Good Things Come in Small Packages

So I thought this post would be all about last night's quilt guild meeting.

About how we each participated in an improvisational challenge and took 5 small strips of fabric:

And turned them into these amazing blocks in just over an hour:

(Mine's the beach-themed one; the seams are kinda wavy on purpose - part of that whole beach thing - but I couldn't get it to iron flat.  No matter; I love it.)

And then there's this small package of fabric:

It totally doesn't match my holiday decor, but that's why I picked it.  Because I know I'll be able to just play with these and come up with something fun for the Holiday Challenge, no stress.

But then we came home with this small bundle tonight:

And Ada went crazy with joy at having her own "kitty..puppy..baby..SCREAM!" in her own house.

The lightest gray kitten I've ever seen, with dark ears, a dark tail, and dark gray on the backs of its legs.  And let's not forget those pale blue eyes.

After a couple hours of non-stop running and play (this thing is more work than a baby!), it finally settled down for a nap on the laptop:

The jury's still out on whether it's a boy or a girl, so no name yet.

So how did we end up with this cute little kitten?  It all started with an impromptu visit to the Humane Society last Friday night to let Ada look at the kitties and puppies.  We weren't really looking with an intent to buy, just keeping our eyes open, but the visit triggered the mention of a free kitty this morning by our daycare lady - a friend of hers had one free kitten left.  So we stopped by just to take a look...and we couldn't leave this sweet little kitty behind.

So I guess it's true...good things do come in small packages. :)

May: Sewing!

Wow - finally crossing this post off the list!!

May was full of sewing events, with some actual sewing time fit in too. :)

First, there was the second meeting of the Twin Cities Suburban Modern Quilt Guild.  One of the ladies showed off her fabulous photomosaic-style giant "Elvis" quilt!!  We talked about hexagons - they have been haunting me lately, but I just can't start a hexagons project right now since I have just a few other piles of fabric that urgently need to be turned into quilts and other assorted projects!!  We also made fat quarter bags; so easy and fun!  I'll have to post a tutorial one of these days.

Then there was the Sandi Henderson book signing our guild co-hosted:

And then  - I got to meet this amazing lady face to face!!!

That's right - Anna Maria Horner - in person!!  And her cute little man.  And she signed my book!  I'm saving all my allowance so I can splurge when her new line comes out this fall...well, okay, I might have to spend a little beforehand on Meadowsweet 2...

AND...I was lucky enough to be asked to make a sample for the front window at Quilted Treasures, for a solids display.  I created a fun, reversible, little handbag, and love how it turned out!!

The handles are my favorite part!  I'm noticing I didn't really get a picture of it, but the other side of the handles are all chocolate, except for a hint of dark pink at the base (you can just make it out at the top of this photo).

And a double pocket inside.

This was so fun to make; I started out with a vague plan based on the fat quarter bag, and then cut, sewed, and improvised and ended up totally satisfied. :)  I have future plans for another version featuring some fun embroidery on the outside.

Oh yes, and how could I forget?  There was also the Young Mom's Sewing Club...speaking of which, the June 1st meeting was the last time I touched my sewing machine!!  But I'll be back at it all next month; at least every moment I'm not working in my gardens...

Summer Reading

I have an odd "Summer Reading" pile going so far; I'm not entirely sure where my summer reading will take me this year.  Usually I feel like the books all fit together somehow, but at the moment I seem to be going with a flow I haven't quite figured out.

I finished Iris Murdoch's A Fairly Honourable Defeat; I found it hard to put down, but also depressing.  At the same time I was working on Anna Karenina, which also has it's share of depressing parts, so I was in the mood  for something different when I finished these two.  That's what led to the odd beginning of the summer reading pile earlier this week.  I decided to start with Treasure Island, which I've never read before, but enjoyed quite a bit and is on my "read again" list.

