The Lovie

I made my sister-in-law a lovie and thought I'd share what it looks like. I really liked how it turned out. It is my version of a taggie...My new little niece, Lilliann will be on the way soon!

Oh yes, and the perfect helper for all your sewing projects, Zeke, he's great at keeping my projects warm and fuzzy. He adds his own love to them :)

Shhh...don't wake him, he's working hard!

Well, he did kill two bugs yesterday, he earned his keep!

Oh the Zucchini I will have...

I thought I'd post for my garden and show the lovely zucchini plants that are just about to bloom! I am so excited, I will have zucchini running out of my ears but all is well. I love to share! I also wanted to post my new friend who is the "Guardian of the Garden". My friends little boys picked him out for my birthday back in march and I just found the perfect little spot for him. He needs a name though, any thoughts?

Getting a little greener...

Okay, I have a hybrid, I have a garden, compost bin and recycle...so I am taking small steps to becoming more green. Not bragging by any means because I still do some pretty un-green things like Ziploc bags and such. I however have gotten into eating local produce. I really started thinking about it when in California. So many neat places around there in Northern Cali that are using fresh, local produce and meats. Since I still love chicken and do occasionally eat red meat, I prefer to use the best. My garden is going well but for supplementing it I do need other additional produce plus I am not going to raise cattle or chickens. I will pay a little extra for the good stuff. My friend Epha gave me a great site to visit to get on a weekly/bi-weekly delivery system for fresh local meats, produce and groceries. It is http://www.farmfreshdeliveries.com/. I also bought some chocolate milk from a local grocery store and found that it is local as well and is right down the street from my work. It is Traders Point Creamery, I stopped by yesterday so I could get some milk and yogurt and found that they also have beef from their farm as well. There is even a Friday night farmers market that I could stop by on my way home too! So exciting. (it doesn't take much for me) I had my chocolate milk with breakfast today, it really is like drinking a chocolate bar! I get my first bin delivery from Farm Fresh on next Friday, it will have leaf lettuce, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, peaches, plums and many other yummie things. It is costing us $35.00 every other week which is about what I would spend for 2 wks of produce but since it is local it will last longer in my fridge since it has not been shipped across the country. Half my produce goes bad in a week because of that very reason it seems. So all that "green" I may not be but I am happy to support locals :)

Purse-Diaper Bag

This is the most recent bag I have made. It has large, multiple pockets inside. It has been one of my favoirtes so far. My camera is back in action with recharged batteries so I will be uploading more pictures soon!

May garden

I know its a little late in posting it but here are a few pics of the beginning of our garden. It has grown so much more with the 8 plus inches of rain we have had in June. I will post those soon...

Some lettuce in a container garden

Nine rows of veggies: Mixed lettuce & cucumber together, brussels sprouts, broccoli, zucchini, green beans, jalepenos, canteloupe, watermelon, and leaf lettuce.

The strawberries were really great. The one and only one we got to eat. Something is eatting them, we put coffee grounds out which is supposed to scare away squirrels but we have a little hole in the back yard in our hill and we think we may have a chipmunk. I bet that is what is havin my berries for a snack, that and my basil. Yummy combo huh? I was going to post new pictures of the garden but the batteries to my camera have croaked and I need to get some new rechargable ones. Well as soon as I get them, I will post the current pictures of the garden and the fun things I did this weekend with my sewing machine.

Got to go to Clementines too! WOO hoo! Love that store! I cannot wait to get started on the new quilt. I really need those batteries to get some new pictures.

My cup runnith over...

