hobble creek canyon ride

l to r: becky, lex, kipper, off the back- jerry, scott- hiding behind kipper

saturday was beautiful and delightful.
i had the good fortune of riding with my ski people.
we went up hobble creek canyon- right fork, about 26 miles in all. the weather was perfect, the smell of lilacs in the air, everything finally turning green, good company and conversation, not too many cars, only three flat tires (geez lex!) and one redneck hunter-hitched ride down the canyon (note to self: bring more CO2, tubes, patch kit and a pump perhaps).
good times.

skirts on the line

first of all, thank you cass barney for painting our fence, we truly love it, and may just have to never move because of it. it's a fabulous backdrop for skirts, or maybe too distracting, but-oh well...whatever.
i am making all of these skirts for the beehive bazaar, coming up here in 2 weeks, mother's day weekend.
we have just started a beehive bazaar blog so everyone can see the great artisans and crafters that will be participating and their goods.
check it out here.



this skirt is from the nothing to say show steve o and i did at gallery one ten at the beginning of april.
i just got it back, i can't wait to wear it.

how do you get it all done?

since high school i have been a big saturday night live fan. with all of the craziness we all seem to be feeling these days, i remembered this hilarious SNL commercial that played a few years ago. check it out...it really sums things up.

a few more favorite things...

i looove dark chocolate, the darker the better.
here are two of my favorites, i keep on hand at all times. it's easy to keep around, i don't even have to hide it because my kids won't touch the dark stuff.
i keep a good stock of swiss, german, and danish chocolate, thanks to pernille (whom, i'm very happy to say, i will be seeing soon!) i enjoyed dipping this mork choklad bar into crunchy peanut butter. (probably a very american thing, but i don't care)
what can i say, my second most favorite thing is peanut butter and chocolate anything.

quilt archives

This pattern of quilt is what got me interested in the sport of quilting. I think I made it in 2000 or 2001, it is the first quilt I ever made. Way to start out simple huh?
There are so many dumb and boring quilts out there, I am not interested in the traditional patterns with the baskets, Sun Bonnet Sue and bad colors. But when I saw this pattern, I decided I could give quilting a try.
It's all appliqued by hand, that means each square took about a month to make. I would lay the little dreamlets down for their naps then quietly sew for 20 minutes or so (not nearly enough "personal me time") until someone woke up. It was quite an accomplishment when I finally finished it. My mother-in-law talked me into having a group of ladies hand quilt it, I wasn't going to do that part myself. I could still be trying to finish it...
It is now hanging in one of the rooms at the Slot Canyons Inn, my parents bed and breakfast.

spring break fun

upper calf creek falls, group photo (l to r: my mom holding crew, quinn, maia, fischer, me)
the perfect jumpin' in pool (when it's a bit warmer) above the upper falls.

good times were had by all over spring break. we got some hiking in, and some sewing too of course, a little bit of relaxing, (but only because i find sewing relaxing) the kids were very happy to get treated right by their grandmas and grandpas.
friday we hiked to upper calf creek falls, between boulder and escalante. a fabulous hike, i highly recommend to everyone and all ages. it was a little chilly, perfect for hiking but not swimming. but the kids are ready to go back when it's hot enough to really enjoy the water.
the smallest fella fell asleep on the hike back out. i had the pleasure of carrying the sleepy load on my back for about a mile, now i know why my back and neck are still a little sore.

stack o' purses

here are some purses ready to be sewn...

i really like the way this detail on one of the purses turned out. we'll see how it sews up.

the kids just walked in from school, and asked for ice cream. um...sure- why not!? let spring break begin...

tiny apron

life is getting crazier by the minute...
we've got spring break coming up at the end of this week. so- we're going south, to the torrey/escalante "grandma loop". my parents and steve o's parents live 60 miles (as the crow flies) from each other, on either side of boulder mountain, in perhaps one of the most stunningly beautiful places on earth. it's always fun to go relax, get treated right by grandmas & grandpas, and get some outdoor fun in.

then...i may as well mention that the whole gang (or herd- as it sometimes feels) is heading to europe for june and july. yes, we are loading all the kids up for some european fun. that's my part time job of organizing, planning, researching, calls, emails, guidebook reading, google earth searching, making sure i've got everything covered... phew! it's going to be so fun! it will be all chronicled on a soon-to-be organized travel blog. (yeah, i'm working on it...) more on this trip later.

what does any of this have to do with a tiny apron? well, the beehive bazaar is also just a month away. so...i've got a lot ( i don't think "a lot" is really a strong enough word) of sewing to do in the next few weeks.

so... YEE HA! let the madness begin.....

