what day of the week is it again?

sorry about that! i'm going to combine sunday stash with wednesday wish-list as well as what's been going on with me lately! yeah... what day of the week is it?

my "real" work has been crazy to say the least these past few days... few weeks... months, perhaps? :) I haven't wanted to turn my computer on for anything other than catching up on tv shows, even though i have been working on projects!

but I do have updates... and wish lists... :) so here we go!

sunday stash for this week is combined with my entry for the spare change swap. i'm so excited to get this fabric back in the mail and see all the wonderful fabrics i have to choose from to make something! i think i'm going with the "stacked coins" quilt that i talked about last time -- it's stayed on the front of my mind since then.

here's the fabric i'm sending in:



i know the quality of the picture doesn't even come close to doing justice to the fabric. it's a light mint green with brown spots all over it. my theory is that i bought it when i was hungry... since it reminds me of mint-chocolate-chip ice cream :)

as far as my wish-list for this week goes, we're getting close to halloween so these are all pumpkin, candy-corn, and costume-themed :)

crazymomquilts has always been one of my favorite blogs, and her candy-corn quilt is just one of the many quilts that highlight her amazing talents as an artist.



this pumpkin is by far my favorite of any themed-pumpkins or pumpkin carving patterns that i've seen. how original! if only we had the time... :)


lastly... my gradma is crazy-talented when it comes to Christmas gingerbread houses. but how about this Halloween gingerbread house? amazing!


on that note... have a safe & happy halloween! :)

"Spare Change" swap

I'm participating in the Spare Change swap as you may have seen by the button in my side column...



and I'm sad that I didn't post about it sooner that you (whoever my readers may be) could participate! I think it's going to be a lot of fun though... and not a lot of work. We'll have to see what I make out of the "spare change" I end up getting and more importantly... how long it will take me to make something out of it (cough!) :)

I am excited about it -- there's so many different ways you can do take "spare change" -- triangles, squares, strips, and more! I'm entirely in love with this quilt, so much so that I may have to make it for this "spare change" quilt even though it means more cutting of fabric once I get my 5x5 squares... and it also means rummaging so I have enough scraps to make the entire quilt instead of a corner :) Cutting fabric is the bane of sewing for me... it has kept me from working on (and completing) many a project.

Any other ideas for me on what to make out of the 5x5 squares I'll be getting in the mail in a few weeks?

Freeze Yer Buns 2008

Ryan & I decided to join in the "freeze yer buns" challenge that Crunchy Chicken runs every year. We're committing to 62 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night. We should be fine... might even lower those standards a bit! :) We have a bit of an advantage for a few reasons:

1) we're on the 2nd floor, and the college-age kids who live below us like to crank up their heat (if this year is anything like last year)

2) my husband is a natural heater... not even kidding... so i can curl up against him and be perfectly warm :)

3) all the windows in our apartment face south, so we get the sun (when it's not raining) from about 11am-sunset. if we open up the blinds, etc. during the day we can often catch that sunlight and warm the house. also... we're often not home during the day for long periods of time, which means the heat can be lower and we don't have to worry about it. you'll just find me huddled in front of our wall-heater when we get home and the house is freezing ;)

4) we've got several warm blankets around the house which we can use if it gets too chilly at night, and a down comforter to sleep under... as well as jersey-knit sheets (you've got to check those things out... it's like sleeping in a big, thick, broken-in t-shirt!)

we'll see how we do! wish us luck, and if you come to visit... bring layers :)

Wednesday Wish List

Yes... I'm officially starting a "Wednesday Wish List" that will be (hopefully!) regular :) Feel free to join me if you want to... and if you do, be sure to leave me a comment to let me know!

Here's my project "wish list" for this week:

• This egg carton flower pendant light from Addicted to Decorating. Yes, it sounds (and looks) a little odd... but it would be great mood lighting... or a nightlight in a child's room, don't you think?
  
