Gray

I am amazed how much the weather affects my mood.  It is one of those days where the sky is a single shade of gray, drizzle is constant, and the daylight seems to be rapidly disappearing.  It's the kind of day that I want to {and often do} stay in my pjs, eat soup, sit on the couch, drink tea and cocoa, watch TV, read a book, and listen to music.

Suddenly it doesn't matter that the laundry has piled up, the dishwasher needs to be emptied, or that I haven't been to the post office to get my mail for a couple of days.  I feel like the motivation has been zapped out of me {I don't think growing this baby helps with that either}, but somehow, that's okay.  Maybe tomorrow will bring sunshine and energy, and if not, I'll eventually run out of clean clothes and dishes, and be forced into motivation that way.  In the meantime, I sure wish that the view out my window was of that lake and not just the clouds.

The Facts

The sweet Florrie of the blog Intrinsically Florrie nominated this blog for an award a couple of weeks ago {thank you!}.  I usually forget to do these sorts of things {my apologies for never getting around to the last awards!}, but I thought that I'd pass the one along.  Here are the guidelines:

1. Say Thank You and give a link to the presenter of the award
2. Share "10 Honest Things"
3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4. Tell those 7 people that they have been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines.

First, instead of limiting it to 7 blogs, I'd like to include everyone who takes the time to blog, as you may know, I read lots of blogs {see the blogroll} and think that each one is deserving.  And now, for ten honest things:

1.  I made my first quilt for my college dorm room, it is a heart pattern made out of scraps and even includes fabric that my mom used to make me clothes when I was little.
2.  I really hate to grocery shop.  I usually put it off until we've nearly run out of food and are reduced to eating only peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, or noodles and pasta sauce out of a jar.
3.  I rarely buy anything that is not on sale or that I don't have a coupon for.  In fact, I always have a stash of coupons in my purse.  The benefit of junk mail is that nearly everywhere has coupons.  Yet, oddly, I don't really use coupons for grocery shopping.
4.  I am convinced that it will always be easier to make something myself than to buy it.  This is usually not the case, so I end up spending twice as much and twice as long as I would have if I'd have just bought it in the first place.
5.  I collect books.  They take up a lot of space but I refuse to part with them.
6.  I am horribly afraid of my house being overrun by baby things.
7.  One of the things I miss most about Washington {besides my friends and family} is the food.  Northern NY consists of chain restaurants, Italian food, and a couple other random places {some of which aren't very good at all}.  I could really go for some teriyaki, Mongolian grill, Mexican, or west coast Salmon...
8.  I don't like a quiet house when I'm home alone, I either turn on the TV or music, otherwise I am just sure I'll start talking to myself.
9.  I'm partially vegetarian, I prefer not to eat meat, but am far too lazy to commit to not eating it.  I don't actually have any reasons for this besides that I just don't particualarly like it, and I hate handling it raw.  Maybe this relates to #2...
10. I feel somewhat narcissistic filling this out, except for the fact that this whole blog is about me and what I'm up to {until the point I get my mom to blog too}, so I guess it kind of fits...

Baby Project: Dress

After over a week without a single post, I'm back!  I thought I'd start the week with sharing one of the projects I've been working on.  I spotted a dress in a magazine over the summer, and just had to have it.  It didn't take long for me to pick up the pattern or order the fabric, but both sat in my sewing room for months.  I was able to finish it in time to wear it in Florida though.  So, here's my finished dress:

I have only worn it once so far {and I think it needs to be hemmed, in my rush I didn't think of the actual length, and at 5'2", most things could use some length taken off...}, but hope to get a few more uses out of it before the snow sets in {if not, there's always next summer}.  This is my best attempt at self-photography...so you get an idea of how it fits:

Although I don't think it was intended to be a maternity dress, it seems to work perfectly.  Now you have a little peek into the handmade side of my wardrobe {remember my skirt from my earlier post? I actually ordered the maternity style and love it!}.  It is getting difficult to hide my expanding waistline, and I thought this dress would be an excellent way to share the good news.  Here's a full length version...I definitly think I'll take it up a few inches...

I'm also aiming to share one new project a week for my baby, so you get a little bit of an idea what I've been so busy with!

