My New Happy Place..

My husband & I love camping and spending as much time outside as we can. Before we had children, we spent many summer nights tent camping in Arizona. After we had Kiddo, we were slightly afraid of what our outdoor adventures would evolve into. We waited to try until Kiddo was 18 months, and were ecstatic that she loved it as much as us. Then we had Baby and tried camping a few times in our new-to-us camping trailer when she was still small.. amazing trips! Last year.. not so good. Taking a crawling baby camping ranks pretty high on my personal torture scale. Tears, tantrums, and complete frustration - not fun and a little traumatic.

We were hopeful and excited now that Baby is walking, running, and listens, that we could return to our summer camping escapes. In a word - fabulous..

My husband had been told that Willard Bay was a great place for families & to fish. We booked a site for 3 nights and crossed our fingers. After spending the week prepping the trailer, shopping for groceries, and packing, we set off on our way. My heart sank a little when we pulled up to the site. It wasn't in the forest, it was hot, and it was crowded with people and boats. It wasn't what I had imagined for our trip.

After we set up camp, we decided to explore the bay and maybe test the water out. That evening will rank high on my places to think about when in need of a moment of serenity. We found a quiet area off the main shore. Kiddo was in heaven bouncing her beach ball and Baby giggled up a storm splashing in the water.

For once I didn't worry about what times the girls went to sleep. We stayed up late eating gooey smores and making wishes on stars. Kiddo entertained us with silly ghost stories and snuggled up to hear about our antics when we were her age. The girls slept through the night and didn't play musical beds. Heaven!

To say my family melts my heart in a million ways just doesn't do it justice. I loved watching my girls search for seashells, spending time hearing their voices instead of the television, and givng them the wide open spaces they had been craving. We spent everyday in our bathing suits soaking the rays and relaxing. We even took the girls out on a paddle boat one afternoon - funny to watch us juggle the girls on our laps as we paddled about the bay.

I am sadly aware that are just a number of summers to enjoy while the children are young. I am confident that Kiddo will remember this one for quite some time. It's true we caught more bug bites & seashells than fish (we didn't catch a single one!), but the memories we are making are truly priceless. Camping with kiddos, even in a trailer, is not the easiest thing in the world, but it is worth its weight in gold..

Ruffled Bums and Bouncing Curls

Ruffled bum bums and bouncing curls..

that's what my summer girls are made of..

Summertime, Summertime, Summertime

I have so many projects in the works right now, it is a bit crazy. And almost all of which I can not show pictures..yet. This is impossibly hard for a chronic oversharer. ACK! 

I am still alive and well. I thought I would share what the beginning of our summer looks like.

Nope, I'm not pregnant again. That is not pureed food for a baby...it's for everyone! While I'm not a fan of hiding veggies in foods because I think kids need to make the connection of a healthy life with a healthy diet, I do think it's great to pump up some foods. One of my favorite things right now is to add about 1/2 cup of pureed cauliflower to our egg scramble.. Yummy!

 Lots and lots of gardening! This is our first year in a long time when I'm able to get some yard work done with the girls. We won't mention Baby's fistful of EZseed in the mouth and my panic (all is well). Kiddo is the best gardening helper and loves watching our veggie garden grow. (there is no picture of her because her attire is usually just undies..)

And some secret surprises for a special teacher at Kiddo's school. I'm becoming such a fan of the Courthouse Steps motif!

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of a fabulous summer...

Garden Party - Summer Sweetness Block

I am very excited to be a part of Sewhooked's first blog hop party. I can't wait to see all the paper piece pattern goodness! I love that the quilting community can be so supportive and encouraging of each other.

For the garden party, I designed a teacup full of roses. When I think of a garden party, I think of a fanciful day full of flowers, tea, and the ladies dearest in my life. You could make the roses all the same shade or vary them as I did. My husband think it looks a yummy cup of fruit sorbet, so you are welcome to interpret it that way as well. I think I will be using this block to create a Mother's Day gift - wouldn't it be sweet as a pillow or table mat for someone that deserves a cup of kindness?

I think it would be fun as large quilt too, with many different patterns for the teacups.

The PDF pattern is here. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop me a line. If you are new to foundation quilting, I have a tutorial here.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you love the block and can use it in your quilting. I can't wait to see the other blocks this month.

A Little This and That

I apologize for the lack of posts these past 2 weeks, there has been so much going on here at home. It literally took me a week to recover from our overnight camping trip with the girls. Anyone have tips to camping with a baby and toddler, AND not coming home completely wiped out? I'd love some ideas!

Summer is here and our days have been filled with early mornings, running through sprinklers, learning the art of a water balloon fight, and evenings on the deck. Unfortunately it hasn't left too much time for blogging or working in the studio. But with beautiful, sweet babies like these who can complain?

I did finish two items last week for my Etsy shop. First up is a Diva Minnie Mouse inspired quilted baby blanket. I am a stickler about copyright - there are no licensed Disney fabrics in this quilt. They are just fabrics that remind me of the iconic fashionable Mouse! Lots of pink, black, polka dots, and zebra stripes. So much fun!

And I had been working on a paper pieced Union Jack for awhile now. I always test on my patterns to make sure they will come out as well I as imagined. I reworked the pattern 3 times and considered scrapping it all together, but I just love the iconic image. I realized my mistake - I was trying to replicate rather than trying to create my own version. As soon as I went wonky and embraced my vision, it was perfect! The pattern is for 4"x6" and it makes a fabulous applique! I'm using my test pattern on a mini art quilt, but I think this would be so cute on a bib or burp cloth!

I'm also working on a couple larger art pieces. It is hard for me to stay focused on the lengthier projects since I'm all about immediate gratification. These new pieces have been floating in my head for awhile though, so I'm excited to work on them and don't want to rush it.

Due to our crazy,crazy summer schedule I'm going to put off doing more sewing pattern reviews & knock off tutorials till at least the end of July. I have lots of fun projects lined up for you, but time is moving so fast. In the meantime, if you do have any requests - please let me know!