This moment ::

Inspired by Amanda's Soule {This Moment} ::

{this moment} - a friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from my week. I want to pause and savor this moment.

how fingerpaint saved my day

It was one of those days when the bickering would not stop. I would have one quiet moment, get started on something, take a breath, and then it would errupt again. Then one of the girls suggested they fingerpaint. On went the smocks, paper on the paint boards, water in the basin, and the energy of both girls transformed instantly.

Creativity is such an amazing dimension in our lives. For myself, it can calm me down with just a few stitches on my needles. It is such a joy to observe others around me find themselves using creativity - there are so many vast forms of it. Whether it be deciding to can pickles using fresh cucumbers from a new garden, picking blackberries to make jam at 10:30 at night, learning a new instrument, learning to sew or knit, picking out new paint colors for the walls - the breadth of new insight and the calmness we reap by invoking our imagination is so fascinating to me. We live in an incredible world and have been blessed with incredible minds.

********************************

May your paths of discovery today be fueled by new creativity!

time for blueberries!

{Photo by Daniel}





To me, nothing beats a quiet summer morning outside, picking blueberries at our local blueberry farm. Its something I look forward to every year, and this weekend was our time to go. It wasn't overly hot as it has been in years past, the skies were beautiful and the berries were more plentiful than I've seen in many many years.








{photo by Daniel}





Most of the berries we've picked by now have been eaten, so back we'll go for round 2 this week to pick more for canning blueberry jam!

beach blanket

Ahh, this beach blanket. I had this on my to-do list long before Amanda's book Handmade Home was published. I had spied her beach blanket back in her blog archives two summers ago, but never had the nerve to cut up some of my most coveted fabric and vintage matelasse bedspread. Well, that fabric sat as well at the bedspread for another two years, so last week, days before our beach departure, and true to my nature when it comes to traveling as seen here and here, I began frantically cutting and sewing my very own beach blanket. Oh and I am so glad I did!



It seems that plans for traveling sends me into creative overdrive. Instead of making those all important lists and packing, I find myself with a quilt cutter in my hand and sewing machine pedal under my foot. Maybe I should vacation more often! I would say that would be be very beneficial to my sewing habit! And, I could think of a few other places I'd like to go! Hmm, I'll have to keep that in mind.

Well, as it turns out, this blanket was well used and loved. Rosemary took many naps on it, and it even found its way on our bed one afternoon which made for a lovely throw, very casual and beachy. I think of all the travel sewing I've done, this blanket is definitely my favorite!

**********************************************************

{the details: I added an extra rectangle to each row than what the pattern called for because we have a large family, finished size 60x72. I also cut the bedspread backing larger than the front panel and folded the edges of the bedspread over onto the front for binding and mitered the corners. This saved me a lot of time and headache since the matelasse was very stretchy. I used a zig-zag stitch on the binding.}

at the beach

We spent the last 5 days at the beach which was problably one of the most monumental events that I've experienced in a long time. See, nine months ago I couldn't foresee going anywhere for a very long time, especially taking Rosemary somewhere like the beach because she has a lot of medical issues. But, the doctor ordered it (literally), saying we MUST GO! and so we did!!!















It was the first family trip we've taken with all 4 children 5+ hours away, we were crammed into our minivan, really, really crammed. In fact, we had to leave several items behind at the last minute just to fit everybody, like my laptop and Nikon camera - sacrifices, sacrifices. But as we left home on Saturday to make our journey, I was filled with so much joy, it really didn't matter.





What really mattered, was that we were all together, still taking our yearly family trip and making it work, even with its challenges.

Time for Pesto

This morning, I decided to harvest our basil and make pesto. Basil has been one of my favorite herbs that we grow each year in our garden. Today, I decided to make pesto without nuts since we have a nut allergy in our family. I tried this recipe with chick peas and loved it. For the rest of the day, my kitchen smelled wonderful!



From garden to freezer! I love putting up food for another season!

new sewing

This week I've been by my worktable, on the floor, at the laundry line, carrying a sewing book all around the house . . . its been a productive week and feels really good to have my sewing machine out again.