L is for Lucky!

http://www.uvmag.com/novdec08/54_55.htm

N saw this and said, "MAAAAAAHHHHHMMMMM, [Mom] you are so lucky!"
I said, "Ya know... the harder you work the luckier you are."
S (16) said, "Whoa. You are amazing." Meaning... where do you keep all these corny sayings?

This is from Utah Valley Magazine. Last year when the home tour was canceled I called UV Mag and told them that our house was kinda decked out, might be good in a future Christmas issue. Jeanette Bennett and her husband came by and took lots of pictures. Fun! Doesn't quite capture all the glitter though. ;)

I is for I Spy quilts!

This is a picture of my very young and stylish mother blowing out the candles on her birthday cake almost a year ago. It was a significant birthday and seemed to call for a special token or gift to mark the occasion. With the exception of my grandmothers, she is the one of the best ever.

I had been thinking about what I/we could do for her for about 6 years, meanwhile I kept special but worn out clothing that she and my father had given the children... one day the idea came to me: an I-Spy quilt. Finally all the velour pjs, alligator swim trunks, torn elegant shirts for boys had a place to be.

My parents, like many others', are IMPOSSIBLE to give gifts to, for any reason. My mother puts up with handmade goodies but really hates it when I spend my time making stuff for her. Really. I knew this project wouldn't be a hit with her. Her idea of domestic abuse is crafts, canning, sewing, decorations-- anything not Idea related. She enjoys travel and that includes traveling light. She and I are on the same quest to rid our lives of clutter. However, I like to make cool significant/useful things (Duh.) and although I rarely give them to people (topic for another post) this one, even though it would be coolly received, is what I had to do.

Here are the pieces on the dining room floor, not sewn yet...planning, arranging... (Late night photo shoot)

KISS principal in action. Keep It Simple Sister.
Each square is 6"x6". I'm not the most clever quilter...

Once the top was finished, a cool woman in Provo (Who taught me all about "Religionists" in the process! That was cool and helped me understand some men in my ward.) quilted this for me. She had a lot of fun and drew with the stitches things/patterns that supported the fabrics.

Voila, the finished product! What surprised me is that although my Mum left it in the apartment in SLC and my Dad didn't see it for maybe months, S, K, J, N and M LOVED it. Really. They loved watching me work on it, they all helped with it, they loved learning about the process and they adored the finished product. Gama didn't want to not take it and seem ungrateful (though she might not have really wanted to take it), but all the children wanted to keep it!

To make an I-spy quilt you need a lot of one or 2 squares of funky fabric. Gama's quilt is 12(6"squares) x 12 = 144 different fabrics. You are left with a lot extra... that's where the next idea hatched from... Christmas 2008 everyone gets their own quilt, that is it. No toys, no books, no clothes, no skies, no i-pods, no cash, no nuttin'. (I am filling their stockings with cool goodies from NYC!) This might not be what the economy needs but it is what we need. Less stuff, hopefully more meaning.

My bestest friend Ashley liked the idea and so we are making more together. We will make 9 quilts, plus possibly one for her beloved nephew and maybe the start of a few (smaller ones) to donate. Last night while the men went to priesthood meeting she and I snuck into my ward building, hung out in the primary room, turned the volume off and got to work. With laser like focus, we sorted all the fabric that we have cut so far, divvied it up for each child. We are short about 50 fabrics, although between the two of us I think we have them. They too need to be washed, pressed, cut, sorted.

The clock is ticking... These need to be assembled and quilted, and paid for (Gasp) and then the edges need to be bound. We meet every Wednesday and hopefully work on our own during the week.

I am also really excited about my idea for the Beehive Bazaar this year -- hope Noelle and Molly are too. Heidi and I want to have a space together, full of cool and a bit random things. More about that another time.

Right now I'm off to make Ratouille for Russell. Enjoying the rain and looking forward to Conference. Grateful for the time to write in a quiet house.

Did you hear Brother Anderson's talk Saturday morning? He spoke about Hadley, that is N's friend! He was riveted to the television listening to the Conference Talk!!! Whoa. At the end of the talk he said, "Hadley did a really cool thing!" She did. We had tears streaming down our cheeks at the end of the talk.

Centerpiece

Entry

The far above left is "before." Below is some of the Xmas hullabaloo. The pictures don't capture it. I was anxious to take it down and didn't check that I got all the shots that told the story of the "Holiday Home Tour" that wasn't. The overall counter was covered with sparkly, icy stuff. Snowmen, penguins, skiers. Colorful collaged trees and a guest book. To the left was a banister decorated with ornaments and faux cedar garland.

S is for Show & Tell.

Look what I did on Tuesday! Just a touch of silliness and lovely fun.

