Last Post for a Post a Day in May

It's May 31st and I'm down to my last post for the Post a Day in May hosted by Jenny at All Sorts. It's 10:45 pm and after a busy afternoon I'm too tired to post. So my last post in May is a dud! Sorry about that! I'll post try to post two tomorrow. Nature Girl got a surprise in the mail from Nancy today. I wanted to share pictures her surprise but I'm too tired to do it justice. Have a good night!

New Aprons

Cross another thing off my crafty to do list. I finished this red apron for the Summer Fun Apron Swap. Red is my favorite color so I love this one. I've checked out my partner's blog and I think she likes red too. A few weeks ago I saw a clothespin apron that Tracey had made over at Itching 2 B Stitching. I liked the shape and the idea of the pockets. I wanted to make something a bit bigger so this is what I came up with. I used fabrics I already had for both of my aprons. With the price of gas a trip to the fabric store is costly!

I also made one for the Apron Angels that Lucy is coordinating. Nature Girl didn't want to be left out so she got in on the photo too.

I laid out the aprons to give another view of them. They are 28 inches wide and 20 inches long. Each apron was stitched to create two deep pockets. I made the ties extra long since I like to tie them in the front. Now I need to make one for me. Of course that's not on my crafty to do list, I should be crossing things off not adding them!!!

Crafty To Do List

After cleaning up my craft area and discovering several unfinished projects I've been motivated to catch up and create my crafty to do list. I've seen several other bloggers who put their to do lists on their blogs. I hesitated to do it since I tend to make a list, finish a few things on the list then forget about the rest. I've decided to post my list and cross my fingers. I hope to complete it or at least make a big dent in it! I've already made a bit of progress today. I finished a Jenny purse for my sister from Lola Again's tutorial. I also finished one apron today for the Apron Angels and started a second one for the Summer Fun Apron Swap. I hope to have pictures of both aprons tomorrow.

Here's what I'd like to accomplish by the end of June. Wish me luck!

2 Appliquéd wall hangings for my niece(already 3 months late.)
Apron for Apron Angels
Apron for Summer Fun Apron Swap
3 quilt blocks for my local quilt guild (June 11th)
Mother and daughter Gathering Aprons for my daughter and I
Sew a hand print tote bag as end of year gift for my daughter's teacher (by June 5th)
Complete two page layout and compile the class scrapbook (also end of year gift by June 5th)
Cat coin purse for my daughter
Jenny purse for my sister
Finish painting trim on my milk cans
Mini quilt for mini quilt trading swap

A New Hairdo

Before:Nature Girl has been asking for a couple of months to cut her hair. One of her friends has chin length hair, so Nature Girl wanted her hair cut the same way. She needed to be able to wear her hair up for her dance recital so I promised that after the recital she could cut her hair if she wanted. Well today was the day, so take one last look at Nature Girl's lovely locks.

After:

Nature Girl's new haircut. It's 7 or 8 inches shorter but it's still below her chin. I didn't mention it to Nature Girl but I looked into donating her hair to Locks of Love. They needed 10 inches of hair so we were a few inches short. Not to worry Nature Girl had her own idea of what to do with her hair. She wanted to save some of it to put outside so the birds could use it to make a nest. She scooped up a couple of handfuls of hair off the floor and stuffed it in an envelope for the birds. The rest of her hair was swept up and saved for another client who will use it in her garden. It seems like a perfect use for Nature Girl's hair.
She's very happy with her new hair cut! We think she's beautiful whether she has long hair or short hair but the new cut is cute. It makes her look older. Our baby is growing up so quickly!

Completing the Unfinished

Nature Girl had school today and my husband had to go into the office. The house was quiet so I set to work this morning on one of the unfinished projects I discovered while cleaning up my craft area. First up, the heart stitchery I made as an anniversary gift for my friend MB. MB is my friend and my neighbor. We are fortunate to have fabulous neighbors! It turns out our anniversaries are two weeks apart so I stitched up the heart before her anniversary but didn't know what to do to finish it so I set it aside. While cleaning the other day I found it and had an inspiration to turn it into a mini quilt. It's only eight months late but I'm happy to say it's finally complete and in the arms of it's new owner. I didn't think to measure it but I'd guess it's about 12" by 16". The muslin was stitched, painted and then coffee stained. There are a few thrifted fabrics included. . . you know I love all things thrifted!
Mini quilt update: Kristie received the Mother's Heart mini quilt today. She sent a nice e-mail to say she was happy with the quilt and the cloth napkins I sent. I'm very relieved and pleased to know she liked them!

