Simple is best

Happy Thursday everyone. Been quite a week here. Sometimes the stress of daily life for me makes me feel as though I am in a vice, or maybe being drawn and quartered :cO I'm sure we've all felt the pressure of feeling like you are being pulled in so many directions you don't know which way is up!! So I have been trying my best to enjoy some of the simple things in life. Sometimes it isn't that easy to focus on these things. They can be the little things that we sometimes overlook. A child's laughter. Those few moments of silence we can find, even in some of the most unexpected of places. Watching a cat stretch and enjoy that warm spot on the floor created by a brilliant beam of sunlight. The sheer joy in the process of creating whatever it is you put your hands to. A good home made meal. Things we can take for granted. Things we do everyday that, since we are in a constant state of "go go go" we don't take time to appreciate. I would like everyone to take at least a minute or two to focus on one simple pleasure today. Take a few deep breaths, and enjoy at least one thing that will bring you a smile :cD

The sewing process has been kind of slow here as of late. I have been able to get some more string blocks done, and a little more done on my quilt-along. I am VERY happy to announce that after what probably seems like forever, my pay it forward gifts are DONE!!! YIPPEE!! Now all I have to do is get some addresses and I can get them in the mail. I do have a picture of what I will be sending, but I will wait to share it til they reach their destinations.

I was also thrilled to receive an fat little envelope in the mail yesterday from Andrea. I was lucky enough to win a contest on her blog and won this adorable little pincushion and wonderful fabric.

I haven't decided what I will do with the fabric just yet. I think it would make great fabric for a Christmas project, but for sure it will be used for something special :cD Thank you soooo much Andrea!!!

I am hoping to get out to the fabric store today, it is a dreary fall day here in Ohio so (in my opinion) it is the perfect kind of day to go get cheered up by some bright, beautiful fabric. Hope you all have a great day!! Warm country wishes.

Its Election Day!!

I was just thinking of how blessed I am to live in a country where we are able to have a say in who it is who leads our country. Now I am not going to endorse any candidates. I feel everyone should educate themselves on the candidates and issues they are voting on and make the decision that they believe to be the right one. It is a great honor and responsibility that we have. So I would like to encourage everyone out there to get out and vote, but just in case you need some extra incentive....I just had to share this picture :cD

Ok, I just couldn't help but share that picture. Please don't think it is in any way making light of the seriousness of the elections this year, but I pass this sign every time I go to my friends house and the chalkboard part at the bottom changes from time to time, and I just got a chuckle out of it.

Not too much quilty to share this time. Been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and the fall foliage. Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday and again...PLEASE get out there and vote. Thanks

Warm country wishes

new month = fresh start

Hi everyone! Wow its November already. The summer months just flew by and now we are closing in on the end of the year. I can hardly believe it. I feel a renewed sense of energy and a new desire to get back to "normal" (believe me, in my family normal is a VERY relative term lol) The air is getting cooler and fall is definitely in the air. And so with the beginning of the season, I too, am going to try my darndest to focus on a new beginning of my own. I had to get a quick picture of the pumpkins on our porch. We did have 2 that we had carved, but they were well past their prime. I just love the rich orange colors! The painted one one of the mouslings picked out, and the one on the right came home from a field trip (and that one is going to be turned into pumpkin pie on Monday ;cD)

Also snapped a picture of a lone little dandelion among the fall leaves on the ground. Now is it just me or is this little one a bit of a late bloomer? I just don't remember having dandelions this late but then again, I could be mistaken. I just had to snap a picture after my little one said "Mommy, look its the first flower!" Too cute!!

On to quilty news :cD Yesterday I spent part of my day in Amish country on a shop hop. I never have enough day to do as much as I would like. So much inspiration!! So much fabric!! One of these years I am going to have to try to get to all 12 shops. Their theme this year was Pineberry Creek. I really liked the fabric...very country...and picked up a couple kits that I plan on turning into some throw pillows. I've also gotten some sewing done. I finally got those borders for the quiltalong quilt started. I love to use up as much fabric as I can. I hate to see any go to waste if I can help it. So I used up the scraps I had, cut them into strips and, well here is what I have so far...

Also got several string quilt blocks done. I have 256 done and I need 308 although I can't for the life of me figure out what I wanted the dimensions of the quilt to be :cS I just know I wanted a BIG, WARM quilt for the winter and these string quilts (with extra fluffy batting and flannel for the back) really fit the bill.

