Whoopdidoo and Dickery Dock! Its the Holiday Season!

Its so hard to believe that we are in the midst of another holiday season and the year is coming to an end. I don't think I lived up to any of my new years resolutions but its been a great year anyway! We are enjoying our time with the little guy and with friends and family. I have to admit that I was a bit overwhelmed because I have a lot going on. I was going to give up on all the new things I did last year that I had hoped would be the beginning of family traditions for us. But I woke up the other morning reflecting on how happy I was last holiday season and decided that I had to change my attitude. Instead of focusing on the overwhelming stuff, I decided that the traditions must live on! Even though its hard to get anything done with an active 20 month old running around, I decided to sacrifice and stay up to get everything done. Afterall, I am only going to have one Christmas 2010 with my family so I have to make the most of it. So I have been up sewing every night trying to get our family pj pants done. I thought I did not have time but I have two pair basically made,(just to to hem the cuffs and add elastic to the waist) I will make my pair today.

We also joined some friends and made holiday cookies and going out to view Christmas Lights. Some neighborhoods go all out and its so fun to see. My son was totally into it as you will see from the pics.



We also decorated our tree finally:






And I have completed all of my blocks for the baby quilt I am making using the tube quilting technique. Its coming out great. Its so far from perfect but I think its going to make a great gift.







I think I am going to add white flannel sashing and then I have another blue lamb print for the border and backing. Its turning out nicely! I really love easy techniques that work up quickly and this one fits the bill.

Finally, just a little more cuteness!

Sweet and Spicy Jerk Ribs Recipe | Taste of Home Recipes

Sweet and Spicy Jerk Ribs Recipe | Taste of Home Recipes

These ribs turned out tender and tasty. I highly recommend this recipe.

Good Stuff!



This is a stock photo but I think mine look even better! No time for a photo though!

Thanksgiving Wrap Up

So my family had a fantastic holiday and I really enjoyed Black Friday Shopping. I especially enjoyed going to JoAnn's Fabric! I got tons of flannel fabric at 1.29 per yard! I am making a baby quilt for a friend who's baby is due in early spring so I got several blue prints and some solid white flannel, among other things. I am making this quilt using the tube quilting technique demonstrated here:



This is such a great technique for beginners, which is what i am with only 4 quilts under my belt. Check out my blocks. They look way more complicated that they really were to make. This quilt is going to come together fairly quickly. my blocks are totally imperfect but I love them!





Overall, a great long weekend filled with great time with family and friends, great food and great crafting!
Finally, I will end with an overdose of cuteness!

Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2010!

I was planning to enter my quilt in the online show next year in the spring. Who knew there was a fall festival! Yeah! So I am entering my my Crazy Shortcake Quilt, only the third quilt I have completed so far. I have blogged about it before but I wanted to show it because I am very proud of it and it was so well received by the recipients. Check out their smiles!






This was done using a quilt as you go technique and a layer cake. It was easy, fast and much appreciated. I am planning to do another one for another friend having her first baby boy early next year.

Go on Over to Amy's Creative Side and join in the fun and view some lovely quilts!

In My Crockpot:Green Chili Stew Recipe

I changed this up to make it more toddler friendly by leaving out the green chilis and replacing it with green salsa. Since I used the salsa, I also cut the water back to 2 cups. Its smelling pretty good right now so I am hopeful that this will go over well with my family.

Green Chili Stew Recipe

In My Crockpot:Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken Recipe

Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken Recipe
This is my first try on this one. Hope it turns out great!

Tanaka Farm Pumpkin Patch

We had a great day today at the farm. Our little guy thoroughly enjoyed his time running through the pumpkin patch, the corn maze and the petting zoo. Check out the photos and the videos!









A good time was had by all!

Is it really October already?

Wow, I have not posted since August. Hmmmmm, where should I begin? Well, I have recovered very well from my surgery. Still in school, fighting to finish. Already thinking about the holiday season. Fall and winter are my favorite time of the year because of the family focus during the holidays.Its just that much more special now that we have a little one. Believe it or not, he is almost 18 months old and just a joy! We are taking him to a pumpkin patch this weekend and I will be posting about that soon. I have been crafting a lot lately. I have been making gifts for the holidays. I am planning on doing a little grab bag with my girlfriends so I am making all the gifts that will go into that grab bag. I won't post pics now but I will later. I have also been doing some sewing for my boy. I made a hoodie for him from the this book:

Kwik Sew

This was a fairly easy project and it turned out great. And my son seems to like it!

Here is the hoodie and some cuteness!

crafting and recuperating

I am at home this week after an outpatient surgical procedure last week. I am doing well and will be back in the swing of things next week. Being off has afforded me the opportunity to do a bit of crafting. Because of my surgery, I am not allowed to lift anything over 10 pounds so my son, weighing in at 23 lbs, continues to go to daycare while I heal. So, that leaves me with time to craft. The first few days after the surgery, I was in a percocet induced haze so all I did was lay on the couch and babble unintelligible words and phrases which my husband rightfully ignored. But by Monday I was able to handle my sewing machine so I decided to work on a baby quilt I have been making for a friend. I am happy to say that I finished it! The baby is due in the fall so I am way ahead of the game. This is my second Crazy Shortcut Quilt and I have to say, I really enjoy quilting in this style. This was made with one layercake that I found on ebay for $6.00! The sashing and the binding is symhony broadcloth from JoAnn's that I got on sale so this gift was very affordable. This pattern works up quickly since the squares are precut. It took me a while because I have a little one and am in school and have precious little time for crafting. But I really think if you have the time, and you are good at Quilting, you could finish this one in no time. Looking forward to making more of these in the future!












