i have to say...

focus

I'm struggling with focus.  Wandering and being bored seem to be my modes as of late, although there are lots of things I could be doing. 

Next month is going to be a crazy busy month for me and I think that I am freaking out about that, but not in a normal way.  I tend to have my own ways of doing things.  :)

Starting at the end of this month fabric is going to start pouring into my shop which will mean sales will go up (this is good).  This means more cutting and packaging and tending the store for me.

At the same time, things will start moving for Danika's wedding (on December 28th).  This is also good, but I am starting to wonder how I am going to juggle all of this busy-ness and keep a lid on things.

Starting today I have list of things to do.  A focus.  Goals.

I need this in order to get where I need to be.  Right now I feel stuck in park, although I should really be moving forward.  Without this I will get nothing done and tomorrow I will still have the same to-do's with a whole bunch more added.  Not good.

I do have one to-do that I am happy to accomplish: a lunch date with a friend.  Much needed.

Gotta get moving.  My life needs some forward motion.

I hope your day is a good one with lots of focus!

fallish things

fall just wouldn't be fall without:

caramel apples--hard to eat, but oh-so-good

apples in general--i still have a pile waiting to be sauced

buttery, yellow sunshine in the afternoon

crunchy walks

chattering teeth in the morning while i run

hot chocolate after morning lessons

sweaters in the morning, t-shirts in the afternoon

my desire to knit something even though i have failed at this numerous times--can i sew a pair of socks?

the face that tells me she doesn't want to wait until after lunch to eat her caramel apple:

have a lovely fall day!

possibilities

I've been playing around with Photoshop for a few minutes each day and I love it!  Simply awesome!

Well, simple is probably not the word for it since I have no idea what I am doing, but I can sense the possibilities.  Yes, that's what I meant to say.

Isn't that what life is about?  Possibilities?

The picture on top is the "after" picture, the picture below is the "before".  I think that the "after" picture is more visually interesting.  The colors make me look.  Since I have stared at the picture for so long, it is hard for me to gauge whether it looks fake or not.  That comes with time, I suppose.

I have decided to start a newsletter for Fresh-Squeezed Fabrics.  You can sign up on my sidebar.  So far I have one subscriber--ME!  The newsletter is another area of possibility for me since I have no idea what I am doing, but a desire to try it out.  The letter will be low-volume--you won't get an inbox full of emails from me, I promise!  But I will surely let you know when new items arrive and when I am having a special sale for my customers.  Don't miss out!

Have a lovely day!

oh my goodness....

I have been cutting fabric like a mad-woman! 

That is not a complaint, but a successful sale makes a person busy, I tell ya! 

My fabric area looks like a tornado passed through ( the above picture is a "before" picture, and even that is messier than I like it to be) and is waiting to be cleaned up.

My new Elements is calling my name:

This weekend I can play around with that a little bit. I have no clue how to use it, but I figure that jumping in and using it is the way to go.  I even bought The Missing Manual to help me along.  It weighs about 3 pounds and is quite large, but I am. going. to. do. this.  Period.  Someday I am going to be as good as Sandra.  Really, spend some time on her blog and check out her pictures. Simply stunning!

My quilt top is close to being finished:

All I need are some borders and a backing to start the quilting.  The baby is due soon, so I need to get to get it done next week. I love working on smaller quilts because they don't seem as daunting as large ones.  Much more do-able, if you ask me.

Have a nice day!

a cold fall weekend

Oh my gosh, it was cold this weekend! We had to dig out gloves and hats and jackets (why are they all too small!?!?) before heading out anywhere and even those didn't help much.  Could it be because just last week it was 80 degrees?

We went on our annual leaf hunt at the riverwalk.  Aubry improvised and used her hat to collect leaves since we forgot bags.  She also held her Chex Mix in there.

I love to photograph my shoes:

This is what everything green in our yard looked like all weekend long:

Still covered in ice this morning, with some fog to help things out.

Hello, Mr. Sun, where are you?

she said "yes"

We knew she would.

When God puts something this awesome together, you go for it.

My girl has been trusting in God for a life-partner and when he showed up one day, we knew.  We really just knew.  I can't put it any simpler than that.

