Do you remember when I was thinking about getting gold clogs? Let me refresh your memory. Well, I never got a pair, much to my dismay. Recently, however, I was contacted by Ugglebo Clogs (pronounced ooo-glee-boo, as I discovered on the FAQ page) and asked to take a look at their site.

They have been hand-making Swedish clogs since 1965. Now I have never seen a pair in person, let alone tried them on my feet, but they do look beautiful and carefully made. The problem, I think, lies in choosing.

The main page has some lovely collections that are ready to be sent to you (particularly these adorable shearling booties), but I really was interested in the “Customize Your Clogs” button. I clicked on it and my head exploded. So many categories, so many options! Heel height, base color, sandals, traditional, patent leather, suede, patterns and colors! Oh, my!

After going through all the categories and collections, these would be my picks:

The Milan. My favorite. Super cute in navy. Plus, who can resist a scallop edge? I picture these worn with rolled skinny jeans. Perfect for plant shopping this spring.

The Panama. I like this in the mint leather shown. A patent navy would be fun, too (what can I say, I’m looking for navy shoes…). Great with short shorts to show of your legs.

The Tasman would be perfect in cherry red. These could pair nicely with a ruffle-y white skirt for attending those summer fairs and picnics.

Of course, all of these can be made in metallic gold.

I’m just sayin’…

They also have some really cute new styles coming out for summer. Wedges, anyone?

So check them out, if you are so inclined, and let me know what you think. Sandal season is coming!

All photos curtesy of Ugglebo.

My favorite ones are found in California- the ones that are quatrefoil shaped with bright turquoise paint on the inside or beautiful tiles. But the best ones are those that you can actually get in, like the spitting ones in Chicago or the ones in the park in Middleton where the geysers come out of the ground. I remember how enthralled I was with the map of the world at Sea World that was formed in relief into the concrete walkway and the oceans and seas will filled with water. It wasn’t very big but I remember wanting to stay and play in it forever.

I bet the fountains in Italy and Spain are a sight to behold. Maybe someday I’ll get there.

But today we just have a tub filled with water. Still every bit as fun as a fountain to some, though.

And, just like a fountain, too hard to resist a little dip.

I wasn’t going to make this quilt until later in the year (I think it was on the books for July) but then I saw the Swoon quilt along over at Katy’s.

I had all eighteen of my fat quarters ready in a little stack so I thought I’d give it a go. I choose a navy, orange, and aqua color palette, with a lot of the fabrics from Joel Dewberry’s Heirloom line (none are in the blocks I have done, though). I unfortunately didn’t take any pictures of my fabric stack before I started cutting, which was on Monday night. That is what my kitchen counter has looked like all week.

We’re making a block a week, which I think is a pace I can handle, and I have two blocks done already.

I was really worried about how capable I would be of sewing this many points together. I haven’t done a lot of half square triangles or any flying geese and I was a little nervous. The first block was a little awkward and took me almost a day to sew but I whipped the second one out in a couple of hours (including snuggle times and sippy cup refills).

I really like making this block. It is big (twenty-four inches), too, so only a few more and I will have a nice size quilt ready for snuggling under.

Things I have learned so far:

• I would much rather start with an over sized half square triangle block then cut it down to the size I need. Mine always end up a little bit smaller than they should.
• I love making the flying geese blocks. There is something so satisfying about sewing that point together. I think my next quilt will be all flying geese.
• The girl child loves mama’s “fafric” and will steal it if I’m not looking. Best to give her a stack of scraps to play with before I can’t find the pieces I need.
• My flickr account, where these pics should be posted, is waaaay out of date so that needs a do-over.

Ahhh. The snow and subzero temps have arrived and all I can think about is sun drenched skin and bare feet. But I’ll leave you today with chapped cheeks and frozen noses. Just a note: it is really hard to change your camera settings when your fingers won’t move due to lack of blood flow. Sorry about the blurs.

And, yes, our Christmas lights are still up. Since we had no snow before the holidays, we were all about firing them up when the white stuff started falling, even if it is the middle of January.

I’ll be back soon with some less crafty stuff, I promise!

I woke up when I wanted to. I took a long shower. Finished sewing a quilt top. Watched movies (four of them!) with ratings above PG. I got part of some new quilt blocks cut out. I ate what I wanted to eat. But that left me alone with my thoughts.

Every other minute I thought about them. I missed every giggle and every mess. I missed kisses with little fingers laced around my neck.

I would miss them even if I had never known them. Always in those places in my heart.

Tonight it is just Olive and I so I turn up the heated blanket on the other side of the bed to imagine Scott is here.

And I would miss him if we had never met. The smirk that is always on the corner of his mouth and the way his eyes glint just before he says something funny.

Hurry, tonight, so I and hold those hands and see those smiles.

