thinking out loud... for all to see...

Changes...

Our son, Chase, has been working for us for the last year or so. He's an incredible salesman. (seems the apple does not fall far from the tree!) Last year about this time, he was dating a girl and had gotten rather serious. He started talking about forever and looking at rings and we talked and prayed and in February they got engaged. It never felt quite right. Chase was a stressed out mess and it seemed that there were other things weighing heavily on his mind beyond getting married. A few years earlier, we'd looked into him going to an amazing Bible College in Kentucky called Boyce. It's the four year college on the same campus as Southern Theological Seminary. At the time, he decided not to go but it seemed that no matter where he went and no matter what he did, all roads seemed to lead back to Kentucky. Well, things happen and life changed. The engagement ended and the call to Kentucky seemed to grow stronger and stronger. We have friends in Louisville that own the same kind of insurance angency that we do and after a long thought process and God working little miracles all along the way, Chase decided to move down to Kentucky and go to Boyce and work for our friends there. In the middle of it all, nothing made sense but now that I look back over the last several years, I can see God clearly preparing Chase for this big adventure. It's a change in lifestyle and a big change in living arrangements and an even bigger change in income but God's got plans for this boy. I can't wait to see what they are.

This weekend we went down to Louisville and got him settled in his dorm (told you, big changes) and got his new job all settled. It was hard to leave him so far away but I know this is right. With everything in me, I know. Now it's Monday and I'm sitting at my desk in my quiet office. Chase is normally in the office on Monday so it's eerily quiet. ;) I miss him but I'm so excited to see where all this leads. My boy's following along and doing the things he knows he's supposed to. THAT, my friends, is some cool stuff. So, today, I'm sitting in my office with a grin on my office and occassional twinge of missing my boy and praying that God will bless his new adventure. I know He's going to. He's reliable like that... ;)

One. 1. ONEderful...

That grandson of ours went and turned ONE on Saturday. I still can't quite believe it. Somedays it seems like just yesterday that he entered our lives but most days it feels like this perfect little person has always been a part of our story. I love him so much. He had his party at our house surrounded by lots of relatives and a few good friends. We ate walking tacos (SO yummy!) and indulged in birthday cake. There were presents and decorations.

(our clippy chandelier from Pottery Barn full of Sutton pictures. Gramps has decided it can't come down for a good long while!)

But best of all was this little man walking around the joint from person to person so happy to be surrounded by people who love him.

It was a great first year Sutton! Wasn't it? I can't wait to get to watch you grow up into the amazing young man I know you're going to be.

And the absolute best part of it all? I get to be the Gram and watch it all up close and personal. Love that.

p.s. the pictures? Top one- iPhone quick shot. Middle- K&G's Rebel which I had NO CLUE how to adjust the settings on. UGH. Last and best one- Becky Novacek, of course! I can't wait to get my family picture proofs this week. YAY!  :)

One word?

Nah. That's not gonna do. I think I need a "theme" instead...

Yep. This is it. Useful & Beautiful. So maybe three little words? Ok. Could be because it's the beginning of a new year but I feel the need to clean out, sort through and just generally look at everything from a fresh perspective. And so I shall. Here's to 2012 and a useful and beautiful space... and a generally beautiful life. I think it's going to be a fun adventure.

p.s. The graphic? A William Morris quote I just love made with Rhonna Designs goodness! (fonts are from Rhonna too!)

And so it ends...

and a new year begins. :) YAY! :) I love a fresh start, don't you?
I did a little bit of a lot of things in 2011. For 2012, I hope to break it down a bit and concentrate on mastering a few skills that I've put off. One thing I really want to do is sew 12 quilts in 2012. I've spent little moments of time over the last week pulling fabrics off my shelves and cleaning and straightening and just gathering a bit of inspiration and I think I'm ready to COMMIT to the idea. (2011's word was commit and I think I'm finally grasping that thought!) So, here it is- 2012 is the year of the quilt. At least 12 of them. Not just quilt tops. I'm SUPER good at those already. No. These will be COMPLETED quilts. You know, where you make a back, and quilt them and bind them and stick them in the washing machine to make them all soft and snuggly? Those kind of all.the.way.done. quilts. I'm also hoping to complete a quilt from my stash of tops every month. So really, it'll be two quilts a month if all goes as planned. ;)

These are just some of the projects I sewed in 2011. Lots and lots of pillows in that mosaic, eh? I love that a pillow can be whipped up in an afternoon. :) A quilt? Not usually an afternoon... but that's ok.

So, goodbye 2011. It's been fun. Really. I've learned a lot and I'm glad you stopped by. It wasn't my best year ever but there have been some things that I'm glad to have experienced, a few I'd rather forget and lots that will become part of the bigger picture. I'm ready to meet 2012. I've got big plans for it. :)

Happy New Year! We'll talk soon...