Absent

I've been spending the last few days soaking up the rest of fall {photo from the cider mill...the waterfall is flowing now!}, catching up on sleep, and trying to finish a few more projects.  On top of everything, Josiah's unit is returning from Iraq {we were amazingly blessed to have him stay behind on rear-detachment}, which has really done a number on our sleeping cycle {I don't think I've been up at 2am so many times in one week since college}.  So, please excuse my absence for the rest of the weekend, I will hopefully have some great new stuff next week, especially since I seem to actually get a good amount of sewing done when I'm awake in the middle of the night!  Have a great weekend and I'll be back soon.

Christmas?

{Peppermints by Timothy Valentine}

Is it too early for a bit of Christmas?  I know, I whined and complained about summer slipping away so quickly, and now I've moved on to Christmas...?  Well, my mom saw this Peppermint Swirl Pincushion on the Moda Bake Shop and couldn't resist a little bit of Christmas spirit {okay, I saw it too, but couldn't find any motivation to make it}! So, when we were in Florida she brought me one.

Cute, huh?  Not only did she make the adorable little pincushion, but also a table scarf to go with it.  Am I a lucky girl or what?  I'm thinking this will have to stay out all season.  It matches my red kitchen/dining room anyway, and I love the aqua too {which is not designer fabric, but is a great find!}.

So, please, don't be angry at me for skipping straight to Christmas!  It helps with the disappointment that the trees are rapidly passing peak, and are starting to look more like skeletons every day.  I'm already missing the glorious reds, oranges, and yellows. 

However, please do not mistake this little bit of Christmas as a wish for snow...

Friendship Bag...

My Post Office is open for very limited hours, so I haven't been able to check my mail since returning from Florida. However, today when I went to pick up my mail from the past week the package I was hoping would be there was.

I was pretty sure that my Friendship Bag was in this big yellow box, but I had to wait until after my grocery shopping to even open it. When I got home I quickly dived in only to find the adorable things Angela made me and sent all the way from Italy!

Not only was the bag adorable, but she also sent a lovely lavender sachet {I heart lavender!}, a heart wreath with felted flowers, and a bottle of Italian wine {which I'm anxious to open...I have a special occasion in mind...}. So, now my living room smells like lavender and I'm looking for the perfect spot to hang my wreath and bag. I was beginning to wonder if this swap was really going to be a good idea, I think mostly because I lost my enthusiasm over the wait, but now I'm anxious to sign up for another swap, too fun! And thanks again to Angela!

A Whirlwind!

We're back from our whirlwind vacation to Florida!  My sister's baby little boy turned one on Wednesday and we flew to Florida to celebrate at Disney World.  LT {my nickname for the little guy} is my parents only grandchild so far, so he's pretty spoiled {although, I don't imagine any future grandchildren will be less spoiled}, but still sweet as can be.

In spite of 90+ degree heat, we enjoyed our time together {wish Josiah could have joined us, sadly, he had to work...}, did our best to stay cool and hydrated, and all had a wonderful time, especially LT.  I think his highlights were meeting Tigger {can you tell he's attached?} and the It's a Small World ride.

Can you tell what my highlights were?  Just cuddling the little one...I think I'm in love!

Crossing Bridges

When I used to think of bridges, I thought of those large steel structures that span great waterways. Certainly an engineering marvel, but not necessarily anything special. Just a way to get from one place to another. So, imagine my surprise when I started noticing more and more old fashioned, stone bridges around. I'm sure they've always been there, I was just too busy to notice.

Now, I am starting to appreciate the simpler, slower life.  That things don't always have to be done in a hurry, and that I don't always have to rush from one place to the next.  Instead of hurrying over bridges, I'm going to admire them more often.

Finding Quilts

A couple weekends ago we went to the Adirondack Museum.  It was filled with exhibits about fishing, hunting, camping, and cabin life, the way life in the Adirondacks was, and how it evolved into what it is today.

When we got there we had only about two hours to look around, so the lady at the admissions desk circled the favorite exhibits.  We somehow managed to see everything, in a whirlwind trip, and I have to say, my favorites were not the circled exhibits.  The little cabins that gave a peek into where {not so much how} people lived were by far my favorites.  The didn't really cover any information, but rather provided insight into the way people lived.