Long Weekend

Having the long weekend together was very nice! We got some projects done around the house and yard and we enjoyed a BBQ with friends. The weather was beautiful and Nature Girl dug out her new bathing suit to run through the sprinklers. When that got old we talked her into riding on her Gator. The Gator was a gift from her grandparents a year and a half ago. Nature Girl has never ridden on it. The only thing she would do was sit on the seat and honk the horn. The other kids who come to play love it but she wouldn't ride in it or drive it. We finally decided it was a waste of garage space and started talking about getting rid of it. Today she decided she was big enough to try it(really even her 2 year old cousin loves it so she's plenty big enough.) She had a blast with it!
While Nature Girl drove around under Dad's supervision I worked on organizing my craft space. I spent hours working on it. It isn't done yet but I made a big dent in it. While I cleaned up I sorted fabric and put together the fabric for my fabric swap partners. I have to tell you choosing the fabric was harder than I thought it would be. First of all I don't know my partners and had just a short description of what they liked. One wanted kid fabrics, reds and blues and the other wanted cottons or linen. It was hard to choose which fabrics too send. I have no idea if either of them will like what I choose for them. I tried to pick things I liked and things I had larger pieces of. I have my notions picked out and just need to package it all up sometime this week. I thought so hard about what fabric to send that I forgot that I'll be getting fabric too. I feet a little bad that I didn't give a description of what I like for fabric for my partners but in hindsight maybe it's easier to pick fabric not knowing. One thing I did discover is that I have quite a few unfinished projects to work on. Looking through all of my fabric also made me think of a few more projects I want to try. I guess I better finish organizing my craft area before I get to work on all of those projects.

Creative Process

I don't know about you but for me my creative process usually includes a mess! This morning I decided to throw together a bag for a boy in Nature Girl's preschool class. It's meant to be a nature bag to hold binoculars and treasures from a nature hike. Nature Girl got one from Miniswap 3. Christie from Mama Said Sew made the cutest nature bag for her. I can't find it at the moment to take a picture but that was my inspiration for this bag. I cut the legs off a pair of men's corduroys and used that to create the bag. This is the mess on the floor while I was sewing. I'd like to say this mess is unusual for me but it's not, it's part of how I sew and create! I did get it all cleaned up before heading off to a BBQ this afternoon.

I hope that the bag doesn't look too girly. The lining is the blue fish material, so hopefully it's appropriate as a birthday gift for a 4 year old boy. We have a pair of binoculars and a bird watching book to put in the bag. If he does think it's too girly he has a sister who can use it and we're including a gift card to ToysRUs so he won't be left empty handed.
Enter Val's Give away. . . .
Remember Nature Girl's recycled jean apron? I was inspired to make that recycled jean apron after seeing Val's apron. Well guess what, Val is having a give away over at her blog Yarni Gras. She's giving away the apron or an ami book, so go enter now. I entered, I just love that strawberry apron!

ABC meme

Susan tagged me for an ABC meme, so here goes.

accent: no

breakfast or no breakfast: yes, toast with butter and a Coke to drink

chore I don't care for: washing dishes, putting away groceries and laundry

dog or cat: For me cats, but I love dogs if they belong to someone else.

essential electronics: computer & phone

favorite cologne: none too stinky!

gold or silver: both

handbag I carry most often: bags big enough to carry rocks for Nature Girl. I'm currently using the cherry bag I made for myself.

insomnia: Yes especially if I drink caffeine in the evening

job title: mom, wife

kids: one 4 year old daughter

living arrangements: just the three of us(my husband, daughter and I)

most admirable trait: I love to help and volunteer

naughtiest childhood trait: talking too much – yes, I'm still chatty!

overnite hospital stays: at 4years old I had tubes in my ears and when I had my daughter

phobias: snakes, things that cut flesh freak me out too

quote: Progress not perfection.