This pattern was developed after the book was published and you can find the pattern here:

Marguerite's Blog

Its so far from perfect, but it turned out great and I enjoyed the process!


And finally, a little cuteness for the road:

OC County Fair, Quilting and more cuteness!

I think I may have said before that the one thing that I have always been sure of is that I wanted a family of my own. When I think about my life now, I just smile. I mean, life is not perfect, we have debt, we live in a small apartment, we are not working at our dream jobs and I have been battling infections all year. But even with all that, I am very happy because of my family! I am sort of shocked when I say that I am happy. Its because what matters most is family and good solid friendships and I am rich in both. I have a fantastic husband, a wonderful baby boy who is growing up way too fast, a fantastic extended family who love us all and who have completely fallen in love with my son ( although, who could blame them, he is so precious!), wonderful wonderful friends all over the world who have rejoiced with us and mourned with us. I feel so very very rich! I finally have the right perspective on life (at least, right now I do!). I could not ask for more.

This weekend, was all about family, even my crafting! DH and I took our little one to the Orange County fair. We had a blast. The little guys clapped the whole time as we walked through the rides, exhibits and games. He could not do much, but he seem to really enjoy just being there adn seeing everything. This was my first time at the fair. It was truly like an old fashioned fair. There was a working farm, there were pie eating contests and arts and crafts exhibits. Beautiful quilts, woodworking projects, knitting and crocheting. I was inpired to enter one day ( not sure when though!). Then there was the food. Why is it that they fry everything at fairs? Check out some pics:

So this was a great family day for us. So cool to watch our son experience life.

In crafting, I have a finished object! I actually worked on this all week to try to finish is. It was supposed to be done in feb for our anniversary. Of course, it just did not work out. But I managed to get it done. Its sort of an art quilt, totally improvised by me. I think it came out great. Its so not perfect but I love it!



We ended the weekend by teaching Sunday School to the 3rd and 4th graders and I thoroughly enjoyed the kids!

So, you see, a fantastic, fun filled, family weekend!

crafty day today and a giveaway announcement

I woke up early this morning and while the house was still quiet, I worked on the shawl I am crocheting. This is a slow work in progress which I neglected to take a picture of before posting. So that will wait until next time.

My friend and I had a crafty afternoon today. I quilted and she was making jewelry.

I am working on my second Crazy Shortcut Quilt. This one is the Shorthcake pattern made from one layer cake. The shortcake is a baby quilt and I already know who will be receiving this one. The baby is due in the fall so I am ahead of the game.

Here is the Shortcake pattern, in case you are interested in trying this technique:

Crazy Shortcake

Here is my work:



This quilt has 20 squares. The pile on the right is the 16 I finished and I have 4 more to quilt as seen on the right. This little project is going to be finished way ahead of time!

Here is my friend's beautiful wire wrapped pendants:



All in all, we were very productive today!

edited to add cuteness:



Finally, make sure to head on over to Spun Sugar Quilts if you are a quilter and want to win an ACCUQUILT GO Cutter.

cooking and quilting

Today, I spent most of the day with my little family. We enjoyed going to the local farmers market this morning because we had an evening service today at Church. After the market we came home and while I cooked for the week, my husband watched the baby and washed 3 loads of clothes.

I had a marathon cooking event in my kitchen. I try to cook a few things we can eat throughout the week on the weekend so I don't have to worry about it through the week. This weekend I made:

beef stew
rice
pasta sauce
beans from scratch
squash/potato soup and

this:
Cookie Sheet Chocolate Bars

I am planning on taking a nice portion of these to my bible study group this week. The turned out great! See:







I love the Mennonite Girls Can Cook site. They really can! I have made 3 of their recipes so far. All have been hits!

I have not quilted this weekend but I did a lot before I left for my vacation. Here is a sneek peek of my next crazy shortcut quilt:





Here are some closeup shots of the decorative stitches I am using for the quilting.




I love the little hearts!

Finally, I will leave you with some cuteness!

Want to win a quilt?

Go here:

Works In Progress

back again already!

Well, I am feeling a bit free. I just turned in my last paper for my accounting class. Whew! This class kicked my butt! At any rate, its just about over. I have one last 6 month term and I will have my MBA! I am so looking forward to finishing this program. I started it before our son was born and it has been so hard to keep going at it. And believe me, I have been whining the whole time. Its been like pulling teeth to get me to finish my work. I have a great mentor who continues to encourage me through this program. I owe him a lot.

I felt so free that I wanted to bake something for my girlfriends who I was going to see tonight. So I found this great blog while internet surfing several months ago:

Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

They have some great recipes and I cannot wait to try more of them. Tonight I made this:

Platz

It was a total hit with my girlfriends!

