Category : Blog

1716 posts

202202/22

T Tuesday: Super twos day edition

Yep I’m still around. I took a very long break from blogging or even exploring other blogs. It was not intentional, it just became the norm after a while. I could go into dozens of reasons or excuses that could explain but who really wants to hear another person complain or justify something.

I have been flexing my creative muscles a little bit. A few journal pages, handmade journals, sewing projects, and prep for upcoming projects…maybe?!?

A page in my wonky junky journal.

A bit a scrap busting making a master board.

A bit of contemplation on a personal ephemera journal that really needs to get completed before I forget the when, who and why of the items.

A travel journal from before COVID to finish.

And a bit more scrap busting while watching tv. I don’t often watch much tv but when I do I try to justify it by doing something else while watching. Yup…sad but true.

I have been keeping my word of the year in mind. Taking a moment to treasure the little things…not take them for granted. Treasure time laughing with friends…its good for you.

The depth of the word I chose this year is coming to light. I’m reaching the age where sickness and loss are more prevalent in my circle. It’s a great reminder in the midst of grief and sadness to remember those treasured memories and pause daily to treasure the now.

How’s that for a somber thought. Again this may be a reason I have paused my posting. I find myself very gloomy when I write…and who wants to read that!

School keeps me ~~busy~~ exhausted most days. We recently reached our 100th day. Not something usually acknowledged at the middle school level but we’ll take any reason to celebrate that we can.

Yesterday was Presidents Day so I had the day off. I used it to get my house clean. Not the most fun task but it was so good to get everything done all in the same day.

Marvin kept me company until he felt a bit of a chill and decided to lay on the heating vent. So much for washing the floor right then. It likely was on purpose…he hates it when I mop…his paws get wet.

I found this really funny this morning. I was making my breakfast as I always do before leaving for work. I cracked my eggs and came up with a double yoke on 2/22/22. Must be my lucky day. Maybe it was…we got a two hour early release due to a winter storm.

You’ll just have to imagine my cup of coffee on the side of my eggs and toast.

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halleday

202201/01

WOTY 2022: Treasure

I thought long and hard about my word for 2022. I had a handful of contenders. Nothing really seemed to be right until I read the word Treasure.

Definition below from Mirriam-Webster

Full Definition of treasure

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a(1): wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or hoarded buried treasure

(2): wealth of any kind or in any form : RICHES

b: a store of money in reserve

2: something of great worth or value also : a person esteemed as rare or precious

3: a collection of precious things

treasure

verb

treasured; treasuring\ ˈtre-zh(ə-)riŋ , ˈtrā- \

Definition of treasure (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1: to hold or keep as precious : CHERISH, PRIZE she treasured those memories

2: to collect and store up (something of value) for future use : HOARD

If the past couple years has taught me anything, its to treasure all things in life.

Time is a gift, a treasure. We don’t always realize it until the time is done. Time with friends and family. Time with a beloved pet. Time spent laughing. Time spent alone. All treasures.

Sometimes it’s the little things that we didn’t realize that should have been treasured. Full store shelves, for example. Being able to visit with friends and family. Travel.

I have had my eyes opened wide. I see the treasure in the little things. The treasure of moments, of laughter and even tears. We don’t cry for no reason. We shed those tears because we loved. Because we were joyful. All of it is to be treasured.

The gift of creative time and inspiration is also something to be treasured.

The beauty of nature and the bounty she provides also is a treasure.

Treasure in the old things and ways but also in the new.

My aim is to see the treasure all around me and acknowledge as such…

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WOTY, WOTY 2022

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halleday

202112/31

Strength in 2021

It’s that time once again to reflect on the year. How did I do with my Word of the year?

One thing is for certain…strength played a huge part in 2021.

Somehow I mustered the strength to return to the classroom while most every fiber of my being was telling me not to.

I had strength in my resolve to get vaccinated as soon as I was eligible.

I used my physical strength to grow more food in our garden and amend the soil so I am ready to plant again in the spring. My physical strength also got me out walking and participating with coworkers on weekly step challenges.

I had strength to let my baby girl go off to college. The strength to let go.

I was really hoping I could somehow find a way that strength played a role in my art but I’m drawing a blank.

T Tuesday: November in review edition

Since it’s been a hot minute since I last posted, I thought it would be most efficient to do a month in review.

Work has been tiring of course but when I have had the energy or inspiration; I’ve been mostly obsessed with my sewing machine. Whether its fabric or paper or a combination of the two…I’m running it through my machine with reckless abandon.

I’ve started work on a few new journal covers. This one has me stepping outside my comfort zone with the bold floral print as well as bright colors. Definitely not my usual but perhaps the shake up will act as inspiration or a challenge. I created two more but evidently forgot to snap a picture.

Making cards is always a relaxing activity for me. I had punched a ton of circles one day sitting in front of the TV watching who knows what. I like to have my hands busy so I don’t find myself snacking. But I digress… I sat down at my sewing machine with a couple different piles of scraps. Fabric and paper as well as the afore mentioned circles. I have mentioned lately how much I love circles!! I do, trust me.

