Mommy Fest is being held May 12-16 and will have more contests, freebies, exhibitors and more.

My current crafty space is so much smaller then I am used to! As you can see from my picture yesterday we have student desks set up and my boxes of card making supplies around it. This set up is in the living room and the student desks are what the kids use when they want to sit and do school work. My Dad bought them for the kids and I have to say, they love them. I’ve been sitting at the biggest desk and making cards. It is a small work area so I have to be careful what I work on and how many tools I have out. I have perfected working in an assembly line fashion and that does help.

The supplies have been out for a week and they are getting put away today. We are starting a family dinner night and since that is Thursdays, I need the stuff out of the way so my nephews little hands don’t get into my things! Of course the kids will either all want to play outside or play the Wii and I doubt my crafty stuff will even be of interest to them.

Did you branch out to something new? Take advantage of any sales craft stores held?

I didn’t finish any of the projects I am working on. I still have a few things I really need to finish, but for some reason finding the motivation to do so is hard! I did finally get my card making supplies out and made cards for the swap I am in - which felt really good considering I took the past few months off since the supplies were with my Dad while I was in another state.

My one yarn needle broke and I have yet to replace it which means the fingerless gloves I was so happy to make for Alice still aren’t finished.

Since I didn’t buy a yarn needle that proves I didn’t get to a craft store. I admit it - it is hard to walk into a Joann that is so small. I don’t think I’ve seen a Joann store as small as the one here! I can’t even think of what to compare it to since stores are so oversized now. I haven’t found Michaels yet - but it seems like every store is on the other side of town! I rarely complain about having to drive somewhere for something - I grew up in a town where you had to drive two hours to the mall, one hour to the movies, etc. But seriously, all of the stores I enjoy (Joann, Barnes & Noble, Michaels, the mall, Hobby Lobby) are at least 15-20 minutes away, longer unless I can hit green lights. And driving over there not knowing what I want will be there, not fun. In fact I’m looking for a  punch and am going to call the stores before I leave. I’d rather order online then drive across town just to see - the price of gas seems to be going up a few cents every three days!

Maybe some of my lack of crafting motivation has come from my serious motivation to work out - check out my baby weight blog at Losing My Baby Weight. I’ve been working hard the past week!

They do have one shelf dedicated to embroidery and I need to take a few minutes to look at that closer. I didn’t bring many crafts to do with me but I did manage to throw in a set of pillow cases. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure I brought thread! Ah well just another reason to go craft item shopping.

Head on over to Average Jane Crafter and read the review on the Sublime Stitching Craft Pad. This is the Sublime Stitching book being published March 13! Rachel has done a review and it will make you want to run to your bookstore and wait for that day to come. Luckily for us all, it’s just a week away. The Craft Pad looks like it has so many awesome embroidery patterns! I can’t wait to try them out. I usually stick to pillows for my embroidery and figure it’s time to branch out to other items. I have a few ideas and wrote them down so I don’t forget.

Do you have a favorite embroidery pattern? I love birds (the tattoo swallows are my favorite) and flowers.

1. Socks and blankets are good! Dad’s house is big and it’s just him, and he works all day. So while the heat is on when he’s home, it isn’t while he’s gone. I mean, before we got here it wasn’t on. Now it’s on but I realize how hard it is to heat a place this size. So the kids and I are making sure we wear socks and that the blankets are out! We stick to a few rooms during the day so it works out just fine.

2. The library is awesome! When we were in South Carolina, I didn’t care for the library all that much. It was too small, didn’t have newer things and seemed to never have what I was looking for. That didn’t stop me from checking out books and owing them a fine though. But this library here - two stories! Awesome kid section! The kid section has a huge rug that has hopscotch printed on it and they don’t mind if kids play. They also have legos and a few other toys. They have reading time every single day and tomorrow should be our first day of going to that. I’ve already reserved a few books and have quite a list going - the online system allows you to add books to a list, not requesting them, but merely saving them. I’m going to print it before I go then look at the books - I’d hate for someone to have to get them for me, only to realize I don’t want to read them.

