A glimpse of vintage...

For those of you who didn't have a chance to make it out to the vintage market you missed a great day!  It was cooooold, but fun.  Kim and I were bundled up and crowding the portable heaters!  A Starbucks egg nog latte was the perfect treat on a cold day!  We had a successful day and enjoyed seeing what all the other vendors had on display.  Lots of friendly, familiar faces to visit with made the day extra special.  Here's a glimpse of what the day held....click here

Looking forward to today...

Today Kim and I will be at our last vendor event for the season!  It is a local vintage market that has gained a remarkable following, for good reason!  I can't wait to go...even though the forecasted high is 5*celcius!  It should be a great day.  I'm looking forward to setting up, pre-event shopping, lots of coffee/hot chocolate, and visiting with friends and strangers alike!  Wish me luck!

This and That...

It's been a busy CRAZY couple of weeks.  Good busy CRAZY. Surprisingly I'm still sane.  Well, as sane as I'll ever be!  First off let me thank all my sweet peeps who came by and encouraged and supported me during our Christmas Open House!  I have a true wealth of dear friends.  This year's Open House was amazing and so fun and successful.  (pics to follow soon once I get up and running computer wise) I lost count of how many people came through my doors, but I loved every minute of it.  What I didn't love:  My computer crashing in the middle of it all, and getting some weird flu/migraine bug for the past week that I can't seem to shake.  I have one more market to go and then it will be time to focus on our Christmas here.  I have a good chunk of decorations up already, but I need to put some personal touches on now that open house is done!  I MUST bake...I am in withdrawl!
During our busiest day of Open House a good friend of mine popped in and took Abby out for a special date with her kiddos.  Abby was much in need of some quality time and was thrilled to spend the afternoon having fun.  Here's a few pics of her day...

Cozying up with Mrs. Claus (aka Miss Marilyn)

Cozying up to Mr.Claus....(no relation to Mrs. Claus!)

Sugaring up with buddies J&L....

A true Abby smile...

Mini Tree Skirt...

I found a tutorial for this mini tree skirt a loooong time ago, and for the life of me I can't remember who did it.  But, to whomever did, my thanks and acknowledgement goes out to you sista, and I will try to dig through the archives and find you to give you proper thanks!
I had fun making this little tree skirt.  Many people have smaller trees these days and it can be hard to find a tree skirt for those little guys!  This pattern was fairly easy and fun to do.  I love how it joins with ribbon at the opening.  Well, Kim's on her way over to do set up for the open house so I'd better get out of my jammies and into work mode!

Runner Up...

Lovin' the Brights...

My habit is to quilt in subtle, softer tones, but I'm really learning to love the bright fabrics.  This cute strippy runner is one of a few I'll have at the open house.  Now, off the computer to finish the binding by hand on this one!
P.S...so apparently I took the picture upside down...oops!  Can I use crazy, busy as my excuse?  thanks...

Next Up...

Well, this week certainly hasn't gone how I was expecting it to!  Thursday was computer problems (hence the lack of post) and then yesterday we were without power for 11 hours (hence the lack of post).  Murphy's law says if you tell your readers you're going to post every day, something will happen to prevent you from doing so!   So, I'll keep this short and sweet since I have lots to do to catch up.  Here's a (really bad) picture of some of the prep work for Advent calendars   This is my weekend project.  I am only making 4 this year.  They are a lot of work, but they seem popular.  This picture was taken yesterday when I was sitting on the floor and using the bay window as a cutting area because the power was out and it was the only place that had sufficient light (and heat) for me to be working!  Here's a link to some calendars I did a few years back.  These ones will be very similar!

Here Birdie, Birdie...

Up today is the ever loved Birdie Sling by Amy Butler!  I have made a few of these in the past, but there's always a new fabric combination that screams 'Make me into a Birdie Sling'!  These bags are a little time consuming to make, but the end result is always worth it.  These suckers are so durable that they'll last a lifetime!

I'm Hooked...

