I Love You Because...

Dear Mom

Dear Mom

You left yesterday and we all miss you already. Thankfully I know you're always just a phone call away. Download 01 Bridge Over Troubled Water (Singl

I am one of the lucky ones. I have a Mom who does everything in the world that she can to support and be there for me in everyway no matter how far away I move. When I had to deliver a little early she was able to hop on an earlier flight and be there for me, holding my hand while I cried, making me laugh through the frustration or pain and comforting my babies when I couldn't. I've had four kids and I am possitive I couldn't have gotten through the delivery (or first weeks) of any of them without her.

I've loved having her here for the last 2 weeks. She's encouraged me, she's cleaned, she's calmed me, she's worked on projects and taught me.

She's kissed on our babies, she's read to them and entertained them, she's woken up in the middle of the night nights with them, she's been more then an extra pair of hands, she has been the best example of motherhood ever.

Mom, I love you. I know you sacrificed so much to be here with me during this time and I am so grateful for every second. I hope someday to be even a tenth of the Mom you are. 

Love always,

JJ

 

Isn't it ironic...

It hasn't been enough time at our house for me to be able to laugh about it quite yet but, I can now at least see past the anger and see the irony of posting this and the next day disovering our Little Miss did this....

Good thing her Grandma has some amazing home-fixes up her sleeve because otherwise we'd have a daughter grounded for life. So how exactly does one get out ball-point pen out of heirloom quilts (or any other fabric for that matter? Good question. According to Mom you soak it in hairspray for 10 minutes, then scrub it out with a cotton rag and repeat until it's gone then you wash it as usual adding a splash of vinegar to the load... guess what? it works! 

Now the quilt is clean and the punishment begins.... this little girls room makeover I mentioned last week has been put on hold until further review of her behavior.

 

oh the joys of motherhood, right?
Joanna  

 

Lorali's Quilt - Dardanelles

In an effort to get every room in the house settled in before Baby Cameron comes, this week we're focusing on Lorali's room. We have big plans in here for both organizing and decorating but we're lucky because we have some key pieces to the room that are perfect and staying just the way they are. Her Quilt is another amazing  treasure we have from Grandma that we're designing the entire room around so I'll start there. It's my favorite quilt pattern ever... Double Irish Chain in just pink and white. The details on this one are just as amazing as the details on The Hudson Bay Quilt. The fabric Mom chose is white/pink flowers and pink/white polka dots and so the quilting is daisies (another favorite) in each block. Mom alsop names all of her quilts. This one is named 'Dardanelles'.  The Dardanelles is an area in Waterton, Canada that we go to often to picnic or for a quick hike, my favorite memory of the area is going for Canada Day with my Grandma when I was about 8 or 9. It's an area known for the amazing wildflowers growing in the fields and she walked me through the fields teaching me/quizzing me on all the names of the different flowers growing there. It's the perfect name for a perfect quilt for a perfect little girl! 

Hudson Bay Point Quilt

I have been planning Owen's Room since before he was born but as soon as we moved into this house I already had a lot of the decor ready to go. The thing I didn't have was the perfect quilt. Owen's room has a Waterton/Canadian Parks theme and the only appropriate blanket I could think of was a Traditional Hudson Bay Point Blanket. (When talking about it to friends hereI learned that most people in the South have never heard of them. Seriously!) The problem with the Hudson Bay Blanket was that 1) it's wool... which means it's not only harder to clean with a 3 year old using it regularly but it's also itchy and frankly it's not until you're an adult that you start to really like it. 2) Thos puppies are expensive! I had to hold back and remind myself that this was for a 3 year old and spending $200-$600 on a non-washable bedspread might not be the brightest of all ideas and 3) we don't live in the canadian rockies (huge problem), we live in Georgia... the need for a super warm (HOT) wool blanket is pretty much zero. So with my heart set on a real/authentic Hudson Bay Blanket I had to get creative.

The month before we moved in my Mom come out for a visit and I had her help me bring my idea to life. 

Just a 1/4 yard fabric in the classic Red, Yellow, Green and Black with a cream Queen Size sheet and The Hudson Bay QUILT came to life in just one night. (Remember? I told you my Mom was amazing? This is just more proof of how insanely talented she is.)

This was another one of those projects that made Husbandface feel like I was crazy or he didn't get the concept of it until it was actually done but 1) that's becomeing a trend and 2) he doesn't have the same love for Hudson Bay Blankets as I do so of course he didn't get quite as excited.  (We actually did this the same week as we refinished the chairs and we were packing so to his credit, the timing was a little bit questionable.)  In the end I'm pretty sure Doug loves it just as much as I do.

This quilt was super simple in concept/design but it's the little touches and small details that make it perfect.

Like the Custom Gold Embroidered Patch...
(that name it an official Wallace Point Blanket from the Boundary Bay Company)

And the 5 points added to it, making sure everyone can see the authentic quality/status...

And the AMZING quilting done by the BEST machine quilter I know. ... Mom came up with the idea of maybe putting a reference to bears in the quilting and Dixie (the Quilting genius) came up with these!! 

