Garden Party Carrying Case

Sometimes the similarities between my life and famous (best selling in fact) literature are simply uncanny. My six year old daughter LOVES the pink Nintendo DS she was given for Christmas, she just isn’t the best at keeping track of it. A few weeks ago it completely disappeared. We couldn't find it anywhere, so of course major drama ensued. As we were searching high & low, I came upon this literary masterpiece:

Like any good read, I was immediately drawn in by the title and the picture on the front cover. The similarities between the main character and someone in my own life were amazing.

I devoured the entire book in one setting. I also managed to solve the mystery a few minutes later. Although I enjoyed my little reading break, I did NOT enjoy hunting down the missing (& expensive!) DS. I decided it was time to make a carrying case. It turned out so well I also made one for my son, and for my friend Mindy (yes the same one who talked me into singing Eye of the Tiger), who evidently shares many of the same interests as my 6 & 9 year old kiddos. Time to set up that playdate.

This is the one I made for my friend, & my personal favorite - probably because I LOVE the Garden Party fabric line (the 2 floral prints) by Anna Maria Horner.

When you unfold the case, there is a large pocket for the DS on one side, and three rows of pockets for storing games on the other side. Kind of makes me wish I had a DS of my own.

I'm a Quilting Machine!

Or rather, I am a machine quilter! The quilt I first started, ohhh about 4 months ago, is now finished. It was the first time I tried free motion quilting and I am so HAPPY (giddy in fact) with the results! Happy enough to make a wacky motivational playlist just to celebrate. Gotta love Eye of the Tiger. I actually sang this song in the 4th grade talent show. . . waaay back in the day. My groovy friend Mindy was the pianist who coerced me into doing so. We were so cool. And, dancing around in the kitchen with your kids while funky music is blasting from your computer speakers makes for a pretty good workout.

The fabric is Peace on Earth, by Three Sisters for Moda. Unfortunately it has become pretty hard to find in quilt stores, but you can still find it on eBay. Before getting started, I read/watched some great online tutorials by Camille, Sarah & Amandajean. If you are thinking about trying this, check them out - SO helpful! I also checked out a machine quilting book at the library so I would have a good visual of what I was trying to do. . .

The stippling itself came pretty easy for me, but I had some frustrating technical difficulties with thread breakage. Fortunately, Des came to the rescue with some helpful advice. I changed everything from needle, to bobbin & thread and things improved. I was using my mother-in-law's sewing machine because it had some of the necessary features, such as drop down feed dogs & a darning foot. I've decided that her machine is a little fussy, and a little bit of a thread snob - only likes the pricier kind, BUT it worked!!!

Here's a little peek at the back. I found a sheet (still looked new) at the thrift store for $2. Can't beat that! The little black fur ball is Jasper - he kind of likes it too. I think when his face disappears altogether it's time for a grooming.

This fabric compliments the family room so well, which is kind of a good thing, because I still have this left over . . .

And now that I CAN do this, I'm gonna use it!

In The Works

I have finally figured out how to do something I have been wanting to try for a VERY long time...
Machine quilting - stippling to be exact. So exciting! But my hubby said I should probably finish the other BIG project I am working on before I finish this quilt. Last week I found a real treasure in the online classifieds...

Here's a little sneak peak. It's on a drop cloth and half way primed as I type this up. Can you guess what color I am thinking?

BTW, if anyone reading has done free motion quilting before, my thread keeps on breaking and I am stumped (& frustrated). Sure could use some advice.

Got Clutter?

Wendy over at The Shabby Nest is having a Taming Kid Clutter party, since clutter is definitely my forte (not necessarily the taming part) I thought it would be fun to play along. I am the lucky mom of 4 very lively offspring. They are messy and they have oodles of kid stuff, so clutter is an all too real part of our life. For me the idea of truly conquering our kid clutter is akin to believing in the tooth fairy, but I have found a few ways to help tame the clutter beast.

FAMILY ROOM: Our main floor family room is right off of our kitchen, so we spend a lot of time in this space. As much as I would like for it to be free of kid stuff, it's not gonna happen. The solution: a coffee and 2 end tables with drawers. Affordable ones, so we don't freak out when the inevitable scratches occur.

Most of the time the contents of these drawers (2 more on the other side) are on the floor. Thanks to my one year old. But it is a quick clean up, and I can keep an eye on her while I am cooking.

Both end table drawers contain books. We read every day so it is important to keep a few handy.

PLAY ROOM: We actually do have a play area downstairs. My favorite storage item in this room is Big Red (originally posted about here). It was a hand-me-down eyesore, but now it is a real work horse.

It can hold all sorts of kid stuff, from games,

to Littlest People.

LAUNDRY/MUDROOM: This room has been a major problem area for clutter. It's the dumping ground where shoes, coats & backpacks are discarded as soon as we walk in the door. There is a coat closet in this space, but most of our kids are too small to reach the hangers so their coats would end up in a pile on the countertop, or on the floor. Our solution was a wall of hooks.

It has made a huge difference, and was a piece of cake to make: wide molding & trim, spray paint & heavy duty iron hooks.

BATHROOM: The downstairs bathroom is equipped with a black armoire to help store beach towels, bath toys, hair things and anything else that you would find in a kids bathroom.

BEDROOMS: My kids are obsessed with all things miniature.

I made my boys denim quilts with pocket borders to store their tiny treasures.

Perfect for rocks, coins and even Mater.

I posted about this changing table not so long ago. It's another piece of old furniture we refinished.

I love keeping all of the diapering gear out of sight.

Now my six year old daughter is the queen of clutter at our house. She's a pack-rat supreme who loves keeping her goods in close proximity. Nesting boxes come in handy for storing some of her loot.

As well as her nightstand (another refurbished piece), which doubles as a toy box.

And I am all over using the under the bed storage space. All of my kids have tubs that slide under their beds. There are tubs everywhere in our house.

There you have it. Are we clutter free? Not even close. But I try. OK, somedays I try. Other days we just look the other way and play.

Honey . . . I'm home!

Tonight I went out to dinner with some friends from high school. So much fun to see them & hear about their lives. We started talking about blogs, and Facebook. A whole lot about Facebook - what's up with that? I know I am probably the only person in the free world not doing it, but I'm kind of afraid to try. Sounds like another time consuming addiction just waiting to happen. Anyway, they wanted to know why I quit posting on this blog. After I got over my surprise, because it always is a little bit surprising and a wee bit embarassing to know that someone from my real life has dropped by, I tried to explain my reasons for taking a break. Truth be told, I couldn't exactly say for sure and every excuse that came out of my mouth sounded lame. Except for time, which is always a legitimate reason.

Lately there have been things I would have liked to share, and I have found myself composing blog posts in my mind. It has become apparent to me that the only way to clear my head of these thoughts is by setting them free. So free they will be.

My blogging break was not as restful, or as productive as I had hoped for a couple of reasons: the Holidays (crazy running around) and illness. For The last few months, my life has been completely dominated by cruel & chronic ear infections. Not my ears (I only wish), but hers...

She has been one miserable little bambina. However, the reign of Otitis Media terror is over. Last week she not only had her first birthday, she also had tubes put in her ears. She is not our first to go through this. Our six year old also had tubes, and they were such a lifesaver. I am looking forward to the return of our happy baby! I hate seeing my any of my kiddos suffer, whether it is physical pain or just hurt feelings.

(in her mini hospital gown ready for surgery)

So until I begin to feel like a blog slave again, I might actually post every once in a while. Or, if life gets crazy, maybe not. We'll see.