Hooked on a book.  When we were down in Washington on holidays this year I stopped in at a quilt shop in Marysville that I had visited a couple of years earlier.  It's a cute little shop with a variety of beautiful fabrics.  I stumbled upon a book called Sweetwater's Simple Home and fell in love!  I bought the book as a birthday prezzie to myself and have thoroughly enjoyed reading through it multiple times.  There are beautiful project patterns for every room in the house and I am determined to make at least one of everything out of the book!  One of my new favourite patterns in the book is for placemats.  I'm always on the look out for a great placemat pattern.  One that's functional but still contemporary.  These ones are perfect!  They will make perfect presents!  I'm having fun switching the pattern up a little and strip piecing some of the tops.  They're super easy, and not too time consuming.  Now, I realize that this should have been photographed with a lovely table setting showing off the beauty of the placemat, but at this point in time I can barely leave the sewing room to even do a blog post...so this is it for now!

T Minus 2 weeks and counting...

Yikes, Open House is creeping up fast, as it always does!  Check out my sidebar to the right for details.
I'm going to give a sneak peek each day leading up to the Open House to let you see what I've been working on.
Today, it's these chenille quilt tops that I recently pieced.  Now, I realize that the colours are a little 'old school' but there's something irresistable about a soft, snuggly blanket like this one for a newborn.
I still have to quilt them and bind them but here's the gist...

Surprise, Surprise...

Here I was, sitting at my computer when I should've been sewing.  BUT, if I had been sitting in my sewing room, sewing away, I wouldn't have heard the knock on the door that brought a pleasant surprise to my day!  My friend, Rhonda, drove all the way out from Chilliwack to drop off a giftie for ME!  Why?  I have no idea...the card says 'Thanks for being You'....well, Rhonda, I say thanks for being YOU!  You brought a smile to face and a bright spot in my day.  I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I appreciate it!  You have always been a generous person.  I love, LOVE the gifties.  A beautiful fall wall hanging that will inspire me to stitch waaaay more neater, and a book that's been on my "I 'need'" list for awhile now! (After all, I am a Farmer's Wife.....) Well, now that I'm inspired, I'd better go sew...

Final Swoon Block...(for now;)

I definitely want to do this project again, but with a line of fabric that is more conducive to this pattern.  I plan to finish each of these 4 swoon blocks individually as table mats.  They'll be available at our annual Christmas Open House...check out the 'deets' on my sidebar to the right!

Order Up...

I was so happy to complete this custom order quilt last week!  It's the first quilt I've made using the black/white and green colour combo.  I'm really happy with how it turned out and I trust that the darling baby girl who it's going to will enjoy it also!  I used a nice sage print for the small pinwheels,  3 different black and white patterned prints to create the large pinwheels, and a sweet black and white pin dot pattern for all the background piecing.  Sending a shout out to Kim for adding a little stippling to the quilt for a nice, finished look!  For the first time ever I did a pieced backing on the quilt to create something fun on the reverse side.  Now that this project is crossed off my 'to-do' list, I'll be moving on to preparing for the upcoming open house...details to come soon!

Swoon #3...

I'm loving the look of these blocks.  Not loving my choices of fabrics, but loving the actual blocks.  Can't wait to try it in a different line of fabric, or maybe just scrappy?  Either way, one more block to go in this set!  

Swoon #2...

Here's Swoon Block #2...

My Bestie's Famous...

Well, famous in the quilting world.  But HEY, it's a BIG deal!  Congrats Kim on your first ever Moda Bakeshop post!  I'm sure, with your talent, it won't be your last post for Moda!
Check her out HERE people....

Tuesday Time Out...

This Tuesday Rhonda joined us for our regular Tuesday Time Out!  Kim found a wonderful pattern called Swoon.  Now, while this pattern is beautiful when completed, IT IS A MONSTER to complete!  From the cutting to all of the piecing, this project requires some serious concentration.  Concentration = not one of my best skills.  Well, I got pieces cut to complete 4 blocks in total, but in reality, I only got one sewn!  What I love about this pattern is that it can be done with any fabric combo and look like a completely new block each time.  Thank you ladies for a fun day!  Rhonda brought Starbucks, Kim made muffins, the rain poured down and it was the perfect way to spend a day!
Oh, and fyi....EACH block contains 83 pieces of fabric.  83!!!


First Up...Picking the Fabric (you'd think this would be the easy part.  Not so, my friends)

Cutting and organizing...

