen pond on his family's farm. He was a "big" boy then, and well now that we are a bit older, it doesn't seem so weird. He is funny, logical, and most of all kind. He works hard and knows how to make life fun.














Meet Timber: Our first dog. She was found, abandoned on a logging road back in 2007 as a pup. She is part lab/shepherd and part cheetah. This dog is fast. Not just out-run human fast, but abnormally and amazingly fast. Next walk we take, I will try to get it on video to show the world.














Meet Tahoe: She is our second dog. She was also rescued-was running loose as a pup in the Moses Lake area. She is part Golden Retriever/Shepherd. She is not cheetah fast, but tries her hardest. She has a deep fascination with her tail and has the softest belly in the universe.

Meet Sam: She is my first pet as an adult. She has moved 7 times with me. She is sweet and stoic most of the time. She was a former farm cat given to me as a gift in college. She was pregnant when I got her, and you will see the result of that endeavor next.

Meet Hans: She is the product of Sam not being spayed as a barn cat. Hans was the cock-eyed runt of the litter that no one would take. She obviously grew into a beautiful, but sassy little cat. Whitney dislikes her tremendously. (You'll meet Whitney later)