My Granny

There really have been things going on in our lives. Things like birthdays, trips, lessons, school . . . but frankly, I don't feel like writing about them - just living them. Maybe someday.

In the meantime, here are some things that I've been working on.

I'm not really sure what's going on with me that I'm feeling this overwhelming need to throw myself into projects. I think there's a part of me that has spent so much time over the past many years painting, tiling, tilling, planting, moving, unpacking, moving, unpacking, moving . . . you get the idea . . . that now that we're actually staying put for the foreseeable future I have some free energy for something else. Then there's the fact we're renting what Nels refers to as our Hobbit Home (basement duplex) with somewhat dim lighting and white walls and I have a huge desire to fill it all the way up with COLOR!

But I'd like to think that it also has something to do with the following:

My cousin asked me on my birthday what I've learned this year. I hemmed and hawed around the question - there have been a lot of things that I've been learning this year, most of which are not fully formed for an impromptu 'happy birthday!' conversation. So I slept on it. I've since realized that one thing I've been working really, really hard to learn is to follow things through to completion. If I start a project, finish it. I have a plethora of projects that fit one of two scenarios:

A - Started strong then got hit with a bad case of ADD and left it 70% done.
or
B - Spent days or weeks daydreaming and planning the particulars, spent a lot of money to buy all the supplies, and then never even started.

This makes me crazy. I've spent years with ideas and plans rattling around and hanging over me and I never let them out. Maybe because I'm too busy, but mostly because I have a problem. I'll waste time doing all sorts of things that have little-to-no outcome, but hesitate for years to complete something that feels truly exciting? That doesn't make any sense.

So regardless of the whys and the "I'm so stupids" I've been working really hard this year to make things happen. Especially the things I love, the things that make me feel alive.

I'm slowly working through the piles of fabric and yarn (read: money), sifting through the ideas swirling around in my head, to free up some space inside and beautify the space around me.

My Granny: a yarn-buster project that I decided to do on the fly. I'd been working diligently on a sweater when, on my last row - so close to being done that I could taste it! - I (thought I) ran out of yarn. I was so mad about it that I rolled it all up in a wad, threw it in the cupboard, and started this project instead.

I've never made granny squares before and these were so much fun! With each square I would beam with pleasure at the different color combinations. The excitement would come busting out and spray onto whoever was closest.

The girls were always happy to join in the fun and many squares were made with their wacky choices in colors. Nels would laugh and then tell me that it was pretty. Then when I'd keep talking and talking he'd say something like, "You know, I think you may see colors different than I do. I think it looks good, but it doesn't make me excited like it makes you." :) It's true. Color is intensely stimulating to me. Maybe that's part of the reason I love sunshine - makes everything more vibrant.

The second thing I loved about this project was that I could take it with me almost anywhere. Just a few balls of yarn and a hook. I worked on this project at the pool, at the park, nearly every night after the girls went to bed, and for 1500 miles to and from Utah. It got a little unwieldy at the end as I put all 77 of those squares together, but then it just kept me really warm while watching the girls play at the playground. :)

Today the sun is shining and I couldn't help myself - I had to take my big granny outside and take some pictures with my girls. Sorry for the photo-dump, they make me happy.

I'm really excited that within a month, those brown dirt hills behind our house will be covered in velvety green wheat sprouts.

This afghan has been one of my favorite projects of all time. The colors make me so happy. When I showed my mom, she said that my great-grandma used to make black-framed granny blankets just like this one.

It's currently living on my little love seat (another project to be started/completed this summer) and it brightens my spirit every time I walk into the room!

Knit & Hooky

When I was a little girl, my mom taught me how to crochet. When she was a little girl, her step-grandmother Violet taught her how to crochet. It's a skill that I haven't really used much until the last few years. A baby blanket for Hazel, a hat here and there, an afghan for a friend.

 This last fall I finally decided to pick up a project that I've worked on sporadically for the past, oh, 5 years or so.

I love this cushion. It makes me so, so happy.



I've been trying to focus more on completing things that bring me joy.

I really love this book.

And as I've mentioned once or twice, I've been working on learning how to knit as well. - It's slow going. I get so hung up on trying to decide what to make, that I don't move forward very fast.

The Chair

Oh, how I love creating.

In all it's forms.

I love it.

And makeovers? Heaven. I love taking something ugly and watching it transform.

When we were in college and I would get excited about buying things from the D.I. to make them look lovely, I thought it was because I liked saving money. Many years and many dollars later, I realize that this is not really true. I love getting a good deal, but that's not why I like recreating second-hand treasures. I have a funky and eclectic style and I really, really like making something my own.