reasons to smile: Because I have a good life. I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter and wonderful family and friends.

siblings: One older brother and two younger sisters.

time i wake up: Not until my child wakes up. Preferably after 8 or 9.

unusual talent or skill: I can't think of any right now.

vegetable I refuse to eat: radishes & I've never tried okra

worst habit: I can be obsessive about things(unfortunately that doesn't include cleaning!) I'm a perfectionist about my own work(not about the work of others, just me.)

x-rays: a few growing up

yummy stuff: caramel, chocolate, caramel brownie cheese cake, cookies, coke, chips, swiss cheese, extra sharp cheddar, bread, pasta,

zoo animal I like most: Giraffes -Have you ever seen a giraffe run? It's very graceful & elegant. And those long legs quickly cover the distance.

I haven't tagged anyone but if you'd like to play along consider yourself tagged!

Sorry no photo tonight. I worked on painting the milk cans today. By the time I was done painting, my arms, feet and hair all had red spray paint on them. I probably should have taken a picture of myself but I didn't. I hope to share pictures of the milk cans in a few days after the paint has dried and I put the finishing touches on them.

A Recycled Apron For Nature Girl

Today I was folding a mountain of clean laundry when I came across a pair of Nature Girl's jeans that are a size to small and have a hole in the knee. Nature Girl loved my swap apron so I decided to cut up her old jeans and create a recycled apron. Yesterday I saw Val's apron made with Lucy's apron tutorial so I was inspired to give it a try. I adjusted the tutorial a bit since I was working with a pair of 3T pants. I used both legs and sewed them together to create a bigger apron. I gathered it at the waist, lined the back and added a band of fabric for the waist and ties. To cover the hole in the knee I sewed three circles cut from the jeans. I think they will fray in the wash and look more like flowers in time - you can see the circles at the top on the right and left sides since I feel the need to make things symmetrical. I also cut the pockets off the back of the jeans and sewed them on the front of the apron. Nature Girl immediately stuffed a plastic inch worm(a treasure we found in the parking lot at the park) in one pocket. The jeans already had some nice embroidered trim and a flower with butterfly on the side so it didn't need any extra embellishment. Nature Girl is pleased with it. She wore it for about 10 minutes before she came to me and said " You made something with my old pants!"


We headed out to the craft store to pick up scrapbooking supplies for an end of the year gift for Nature Girl's teacher. While we were there we came across the flamingo fabric Barb used for the tissue cover and card wallet I won in her blog give away. Since Nature Girl was a little sad about sharing our goodies from Barb, I had promised her that we would look for Flamingo fabric for her. So today we stumbled across two flamingo fabrics. In the end Nature Girl picked out this fun one. Now we just have to decide what to do with it. Nature Girl has had a few ideas but hasn't decided yet. So far her ideas are a new napkin set for her school snack box or a pouch for her treasures. She's leaning toward the pouch idea.

Swap Updates and Swap Mail

Today I finished taking pictures of my swap creations then sent them off to their new owners. The cherry apron is headed south, the red bird quiltie is headed to the west coast and the Mother's Heart mini quilt is headed to Kristie in Kentucky.
Three swap packages went out today and one arrived. Thank you Kim! Kim sent me this orange & pink apron for the Sassy Apron Swap. Nature Girl was a little sad that it wasn't a swap for her. Orange and pink are her favorite colors so she said "Mommy, when I get bigger I can have a turn with your dress." That will take quite a few years but in the meantime she was thrilled with the flower stickers Kim included in the package. She took them to bed with her then woke up crying at 4:30 am because she dropped them and couldn't find them. I stumbled into her room with one eye half open and managed to find them so we could all get some more sleep.
I've had a great time with the Sassy Apron Swap and am looking forward to making and wearing many more aprons in the future!
Lucy over at the Sassy Apron Swap is coordinating Apron Angels which is an effort to create 100 aprons to give to the victims of tornados in her community. If you'd like to help by sewing an apron contact Lucy at byrdhouse1(at)windstream(dot)net I'm excited to get sewing and create an apron for Apron Angels.