This is just part of the blocks I have. I have another stack just as big as the one on the right put aside waiting on the rest of the blocks to be done. I just love these string quilts. I love looking at all the blocks and seeing all the different fabrics and remembering the quilts that the fabric went into. Well, I am off to get some more things done. Not the least of which is to put finishing touches on my PIF gifts. I am soooo excited to finally have everything almost ready and ready to mail out by the end of the week. Hope everyone has a weekend filled with lots of your favorite things. Warm country wishes all!!

Purging

I have been going through all my stuff (read fabric, blocks, tops etc) and have come to the conclusion that I may have to do some purging of my stash. Yes, it pains me. All the fabric I have I have picked out because I saw some beauty in it or it was gifted to me. And I tend to keep all my scraps because I am so the scrappy quilter, but I am moving on with things in my life and am feeling more and more like I need to leave some of those little pieces behind or get rid of them. It is so hard to go through and get rid of some of this fabric because even the littlest pieces are beautiful, but then I realize that worrying about all those little pieces and what may become of them are a stress I don't need.

That got me to thinking about life in general. How much do we carry with us that are those 'little scraps' that tend to weigh us down. All those little inconsequential decisions that really haven't or won't effect our lives that we drag around and question. We second guess ourselves. As I am moving forward I am going to really try to have more confidence in myself. To know that I am able to make decisions and that not everything is worth the worry that I bestow upon it. It can be very hard at times, but I AM trying.

On a more positive note, I have been able to get some quilting done. It is a lovely thing when life starts to reach a state of equilibrium after a LOT of turmoil. I have been able to get some hand quilting done on my scrappy bargello quilt. I have also gotten several more blocks done for my string quilt that I have been working on FOREVER! lol and I think I may have found my next long term project (like I don't have enough of those already :cD). I have seen a few log cabin quilts that were made with itty-bitty blocks. Well, I printed out the paper piecing pattern for a 4 inch finished log cabin block. I only have one done, but I love that little block. So I am keeping at least some of the little scraps I just can't bear to part with to use in more of those blocks. Now I am thinking it will take me quite a while to get this done, but I really feel it will be well worth the effort.

I also have to admit that the weather is also helping to cheer me up. Fall is my favorite season of the year. I have to get out and get some pictures of the beautiful fall foliage to share. Well life is still rolling along at full throttle, and I have to go try to jump back into things, but I wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Wednesday and warm country wishes!!

Is that a hurricane? No that's just my life :cP

Oh my goodness! I can't believe its been so long since my last post. Life just hasn't slowed down for me, but at least I can see a light at the end of a very long tunnel. Just a quick update on me...things look like they may finally settle down a bit. I will most likely be moving, so I may not have computer for a little while, but I am looking into cell phone plans that may let me mobile blog. At least then maybe I can stay in touch and get a little more consistent with being here. Right now that is probably my one main goal after getting things in order is to at least get a little more consistent. I have been sewing a little bit. Here are a couple tops I've gotten to work on. Both are without borders just yet, but I have ideas for both. The first is from amandajean's quilt-along. The second is my second full sized Random Ohio Stars top.

One of these days I'm gonna have a big ol' quiltfest and just baste and quilt up a lot of these puppies. Right now I'm just enjoying the process of sewing and reaping the stress reducing benefit it gives me. I also will have the pay it forward gifts in the mail before the end of the month. I really have to thank those that signed up on my blog for their infinite patience, and I am excited to have things 90% of the way done and ready to mail out. Well, I'm sorry this is such a short post, but I really felt that I needed to at least check in. This weekend is busy for me, so with any luck I will be back on Monday to check in with y'all again. Warm country wishes all!!

Enjoy the journey

Ok, so I know that title may be a little cliche, and maybe not so creative on my part, but I am truly starting to appreciate that saying. Like everyone else, I have my up days and my down days, and today while sewing (yes, I actually did some sewing today :cD ) my mind started to wandering.

With all the pressures of life that weigh me down, why do I not try to find the joy in the simple, everyday things that I do? Why do I put more pressure on myself? I'm going to focus mainly on my quilting, but these thoughts apply to other areas of life as well. My blog used to have a UFO list. I started thinking why do I daily remind myself of what I haven't done? Do I really need to be reminded of all those things? Didn't I enjoy the process that produced those "UFOs"? and Why shouldn't I continue to enjoy that process? I haven't pieced many blocks of late, and I truly enjoy that process. I love to challenge myself with more complex blocks. I love to see the level of accuracy that I have been able to reach with the more simple blocks. I love playing with new fabrics. What is the harm in having some orphan blocks? Having a few more flimsies in the closet waiting for the quilting never hurt anyone did it?