Now I have a large stack of cards ready to go when an occasion arises. Just add a sentiment or even just a note on the inside.

The kids came home from college for Thanksgiving break. It was great to see them in person again. Just a couple more weeks and they’ll be home for a month between semesters. Marvin was very excites when Mini-me came through the door. He thought it was me coming home from work but it was his girl. She said that he yelled excitedly. Of course that never lasts too long…the comfort of napping on the “grandma blanket” always wins out.

Mini-me sent me this one day. The thrill of seeing your own work (or your offspring’s) never gets old.

Mini-me helped me make our first batch of lefse of the season. We were definitely a bit out of practice…it had been almost two years since I made any. We made a small batch…just enough for Mini-me to bring some back to share with her friends at college and of course, for us to have a few.

Lastly I’ve been continuing to sew my random scraps together. I decided on 9.5 inch blocks. I just keep stitching and ironing and stitching and ironing…until I have a big enough piece to cut my square. I decided on 9.5 inches mostly because I have a square quilting ruler that size.

I don’t have a plan in particular for these blocks. I assume I’ll put sashing between the blocks to give the eye a place to rest. But for now I’m just creating a very colorful stack of blocks.

I’m certainly not promising that I will be posting more often but it does feel good to get my words on the page.

Happy T day everyone!

Panda pillowcases

When I spotted some panda fabric at local quilting store I just had to grab it. Mini-me loves pandas. I thought I’d make her a cute accessory for her dorm room.

My neighbor has been making beautiful custom pillowcases for family and friends over the summer. I’ve been admiring her handiwork. I happened to be with her at this particular quilt shop and guided me on how much I needed to purchase for a set of pillowcases.

After giving me a brief verbal tutorial, she passed along the YouTube video tutorial she followed to create very professional results with French seams.

I tried to snap some photos along the way but honestly without the video, my photos may not make a whole lot of sense. Not being one to try to recreate the wheel…and really just wanting to get these made…I didn’t take enough photos to create a tutorial of any sort.

Sausage rolled fabrics that had me questioning my sanity.

I’m mainly sharing my images to of course show off the cute fabric, but also to show how crazy this process seems and how you may fear you are doing something wrong…but don’t worry…it all comes together in the end.

Again, this had me questioning my sanity…closing the seams with right sides out and raw edges exposed. All I have to say is, patience…follow the process…it will turn out right in the end.

I love this little detail. A small tab of contrasting fabric.

And here you have them…perfect French seam pillowcases…no exposed seams or raw edges. It’s a kind of magic especially when you think about the fact that I only sewed three lines of stitching, Crazy!

Blog | Crafts | Creativity

T Tuesday: fabric addiction edition

Months ago I mentioned working at scrap management for my fabric collection. Yes, I said collection…let’s be honest…buying crafting supplies ends up being collecting sometimes.

I really knocked the scraps down to some key sizes that would work for other projects.

With that in mind I came up with a “pattern” or maybe pattern concept since the pieces really fit together in so many ways.

This is a pile of chain pieced scraps. Its really relaxing to sit and sew…then once I have a really large pile of pieces I go sit in front of the TV and snip them all apart then sort them for ironing. So much ironing but so worth it.

Since I’ve starting making a few more masks I had to buy some more fabric….I had to…I really did. That’s me trying to convince myself too.

My neighbor brought me to a wonderful little quilt shop in a nearby small town. I ended up buying a stack of fabric with a few projects in mind. The two floral fabrics were just because I absolutely fell in love with them.

I’ve also found some fabrics at rummage sales. So fun…but now I have some more scrap management to handle. It really never ends…

T Tuesday: Tuesday thoughts edition

The start to the school year has been a bit rocky…stress levels are up. I’m hoping everything is settling down now. My most recent posts seem to have been mostly about gardening. This one will touch on that as well.

Additionally, I have taken a little time to be creative. Some cards and a few journal pages.

I can safely say that my gardening days this season are numbered. I pulled up the shed garden and amended the soil with the compost from the bin. Yay, free! I’ve also started emptying pots and composting the spent plants for future compost.

I pulled up half of my carrots. They are small but mighty good. I’m just impressed that I successfully grew carrots…they were not looking good all summer.

Marvin is in the display case at school for our “pet show”. I wish I had taken a wide shot…there are over half a dozen photos of named chickens as well…makes me smile and giggle a bit.

Blogging seems to be getting harder for me even though I REALLY love it. The problem seems to be that I am not scheduling time for it. I sit down and before I realize it, I have squandered hours of time on idle pursuits…down the proverbial rabbit hole on Pinterest or YouTube. Or bingeing a series on Netflix. I know I am not the only person who struggles with this…those platforms would not be as successful as they are without the continual audience.

I know some of my struggle is learning what my new normal feels like. What I have time for, what I should be doing vs what I want to do vs what actually needs to be done. Look at me, verbally processing with you….

I literally have pages of notes and ideas of content for the blog. Some are just rough ideas. Others are plans for projects not yet started or works in progress. Additional ideas for reworking of old content…so many things. I feel as if I have analysis paralysis. I can’t decide what to do, so I do nothing.