Check out my version. I did it with peaches.

My Platz

Its very tasty. THis recipe is a keeper for sure.

Other than studying and caring for my family, I have also been crafting. I started my second Crazy Shortcut Quilt and am considering joining this quilt along:

Quilt-A-Long

Clearly I am a bit delusional about my time!

Anyway, I am planning to blog more about my crafting, my cooking and my progress in school. Bye for now!

oh, here is a pic of the baby boy mentioned above. He is growing and changing everyday. Its so hard to believe that he is 14 months old already!



ok seriously this time: Bye for now!

Its been a while!

I have not posted in while but I am happy to say that things have been going well. My son turned 1 in April and we had a great party to celebrate. Tons of people came including my mother and sister all the way from Chicago. Its so hard to craft with a toddler in the house( Yes, he is walking! He started walking about a week after his 1st birthday.) So as far as projects go, I have 1 crochet UFO, 1 knitting ufo, and two quilting ufos. I can only craft every so often and most of the time its late at night. I did find and join this great crafting group and I did manage to finish one of my 3 quilting. The women in this group are so fantastic! People do all kinds of crafts. There were quilters, crocheters, knitters, scrapbookers, one cross stitcher and an embroiderer and a papercrafter! Wow, all I can say is wow. 24 people came to this meeting and I am so encouraged to have found these like minded women. I brought the quilt that I have been making for my son. It is not perfect, but with the help a fantastic quilter in attendence, I got it done!



The pattern is from this Book:

Crazy Shortcut Quilts.



It was very doable for a beginner like me.

I am so dang proud of myself and I am looking forward to making more of these.

I met so many great women, one of whom is the author of this Blog:

The Quilt Engineer

This lady is a true artist. Check out her work on her blog.

I think I am getting better at mothering and balancing all the things in my life (who am I kidding?!) I am hoping to find time to blog more and craft more, even if I have to stay up until midnight to do it!

I am still working full time and going to school. Hopefully, things will slow down a tad once i complete my masters!

Finally Posting!

I have been wanting to post for a while and am just getting to it. Its so hard to believe how fast time flies! My son will be a year old next month! It seems like just yesterday that he was born. He is now crawling, cruising and standing up without holding on to anything. He says mama and dada and his sitter swears he can say his own name! He is a fantastic kid and a ton of fun. The weather is great here in LA so we have been outdoors a lot. My son got in a swing for the first time a few weeks ago and he absolutely loves it! Check him out:



Other than enjoying my family, I have still been on my quest to obtain my master's degree. If I remain focused, I will be finished by the end of the summer. The program has been amazing so far, though I did lose focus the first 8 months of my son's life! I am finally back on track, though its still tough.

In the midst of all this, I am still trying to craft. I just don't want to stop doing the things I really enjoy doing. SO I stay up late or get up early to craft when I can find the time. I am really enjoying sewing right now. I have taken four classes at the Knit Sewing club in Culver City. For the longest I thought this place was some sort of hybrid knitting-sewing group. But its really about sewing with knit fabrics on sergers. I am so excited to be learning so much in these classes. Its a Japanese based company and apparently they have 250 clubs in Tokyo. We have four in SoCal. Each class is 2-3 hours long and you complete a garment in each class. I have made 2 skirts, one pair of pants and one top. The patterns are very basic but you learn a different skill on each garment. I am so excited to be honing my skills. I will have to get my husband to help me with a photo shoot so I can showcase my work. For now I have a picture of the quilt I am working on.I don't really have a pattern, just making it up as I go along.



I got these Moda Charm Packs from Fabric Mart. The quilt is so far from perfect but it will be perfect for me!

Healthcare Rant

You never know how crazy our healthcare system is until you have to actually use it. So, as you know I spent the first 2 weeks on 2010 sick and in need of care. I am rarely sick and have been hospitalized 3 times in my 44 years. So, I rarely use the benefits that I and my employer pay for. This goround, I did have a need for wound care, which means I needed a home health nurse to come out to my place and clean my two wounds and change the dressings. Without getting too graphic, the wounds were left open (i.E., no stitches) so that they could heal from the inside out. So, proper wound care was super important, otherwise, I coud get re-infected. Initially, they did not give me a home health nurse at all and simply expected my husband and me to work it out for ourselves. SO I went to the doctor everyday the first week so that he could change my dressings. Then, they finally authorized a home health nurse who came a total of 3 times. But here is the kicker, they sent the nurse, without supplies! We were expected to have our own supplies. The hospital gave some, but the wounds can take up to a month to heal and as I write this, one of them still requires daily care. So, needless to say the supplies we had started running out. How can an insurer justify covering the nurse's visit but no supplies? Its really crazy to me. I tried to buy the needed supplies from the local pharmacy, but of course they had none of the items I needed. Lucky for me I work in healthcare and have friends in high enough places......

You would think that in a country as advanced as ours, one could get what you need when you need it, without a lot of trouble......

Looking on the bright side, my husband learned to care for my wounds from the home health nurse and has taken excellent care of me for the past several weeks. : )

Post It Note Tuesday 1-19-10

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