via lena corwin

i love this picture so much. it makes me just want to sew and sew but not alone. with friends! i own lena corwin's book printing by hand  and was thrilled when i came upon her blog, a continued source of inspiration.

today has been slightly productive. i made a trip to library to get some gardening books but came away with a lot more sewing books. i picked up...

Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson...it is full of lovely pictures and beautiful things to make!

Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin...i have looked through this book before and wanted to get to spend a little more time with it.

Eco Craft by Susan Wasinger...always looking for new projects to try out.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour...of course i had to get this when i saw it. here's to learning how to run a five acre farm.

also picked up a book called For Your Garden: Walls and Fences. i'm not in need of a wall or fence but the pictures looked so pretty and i thought jeremiah might get some ideas from it as well.

via wildflowers::pretty

this past weekend as i was raking leaves and shoveling them into a wheelbarrow while wearing a dress and tights, i made a decision to challenge myself. i decided to commit to wear only dresses for the rest of the year. no jeans. no shorts. just dresses and skirts. the only time i will allow myself to wear pants is for yoga and pilates and for sleeping. that's it. plan and simple.

i made this decision because i like the way i feel when i wear dress. i feel like a woman. a feminine woman. i feel pretty. and on occasion i feel like anne of green gables (the older version, not the young twelve-year-old version). i dream about living out on some land and tending to the goats and chickens all while wearing beautiful dresses with some lovely boots. i will say this idea was partly inspired by a friend of mine who has made a similar commit (a much more difficult one) for more noble reasons. she has committed to wear only one dress for the entire year in protest of the fashion industry and more. check out her wonderful blog for more details!

so far i have done well. my legs haven't touched a pair jeans since saturday. i am running a little low on the dress/skirt category but am working on replenishing my supply at the local salvation army and value village. i also need to replace the pair of black tights i ripped while raking. 

jeremiah is away in VA until sunday. i miss him terribly. this will be longest we have been apart since the second month of our marriage when he was gone for an entire week (it was bad!). this experience is very good for us. luckily i have a lot to get my mind preoccupied. besides finding new dresses, i have a baby shower to plan, decorate and clean for (it's at my house this coming sunday), a baby to continue waiting on to be born (her due date was monday so it could be any time now!), and plenty of sewing to do! also i have jeremiah's truck which i love. it means whatever i find interesting on the side of the road i can actually pick up. like for instance, i finally picked up a nice pile of wood that has been sitting on the side of the road for over a week now. it will be great for a burn barrel. 

via winterness

via anna emilia

wishing i lived in the above picture. loathing warm winter days like today. but at least it is sunny out. blinds and curtains are open throughout the house. sun is pouring into my sewing studio. it along with hot peppermint tea are waiting for me to come get lost in sewing. how blessed i am to have such a time before me.

may you feel loved today on st. valentine's day. 

january, february...

These photos are not very good but they get the point across...I made some fabric swatch cards for a friend's birthday. I enjoy making cards for gift and especially love putting a few added details on them with stamps. " The tag says "Gratulerer Med Dagen" which means "Happy Birthday" in Norwegian. My friend is from Norway and now lives in Charlotte with her American husband and they are expecting a baby boy in 4 weeks! 

I am also eagerly waiting for another friend of mine to have her baby. She is due on Valentine's Day and the baby has already descended to the correct position (his/her head is down at the pelvis) so it could be any day now! For their baby, I made my first real quilt. I used an assortment of colors and patterns for the patches since we don't know if it is a boy or girl. I hope to take some pictures of it one of these days. It has inspired me to experiment more with quilting. I don't really want to make stereotypical quilts (and want to escape the instant image we get when we think of quilting...i.e. grandmothers) but I do want to take the basic patchwork concept and apply it to not just blankets but an assortment of things, not just blankets. I especially love the log cabin block/square...

via quilt dad

I also think that this maybe something I want to pursue and eventually start selling on etsy, etc. I have yet to find something I really want to spend my time making and perfecting and trying to sell. There are plenty of things I enjoy making but there hasn't really been something I want to create into a product to sell. I may have just now stumbled upon something...

Also my friend who is about to have a baby any day lent me a lovely and very inspiring book...

Patchwork Style

Besides quilting and waiting on babies to be born, Jeremiah and I have finally picked out a camera to purchase. There are plenty of really nice cameras I would love to buy but we have a very limited budget so we have done our research and picked out a point and shoot that has gotten good reviews. We have a little more saving to do and then hopefully I will have a brand new camera to take as many photos as I want so this blog will be busting at the seams with them and not just words (or half blurry photos)! 

Nikon Coolpix S8100

It is time to start planning our garden for the spring! Also I want to make a braided rag rug for my living room. I found a rather easy video on how to make one.

happy valentine's day!