Fruit Eater

We headed out to dinner tonight before doing our grocery shopping. A family meal out is always fun but Nature Girl has a different idea of what constitutes a good restaurant. Her favorite is McDonald's while her dad and I pretty much detest eating there. It's obviously not the food but the toy that brings her to request McDonald's as her first choice. We ended up at Applebee's which she was happy with. They serve a lemon on a little plastic sword in her dad's ice tea. She gets to keep the sword and eat the lemon. Yes she's a fruit eater and eats lemons like they were oranges!

Here she is eating lemons and making lemon faces.

Miniature Booty Swap Quilt Done

I finally finished the Quilt for the Miniature Booty Swap. This quilt is going to Kristie. So Kristie stop reading now if you don't want to spoil the surprise! I've been very nervous about this one since my partner is a lovely person who has been quilting for 10 years. I didn't want my first mini quilt to be a big disappointment. I certainly lack quilting experience so I tried to make up for that by trying to personalize the mini quilt for her. She is a mom who lives for her family so I immediately thought of the poem a Mother's Heart.
I decided to make a quilt that included a heart pocket where she could tuck the poem and pull it out to read it. For the background I tried paper bag piecing, so you'll notice that there isn't a pattern to the pieces. I have a hard time being random in crafting so this was great for me to try. My husband is an engineer and it drove him crazy every time he walked by it. He wanted to try to make a pattern out of it. Honestly I'm usually like this too but the fact that it's random doesn't bother me. I like it.
The finished quilt is approx. 18" by 19". Both the heart and the quilt have been machine quilted by me. The poem was printed on muslin and sewn into a tag that tucks into the pocket. I'm fairly certain the ink on the tag will run if it gets wet but it looked so nice printed that I couldn't bring myself to use my handwriting on the tag. Now without further rambling, here is my very first mini quilt called A Mother's Heart.

Quiltie Swap

I took a little break from my Miniature Booty Swap quilt and worked on my quiltie for the mini quilt trading swap. I don't think my partner Katie reads my blog but Katie if you're reading and you want this to be a surprise stop reading and hit your back button!
I took my first crack at hand quilting and think I'm happy with the front but here's my question for all of you talented quilters. Is this what the back should look like?
First let me say I had no idea how to hand quilt. So I went with what would work for my design. I used embroidery floss for the quilting, when you see the design on the front you'll understand why. I used 3 strands of floss doubled up & tried to do a knot-less method so the back would be neat. It worked most of the time but the brown and green stitching looks a little messy on the back. What are you really supposed to use for hand quilting? I know I've bought hand quilting thread by mistake before and my machine doesn't like it! Do you do just a single strand? The finished quiltie is 11' by 8". I've found binding the edges to be a challenge. Despite Susan's help and a very detailed Flickr tutorial I still can get perfectly mitered corners. So I decided to do a thin border then add the batting and sew a back on before quilting it. I think it worked. For my quiltie, I knew I wanted to go with my favorite red bird. I like to draw and paint these little red birds on things(Nature Girl can draw these birds too.) Anyway, I cut out the bird and sewed pieces to get the bird, branch and background together. Then I quilted on leaves, clouds, the branch and around the bird's body. I added a button eye and a wing that sticks out. Overall I think I'm happy with it but I feel like the leaves should be all green. I probably should have tried appliquéing on leaves(something else I've not tried to do with a quilt yet.) I'm tempted to dry brush it with green paint but after all of the work I hate to ruin it, so I will probably just leave it and mail it out like this. I'm still waiting for my partner's address before I can send it out. Now it's back to work on my Miniature Booty Swap quilt. That quilt is almost done and will be mailed out by the end of the week I hope.

Nature Girl Dances

Today was Nature Girl's dance recital. She was very cute and we're looking forward to getting the DVD in July so we can watch her again. So how do you bring a little nature to an indoor dance recital? You pick a large maple leaf on the way into the recital and proudly carry it around with you before and after the show. Here she is posing with her leaf. She insisted it needed to be in the pictures. I think the leaf hat makes her look like a little fairy. She really is a Nature Girl!

More From a Curtain

So what can you make from a curtain? A bag for me, one for a friend, a tea towel and an apron. All that using just one panel, who knows what else can be created with the other panel. I love the cherry print it's perfect for spring and summer. Best of all it's thrifted! You know reduce, reuse, recycle.

