spicing up the kitchen swap

I didn't mean to be disingenuous when I said I was going to take a blogging break for the month.  But, some bloggable things have come up!  AND taking the pressure off has made me feel more like blogging.  I really am still on a break - I wrote this post the other day when I posted about the Block Party event (see button on sidebar).

In the midst of deciding to take a break, Darci of Stitches and Scissors emailed me to see if I was interested in participating in Spicing Up the Kitchen {a modern swap} on Flickr. I was glad the timing would work out so that I could participate - I've wanted in on a swap for a long time! I decided to commit.

So here's my inspiration mosaic. It was so hard to decide what to decide what to put in here - I focused on color and style and there were probably a 100 other pictures I could have included.

1. my kitchen, 2. Organic Kitchen Towel & Coasters, 3. Dish Towels, 4. Spreading the Word....Love, 5. Hot Pad in Moda Arcadia, 6. ticker tape progress, 7. table runner2, 8. dishmat2, 9. Front of Hexagon Hotpad, 10. Doll quilt, 11. Nine Patch Quilt Along Progress, 12. another one, 13. Star quilt in progress, 14. Bridget's Pinwheel Quilt, 15. star quilt 2, 16. Stay-Put Kitchen Towel

I live on a military base, i.e.: base housing. Granted, it's nice for base housing, but it's a little plain Jane.  I took this picture shortly after we moved in.

And this is how I bring some color in, mostly turquoise/light blue.  And evidently I have a thing for polka dots and damask-y prints.

oh, and then there's this:

aaaaaand, these lovelies gifted by a dear friend:

I seriously am obsessed with this color - it just makes me so happy! I do think it looks nice with a splash of that green.  And I have this to make a curtain for the window.

The person assigned to me has a blank slate in her kitchen and likes a lot of the same color vibes as I do! I think I'm going to go with a table topper/wallhanging and/or some towels or hotpads... Stay tuned.

I don't have to send out until March. Whew! I can work on it while my mom is here. Oh yes! Did I tell you my mom is coming? yeehaw! Sew-fest 2011.01 here we come!

did you hear about the block party?

I'd like to interrupt my previously scheduled blog sabbatical for an important announcement!


Things are going pretty well here with my lifestyle/attitude/organization makeover - but that's not why I'm breaking in here during my break!  Megan and Heather from Quilt Story are having a contest! And they value my opinion (for some unknown reason!) enough to ask me to be a judge! I'm flattered and honored to be among the judges for their Block Party!


You can click on the button to read their whole post, but here' s a bit of it to give you a taste.  It's going to be super fun!!  What a great opportunity to Sew & Tell!

from Quiltstory:

QuiltStory's Block Party!

Basic idea: YOU (any and all of you) will create quilt
blocks and submit them to QuiltStory's Block Party.  There will be three
categories in which you can enter your block. Modern, Traditional and Creative.

How to submit: Three weeks from today we will have a
linky party starting 12:01 am MST on Monday February 7th through Wednesday
February 9th closing at 11:59 pm MST.  During this time you will submit
your quilt block in one of the three categories, Modern, Traditional and Creative.  You can submit up to three blocks.

Categories: You will be the judge of which category
your block falls in to, but it can be only one.  Modern or Traditional can
mean the layout of the block or the fabrics.  Creative is referring to a
block that maybe has applique, a pieced house block, etc.  You don't
necessarily need to be experienced to enter this contest!  If you are
unsure or new to quilting, I'd search through Flickr to
get ideas on some quilt blocks!

Prizes:  We have got some amazing prizes for the winners of this
contest!!  Let me introduce you to the sponsors and all the goodies you
could win! (amylouwho here - Go to their post to see a complete list of prizes.)

First Place Prizes

 The Fabric Shoppe

3 yard bundle of Organic Circa 50 Birch fabrics and pattern

$60 value

SkyeReve Fabrics

$50 Gift Certificate

Poppy Seed Fabrics

$50 Gift Certificate

Determining winners: We have fabulous celebrity guest judges to help Heather and I
determine the winners. We wanted to do it this way because first a foremost we
value these ladies opinions greatly!  Secondly we didn't want the
popularity of a blog determining a winner based on votes.  We will
basically be judging on skill and style and we will not be biased in the least!
 The judges are Twin Fibers, SewSara, Flamingo Toes, Diary of a Quilter
and AmyLouWho.  Over the next couple of weeks we'll get to know them
better and tell you why we think they deserve to be our "celebrity"
judges!

amylouwho here again - get to work! Can't wait to see what you all are creating!

sew & tell - some almost finishes and the future our linky party

Hello friends!
Did you all have a nice holiday?  I hope so.  It's always fun to slow down and enjoy time with family and friends.

