to tell you the honest truth

 

i'm totally excited to have finished this quilt.  like i said before, i started it FOREVER ago and then pregnancy and newborn life took over.  so, here it is, in all it's red and aqua glory!  i really do love it and had a great time making it.  weirdly enough, i did enjoy the stippling process and for some reason, like the binding process.  and i might add, that nothing is better than pulling a freshly laundered quilt from the dryer to see the new crinkly look the quilt has taken on.  oh, and finding a place to display the quilt is pure happiness!

 

This quilt was inspired by one I saw on Etsy in THIS SHOP.  I contacted Nettie and asked her if she would put a red and aqua scrap pack together for me and I told her I trusted her judgment of fabrics to include.  She did not disappoint, as I received a wonderful collection of popular designer fabrics and super cutie Japanese imports.  I also had several red and aqua's of my own to add to the mix.  Even though that was a LONG time ago, I still like to follow what Nettie is doing on her blog, A QUILT IS NICE.  It's always inspiring.  Thank you Nettie!  :)

 

The wind blew the quilt just perfectly so you can see the backing.  Because I work within a (small) budget, I usually have smaller amounts of fabric in my stash.  Even though I would have loved to go purchase the new fabric that I had envisioned being the "perfect backing" or what I wanted for the binding, I used what I had on hand.  The pro to this "being on a budget", is that it forces a little more creative thinking on my part, which has always led to, in my opinion, a more interesting outcome.  The rest of the white, the aqua polka dots and the cherries were cut into different widths, for a striped, pieced backing.  The binding was also pieced and I love it! 

 

 

Now, I need to make another to keep the house extra cozy for the winter months ahead!

Tasha

halloween '09

This year my kids really did look pretty cool, but some of my pictures totally stink.  I wanted them to all stand nicely together, but would they?  of course not.  My boys are the "fiercely independent" type and for surely not the "stand around and take cute pictures for mom" type.  They run their own race on Halloween....the bigger ones, not Austin YET.  Caleb, Taylor and Isaac were equipped with pillowcases, 2 pairs of rollerblades and a skateboard and they were off!  They unloaded once at home and then took off again for round two.  The end result was A LOT of candy! 

We also greatly enjoyed our company on Halloween!  Pete's sister, Katrina, (just moved up from Arizona) her husband, Miah and their darling little boy, Adin along with Pete's other sister, Maria and her husband, Sheldon, were all able to join us for some pizza, "spider cider" and trick-or-treating.  (I know that was a long sentence).  I invited my brother Jeff and his family also, but they had a grandparent visiting town and no car big enough to transport them all to my house!  :(  I talked to Julie and it sounded like they had some fun plans though. 

I have to say, I totally loved dressing up my little girlie for Halloween!  It's a different experience than dressing the boys.  Thankfully, she had a darling hand-me-down mermaid costume, from her cousins, that fit perfectly.  I bought some ribbons and made a big bow to match.  It was my first and it ended up a little big, but I think it was okay for Halloween.  She was adorable, if I do say so myself!  :)

 

Caleb happily posed with her, and I thought the ones of them turned out great.  Caleb absolutely adores Ava!  As you can see, Caleb was a "freak" for Halloween, and he LOVED his look.  Is that good or bad?

 

 

Taylor was Elvis again and my pictures are terrible, but really, he looked awesome.  Especially with his rollerblades on.  He has such a great sense of humor and somehow this costume just works for Taylor. 

 

 

Isaac was Prince Caspian.....and oh, a handsome Prince he was!!  He was DARLING and I am angry with myself that all I have of him is this: (a neighbor friend joined the picture too)

Austin was a red Power Ranger.  Hey, honestly, it was $10 and I just really didn't care that much.  He DOES NOT watch Power Rangers!  He just happens to know what they are because his friends have the action figures and therefore, we have purchased a Power Ranger action figure before.  (He does like his action figures!)  Anyway, after we sprayed his hair, we actually loved his little look!  Again, not a terrific picture.  :(

 

Hope you all had a fun Halloween!