I've been using my cherry bag for the last few days and I'm loving it. The second bag I made for a friend. It's meant to be worn across the body but the handle may be a bit long since I sized it on me. I didn't think about sizing for my friend until after it was sewn. Now that's it's done I think it might be cuter with two shorter handles. Too late now, maybe on the next one.

I finished my apron and tea towel for the Sassy Summer Apron Swap. I hope my partner likes red. My baby sister, Beckie was kind enough for model it for me. Aren't you happy to see someone new pictured on my blog! I am!
I knew I wanted to create a half apron using the cherry curtain fabric and red fabrics. I bought a pattern for a half apron but in the end I didn't use it. Instead my apron was inspired by this Modern June Apron. Check out her Etsy shop. I really like how the apron turned out so I'm temped to keep it. Of course I made it for the swap so I'll mail it out this week and patiently wait for mine to arrive. In the meantime I could always make another for me using the other panel. But I think I'll finish some other swap stuff then move on to making matching gathering aprons for Nature Girl and I using another thrifted fabric.

A New Bag and a Meme

I sewed a new bag last night. It's something I've been wanting to try for a bit. I didn't have a pattern but I winged it and it turned out ok. This was made from a curtain I bought at my favorite thrift store. I have a few other drapes I bought that are calling my name. I want to turn them into this but in a larger size to be reusable grocery bags. I think that's a project for June when I have a little more time. I had already decided that's one of the things I'm making for my family for Christmas this year so I plan to get started this summer. My youngest sister called me last night and requested hers early since like me she feels terrible guilt over using plastic. I promised to work on them in June. I'm going to finally get mine done too! Sorry for the dark photo the lighting wasn't that great at one am.
Here's the inside of the bag with my library book discussion book for this month. I have two and a half weeks to finish it so I better get reading. I included one divided pocket perfect for a cell phone.

Finally I was tagged for a meme.
Cindy tagged me with this one. The rules are thus:

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

Okay, here goes:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was a preschool teacher dating a wonderful man who became my husband. I must of had a lot of free time back then, since that was before having a child. I really don't know what I did with all that free time, I certainly must have wasted it!
2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
clean my house, laundry, sew, return overdue library books, get to the post office.

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Chips, sweets, Coke (yes, I know they are bad for me, I can't help myself!)

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
My husband and I joke that if I won a lot of money I wouldn't have anything left because I'd give it all away. So if I was a billionaire I'd invest some(I've learned this concecpt from my husband,) Save a big chunk for Nature Girl to go to college, then I'd buy things for our family members, I'd spend time & money traveling with my husband and daughter, I'd donate money to our local library and to other charities(especially charities that help kids.) I would continue to stay home with my family and enjoy my life like I do now! I don't need a lot of money to be happy.

5. Places I have lived:
Vermont, New York State, Washington State and New Hampshire


6. Peeps I want to know more about:
Cheri, Kerri, Susan, Barb, Tracey

Please do not feel that you have to play, it is just for fun.

Field Trip Day

Today was field trip day for Nature Girl's preschool class. Nature Girl woke up excited & ready to get going. She was very excited that her dad took the morning off to go with us. It turned out to be a fun morning. The field trip was a visit to a farm/zoo. The farm had your typical farm animals and then some more exotic animals like bears, wolves, camels, owls and a monkey. We also went on a wagon ride and had a picnic lunch.
I took lots of pictures but didn't get a single shot of Nature Girl with any of the animals. I think it was because as soon as she could smell them she was out of there!!! Nature Girl has a very sensitive nose and doesn't like animal smells. She liked the owls the best and she thought the reindeer were the stinkiest. Surprisingly they were very stinky!
I got some great pictures of Nature Girl with her dad but he's a little blog shy so instead you get a picture of Nature Girl and I taken on the field trip.