So, what's up next?  I'm leaning toward Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter; this is one I'm going back and forth on as it doesn't feel like a typical "me" book.  Or I could stick with the sea theme, as both The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and The Witch of Blackbird Pond are in the pile as well.  (Both books that I enjoy reading over and over again.)  The last two books in the pile are The Borrowers (I've had this one for years, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet) and Summer, which is toward the bottom of the pile for now since it sounds in many ways similar to Ethan Frome, a favorite, but dark. :)

If you'd like to know which one I end up choosing, check the "What I'm Reading" list in the next day or two on the right side of my blog.  I've also added a list of what I've read so far this year to the blog; check out the "2010 Reads" link at the top of the page.

What are you reading this summer?  Any recommendations?

Storm

State-wide storms tonight.  I left work a little early and got home with just enough time to secure flapping plastic in the garden and move my potted plants to shelter.

As the storm was moving in.

Plants moved up by the door.  The rain was blowing from the South (very rare for us), so the plants got rained on even on the covered porch, but at least they were mostly protected from the hail.

We hung out in the basement for about an hour and a half as there was rotation in the clouds in our area, and there was report of a tornado touching down within a couple miles north of us.  The sirens were going off in town for quite a while.  Ada had a great time and wasn't bothered by the thunder or rain at all. :)

Just after the storm passed.

I made the rounds inspecting the gardens; luckily most of the hail we got was pretty small, although there were some bigger pieces mixed in (just under golf-ball size).  Most everything held up really well; a few holes in the borage leaves here and a very sad little tomato in the background.

The wind had ripped the plastic half-off of the squash and melons today, so I re-pinned and put down some logs to keep it from flying away.  I'm happy to report it held up to the storm just fine.  The wind picked up even more after the storm passed; usually the lawn is littered with fallen sticks after big storms, but we really lucked out tonight with only a couple medium-sized branches falling.

And a happy sight; the last of the potatoes finally coming up. :)

All Grown Up

Here she is looking all grown up in her new big-girl car seat.  I think she likes it. :)  We installed it right after bringing it out from the store, and this sweet tired girl had big eyes all the way home.  She's not quite sure what to make of this looking forward stuff, but I think she likes being able to see us.

In other news, it's STILL raining.  Pretty much impossible to work in the garden right now, so to cheer myself up here are some things that were making me happy before all the rain started a few days ago.

Potatoes coming up; Carola I think.

Empress Green Beans

And my containers are finally behaving themselves this year and looking beautiful. :)

With time to just hang out inside I've been getting a little reading done lately.  Just finished Waiting, and am working on my first Iris Murdoch novel, A Fairly Honourable Defeat.

I know this isn't the sewing post I promised, but don't worry, it's still on the way. :)

May: Birthdays

Just one of the reasons May is my favorite month - all of our birthdays are in May.  The main focus was of course on Ada this year.  I can't believe our little girl is already 1!

We started the day by letting her open some presents; the curly ribbons being the best part of course. :)

We had been hoping to go to the park or the zoo, but it was a cold, rainy day, so we headed to the mall instead for some play time.  I think all the big kids running around was a little intimidating, but she still had a pretty good time.

And then home for more presents, among them this new sweet dress made by Grandma.

And of course we made time for a treat - her first taste of ice cream.  So glad to finally share that with you sweet girl. :)

We got her her own cup of strawberry ice cream from Cold Stone, and she loved it.  The first few bites were eaten off a spoon, but I couldn't resist letting her dig in.

Which in turn led to her first ice cream headache.  This was of course right after Chris said, "maybe we should take that away so she doesn't get an ice cream headache."  Oops.

The formal 12-month picture.

And now for the party - held the following weekend, and delayed by a day due to a fever (turns out she was developing a nice double ear-infection and teething to boot).  She was feeling pretty good on party day, and even though she didn't really get was going on, there were balloons and lots of tissue paper, so she was satisfied.

Helping blow up balloons.

All dressed up and ready for her party.