The pins spell PAX.
A gal at the Beehive Bazaar made something like this and I liked them -- she didn't want to trade and I didn't want to spend $20. for one, especially since I knew there was a Styrofoam cone waiting for me at home and plenty of cool scraps left over from my Mom's birthday quilt. I threw in some of M's Hello Kitty ribbon, et voila! These will be fun to pull out for Christmas for the next many years.

S & Co. like them as well. Noelle's term "driftwooding" is perfect here. I culled do-dads from long forgotten boxes of Christmas stocking materials. Lately a lot has been going on that is goal directed. Creative projects with a purpose. This was lovely to work on, just because.

In the beginning of The Wind in the Willows (a book that taught me that children's lit. often puts me to sleep...hard for me to finish) one critter is pleased to be not working while everyone else is. The moment a vacation starts... It is also nice when you are to meet someone, the schedule changes and then you have a hour of uninterrupted time to yourself. The house was quiet. The children were working hard at school. Classical music played in the far distant laundry room that was churning out clean clothes.

C is for Cookies, for Christmas, that are cool.

This is what a food section should aspire to. It is from San Francisco of course. The tag line reads like a bit of poetry: "Holiday cookies give a nod to the past and a wink to the future." The image is magical and makes you want to pick one up, not run to the lou. As I read the recipe I thought of ways to substitute for the mint (chocolate, almond, vanilla)... the food editor actually INSPIRED me in the kitchen.

Check out the entire food section at sfgate.com.

S is for Star Mill Antiques fire.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7655704

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695233686,00.html

Last night my sister-in-law MVL told me that she saw on the news that there was a big fire the Star Mill Antique store in American Fork. My heart sank. Daniel Copper is a friend of ours, he has always been very kind to our children, us and very generous. What is he feeling? What will happen to his store? How is he doing?

I read that the main building, the mill itself was not harmed. Yet... smoke is an insidious neighbor. I will go visit today with some fruit and a note from all of us. K especially loves Daniel's place! It is a treasure trove of beautiful old things, lots of wonder and great combinations. In one corner of a warehouse he might but a collection of globes, hanging upside down from the ceiling. One room is white. Doors on doors on doors. Jars of old bottle caps, pennies, rubber balls, random mystery relics of past simple consumer goods.

Daniel Copper is an architect and a very nice man. He reminds me of a starling (the bird). Simple and practical on the outside and then with closer look you see all the colors and depth, talent and grace, strength, and the fragility of a bird. He has restored the mill and several of the surrounding houses. I was also saddened at the possible loss of another historic structure in Utah, especially one so cool. Old buildings are torn down here like the owners/cities are swatting flies... witness downtown Provo in 2007.

Another reason my heart sank: What about the 15th? A while ago I bounced into Daniel's store and told him that I was painting our living room purple! and our handrail red, and our entry green, a bathroom yellow, the kitchen gray, the outside blue... Without a pause he said, "Then you'll be on our Christmas home tour right?!" I said, "Sure!" before I knew what I was getting into. Every few years he hosts a home tour of/for friends of the store, of homes that decorate with antiques, or "junk" as he sometimes calls it -- especially "junk" from his store. I prefer Nanette's reference to my "authentic" style, a combination of Daniel's style of junk and my sense of humor & history. The house is shaping up into a glittery house of ORDER! Complete with cupcakes, and gingerbread, on the 15th.

For Daniel, who has told people if you only go to one house go to [ours]... I have been dolling (literally), lighting, glittering, gingerbreading this place up. My studio, with a large shelf from his store, is even scheduled to be cleaned up for the tour! And I'm serious about the cupcakes. Until he tells me otherwise I am still planning on an open door on the 15th, it might be a good way to help him out.

Since I don't know who is reading this blog, the good, the very good, the bad and the ugly, I'm not posting the details (addresses) here. The other homes are far flung about Utah County. If you want more information leave a comment or contact me.

Wouldn't be a bad idea to include Daniel Copper in your prayers.

C is for Creativity Contest from Chronicle Books.

On the day after Halloween, a creativity contest: http://www.chroniclebooks.com/doodles/?utm_source=ChroniclekidsOctober&utm_medium=email&utm_content=TaroGomi&utm_campaign=NewsltrKids_103107

Say what? you didn't get that? Chronicle Books is sponsoring a contest based on Taro Gomi, creator of free-spirited coloring books. Creative people are uniting...they are everywhere! Wonder if the winner will be cool and complicated or crazy simple. As in, "Why didn't I think of that?"

If you can't swing that, how about a Lego/Wal-Mart collaboration this Saturday for Lego Club members? Call your local stores for details -- since I don't know anything more about the pre-Christmas season shopping fol-de-rol. We are working on a TOY-FREE Christmas. Enough is enough. It won't be a fun-free season though.

Looking into sewing classes for the gang during the Holiday break. Wanna homemade quilt? Make it yourself kiddo! >:|