I got into my car this morning and smiled. I do most everyday I get in my car. Last summer my husband had some welding type work in the garage to do and with some of the extra sauder and shaped it into a N <3>! Such a simple little thing and it makes me so happy. So I decided to remind myself of all the things I am thankful for or make me happy.
God
-He is good to me and has blessed me with so much! He loves me unconditionally even when I am not happy about what He is doing in my life.
My husband
-he’s a child at heart and it is so much fun.
My Mom
-She’s one of my favorite people and a great Mom, I would be blessed to be like her.
My Family
-There is sooooo many people in our family; Uncles, Aunts, Nephews (and one niece), Mom-in-laws, Dad-in-laws, Cousins, and brothers & sisters. I love my crazy extended family that I inherited when I got married.
My animals
-They are goofy and make me smile all the time (I’ll specifically leave out the things that drive me nuts about them though…)
My friends
-they encourage me and add joy and fun to my life.
My Sewing machine
-tons of fun and I make things with it.
My garden
-it will produce lots of yummie veggies for the fam and friends this year
My composter
-it makes me feel just a little bit more green and it will help my garden grow yummie food J
My job
-I have one. Short and simple…
My Bible study
-They are encouraging and everyone gives their own individual insight and thoughts on what they learn/know and I am blessed each time I go.
My Kitchen
-I love to cook and have so much room in which to do it. (It also brings joy to Nate.)
Side note: when my garden grows it will be even more fresh food and Zucchini bread yum!
My home
-I love my home. Not everything about it but that it is HOME. Where I can rest and enjoy my family. It is also a welcoming place for guests and I am thankful to be able to have people in my home.Well I am sure there is more…but that is the majority of the things I am thankful for.

Stress, stress, oh the stress...

"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us, we are wondering

how painful the best will turn out to be." -C.S. Lewis

So I have had this quote for some time. It is in my rolodex of scripture/quotes I keep at my desk. (It was given to me in college as a gift from my friend Emmie and it has gone to each job since then; it's a busy little thing.) I came upon it again today and found myself thinking how true it is. I know that God's got my, and my families, best in store for us, but it is not always easy. God has never promised a smooth paved road, he promises to be with us and guide us along the way, but we can hit "character building" road bumps along the way. My pastor says. "When you squeeze a lemon you know you get-lemonade. but, squeeze a Christian and you get? It's unknown." I want to respond with love and kindness and prayer when I am squeezed. Now in Rachel-land, not everything comes out roses and pretty words. It is hard to stay under and let God do his work in me. I know He will complete His work and that it will be in His timing and His way- "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil 11:6-but the process is not simple or short. It leaves me thinking what's next? I'm not one to dare or tempt God, so I will not really ask Him that question. I know He will answer with more "opportunities" for me to learn. Now while I am thankful for the learning experience afterward, I am not longing for the next one either. God has his own timing and I don't understand it, nor do I really like it at times of course, but He has his reasons. He is building my trust and reliance on Him. There are some very tricky things coming up in our life soon and I don't know how it will turn out...but it will all be according to God's will.

Mission Accomplished!

At 1:00 am on Saturday morning the last stitch was made for the Mom-in-law quilt. It was delivered on Sunday to her for her Birthday/Christmas and every holiday in between present. I really do like this quilt. It was in shades of blue, her favorite color. I got to Bloomington to give it to her and thought with alarm that I completely forgot to take a picture of it. I was so upset. I made my mother-in-law promise to send one. It is by far the largest quilt I have made yet. It was nice to be done with it and I was very happy about how it looked. So pictures are dependent on when she sends it to me...
On to the next quilts. I have so many lined up plus one of these days I need to start on the one for our nursery so I have one made for "our child" to come hopefully soon...(more about that later.) But for now on to the next project.

Mom-in-law Quilt

Okay, I admit I have probably at any given time around 5 projects going on. I have two afghans I am crocheting, one for my cousin's graduation, one for my Sister-in-law's baby girl who is due the end of June. I also have two bags in progress, my quilt from a year ago. That keeps getting pushed back till I have time and can find 6 other squares to make. Then there is the Mom-in-law's quilt. It needs to have some finishing quilting touches and the binding put on. My goal tonight is to finish it. Done and out of my hair. I love the quilt but it is time for it to move on along...I have others to get to. I am anxious for the baby quilts I have to do. Those are small and easy to quilt, this thing is a full size quilt and the biggest I have ever made. It has been a bear to quilt and arrange around the machine while quilting. I will post a pic on Sunday because it will be done; has to be. Note: This is also the same quilt that gave me fits last year when I had the perfect fabric, ran out of it, couldn't get it any more and had to change the fabric in the middle of making the quilt. Wish me luck, say a prayer!

