Change, change, and more change…and nose surgery!

So things in our household got a little bit interesting, okay a whole lot interesting about half way through this year.  I think almost everything that could change DID change in the past four months.  My husband got a new job, our congregation at church changed (it is based on geographic location), and we are trying to sell our house—you know the one, that house that I put my heart and soul in decorating and that is all over my blog.  Sigh….I love that house.  It took us months to decide and we went back and forth a million times, but when it came down to it, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms just wasn’t working for our family of 6.

So we put it on the market and signed on to a new house.  And the stresses have just kept piling on (hence the LACK OF posting on my sweet blog).  I know that changes bring growth, but it also brings growing pains!!

On a fun note, remember when my hubby broke my nose??  I finally got it fixed, yet another fun event to add to the craziness around here.  Is it wrong that my husband and I only get alone time when one of us is having surgery??  We need to get our dating life back in order!!  Real dates would be much less expensive!!

But they probably wouldn’t be as memorable;)  At least we are still laughing.

Besides all that “regular” stuff, my husband has been traveling 50% off each month since August…….THAT has been a challenge.  I’ve learned that I have wonderful family and friends who will always be there to help me through, but I’ve also been reminded that my husband is truly my best friend, and I missed him terribly!!  My life stinks when he is gone!!

And the best new change is….drumroll….our house sold in 5 weeks (must have been all that great home décor that got them *wink wink*) and we bought a new house with a SEWING ROOM for me!!!  And plenty of room for the kids and Justin’s therapies in the summer.  And although I’ve been completely overwhelmed with stress and anxiety, I am looking forward to decorating this new house next year!!  For right now, I’m just going to enjoy the holidays with my family.  I will post some great updates about Justin over the break—he has been doing so well and is now going to school (more details to come later). 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Sew and Show Saturday—#16. Whimsical Fall Harvest Quilt

I am in love with Fall!!  I am already craving anything pumpkin and I could eat soup and breadsticks every night!!  If I could have soup, breadsticks, pumpkin bread, and be wrapped up in this quilt of my mom’s—I would be good to go!!

I LOVE the colors in this quilt!!  And my mom is bringing this to me this week when she comes to visit, right mom???  Can’t wait for her to get here—we have some outrageously lofty sewing goals as usual, and then half-way through her visit we’ll get tuckered out and end up watching movies!!  Still can’t wait!!

Sew and Show Saturday—#15. Apple quilt…

The weather was so hot this week, it’s hard to remember it is Fall!!  I want apple crisp, crockpot meals, and sweaters—where’s my cool weather?!?!  Hopefully this week will be cooler!!

Here’s another one of my mom’s quilts that brings back sweet memories for me.  This was displayed in my mom’s family room for a long time.  It was such a cozy room with a fireplace, large windows, beautiful blue walls, and an oversized plaid loveseat that matched the colors of the quilt!!

Such a great fall quilt!!

Sew and Show Saturday—#14. Modern black and white beauty quilt…

Quilting has been a tradition in my family that goes back for generations.  Having that said, I have gained such an appreciation for all styles of quilts—traditional, and modern.  There are so many modern styled quilt patterns being produced now, and I love them!!  So what makes a quilt modern??

• The first thing that makes a quilt modern for me, is the color choices.  When you limit your color selection to two or three colors (black and white, or black and white with a pop of red, or red and white for example) your quilt is going to have a more modern look to it and feel more up to date than a traditional quilt.  The tone of the fabric is a huge factor also being that bright colors will produce a higher level of contrast than pastels.
• The second thing that affects the style is your choice of patterned fabric.  Solid fabrics will always appear more modern, and will also allow you to choose more color variations without looking traditional(for example a quilt of 6+ different color solids will still look modern even though you have broadened the color selection to more than 2 or 3) Within the limits of your color selections, your choice of print can make your quilt feel more modern.  Geometric prints, high contrast prints, and larger sized prints can all help update a traditional pattern to look more modern. 
• The third component of a modern quilt is the actual quilt pattern itself.  There are some quilt patterns that read modern just because of the simplicity of pattern (more geometric lines).  But here’s my favorite thing!!  I think any pattern, even the very traditional quilting patterns that go back for generations, can be updated to look modern.  That is the fun of quilting!!  I love finding one of my favorite traditional quilt patterns and then update it using modern color choices and fabric patterns.

This is why I love this black and white beauty quilt that my mom made…

Again, I think it is the high contrast on this one that makes it more modern than traditional.  Check out the quilting on the white fabrics!!

What would your favorite color choices be for a modern twist on a traditional quilt pattern??

Rose cake for my baby girl’s first birthday…

If you read my other post about my baby girl’s first birthday, you know that I chose an apple theme.  I had visions of an apple cake for her but never really found any apple cake designs that I liked.

Then I got on Pinterest and happened to see this rose cake tutorial.  It said it was easy, although I was skeptical “who’s” version of easy we were talking about!!  Easy for a professional, because I am certainly not a professional!!  But I have to say, it really was easy!!!

I baked a small cake in a Pyrex bowl and then used the rest of the batter for cupcakes for the other kids.  I frosted the whole cake first with a base coat and then started piping the roses.

It was a perfect little cake for her first birthday pics, and she LOVED it!!

Back to School balloon wreath…

I love it when my kids go back to school and we are all on a schedule!!  I wanted to celebrate new school year with my kids so I whipped up some cupcakes and altered my balloon wreath and all of a sudden we have insta-party!!

I took my Monogram Balloon Wreath, here’s the link if you want to know how to make a balloon wreath, and then removed the monogram and added a banner that says, “School Rules!!”  The banner shape was from PowerPoint and it only took me about 5 minutes to print it out, cut it, hot glue it to the pencils—and be done!!

So easy!!  And wouldn’t this be a cute back to school gift for a teacher??  Or a teacher appreciation gift??  Hmmm,  I might need to go make some more…

I am linking to the following parties!