Trip to Denver - Fancy Tiger Crafts

So, I'm about a month-ish late in posting this, but such is life!  I had to go to Denver, CO, for work toward the end of January.  My first thought was how cold it would be and my second thought was I HAVE to find a quilt shop there.....and get a You Are Here mug from Starbucks. Priorities, people!

We stayed at a lovely downtown hotel within walking distance to almost anything you could want!  The weather was in the 70s and very dry.  I had several bloody noses while there.  TMI?

I researched online to find an adorable quilt shop "not far" from the hotel....or "within walking distance"....not so much.  It was totally worth the 5 mile walk.

On our 5 mile walk to the shop, we walked by all kinds of typical downtown locations, including the capitol building.  Isn't it gorgeous!!   

Fancy Tiger Crafts is half quilt shop and half yarn shop.  The yarns were gorgeous...made me wish I could knit or crochet better!  I would love to take a class on how to make a granny square afgan. Until then, I will have to content myself with You Tube videos!

The shop was absolutely adorable.  I didn't even get a pic of all the fabrics.  I was overwhelmed by the funky decor and amazing quilts on the walls.  I didn't want to look like a total tourist, so I only snapped a few photos.  

This quilt is definitely going on my to-do list!!  What a great use for larger print fabrics!

If you are ever in Denver, definitely look up Fancy Tiger Crafts!  I did manage to buy a little fabric, prints I haven't been able to find in Raleigh/Durham.  They don't provide bags, so make sure you either don't mind, bring your own, or prepare to spend $6 on a bag.  I wish we had a shop like this in downtown Durham, although I would probably spend way too much time and money!

True Love

I thought I knew what true love was....that is until my daughters were born. When my daughter Emma was born, she was whisked away from me right away.  I was in labor for so long with her that there was meconium involved and they needed to take care of that right away.  But as soon as she rested her head on my chest and I kissed her squishy little face, true love took over my heart.

The last almost 12 years have been full of ups and downs but my daughters teach me daily how to have true love for others.  It's present in everything, from cooking dinner for them, cleaning up the kitchen, sharing a movie together, singing my daughter to sleep at night (Dayna's 9 and still requests this every night).

True love is not high and mighty, a lofty trait we have that is shared with a select few.  It is lowly and humble, demonstrated instead of declared.  It is why we do what we do each day.  True love is the reason behind all the things we do, menial tasks to some, but full of love for others.

It's why I make quilts for others, every stitch full of love, thinking of the person for whom it is intended.

Valentine's Day this year was amazing.  I can't say there isn't a deep hole in my heart still, one that gets smaller by the day, but still causes pain.  But you just focus on the good, keep moving forward.  That's all you can do.  I celebrated Valentine's Day with my 2 true loves, my daughters.  We went to IHOP for breakfast, had pedicures together (girls also got manicures), and then did a little shopping.  It was a perfectly wonderful day. My daughters are the loves and joy of my life.  I am so thankful for them, thankful I get to be their mama.

Glam Clam WIP

This quilt...swoon!!  I love it!  The way it comes together is quick and painless.  The cutting is the most pain-staking process.

Here is the quilt top...my girlies had to stand on our tall dining room chairs so I could get a full picture. Emma is my photo bomber!  I love the colors, the pattern, just everything about it.  I finally got it basted and am working on the quilting.  That will take a while.....

Curly Girl Hair Care

I have a love/hate relationship with my hair.  Most days it's great, I love it and everything about it....some days though, I just WISH I could have straight hair so I could bounce out of bed, run a brush through, do a few minor tweaks and be on my way.  I have learned SOO much about how to take care of my hair over the years.  Trial and error are my best friends, and now so are Pinterest and YouTube.

Of course, there is no one right way for every curly girl.  You have to find the right products for your curls, try different things.  This is my regimen.

Cleansing:

I have read so many things about "no-poo" and "co-washing" washing your hair with just conditioner or once a week with sulfate-free and then in between with conditioner...um, no.  My hair will be a grease pit if I followed those methods!

Instead, I wash and condition my hair with Kirkland Signature Sulfate-free Shampoo and Moisturizing Conditioner from Costco.  These are amazing on my hair!!  After washing, I wrap my hair in a t-shirt, not anything terrycloth or microfiber.  I absolutely cannot stand how microfiber feels on my skin!!

