Crafty Sewer + Space Geek= Super Cool Nerd!

I remember 

as a child 

my father waking me up in the middle of the night

and taking us outside

to look at fabulous things in the sky.

At times

we would just sleep out there

{perhaps it was easier than dragging us out of bed}

Dad would show us

craters in the moon

or stars millions of miles away

in his home made telescope

It took me a long time before I realized that 

dragging your children out of bed in

the middle of the night wasn't

a normal suburbia occurrence.

Along with that realization was the

epiphany that our family is made up of nerds.

Serious nerds, every one.

So now you know my secret,

I am a genetic nerd.

And I love to sew.

Which is why I am now in love with

Average Jane Crafter

She just won first prize in the 

Hubble Pop Culture Contest.

Yes, she mixed cross stitch with Hubble.

Nerd heaven.

Her cross stitch has a wonderful story behind it,

you can read it here.

And check this out:

She embroidered the shuttle's de-orbit map.

I think I'm in love.

People have even sent her space jewelry.

Check out her Space Shuttle bracelet.

My sister Laura works at Boeing.

Perhaps I could make her one

with a picture of a B-52

or a Hornet

oh a B-24 would be perfect!
(I know, not Boeing
but it's vintage and our Grandfather  helped design it)

What do you think, Laura?

Of course,

Rachel over at Average Jane also made 

these fantastic bags

Laura,  I can so picture you using one of these.

Rachel is my new favorite nerd-inspiration.

Are you a nerd, too?

Chocolate Cloud

Happy Birthday to my lovely Aunt Brenda!

I made her one of these in a yummy chocolate brown

The cloud cascade scarf

from the Lion Brand Yarn website.

It's nice and easy to crochet

and I love the way it falls.

I made a matching little scrappy flower pin

to decorate it with.

You can also wear it all ruffled around your neck.

{I love the way it frames the face and peaks out from a coat}

I made the same scarf in a cream color for my sister last year

but sadly I did not take a picture of it.

So here's a picture of me and my sister (and my big girl) instead.

Happy weekend!

No, I'm not sewing.

No sewing.

{or knitting or painting or crafting}

I was recovering from

4 nights of camping

{partially from a lack of sleep

and partially from having to remove myself

from such an incredible place}

and now I am enjoying my last week

with two little girls who will 

be starting school next week.

See ya soon!

Finds

Some of my recent thrifting goodies:

A Dressmaking book from the 60s

dust jacket is falling apart 

but the rest of the book is in great condition

This cookbook:

My mother has this book and

it holds some of my earliest childhood cooking memories (:

Another cookbook:

I almost didn't pick it up

because I couldn't really see any of the cover decoration

{Yes I choose books by their cover}

But luckily I opened it and found this:

Recipes hand written in every available space.

The book was written in 1906.

I love it.

And I paid a dollar for it.

The Complete Book of Sewing, 1943

I have a thing for sewing books and cook books. Can you tell?

And I got an assortment of children's books

for the kids' school/craft room.

And this is our new pet.

Chloe found him at a thrift store

and would not leave him.

She totes him around

and feeds him

and has dropped him on her toe.

And she loves to say "SQUIRREL!"

like Doug in the movie Up.

All for only a quarter.

Tomorrow we will be heading out

to my favorite camping spot

where we will spend the weekend

eating smores

and playing cards

and exploring the wonderful nature around us.

And in one of our most favorite places

with our closest of friends

we will celebrate 10 years of

a most wonderful marriage.

See you next week!

On My Mind

So as with all my vacations 

I've come back with a fresh perspective.

Does that happen to you?

A change of scenery does me so well.
Especially when the scenery looks like this.

So I've got a few {thousand} thoughts swirling around

and organizing these thoughts is paramount for

accomplishing anything creatively.

This is my brain clutter: 

{You may stop reading if you like.

No offense.

My brain is quite crowded.}

I have signed up at our local Community College.

Chloe is going off to preschool this year

and I will be heading to school as well.

To play with fabric.

What could be better?!

I am mapping out an online store in my head.

Scribbling notes on what to stock it with.

And hope to be up and running in November.

(photo: Vilkseskogen)

I have washed a suitcase full of fabric 

and am dreading ironing it.

Thinking about Toy Story 3 and

wishing my children didn't think it was "Too Boyish" for them.

