Yay a new blog theme! I’ve been wanting something different for a bit now and after helping my friend Holly with her new wordpress blog, I was inspired to just hurry up and change!

I made the header a couple of months ago actually, because I found the theme at least that long ago. From left to right the pictures are:

1. Pieces on a design wall from a quilt class I took. I can’t remember the name of the pattern but it was called a Ribbon class. I really want to work on and finish this quilt but can’t find it anywhere! I am sure it’s in the large storage unit, I already searched the small one.

2. My Dad’s blanket! I just finally finished and gave it to him when we were there a couple of weeks ago. It’s about time I finished it, it was supposed to be a Christmas gift!

3. A rag quilt for my niece’s son. Sure technically he could be called my grandson, but 1-I’m too young for that and 2-he already calls me Auntie. I’ve had this material for years and starting sewing it together last fall. Once I was working on it I decided to give it to him. This also needs to be mailed still!

4. Blue and Brown – this is from a kit I purchased. It’s the same pattern as the blanket I made for my Dad. I haven’t done anything with it since it is also in storage somewhere! I hope to find it so I can finish it this summer.

5. Horses, cream and brown blanket – this is a baby blanket for my youngest nephew! He was born in October and I started the blanket back then. I finished it not too long after he was born but hadn’t finished the binding until recently. Actually my Mom put the finishing touches on the binding.

6. The striped and car fabric is a pillowcase for Jake! And yes, the other stripe on the fabric is a pocket for him. He asked for a pillowcase and then said he needed a pocket too. When you ask why he wanted a pocket he has a few answers for you. I never made a pillowcase before this one and wow, super easy!

7. I’m not sure…

8. This is a picture of the kids asleep in the back of the van while we drove to South Dakota. It was last August when we were driving home because my Grandma died. I love the picture, they are so cute.

9. Picture of sign for Rosebud Sioux Reservation

10. The brown and pink card with a flower is one of (if not the) last card I made for a swap with friends. I made the cards while I was at a friends house. We tried to get together often so be crafty together – we moved from scrapbooking (her and another friend) to making cards (me) to making quilts for our husbands. I miss those crafty days!

11. The brown quilt is the one I made for Chris! This is a simple pattern – I think it’s the Turning 20 Again pattern. So easy. I didn’t use 20 fat quarters like the pattern calls for but that’s because I really liked a couple of the fabrics I found. He has this with him now.

12. The orange and blue is an Auburn University quilt I made for one of the guys that is serving on the ship with Chris. When we made the decision to make the guys quilts, I knew an Auburn one had to be made for him – not only did he attend Auburn, I’m pretty sure he has a tatto of the logo or something related to Auburn anyway. This is a Turning 20 pattern so it came together very quickly. He loved it and as far as I know also has it with him and is using it.

I bought a new journal yesterday. I have thoughts rushing around my head, sometimes jumbled, sometimes not. I’ve kept a journal for years, I still have the one from fourth or fifth grade where I complained about my brother and the fact that he liked Guns N Roses (who I would grow to love after a while). I look at my writing and want it to be better – not my journaling, journaling to me is just my story. It’s just me reading it so the fear of being criticized or someone asking questions isn’t there. I remember the time I found a boys name written on the back of one notebook I used as a journal – my heart beat sped up and I wondered if he read it and if he did would he tell anyone. After a bit I relaxed, never asked him about it and moved on.

photo credit: Markus Rödder

I have journals that have just a few pages filled out, journals that I started to keep track of a vacation we took or with the intention of writing in it regularly. Obviously those plans never panned out.

Chris has been gone for a couple of months now and we have sort of kind of regular communication via email. But email doesn’t always help because he’s pressed for time. The time difference doesn’t help either! I’ve been doing fairly okay with him gone, I don’t think about how long he’s going to be gone, we aren’t doing a countdown or anything like that. The kids aren’t stressed about him being gone which I am so very happy about. Kids don’t really have a sense of time though. Once they start school (yep, they are going to public school this fall! I’m still nervous about it!) the topic may come up more often, but we’ll wait and see. It helps that we are right with family.

And so my new journal already has been broken in. I’d like to say I’ll write in it every day. But maybe I won’t. And maybe it won’t be journaling but I’ll actually be able to get back to writing. I’m reminded of my love for writing by being where I am now. Hopefully, that will come back.