And I'm back!

Hello, hello all my happy, beautiful blogland friends!

I have been feeling the jump to come back and do a bit of posting, so here I am!  Life has been a bit crazy, and so many changes in live have occurred - so it was probably I took a little break on here to get things all figured out and situated.

I have a new home, a new man, a new career, and much new-found happiness!  It was all a much needed change, and life is....well very different, and so much more fulfilling than I ever imagined it could be.

You've maybe also noticed a bit of a change around here, I decided things here needed a little freshening up along with everything else.

So life....still in school, still working (wait, that's new too!), still sewing and quilting away!  Mom and the girls and I still get together once a week for dinner and sewing, which is absolutely wonderful!  And I swear, has been my saving grace through this all.  Maybe more about that later....

Many awesome projects as of late!  I don't have pics on this computer, but will be working to get some up soon!

Thank you all for stopping by! 

Katy

Day One of Break:

Been quite a productive day so far!  {I think this may be a post of mostly pictures}

Of course, I had to sleep in a bit, especially with a warm bed and cuddly kitty laying next to me.

Then I got up, had breakfast, and headed to the sewing studio to work on a few projects:

Flannel baby quilts

My Christmas quilt

And looked through a wonderful book that Mom gave me for Christmas, and made quite a list of all I want to make out of this book!

Then Hubby and I went out to the slopes for a bit!

Had some dinner, worked on my Christmas wreath.

And am now on my way upstairs to work on some batik hexies for a bit.

Hope you all had a wonderfully productive day as well!!

Always,

 

The Mother of All Updates!

So, my last big update was back in mid-October... let's start from there...

Well, the Hubby and I celebrated our first anniversary on Oct. 17th! We spent the night away, did some hiking and sightseeing with all of the beautiful fall colors, and had a delicious dinner! I can't believe we've already been married a year, but then again, we have really been together 8 years.



Speaking of wedding, Mom and I continue to work away on our wedding signature quilt. We didn't get it finished by the first anniversary (our goal), but we're getting there! We are in the process of sewing groups of 4 together with sashing, then will go ahead and sew all of the groups together. Here is everything all laid out before the sewing-fest began!



I have also been working away on my Christmas quilt!! I am so excited about this quilt, I just can't contain it! I found the adorable Christmas line "Hallmark Christmas" from Free Spirit at one of my favorite quilt shops around here. It's nothing traditional, and very whimsical- exactly what I was looking for! I'm doing the "4-Patch Flip" pattern again, and paired the holiday patterns with different subtle patterns/solids of all different colors. I have my blocks all made, and am now ready to lay it out and sew it all together!



And there have been a few Christmas presents that have begun. One is almost finished, can't show the other tho...they may be reading!



Let's see, what else...

Oh yes, our little kitty is keeping us very busy! I can't believe that we've already had her a month! There are days that she gives us quite a run for our money! But with just one look at her precious face, no matter what she's done, I just melt all over again!



And her coloring, I just can't get over how gorgeous she is! I know I'm a little biased ;o)

Work has been going alright, we've been a bit busy, things will be slowing down here though I have a feeling. And we've had a few more lay-offs, nobody in my department, thank god! So thankfully I have my quilting and crafting to go to!

I have soooo many projects to finish before the holidays also, but who doesn't, right?
* Christmas Quilt
* Stockings
* A few more Christmas gifts
* Advent calendar
* A couple wall hangings

Oh, and I am going to have a ton of baby quilts to make in the next few months!! It must be that time of year, or I'm just at the age now (weddings checked off the list, babies next on the list), but within the past two weeks one friend gave birth, I found out that 8 friends are pregnant, and a couple more are now "trying" (or at least not "not trying" as they put it). I just hope that doesn't mean more people are going to be asking when we're going to get pregnant. I can say, it won't be for a while! As my husband says, "we have too much traveling left to do before having a baby." Agreed, I like your thinking Sweetheart!

Well, I think that's a pretty good update of my life both in the crafting world and in the "real" world! I just have to leave you with one little thing. While I was typing this little update I heard this noise behind me. What do I turn around to see?? Someone found a new place to hang out! Oh Abbi, how cute are you?!?



Hugs & Giggles!

Slightly on a Fabric High!

What a great day it was (okay.. blogging late, so it's really still Saturday to me)!

(For many out there..sorry if you really don't want to see this)... It all started off when I woke up this morning. I looked out the window, and there was a bit of white on the ground! I know it's only October, but I am ready for some snow (can't wait to snowboard!), and absolutely love the Christmas season! Here's a little smattering of what I saw when I got to Mom's for our adventure day:

Love the red berries in the evergreen bush!


Beautiful flowers dawning a little snow cover!

And now that I got that out of my system (for today), onto the real plan of attack today! Mom, Dani and I planned a shopping excursion for, what else, fabric! Well...3 ladies, over 100 miles in the car back & forth and all over, 9 hours, and 7 stores later this is what we ended up with:

A ginormous amount of fabric, and multiple projects each!

