Thanksgiving 2009

The Etsy Bloggers Blog Carnival topic this time, is what do you do around this time of year, if anything, to celebrate a bountiful harvest. Well, y'all know I'm from the good ol' USA, so, yep, it's Thanksgiving! This is one holiday for my immediate family that tradition has been dictated by circumstances that we work around, so it can be different every year.

Last year, we had Roland's mom, and his siblings and their families, plus Laura's then boyfriend, now fiance, so it was quite the group!

We wanted to get together since Aaron, the young man in the gray t-shirt, was soon to be deployed to the Middle East. So they came from Virginia and Missouri and we all had a great time!

This year, we're celebrating twice. The first will be this Saturday when Laura and Thomas arrive from Kentucky, and Thomas' dad and his date come down from Tennessee. This will the day for cooking, and we do enjoy the traditional menu. You know, turkey, dressing, potatoes, and lots of pie!

They can only stay the weekend though, so on the actual holiday, Roland, Kyle and I will head to a local restaurant and enjoy someone else's cooking.

Maybe in some other post I'll tell you about our Thanksgivings when we lived in Prague. We still joke about the traditional Thanksgiving goose! What? You don't eat goose on Thanksgiving?

This is me...

Etsy Blogger blog carnival time again, and this time the host, Stormy Designs, wants to see our faces. I'm not a fan of getting my picture taken, mostly because I don't seem recognize the woman in the pictures. Well, not true, I recognize her and she's my mother. Thank heavens for digital cameras though, and after tons of pictures, here I am:

Ignore the horrible background. A photographer I am not. I'm pretty transparent about what I am though, but just to refresh your memory... wife, mom of 2 almost grown-up children (well, ok, they're grown-up... 19 and 22), artist and Weight Watcher leader. I probably have a few more hats as well.

Since this "interview" is for Etsy though I'll elaborate a bit more about the artist hat. Really, what I do is sew, and I love to try all sorts of new techniques and projects. I got started when I was 13 and made clothes for myself, friends and family. I was also pretty much always involved in some sort of other needlearts kind of project like counted cross stitch. When I was 23 I made my first quilt, a queen size Lone Star design that I hand quilted. One of these days I'll take a picture of it and show y'all (oh, yeah, I'm from Texas).

When I was pregnant with my first child, I took a smocking class, and was thrilled when I had a baby girl and could really practice my new skills. You should see the adorable smocked outfits I made for my son, too. At least until his dad declared him too old for that kind of thing!

Along with way I've taken a French machine heirloom sewing class, made window treatments for every house we've lived in, including for 8 rooms in our current house, made more quilts (I machine quilt them now), made lots more clothes, and currently have 3 shops on Etsy.

About those shops... there's a reorganization underway, and I'll elaborate more in a future post. The most important news for the reorganization is that everything in my Elle Quilts shop is 25% until I move it to the Down the Street shop. Stay tuned for the Grand Opening of Jenna Belle Designs... the shop is opened now so drop by and check it out while I finish polishing the shelves and the banner.

Back to School

The Etsy Blogger Team's Blog Carnival is always so timely and topical, and this time is no different. What does back to school mean to me? For all those Etsy Bloggers with the young children heading off to elementary school, getting up early, making lunches, and mounds of homework... enjoy it if you can, because all too soon back to school will mean something totally different. Time flies is a saying that really is true!

My oldest graduated earlier this month, but my youngest is just starting his sophomore year in college. Back to school for us meant last minute packing, with nagging on my part, and declarations like "it will only take me an hour to pack all my stuff, mom" on my son's part. Shopping was kept at a minimum this year (unlike heading off to a freshman year) so that was good.

So, after a day's worth of packing (that was one LONG hour!!), last Saturday we headed north, spending the evening walking around campus, scouting out the new dorm, checking his mailbox for the coveted parking permit, and a last evening of bonding. OK, honestly, after dinner he met up with his friends that he hadn't seen in a couple of months, returning to the hotel room in the wee hours of the morning. We didn't even hear him come in, but about 2:45 a.m. I heard my husband shuffling around, and then a frantic, "have you heard from Kyle?" Um, no, I was sleeping, and my cellphone was somewhere in my purse across the room. But then, he said, "never mind, he's here sleeping." About 3 feet away on the sleeper sofa.

Sunday, after snagging a prime unloading spot by the dorm, we had a nice "free" hotel breakfast, and then the unpacking started. Kyle's dorm room is so small, that it's crowded with 2 people, downright uncomfortable with 3. He's so happy to be there, though.