Styling products:

This girl loves some hair products.  This is my current regimen.

1.  Slip Detangler by Curly Hair Solutions - I love this.  I spray it, wait a minute, then brush.  Yes, I said brush.  I use a paddle brush and not a pick or comb because I would be crying on the floor if I used a pick or comb every day!

2.  Argan Oil of Morocco - again amazing stuff.  I use a nickel size amount, avoid the roots, and just finger it through my damp hair.  It softens, helps with frizz, overall amazing.  I can find this almost anywhere, bought it at Target.

3.  Curl Keeper by Curly Hair Solutions - This is like a primer for me.  I can't use it alone, although some people can and it looks amazing.  I use a lot of this, several squirts on each section of hair, making sure it feels squishy wet when I squeeze it.

4.  Mega Firm Hold Gel by Vidal Sassoon - BEST gel for my hair and I have tried every gel out there
.  I can only find it at WalMart so every time I go, I stock up with about 5 tubes.  I use a generous amount and make sure every part of my hair is covered.

Once all of this is in my hair, I flip and use the t-shirt to scrunch and remove excess liquid.  I let air dry for as long as I am able, sometimes only 10 minutes.  I like to wait until there is a bit of a crunch to my hair before I blow dry.

Styling:

I flip and blow dry my hair for about 10 minutes.  I use a diffuser otherwise all the curls will be blown apart.  I usually use this time to check instagram, blogger, etc, because it is boring to stand flipped over for 10 minutes with nothing to do!  Sometimes I read quilting magazines, or books.  I make sure the roots are as dry as I can get them and work into the rest of my hair.

And that's it!!  Seems like a lot, but it's not too bad.  I still haven't mastered 2nd or 3rd day hair.  Usually it goes in a pony tail or some kind of up-do.  I hope this post has helped any other of my curly girls out there!

Hello 2015!

I cannot believe it's 2015...honestly, wasn't 1990 like 10 years ago??  2014 was a year of change for me and my family and it's time for a new start here as well!

Christmas was great!  We had a nice vacation.  The girls and I spent a whole week together, full of activity and shopping.  I got not one thing done that I had planned, but that's okay!  They went ice skating for the first time.  Made think of the hundreds of times I've been ice skating as a kid...my mom would drop us off at the rink inside one of the malls in California and shop for a couple hours, while my sister and I would skate our hearts out.  So many great memories!  I self-taught myself how to skate backwards, spin, all like a total amateur but it was so much fun.  I skated all the time, on the ice or on the pavement.  Didn't matter to me!  My girls don't quite appreciate skinned knees either, their world comes to an end when they fall.  That was part of childhood for me.  Just rub off the blood and dirt and keep going!

Emma and her bff

Dayna...I love how she's standing

 This pic sums up our Christmas break!

We also added a kitty to our family...her name is Granger (after Hermoine Granger from Harry Potter).  She is precious and sooo sweet.  She has one hazel and one blue eye.  I just love her!

Anyway, on to 2015!  I have a few goals for this year.  I plan to get back to blogging!  It won't be as often as I did before, but I like having a record for myself of our moments.  I am truly excited to see what 2015 holds.  2014 was just hard.  My husband and I separated, the girls and I moved twice, and life just kinda grinded to a halt.  My mom came to visit for almost 2 weeks this summer which was absolutely awesome.  I have missed her so much.

But 2015 is a new start...a new year with new possibilities, new opportunities, new challenges.  I am excited!

So now, to quilting!  I have been working on a few things here and there.  Nothing major, but I felt the need for a new bed quilt or 2! The one below is the popular Glam Clam quilt pattern (free on Craftsy) created by Latifah Saafir.  I'm using the 8" clams.  It requires hand cutting over 300 pieces for the queen size.  I had to split that up over a few sessions to not end up with a claw for a hand.  I love the colors and love this pattern.  It is going to be my first finish of 2015.

Yes I still have my tree up, don't judge!!

