I am still sewing...

I know I haven't posted much on the sewing front but I am still sewing. I am working on a large project that is so unlike most everything I've ever done. I'm not ready to show it just yet but I'll give you a hint... I'm using all floral pastels and the closest I've come to orange is a pale peach!

I did do these the other night to replace these
I've needed new pot holders for ages so I had just watched one of the "Sewing with Nancy" show where they made pot holders on the serger. I didn't use my serger but I think they came out cute.

Summer dinners

I know for a lot of the country it's starting to look like fall. Not so much here. We are still in full summer and probably will be for the next month or two (sometimes three). We try to look for lighter cooler recipes to make for dinner. Last night I made chicken Caesar salads. Found some really nice lettuce, added some fresh romano and Parmesan cheeses. Added some nice sliced mushrooms (per Richard's request) which added a little something extra and then I cheated on the chicken. I bought the packaged precooked chicken. I used the italian style which worked out well and was just enough (with a little left over) for our salads. I also cut up some zucchini, carrots and broccoli to dip on the side. All in all a nice cold and healthy dinner.

I also made a new dessert for us. I used a frozen (thawed) bag of mixed berries and then made a sauce from sour cream, brown sugar and cinnamon. Folded the berries into the cream and poured it over pound cake. Man, it was delicious. Julianne opted for the cream on her pound cake before adding the berries (she doesn't "do" berries) but my whole family licked their plates clean. I'm thinking this cream would be really nice with cooked apples in it for the fall and maybe add some pumpkin spice rather than the cinnamon.

It's 1 cup of sour cream; 1/2 cup light brown sugar and cinnamon to taste. I used light sour cream and just a bit more brown sugar ~ but you definitely have to try this. I'd love to hear how you like it. I'm thinking next time maybe raspberries and pineapple for the fruit. Simple and delicious.

Oh, we also picked up some really nice star fruit at a stand out in Merritt Island on the way home from the soccer game. It's one of Nate's favorites.

It's a tough soccer season

If you were with me last year during soccer season ~ we had a great year. We only lost one game all year and I got some great action shots. This year, not so much. Nate is on a new team that is about half girls and half boys. Half of them are pretty decent but the other half, again, no so much. We have more than a few kids that I guess would rather not be there. They spend the entire game trying to stay away from the ball so they don't have to run. Then there is the kicking issue. They haven't gotten the idea that you are supposed to kick the ball to a team mate ~ not just kick it to get it away from you (usually right to an opposing team member). The only thing that saves us from that is the fact that 70% of the time these kids go to kick the ball, they miss! We call it the air kick...
We have played 5 games as of yesterday and have yet to score a goal. We did seem to do better yesterday. We only lost 3 to 0 and we actually made some decent plays. Nate almost scored 3 times but their goalie was pretty good. Our goalie sucks. Actually he wouldn't be half bad if he'd actually stay in or at least near the goal. We are looking into a shock collar that buzzes when he moves outside of his range. Nuff said.
I have to hand it to my son. He takes it all much better than me. No, I'm not one of those screaming sideline parents but man, sometimes I wanna be. I do yell encouragement but underneath I am muttering stuff that would make a sailor blush. He hangs in their with it all and doesn't seem to get very discouraged although I think it has more to do with the amount of cute girls on his team than the actual playing of the sport ~ but whatever works!
The upside is, we get to play at some very pretty parks We especially like going somewhere we've not been before.

We play through November and hopefully things will pick up. Hope you enjoy the few pics I've been able to snap.

The solution to waking up too early

Yesterday I woke up at 6:00 am.... ON A SATURDAY!! I could have slept in and here I was wide awake. Nate didn't have a soccer game until 3:00 pm. Everyone else in the house was asleep, but not me. I did a load of dishes, made myself some breakfast, put a wash on and watched the "Ghost Whisperer" from the previous night, messed about on the computer. About 11:00am I started to fade from not getting enough sleep so I decided to take a nap ~ in the pool!
It's really the best place to nap ~ on my float ~ in the pool. The warm sun on my face and a cool breeze blowing. The pool temp is just perfect this time of year. Not too hot/not too cold. It was so quiet in the neighborhood. No lawnmowers or power tools could be heard which is odd for a Saturday. The only sound was the birds in the trees. It was heaven. I was actually able to just let it all go for almost 45 minutes and just float.
I probably could have used another 45 minutes but that's about the time the kids decided to come out and join me. That's when the chaos begins ~ the screaming, the splashing, the whining. Actually I'm glad they enjoy the pool. I just wonder what I was thinking when I got them the atomic squirters!
Richard came out and finished up his book and then joined us in the pool. Actually we enjoyed the pool so much we were actually late for Nate's soccer game! It started at 3:00 but he's supposed to be there at 2:15. We didn't get there until 2:45. Oops! Oh well, the price you pay for pure bliss!

It would have been a big day

Angie would have turned 30 today. She's been on our minds all day... in our hearts every day!

New Etsy Listings

After a long dry spell I have finally listed some new stuff in my Etsy shop. I had someone that wanted a couple of surgeon's caps so I made a batch. Her husband is a biker and she likes to wear these when they go out for a ride. She says they work better than the rags she buys in the store for much more money.