Mama and her Baby Bird in his new nest

Since getting home, I have been wallowing around in our nest, which seems much too big for just the two of us, looking for birdies to take care of. I should snap out of it soon, and enjoy sleeping through the night again. Life is so much easier when you don't know what time they get home or what they've been doing!

Summer's Top Five List

It's the Etsy Blogger team's Blog Carnival time again, and it goes so well with my new gratefulness series! This Carnival is exploring either your favorite summer recipe (I'm not a big cook, so you're out of luck on that one), or the five things you love about summer. And I do LOVE summer, and on top of that I'm always so grateful when it arrives, so you guessed it... my 3 things I'm grateful for become the 5 things I love about summer today. Here goes:

1. The Heat! Yes, you read that right. I love living in the south where it starts getting warmer in March, and stays warm through October or so. And in the middle... summer... it's downright hot! OK, sometimes the humidity can be annoying, but that's what air conditioning is for.

2. The carefree days. OK, well, yes, I'm an adult, so my days are not really all that carefree, but it's more of an attitude about summer that lends itself to less frenzy and more relaxing.

3. Grilling and eating outside. I know. You can grill anytime, but there is something about cooking out in the summer that is less about cooking, and more about an event. Plus, it keeps your kitchen nice and cool.

4. Summer thunderstorms. I love the way that the heat builds up all day, and come late afternoon, the giant clouds roll in, thunder and lightning ensue and when it's all over the air feels so fresh and clean.

5. The beach. Really, any vacation, but there is nothing like the hot sand and the cool surf to soothe the soul. So load up your beach bag, and hit the road!

Have a marvelous and safe summer!

Summer Plans

It's Blog Carnival time again over at Etsy Bloggers, and a big oops from me, because I somehow let May get away from me without participating. So sorry fellow bloggers.

Anyway, the topic I've chosen for this carnival is summer plans. I love summer. I love the hot weather, and I love the lazy, relaxed feel of summer even when we aren't really able to be lazy or relaxed. This year we have no vacations planned, but hopefully that won't stop us from being spontaneous and having a fun weekend away somewhere. In fact, we do have an overnight stay in Chattanooga planned later this month when we head up there to meet our daughter, Laura's future in-laws (and they meet us).

Which brings us to what seems to be consuming our summer for now. Wedding plans. Laura is doing a lot of the planning now since she'll be moving from Atlanta (where the wedding will be happening on this very day next year) to Lexington, Kentucky. None of her bridesmaids live in Atlanta right now, though, so I'm doing a lot of these things with her. With the wedding so far away, planning has been relaxed and going smoothly so far.

I'm also doing a lot of sewing, and will try to improve on my posting about works in progress, plus news and features on my Etsy friends (no promises though... this blogging stuff is work!).

Several of my friends on the list over there of One a Day Challenge members make beautiful wedding jewelry, but I think that Fen, of Bead Flora Jewels may take the (wedding) cake with the weddingist of all... a French beaded bouquet. Feast your eyes on this beautiful creation:

My Dream Space

This month's blog carnival topics had to do with either gardening (try very hard not to do any of this... love flowers... hate the gardening) or my dream space for working. I have decided to share my dream space, and while I did a post on this last year, I do have some new readers.

I have to confess that I'm a lucky girl and already have my dream space! The only thing that could make it better would be more windows, but since I'm in a walkout basement that won't ever happen. So, what does my space look like? Here's a photo of the sewing area:

It looks a little different right now because I've moved the printer on the right to a spot next to our family desktop computer to make it network friendly. If you were standing there looking at the sewing machine, and turned around, you would see a queen size bed. This room doubles as a guest room. It also has a TV which is nice to have on while I'm sewing, though I usually sew in silence.

Ok. Now you're looking at the sewing machine again and you see a door that leads into the space you see above. It's a large area with a concrete floor, and lots of storage shelves for the house. I've basically taken it over, laid some carpet remnants and built this awesome craft table. You can read about how it's made by clicking here.

I did discover that the plastic bins you see on the left didn't really work as fabric storage, and I'm in the process of revamping that system. I've sorted and folded by fabrics by color, and once I'm done I'll post a picture of how it looks now.

So, like I said, windows would be nice, but nobody bothers me down here, and I really have lots of space, so I can't complain!