It no sooner began than it was over...

and so another Christmas is done. It was especially nice to have Christmas on a Sunday and get to spend my morning with my church family. Loved it. I only took a few pictures and even those were only taken because Katie and Garrett wanted a picture in front of the Christmas tree. Epic fail. Oh well. I did manage to enjoy the moment and Sutton's first Christmas was a great time. :) Love love love watching the wonder in his eyes as he experiences everything. *sigh* I'll say it again- Being the Gram totally rocks.

So it's coming a little late... but... from our house to yours-

Merry Christmas! I can't wait to see what 2012 holds. I'm betting it's going to be GRAND!

I really really wish...

that the thoughts that I think about writing here would just show up... but alas, they do not. I've been a bit absent this year. Sometimes I think I should just shut it all down but then every once in a while I go back and review the things I've written and shared and wonder just how much of it I would recall without this record. And so, I plod on. It's not ideal, I know.

It's been a busy month. That crazy walking grandson of mine is 11 months old. How can that be? I know everyone says that time goes fast and we all agree but then when it REALLY does fly it still surprises me. Ha. I took Sutton's 10 month pictures the day before he turned 11 months. Oops. It's been a busy busy time, people. :) At least we snuck them in. We'll do 11 month pictures with the tree and presents hopefully over Christmas weekend. I couldn't not possibly imagine anything more amazing than this little man. And there is absolutely nothing that compares with the feeling when he takes off running towards me when he sees me. Giggling all the way. L.O.V.E. We call the look above the "Miley look" (she has a scrunchy nose face JUST like this!)

He is simply one of the happiest babies I have EVER seen. :) And no, it's not just because he's my grandson. I love that he's mostly a smiley, happy boy.

This month, the man in my life had a birthday! :) Scott entered "the 50's" now that he's officially OVER 50. We celebrated with Go-Kart races and pizza with friends. It was a FUN FUN FUN evening.

For his birthday, I made him a Grinch Quilt. The boy LOVES that movie and when he saw that there was a fabric line there was nothing else to make him happy but a quilt made of it. :) I was pleased that I got it done in time for his birthday since he was holding out hope for Christmas... EARLY. ME. Can you believe it? :) He loves it and has declared that our grandkids will LOVE it and use it every Christmas for now until eternity. *sigh* I love that man.

I also finished up a swap this month. It was a Savvy Seasons Swap and I love what I got:

And here's one piece of what I sent:

I also sent the wall hanging that I posted about a few posts back along with some pretty scraps. We fabric girls LOVE scraps. ;)

And since we spoke last, I made the last two Bagel Pillows for my Denise and my Becky. :) Denise's is made out of a glorious Schumacher fabric that we both loved... I'm pretty proud of it.

And Becky's is modeled after a pillow we both loved at the Farm Chick's Show this summer:

It's fun to try and figure out the "look" that will please. I've got to think of a bagel idea for 2012... hmmmmmmmmmmm...

(the little but fun condo tree)

It's been a great month. I'm almost ready for Christmas. We're keeping it SUPER SIMPLE this year and I love that. Trying to keep the REASON for the season always in the position of most importance. So thankful for a time to recognize the amazingness of Jesus coming to earth for us... If we don't talk before Sunday, have yourself a MERRY LITTLE CHRISTmas! I can't wait for 2012... can you?

Winner...

I love to win... Don't you? Well, maybe you did... Look below!

Congratulations Debra! :) I'll contact you via email and get your pattern to you soon!

If you didn't win, there's no reason why you shouldn't reward yourself for trying. I bet Nova would be happy to send you a pillow pattern too. You can purchase it here.

I'll back with a Grinch Christmas Quilt post soon. To say that my hubby loved it would be a total and complete understatement. YAY!

(giveaway closed!) One of the greatest things about the internet...

is the connection that you have with people all over the world who are interested in the same things you are. Back in the day when I was a scrapbooker (kind of miss those days sometimes) there was 2Peas. Oh how I loved 2Peas and the feedback and the banter about products and page layouts. Those were the days. When I started quilting, there was no 2Peas of quilting that I found... until I found Flickr. And Flickr, although it's mostly a photo sharing site, has become quite the mecca of all things modern quilting. There are great Flickr Groups that bring so many projects and ideas and feedback to the Modern Quilting World. Through joining swaps and hanging out I've managed to develope quite a few virtual friendships that are just so fun. It's great when you find people who "get" what you love and understand your need to share. I met the fabulous Nova on Flickr and we've developed a nice little cyber friendship that nicely spans the miles between the middle of nowhere America and the land down under of Australia. :) She's such a talented sewist and I love love love seeing her projects pop up on Flickr. We both have a thing about pillows and the Pillow Talk Swap has been quite a fun place to hang out and get fabulous pillows that amazing people make and send all over the world. So, when the fabulous Nova contacted me and asked me to test her new pillow pattern for her, I jumped at the chance. What a great way to help a friend AND end up with a cool new pillow for me. Can I just say that I LOVE a pattern that's clear and concise and easy to understand? I do. And this pattern is all that. It's a great sew and if you can follow directions it's pretty doable for anyone who's done a bit of sewing. :) I made mine in Sweetwater's new Christmas line and I couldn't be more thrilled with it. It's going to be a fun addition to my holiday decor.