These are three of my favorites. I've also heard construction workers like to wear them under their hard hats to keep their heads from getting sweaty (Ewww!)


I still have some of the little girl screen bags listed and hope to get some more stuff posted soon including travel pillows (with cool pillow cases) and some Halloween stuff. Can you believe it's almost that time of year again?
I am also taking "custom" orders for the caps, bags & pillows ~ just let me know what you'd like.

I also made myself this cool cover for my day planner. I stole the idea from my bloggy friend Jen over at Cre8tive Quilter I did add a little embroidery to mine Eventually my purse will be all flamingos!

Anyway.. hope you'll check out the shop and let me know what you think!

My mother in law

This is my mother in law, Charlotte Isn't she pretty? We were wandering around the mall last time we were in So. Fla visiting for the day. I convinced her she needed the purple chunky necklace and took this pic so she could see how it looked on her. I promised to delete the photo but just thought it looked so nice so I'm putting her out there for the whole world to see, which she probably hates but we love her and wanted to show her off!
The kids call her Ginky (sometimes the Ginkster). Nate came up with the name when he was just a toddler and it stuck. She's so great with the kids and with us ~ just wish she lived closer!!!

Welcome to the world little man

My friend Paige and her husband had this little beautiful little man recently. Isn't he adorable? They are such a sweet couple, and now a wonderful family. She says not only are they "in love" with this new little man it has caused them to refall completely in love with each other on a whole new level. Isn't that so cool?
She did Max's room (no pics yet!) with a tropical/hawaiian theme. Here's my contribution to that I sure hope she likes it ~ it was a lot of fun to make once I picked out the "fish" fabric. I had a few to choose from and drove my friends and family crazy trying to find just the right one. This is the one that Julianne and then most everyone else picked. I think it turned out just right!

In any case ~ welcome Max! You are one lucky little man.

Let the classes begin

School started early here this year. The kids first day was August 10th. They were excited to get back ~ not so much for learning ~ but to see their friends again. I think Julz favorite part of "back to school" is shopping for supplies and clothes. Here are a few pics from her annual back to school fashion show:

Nathaniel got some new clothes too but is much too male to model for me!

Just a few more sewing projects

I have done a few more sewing projects lately. I got my hands on some really fun "fruit ladies" fabric so when I went to Tampa last month to sew with my pals I had precut the fabric and lining to make some of these little zipper totes. My friends were working on other stuff and I just kept on working while we chatted ~ all the while they were cracking up over my "projects." They were definitely surprised at the end of the night when I gave each of them one of the bags, which was my plan all along. The last bag shown here got sent to my very bestest friend MaryAnn. It's so something we would send each other and gave her and her family a good chuckle.
and the back I still have a bit more of this fabric so I'll have to find something else fun to make with it.
Funny story, the next day after our get together at the quilt shop ~ I was still in Tampa with MC and we were "visiting" a few more shops and the owner of the shop from the previous night called MC to ask me where she could get some of that fabric! My husband always said that I have so much fabric that the shops call me when they need fabric. I laughed it off at the time but so far, it's happened twice now!

Anyway, I also made this screen bag It's for a friend of my MIL's to thank her. She owns the Mexican restaurant that we took my MIL to for her birthday and at the end of the night she ripped up the entire bill. She's a real sweetie.

I have done a couple of other quilt tops that I'm actually thinking of putting on the Etsy shop but I need to get them quilted first.

Hope you are taking the time to do something you love, whether it's sewing or reading or just taking a bit of time for yourself.

Wonky Houses

Inspired by my blogging friend Lisa from Upstate Lisa who made this amazing quilt... And also made me my very own wonky house, I've been working on a few of my own. These are all done out of scraps. It was fun doing these ~ just designing as I went. I've got a bunch more floating around in my head. Now to find the time to get them out of my head and onto fabric.

Thanks Lisa for the inspiration!

What happened to August??

I guess it's more ~ what happened IN August. The kids went back to school, soccer practice started, PTO is back in action... I've gotten volunteered to be on the committee for the annual neighborhood get together .. field trips already taken, open house at both schools, babies born, quilts to finish... you get the picture!

Thanks to all of you who have written to ask me if I was okay. You've brought me back to reality and I'm trying to get my "act" together. I'm fine, just a bit crazy busy. Trying to get used to the new schedules around here. The kids are in two different schools this year so while Julianne is still right around the corner where school starts at 7:45 and she gets home at 2:30, Nate is in middle school (7th grade!) and takes the bus. School for him starts at 9:30 and he gets home about 4:45. He has opted out of PE for this year which he can do since he plays fall soccer and spring baseball. Soccer practice is 6 ~ 8 twice a week and on those days it's all he can do to get his chores done, eat dinner and do his homework. We are learning to utilize his morning time to get some things done. He is also in band which means bringing his instrument (saxophone) to and from school or calling me in a panic cause he's forgotten it and I need to bring it to school. It's only happened once but it was unfortunately on a day when the school bus broke down and I (along with two other moms) brought all the kids from our bus stop to school.

Anyway.. I promise to be better. I have been doing some sewing which has been fun and I'll be showing some of that as well. For now, since I don't like posts without pictures.. Here's one of our very talented middle schooler It's his new tongue trick ~ aren't you impressed?