The Room was a hummin'...

Rhonda's Block (LOVE her fabric line!):

Kim's Block (LOVE her colour choices and contrast!):

I still smell like garlic...

Well, I posted about this last year, but here we are again!  I reminded/nagged Christa earlier in the summer, that I definitely wanted to make salsa with her again this year.  This weekend we put Saturday aside and made salsa. All. Day.  Phew, it was a long day, but we have lots to show for it!  We each made 35(ish) jars of salsa to show for it!  Christa was on veggie/spice duty, and I was on tomato duty.  It was a 'fruitful' day in many ways.

I almost cried when my hubby brought me 2 huge buckets of plums home yesterday.  Guess I know what I"ll be doing this weekend...

The peelings....

Gone Fishin'...

The kids have been bugging Rob 'forever' to take them fishing.  Rob enjoys fishing, but it was an activity he only did with his Dad, and since his Dad passed away he just hasn't had the heart to do it again. 
A couple of weeks ago it was a Monday evening and Uncle Ken was over.  The kids were bugging him to fish in the pond and he said, 'ok, let's do it'.  So, the boys grabbed the fishing gear out of the storage room and went out to the pond.  They were all shocked when they actually caught a trout!  He was just a little guy, and we put him back in, but the kids were thrilled.  It was fun to sit up on the patio and watch and listen to them having fun together. 

Give her wings and she'll fly...

For Abby's birthday (back in March) her Uncle Ken gave her a gift certificate for a flight with him.  Olivia's been up a couple of times but this was Abby's first time!  Abby was SO excited!  She didn't let Uncle Ken forget.  Every Monday Abby would tell him...'don't forget my flight, Uncle Ken'.  Well, Uncle Ken is pretty cool, and he came through with his promise a few weeks ago.  We took advantage of a beautiful summer day and they took to the skies.  It's always a weird feeling when the kids go up in the plane...I always have this fleeting thought that this is dangerous and risky.  The reality is, Ken is an amazing pilot and we trust him completely.  My fear is purely a 'mommy' thing.
They had a great flight and we took the time to walk aroundt the airport and enjoy the evening.  There are some beautiful old buildings there and I love taking pictures of them.  Here's a few snapshots of the evening:

Fall Market...

Well, I am LONG overdue for a blog post!  The last month really has been a blur of busy-ness around here.  Kids getting back into school routine, me getting back into routine, and me spending hours on end in my sewing room preparing for the Campbell Valley Farmers Market.  I had every hour of every day time budgeted so that I could get everything done!  Because I work 2 days a week, the other days of the week are a balancing act between time with the kids, housework, programs and 'me' time.  The last few weeks have been full of late nights and early mornings. 
I was really happy with the amount of projects I was able to bring to market.  On their own, they wouldn't be enough to fill a booth, but combined with Kim's talents it works just perfect for me. 
Campbell Valley Market is a great venue!  There's lots for the kids to do, and it's really a great community event.  We were entertained with a variety of performers, there were games and kite making for the kids, lots of fresh bread, plant and fruit/veggie vendors, all your favourite fair food, (which I somehow managed to abstain from) and the weather cooperated!  It was a great weekend, and I was able to take home a tidy sum of money for my efforts.
Thank you to all our family and friends for coming out and showing support...it really means a lot!  And, thank you to all of you who purchased our wares. We put a lot of time and effort into our projects and we hope they find a special place in your homes!
Keep watching here for updates on our upcoming Christmas Open Houses!

A few of my projects all ready to go to market...

We were very happy with the way our booth space turned out...although the wind really did try to give us a run for our money!

Happy Birthday Beans...

That's what we call her!  Olivia's nickname has always been 'bean'.  It started out as Livi-Bean, sometimes it's Beanie, and sometimes just plain 'Beans'.  We love this darlin'.  She's a sweetie by nature.  Gentle like her Daddy, quick to love, slow to anger.  She's creative and generous, has a love for magic tricks and crafts.  She's entering that pre-teen phase already.  I see her maturing in so many ways.  She's getting just a 'little' more stubborn;)
Today we celebrate her 11th Birthday.  We're still on holidays, but she's still being celebrated.  Beansie..you're the best!  We luv ya!