The final stretch...

Christmas is almost here! We have had a busy fall here.  The little ones have started day care at a wonderful woman's home, and we couldn't be happier! It has allowed me a chance to get back to my regular real-person job some of the time, and also have time to myself with no children around at all!  It has done wonders for my patience!  I also had time to craft for a local craft show that is very popular!

I had bunting, pillow covers, bags, decorations, everything sewable.  I wanted to have more made, but that's always the way.  Next year I'll make more!  I still have crafting to do before Christmas, but then I'm crafting for the family and/or myself.  I tend to put myself on the back-burner when a craft show is on the horizon.  Merry Christmas!

Bloggers' Quilt Festival Fall 2011

This is my second time participating in the Blogger's Quilt Festival, this time with an older entry.  I made this mini quilt in January 2010.  I love trees, and this is our first home that does not have many trees at all.  It's nice to see trees in pictures! 

This is one of the first quilted things I have ever made, not that I am an expert now, but I have learned a lot since then.  I did a lot of raw edge applique and free-motion stitching for this, a lot of hand-sewn buttons, and a lot of experimenting. It's not a technical masterpiece, or terribly complex, but it's cheery, and I like it!   You can see a bunch of wibbly wobbly lines.  As much as I am a perfectionist about some things, this was more of a folksy feeling I was going for, so the woobliness was good.  (In our house, woobly is a word).  It doesn't hurt that woobly lines were easier than perfectly concentric circular ones!  But now this little quilt hangs with two others on our dining room wall, a formerly blank space that now is a pleasure to look at! 

Thank you for looking, and be sure to check out the other amazing quilts in the festival!

<div align="center"><a href="http://amyscreativeside.com/" title="Amy'sCreativeSide"><img src="http://amyscreativeside.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Fullscreen-capture-9222011-123854-PM-e1316717452510.jpg" alt="Amy'sCreativeSide" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

One Year Ago...

My little guy was born!

It was a fast and intense birth, and I'll spare you the details.  I can't believe how fast the time has flown.  Our daughter's first year went by pretty fast, but this year has gone by even faster!  Two children just make everything busier.  I don't know how people handle more children than that!  I always thought I'd want to be a stay-at-home-mom, but I've come to the realization recently (or I've been honest with myself) that it is not meant for me!  I need part time work to stay sane.  I find myself getting snippy at times, irritable, and moody, always giving of myself.  Not that my chosen career isn't equally draining, but it is different.  I need to have my children in good day care so that I can fulfill other parts of my life.  Being away makes me appreciate and enjoy them more.  In an ideal world, I would be blissfully happy to stay home all day everyday, but I'm not, and even though it saddens me a little that I feel that way, I am more happy that I realize this and can give my children better days.  Not that we don't do fun things - we are always going to playgroups, the park, the beach, baking, reading, or doing crafts, but then that irritable mother comes back and I think we'd all be happier to see her less.

I love spending time with my kids, but maybe just a little less time with them, and a little more time following my path.  I don't think that makes me a bad mom, but I know I'll feel a bit guilty about it anyway. It's hard when there are so many awesome mom-blogs and these women are super-moms, staying at home with their kids, and doing an amazing job!   But I feel good making my realization, and knowing that working part time means I still get to see my kids a lot!

One year old!  Happy Birthday little guy!  So many changes, and so many more to come!

In less than a week...

I will have a booth at a local fall fair!  It's a nice little fair, inexpensive table fee, and my last show before Christmas.  I am full of ideas and a to-do list that is way too long to accomplish, but I will have a lot of things to keep me busy if I have time...IF!  Time is of short supply here, so I have to be happy with making what I can in what little time I can find.  I am getting better at this.  I manage my time better (but not as best as I could), and feel happier with the results I can achieve.  And here is a little taste of what I have been making.

I have a few of these babies made, and this one just went in my etsy shop. 

Now back to mothering!

Quilt in a Day!

August 20, In Which I Sew Like a Mad Woman

Yesterday was a friend's wedding.  I knew about the wedding since January, and sometime in the Spring, I decided to make a gift - I'm crafty, I have a ton of fabric, and a lot of time... And so time went on, and on, and on...
This past week, I did not think a gift would happen, so I planned to just get a gift card or cash.  Friday night, I started thinking and remembering seeing some quick to make quilts, and Saturday morning, I checked them out and very quickly hatched a plan... Based on this site, I decided to do the same!

4 hours later I had my quilt! (Well it would have taken longer if I had taken any breaks, but I was a madwoman, remember?)  

I did a few things differently though...
Instead of using spray basting, I used 16 pins to baste the batting to the backing, and sewed 5 seams attaching the batting to the backing.  I used 100% cotton batting, so the backing fabric clung nicely to the batting!  Then I proceeded to attach my strips of fabric.  I used Anna Maria Horner's LouLOUthi (I got mine from Sew Love Fabrics on etsy.)  I had not cut into them yet, and I have no idea when I would have, but they are so beautiful and I thought my friend would love them. Someone commented on the site I got the tutorial from that they use a fleece Ikea blanket to sew strips to instead of using batting and backing.  I'd like to try this too - definitely a time saver and easier, and cuddly, but not the look I was going for. 

Next time I make one of these quilts, I'll take more pictures, but I was clipping threads right up until we left, and we had some grumpiness and stress happening here...

And now for something completely different: check out my friend Nell's site! 
She's an awesome artist, and she's wearing a different striped outfit everyday for a month!

Now

Right now, it is Tuesday morning, 9:35.  I was just working on a train puzzle with my 3 year old (it was a reward for using the potty - something we are working on.  I'm sure rewards are frowned upon by some people, but they are not here right now).  We're listening to Joel Plaskett and the Emergency's Ashtray Rock.  The baby is napping, and I'm thinking about whether we should go to playgroup or the beach this morning, getting some sewing finished up (so many works in progress), and when I'm going to make cookies and start using up those giant zucchini we just picked from the garden!  Chocolate zucchini cake and lemon zucchini muffins...mmmm... And now to read a book to the little monkey.

A Vintage Find

I just ordered these awesome vintage frames to put prescription sunglasses into!  Very exciting!!!
They are from this shop and on etsy - good selection and great prices!  If you wear glasses, you know how pricey nice frames can be.  I will have to wait a bit for them since Canada Post was recently on strike and there is a bit of a back log of mail to be delivered I am sure, but I don't mind.  Maybe by the time they get through customs everything will be back to normal!

I don't usually wear sunglasses, although I know I should.  I used to have an awesome pair of vintage frames bought at a vintage store in Waterloo, Ontario, and I loved them!  Olive green with hand-painted daisies and a few rhinestones.  They were stolen a few years ago from our unlocked car.  I believe in Karma, or what goes around comes around, but I did miss my glasses, but now these are coming my way!!!