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Native Woman Sews, Crafts, Writes, and More

Meal Planning – Again

March 17, 2014 by Tsoniki Leave a Comment

I have always tried to do meal planning. My lists mostly exist in my head! I think everyone does meal planning though, otherwise our grocery bills would be chaotic and out of control. Since living here, we have gotten used to running to the grocery store two or three times a week for something we forgot, or something we didn’t know we wanted, and also to the corner bakery probably every other day for bread.

Grocery StoreWe are not having this for any meal, but isn’t it cool looking. The tank is huge in the grocery store.

Monday – we are crazy lucky, our housekeeper brings us something to eat every time she comes over. So Monday we always eat what she brings, plus whatever leftovers from Sunday. Today it is fried rice and pork dumplings.

Tuesday – Sandwiches – cheese, salami, lettuce, butter (or mayo for a couple of the kids), tomatoes, pickles, maybe a boiled egg like the local deli’s do. The sandwich named “The American” has all of these ingredients, including the boiled egg, on it. Whoever told them that’s how American’s eat sandwiches, thank you! It is delicious.

Wednesday – Shepard’s Pie – can’t wait!

Thursday – Fish and french fries – there is a great frozen food store here and they sell wild caught fish for a great price.

Friday – IKEA meatballs, veggies, mashed potatoes

Saturday – The weekend is always a toss up because maybe we’ll get kabob sandwiches from the great place down the street, maybe we’ll eat leftovers and everyone will have something different, maybe we’ll make a big pot of stew. We usually don’t decide until Thursday or Friday.

Sunday – We’ve been having chicken and veggies every weekend, so I think we’ll keep it up!

Jessica Lynn Writes

Filed Under: Fun Links Tagged With: meal planning

Creating Every Day

March 17, 2014 by Tsoniki Leave a Comment

I need to create every day.

French seashells

It’s one thing that keeps me sane. With the moving, the packing, the unpacking, the chaos, the changing schools, and the research for the next place we’ll live, the countdown that starts the moment we arrive, I definitely need something. And so, I sew. I have yet to venture into making clothing. I make quilts.

Over the past couple of weeks I haven’t been sewing as often as I want to, as often as I need to. And I realized that not sewing has caused me to sit more often (and I’ve read all about how sitting is bad for a person’s health so I know this isn’t a good thing). Sewing has me moving around a lot more. I suppose going to the park, and the beach, and for a walk of course counts in the grand scheme of things. I mean I’m not sitting all day long. But I have been thinking about how much more active I am when sewing. It doesn’t sound like it would be that way, since you sit at a sewing machine and all.

I often think of my creativity in a long timeline. What I create today is going to build toward this purpose down the road, or it is going to be used in something further down the road. Being creative every day also gets the ideas out of my head. I think getting things out just allows something more to bloom.

The first step to creating every day is to just start doing something. What are you working on today?

Filed Under: Ramblings

Daylight Savings

March 14, 2014 by Tsoniki Leave a Comment

Just another post about the differences overseas. We will change – spring forward I mean – time in a few weeks. Until that time, I will enjoy the small change in difference when texting my friends or family back home. We are now only five hours ahead of the east coast. I think we are past the time of daylight savings really needing to be used and I wish we didn’t have to change time twice a year.

The time difference in general has messed up how I keep in touch with people. I went from talking to my Dad almost daily to hardly talking at all. It’s up to me to make the phone call now and not only do I have to check the time, I hate to interrupt anyone. I just this week decided that I’ve had enough worrying about interruptions and I am going to make more calls. I miss hearing people’s voices. I miss talking to someone while I do the dishes or go for a walk. Yes everyone is busy, but that won’t change so why dwell on it or feel bad. If someone can’t talk they’ll tell me.

I only wish our time change happened at the same as the US because we could have had the kids holiday to get used to it.

Filed Under: France

Fat Quarterly Retreat – 2014

March 13, 2014 by Tsoniki 1 Comment

The modern movement in quilting has exploded online and in person. There are retreats, summits, sew downs, and the Modern Quilt Guild’s Quilt Con, so awesome it is only held every other year (so far anyway). I attended the Sewing Summit in 2012 and had a lot of fun. I was disappointed to not be able to attend QuiltCon, but yay I am going to the Fat Quarterly Retreat!

FQR

I am super excited! I am also nervous because I don’t know anyone who is attending. I am looking forward to the flickr group becoming more active and the various side events (swaps, plans for sharing finishes, etc.) that are planned. I had roommates when I went to the Sewing Summit (Hi Jessie and Rebeckah!) and loved that experience. I want to have at least one roommate and so the search is on.

Filed Under: France, Inspiration, Sewing/Quilting

Quilty Bucket List

March 11, 2014 by Tsoniki 4 Comments

So many amazing fabrics, so many fun patterns, and of course not enough time to make everything!

My Quilty Bucket List could be crazy long. I narrowed it down to seven patterns/quilts that I want to make. I have written a to-do list that is crazy long, so this is like in the next four years I want to do these, versus in the next year.

1. Dear Jane – Farmer’s wife – I have the Farmer’s Wife book and even picked out fabric to use on my own. But I didn’t feel the rush to start it right away. I didn’t even feel a connection some people say they have. I grew up in South Dakota, around ranchers and such, but I don’t have that tie to the history of the farmer. I do have a pattern for something like this of my own. I have a few blocks sketched out, so maybe my creation will be all my own. I also like the Dear Jane history, the curiosity of someone who goes for more information about the quilt. I love that idea. This is one of my favorites I’ve seen of the Dear Jane –

DearJaneEQThis is from the EQ Blog, I didn’t realize EQ sells Dear Jane software! I would definitely buy that if I were going to make the quilt. It’s an investment, but so is the quilt. I love the white background and the bright borders that frame the blocks.

2. Gypsy Wife – I can’t really explain why I love this, but I do. I have some fabric in mind but I don’t even have the pattern yet!

Gypse_Wife_large

3. Mario Quilt – I loved this pixelated quilt when the QAL started! I have all of the fabric and materials and just need to get started.

mario quilt

4. Ticker Tape – I have all of the instructions for this saved and I am sure I have enough scraps to make a quilt. I think what has stopped me from getting started is the organization side of things. I need to sort my scraps and pick pieces out. Maybe this is one the kids can help with!

Bottled Rainbows {the button}

5. Hex On The Beach – I love this quilt. I love the idea of making a hexagon quilt. I say idea… I’ve made a lot of hexagons for other projects but not an entire quilt. I have this one started and after seeing this one that is finished, I can’t wait.

6. Dancing Stars – Another QAL! Maybe if I would start them when I find them, or when they start, I’d have these finished already. I have the background … but that’s it. I need to print some of the papers so I can at least get started. I decided to do a queen size quilt, which I think is why I haven’t started. I think I will work on this one next, I am great at breaking down quilting into steps and this is just one of those times I need to just do it.

7. After thinking about it – I think I’m leaving number 7 open. These quilts are among my favorite and I either have the fabric picked out, have the quilt already started. A bucket list is something to be a long crazy list of things to be accomplished at a certain date. I am a list maker but I haven’t thought about it in the quilt sense. I think I will work on progressing forward with this list – buying the pattern, cutting the fabric.

The Tilted Quilt

Filed Under: Sewing/Quilting

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