Expanding my focus

I'm here ...

I've been here all along, actually ... I go to my blog page every day so that I can visit all the websites listed in the sidebar. But when it comes to actually posting something on my own blog, well ...

See, here's the thing. Notice the little subtitle under my blog's name? It says "A shady little spot where I can post my humble attempts at art and life." Art and life. But if you look back, you'll notice that all my posts are about art, or things that are art to me (like aprons). I found myself only posting when I had created something that I could take a picture of and say, "Look what I made!" Where's the life? The things I think about or do when I'm not making art?

As you can guess, I haven't really done anything artsy in quite awhile (well, that's not completely true ... after making this journal cover, I made a second one). But I've done other things ... homeschooled my girls, lost 40 lbs. (and still losing), read lots of organizing books, increased my exercise, started doing some redecorating. And yet, no posts, because I hadn't done any "art".

So I'm expanding my focus ... this blog is supposed to be a reflection of me, and there is more to me than quilting, sewing, crocheting. I can't promise that I'll post every day, but I will post. My art and my life.

Did you send out a search party?

Yes, I went back into hiding a bit, I guess. But I'm still here, plugging away at being a wife and homeschooling mom, occasionally sewing or doodling in my art journal. I don't know why I've been neglecting my blog ... need to get out of this rut ...

One thing that's helping with that is a new online class I joined (an early Christmas present from dh): Mary Ann Moss' Remains of the Day: A Shabby Journal of Scraps. This one is really outside my comfort zone ... lots of mismatched scraps and tangly threads ... a real stretching exercise for me LOL! The first lesson started this Tuesday ... sewing the cover. Here's mine, all done and ready to be filled with scraps of paper and other goodies:
Here you can see it opened out flat:And here is the inside, where all the goodies will eventually end up:The cover went together so fast, using Mary Ann's guerrilla-style sewing techniques LOL! It was quite fun, once I let go of trying to make it look perfect. I must have rearranged the bits and pieces a dozen times before I finally said, "Enough already!"

I'll keep you posted as I work on this journal ... the second lesson is next Tuesday and I can't wait! So my goal is to have everything wrapped and under the Christmas tree before then so I can play without guilt LOL!

If this looks like something you'd enjoy, do check out Mary Ann's class ... it's not too late! The class blog will be open and available for about a year, so even if you're pressed for time (and who isn't in December?!), you can join and then take your own sweet time. Have fun and create something!

Oh, dear! I almost got lost again!

Just a shout out that I'm not really lost ... I'm still here! I've just been so busy with getting the homeschool up and running after a lazy summer. But now it's week 4 and things are settling into a rhythm again, so hopefully I'll be able to start posting a little more often.

One of the things I've been missing out on is The Apron Goddesses' apron giveaways ... yikes! There have been some real cute ones in the last few weeks that I've missed out on. Bummer. However, it looks like I'm not too late for last week's giveaway ... this cute little red number. I love the shape of this apron and will definitely be crossing my fingers for this one!And, of course, I'm definitely not too late for this week's giveaway ... this fun Flower Power half-apron. Love that fabric!! So, yes, my fingers and my toes will be crossed for this one. I need to get my entries in asap.If you would like a chance to win either (or both!) of these aprons, just click here for the red one, and click here for the Flower Power, and follow the instructions. Good luck, everyone!

My favorite kind of apron giveaway!

This week's giveaway at The Apron Goddesses is my favorite kind ... choose your favorite apron to win! This is the one I'd choose ... a Vintage Everyday apron in Amy Butler's lacework and full moon dots fabrics ... love it!!

What apron would you pick? Click here and you just might win it ... good luck!

This week's TAG apron giveaway

Here's The Apron Goddesses' giveaway of the week ... a nice, full, wrap-around red floral apron! If you want to win it, then click here and ... well, you know what to do ...

Good luck!

Speaking of apron giveaways ...

The Apronista is having an Apron Fest this week! Lots of aprons will be given away, so do check back throughout the week ... with all these giveaways, our odds are bound to be good LOL! Good luck, everyone!