And one of my favorite aspects of those little cabins were the quilts on the beds.  I cannot think of a cozier way to keep out the cold nights than under a handmade quilt.  Someday every bed in my home will have a quilt {or two} on it.  I may not get to live in a little cabin, but at least there will always be a cozy place to dream about one.

Oh, there was a quilt exhibit too...but photography was forbidden.  At least I was able to get photos of these quilts in action!

Busy!

I've been doing quite a bit of sewing yesterday and today!  I wish I could say I was making cute things for the shop, but honestly, I wasn't.  Instead I was working on a little tote bag for my adorable nephew who is turning one tomorrow {better late than never, right?}!

I know my sister carries around a lot of his toys and books, that he only uses in the car, and they are always in her bag, making it heavier and bulkier.  I thought I'd make him his own little bag instead, that could be taken out to the car and left there, with toys, books, or whatever else he wants to pack around.  It is a sturdy brown corduroy, but lined with the same fun surf print that is on the "T" {she's doing his room in surf stuff!}.

Since I couldn't give the little guy gifts without sending a little something for his mom too, I made my sister this pincushion.  I love pincushions, and use them often.  Not only are they functional, but they're cute too!  My sister is new to sewing, so I thought she could use a personalized one {she's also getting a pincushion ring too}.

I'm really loving these little pincushions in all shapes and sizes!  We're considering hosting a pincushion swap...thoughts?

Happiness is...

...spending the whole weekend with my cute husband.

Now it's Monday and I'm back to work, but out of coffee...  Needless to say, I'm running my errands first thing this morning {I think there's a Grande Soy Latte at Starbucks with my name on it}...

Dream Home

One of our favorite pastimes is dreaming about our retirement home {I know, we're probably some of the few mid-20-year-olds who dream of retirement}.  We love to imagine living in a stone house on some waterfront property and spending our free time gardening, landscaping, and canoeing on the water.  Our drives into the Adirondacks to look at leaves set the perfect stage for these dreams.

As we get more brave and detour off the major highways, we've found more and more potential retirement locations.  For now, this is our favorite:

It's for sale too...unfortunately a few million out of our price range...

But that's okay, we have many years of dreaming and house hunting in front of us. In the meantime, we're enjoying the scenery.

October Already?

I don't see how this month is upon us so quickly.  Although I took note of the date yesterday, it wasn't until uploading a couple photos and putting them in the "October 2009" folder that it really sunk in.  September seems to have flown by.  I've spent the day working on cleaning the house for the weekend, and another project I put off far too long; so, I thought I'd share some fun, October-ish photos from Flickr instead.

{Earth's October Garment by Montana Raven}

{As now in October... by sgs_1019}

{It's October! by brothergrimm}

{straight and narrow by [phil_h]}

Hopefully I'll have some more photos of what I've been up to soon {especially considering the event I intended my project for is this coming week!}.

Doubt...

I sometimes find that I doubt myself a lot, especially when doing custom orders {perhaps this has something to do with the fact that we've had a couple customers change their minds after orders were completed}.  So, when it comes to actually making a custom order, I find that I put a lot more thought {er, puzzling} into it than I would something I wasn't making for anyone specific.

And it isn't just more thought, I measure, re-measure, cut, measure again, calculate, and then maybe sit down at the machine and sew.  All of this doubt causes my seemingly simple project to take much longer than I ever anticipated {or than it probably would have taken if I were making the item for no one in particular}.

However, it is worth it to have things turn out perfectly.  Not to have to go back and redo anything, or wish I'd done it different.  To have sizes and seams come out exactly where I want them, and really achieve the look I'm trying to accomplish {and hopefully the one my customer is looking for}.

Today was one of those satisfying kinds of days.  I finished a custom order that I'd been working on for quite a while, and I'm very pleased with the result.  Maybe you already guessed that you're looking at pictures of that very order.  I've got it all packed up and ready to ship when the post office opens tomorrow, and it will then be winging its way across the country.  I really hope it brings as much life to the kitchen, dining, and living room of the lady it was created for.

Oh, and by the way, this is the same fabric I mentioned working with some time ago, Lantern Bloom by Laura Gunn.  I've got some scraps leftover, and a couple bigger pieces I'd bought to make myself something too, we'll see what those turn into as well.