Lunch today

Today was another busy day with eye exams and Nature Girl's last dance class. We rushed off to eye exams early this afternoon then popped by our favorite roadside food stand. It's almost an hour from our house so we don't go there very often. Today it worked out perfectly that our eye exams were located near it. So this was our lunch. I got the two hot dog special with onion rings. It was greasy and sooooo delicious! A yummy treat. Nature Girl was disappointed that we didn't have time to order ice cream after our lunch. Maybe next time.
FYI: The eye exams went well and our eyes haven't changed at all. That's four years running that my husband and I have had the same exact eye prescription. Weird huh?! See, we're perfect for each other!

Mini Quilt Progress & a Swap

I dropped Nature Girl off at preschool this morning then I headed home to reintroduce myself to my sewing machine. We haven't spent anytime together for the last week and a half. With Nature Girl at school, I had two and a half hours of uninterrupted sewing time. It was wonderful! I spent the time working on my quilt for the Miniature Booty Quilt Swap. What's the one problem with having uninterrupted sewing time? No one to show your project too! I was excited about the progress but couldn't show my quilt to anyone. Usually my husband & Nature Girl are my audience and cheer my little craft endeavors. Which reminds me, tonight Nature Girl told me I was the best mom in the world. When I asked why she said"Because you do projects with me. No one likes to do projects alone. I like to help you." Awwwh melt my heart! How sweet is that?
I discovered something cool today. While I was trying to make the quilt tag, I discovered I can print on fabric using my printer. I was able to print a great tag with one problem. I can't get the ink to set, one washing and the tag is toast! I did find some info at Quiltpox.com concerning making quilt tags. If you're interested you can check it out here. I have a new HP printer and I'm not sure I can set the ink after reading the info at quiltpox. So now I have to experiment with making a new tag for Kristie's quilt. I have to finish binding the quilt and remake the tag then it will be finished. I really wanted to share photos but I don't want to ruin the surprise for Kristie so instead I'm posting a pile of fabric. I used a few of these fabrics in the quilt.

Speaking of fabric, Tracey at Itching 2 B Stitching is hosting a fabric swap. For details and to sign up, check here. I'm very excited to get new fabric. I've never done a fabric swap but it sounds fun! What crafter doesn't love surprise fabric?!!!

Quilt Swap

Today I worked a little more on my quilt for the Miniature Booty Quilt Swap before heading off to Nature Girl's dance dress rehearsal. When we got home tonight I opened the mailbox to find a package. Cindy had sent me a miniature quilt. My first thought was, I can't open it because I haven't finished my quilt to send to Kristie. Then I decided it would be rude not to open it so I tore into it and look what Cindy made for me! Thank you Cindy! I'm planning to use it as a wall hanging in my front foyer. This is the first swap for me all of the other's have been for Nature Girl. When I opened the package she asked what it was. I explained it was from a swap Mommy signed up for. She said "Mommy did you sign me up for a swap too?" I told her no. She said "Well you can sign me up for another swap!" She's too funny! I think she's addicted to swap mail!! I'll have to watch for another kid swap.

Here's Nature Girl hamming it up in her dance costume. She's not usually one to ham it up for the camera so we had fun with these pictures today! Her dress rehearsal was this afternoon so I made a few minor adjustments to her costume. She doesn't like the hat because the elastic is too tight. Even the new elastic I put in isn't to her liking. Thankfully she just has to wear it for her first number. She has a tap number and a ballet number in the recital. The recital is Sunday afternoon then we're off for the summer. Yippee!

I'm obviously biased but she's pretty cute! You should see her dancing! By the way thanks to all of you who have commented about her cuteness in past posts. I can't take any credit for this, she doesn't look a thing like me. She looks just like her dad! We tease him saying he looks really cute as a girl !!!

Our Girl's Day

Nature Girl is accustomed to having the attention of her mother and father to herself. Last week we had two extra kids for the week so she was in need of a special day by the end of the week. Friday she and I headed out for a girls day. We packed a picnic lunch and went to her favorite petting farm & ice cream stand. We've been visiting this farm every summer since she was a year old and she has become attached to several animals at the farm. Her favorite is Sunny the horse. Quickly followed by a pair of peacocks named Prince & Poppy.

Here's Prince in all his glory. Isn't he beautiful! Nature Girl was thrilled to be able to purchase one of his feathers for 50 cents. She also picked one out as a birthday gift for her grandmother. Every year Prince and Poppy have little peacock babies that we watch grow through the summer and fall. Nature girl loves them, although she does wonder why Prince calls so loudly.

