Surprise!

I love it when Camille Roskelley posts on her blog .  I’m in love with the colors she uses on her blog, in love with her red polka-dotted chair, her quilts and fabrics, and in awe of what she’s accomplished with her business at her age.

A few days ago she posted this post about things that are her current favorites.  Inspired by what she had there, I went to this site and decided I wanted some bowls, too.  And I will freely admit that it’s purely a COLOR thing.  I’m not the biggest fan of melamine dishes but I’d be happy to make an exception for these colors.

six bowls multi-colored

The next morning I called Macy’s and discovered that the one closest to me had some in stock.  Yippee!  I put a set on hold and planned to just zip down while the older kids were in school.

Then my better judgment took hold of me.  Did I really want to take 4 little children to the mall?  Nope.  The longer I postponed, the wiser I was.  Soon I’d come to grips with the fact that I didn’t NEED the bowls, no matter what color they were, and so I never went to buy them.  (Victory for me, I thought.  I can write this down in my One Step journal under discipline!)

I mentioned to my husband that it felt good to make that choice, that I was proud of myself for saying no.

Later that night when I came home from our last carpool of the night, he hugged me and told me there was something in my office….

macy's shopping bag

Inside was this….

martha stewart bowls box

which held these….

Martha Stewart melamine bowl set

Wow!  What a sweet thing to do.  I ran back to the kitchen to give Mr. Wonderful a big kiss and hug before opening the box to drink in the colors.


Need another look?


As Camille said, “YUM.”  Right now they’re sitting on my kitchen counter because I like looking at them too much to put them away.  There’s nothing like color to brighten up a winter day.  Thanks, Mr. Wonderful!

Faith Sings Quilt

Well, I finished my first quilt for 2010.  I am calling it my Faith Sings quilt.

bird applique quilt

I like how it turned out.  It was one of those projects that sort of evolved as I went along.

I couldn’t find a pattern that I wanted to cut the background fabric for, so I decided to just make a quilt with it alone, and added some borders.

Then I decided to use a little free pattern I’d photocopied at a local quilt shop for a branch, two birds and some leaves.

bird applique quilt

Once I got going on that path, I remembered the quote I’d put on my Christmas cards for 2008, and decided to embroider it onto the quilt.  I lengthened the branch so there would be room, and embroidered it in brown.

Faith is the bird that feels the light embroidery

I love, love, love this quote.  “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”
It was sort of my quote for 2009.  Many times the dawn felt dark, but we tried to sing.  I didn’t sing as much as I should have, but we pressed forward.

At the bottom corner, I embroidered this:

"sing on" embroidered on quilt

Okay, so I realize that it should have been finished in 2009.  I tried, I really tried.  It just didn’t happen, so instead it’s the first completed quilt of 2010.  And I still love the quote, so it’s fine with me.

"Faith is the bird" quilt

Originally I thought this quilt would be for my baby, but with once the embroidery was done I decided it’s mine instead.  If I’d planned for it to be mine, it probably wouldn’t be pink and green, but I like it anyway.

I used a soft minky stripe on the back.  YUM!

back of quilt

Hooray!  One project done, countless to go!  (Could you imagine how bleak life would be without lots of projects to look forward to?)

applique birds on branch

Hope that you’re feeling the light and singing, even if the dawn still feels dark!  Have a great day.

Jennifer

Vintage Tart Molds

I found these awesome vintage tart molds at the antique mall last month.   So fun!

vintage tart molds

There were six of each shape, 18 in all.  They’re pretty small, 2-3 inches in length.

vintage tart molds

Wouldn’t they look awesome filled with candy?  I’ve got them sitting on my kitchen window sill, just waiting for me to do something wonderful with them.  What would you do?

As a side note, I also picked up a couple of pieces of old silver flatware.  I’m pretty sure I’ll never have nice new china, so instead I’m going to slowly gather old pieces to use on special occasions.  I’m getting close to having enough to use with my big family.   These are my most recent additions:

vintage silver fork and spoon

I didn’t think to photograph it, but the spoon has a monogram on it.  I LOVE IT when I find monograms.

Our family is adjusting to the school schedule again and I’m hoping to find time to do things like clean these pieces so we can use them!  I’m also enjoying the simplicity of my home minus holiday decorations.  At this time of year I’m always drawn to just blue and white, and as little as possible.  Sort of like the pictures above.  Simple but beautiful.  I wish my whole life could be like that.   I’ve been working on a re-do of my family room.  I’m excited to share it once it’s finished.

Have a great day!

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