Strawberry Season

Last year was the first year I have ever harvested strawberries. We found a great farm in South Carolina near Bryce's sister Judi. We had a great time picking strawberries and eating a ton of them while doing so!! I tried out canning jam from the strawberries we picked and it turned out great. The only thing I did not like about it was the massive amount of sugar you put into it!!! 6 cups of strawberries to 7 cups of sugar...WOW! This year we could not find the time to pick them ourselves so we bought them locally from a side stand down the street from us.

This year I decided to find a way to make jam with less sugar. I found a way to do it with half the sugar and just as tasty. Bryce and I LOVE our p.b. and j's. I mean really love them. When we are near a cheap place with natural peanut butter we stock up. This year we stocked up with homemade jam that we hoping will last till next season. We shall see...

There was one unfortunate accident along the way. Have you ever done something knowing you shouldn't but did it anyway, just for it to end up like the way you thought it was...bad? I knew I grabbed too many jars at one time, costly mistake. Very sad.

Part III

The final steps were adding the batting to the quilt and making the back. I wanted just one print on the back to coordinate with the front. I found out quickly for many reasons I was not going to be able to make that work. I had to come up with a different design and now 2 different coordinating fabrics instead of 1. After a couple of hours of planning, I made the back and attached all 3 pieces together. This is the final result. I LOVE it! I like the simplicity yet touches of detail here and there. The size is 45 x 60. Hope you like the pics.

Part II

Next, I took my patch work and attached it to a nice natural cotton. Then, it started getting really fun! I started adding different hand stitches and making appliques. I kept it pretty simple, but added nice detail all around the quilt. Post III will show the finished product!

Sorry this isn't ironed! Drives me crazy I took wrinkled pics!

Part I

I have now been learning to sew for the last 8 months or so. It started out as this quest to learn the skill so I could make things for our children someday out there in the future. It has grown to be something I LOVE doing! I have always enjoyed the arts in different forms and fashions...music, ceramics, mix media collages, etc. This is just another way to create, express, and spend any extra time doing something productive.

Bryce and I have become quite the "crafters" this past year now that we have been in the same place for a little while. Bryce has been learning how to woodwork. He made our dad's knives for Christmas right out of a block of wood. They turned out great!!! He even made a leather sheath for each of them. He has been making other things like fishing lures and decoys too. Needless to say we have enjoyed spending our time creating and find that it is a great way to spend our time.

This is Part I of a new project I just finished. I created it all myself, so no patterns. I bet I spend 8 hours just writing down fractions and numbers trying to make it all work before getting started. I had a great time creating this. Most likely this will be my last project until August when camp is over. Hard to imagine, but also looking forward to a summer of being spent for others. Enjoy Part I.

Spring + Flowers = Smiling Wildflower

I love when winter starts coming to an end. Birds start singing a little more in the mornings, people start coming outside and talking on their porches, and the trees and everything else start to turn green and start budding once again. It is always a reminder of growth after cold seasons. A reminder of new beginnings. A reminder that pruning isn't a bad thing. It helps shape and mold you, removes what is no longer alive, and it increases the yield and quality of your fruit. Enjoy my small and humble flower garden. I have enjoyed getting muddy in my skirt and watching the butterflies and bees flying around our home.

Day 3 of "Roids"

Wow, I could tell immediately I was taking some pretty serious steroids. We have stayed up till midnight the last two nights and anyone who knows me, KNOWS I do not ever do that. I have a hard time staying up past 10pm. Always have. Even in my teen years and college days, I pretty much go to bed earlier than anyone else I know. I should have built a house on night one or done something great. Instead, I tossed and turned and designed fun things to sew in my head until I finally fell asleep.

My swollen spots are getting much better. I don't look as bad, but still itching like crazy! I will be glad when all of this is gone. 10 more days of steroids. A lot of things to get done. Looking forward to having all this energy!!!

Itch, itch

I went to the doctor to confirm my suspensions. I have poison ivy ALL OVER! I have never had a reaction before so I had my doubts of what it could be. The doc took one look at it and said "You are going to need something for that." Ummm, yep.

It is terrible. Nothing like itching so bad you just can't stop. I am swollen in places from the rash being so bad. I am on steroids now and hoping it will get better soon. I have a bad job for being allergic to poison ivy. Leading trips out in the woods through August should be interesting.

Hope I didn't make you itch.

spesh

LEAF has come, and gone

We had a crazy last week! LEAF festival was here this past weekend. LEAF stands for Lake Eden Arts Festival. It is hard for me to guess how many people, thousands? I am guessing, come from all over to this 3 1/2 day event. There are vendors everywhere, live music, contra dancing, canoes, kids corners, and much much more! People camp so there are tents where there aren't vendors and stages. It is quite the event. It is very family friendly so there are a bunch of families and kids running around. It can be fun, but I think it is most fun if you don't normally live there. The place gets destroyed!!! Thankfully it is raining right now and I am hoping the grass and fields recover quickly! Here are some pics from the weekend! Enjoy And yes, this is where we live. It is beautiful and we are truly blessed!!

Testing 1, 2, 3

Testing everything out and learning before I really start doing some blogging!!

My husband Bryce and I on Christmas Eve 2009

somewhere in the mountains on a beautiful spring day!

Monday, Monday

I have been going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to start blogging. I feel like I won't know until I give it a try. So here I am. Giving something new a try. I am hoping to inspire and be inspired. Let's dance.

spesh