TAG's latest apron giveaway

Here's the latest apron giveaway over at The Apron Goddesses ... paisley! Click here and follow the instructions if you want to win it ... you know I do!

Hope you're having a great summer ... enjoy it while it lasts because the school year will be starting any minute!!

My plaid apron

Well, not exactly a plaid apron ... it's really a denim apron with touches of plaid. You see, I bought a yard of this neat plaid fabric at Hobby Lobby ... it was actually made up of small (roughly 3") squares of different plaids all stitched together. And the best part was that it was on clearance at $2/yd ... love it! So I brought it home, with tentative plans to make a half-apron with it, maybe adding an overlay using one of my recent vintage embroidery purchases (scored big at a garage sale recently!), perfect for my submission to the current Tie One On theme.

But then, a couple days later, someone forwarded a recent issue of a newsletter called Sewing Savvy on the Sewing Aprons Yahoo group, because the issue was all about aprons (it's the current issue as I type, but if you read this down the road, it's July 2009, Vol. 7, No. 10). One article in the newsletter is called Denim with Dinner ... a pattern for turning bib overalls into an apron. It caught my eye for two reasons ... one, I happened to have a pair of pale green overalls that I hardly wear (why? because they are not flattering at all LOL!), and two, they dressed it up with a plaid fabric. The wheels in my head started turning and turning, and this is the result.
Now, I couldn't follow the pattern exactly ... my overalls were different than they were describing and I had less of the plaid than it called for ... but the pattern made a great guideline for turning a piece of denim clothing into an apron. I'm very pleased with how it turned out! And now I have an excuse for wearing these soft denim overalls without looking frumpy LOL!This was great fun to do, and now I can't wait for the girls to outgrow some of their jeans so I can try the same techniques on some half-aprons for them, especially since they love how mine turned out. And, hey, if any of you try this, let me know because I want to see!!

There's a quilt book up for grabs ...

If you like Gwen Marston's and Freddy Moran's quilting styles, now is your chance to win their latest book, Freddy & Gwen Collaborate Again ... click here for details!

First place winners

And, finally, the 6 first place winners! The first three are some of my favorite quilts, perhaps because they are my own design LOL! Here is my "In the Garden" quilt (this was for my church's art challenge ... make a piece of artwork based on a favorite hymn).The second quilt is "Tulips". I started with a Carol Doak paper-pieced star, then added borders around it (what I like to call a "roosting robin" ... like a round robin, except it stays home and I do all the borders myself).The last quilt is "The Burning Bush" (this was another church art challenge ... artwork representing a Bible passage ... I did Exodus 3:1-4:17).And here are the other 3 winners. My pie-makin' apron:A crocheted granny square tote bag:And a Christmas-themed decorated sweatshirt (front and back):











Well, that's all of them ... thanks for letting me brag a bit! Now I'm off to see what I can make for next year's fair ...

Second place winners

Here are the 4 second place winners from the county fair. First up is my sampler quilt (you may recognize this pattern for the book Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!!) ... sorry about the pic ... it's hard to get the whole quilt while standing on the couch looking down LOL!Next is the apron I made for the No $$ Apron challenge.Then there is this cute tote bag with coneflowers on it.And, finally, a pink and black chevron afghan I crocheted for my daughter, Abby.Check back tomorrow for the 6 first place winners!

Third place winner

Some of the things I entered at the county fair have been on my blog before, but not all. So over the next few days, I thought I'd show you each item. Here is the miniature quilt that won the lone third place ribbon ... "Japanese Dolls".Tomorrow I'll show you the 4 second place winners.

A math lesson from the county fair

6 blue ribbons





plus





4 red ribbons




plus





1 white ribbon





equals 1 happy quilter!

My apron is working hard this morning!