3. The Visitors Center is cool. I got lost last week and ended up finding the visitors center. They put out weekly and monthly lists of what is going on in town! I planned on seeing Grease in the local theater, but Alice was sick so I didn’t. But Little Women is coming in April and I really want to see that! I’m going to get the book and read it to Alice and hopefully take her. Maybe she’s a little young, but that’s okay. I didn’t mind getting lost once I found that place.

4. I’m reading again. I didn’t bring many books - and what I did bring are craft books so it’s not like I could sit down and read a story when I wanted to. I started reading An Elm Creek Quilts Sampler -I really like this series. The sampler is the first three books in the series and I had already read the first so it was nice to skip ahead. I also put others on my list at the library.

5. Amazon Unbox rules! Let’s face it, the writers strike sucked. And with moving I was thinking I’d miss a few of my favorite shows. Thanks to Unbox and abc.com (they know how to show tv online - I’ve tried on nbc and cbs and it just doesn’t work for me - maybe I need to try again) I’ve kept up. Not that there has been a lot to keep up on, which is good for my wallet.

6. I finished Financial Peace University online. I have been talking about money for the past two weeks - being annoyed with people about it, wondering about it, doing a budget every other day, etc. I had to do a crash course of FPU because you are allowed so much time to finish it - and with moving I forgot about it. But now that I’m done I have a short list of things I need to check on and a renewed sense of money management.

7. Costco samples can fill you up. I finally got to shop at Costco again! It was great to go there. We went on Saturday when they have samples every other aisle. I shop much different then my Dad or brother - they both know what they are looking for, go in, find it, and leave. I like to walk around, browse the books, etc. I’m sure their way saves money though. I suppose not shopping at Costco would be good for my renewed sense of money management though.

9. Copy machines at home are so worth the money. Dad got a new printer and though it had to be replaced, I’ve been using the copy portion of it today. I borrowed a few craft books from the library just to bring them home to make a copy or ten. I found a really cute kids quilt idea and one book of handmade cards - Quick & Clever Instant Cards - that have either cute cards or good layouts that I’d like to try. I think if I need to make that many copies of a book I should just buy it!

10. My kids love having other kids to play with. One of my nephews is the same age as Alice and they have been having a good time together. Actually my nephews and my kids are all 8 years or younger, so they get along fairly well.

11. I think I lost weight. I say I think because I’m basing it on slightly looser jeans and my watch sliding down my wrist. I have yet to join the Y but I have all the paperwork so that will be very soon.

12. We have renters! I have a signed rental agreement! I’m so glad we were able to get the house rented out, I was worried because of the market and the reasons why people were opting for other places after looking at ours. If you ever need a real estate agent in South Carolina, I can tell you who to stay away from, and who to work with.

13. It’s snowing! yeah yeah, it’s winter in Montana. It is supposed to snow. But a few days ago it was in the high 40s and the sun was shining. After being away from snow for years, I’ll gladly take some now. Plus the kids really love it. They have snow pants, jackets, boots, gloves, hats, the whole works - and haven’t worn them since we got here.

All in all good things have been happening in just a few short weeks here.

One day he walked in the craft room/office and was playing with my camera. He said he wanted us to take a picture together so I leaned down and he took a picture. We ended up taking four or five both with me leaning down a little and with him on my lap. When I went to pick out which picture, I asked him which one was his favorite and the one I posted is the one he picked.

I love that you see him and I - yeah the background is there but it’s so dark you can’t see it.

The fingerless gloves I am making for Alice actually fit her! Or rather, the ones I thought were hers actually fit. They are a little long but she doesn’t mind.

I found a clinic we can go to! I don’t really worry about medical care when we are away from home because we typically don’t get sick. Or if we do it is a cold and that usually doesn’t warrant a hospital/clinic visit - but the kids got sick last week. After about an hour and a half on the phone (or waiting for a call back) with my insurance and our clinic back in SC, I was able to take the kids somewhere here in town. And it’s minutes away! I’m glad knowing it’s there if we need to go again.

I contributed politically! I hope you have too - spread the word, change is possible and it will happen.

Let’s talk about anything
Anything in this world
But politics, religion and her

Politics can start a fight
Religion’s hard to know who’s right
And one more topic I won’t touch
That one’s her — it hurts too much

I remember the video - the wife of the main character had died. Politics and religion being the taboo subjects that they are, he picked to also stop talking about her. An understandable decision.

