The odds were against us.  Actually 5%.  We were not supposed to have Elias.  But we did–6 months ago today.  He has made my love-tank overflow and I hope and pray that another miracle will come our way.  So here’s to filling that hope chest back up again.  A new quilt waits for hoped for baby #2.

For all of you out there with full hearts and empty arms, I pray that God will hear your yearning and bless you abundantly.  May peace be yours.

Today I had some fun working on a nursery project.  It has been a project that has come together one little piece at a time.  First I picked up the 3 wooden hoops with a general idea in mind.  Second I bought the fabric with no real idea how I was going to use it.  And finally I decided on the hand piecing of the “grandmother’s flower.”  Overall I wanted Elias’ name to be subtle and nothing with a lot of weight in case it would fall off the wall and into the crib.

Fabric for the hoops picked.

The pieces to my grandmother’s flower ready for me to baste.

I have yet to glue the fabric around to the inside of the hoop to finish them off.

Here’s a link to the template I used for the flower.

I also finally got this quilt hanging up in the nursery.  The branch adds a bit of natural whimsy to it.  (Plus it was cheap and easy to find!)

It’s kind of fun to look around the nursery and know that Elias is surrounded by homemade love.

I love holiday weekends!  (That said, I am also very aware of the reason for the extra day off work.)

Most Saturday mornings I try and make something special for breakfast.  Tony goes in early to work and then comes home around 8:15am.  He loves walking through the door, sniffing the air, and guessing what’s cook’n.  I threw a curve ball in this weekend and did homemade donuts.  Very fun and really not hard.

I had a letter “O” cookie cutter that worked great for cutting out the donuts.

I did powdered sugar and cinnamon/sugar.  Next time we will have to try glazed.

The north side of my house is being taken over by “Lily of the Valley”–not a bad problem to have!  The smell is just heavenly.

A darling little bouquet for the house.  (I do believe fairies use these flowers as hats.)

Two more quilts finished on Sunday.  I will post pictures in the next day or two.

I went on a fabulous bike ride with Tony this morning.  Spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen–6 batches of freezer jam, 4 loaves of banana bread, and a rhubarb crisp!

So sorry I have not posted in almost a week!!!  I have been teaching “wacky crafts” at my church’s vacation bible school all week.  Kindergarten through 5th grade have been keeping me entertained each evening.  Wowza, parents have a big job!  Go, go, go–wiggly and on to new adventures every five minutes.  They were sure cute though. 

So here’s where I’m at…the dishes need to be done, again, and I am still trying to figure out paint colors.  The husband has set a deadline for me to decide, so I will probably post on the final decision next week.  (Oh, I came home for a speedy supper tonight in between work and church, and Tony had made me homemade empanadas.  What a man!  I was famished!) 

So here’s some of the quilting projects I’ve been working on this week.

I picked out the fabric for a sweet little baby quilt.  (For a girl of course, and no I am not expecting.)  Just thought I would do this one up in preparation for any future bundles of friends and family. 

This is a quilt I have been working on for a while now.  It is one of those patterns you don’t have to think about at all.  Just sew and go.  I think it will be very cool when it is done. 

Here’s a sneak peek at a pattern I am working on.  Love the browns and pinks.  So far so good!!!

Tony and I really do not like to eat out…well, actually we enjoy eating out, but do not like to part with our hard earned money.  Thus, we have to get a little creative with our meals.  Tonight we made homemade raviolis filled with sweet potato, bacon, cheese, and basil.  Ja…it was good!  Fresh pasta is one of the easiest things to make–I totally recommend giving it a try.  Plus you will totally impress your special someone.  Here’s a super easy recipe from one of our favorite chefs, Jamie Oliver. 

Fresh Pasta:

Mix 2 cups flour and 3 eggs.  Knead until elastic and shiny

That’s it!!!  You can use a pasta maker or just roll the dough out very thin and cut it up any way you’d like it.  One thing to remember is fresh pasta does not take near the boil time so don’t walk away or you will overcook it. 

After a wonderful supper, Dakota, our one year old yellow lab, and I went to Tony’s baseball game.  It was a great night for baseball.  A quilt, a book, and the hound.  I’m one happy girl.  Oh, and of course my man in tight baseball pants!