Spring Break Excitement

Ah, spring break!  I use the term "spring" loosely here since the first few days were icy and freezing!!  I was not off that week, but the kiddos and Branson were.  We usually don't plan any trips for spring break mainly because I try to save my days off for the summer.  Anyway, I did spend a day at home after I woke up with a migraine that made me sick to my stomach.

That day, we had a bit of excitement...our house was almost broken into.  It doesn't seem like that big of a deal now, now that more time has passed, but I was terrified.  I kind of pride myself of being pretty tough, take-charge-in-the-face-of-danger kind of person, but you honestly do not know how you will react in that situation until you're there.

Around 10:30 ish in the morning, the girls were watching cartoons (did I mention it was FREEZING outside??) and I was in my sewing room, petting fabric, trying to feel better.  Dayna was heading to a b-day party around noon, so Branson was out getting a gift card and running a few errands.  Two men pulled into the drive way, one got out and came to the front door.  Mind you, the girls and I are in pj's, the lamps are on because it was so overcast/dark outside, and the TV was on.  One guy rattled the front windows a few times, I'm guessing checking for a dog? or to see if someone would come to the door?  I don't go to the door for people I don't know, especially in my pj's!  Anyway, he got back in his car and they left.

A few minutes later, they came back, backing their car into the driveway.  I told the girls to go to the bathroom and lock the door, keep quiet, do NOT come out for any reason.  Honestly, I wanted to hide in there too!!  I ran back to the window in our laundry room, saw the back of the car, and ran to the counter to write down the license plate number.  I have no idea what made me do that.  I called Branson at this point, told him I thought someone was trying to break in and he told me to get off the phone and call the police!  Well, sure, DUH!  Before I could dial, I heard the screen of my back kitchen window being cut by a box-cutter.  My stomach dropped.  I went to the kitchen drawer and got out the only weapon I could think of....my Pampered Chef meat lifters.  Those suckers are heavy and look like mini pitchforks.  I went right up to the window he was trying to get into and screamed "I'm calling the police!!!"  Thankfully, it scared the crap out of him and his buddy and they ran.  I don't know how I had the seconds that I had, he should have broken the window by the time I got there.  Maybe he was taking his time, trying to be quiet, or maybe he thought he heard me talking?  I don't know, but THANK GOD he stopped trying to come in.  He is a lucky guy too....because that meat lifter was ready to sink into his chest.

I called the police after I yelled and they got to my house in a few minutes.  We have 2 deputies that live on our street which helped response time.  About the time they showed up, I remembered the girls.  I was so caught up in just keeping those guys out that I couldn't think about them.  They were so good!!  They stayed quiet, Emma took her kindle fire into the bathroom and was emailing her friends, which kind of cracks me up!  I don't think they really knew what was going on until they came out.  I am so proud of them!

I didn't cry until Branson got home, and only then I just got a bit hysterical......until I saw Dayna about to lose it.  She is a sympathetic crier and cries every. single. time she sees me cry, so I held it together.

Branson left the house with the girls, took Dayna to her party, and brought home a shotgun.  I didn't want to leave the house unattended, so I stayed behind.  Brave?  Nope, just didn't want my stuff getting stolen!  Cuz I just KNEW the first thing they would try to take was my sewing machine!! Or my OOP, HTF, VHTF collection of fabrics!  Here we are, a week later, and the criminals were arrested yesterday while trying to break into another house about 10 miles away, idiots.

The deputy in my neighborhood told us that bands of burglars have been really hitting our town hard.  LOTS of break-ins, random selection, different men but all connected together.  They are connecting with each other on Facebook, of all things, posting about what streets are good to hit, if people are home, etc.  They are selling the stolen goods on FB too, avoiding pawn shops, which makes catching them so much harder.  Our sheriff department has a few undercover deputies that have friended these people on FB and have been able to track their movements.  I'ts just crazy....stuff I had never even thought of until last week.

If you're still reading, sorry for the long post!! The only crafty photos I have for this post is to show what I was working on the rest of the day, after all the excitement...ruffled zipper pouches!  We are having a ladies meeting at church the first weekend in April and I have a vendor table....so I made about 35-40 pouches for the event!  I've got about a week left and still have so much to do, but super excited!

Groove is Finished!!

