Spring in the Dead of Winter?!

If you live in the PNW you've noticed we've had an unusually mild winter. I had snow in my
neighborhood for 5 minutes, as it melted upon landing. That being said, we have had our share of soggy, rain soaked days (nothing new there I suppose!) and just as I was hunkering down for a chilly, windy, wet, and gray January, it suddenly turned into Spring! I can't really complain because it's gorgeous, but I don't do too well with change, especially when it comes "early" (according to me). I feel a little robbed. Someone took my dark, cozy winter from me in mid January, and replaced it with weather that would be considered unusually beautiful even in March. However when I look outside and I'm met with such a lovely sunrise, instead of continuously lightening shades of gray, I can't help but feel at least a little bit transformed by the sight of what looks like a paint box has been thrown across the sky showing you a completely different color wash in each direction you look. I find myself no longer mourning the cold, dark, snowy winter I'd wished so hard for.
I find most of my creative inspiration in the colder, moodier months of Fall and Winter. They allow you to play with rich colors, and textures, and afford you a multitude of layers to manipulate and piece together to build something unexpected, but this last week I've found myself more motivated, and unusually inspired by all of the warmth in the air, and the color explosion outside.
 I've been able to finish up old projects, get a good start on others, and even create a few new things ... with my little helper by my side of course. Here she is inspecting her work on the seams on the back of the denim quilt top, before we trimmed all the fluff off ... though I will say she totally bailed on me when it came time to press the seams open (I think she thinks the iron is hissing at her).
I have a few other projects to post, but I've yet to take any pictures of them ... one I am VERY excited about. I've been trying to work out instructions in my mind for ages over it, and last night I finally nailed it. I LOVE when something works out just exactly the way you see it in your head.

xoxo

It's a Windy January Kind of Day

And finally time to see if we can make something out of this.
I'd been lugging what seemed like a million pairs of jeans with me from place to place, picking up more in each location for ages ... until about three years ago when I decided to cut the million pairs of jeans into an obnoxious amount of 8 inch squares.

Hopefully by the next blustery, soggy day I'll have something new (/old) to bundle up in.

Oh yeah, and happy 2010!

xoxo

Once in a Blue Moon...

The last full moon of the year, well the decade actually.

Good night, 2009.

Christmas Lights ...

Check!

 

Lights are up, and I think the neighborhood raccoons think they're coming to a nightly rave (glow sticks not included).

Early Mornings, Thunderstorms, and Pumpkin Butter

I love early Fall mornings that look like 3 p.m. at 8 a.m., with rain pounding into every surface it can find, and a rumbling thunderstorm growling away at anyone who will listen. Looking out into the storm, I suddenly found myself inspired, and jumped into action. First thing's first, let's build a fire (by build, of course I mean turn up the thermostat until the gas kicks on, and a fire appears behind a pane of glass). After all that hard work, I dusted off my hands, and got down to business in the kitchen.

Did I Mention I Love Fall?

Well, I do!

Now I've got to figure out what to do with eleventy billion pumpkin seeds!


*in case you were wondering, I accidentally burnt them...*

See What I Mean?

Maybe my kitchen knife is a tad smaller than Excalibur, but for a moment I thought when I pulled it from the giant zucchini that I would be hailed the King (or Queen, rather) of someplace excellent!

That's not exactly what happened ... ok, it's not at all close to what happened next. Unless being elbow deep in shredded zucchini is somehow close to being royalty. Yeah, I couldn't find any parallels either. I may not have access to the crown jewels, but I've got a freezer full of zucchini pulp in case I'm ever in the mood to do whatever one does with this much zucchini!

I Can Dig It, He Can Dig It, She Can Dig It, They Can Dig It, You Can Dig It...

Oh, let's dig it! Can you dig it, baby?

Well it turns out I can! Who knew? It's only been

approximately 20 years since I've been anywhere near a clam dig, and with good reason I think. First of all, I don't eat them, in fact, I avoid them with a certain level of fervor. And secondly, but perhaps more importantly, I was never a fan of freezing to death on a windy, rainy beach being Dad's designated shovel holder while he digs his limit, and then continues to "dig" mine (since we all know that would be breaking the rules ... but apparently for children if an adult brings the clam up, and the child picks it up from the loose sand that counts as the child's clam ... only Dad would ask the "Fish Hawks" as he calls them for the actual rules). However, I figured it was time to roll up my sleeves and see if there were any skills or tricks hiding up there, or just cobwebs, and I thought this would be the perfect weekend with dad to do it!