Did you know....

that it's time for an Etsybloggers blog carnival post again? The topic I've chosen this time is a "did you know... that March is:

* Irish American Month
* Music in Our Schools Month
* National Craft Month
* National Frozen Food Month
* National Irish American Heritage Month- designated by Congress in 1995.
* National Nutrition Month
* National Peanut Month
* National Women's History Month
* Poetry Month
* Red Cross Month
* Social Workers Month

and we're being asked which one means the most to us, why, and how do we celebrate.

I'm going to tackle a few here, in no particular order.

Music in the Schools Month means so much to me because both my children were active participants in music. Kyle played the piano and the trumpet, keeping up with trumpet until he graduated from high school. Laura played the piano in elementary school, and has played the clarinet since 6th grade. She is graduating in August from the University of Georgia, after having played in the marching band for 4 years, and in concert bands every spring. AND, she's not a music major, but has found that music has enriched her life in so many ways, including introducing her to her boyfriend.

She's somewhere in this picture!

National Peanut Month means a lot to me because I live in the state of Georgia, and the recent salmonella tragedy that originated in a peanut processing plant here, has hurt so many of the other Georgia peanut farmers and peanut plants. Shame on the Peanut Corp. of America.

National Nutrition Month also means a lot to me because I'm a Weight Watchers leader, and encourage healthy eating as a part of my job. I am going to mention it next week at my meetings when we discuss making eating out fit in our lives.

And finally, National Craft Month means so much because it is a part of my identity. That is what I do, and I celebrate that everyday, all year long, and encourage others to find their artistic selves through arts and crafts. Today, March 21, is also National Quilting Day, and currently, I am focusing on making quilts. There is just something about putting scraps of fabric together in a pattern that is so satisfying, and I find I'm enjoying it more and more.

A quilt made by my Mom (available in my shop, click on the picture)

Almost forgot, National Women's History Month because, well, I AM a woman.

March is especially rich in honoring things that mean a lot to me, but I have a sneaking suspicion that every month has something or someone to honor.

Zipper Tutorial

I've been meaning to post this tutorial for several months now, and what great incentive to see that one of the blog carnival topics is to post just such a tutorial. The pictures really say a thousand words, so I will try to keep the extra reading to a minimum.

This technique explains how to insert a zipper into a single piece of fabric, and is often used for pockets in handbags, diaper bags, totes, etc. I use it for a pocket in my custom vendor apron, and it is very quick and easy!

The width of your fabric should be about 1-in. wider than your zipper length. The length can really be whatever fits your project. I'm using a 7-in. zipper, and my fabric is 8-in. wide, and 8-1/2-in. long. I have also used a lightweight iron-on interfacing to give my fabric more stability. You will choose the appropriate interfacing for your fabric.

My line is 1-1/2-in. down from the top, and there is about 1/2-in. on either side.

Carefully cut on the line, and your triangles. Fold the triangles back, and the long edges about 1/4-in. and press.


From the right side of the fabric, pin your zipper to the wrong side. (That definitely needs the picture!) You want to make sure that the zipper pull is completely free, and that you will not sew over the zipper stop on the other end. Using your zipper foot, start sewing on the end, turning the corners, and keeping the zipper foot even with the edge of the fabric fold. Remove the pins as you go. I like to back up a couple times on each end to reinforce the stitching.

Once you've sewn around all four sides, you're done!


A view of the inside.


This pocket is ready! I think it took me longer to write the post, then to do a zipper installation in this manner.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to ask in the comments!

My Favorite Brownies

Well, just forget all about my previous post. This one is about brownies!! The latest Etsy Blog Carnival's topic is your favorite brownies in honor of National Brownie Day that is apparently December 8. Who knew?

This is so easy for me. I don't bake a lot, though most of my favorite dessert recipes come from my late grandmother, Wilma Lawton. There were always baked goods waiting for us upon arrival at her Seabrook, Texas home which we visited at least once or twice a year from my childhood home of Dallas. It's hard to pick a favorite among all of the delectable goodies she baked, but the brownies are easily in my top 3.

Brownie Maker Extraordinaire
Wilma Lawton

Mint Stick Brownies, as they were known by my family, have a thick, soft, slightly fudgy bottom brownie layer. On top of that is a powdered sugar frosting, flavored with peppermint extract, and colored a pale green with food coloring. This has to be cooled completely, and the final layer of 2 squares of bittersweet baking chocolate is melted and then drizzled over the top. Mmmm, they're so good!

I considered making a batch so I could take pictures, but decided against it. Maybe for a Christmas dessert, though...