I love the pocket on the front and it's ability to hold a treat or two. Who doesn't love a treat holder?!?!? :) I could see this done up in so many fun fabrics with all kinds of wonderful little gifts tucked into the pocket. It's a really creative way to deliver a gift. They get a gift AND an adorable pillow. Win, win, I say. You can buy the pattern here on Nova's blog... OR... you can leave a message for me on this post and I'll choose a winner who'll get the pattern FREE! How could you resist? Um, silly, you can't. :) I'm off to the studio for a sew-in. Seems my boy is going to have a birthday on Saturday and I'm REALLY under the gun to get his Grinch Quilt done so I can surprise him with it early. (he's not even daring to hope for it before Christmas) So, leave me a message here and I'll be back in a few days to choose a winner when I escape from Whoville and the Quilt that must be done before the 10th. ;)

p.s. I loved this pattern so much that I whipped up a second one to give to another swap partner... This time I made it a wall hanging. Fun, huh?

Holy Cow! ;)

This weekend we went to see a bunch of condos in our area that were decorated and being shown as a fundraiser for the Joslyn Castle. I was really interested to see what designers would do to the condos when given a chance. Some of them were quite cool while others were "interesting" and some were just plain weird. Ha! ;) How's THAT for a review? We went with another couple and we enjoyed traipsing through and giving our commentary on each space. Other than paint and backsplashes in the kitchens, I think I walked away thinking our condo stacks up pretty nicely. We've chosen not to paint since we're renting and we don't want to have to repaint when we decide we're done and obviously a backsplash in the kitchen really isn't an option either. That's ok. We love it there and our view totally rocks. Anyway, the holy cow part? Well, the very last condo we toured turned out to be mine and Scott's favorite. It has what we would consider to be pretty much the perfect view and it's a corner unit so it's light filled (much like ours) and the decor was almost perfect. We loved the color scheme and it felt like a comfortable and yet totally stylish space. When we rounded the corner and peeked into the half bath I just about lost it. There on the perfectly painted peridot colored walls was the coolest painting... of a COW. Yes, you heard me right, a cow. He was just stunning. Such a great look.(excuse the crappy iPhone picture. No photos were "allowed" so I was stealthly taking a picture so I could introduce you to this fun guy!)

All day  long designers had been telling me how I could purchase this or that thing that I commented about liking and so I was bold and looked at the designer and professed my love of the bovine. I needed it. I had to have it. only problem? It was NOT for sale. Holy cow. Are you kidding me? Ugh. All day long. Condo by Condo. I had been offered tables, beds, fabric. You name it, it was for sale. But not the cow. Seriously? Come to find out, the cow belonged to a friend of the designer who had painted it and he had loaned it for the show with the express instruction that he would not sell it. Dang. I'm on a mission now. I must find a cow to compensate for the one that got away... Any ideas?

 

Flexible...

and no, I am NOT talking about my ability to touch my toes. (although I can TOTALLY do that!) Life requires a certain amount of flexibility. You don't want to be wishy washy and you certainly don't want to be too stuck to the plan. You need to be able to know where you're going but be willing to take a detour now and then. I think I'm on a "detour" right now. I still know where I want to end up but I'm thinking it might not hurt to take a few back roads to get there.I'll let you know when I get to my final destination. ;)

This week I made a little time to spend in the studio and I sewed two pillows and helped a friend finish hers. A little studio time always helps me feel "right". Today, Sutton spent the day with me and when he woke up from his nap he joined me in the studio and played for a good little bit while I sewed the binding on my second pillow. I love that little face. And he's WALKING! Yes, the grandchild is walking at all of nine months old. Crazy baby. :) He looks like a little frankenstein walking with his arms doing all kinds of funky moves to keep himself upright. I love it. You know how they always say that being a grandparent is so much better than being a parent? Well, they are totally right. ;) I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of my pillows...

The ties in the corners were a new idea for me...

And two iPhone pictures of the one I finished up tonight. This one's for Katie's PTS partner. She's taking classes and working and being mom so I picked up a little slack for her and sewed this one with help from Sutton. :)

Gotta love a pinwheel block with strings. Easy but a good look every time. And the blue toes. Don't you love those? They're from my birthday pedicure. Have I ever told you how much I LOVE a hot stone massage pedicure? well, I do. I really, really do.

Friday's coming and I have plans to SEW.ALL.WEEKEND.LONG. Scott's been warned. And now so have you! I'll be back next week with pictures, I expect. :)