Nature Girl took this photo of the two piglets. Aren't they sweet! We both agree that the black & white is the cutest. Usually the farm hangs signs with all of the animal's names. The signs weren't up on Friday so I don't think these little piggies have their names yet.

This is Nature Girl sitting on the fence rail with Sunny in the background. Sunny is a 41 year old pony that Nature Girl has adopted as her special friend. He has been a favorite of hers since she met him three years ago. We have the cutest photo of one of those first meetings. Sunny is sticking his head out of the barn window and a little Nature Girl right up close to his face talking to him. I'll have to find it again because it's so sweet.

The farm also has a huge sand pile with toys & shovels for the kids. The two big wood chairs for the grownups are very inviting. I relaxed while she played in the sand. Nature Girl had the farm and the sand pile to herself for most of our visit. She was very happy!
After visiting all of the animals and playing in the sand pile we were off to the hand washing station so we could get cleaned up and get our ice cream. Nature Girl enjoyed a chocolate ice cream cone while I savored a dish of pineapple orange ice cream. Yummy!
We packed up and headed off to our favorite thrift store to end our girl's day. Nature Girl loves thrifting but she has a lot of toys already so we're instituting a new rule for thrifting. One in and two out. I had Nature Girl choose two toys she no longer plays with and we donated them to the thrift store. In return she got to choose one toy to bring home. If we can keep this up we might clean out the extra toys in the playroom over time. Of course I felt a bit of guilt instituting this rule for her when I haven't followed it myself. I guess I should work on following this new rule too. Instead I purchased more fabric that I hope to turn into an apron. I'm thinking I'd like to try making the Gathering Apron from the Sew Mama Sew tutorial contest. Of course I think I'll finish my aprons for the apron swaps first, then I can try the gathering apron for Nature Girl.

The View From Where I Knit

It was a sunny day in Northern New York State. The breeze made it feel a bit cool but overall it was a lovely spring day. We spent the afternoon outside sitting on the deck while Nature Girl and her cousins played in the yard. This was my view from where I sat knitting a dish cloth.

I like to have a project to do while I'm sitting down chatting with family and friends. I enjoy visiting but why not chat and craft at the same time? I get to visit and at the end of the visit I feel like I accomplished something. Today I made this dishcloth from a pattern my mother-in-law gave me several years ago. These make great gifts for family at Christmas time, although I made this for me to replace my old shabby ones.

I started to work on the hexagonal net crochet bag from Orange Flower. It's riddled with errors but I'm very impressed with myself that it has a bit of a hexagonal shape to it. Really I need to pull it apart and try again because all the errors will drive me crazy. For just my second crochet project I think I'm doing ok. I obviously need a lot more practice but I'm enjoying trying to learn. Of course I'm more of a visual learner so I need to schedule another coffee & crochet lesson with my friend Cindy.
We're planning to head home tomorrow afternoon so I'll have lots of time to practice crocheting on the ride home. We'll also finish listening to Harry Potter. Once we get home it's back to business for me. I have lots of projects I need to get working on. I want to have my miniature quilt and my 6" quilt square for my swaps done by the end of next weekend. Hopefully I can accomplish that. We also have Nature Girl's dance recital next weekend so I need to make some minor alterations to her costume. Wait till you see how cute she is in her dance costume!

Spring Branches

We're traveling to NY this weekend to surprise Nature Girl's grandmother. We'll be celebrating Grandma's birthday and Mother's Day while we're there. Nature Girl loves to visit with her Grandma and Papa. She's done this trip every few months since birth so she's great riding in the car for the 5 hour trip. Of course she gets to pick what we listen to in the car which is often boring for her mom & dad but it keeps her happy and the ride goes by without a since complaint or an "are we there yet!" We're fortunate that she's so good! For tonight's listening enjoyment we borrowed the first Harry Potter Book The Sorcerer's Stone on audio CD. We're looking forward to listening to this one on tonight's trip.
We had our girls day out today. We had a very nice day together. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow. In the meantime check out the new Kids Craft Weekly which includes flower crafts. We tried the scrunchy blossoms that look like spring branches.