I LOVE the poms; they are still up as a matter of fact.  They took hours to assemble (thank you so much dear sister!) and look so pretty, so I am dragging my feet on taking them down.  As I was working on this post I realized I didn't get a good close-up shot of them so I'll have to take one and post it.

One more pom above the punch bowl; they were also quite pretty half-open, looking like big water lilies.  The collage was a Christmas present from my mom.

Opening presents; love this plate from Grandma and Grandpa, a sweet keepsake we'll bring out at each birthday.  The words on the plate read "Happy birthday dear Ada Bea, happy birthday to you!"

And a new pillow I purchased at Craftstravaganza.

The picnic basket and bug jar are also some of Ada's favorites; put things in...and take them out...put things in...

She received a few other Melissa & Doug toys that are also in the "favorite toys" pile right now - cutting food and several chunky puzzles.

Dessert was banana cupcakes, made by my other wonderful sister.  Banana is Ada's favorite food (she's applied the word "nana" to all food), so when I came across this recipe I knew we had to make them for her. And although I'm not even close to being a banana lover, these were SO good; like so good that I kept sneaking another one every couple hours with delight. :)  The only change to the recipe was adding mashed up banana to the frosting to improve the flavor.

All in all a wonderful day; perfect weather, good food, family, and poms. :)

So, what about me and Chris?  Rest assured our birthdays weren't forgotten.  Turns out I really don't mind sharing my birthday with Ada. :)  I treated myself to a couple things at the mall, Chris treated me extra-special, and I had a huge bowl of Black Forest Dream from Cold Stone.  In case you didn't know, that's the BEST ice cream creation on Earth, consisting of chocolate ice cream, cherry pie filling (always get an extra scoop of cherries), a brownie, and hot fudge.  Thank goodness the closest Cold Stone is 1/2 hour away.  Chris has no complaints either; he's been busy breaking in his new PS3.  We spent his birthday video game shopping - and lest you girls feel bad for me I must confess I made Chris take me along.  I happen to love shopping for video games (Chris does most of the playing, but I like to watch, so they have to be good-looking games with interesting plots).  Ada left a path of destruction behind her everywhere she went, a game in each hand at all times. :)

Next up - a crafty post.  May was full of crafty goodness!

May: Girls Weekend

The first weekend of May was "girls weekend".  Chris was off sailing with the boys, so it was just Ada and me all weekend.

Saturday morning we headed out to the Farmer's Market.  I love the first trip in early spring when it's not too crowded, it's not too hot, and the first fresh fruits and vegetables of the season have been harvested; such a wonderful sight after a long winter.

So excited to finally stock back up on Farmer Bob's delicious meat and eggs (turns out I'm not the only one who loves Bob). :)  And of course we purchased some of that beautiful asparagus and rhubarb.

Then it was off to the Living Green Expo.  And to my delight, when we got to the fairgrounds I saw it also happened to be Craftstravaganza day!

I couldn't resist heading to the crafty stuff first!  So many wonderful handmade products for sale.  My mind was buzzing by the time we left, my hands itching to sew!  Some of my favorite finds included:

Super cute mushroom houses by Happy Go Lucky Creations
my little dear
sheppard girls
charlieandsarah, especially the wellies tee - LOVE it

I somehow made it out with only one purchase, but I really think Ada needs a wellies tee, don't you? :)

Not much new to report on the Living Green Expo; the highlight was picking up my new beautiful "Reef Blue" klean kanteen.  I love it.

To top off the day, we stopped at a (new to me) fabric store before heading home - Treadle Yard Goods.  Their focus is on apparel fabric, and they have a nice selection of organic fabrics, including organic terry cloth.  There's also a great collection of buttons and trims, and they carry oliver + s patterns.  Needless to say, I'll be going back next time I'm in the neighborhood.

By then Ada and I were exhausted so we headed home after a quick stop at Grandma's house. One of us had a nice long nap in the car. :)