I have fabric for so many different things, some in progress, some in planning, and of course, some new!
~ Binding fabric for a Nancy Halverson Christmas wall hanging
~ Fabric for a few Christmas gifts
~ A smattering of different fabrics for an out-of-the box quilt for me
~ A bunch of batiks for a batik quilt using the 4-Patch Flip pattern from Heather Mulder Peterson
~ Fun & whimsical fabric for a Christmas quilt!

Such a great trip, and many happy hours later I'm now home! Dani is here scrapbooking, I'm cutting some batiks for the quilt, and we're watching Elf (who doesn't love that movie)!!

Off to a bit more cutting! Hugs & Giggles

WooHoo!

The test is over! I have my life back! And now I can go sew!

After two long days of test, the big exam is over, and now I just have to wait until Dec. or Jan. to find out the results...ugh...

I now have my life back and time to do all the things I couldn't do before while studying for that crazy exam. I am going to clean the sewing room now and get my head back in the game tonight to finish some of the projects that have been sitting and calling my name the last few months!

We also added a new little addition to the family this weekend! Little Miss Abbi!

She's 4 months, all gray with her little white spot on her chest. Absolutely adorable!

I haven't let her into the sewing room yet, I knew I needed to do a bit of cleaning and kitty-proofing in there before she started exploring...maybe I'll get there tonight!

Well, I'm off to do some cleaning! And maybe some sewing!

Hugs & Giggles,

Tuesday Night Sewing Date

We did a bit of cutting tonight, then I did a little bit of sewing when I got home, after this:


My husband and I both grew up with cats, and he has been asking me when we would be getting one ever since we moved into our house about a year and a half ago. I always told him that we should wait a year after moving into our house since it was brand new (one of my little rules, weird, I know). Well, a year was in June, and he's been mentioning it often ever since. I finally decided that I was ready, so I thought it would be fun to let him know in a fun way, and this is what I did! We'll be getting all of the stuff, and maybe going to look for one at the Humane Society this weekend! I miss my kitty (not so much a kitty anymore...about 18 now) and am ready to have one in our home! So soon there may be a new addition to the family!

Anywho, so back to some of the sewing. Mom and I decided to do a quick little project tonight, and I wanted to do something Christmas! And this is what I came up with:


I fell in love with the blue Santa Hat fabric when I found it in her stash! I have another set cut out, and fabric for a potholder of each of the combos. Those shall be finished and posted soon.

So what was your project of the day?

Hugs & Giggles,

I love productive days!

So today was a wonderfully productive Saturday!

I got to sleep in a bit, which doesn't happen very often around here anymore (except on my Friday's off), and I loved it!! For any of you that really know me...I am NOT a morning person! I have always been a night owl, and have been told I take after my dad in that aspect.

After a wonderful time of laying in our big comfy bed with the sun and a light breeze coming in the window, I got up and headed off to the tea shop with dad. Now mind you, I'm not a big tea drinker, and I don't really fancy hot drinks all that much either. I'm learning to like warm drinks though. I was the kid in the neighborhood that would always have milk and marshmallows while all of the other kids had hot chocolate after a long day of sledding and playing in the snow. Mind you, I love chocolate (sometimes a bit too much), I've just never liked hot drinks. So anywho, this winter I had some "Throat Coat" tea when I had a nasty cold with a sore throat, and I decided "hey, this stuff isn't actually that bad!" I decided to tell the 'rents, and dad made me up some samples of his teas that he likes. Let me just say this...he is an oolong and black tea drinker. If you are a beginner, you do not start there! So for Father's Day, I gave him some 'tea money' as we like to call it, and a gift certificate for a "Tea trip with your daughter". And today was the day! I got a couple herbals and green teas. I've realized that I really liked the licorice root in the "Throat Coat" tea I had, so I got a couple with that. I smelled almost all of the herbal/blend teas, and many green & white teas, and my goodness!! Some of them smelled divine!! If they all tasted exactly like they smelled, I would drink only tee the rest of my life! Okay, this was supposed to be a short entry, and I could obviously go on about my first tea store trip for far too long... Long story short, I got a few to try, had one today and loved it! I think I'm hooked!

Other productive things today...
~ did a bit of garage sale-ing: didn't find too much, but always love the hunt!
~ made myself a set of the "Summer Drinks" coasters similar to the previous ones I made.
~ got together with some friends from work for fireworks at a local celebration in the cities
~ and last but not least......I finished quilting the flannel star quilt and put the binding on!! I just have to trim, and hand sew the binding on, label and its finished! It will be done before July is over (sewing the binding is my favorite part, I can't get to that point and then just let it sit)!! Granted, it won't be used for a while...flannel and summer don't go well together. But it's been that quilt that didn't want to get finished.

So quite a productive day it was, and now I'm off to bed! Hopefully yours was just as productive!