Why do I stress over perfect points? Why not just enjoy the creative process? I really don't think when we are remembered by our family and friends the conversations are going to start with "Boy do you remember the perfect points her/his blocks had?" or "I'll always remember her/his perfect quarter inch seam allowance?" As time goes by and life continues to hand me challenge after challenge I am beginning to more and more appreciate the process and to be happy to be able to create things of beauty, things that will be used, things that will be loved whether they are "perfect" or not.

So tonight I broke out some block kits from a shop hop I participated in last fall, and just enjoyed cutting the fabric, peicing the blocks, pressing the patches, heck even the 'frog stitching' I had to do. Let me just say it does really help to read the instructions BEFORE you start stitching :cD...found that out tonight. lol Are my points perfect? Some are, some aren't. Are my seams perfect? Well, no. Hence the not-so-perfect points ;cD But after some thought here are the truly important questions (to me, at least) Is my stress level down? Yes. Do I feel happier? Yes. Do I feel like I accomplished something? Yes. And I know in the end when this quilt is finished the recipient will love it. Not because it has perfect points. Not because of its accurate seams. Not because of the consistent stitch length of the quilting, but because it is something that is beautiful, and made especially for them with their favorite colors and fabrics and the best effort I could put forth. And the fact that it will be appreciated makes me feel happiest above all others. I know I have UFOs sitting in my closet, and drawers, and boxes, and... well, you get the picture. But I know that most of them will get done eventually, and I will no longer feel guilty about having them or starting a new project. I will focus on the joy the process brings me, and continue to quilt on. Quilt on my quilting friends!! :cD

In praise of small projects

Hi everyone, its me. Remember me? Boy I hope so ;cD Let me start off by saying its been too long since I've been here and blogging. When you almost don't remember your password to log-in...well...need I say anymore? lol My life is still kinda upside down. I want to apologize for not being more sharing about my situation. I don't know why I can't bring myself to just tell you all what is going on, but I just can't yet. I want to thank all of you who keep me in your thoughts and prayers. They are all so appreciated!!

On to more fun stuff. You all know the kind of fabrics I tend to lean toward. With the name Country Mouse I'm sure you all noticed that I tend to gravitate toward the darker, richer country colors of lines like Thimbleberries and such. So someone please tell me how I end up with fabric like this?

Ok, seriously, no one needs to tell me how I ended up with them. I have a horrible fabric addiction and sometimes the colors and fun designs just scream out to me (like the third one down on the right hand column...I LOVE that one :cD) and I just HAVE to buy a fabric. That and I have two little mouselings that love to pick out fat quarters and how, in good conscience, could I not encourage their love of fabric *grin* So what have I been doing with these little treasures (most of them are just fat quarters)? Here is my new little obsession...

This is my own pattern for a tri-fold wallet. Why did I start working on these? Well besides the fabric I wanted to use, and I think this is a great way to use that fun fabric that may not make it into a quilt, I had been looking for a wallet, found one at a dollar store that I liked, but when I started using it found it had some flaws that I really didn't like. So I designed my own that was similar yet different. I'm still working out some of the details that I'm not happy with yet, but the one in the picture above is the one I use and I am really happy with it. Perfect or not. Also with life being as topsy-turvy as it is I love having small projects that I can get done. It feels good to feel like I'm accomplishing something in some area of my life when I feel like I'm just running and getting nowhere in others.

I am still working on the setting blocks for my quilt-along. I want to send out a HUGE thank you to amandajean. She saw my last post and offered to send me some more of the fabric I needed for the setting blocks if I didn't have enough. Well, I didn't and not just the fat quarter I needed to finish, but about a whole YARD of that fabric showed up in my mailbox a few days ago. Now I know I have enough coordinating fabric for binding and everything. I am working on a little something to let her know how much I appreciate her generosity :cD Hopefully I will have a picture of a finished quilt to really soon.

Well, I am going to hop off here. We are supposed to get some thunderstorms today, and the pressure shift is wreaking havoc on my sinuses. Pair that with a monster migraine, and, well... :c( At least I know they won't last forever, thank goodness. Gotta keep thinking of the positive! Hope you all have a great day & warm country wishes to all!