Besides, what would be the fun of having all my furniture matching?

Last year when we finally sold our house and moved all of our furniture up to Sandpoint, I was left with a very small room at the front of the house that had no furniture. I created an idea of just what I wanted and set out to find my pieces via Craigslist. After a couple weeks of searching I found exactly what I was looking for and promptly purchased BEAUTIFUL fabric to recover them with . . .

. . . fast-forward a year and another move later . . . . So typical. I hate this about myself. Sometimes I feel like I have zero follow through. {sigh} anyway.

After my success with my string art project, I was on such a high that I finally delved into the chair.

bias double cord welting - much more fun to make after buying the correct sewing foot

I made my welting and ripped all the fabric off - taking pictures along the way. Recovering furniture is actually far easier than most people imagine it to be. I take detailed pictures throughout so that I can remember how things are assembled, then use the old fabric as a pattern for the new pieces. Most chairs actually require very little sewing.

However, I'm not always smart and I never do things the easy way or choose simple projects, so this one required a little more work than I'd originally thought. The ENTIRE back was sewn together. I'm so SMRT.

The worst of it was the three blisters that I got on my poor crippled hands by not wearing gloves to remove hundreds of staples with a screwdriver and pair of needle-nosed pliers.

It's a good thing that Nels and my kids are the only people who see me when I'm doing these types of projects.

First, because I don't get dressed or brush my hair --- but second -

I turn into a lunatic.

An insanely proud and neurotic crazy person.

When I was first learning how to sew while pregnant with my oldest daughter, I discovered something about myself that I'd never known. I LOVE puzzles.

In the numerous hours that I've spent reading patterns and sewing in the past ten years, I've found that sewing is really Fabric Engineering. And there is a latent engineer housed in this brain of mine. It is ridiculously exhilarating for me to figure out how something works. When I get going, watch out!

I dance around, sing songs, get completely engrossed in what I'm creating, and generally spend a great deal of time telling Nels and my girls how AWESOME I am.

Like I said, it's a good thing this is done in the privacy of my own home.

I made a couple of brilliant choices with regards to this chair. One: the fabric. Seriously. Isn't it gorgeous? I know it's bright, but I love it. And Two: the purchase of a pneumatic stapler. Oh my heavens, that thing changed my life! I can't believe I ever doubted Nels's purchase of that little air compressor a couple of years ago.

Ta-Da! Isn't it pretty? I've been SO SICK since finishing it up that I couldn't even fully enjoy it until today.

From start to finish I took less than a week to complete my little chair and LOTS and LOTS of poked little toes, due to scattered piles of pulled staples.

Next project?

Recovering the matching couch -- or settee -- if you will. It's going to be a beautiful navy velvet. And I just realized a couple of days ago that when I bought the fabric a year ago, I didn't buy enough . . . {insert eye rolling}

Also, if this:

causes me any grief with my new upholstery job, She. Is. Dead.

And I love houseplants.
The End.

my {IDAHO} Love - displayed

I know I've said about it over and over and over . . . and over . . . in the past {gasp} thirteen! years, but upon first arriving in Idaho, I wasn't impressed.

I didn't like the high desert flatlands, I didn't like the wimpy mountains, I didn't (and still don't) like the wind and the icy cold, I didn't like the endless brown, I didn't like that Idahoans don't seem to understand public swimming pools. I didn't like that it was far away from my family.

But as the years have passed, I've learned to love Idaho.

I love the people. I love the small towns. I love the rolling wheat fields. I love the big center pivots watering massive alfalfa and potato fields. I love the geology. I even {secretly} love that these silly people pronounce the town Dubois "Du-Boys" - when everywhere else in the known world it would be pronounced "Du-Bwah".

I love late summer in Southeast Idaho when the wheat fields turn gold, the leaves and grass are a subdued green, the sky is the most perfect turquoise, and when the sun is setting my most favorite color palette comes to life right before my eyes.

Since moving to Sandpoint, my love of Idaho has taken on a whole new meaning . . . a year and a half into it and I've still not gotten accustomed to it's beauty. I still feel blessed everyday to live here and find myself smiling as I drive to and fro.

This last weekend I decided to really proclaim my Idahoan LOVE. I've said it in word, but now I've made it into art to be displayed in my house . . . What is this world coming to?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last year when I was introduced to Pinterest, one of the first projects that caught my eye was this little number. I vowed that I would make one myself one day. Yesterday I woke up in the mood to create something beautiful, got on Pinterest, made a decision, spent 4 hours in front of the computer in my bathrobe overthinking the project, then got 'er done.