But let’s throw one of those out the window and talk politics! Let’s talk about how inspiring words can be and how hopeful we as a country are. Because we are right, we are hopeful? We want things to get better.

And let’s listen to Will.i.am and others sing the words of a Barack Obama speach.

Are you there with me? Are you inspired and hopeful and excited and full of the idea that yes we can change?

Need more inspiration?

I finally got back to crafting yesterday, half done with a pair of fingerless gloves and also half done with another fleece tie blanket. It’s a start and let me tell you, using my fabric scissors made me feel good.

I always have a lot of tabs open in my browser as I search online, getting caught up in craft blog after blog with great ideas and fun projects. I found something about politics that I had to share, I saw it first at Average Jane Crafter.

From Julie Ree’s blog:

It’s about more than policy changes. It’s about a sea change in attitude among the American people. He’s asking us to step up, pitch in, and work together to transform our country. He has inspired me to think about how I can engage more in my community, how I can serve others, and what role I will play in the future of my country. I am proud to be inspired by him. Imagine what kind of change we might see if he were given the chance to inspire the whole country as President?

I invite you to join me in supporting Barack Obama. This crafting community is an extraordinary group of thoughtful, hard-working, strong women. I think his message will resonate with you as it has with me.

…….

I have great reason to hope. Instead of a politics of murk and muck, I see a path, however winding and long it might be, that can lead us toward renewal and hope. I want our country to be on that path.

I believe Barack Obama has a great message and if you are a Crafter for Obama - check out the donation page Julie has set up. You and I need to be mindful of the future, of what we are leaving to our child and grandchildren, in all areas - and we can change what we are leaving them and what we are living with. Let’s make that change.

1. Like Tishia, I love pickles. But I mean I LOVE them. When I was a kid one of my Uncle’s would give me a gallon of pickles for my birthday. One year one of my cousins and I ate the entire jar - then we got sick all over the living room. My Mom wasn’t home though, a babysitter had to deal with us! But the pickles also gave me bloody noses - too much salt? no idea - so I had to cut back and don’t love them nearly as much as I used to.

2. I rarely wear makeup. I use Bare Minerals and usually do a quick brush of powder and that’s it. Oh and Burt’s Bees lip balm, I’m addicted to that stuff.

3. I never wake a sleeping baby (or toddler, etc.).

4. I like road trips but only if I get to stop and see the sights, take a picture by the state line or at least walk around a town/city. If it’s all driving, count me out.

5. I love playing video games. Super Mario bros is my favorite I think, but the Zelda game I have for my Nintendo DS is closing in fast. And SimCity is awesome too. I don’t know why though. And I don’t like the sims as in the people.

6. Maybe this isn’t a static all the time kind of thing but I can’t wait for my 30th birthday. It’s this summer and my Mom and I are kind of planning something. No idea what, but we are talking about it.

So that’s me! A little late (sorry about that Tishia!) but always adding fun to the party. Jump in and play along if you wish.

I haven’t been able to do any crafts and we sent boxes with my Dad and of course those boxes had my card making stuff, crochet and sewing that I brought. I got a little bit of craft organizing in because my Aunt (who we are staying with) had a sewing box that was just out of control! I cleaned it up for her and that felt good. I found a few more people who want/need tie blankets so maybe I can find material and do that here.

We had burial services for George over the weekend - lots of the family came, we had the priest from our church there as well as family friends who did traditional prayers for us. He is buried next to my Grandpa and Great Grandma, the cemetery has lots of my family buried there so I’m glad we settled on that area.

The kids had a good Christmas. We had Christmas in the hotel room with Chris and my Dad (who was on his way home then) and then again with my brother, nephews and Mom. I think I have a few more things for my kids to open yet but they are fine. As I type this Alice is playing Connect 4 with one of my nieces and Jake is playing Nintendo. The roads are bad but the kids are loving the snow. I’d love it more if it wasn’t ice underneath!

Merry (late) Christmas and Happy (early) New Year!!!!!!!