We got hit with strep throat/scarlet fever (it sounds so much more dramatic, doesn't it?) pretty hard this past weekend.  I spent most of the day we got back from our trip at the doctor's office trying to get both of my kids evaluated.  It was a frustrating morning at best, but they are both on the mend.  Having sick kids and trying to fight off being sick yourself + the lack of sleep is exhausting.  Not that I want to whine any more than I already have . . . The reason I'm telling you all of this is because it is my excuse for not finishing my quilt for today.

So here it is. Almost finished.

backing fabric - IKEA; binding - Amy Bulter Full Moon Dots in Cherry

It's such a big project I don't want to post a picture of the whole thing before it's really done.  Some how that ruins it for me.  Since last Sew & Tell I did finish all the quilting (but one block) and got the binding (minus one edge) hand sewn into place.

Frankly, I'm tired of looking at the blasted thing.  I'm going to have to finish it, wash it, and put it away for a while before I decide to look at it again.

I didn't *quite* get our Christmas stockings finished either - enough to fill them, but they are missing a lining and a cuff.

Fabric - Holiday Happy by Happy Zombie

Great tutorial at Fabricworm though!  It was me, not the tute that facilitated their incompleteness.

I have several bee blocks to catch up on and a whole list of other to-dos that I want to get to, this year.  I've decided to schedule out all my projects for the year, so I'm not scrambling about what to work on next.  Maybe it will help keep me on task and actually finish things faster.

I know it's the beginning of the new year and all of that, and I do have some goals that I've laid out for myself, but these ideas of mine have been pressing on me for several months.  I have been feeling a great need to change the way I've been running my life (or not running it, as the case may be).  I'm tired of feeling tired, frazzled, unorganized and unproductive.  I spend a lot of my days feeling like I'm spinning my wheels.  And I know I can, and should, be a kinder, more creative mother.

Part of this change is going to require some serious focus and a time diet as I've coined it.  I have to cut some things out that are eating up time that should be used otherwise.  For instance, finishing organizing and settling into our house (that we've already been in for 7 months), setting up a weekly cleaning routine, planning menus, playing with my kids, getting my head back on straight so that I can truly enjoy the people and things I love.

Blogging, Facebook, and yes, even sewing (esp. feeling the need to have something each week for sew & tell) have become center stage.  I don't want to abandon them completely, but I need to cut them out for the time being.  I've set aside the month of January to really focus on getting my act together.

The little break from blogging that I took in December was good. Before that it was starting to feel like a chore and I didn't like that at all!  I love blogging!  I love sharing and seeing what you are sharing!  I love Sew & Tell - but I feel like that's all this blog has become, and there's so much more that I would like to be writing about.  That I used to write about.  So I'm re-evaluating Sew & Tell as well.  I'm thinking we will move to once a month.  As we've grown in numbers I feel like some of the original excitement has worn off because there has gotten to be too many links to visit.  I'm thinking about maybe limiting the number of link ups, so that those who do participate won't spend their whole weekend clicking through links.

These are all just thoughts I've had, and I'm not really sure what Sew & Tell will evolve into.  I appreciate your patience and understanding as I try and figure all of this out.  I hope this all doesn't seem super heavy.  I'm just trying to improve in the areas of my life that will make me better and happier.

The next sew & tell post will be sometime in February - probably mid-month.  I will let you know ahead of time!

I'm excited to see the gifts that you made for Christmas, or any other sewing project that you've completed!  Please just one link per person.  If you have multiple items, put them all in one post and then we can see them all with one click!  You all are amazing and inspiring!

PS there are no more free thumbnail linkies.  I don't want to pay just yet to get the pictures on the links again...

PLEASE READ THIS POST IF YOU ARE NEW TO LINKING UP!  :)

NEW RULES FOR LINKING UP!  Please read carefully.  The delete monster will be eating non-compliant links.

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written earlier in the week.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button.

5. Comment on everyone's posts!

on the road

I'm sitting in the car on our way back from visiting family. We had a nice visit, marred only by the fact that two of the three kids have strep with a lovely rash. Otherwise know as scarlet fever. (thank you wikipedia). Luckily it's not a long drive and I have a little hand sewing to keep me busy.

Which is why I started to write this in the first place! Sew & Tell will be back Friday. Submissions can be anything since the last one in December. I was thinking this would be a perfect time to share all of the lovely gifts you made! See you Friday!