WIP WEDNESDAY!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a sandwich! That's right, Happy in Cali is sandwiched.  On toward the Quilting!



I was inspired by Lee over at Freshly Pieced  when she posted her lunch totes made from this tut:

http://ayumills.blogspot.com/2010/08/tutorial-lunch-bag.html

Here is my version:






This was a very easy project and I highly recommend it.  Check out this and other tuts over at the Pink Penguin. She is a very talented blogger.

The baby quilt is still awaiting a binding and this handbag is done for the most part.

        Please excuse my messy desk at work!


I continue to work on my masters. its so hard!  I am sure I have senioritis and mommy-of-a-2-year-old-itis because I cannot seem to focus on this degree!  I did manage to turn in another paper and got an A on it! Yes!  Moving forward. I will be glad when this particular project goes into the completed pile.

And speaking of my little two year old work in progress, he started Karate class this week. Can you believe they have this for 2 year olds? Right now its all about  teaching them to follow directions, no real technique for about another year or so.  But check out my boy's moves!  Pretty good for a first try!  Forgive the blurs, he was a moving target and I took these on my blackberry.

one last bit of cuteness.



So stop on by freshly pieced to see what everyone else has been up to!

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!

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!