I may be biased, but doesn’t that smiling face just make your day? His giggle is just ridiculous. Like a machine gun firing. I was at my mom and dad’s the other night and he was having a giggling fit at four in the morning, like someone was tickling him. I sleep in the same room so I didn’t think it was too funny. I will get a video of his little laugh sometime and post it.

And then there is this one. She is singing operatically in the first picture, a made up song about she and Gus being able to do something with their pink and blue puppies, Rock and River. She got herself dressed this afternoon (this is after having a ballerina outfit and a Princess Jasmine costume on). This ensemble consists of a nightgown on backwards and tucked into the unders with princess slippers which she uses as pointe shoes. I was just impressed that she got the unders on correctly.

Well I am off to do some cleaning before I go to work, so I can hopefully get some creative stuff done this week. There will be NINE babies born to family and friends the first half of this year. I need to get hopping on some projects for these little ones.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

I have been hoping for a little time to breathe but it hasn’t happened yet. Literally and figuratively. The kids started getting sick Christmas Eve and have been miserable since. Somewhere in there I got sick, too. The holidays stretched and dragged on, blurring together in a mash of sleeplessness, wrapping paper, candy canes, boxes, powdered sugar and butter. And ham. So much ham.

The new year slipped in while we were in a medicated haze and I haven’t been able to grasp that it’s really here. I just ordered a new calendar today. What will this year mean for me? What can I be better at? What do I want to accomplish? So many things swimming around in my head, partial thoughts that I can only catch a glimpse of before I realize what they are.

A few things:

Schedule. I am not a person who does well with schedules. You can see that in how I work, how I blog, and how my house is run. I want to get better at keeping the things I don’t want to do in check so I have more time for the fun things. I have written up a house keeping schedule and hope this helps. I think this also includes organizing finances and being good about saving more money.

Blogging. I love writing but I don’t always get things out. It’s easy to slap up some pictures of the kids and tell you how my day was but I want to be more. Not just fluff. Sometimes those posts go up and I just feel like I am wasting someone’s time. A good mix of fun and light with honest and deep. I want to connect more, both here and on other blogs I read. I want to know about you and why you’re here.

Crafting. I am hoping to make at least one quilt a month. I got a serger from Scott’s Mom and Dad for my birthday and I really want to make more clothes and other small sewn goods. Possibly even sell at a craft fair. Big dreams there and I don’t want to end up hating sewing but I have so much fabric that needs to be put to use.

Photography. I want to get serious about running my photography as a business. I need to start charging for what my time and talent is worth. I want to push myself more. I would love to take a workshop with some area photographers but I am scared to death to try it. Finding that confidence can be daunting. I also just want to get a better system for organizing and storing my photos. I would like to print out pictures of my family on a monthly basis and share these photos with others.

Family. Play more. Laugh more. Go on more adventures. Be present and open and patient. Every day.

So many possiblities. A fresh start and a chance to begin anew. I hope this year is everything I make of it.

We will be lying around with sick babies, tissues and humidifiers close at hand. I’ll be remembering all those other New Year’s Eves I spent wearing something tight, short, and sparkling with, instead, a festive drink close at hand. I will be kissing those soft downy crowns as they rest under my chin instead of the lips of my guy (Okay, so he’ll probably get a kiss, too).

But this is warm and close and happy. This is better.

Happy New Year to you and yours.

I made this quilt for my sister. She picked out (most of) the fabrics, her favorites being the Amy Butler and Heather Bailey ones. We sat down awhile ago and looked at patterns and pictures of quilts to figure out what style she liked.

Very clear: nothing with points, no circles or other shapes. She wanted it to be square-ish but not even or obviously patterned, scrappy but the pieces needed to be big to show of the fabric. Got it.

I found a few patterns that fit the bill but they all required lots of different cuts of fabric. I was working with fat quarters only and needed a pattern that wasn’t very fussy. In the end I designed two blocks that would work together no matter how they were turned. If you are interested in the measurements of the blocks and their components, just send me a message or leave a comment and I will be happy to give them to you.

I pieced a band for the backing and straight-line quilted it, which I love how that turned out. I also machine applied the binding (my favorite Amy Butler print, which I had an extra yard of). This went really well, using this tutorial. Much better than the way I did it for my brother’s quilt and I will definitely be doing more of this with my next quilts. Lastly, a hand written and stitched label with a lyric from a song I heard that reminded me of her.

This quilt went so fast! I I had it cut out and pieced in two days and quilted in one more. I pulled it out of the dryer the morning it was to be delivered. And I only ran my seam ripper a quarter inch through my thigh meat and ripped a hole in my favorite jeans in the process. Success!

My goal for the New Year would be to make a quilt every month. I have so much fabric to use up and so many ideas floating around that I need to just do it. Just jump in and make them already.

See you next year!