Chris got a big promotion at work so he’s going to training for a few months so the kids and I are doing an extended vacation, traveling and staying with family while he’s gone. I can’t wait! I haven’t seen my Grandma in a couple of years, have a few nephews/nieces I’ve never seen in person and haven’t been in snow for years.

I’ve been busy figuring what we are not taking with us - then having to go back and half the pile I want to take with us. We will be away from our own stuff for a while, but I don’t want a packed vehicle either! It’s hard to decide what to take and what to leave - sure my family will have kids toys and books for the kids, and there is always the library, but none of them (but my Mom) sew or do any crafts. It’s hard leaving my stuff to be packed up and put into storage!

We have a decent route we are taking and only driving during the day. Now I’m thinking what food to take in the car with us and where are we going to stay the first (and second) night. I wish we could make it in two days but since it’s winter that isn’t going to happen. The food thing makes me want to go shopping tomorrow.

Oh and I’m going to take crochet work along with me - easy to work on and easy to put away when it’s my turn to drive!

*Tell me you didn’t start singing when you read that.

Yes we are still moving, and leaving in a matter of days, and the house is spotless from having to keep it clean (cross your fingers we get a bite - the newspaper ad started today yesterday!), and I haven’t started packing for my months long journey, etc., etc.

But I want to make her a scarf. I won’t start right away, I promise! Can you recommend some yarn?

Something super soft. We found a great scarf while out today but I thought no way, I can so make this! I have no idea if it was crocheted, maybe it was knit, maybe it was machine made or even made by some 10 year old in Vietnam (I’ve noticed a lot of clothes are made in Vietnam). But it was so wonderful I wanted it for myself. Except it was white and had huge pom poms on each end and Alice claimed it for herself and it was the last one left. If there were two, I may have bought them.

So my yarn loving friends - what do you recommend! I’d love for an online store to be your choice - sure my friends and family are in South Dakota but I have no idea where to buy yarn there.  I have no idea of a blend or which is a good blend or anything. I’d like it to be washable and available in a lot of colors - Alice’s winter jacket is red (unless it doesn’t work for the super cold SD weather, then she may end up with a new one!) and I don’t have one yet.

It’s a good thing I don’t have yarn I can use - I would so ditch packing and crochet instead.

I am almost done with all of my crafting gifts though I do have a few to go. My goal is to have everything done (and wrapped) before we leave. We will be driving approximately 1300 miles, I think 25 or so hours, and I’d rather we just drive and I am not worried about if I need to crochet or sew something. We are going to be driving through the big ice storm that is hitting (or has already hit I think?) the midwest. I’m hoping it’s melted when we get there or at least that it is easy for us to get through.

The boxes I’ve packed up are the craft room, blankets and books. I am a person who has to be in control and though Chris has said he would pack up for us, I still have this need to start. Maybe I’m concerned because he hasn’t helped us pack or unpack in over five years, and maybe even longer then that! I have a small stack of school supplies I want to take, as well as a not so small stack of books for myself. I know I can’t take them all but realize if these are my absolute favorites - maybe it’s time I can do some book weeding out. Bad time to start - I’ll just pack and worry about them later!

We are going to be away from our stuff for about five months - so I suppose I am allowed to take small stacks of various things though everything will have to fit in the van and not on top (though we do have a topper). I’m worried about forgetting something only because I don’t want to feel the need to buy it to replace it when I’ll see it in not too long. Good thing I’m doing the starting packing - I can figure what I want to take with us and what can stay.

No bites on the house yet though the word is spreading. Chris thinks it won’t get rented out until April or May and I’m hoping for February or March. Cross your fingers for us!

Oh and Lisa - more details: 4 bedrooms, a loft, 2 1/2 bath, family room, living room, dining room, laundry room, eat in kitchen, 2 car attached garage. I think that’s it? No fence outside, the BEST neighbors anyone could ask for, and a master walk in closet you could live in. Trust me, I almost put my craft stuff in there because it is so great.

The yard may not be that big, but we have a super awesome screened in porch! I love this because it has a ceiling fan and we put our swing in there. Perfect for the wicked hot humid days the south has all summer long.