(wanna see more states? i think they are so cool! see HERE.)



What do you think? It was one of those nit-picky-type projects, but my brain really likes meticulousness. I had so much fun that now I kinda wish it wasn't over . . .

There's still a big chunk of my heart in Idaho Falls, but no matter where we go, Sandpoint will always be one of my favorite places on earth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And in case you're interested in making one of your own, some info:

-- my piece of wood is about 11x15
-- I made my state shape in Photoshop (could use any photo editing software or regular ol' map)
-- I painted with watered-down acrylic craft paint and then sprayed a coat of polycrylic over the top
-- I taped my map onto the board to use as a pattern - LIKE SO
-- Home Depot sells "specialty" nails/brads perfect for this that are 5/8" long in the fasteners aisle.
-- I used needle-nose pliers to hold the nails in place while I tapped them in with my little hammer
-- the string I used is just metallic sewing thread from Ben Franklin craft
-- this gal gave an excellent little picture tute on the best way to tie the string to your nails. genius. she not only saved Nels's delicate ears, but saved me much heartache.
-- once I got through with all the prep work (where I always spend at least 67x more time than is actually needed) and started with the actual nailing, it took me approximately two episodes of Downton Abbey and one and a half episodes of the Ultimate Fighter. :) For those of you unfamiliar with British soap operas and (Nels's obsession) Mixed Martial Arts, that translates into about 3-ish hours. Then I spent another hour or so wrapping string this afternoon. And if that seems like too much, just be aware that I spend far more time just staring and thinking than most people . . . For example, this picture and post. I told Nels when I sat down, "Now. I am NOT going to spend all night doing this." 2 1/2 hours later . . .

Tomato Mountain

Our backyard.

Yeah. It's rough. I know.

I got a wild hair last week and decided to actually follow through on something I'd told my kids we could do! It's kind of a novel idea for me, but it was so much fun we may do it again in the future.

Hazel and I were browsing Pinterest one afternoon when we came across a really cute and earthy idea for a wreath. We loved it. I pinned it. Then we decided to get started on it right away. (An almost unheard of experience at our house! I can assure you....my poor kids.)

Since moving up here, every time we go out I admire the beautiful mosses growing on everything. They are so green and lush and lovely and I LOVE all the different shades. I knew that we could find more than enough for our project in the backyard (and in the neighbor's backyard, but shhhh! don't tell!), so we set out with our basket in hand -- admiring the the misty mountain (hop!) along the way.

I won't tell you the story about another time I couldn't keep my mouth shut and trotted myself down the road to confronted our backyard neighbor about the condition of that horse. She looked so pretty standing there watching us. Just so perfectly beautiful!

We ventured into the woods, picking moss, enjoying the cedars and the birch trees and finding lots of hidden treasures on the way - a perfect little creek, lots of wacky fungi, and three deer.

And some really delightful children! Violet doesn't like the scary, dark trees, but she let me give her a piggy-back ride and got down enough to stomp in some puddles.

These girls make my heart overflow with love. They are so perfect!

Our haul was pretty good! We got tons of lovely textures and colors and it was so fun to see my little women get so excited over picking a big piece of moss with no tears. :)

I was feeling extra grateful to have this girl with me and feeling well enough to go tromping through the trees with me! She is always such a big help and such a sweet friend to spend the day with. I'm so lucky!

That night we let the moss dry, but the next day when Lilie got home from school, we glued all those pretty carpets onto our wreath form and even added some little friends to greet our visitors.

I love it so much that I almost want to put in on the inside of the door. :) 

Also, I learned that I am not great at tying bows. The resulting shenanigans with that one almost drove me to drink, but turned out pleasing - after I had about a cup of red glitter in my lap.

Another thing we did last week was get our Christmas tree! There is a Christmas tree farm just down the road from us and since Hazel wasn't quite up to a full-blown mountain experience, we decided to go there rather than head for the hills to cut our own. 

It turned out so pretty!

I was able to finish up the last two stockings while watching Animal Planet at the hospital. They make my heart happy.

All in all, it was a successful week. Filled with a few projects and lots of healing!

Now on to this week - which will be defined by the number of loads of laundry that actually get folded and put away!

Gosh, my life of servitude it hard!

P.S. The title of this post is coined from Violet. She calls the mountain we live on Tomato Mountain. The girls have even made up a song about it. It makes me laugh. Much. Tomato Mountain! Oh, YES! Tomato Mountain . . .