Snow Times

You may have heard (ALL OVER NATIONAL NEWS) that western WA got some snow. It was really great! The kids loved playing in it and they built these cute little snowmen in our front yard. School was cancelled and they got to play outside all day, with hot cocoa breaks in between.

The snow kept coming down all day long. I had heard it was supposed to be quite a lot. Before it got too dark that night to take a photo, I snapped this one out my front door:

For us, this is an incredible amount of snow. It wasn't so bad. I can handle snow, and it looks so beautiful and peaceful out there. Then the freezing rain started. I woke up to this:

Our massive trees around here were already heavy with snow. We had freezing rain coming down on top of that for an entire day which made a good half inch coating of ice over everything. Trees started snapping. You could literally hear them creaking under the weight of the snow and ice. Branches began crashing down everywhere. Fences were broken down, power lines snapped. It was horrible. Luckily we don't have any trees in our yard. But I felt horrible for all my neighbors because they have tons! We were all without power and it was cold, cold, cold...

Everything is back to normal now. All of our snow has melted and we're back to our usual rain. We've been watching for flooding, but it hasn't happened yet, so I don't think it will.

What kind of wacky weather have you been having?

For The Love Of...

TRADITIONS

We don't really have many traditions here except one. Every summer our family takes a week long camping trip to Moses Lake, WA. My husband grew up with his parents having a small place on the lake and he spent a lot of time there as a kid. Naturally, after having children of his own, he wanted that tradition to continue. It is hot there. It isn't the prettiest lake and I think it has gotten worse over the years. There have been many times we have gone and it seems people use the beaches as their personal dumping ground. Most of the time I am really upset by how people treat things, but there it seems especially bad.

Someday we may need to find a new place to take the kids. But for now, this is our tradition.

Our family always has a really great time just unplugging from the world and being together. The kids love swimming and building castles in the sand. It makes me sad that people don't take care of places like this and help to keep it beautiful for everyone to enjoy.

If you have a tradition, holiday or otherwise, please link up to Sharon's blog and tell us about it. 

Kids Quilts

A few months ago my husband got a job transfer back to our hometown. All of our family and many of our friends still live there so we were pretty excited when we found out we would be going home. My husband has been living with his parents for the last couple of months and it has been hard to be apart. Originally my plan was to let the kids finish out the school year and we would join him there in June. I promised the kids that I would make quilts for them before the move to help spruce up their new bedrooms. Well, things have not gone according to my plan, and we are also anxious to get settled there and begin our new life. Instead of the 6 months I planned to have, it could be as little as 1 or 2.

I didn't want to go back on my word though. Just because I don't have as much time as I thought I would, doesn't mean I had to give up having new quilts for them. So I decided to go with something extremely simple.

I chose a layer cake (a stack of 42 - 10 inch squares) for each child. I tried to choose ones that matched their style and personality. No cutting was involved in the making of these quilts! So super easy! I simply sewed the 10 inch squares together into rows. I still plan to add borders to make them a bit bigger.

This first one is for my son, Ben. It may look familiar since I just made a jelly roll quilt from the same fabrics for my husband. I thought it would be cute for the two men of the house to have matching quilts. The fabric I used is Reunion by Sweetwater.

This one is for Irene. She is at that age where she loves all things girly and cute. The prints in this line (Farm Fresh) are girly and cute, but not too girly that she won't still love it in a few years.

Alice is a very feminine young lady. I chose Ruby for her quilt. These are all her favorite colors and the prints are perfectly suited to her taste.

Then we a quilt for my oldest daughter, Sara. She loves bright, fun colors and modern design. As soon as I saw Half Moon Modern, I knew it was right for her.

I still have a lot to do to get these finished, but the quilting will be very simple as well so I am confident that that they will be done with plenty of time to spare! These have been so fun to make and I am feeling quite a sense of accomplishment at finishing these tops in just a few days time. Quilts don't have to be fancy to be loved. I know my kids will cherish these always no matter how simple they are.

A Christmas Quilt

That's right, a Christmas quilt. I know Christmas has passed but I'm still working on this one. I wasn't completely slacking or being lazy about finishing on time (as is usually the case). There's a story behind it!

My kids love handmade things and they love giving gifts. My oldest daughter came up with the idea that we - myself, my husband, and all 4 kids - draw names and have a handmade secret Santa exchange. Now my husband is one of those very picky types. I never give him anything because the response is always "That's great, dear. Thanks." (please note the lack of exclamation points!) If one of the kids got his name though, they could draw him a picture and he'd be completely happy with it. So guess who ends up drawing old grumpy pants name? Yep. Me. So then I'm stressing over what the heck to make him. He isn't really the kind of person who appreciates handmade stuff. Or if he is, he's not good at showing it (this is a hint to him in case he's reading).

I was making a lot of other gifts this year so I didn't think too much about his gift until, BAM! 2 days before Christmas I had a panic attack because I hadn't made a thing! I loaded up the kids and we rushed to the fabric store. I was in that store poring over little fat quarter bundles and charm packs, trying to think of something quick and easy. I literally wanted to cry right there in the middle of the store. And then I saw a few jelly rolls tucked away in a corner. They had one of the new Reunion fabric by Sweetwater. As soon as I saw it I knew I needed to make him a jelly roll race quilt. I recently made one for my grandma and it came together really quickly. Two days before Christmas? I could do it!

Turns out I couldn't. I got the top done (minus the borders) in time so he could have something to unwrap. He wasn't really impressed with it. BUT!!! It is now completely quilted and I think he will love it *fingers crossed*. I think it was just hard for him to picture it finished.

I used a grey Kona solid for the borders, and the backing and binding are from the Hometown fabric line, also by Sweetwater. The two lines go together pretty well, I think. I haven't stitched the binding to the back completely yet, but I'm working on that now.

He'd better love it. I want to see him jump up and down and do a happy dance. Hey, a girl can dream!

Hoopty Hoop!

For those of you that read my blog regularly, you know I took part in a hoop swap with our misfits group a few months ago. I waited and waited for my hoop to show and I began to give up hope that it was coming. I heard it had been sent, so I feared it was perhaps lost in the mail.

Over the kids winter break from school we went out of town for two weeks to visit with friends and family. We didn't get home until after the New Year, and imagine my surprise when I came home to an unexpected package! I opened the envelope from Tasmania (that's right, I said Tasmania), and inside I found a bunch of awesome goodies!

A DVD to teach me needleturn applique (which, to be honest, has scared me for the longest time), an adorable little stitch pattern, a book of crochet flowers and embellishments, AND... the most gorgeous hoop EVER!!!

There are thousands of tiny french knots that match perfectly with the polka dots on the fabric to form a beautiful and subtle letter 'S'.

This lovely hoop was made by Belinda Shreeve (@AusBelle on twitter) and I just love it. It was definitely worth the wait. Our family plans to move soon so I will have a new space for sewing - even if it is just a corner of a room somewhere. I plan to hang this hoop there to make it feel more like home.

Thank you so much Belinda. It is perfect!