snow line

1st ride of the year

a few of my favorite things...my road bike and lilacs

today i got in my first road ride of the season. being very short on time, i rode solo. this is a picture of my favorite section of road, i don't know the street name- it's in spanish fork. very few cars travel on this road, there is a canal, lots of trees, protected from the wind- cute little road.

i call it "mother's day road" because a few years ago- happily riding on mother's day some jerk in a car came right up behind me, and honked his horn. i just about jumped out of my skin. i was too chicken to make an obscene gesture (and his kids were in the car) i was a little worried he might come back and beat me up, you never know with cowboys... the moral of the story is don't ever honk at a cyclist!!! (they just might have a rock in their jersey pocket)

no trouble today, and very few cars...maybe everyone is at the home and garden expo or spraying their dandelions with weed killer (i saw a lot of this) it felt soo very good to just get out and spin. i finished with 20 miles, but when you leave 2 ten year olds in charge you gotta make it quick, and let's face- my butt will be plenty sore tomorrow anyway.

friday the thirteenth

thankfully, there is nothing unlucky about this apron. i made it yesterday as a special order for a friend. i love this sparkly skull fabric, i'm so sad i'm also out of it. but then again maybe it's better to have favorite fabrics exist in memory, in pictures, or pieces of quilts or other things made, instead of cluttering up my house.

you can kind of see the sparkle in the fabric...(in the gold colored parts)

i really miss my dress form, (it's at the gallery until the end of April) i had to model in this shot, and wrangle a kid to take the picture.

much needed pocket detail added at the last minute, crazy gold and black rick rack found on ebay.

mama would be proud

here is the delicious lunch i had today.

two things i hated as a child were tomatoes and egg salad. well, i've grown up (a little) and now they are two foods i can't live without.
so, mom i'm sorry i threw away every egg salad sandwich you ever made me, and went hungry. (believe me, i know this trick now that i am a mom- just pack the unwanted kind of sandwich in their lunch anyway, they'll get hungry enough- try it and perhaps like it)
tomatoes i despised for a long time, well into my twenties. then one day when standing in a friends garden, i was offered some grape, pear, and cherry tomatoes. i took a deep breath and gave them a try...what do you know, they are now one of my favorite foods. i still prefer garden tomatoes, but then again who doesn't?
so i always quote to my children from green eggs and ham "try them try them and you may..."

camera club

so my washer needs some fixing, and it could take awhile (warranty crap) i have been dreading going to the laundromat, because, well- there are 6 of us...and that is a lot of dirty clothes. but, when i washed, dried, and folded 8 loads of laundry in an hour and a half, I was singing a different tune. it was kind of handy.

as you can see from the pictures, it wasn't the nicest laundromat in town, but it was across the street from the local library. the kids did homework, read, researched lemurs, and played on the playground to their hearts content. i took these pictures in my few minutes of downtime- playing around with the features on my camera (i forgot my book)

slideshow time

some pictures from the gallery party last friday are all up on my new flickr account. go and have a look if you like. here is my favorite purse from the show.

thanks easter bunny, bok bok

"cargo" (as this bike is named) is always good for giggles and grins. this was definitely the case on saturday when steve o- sporting the bunnyhead and the kids bike paraded around the neighborhood throwing candy to folks.

opening night

here is a little sneak peak into the gallery one ten show. the opening night party is tonight 6 to 9pm. severin bozung will be at the piano, good snacks, good art, lots of good friends and fun to be had. i will try and flickr all of the photos from the party and the goods- tomorrow, or when i get the chance.

tiny things

as some of you may know-i love tiny things. these small friends hang on my christmas tree, but I can't bear to put them away when the holidays are over, so they are hanging under a little shelf in my bathroom. (that sounds kind of weird, but there was a space, it needed filling...bada bing-bada boom) yes, these are also plates hanging in my bathroom. hey-never underestimate the power of a plate, or a group of plates for affordable wall decor.

birdhead in underwear i got at felt club last year. i think you can find the artist here.



the rest of these tiny things are from anthropologie.

spring

sometimes i feel like life is moving so fast i can barely keep up or catch my breath...today is one of those days.

but i'm glad that spring is here.

two bunnies and a duck

here are a few of my favorite springtime household decorations. i got them at a store in salt lake called chameleon artwear (wacky name-cool store) as we know, i love felt. i wish i had made them myself, maybe i'll use them as a starting point for ideas to make some of my own spring felt decor...perhaps for next year.

easter bunny?

this bunny is hanging on my front door. i got it at joanns or michaels crafts a few years ago, it was dumb and boring so i took everything off and started from the beginning. some think it looks creepy, like my kids. while yes, i agree it doesn't look like your typical easter bunny decor, it's got that wacky- do i really want to knock on that door- look to it. hey, if it's a little bit silly, i'm all about it.