I finally finished the Groove quilt I started for the hubs about a year ago!! and just in time for Christmas!!  I forgot to post about this before the holidays, such a busy time.  Branson chose this pattern and the colors to match the San Diego Chargers...I'm convinced this is how they made it to the play offs this year...it's the ONLY way, for real.  We have stunk it up this season.  Anyway!  I loved making this quilt!

The only thing about this pattern is that each size is oversized, which is plainly stated on the patter, but I had no idea the size would be such an issue with piecing the backing, quilting, wrangling that thing through a machine.  I ended up quilting it on a long-arm machine at a local quilt shop.  It was my first experience and I loved it!  My next big purchase, when I hit the lotto, is to buy one!

Thanks for letting me share!

Hello 2014!!

I have been thinking about 2013 for the last few days, trying to wrap my head around all of the wonderful things that have happened this year.  I am so utterly thankful for every part of my life, the good and the bad. I just wanted to write these down, as a way to look back.

Things I learned in 2013:

I'm so much stronger than I thought I was
I am okay with people not liking me, even when it hurts like nothing else
That people deserve second chances
That I really love my kids, even when they drive me up a wall and I feel at a loss at what I'm doing as a parent.  But you keep trying, keep trying, keep trying until you figure things out
That I really love my husband, more today than when we first met.  And 15 years of marriage just isn't enough.
I've learned that my sister and I can see each other every single day and still not run out of things to talk about.  I am so thankful she lives so close and works with me every day.
That praying for and wanting something so badly doesn't make it happen and that I need to be content and patient, even if God says no.
That relationships can be mended

My goals for 2014:

To run a half marathon, come hell or high water :)
To lose the 70 lbs I committed to losing last year and only lost 15
To give more to others, putting my family first.  They usually take a back seat to other committments

2014, you are going to be an amazing year!!

WIP Wednesday

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!  I ate WAY too much and had SO much fun going shopping Thursday night until 6 a.m. Friday morning.  This was the best Thanksgiving I've had in a long time!!

Over the Thanksgiving break I was finally able to finish my modern maples quilt, yay!!  I haven't been able to get a good picture of the quilting...when I get home at night it's totally dark and the weekends have been a bust. I used this tutorial by Janice at Better off Thread.  I didn't use a walking foot though, just decided to wing it with the free motion foot.  Mine isn't as densely quilted either, which makes it very squishy, just what I love!

 

And as if I needed another WIP, I finally started on the one I've had in my head for a while now, my pixel Eiffel Tower quilt.  The squares are all 2 1/2" and indiviually sewn.  When it's done this will be over 2400 pieces.  I am using low volume prints for the neutral and Dowry by Anna Maria Horner for the color.  It's some gorgeous fabric!! 

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.  Hope everyone has a great week!!

Longarm Quilting

For the longest time, I have been dying to try my hand at quilting on a longarm!!  There is a local shop that has a Gammill, you take the class to learn how to use it and then you can rent time.  It is SOO different from what I have done in the past, lemme tell ya!!  I was so used to the control I had when I was the one making the designs happen with the fabric, but the longarm is so sensitive, moves so quickly that it's harder to control what you're doing at first. At first I wasn't liking it at all, but after about an hour, it was awesome.  I would still totally buy one with my lottery winnings or inheritance from a long-lost uncle who owns a gold mine!  And I would buy a standard, no frills model, just one that can get the job done and I can learn to be a quilting rockstar.

Not a lot to ask for!

It took me about an hour to load this baby, the guy who was supposed to be helping me kept leaving me for bits of time, a little annoying to say the least.

Here is my progress on the hub's quilt...I finished the top a year-ish ago and just never quilted it because to baste it meant taking it to the hub's work and using the bigger floor...just didn't really want to do that! I'm quilting a different design in each color, just for some variety. This a great quilt to learn how to use this machine since I am doing so many different designs.

Took me 2 1/2 hours of quilting to get it almost done, I have a row and a half left!  I had to wait to book another hour to finish on Dec 7th.  I will be so glad to have this finished and put it wrapped under the Christmas tree this year!!  Even though he already knows about it, picked out the colors and pattern, has seen it partially quilted, and knows everything about it...he has to wait until Christmas morning!!