We are in a new development so our yards are not huge - though they are perfect for kids to play in with the neighbor girls, bbq’s with friends and setting up a pool for the hot summer. But not too hot - then you just want to stay inside with the central air.

But sorry Chele - no furniture will stay - though all the appliances and even the washer and dryer will! You still interested?

This would be a perfect house for 40 acres Donna! You are so right. My Dad has five acres and a large house and it’s awesome. I can’t wait to stay with him and I know my kids can’t wait too - nevermind that he has horses for them to ride!

Our house is great to live in. We painted inside back in October and I’ve been replacing our curtains with blinds over the past month or so. It is surprising how little things can really change how your home looks - okay, it isn’t surprising and anyone point me back to this post when I say we are moving into a new place. I am great at unpacking and setting up a house in just a few weeks. And I can get all of the shelves and my candle holders on the wall a few weeks after that. But paint and blinds - that always takes a lot longer. Next time I will set up the house how I want it within the first few months.

It’s important to really enjoy your space. I did that after we painted - put up a few more pictures and such. But that’s just been the past couple of months, really not enough time at all.

Update: Click on the “Rent My House” link in the right sidebar - it goes straight to the listing!

My craft room on the other hand - I failed the November Challenge. But that’s okay - it looks better today then it did yesterday and will look even better tomorrow. I had a great start but once we started getting the house ready to show, I stopped.

I do have most of my Christmas gifts finished! I’m going to get started wrapping them just to get them out of the way. They are in my Christmas gifts box, but with wanting to get started on packing as well - there is just a lot to do!

We are leaving in two weeks. Less then two weeks actually. Chris is back on shift work so we are thinking when he gets off at night, we’ll jump in the car and leave. I’m nervous. And excited.

And I keep on crocheting. I’m on my second pair of fingerless gloves and now Alice wants a pair and she wants me to make a sweater for one of her dolls. I’ve made a list and just keep checking things off!

And I am reminded of home because I will be there in a few weeks! Our plans have changed but we are still moving, just not to our initial destination. The kids and I will stay and then move on to staying with my Dad and hopefully my Mom later on. She’s in WA State and we talked about going to OR and I want to go to Portland. I thought I would be there in the spring but with our new plans, I’m just not sure.

How is your Christmas crafting going? Have you listened to my new craft podcast? I’m up to episode three with a new one being published every Wednesday! Soon I’ll be in iTunes, I’ve been super busy around here lately.

I was so nervous talking to him! But it wore off after a couple of minutes and I enjoyed our conversation a lot. I’m working on getting into iTunes so I’ll let you know when that happens and I hope you subscribe!

We had a great meal and after a short break started our Wii tournament. I thought it would be so fun, and it was - until Chris got beat by the friend we had over. And the friend doesn’t play all that often. So Chris threw in the towel early and they went to play xbox instead.

Either Alice or Jake won - I beat him at tennis, but she beat him as well then he beat her at bowling. I think we called it a tie and the fun quickly fizzed out. I think that’s when the turkey started hitting us.

I am thankful for a lot - to have my kids happy and healthy, that we are moving on to a new job, that my family is all doing so well. The past few months have been hard on me, on all of us, so remembering what we are thankful today was good.

And as long as we have leftovers for the next day or so, I’ll be happy with that.

Yesterday we went to Atlanta for the Indie Craft Experience and on the way home, we broke down. We were about 120 miles from home but I figured oh no biggie, we have roadside assistance coverage! And then the insurance company tells me we are covered for towing for only 24 miles. We were on the interstate, with no power (the alternator and battery both died), with kids in the car. After a few minutes of negotiation, I got them to pay a little more when a highway patrolman pulls up behind us. He ended up giving us a jump and said if we felt confident we could go as far as we wanted and if we broke down again on the interstate, he would find us because that was his section. We ended up going another 50 miles before the car died again.

After a few more hours and waiting at closed gas stations - seriously, gas stations close? I thought everyone stayed open 24/7 these days - we got a tow home and arrived around 2:30AM.

Too late for me to post for that day. Bummer.

I did come home with excellent crafts and I will share more about all of those, this week!