(Am I too old to watch cartoons on my own?)

Thinking I should get a bigger garden going.

(it's not too late here)

(inspiration at Better Homes and Gardens)

Loving the Etsy finds from Inspired Results.

I am wishing winters here were colder so

 I could make this in the summer.

Blackberry Cobbler. 

Perhaps I will just live vicariously through Bonnie. 

I love her blog, Going Home to Roost.

And while reading comments on Bonnie's blog, 

I came across a comment that linked to the most fun ice cube tray ever.

{I am not particularly fond of shaped ice cube trays.

They take up too much space when you're not using them

and I can never remember to use them anyway.}

But this I would buy.

Ice cubes in the shape of coffee beans for iced coffee.

Because that would make me smile.

{And really I drink coffee to be happy}

So I was curious about who found such fun-ness

and followed Amanda Joy to her blog

Joy Ever After.

And now I'd follow her anywhere

{especially to her Etsy shop}

Look at these cute clocks she makes

Then I somehow ended up at

Eat drink Chic

and I am smitten again.

She has lovely taste.

Which reminds me of Jessica and her lovely taste.

Isn't Grace's room adorable?

Go vote for Grace's room over at

Sweet Charli

{it really is the cutest room there}

I have vintage family photos to be scanned

and a kid's craft area to finish

using some of these

  

Dick and Jane from Raggedy Land

And Alicia over at Posie Gets Cozy

has put together a children's reading list.

(click the picture to go to her blog and then the list)

And I have the sudden urge to complete this list with my girls.

Today.

{Okay, not today, but you get the point}

and the girls' bedroom with a mind full

of projects that I can't wait to get done

Christmas gifts to work on

We have a camping trip next week

to one of my most favorite camping spots,

Polipoli

and last 

{and best of all}

a sweet little nephew on the way

who is demanding a pile of cute little boy gifts

when he arrives in November.

{of course, I will oblige!}

Vintage Toy Tractor

The Lovelys on Etsy

and I can't leave out the new big sister

because this will be her sister-anniversary for years to come

Big Sister shirt

Delaney's Den on Etsy

And later this week I shall tell you about my thrifting finds
and our new pet squirrel.

In One Piece

We are back.

I am reading a box full of emails

and catching up on all of your lovely blogs

{I can't wait to see what you all have been up to}

while skillfully avoiding unpacking the 7 suitcases and boxes we brought home

{each weighing 49.999 lbs}

We had a lovely time.

And with impeccable timing

Chloe got a fever this morning

and not ten minutes from getting out of auntie Dana's car

she was in bed

and throwing up.

So I will update you all soon

with the fun ideas I had while traveling.

After I finish washing all the sheets.
And maybe unpacking.

PS

Just to prove how my brain is already on vacation
I completely forgot about the goodbye post I had pre-posted
{my story of neglect-which wasn't riveting enough for the author to even remember!}
and made an entirely new one
{with pics!}
So you got goodbye twice.
Because I think of y'all twice as much as you think I do.

Neglect: A Story {with a happy ending}

This is a story of neglect.

The neglect of a 

{very small, but sort of sweet}

blog 
and a dog

You see,

the blog's blogger Em was going on vacation

a very long, overdue vacation in which much fun would be had by all

and wives would see their husbands for wonderfully long periods of time.

But the blog would be neglected.

No posts pre-posted.

No excitement.

For three weeks.

And the dog
well he would be left in very capable and sweet hands
But his people were leaving him
and to him, that constitutes neglect.




The happy ending?
In August there will be an empty house
with all children being in school
and one very antsy blogger
excited to craft and create and share again
with a very loyal dog at her feet.






Wish us well!
I'll be thinking of you!










PS
in case you were considering raiding our house while we were gone
a warning:
our lovely dog sitter
{who is my husband's cousins' wife's mother-follow that!}
will be taking herself a vacation 
and staying at our house
{and spoiling our first furry baby}
and if the dog doesn't eat you first
{because though he loves us, he's not very nice}
she knows how to get into our gun safe.
Don't say I didn't warn you.

See ya laters aligators

We'll be going here:

And then Visiting these guys:

and doing lots of fun things with

some of our wonderful family.

Don't tell my kids but

after all that fun

we'll be going here:

See you in 3 weeks!