Thanksgiving Traditions

"What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?" That's the question posed by the Etsy Bloggers for the current blog carnival. I have so many, and over the years they have evolved, but my all-time favorite tradition has always been the taking of the Christmas card photo!

from 2003

But what about the lessor traditions? Well, looking back on my married life (for the past 25 years), of course there is always the turkey and trimmings. There has to be mashed potatoes, and pies. When Laura and Kyle were elementary school age, we lived in Prague, so the tradition was to find a group of Americans and have dinner with them. Back stateside, one tradition we have now is the remember when... as in, "remember when we were in Prague, and we had a traditional Thanksgiving... goose!" Or, "remember when we were in Prague and we had to take Kyle to the hospital!"

When we were back in the States and living in Maryland, we rarely had family visitors, so we always went out. For several years in a row, it was dinner at the Stone Manor Inn in Middletown, until it was closed due to the death of the owner. I'm happy to see that it is now back in business as the Stone Manor Country Club.

Since we moved to Georgia in 2005, we have had no shortage of guests, from daughter's boyfriends to grandmothers to a mini Behm family reunion this year. And on tap for all our Georgia Thanksgivings so far... going to the University of Georgia/Georgia Tech football game! We're still gathering tickets (also known as buying them on ebay) for this year's game... it may prove to be a nail-biter!

Go Dawgs!!!

Family, friends, food and fun... the best traditions of all! And Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers too!

I'm Working On...

Blog Carnival time again, and I've decided to share what I've been working on. It seems like my sewing machine is always humming, and I've had several custom apron orders through Down the Street. When I'm not making those, I've mostly been working on coasters for Elle Quilts! I've got two styles, one with a no slip, waterproof base, and the other I'm calling Coffee Mug Coasters, which are reversible. They would make great gifts!

The other thing that I've had on the back burner, and is just in the planning stages, is a table runner that I'm making from a Charm Pack of squares from the Winter fabric line from Moda Fabrics. I love these fabrics, Moda in general, but the Winter line in particular. The traditional reds and greens are there, but so is a pretty, light blue. I've just laid them out in the picture, and the order is definitely subject to change, probably several times, before I finally sew them together. I'm hoping to get this finished this weekend.

It's great to actually look at the picture and seem how the colors play against each other. I can already see some squares I'm going to move around before they get sewn together.

Blog Carnival -- Working for Weight Watchers

It's Blog Carnival time again for the Etsy Bloggers, and the 2 topics we have to choose from deal with work or play. I've decided to write a bit about my current employment (other than etsy, of course). Actually, for most of my adult life, I've multi-tasked... for the last 18 years, I was (mostly) stay at home mom to 2 wonderful kids. But I always seemed to be busy with other things as well, often volunteering, going to school myself or working at a part-time job of some sort.

So, running two etsy shops, in addition to another job really suits my style. And, just what is this other job. I am a Weight Watchers leader. My sister wondered why I would want to tell people that's what I do, because then they would know I had been fat. (One of the requirements for employment with WW is to have been a member, and been successful at weight loss.)

So, yeah, it took me a long time, but I lost 20 pounds. Not a lot of weight, but I struggled and had the same difficulties that people that have much more to lose. I currently run two meetings for the Corporate Solutions side of WW, meaning once a week, I go into a place of business, and run a meeting for their employees. Working for WW sometimes feels like a volunteer job, as the pay is, well, nothing I'm going to get rich from. But giving people the support they need, and educating them about healthy eating has been very rewarding.

I have some awesome members, that often thank me when they lose weight. But really, they have done the hard work themselves. Because, as the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. And that is the flip side that can be frustrating. For every successful members that I have, there are 3 more that find themselves unable to make the necessary changes.

Sometimes I wish I had a magic wand that I could wave over every person that wants to lose weight and, Poof!, they were thin. But if I can help a few find the motivation within to make changes and lose weight, then the job is worth it.

Midnight Blue for the Evening

I've decided to do a second Blog Carnival for the etsy bloggers this month, they are always so fun and thought provoking. The topic I'm choosing is to pick a favorite color and show it in your work.

Probably the color that I always answer in the "favorite" question is blue. I really love just about any shade of blue, but in honor of the high school reunion I'll be attending this weekend, the showcased "blue" will be the midnight blue that was the color of my '66 Mustang I drove my senior year. OK, disclaimer... when I bought the car for $600, it was a lovely bronze-y color. My dad and I repainted it ourselves the said midnight blue. Sadly, no picture of it here, but it's pretty darn close to the color of this little evening bag. (The golden butterflies are a pretty good representation of my car's former color.)


What high school reunion is this? There are a couple clues in this post, and maybe in other posts... can you guess?