The kids and I ran a couple of errands and there was no traffic, even though we left when work was getting out and it’s a Friday night. We were able to get to the post office in just the same amount of time as always. And we didn’t spend a lot at the grocery store, still got what we needed and got a good deal on milk (the milk we usually buy they were out of plus it is a dollar cheaper then the milk that was there - but they gave it to us for the other price!).

My roommate from college showed up a bit after dinner and we’ve spend the past four or so hours just talking. She’s awesome, she’s a track coach at a college on the east coast and even though we are a few hours from each other this is the second time we’ve visited since we’ve been in this area! We are leaving very early tomorrow and she is too. She’s going to stop back by on her way home in a couple of days so we’ll get to see each other one more time before we move.

Yesterday was rough. It seemed like everything that had been piled up hit me all at the same time. Today I was able to breathe a little easier.

I’ve always been so sad about not being able to go to the cool craft fairs - not that I don’t think the church events always put on are nice, but I wanted to be able to see the stuff I see online. The awesome crafts that are featured on etsy and on blogs and such.
I was bouncing around my craft blog list and saw a button for the ICE over at The Small Object Steno Pad - and decided we were going. Sure Atlanta is five hours away but when am I going to be this close again? Okay I’m sure I will be but one craft fair in two years just is not enough!

It will be one long day, but so totally worth it.

I would love it if you head on over to the Crafter Cast website and take a listen. The first show is all about me - the crafts I enjoy, making handmade gifts and our trip to Atlanta this weekend. I was so nervous but I know I sound good. Next week I’ll be sharing more about the trip to Atlanta and handmade holiday gift ideas for boys - the one thing I am having a hard time with!

‘m busy working on this baby blanket for my nephew - so far I have 16 1/2 rows completed and I need at least two times that to go, maybe three times. I haven’t decided yet. I never timed how long it takes me to crochet, I just work on it a little at a time. Well today I timed it - and wow.

It takes me about 10 minutes per row for this blanket, I’m not sure how many stitches across but it is a double crochet. So 16 1/2 rows times 10 minutes…. 165 minutes = 2 3/4 hours. What! Seriously? I am amazed. I honestly don’t feel like it took that long but maybe that’s because I’m only doing a row or two at a time and then walking away.

I really want to make an afghan for myself. I’m thinking a couch lounge blanket size. I haven’t started because I don’t have that much yarn and I admit even though I am a newbie crochet’er, I have yarn standards. I don’t want to buy just whatever yarn at the local craft store but the problem is also that I just don’t know what kind of yarn to buy. I see people making these afghans with scrap or leftover yarn they have - my leftover yard consists of some 100% cotton, a couple of red heard baby and another cotton.

Do you make an afghan with cotton?

Maybe I’ll stick to baby blankets and scarves for the time being. Oh and I made those fingerless gloves last year - I ended up giving them to my step dad who is a golfer and he loves them! He actually wants another pair but while these ones ended about the middle of the palm of your hand, he wants some that go all the way to his knuckles. Sounds like a quick and easy gift for him!

If only my Dad were so easy to buy/make for!

I’m working on finally starting my craft podcast! I’m seeing all these new podcasts coming out and I’ve wanted to start this for over a year - it is about time I just do it. I have a lot of emails in draft mode to various people for interviews and a huge list of ideas. I am still deciding on a day of the week to have each show come out, but I’ll keep you updated. I need to find music for this week’s show and put it together then it’s finished.

Twenty years ago today my Grandpa passed away. I grew up next door to him and I was 9 and in the fourth grade when it happened. I loved living next door to my Grandparents! We’ll get that chance again soon and I can’t wait to be moments away from my Grandma again. My Grandpa always wore those sweaters that buttoned up with three or four buttons on the bottom part and had two pockets. He always had mini snickers and though he went blind years before I was born, always knew who walked in the door, even if us kids were in packs. After he died my Grandma kept mini snickers in a bucket above her sink. I still cry when I think about him, but I suppose that is normal. I didn’t get a chance to talk to my Grandma today though, since it was a holiday all my other relatives were at her house and on the internet (my cousin lives with her and he is too cheap (yeah I said cheap! Hahahaha) to pay for a second phone line for the internet - however he stands dialup I’ll never know…) so the phone was constantly busy.