Resolution to the emergency

Okay...well maybe not really an emergency but it was to me. When my sewing machine dies, it is a very, very bad thing. Especially when it is brand new.
So I have it now. The man at Joann's plugged it in and it beeeeeeeped at him too. I was so scared I'd get in there and look like an idiot and it would work for him (that always seems to happen). So I took Nate along for moral support, plus he heard the awful beep too. The guy was actually really nice (Nate said of course he was nice, it is the third time you were in for this). He got the same beep I did and just went and got a new machine, rang it up and it was done. He also asked it I would be interested in an upgrade to a Viking Husqvarna machine...well of course, how much I asked. It would only be the difference in cost between what I originally paid and the new machine cost. It should only be around $80.00 sooooo, nate said to check it out when it comes in sometime this week but in the meantime, I have a working machine. Since Singer is now made in China it is reflecting that. The Husqvarna's are made in Sweden. I think I will probably be going with that option instead since it is a much better sewing machine. This will hopefully be to an end soon.

On another note, I chose the fabric for my next baby quilt. It is called Chocolate Lollipop. There are other corresponding colors with it but I am so excited about the fabric, I really love it. I attached the link to some of the colors in it the main is D1650-390 and then one of the others is D1652-390. I also pulled out the dark pink, lime green and light blue as a solid corresponding colors and there is a fun stripe I found as well. I will be sewing on it soon, I have two afghans to finish first though, but I am dying to get started on it. That is all for now, I'll post pics along the way.

Beyond Frustrated!

Okay, so I just posted about how much I love my sewing machine... I don't anymore. I am very angry at it. Here is the saga:
For Christmas Nate bought me a sewing machine. I got it early, in October because it was on a huge sale. It was exactly what I wanted. It had many decorative stitches and had all the special quilting accessories I wanted. Two weeks after I got it the display lights went out. I took it in to Joann's where I bought it from a "special" sewing machine department and they told me that they would send it in for repair and give me a loaner for the time being. FINE, not happy but FINE; a new sewing machine that already has problems in the first month is not a good sign...So almost two months later I get back my machine. It is working right until my next class I took at the quilt shop in May. The lights went out again...I took it back and gave the ultimatum; either a brand new machine or my money back. They then upgraded me to a better machine and it was great! It had even better options and would do the alphabet and numbers too. I was psyched! I quilted on it on Sunday and Monday this week and sat down before company came on Thursday night and to my surprise it beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppped at me then the display went blank. I could not sew, or push any buttons. Now I am really not happy. This is the second reject I have received from Singer. I am off to Joanns tonight after work to discuss this with the manager at the sewing department, not a very nice (read: grumpy old) man. So please pray I keep my patience and don't try to strangle this person. ALL I WANT IS A WORKING NEW SEWING MACHINE....not a unreasonable request. So that is my gripe. Grrr.
Oh yeah, I have two purses to finish, a quilt to put the binding on and two new quilts to start on as well...So much to do and no machine.

My Sewing Machine

Sew Mamma Sew is doing a questionnaire on their blog about what type of machine you have, so here is mine:

What brand and model do you have?
Singer Confidence
How long have you had it?
1 week
How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
$500 but I got it for $300; they upgraded me since my other Confidence Quilter had some mechanical issues.
What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? Quilts, clothing, home dec & handbags; generally anything that sounds fun!
How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?
I try to sew at least twice a week for a couple hours
Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?
I LOVE my machine! No name yet.
What features does your machine have that work well for you?
It runs very smoothly and I love that the feed dogs go down (my last machine did not & it was very hard to quilt)
Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?
Not yet, too new
Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree?
Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!
My hubby bought it for me for Christmas.
Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?
Yes, I really like it. It is new and it has so many stitches!
What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
I wanted a machine with a few decorative stitches and a wide arm for quilting. I also wanted a drop in bobbin case.
Do you have a dream machine? Oh yeah, I would love a long arm quilter!

