beginning another quilt

Just got these in the mail a couple weeks ago and I'm itching to start this quilt.

I've got about 6 hours of work left of my twin quilt that I began a long time ago. Dare I mention how long it's been? It's been so long, I had the time to find it, piece it. Then Pottery Barn had time to find it, produce it and sell millions by the time I got to the quilting phase. Nevertheless, I'm close to being finished.

This new quilt will be much smaller than a twin, plus I plan to make it on the machine instead of entirely by hand, so it should be complete by November when the baby comes.

For this quilt, I knew I wanted lots of color unlike the white background of my previous quilt. I'm going to have a white crib and light walls, so I wanted the quilt to pop in the room.

And, I've gotten a bit more brave (thanks Susan!) since my last quilt so I'm more confident in mixing patterns from a variety of designers. So, I set out to combine fabrics, knowing that I wanted the orange, yellow, gray, green, blue combo somehow. I ended up ordering the fabrics from FabricWorm and FatQuarterShop and they're made by Joel Dewberry, Denyse Schmidt, Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey, and probably one more I'm forgetting.

More on the progress with this one later.

growing belly

I haven't invested as much time into taking belly photos as I should.

I'm missing most weeks before 12 and it's spotty thereafter. I'm already regretting it, so I'm making a conscientious effort to take these photos each week.

Here I am at week 19 embracing the comfort of yoga pants. Strange that I actually WANT to dress for comfort now. I even made a run to the mall last weekend to buy skads of new underwear that don't crease me at my belly. Lace at the waist-band is sheer genius! Why didn't I buy these before?


And, most recently this is my 20 week photo. I'm trying to get as much wear out of my cool pre-pregnancy tops as possible. Really making them stretch, but this one has less "give" so it may only last another week or two.

In other news, I think we've got a name. I'm waiting on Greg to give his final approval and then I promise I'll share it with you.

surprised, shocked, happy

I wouldn't do this test unless you're comfortable being in the 10% error group.
For weeks, we've been thinking boy names, boy clothes, boy everything.



Then we find out we're having a little girl.

It's been the most wonderful surprise yet. Happy to know she's a "she" and hope that she's not offended we thought she was a "he".

We're now onto thinking girl names, and I'll share once we have a final name.

tour de grandmothers - round 3

I'm a little late posting this, but my week has been hectic to say the least. Barely enough time to eat and sleep, much less to blog.

My last stop in Texas was Houston, Deer Park, actually to see my adopted grandmother, Bertie. I probably anticipated this stop over any other because of the closeness I have with her. As a baby, I would be fussy for anyone else but her. She and her husband (PapaWes) became additional grandparents to me. Growing up, I saw no difference in the love I had for them versus my blood-relatives. Well, maybe I lied a little. Perhaps I loved them more because they spoiled me. PapaWes would take me to his garden to help pick okra, then I'd come inside and help Bertie fry it, eating raw okra covered in cornmeal while I waited. Bertie taught me how to cross-stitch and would allow me to spend hours going through her sewing supplies (zippers, ribbons, buttons). Later in the afternoon, PapaWes would treat me to an IBC root-beer that I'd eat with a spoon.

Yes, I was a confused child, but this was fun to me.

Anyway, while battling with infertility (not that it's over by any means), the subject of adoption obviously arose. It's my love for Bertie and PapaWes, who is now deceased, that never made me question if I was open to that option. I knew that blood didn't matter when love was involved. Sure there are more questions to answer, but my relationship with them proved to me that blood truly is irrelevant.

I could tell you more about my trip and visit, but I'll leave it at that for now.

So, here's some sneaks for the upcoming July kit:

Made using the main kit: CONTINENTAL. I also used Walnut Stain, Broken China, and Antique Linen distress inks.

Made using a combination of LaSalle, Lewis&Clark, and the main kit plus Blank Canvas Paint.

On most of my layouts, I use the American Crafts Precision Pen 03 to journal. It's just the right thickness for me.

round 2 continued

While visiting my aunt, I dug through her photos for an exciting new eBook Studio Calico will be promoting and found this. Yikes!

I know I've mentioned I'm a twin, but seriously, one person should not have been allowed to sport that hairstyle, let alone, two. I must say the south-Texas humidity did add to the already thick/frizzy hair.

Can you guess which one I am?

By the way, if you clicked that link before Tuesday, it won't work.

And, to top this post off with some randomness, this green hutch was delivered while I was gone and Greg was sweet enough to take a photo so I could see it. The house is slowly coming together, so I'll have more pictures to share in the next couple months, but for now, this is the only pretty corner in my house.

I have 7 people staying with me this week and had to kick my parents out to accommodate the crowd on the limited beds we have. So far, so good. We had a great ride to feed the cows this morning before the temperature rose to 100 degrees and then a sausage/bacon/pancake/fruit breakfast followed by a quesadilla lunch. But now, I'm exhausted and the week has just begun.

More to post later about my third grandmother on the tour.

tour de grandmothers - round 2

Location: Corpus Christi, about 3 hours south of grandma #1
Purpose: Visit maternal granny, aunt, uncle, and cousin Shana (pictured above)

Activities: Sonic. Sonic. Sonic and more Sonic. Apparently, Shana and I have that in common. It's a daily necessity and our life is not complete without it. The only difference is that she likes to listen to blaring country music while sipping/gulping her drink, and I prefer it in peace and quiet.

Sailing (see below)


Shana's sail was all wrapped up so her boat was going pretty slow. She looked half-bored the whole time, so as she was coming off the dock, we asked her if she had fun. She didn't lie. Gave it a thumbs down right in front of all the volunteers.