Hundreds of 'hidden' bears quilted onto the entire quilt! It absolutely made it spectacular and now not only do I love, LOVE the finished project, but so does my Baby Bear!! 

There you have it! My First Custom Designed Quilt. 

Thanks for reading!
J 

 

Missing Grandma

My Mom was in a pretty serious accident this afternoon and it's times like this I kick myself for living so far away. I hated getting random updates and not hearing her voice. I hated myself for not being able to jump into the car and head to the hospital to sit by her side. She is my best friend in the entire world and I honestly don't know what I'd do without her. As much as I hated all the bad news and scary thoughts pouring in, I LOVE that it has all ended with some great news. She is okay! A few cracked ribs so she's in pain but it could have been WAY worse! Her car is totaled but at least she will be home soon. I can't wait to talk to her and make sure she knows just how much we ALL love her! 

A Sick Day

What does a sick day look like at your house? Here, I can't get through it without my iPad, medicine, tissues and water.... Now if only I could get my Mom here to take care of me I'd be fine. :)

Practically Perfect.

Everyone knows that this is me. 100%. I talk to my Mom every single day for at least an hour and without it I'm pretty sure I would die. either that or go insane. I know that a lot of people thing I'm too dependent, or clingy, I know that other family members are irritated or annoyed. I know that sometimes Doug get's jealous. All these things, I know. The ting is that MY MOTHER IS MY VERY BEST FRIEND IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. I would do anything for her, I need her like I need oxygen and the thought of life without her honestly makes me go straight into a panic attack. Without her I would be like a fish out of water, gasping for breath. I talk to her about everything, I go over my stupid fears, I talk over my ever changing emotions about Autism, I whine about my frustrations with church or school or goals, I get advice about parenting and marriage and friendship, she reassures my insecurities and she gives me instructions on making the perfect lemon bars. I love every minute of it. Hopefully I am a sounding board and a support for her as well but in the end all I know is that my time talking to her is my life line. This Mother's day she was traveling so I couldn't get ahold of her until late but I was thinking of her every minute of the day- making my mental list of things I needed to tell her, questions I wanted to ask and things I needed to say. Even after we hung up I went to be thinking about how blessed I am. I really do have the most amazing, talented, loving and beautiful mother on the planet. She knows me. She loves me for me and she has taught me how to be myself, how to stand up for myself, how to sew, how to be self-less and giving and still self assertive. She has taught me self-worth and integrity. She has taught both me and my kids that family is the most important thing. She has shown me how to support and disagree and love wholeheartedly all at the same time. I LOVE MY MOM and there just isn't enough time in the world to soak up all that she has to give. She is my Mary Poppins.... Practically Perfect in Every Way! 

Goals... My first Quilt.

I've wanted to learn to quilt for a LONG time. Well actually if I'm being honest I didn't really want to learn to quilt as much as I just wanted my Mom to make a bunch more quilts for me but... I don't live in Utah so talk her into it or to get her to help me so.... I figured it was time to figure it out on my own. Every year as part of my goals I like to learn something new. Get out of my comfort zone and stretch myself creatively. This year I finally decided to take the plunge and make an official goal for myself. Learn how to quilt in 2011. I signed up for a weekly beginners class a few weeks ago and it's been fun! It's stressful to learn something new and it's certainly given me even more admiration for the hours and hours and hours it takes to put them together but I'm doing it. I'm making a couch throw quilt in class and then I already have a few quilts I have planned to work on throughout the year.... we'll see what messes I can make out of this new hobby!  

 

Snowmen at Night Quilt

Ever since 2007 when I made everyone red-work throw quilts I had wanted one of my own.  I never got around to it simply because I had made 5 of the same pattern already... I was sick of it.  In March of 2009 my sister in law, Spring and I went to a regional sewing expo here in Atlanta. We had a blast and while we were there I saw this Walking in a Winter Wonderland quilt (from Crab Apple Hill) that I absolutely fell in love with. It was a red-work Snowman quilt. Spring and I made a deal, I would do all the embroidery work on two quilts because she doesn't enjoy handwork and she would do all the quilting because well... I barely know how to turn on my sewing machine let alone actually sewing two pieces of fabric together. At the same time Mom actually got the same pattern and was working on the same project in Utah as we were in Georgia and Florida. It was so fun to work on it at the same time. After hours and hours and hours of work from Spring, Mom, Me and even Doug,  they're all done and can I just say? LOVE! The original pattern is only a throw quilt size and because I wanted it for my specific red bed frame I needed it to be full size. After a few calculations from the quilt queen (aka Mom) and a little inspiration from Snowmen at Night, (one of our favorite Children's books) Doug sketched out four personalized snowmen corners to match the rest of the quilt. A little Cowboy flair for Grandpa, a viking hat for the Grandkids (Mom has one in her dress up toys and it's always been the favorite) and a little Snow-dolly for Lorali. I love, Love, LOVE the end result. Thank you Spring, Doug and esp. Mom for pushing me to actually get it done in time for the holidays this year! I have loved this project so much I think it's been the one to push me over the edge... I have to learn how to quilt. I have too many ideas that I doubt I could bribe my relatives into finishing for me. :)  

Now to show off Doug's one of a kind corners.....