  
  
• Isn't this wallet from JC Handmade amazing? Yes... it's designed to be a children's crayon & coloring wallet... but I'm in the market for a new wallet and this one might just suit me. Adjust a few of the pockets and add one outer pocket... and I might be set! :)
  
  
  
• My husband might be wishing for this one more than I am... a designated place for all my craft supplies. Living in a small house makes it difficult to be able to spread out without getting in each other's way... but this craft closet that lovelydesign recently installed might just be the perfect thing... if we can figure out where to put the stuff that's currently in the closet! :)
  
  
  
• These dream bubbles stitcheries from Wee Wonderfuls are the cutest thing I've seen in a while... I'd love to make a set of them small enough to fit in 4x4" frames and hang around the house at Christmas time. Aren't they amazing? :)
  
  

I think that's it for this week's wish list. Believe me... I've got more, but I've got to save some, right? :)

Have a great rest of your week!

sunday stash: made in japan

i figured since i signed up for "sunday stash" a few weeks ago it was about time i actually participated :) this is by far one of my favorite pieces of fabric. unfortunately... i have no ideas what to do with it -- any ideas? i was thinking a purse, but i don't know what part of the fabric i would use. or... as the centerpiece of a quilt. i welcome your suggestions!! :)




see more on flickr

right now...

right now, i am:

feeling... tired of the mundane and hoping something new will come along my path soon

enjoying... the quietness of the office and how much i can get accomplished when everyone's gone to conferences!

wondering... what God has in store for us in the next few months -- things seem so "up in the air" right now even though we have no solid plans at all

wanting... more free time to focus on crafting and writing... to get all of the ideas in my head out on paper

loving... my family and friends who are here for the long stretch -- no matter how long that may be!

searching... for ways to save money and save for the future

hoping... for peace, assurance, and comfort to come in unexpected ways

forgetting... what has happened in the past and moving on to what lies ahead. i resolve to press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God has called and is calling me. (phil 3.13-14)



**Inspired (as many things are) by SouleMama**

my wonderful husband

...brought me beautiful flowers last night. unfortunately, i woke up with a migraine this morning so i stayed home from work... but i got to enjoy their beauty all day long! :)




more craft posts coming soon... i promise! :)

an amazing quilt

this quilt is absolutely phenomenal -- colors, pattern, size, everything about it is amazing :) i'm blogging about it on here even though it means that i lesson my chances of winning since i'm sure all of you will want it as well -- just because you have to see this thing! :) click here or on the pic to the right to see more.

a wish list of projects

sorry for the break between posts! i didn't intend that to happen, but following a camping trip (which was amazing!) and an extra-hectic week at work following that trip, blogging wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind :) crafting, however, was a bigger part of my week!

my mind has mainly been on Christmas presents recently, and yes... i know it's a bit early, but these Christmas presents have been in the works for some time now... one of them is pushing 2 years in the making (here's hoping they'll like it!!). but since i can't post pictures of those for obvious reasons, i thought i'd post a few of the projects on my "wish list." because let's admit it -- i have LOTS of projects on my wish list :)

purses are always on the top of my list. smaller bags for formal occasions and larger bags for my every-day toting. this means the bags have to be big enough to hold a book, my most recent sewing project, and my every-present idea notebook, as well as my wallet, cell phone, ipod, etc. etc. quite a challenge sometimes! and for some reason i've been very interested in tweed & wool lately... which has led me to wanting a bag somewhat like this:


from aeropostale...

on which i'm loving these embellishments:


or one from gap (which i can't find a picture of!) that is a dark grey tweed with leather straps and two pockets on the inside -- perfect for carrying my computer!

i'm thinking i should be able to make those up pretty easily... we'll see :)

i'm loving this wallet as well...

and these bath bombs from instructables are surely necessities, right? :)

this is an adorable tank top and could be remade and adjusted in so many ways -- my mind is buzzing :)

one of these days when we own our own house, these are definitely in order for a back-yard (or side-yard) garden. just look at these pictures!





this is another bag that piques my interest... we'll see if it ever happens. i'm not quite sure what i would use it for and have a feeling it would end up being one of those projects that has no end result. i think my husband would agree that i already have too many of those hanging around :)

as always, i have quilt wish lists and many other projects i'd like to work on... but the time somehow escapes me. maybe one of these days when all the Christmas presents are done (hopefully... before Christmas ;-)) i'll have a chance to check off a few of these items :)

any other projects that i should have on my wish list?