I didn't get a picture with this Granny because when I thought of it, we were leaving this morning she still had on her nightie.

All in all, it was a successful visit. Had some good Texas BBQ (brisket and sausage) and a great hamburger at Hurb's. Trying to get some iron since the doctor said it was low and he's retesting me in 2 weeks. It's like cramming for a test :)

On to round 3 today in Houston.

tour de grandmothers - round 1

First stop: West Columbia, TX - home of paternal grandmother
Population: 4255
Temperature: high 90s
Gas Station: Yes
McDonald's: Yes, but only within the last 5 years
Wifi Internet: non-existent if your aunt doesn't know the password

Sleeping Situation: Grim - note location of cuckoo clock to bedroom door.
Visit: Successful. Ate at Luby's Cafeteria. Talked. Ate again. Talked. Slept. Ate. Talked. Slept.


Funny Moment #1: Reading a magazine and having my grandmother ask me if I'd like to look at hers. Yes, the bosom is growing, but not to this extent.....yet.

Funny Moment #2: Having my grandmother surmise if her home-health nurse had indoor plumbing then continuing with telling her how to flush a toilet and to only use four squares of toilet paper.

Reality Check: Upon arrival, Grandma was on the floor in her closet leaning up against a file cabinet and had been for 4 hours. She had fallen and couldn't get up, but it wasn't as funny as in the commercial. Luckily, she has good bones, but for the 3 people it took to get her up, they might have strained a few muscles. Oh, and we're also lucky that she had bladder control during that time. There's always something to be thankful for, right?

Since this leg of the trip was so eventful, I thought I'd leave you with a sneak (my only one so far) of July's kit. This is made with the Lewis&Clark add-on. Plan to get this one. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

head over to CK today...

I'm happy to announce I'm guesting over at the CK blog today.

It's a fun layout mixing the June SC kit and the Documentary line. I hope you like it and the tutorial made using my Slice.

I mentioned in my article that I have a bun in the oven and boy is that bun getting bigger. I only have one pair of pants where buttoning is even possible. Total weight gain is 6 lbs at 17 weeks.



I'll have more to share later, but running out the door now and preparing for the annual tour de grandmothers. AKA: week-long trip to Texas to visit 3 grandmothers spread over 350 miles. Time of departure: 4:00am tomorrow.

Documentary Blog Hop

Got lots to document this summer? If you're anything like me, you do.

I take waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more photos during the summer than any other time. Maybe it's because we're outdoors more often, sometimes traveling, or engaged in more activities. Well, activities that would be fun to photograph...

Whatever the case, I'll leave you with a layout using the new Documentary collection by Studio Calico. This line was just released, so it should be popping up at your local scrapbook store or favorite online store soon, if it's not already there. Be sure to check for it or ask about it.

The circles on this layout were created using Tina Azsmus' tutorial, a 1.5" punch and some cheap bronze acrylic paint. Brilliant, that girl!

The rest of the supplies:

• Documentary Sticker Alphabet (Studio Calico)
• Documentary Label Stickers (Studio Calico)
  
• Window Seat Patterned Paper (Studio Calico) - graph paper
  
• Camera Shy Patterned Paper (Studio Calico) - cameras & orange mod pattern
• Jet Set Patterned Paper (Studio Calico) - blue map
• Pink Plaid Patterned Paper (Webster's Pages)
• Pink Cabochon (Anna Griffin)
• Crystal Pins (Maya Road)
• Alphabet Stamps (Hero Arts)
• Stamping Ink (Staz-on Black by Tsukineko)
• Fabric Flowers (K & Co.)
  

You're next stop along the way is France with the wonderfully talented, Celine Navarro, where you'll have another chance to win this collection!

Links to all the other bloggers can be found on the SC blog.

ETA: The winner is...............

caroline hancock said...

great LO i can see me using tons of that graph paper, its fab

June 1, 2010 12:08 AM

Please send an email to info@studiocalico.com with the following information:

• Name
• Address
• Subscriber? y/n
• Prize: Documentary Collection Pack

flood

This is my parents coming home from church last Sunday, taken by my iphone as I sat inside my dry car.

We received a record rainfall 11 inches in 24 hours and we sit perfectly in between two creeks. One rose 42 feet, not sure about the other, but by noon on Sunday, they had joined forces and we were sitting on an island.
Later that day, when the rain subsided, we went to look at the damage. This is the road that leads up to our property and the photo was taken about 5:00. Notice the barn in this photo versus the previous one. In 5 hours, the water rose about 8-10 feet and was completely impassable.
Nice legs, Dad.
About 300 yards of water covered the road and at it's deepest, it was about 10-11 feet. This was not standing water because it was 2 creeks joined together, so there was definitely a current.

And, the view to the right. Usually this small creek is contained in about a 4-foot wide area on the other side of that tree-line.
And a look to the left and at my main squeeze, G.
He was so upset about his $30 rain suit from Tractor Supply. It just didn't hold up like he thought it would....got a hole somewhere...


Further up the road on our property, this is a look down the bluff into our bottom land. Normally, the bottom-land will flood a little, but we've never seen anything like this.

This is the field on the east side of our property. When we bought this, it wasn't in the flood plain...
Neither was this.
That's Drake's creek, well out of it's banks.
And, this is the bottom land on the South side of our property.
And on the northwest.
So, we were an island for 2 days.

In that time, we formed a government, gave ourselves amnesty, and decided we didn't have to pay taxes.

Then, we ran out of food and journeyed to our motherland.

Just a quick update on me: I'll post pics soon, just been nauseous, but everything is fine with me and the baby. 12weeks, 6days today.