OZ sneek peek

susan's zig zag

                  

       remember this special project?     well it turned into this:

i apologize again for the awful pictures. my phone is my only working camera as of now.

this quilt was made with so much love.

it is the first quilt that i have made all by myself from start to finish.

it measures 50x60" and was quilted on my sewing machine.

i have to admit that i was disappointed in this technique since all my other quilts have been professionally quilted on a long arm, but it was fun to try.

maybe when i get better at it.

my other confession is that i hate the binding! i wanted to bring in a different color and it had a zig-zag pattern so i thought it would go, but now i think a different fabric would have been better.

you really can't see it in these pictures, but it is green.

i do however love the backing.

leftover yellow fabrics were paired with robert kaufman kona cotton in white.

 

although it was satisfying to make this quilt from start to finish, there are so many mistakes!

i had a hard time shipping it to it's recipient as i felt it so not good enough for her.

so who is this her that i am referring to?

my amazing seminary teacher from highschool, sister locken.

let me tell you a little bit about her:

sister locken is one of those rare people that you come across in life that you feel blessed just to know.

i have a list of 4 or 5 of these people that is titled "saints"

(more to come on that list in a different post)

she is kind, tender, funny, BEAUTIFUL, spiritual, and would do

 anything for anybody without hesitation.

i was such a punk in seminary and doing bad things in my life and she didn't have an ounce of judgement in her body all the while pushing me through to graduate.

she really left a lasting impression on me and my older sister.

so not only is this woman gorgeous, 

but she has beautiful and talented 

daughters as well.

i follow gena and tonya 's blogs.

a couple weeks ago, tonya wrote a beautiful post  about

 her mother and her diagnosis of breast cancer.

i cried.

a lot.

so what do you do for someone you love who is suffering?

quilt i say!

so quilt i did.

quilted with love.

i pray for this strong, selfless, righteous, amazing woman and her family.

and only hope that my small gift may warm her up on the cold days ahead...

i love you sister locken.






images via tonya's blog

because it's almost halloween...

... and a pumpkin patch post is mandatory!

from my view

sunday evening.

i'm plopped in the corner of my couch 

and this is what i see:

 these guys cuddling to this movie:

well, david isn't really watching,  he's reading some nerdy book on his iPhone that is driving me nuts.

he's been reading it all weekend, thus neglecting other things.

ahem.

like me.

i'm finishing the:

on this quilt

 and 

over analyzing my new:

it's driving me nuts. because it's just not right.

what else is driving me nuts? i still can't find my memory card for my camera 

so all my pictures are from my phone. ugh!

dreaming of him

after my brother was killed, all i wanted was to dream about him.
i wanted meaningful, spiritual dreams that helped me feel closer to his spirit.
it didn't happen.
a couple of my family members had them, but none for me.
it's almost been almost two years and i've had a couple sprinkled here and there,
but they are not what i want. is that greedy of me?

the situation in each of these dreams is different, but the point is the same: he's still alive.
either is was all a big practical joke, or the government faked his death so he could go undercover, or something else really dramatic. the dreams themselves are wonderful. the feeling of reuniting with someone you thought was gone is indescribable, but when i awake, there is only disappointment. frustration that the dream wasn't real.

i was in denial for a long time after his death, and in some ways i still think i am. i remember convincing myself that it was all a mistake. the wrong guy, the wrong name, the wrong family got notified. when i walked up to that casket, i literally waited for him to jump up laughing telling us that he "got us good." when it didn't happened, i was devastated all over again; just like that phone call when i heard. then i touched his lifeless body and my heart sunk even deeper. this is real.

my four brothers

although i have deep faith that i will see my brother again, sometimes it's hard to keep that in perspective. i KNOW that we will reunite, but it's just so far away. i want to feel him closer to me. i want my faith to be stronger and take some of the hurt away. really, i just want more peace about his death. i have some, just not enough. will i ever have enough though?

as the weather changes, these feeling start coming back. i noticed it last year, but not this early in the fall! he died in december, so the holidays will never be the same, but it's odd to me that his memory becomes especially poignant as the coolness takes over. it's not a bad thing, just heavies my heart and my mind. the dreams have been happening more frequent lately, and i've been having solemn moments when i'm alone.

these are just my current thoughts. bottom line- i miss him. i know i will see him again. i feel lucky to know him. i want to feel his spirit more clearly. i love him.

that's it.

bowls

have i mentioned that my dad has fabulous taste?

last time i was visiting him,

 i complimented his new set of colorful bowls.

of course the same set from williams-sonoma showed up on my doorstep the other day.

they are gorgeous and made in germany.

what can i say, i love color and i love food.

perfect combo.

thanks dad!

last halloween...

i made     this 

but now i can't find it.

frustrating!






i also posted about one of my favorite women.
one year later, i've found the video of her general conference talk that i was referring to.
how fabulous is her blouse?

way fabulous!
it has bows around the collar if you can't tell. 
i'm all about the bows.

caught!

these two have kept me on my toes lately...

my very tippy toes.

caught playing with daddy's guitar while mommy was folding laundry in her room,

and trying to hide the evidence of opening 

a jar of nutella while mom and dad were sleeping 

in on saturday morning.

no hiding this, boy! chocolate was everywhere!

Orange Poppy Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Orange Poppy Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

a wednesday night

my marriage is in no way perfect.

in fact i think it's pretty normal, we have great months, then a not so great month...

but last night was bliss. for some reason everything just flowed.

the mister watched the children while i made dinner, all in between smiles and flirting.

the children were happy, and my home felt so peaceful.

after the mister fixed my vacuum (hallelujah) we sat down to a clean table with a yummy dinner on top.

the recipe is divine. find it here 

the kids ate their noodles and david looked 

to me and said,

wait for it...

wait for it..........

"this is REALLY good!"

i almost cried. you see my husband isn't like normal men in the food department. he's picky. i mean REAL picky. it felt so good to please his tastebuds. 

the rest of the night was just as charming:

cuddled to watch the mentalist

took a video of the children dancing

sewed a little more

read stories

children in bed

read scriptures in bed

laughed ourselves to sleep over a joke about geishas?!

i wish every night ran this smooth. 

zig zag yellow

it's almost noon

and

my house is a mess

my children are half dressed

cartoons are on full blast

i should be at playgroup

i haven't brushed my teeth yet

my to-do list is full

but

all i want to do is piece this quilt:

and it's all i'm going to do.

i'm especially excited to make this quilt because it's a 

last minute project for someone special.

oh, and i guess i'll feed my children lunch...

bloggers quilt festival

have you heard about park city girl's quilt festival?

well if you have about 16 hours to drool over quilts then you 

need to check it out. 

here's my contribution:

this was my second quilt and made for my dear friends' baby. i had it professionally quilted and i hand stitched the binding for the first time.

i'm still a rookie quilter, but i love that each quilt i've made brings back memories and keeps a little piece of me.

the aquarium

we live by one of the best aquariums in the nation.

and

we can get free tickets once a month.

the mister took us on saturday and do i even need to say that the kids loved it?

the jellyfish and sea horses were my favorite.

welcome

welcome to my new blog.

if you are coming from a pruett life , 

please become a follower over here so that your reader is updated.