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!