Dreaming in Fabric

I have some really fun new fabric! I don't want to work...I want to sew. I have two new patterns I made up and am dying to get them done. I need a new purse! It will be striped and in many different colors. I am also scoping out for new fabric for two baby quilts. My friend Erin is expecting end of June and my friend Emmie is due in the Fall. Erin is one of my closest friends and I have known her since right before Junior High School (a long, long time ago!) She is doing the room in Pink & Brown which is easy to find fabric for; those are the "hot" colors along with Teal/Blue & brown. Now just to narrow them down. I will be going to Clementines Dry Goods to pick up some new fabric for those projects. I love that place, the fabric is great. They have a lot of Amy Butler fabric which I love! I have to pick out patterns as well but that normally comes for me after I pick the fabric. So little time and so much fabric and ideas! So that is all for now, busy weekend ahead again...fun but busy. I think next weekend maybe I'll stay in my jammies all day!

Busy Memorial Day Weekend

We had a very busy weekend! My mom came up to visit on Friday and we went out for dinner. Saturday we babysat our Godson, Micah. Then we went to a Indy 500 party that night. Sunday we had miscellaneous things around the house and Mom went home. I made up a new purse pattern and finished a purse in about 4 hours. I love the new purse!!! It is striped with a big bright flower pattern and I actually made up a new pattern for a flower to pin onto the purse. There will be a picture soon. It has 4 big pockets inside with lots of room. It is by far my favorite purse I have ever made! I loved the colors and the style. It was really fun! It is red, black, cream and also has some burnt orange and maize (dark yellow) colors in it. I made it for my friend Christina whom we saw yesterday on Memorial Day. They were our Monday treat! It was great to visit with them. They came in from Seattle to visit family in Chicago so we drove up for the day and met at the Brookfield Zoo. It was a cruddy day outside and of course Nate & I wore summer clothes, it was 75 in Indy and 55 in Chicago but we didn't remember to check the weather. It rained off and on, was cold & very busy but it was great to visit. They have three of the cutest kiddos and the newest addition Luci is really sweet (9 wks 0ld) I was a really bad baby hog and carried her in the little snugly. We got back home around 9pm Monday night and were tired but very happy to have visited with good friends.

This weekend looks to be busy as well. We are stealing a friends little boy (6 yr old) for Friday night so she can have a Mommie nite out. He is a blast to steal and loves Nate; I'm kinda chopped liver compared to him. Other than that we just have more paperwork to fill out for the adoption agency. As soon as we get that in they schedule us to meet with a case worker, set up home studies and attend meetings/classes and within about 6 weeks we have the home study done and get our profile out there and birth moms can see us then. If we are picked we'll meet with the birth mom and then so on from there. So say a prayer that we can come up with a good profile to represent ourselves and that we are chosen quickly by the right mom. I know its all in God's hands but prayer is so helpful!

Wine Country

Well we are back. It was a wonderful trip. We stayed at the Petaluma Sheraton for our stay. We traveled all over the area. Wednesday when we got there we just drove around for a little bit and went to Sonoma for dinner at a little Thai restaurant. Thursday we went down to San Jose and went to the Winchester Mystery Mansion and took the tour. It was a very bizarre place but very beautiful. We we drove up Highway 1 for the afternoon and and had dinner at a restaurant called Lucas's on the coast and they served their own fresh fish they caught that day. Friday was San Francisco and out to Alcatraz. The tour of Alcatraz was really neat and the view from the island was great of downtown and the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked around Ghirradeli Square and Pier 39 and drove down Lumbard street. That night we went into downtown Petaluma and ate at Dempsey's. I really loved the place! They grow alot of their own produce and they are a brewery as well. Their rootbeer was great! Saturday we traveled through wine country and ate at an Italian market at Venesias's winery and we drove up to The Olive Press and Jacuzzi Winery; it was our favorite. I loved the wines at Jacuzzi, every single one we tasted was wonderful, they are not cheap so we bought one bottle but look forward to ordering more! The Olive Press was a really neat place to stop by as well, they grow alot of olives and make many different olive oils and blends. We brought back a bottle of one with crushed red peppers in it. We ate that night at Dempsey's again and it was just as good as the first time. I really liked the area. I really liked that at a lot of the restaurants they used fresh produce & meats that are local. I really wish we had more of that availability in Indiana. All in all it was a great vacation. We are not looking forward to going back to the real world.

