Colorado, Day 1

On our first full day of vacation, we relaxed,

played with Tucker, the grand-dog,

made Rachel a birthday cake (our non-traditional, family-tradition chocolate chip cake)

painted Addy's nails with almost every color polish we could find

(we agreed that 3 shades of blue was a bit much, so we saved 2 for next time.)

watched Addy be fascinated by the lobster tank at Red Lobster,

and drink her first strawberry margarita (virgin, of course.)

All in all, a very good day.

Posted with Blogsy

Family Treasure, #2

Remember the quilt I finished up for John, one of two his mother started many years ago? The second one is now also finis.

This one was also hand-sewn and hand-quilted, just needing to be squared up and the binding attached before it was done.

The squaring-up process scared the crap sunshine out of me - cutting into an irreplaceable family heirloom? Are you kidding me?? - so I asked one of the quilt shop ladies to do it for me. (Thank you, Lauren!)


Then I hand-stitched the binding down

and got Leanne to help me with the photographs. (Guess who's going to be three in another week?! Time sure flies.)

The orange backing is a bit much for my taste, although it's something I probably would have loved back in the '70’s or 80's; such a perfect reflection of that time period.

The front is simply gorgeous. And labor-intensive. I can't even imagine how many hours it took to sew this together.

So glad I got to help preserve this for future generations.

Posted with Blogsy

iPhone Cosy

Look what followed me home over the weekend - my first ever iPhone.

I've had several versions of iPads - and love them - but when it came time to pick a new phone, I tended to stay with LG's or Motorola's. Not this time.

I didn't want my new baby to get scratched up - and yes, it has a case and a screen protector, but you know how us new moms worry - so when I saw an iPhone case tutorial* on Pinterest . . .

If I was better at the sewing machine, this would probably have taken less than an hour to make. But I'm cautious slow, so it took the better part of the evening.

And I loooooove it. Who knew sewing could be this much fun.
* Pattern is Easy iPhone Sleeve Tutorial from Dog Under My Desk, here. Itook her advice and cut the fabric .75" longer to fit my iPhone 5S. When I make another, I need to remember to add .25" to the side measurements also. This was just a little too snug unless the final seams were on the very outside of the sleeve.

Posted with Blogsy

It Takes Two

It takes two of us to keep up with the little girls, and that includes keeping them in treasures toys. I found the idea for colorful bean bags here - teaches colors! improves hand-eye coordination! too cute to pass up! - and had to make them.

Leanne supervised my sewing - she was the official 'put the pins in the pincushion girl' -

and Leia was in charge of funneling the four pounds of popcorn kernels into the individual bags. (Pro tip: do not step on spilled kernels with bare feet. It hurts!)


But it was PopPop who put the icing on the cake - and the holes in the box - with his combined target and bean bag storage unit. Genius!

The main reason for making the bags was to help Leanne learn her colors, but this has rapidly become a favorite pastime for all four of us.

And for Miles too, when he came for a recent visit.

If I'd known how funny it is to watch Leanne wind-up for the toss! and miss! I'd have made this a lot sooner. So many giggles and memories in the making.

Posted with Blogsy

Dancing In The Rain

Proof that it does, very occasionally, rain in Southern California.

Gotta enjoy it when you can.

Posted with Blogsy