In honor of The Apron Goddesses' "Aprons, Aprons Everywhere" event today, I'm sharing just a glimpse of my morning, wearing one of my favorite aprons ... yay for orange and green! My mother-in-law gave me this apron awhile back and I just love the cheerful colors. Makes me smile whenever I put it on.So, off we go ... first stop is to check the laundry. I'm in luck ... dh did a load last night, so I'm already one load ahead of the game. Love when that happens!Then upstairs to make some breakfast ... mmm, eggs ... I like mine over hard, very hard. No runny eggs for me {{shudder}}.Then, of course, we need to wash up the breakfast dishes (and, I must confess, the few left over from the day before ... shhh).Let's check on the plants, shall we? My daughter waters the garden in back, but I like to do the flowers up front ... aren't they pretty?Now for the beds ... usually the girls make their own beds, but it's time to change the sheets, so let me at 'em! Bed #1:Bed #2:Ah, that's better ... and if I find time this afternoon, I'll do our bed, too. Or maybe tomorrow ...

Well, that was my morning ... for the rest of the day, I will keep on working on laundry, maybe throw in a little lunch (my daughters will be happy about that, I think), and putter around the house doing a little here, a little there. The only big thing for today (and it's not really that big) is mailing out my quilt guild newsletters. They're all labeled and ready to go ... just need to get some stamps. And, hey, the P.O. is next to the Hobby Lobby ... hmmm, what do I really, really need? I'm sure I can think of something ...

Thanks for stopping by! For more apron goodness, click here.

A new week ... a new TAG apron giveaway

Yep, it's Monday ... which means a new apron giveaway from The Apron Goddesses. This week's apron is a lovely pink and brown number. I love this combination ... makes me think of raspberry filled chocolates!

For your chance to win, click here and follow the instructions. Good luck!

County Fair

I haven't done much sewing over the past couple days ... dealing with sick kids instead. Lots of cuddling and read-alouds and such are filling my days. But I did find some time to label my stack of entries for the county fair:I'm entering 11 items ... 5 quilts, 1 crocheted afghan, 1 decorated sweatshirt, 2 aprons and 2 tote bags. This is my second time ever entering a county fair (won a 2nd place ribbon the first time!), and my first in this county. I've lived in this county for 12 years now, and I can't believe I took this long to enter. Well, actually, I did think about entering a few years ago, but reading the fair's website was so confusing, I gave up. But one of the ladies at our guild got up during show-n-tell last summer to show off her ribbons and to encourage us to enter ... and I decided that I would do it the next year, no matter what!

So a few weeks ago I thought, "Hmmm ... the fair should be coming up soon." Glad I didn't stall after that ... when I got home and checked the website, I found that, while the fair was a month away, I actually had less than a week to submit an entry form. So I read the requirements and got confused again ... but I didn't let it stop me this time. Instead, I became a pest ... I found a contact email and sent them a whole list of questions. They responded, I asked more, so on and so on. And now, about 5 emails later, I have a stack waiting to take to the fair! Patting myself on the back here LOL! The girls think it's pretty neat that I'm going to have stuff at the fair ... though I think they're a little more excited about going on the rides. (I just hope they're feeling well enough to go later in the week!) And, who knows ... there just might be a ribbon or two hiding in that stack LOL!

AAQI reminder

Tomorrow is the last day to bid on this month's AAQI quilts ... once they're gone, they're gone! Happy bidding!!

Pie-makin' aprons galore!

The Tie One On pie-makin' apron gallery has been up for almost a week and I totally forgot to look for it! But just now I thought to check and, boy, am I glad ... there are some wonderful aprons to see! Plus there are some yummy (and interesting) pie recipes to go with them. Enjoy!

If you want to play along, check out the next theme ... plaid!You have until September 1st to enter. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet ... re-purpose a plaid shirt maybe? We shall see ...

And another one ...

Not Quite June Cleaver is also having an apron giveaway (2 aprons, actually) this week. Check it out here! Can't wait for the sneak peek!

This week's TAG apron giveaway

The Apron Goddesses giveaway for this week is this reversible half-apron from Aprons by Julie ... love the high-waist and the funky pocket!You know the drill ... click here and follow the instructions. Good luck!