The Winchester Mystery HouseThe Door to NowhereThe view of the vines

Alcatraz Island

Help! I've been locked up!

Lombard Street

A view from Highway 1

The Golden Gate

New Bags

My Sister-in Law Katie's Tote
My Friend Kelly's Chunky Tote

Dawn's Messenger Bag

Me Modeling the Messenger Bag

I sure hope Dawn likes her bag, its in the mail on Monday. I made it with two small pockets in the inside and one really big pocket in the middle. The straps are on the side and have metal rings to secure them. Different Pattern completely. I couldn't sleep Saturday night and so I finished the drawing of this one and then three other sketches; at least the sleepless night was productive.

Just an update...

Short post today. I have officially sent in the first part of the adoption paperwork. That is it. Won't post for a week or so since we will be on vacation but will post pics when we return.

The Refuge

Thursday nights is normally our Bible Study night, but yesterday instead we were blessed to go serve instead. It was wonderful being able to get out and do something for people in need. The Refuge is a place started by a man from our church and it is a food pantry first and foremost but it is becoming more than that. They have an additional area for clothing and household goods and volunteers help people get the groceries from their list and then they can go over to the clothing area to pick out what they would need. This place is really nice, it is set up like a department store almost with different sections to "shop" from. Of course when serving you feel much more blessed to be the one serving than it does to receive in my opinion. The people seeking services from The Refuge are just about anyone...someone down on their luck, single moms and even a few dads coming in to get clothing for their kids.
Nate mostly stayed in the upstairs area to sort through clothing and hang them to get them ready to take to the clothing racks. I was fortunate enough to get to talk to some of the people and help them with picking out their clothes and chat for a while. One lady coming in had her cousin and her two children with her; the cousin and children had just been kicked out of their mothers home with nothing in hand. One of the children was a 2 month old and they found some burp rags and you would have thought they had won the lottery. It was a pleasure to help them and help pick out items we take for granted and don't even think to be thankful for. It really made Nate & I want to go back more often than what our Bible Study is going to do. They really have a need for grunt work, hanging clothing, packing seasonal items, labeling things, stocking clothing and food, etc. I came home feeling full. Not happy, sad or proud, but greatfull and full. I forget how we are supposed to serve others in our community. I get so caught up in my life and trying to sort through it that I forget the others who are in need. We have been blessed with much and do share it willingly, since it is given to us in the first place to be stewards of. We are good stewards of the money God provides I believe, but I feel we are being called to be better stewards of our time. Giving two hours a week or so instead of two hours in front of a tv is so much better used by helping others in need. I hesitate to make plans during the week since I feel so tired and worn out by the end of the day. This was the case yesterday, I was exhausted when I got home from work but after coming back from the Refuge felt energized. My body was still tired but my heart was full and I could have worked another two hours or more. My goal is to do this more often and not let my life get in the way of helping.

"Do nothing out of selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." -Philippians 2:3-4

Sushi Rolls

Saturday I thought I'd try my hand at Sushi...here are the pics. I thought it turned out really well. I made them with cooked shrimp. I know its cooked but I am not a raw seafood person and I figured since we are in Indiana that fresh seafood would be hard to come by as well. It was really yummy though with shrimp.

Two more...

A friend of a friend wanted a chunky tote with animal fabric. Now I am not a animal print person but really like how it turned out!

Also a lady from work wanted a cute little bag for her daughter. She explained what she wanted and here's what I came up with...She wanted fringe at the bottom and wanted an outside pocket for her cell phone, also wanted something that would hang right about at the hip, so thus the Hip Bag.On to new patterns and orders. I have two bags in the making and am happy to have one that will be easy and not challenging and the other I have to think of a whole new pattern for. Thanks for a challenge Dawn...