Much prayer and consideration has gone into this, but when Luke came to "have the talk" with Craig, saying "yes" was simple.  A little tearful maybe, but no qualms about this one. 

This is the guy for my girl.

We went out to take some engagement pictures on a really hot, sunny day, so I knew we would have to be quick.  The picture above was taken right when we got out of the car and Danika happened to catch a toad (ah, that's my girl!).  I told Luke to just give her a hug, they smiled, and the resulting picture is perfect--thanks in large part to Sandra's awesome photoshop skills.  (Her touch is on all of the photos and I am so thankful to her for helping me out!)

The cute couple and their toad.  How romantic!

The picture above is my favorite!  It shows what Luke is going spend the rest of his life doing: chasing my girl, trying to get her to slow down and tackling her if need be.  My girl tends to get ahead of herself and the people around her.  She gets this from her dad.  :)

I love that he has such a big smile on his face because their lives are going to contain lots of fun and sweetness.

I just know it.

my girl makes a dolly sling!

***note to self: pay attention to where the sun is shining when taking a picture! your subjects will thank you for this!

Aubry made this doll sling using this tutorial.  She sewed all four side seams by herself and turned the sling right-side out, and I helped her by adding the rings.  This is a perfect first project for a young girl who can sew a straight line on the machine.

She has great taste in fabric, using the Darla fabric that I am in love with right now.

Ah, she makes me so proud!

Happy sewing! 

chasing the sun

We spent Saturday chasing the sun.

The aspens are starting to change their colors in the mountains and we wanted to catch them before they finish.  Too many years have passed while we claim to be too busy to drive up and see them.

The weather was only partially cooperative and we ended up making our decision on where to drive based on which roads seemed to be heading towards clouds/rain/lightning versus the sunshine.

We ended up going the opposite direction of what we had planned.

At one point the sky seemed to open up just as we passed a tiny county road lined with loveliness.  It even boasted a meandering little creek!

Of course, the best sights are in the trees:

And among the flowers:

This is what most of our day looked like:

I would like to see the leaves at least one more time before their display is finished.  There is just nothing like the colors of fall.

Perfection, if you ask me!

the weekend in 8 pictures

My daughter is taking a college photography course and that means only one thing: my camera is never in the house anymore!  I am back to using my Kodak Easyshare, which is a descent camera, but absence is making this heart grow fonder for my Rebel.  One bummer is that the Easyshare has no memory card so I am only able to take up to 10 pictures at a time.  This is a big stretch for me since I usually take a multitude of pictures. 

That is a secret to good photography, you know!

We took a walk so Emily could take some nature pictures for her class.  Maddie went along, and was the first to get tired and act like she was ready to go home.

Here is my photographer.  Just look at that cool camera she is using:

Aubry is, as usual, completely willing to say "cheese" while Emily does the YMCA dance in the background:

View of the road we were walking on:

Maddie is learning to catch a Frisbee:

Here she is catching it with her hands.  I know, I know, what a talented dog:

The last swimming session of the season:

Have a great Monday!

miscellaneous

Many thanks for all of the sweet, encouraging comments yesterday!  I was very nervous about unveiling my little plan, but your response made me glad that I did.  When it comes to hatching plans, I can handle it, but actually doing things is another story, because I obsess over the possibility of failure.

Tell me I am not the only one who does that!

This has been a lesson in patience for me, because everything has taken twice as long as I figured!  Getting the fabric is not happening fast either, but I did manage to place my orders late yesterday and I am hoping the ladies I am dealing with will be able to fill my order before they leave for Quilt Market.  If they can't, I will have to wait another week.  I hope they realize that I want my stuff NOW!  (Read that last sentence in your best Veruca Salt voice--with all of the attitude!)

"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self‑control."Ephesians 5:22

Things are starting to grow around my house and I love it!  This is the most exciting time of the year for me because it seems so full of promise.  All things are becoming new!

As you can see, Maddie is becoming a beast.  She is going to be the size of a small-ish bear, I am sure of it!

Have a great day!

***I updated my shop with some hostess aprons.  Click here to see them!