Note (added 9/16/08): Went to my 30th high school reunion over the past weekend. The 66 mustang was very used by the time I bought it in 1978. I think my clues were much too subtle, lol.

I'll Never Forget the Beach

It's blog carnival time again for the etsy bloggers, and the topic I'm choosing this month is "something I did as a child that I will always remember." Well, you could interpret that as one specific moment in time, but the event that was a constant in my life was going to the beach in Galveston, Texas.

When I was just a toddler, my maternal grandparents moved from Dallas to Seabrook, Texas. We went to visit them at least once or twice a year, maybe even more. And Seabrook was not really that far a drive to Galveston. Of course, you passed through the scenic Texas City with all its refineries, but that's a topic for another day.

Me, with my mom and dad

Those were the days... you could drive on the beach! I don't think we missed a summer between 1962 and 1975. Maybe even later. Of course I got older, and didn't go as often. Then I was off to college. Sometime in the early '80s, my grandparents moved north to Plano, tired of hurricane evacuations, and wanting to be closer to my mother and my uncle.

But, how could I ever forget the endless hours of sandcastle building,

dripping the wet sand, ever so carefully, from fingertips, to make the turrets of the castle.

And anyone who ever visited Galveston in the 60s and the early 70s will never forget the trips to the gas station to get gasoline to remove the tar from your feet. Or what about rinsing off the sand in the car wash that was on the beach. Put in the quarter and run through, squealing with delight as the cold, fresh water rinsed off the sand and salt.

My weren't we skinny back then?! So, thank you, etsy Bloggers, for this trip down memory lane, remembering an important family time in my life. My grandparents have long since passed away, but the memories I have from my childhood are with me still.

All About Knitting?

It's blog carnival time again, and our choice was grilling or reading. I like to fire up the grill as much as the next girl... no heat in the kitchen, maybe the man doing the cooking, etc., but I'm more a slap a steak (or chicken) on the grill without regard to marinades and fuss. But I love to read, and while I don't read as many books as I would like to (or as quickly), I am constantly reading something.

Right before we left for vacation, I picked up a book that I thought would be easy reading and kind of fun. You know, a "beach" read. And, I'm usually late to jump on the bandwagon, preferring to wait until a book comes out in paperback. So, many of you crafty ladies (and men?) may have already read the book, The Friday Night Knitting Club, by Kate Jacobs, published last year. It really touched me though, and felt it deserved a review.

The Knitting Club is about Georgia Walker, a single mom with a preteen daughter, living in Manhattan, and the owner of a yarn shop. A knitting "club" has evolved in the shop on Friday nights, yet the book is about so much more than the shop and the club. It is about friends and relationships, and interactions both past and present. It is about how we see ourselves and others, and what we want, need and expect from these relationships. And, above all, it is about a need to connect in a time when a lot in our lives seems unconnected and lonely.

The book touched a nerve in me, because, as I've made friends on etsy, especially with the Challengettes, but also with the Etsy Bloggers, and others, I have found a connection that started with our crafting and our art, but ultimately has lead to caring so much more about each other. Many of us would seem to be as different as night and day, as well, but we have connected and have found a kinship of sorts, a common spirit.

So was The Friday Night Knitting Club the light, "beach" read I was expecting. On the surface, yes, but it is not hard to move into the deeper meanings in the book. And Kate Jacobs is a beautiful writer, I'm looking forward to reading more from her. She has a website, so check her out for yourself.

Raindrops on Roses...

I've often been known (mostly by my family) to break into song without the slightest provocation, but I'm very excited to have been approved as a member of Etsy Bloggers (you can see their cool graphic along the side here), so I have reason to sing. They have assignments, which will hopefully help keep my blog fresh, and me more motivated to write.

The official name of THIS assignment is the Blog Carnival, and the theme is one of our own favorite creations. I like everything that I make, but my most favorite right now is a custom apron that I made for one of my fellow "One a Day Challengers". You can see information in posts on this blog, and our roll call is here too. Well, this apron turned out so well, that I would love to make more. It's completely reversible, with a large pocket, divided into 3 sections on each side. If you have 2 shops, this is perfect, because I can machine embroider a shop name on each side.



The other thing I love about this apron is that it really is comfortable. I have other, non-reversible aprons in the same style in my shop, and made one for myself. The ties cross in the back and tie around your waist, so there is no annoying tie at your neck. If you didn't want your custom apron reversible, I can make it just like these others in my shop.

I've always loved making things for other people, and working with artists to customize an apron just for them is very rewarding.