red, white and blue

I am a down right proud American. Every time I drive into Forest Grove and get a glimpse of our oversized (to some) flag, I get chills. Singing a patriotic song (especially with a large group of fellow patriots? chills. I will always remember the day that I got to see a navy ship roll into the Puget Sound, lined with sailors in uniform, standing at attention. I am off to finish up Lilly's red, white and blue skirt for our 4th of July happenings, but a big thank you to all of you brave service men that have helped protect the freedoms that my family enjoys everyday and to their families that sacrifice a normal family life.

{and shame on you politicians that are so darned set on taking so many of those freedoms away!}

cheap thrills (well, $12.99 thrills)

When I saw this cute cherry chomper at Angry Chicken, the box of cherries on my countertop practically drove me to New Seasons to join in the cherry chomping fun. Our dilema at the store? Do we purchase the one cherry at a time cherry chomper for $12.99 or the 6 cherries at a time blah plain cherry pitter for 14.99? As you can see, cuteness won the day. Chloe's solution? Buy both. When telling Chris, he agreed. Dang. But here is the ultimate reason for buying the cute instead of the practical: Would my daughters hurry through with their jobs for the honor of pitting cherries with a blah plain cherry pitter? I think not. The biggest problem? Enabling Chris. I knew I was in trouble when he commented on how much yummier cherries are pitted.

"my own" little handiwork

Among many recent goodwill finds, is this embroidery. I tried to tell the girls that their very mean grandma donated my handiwork to goodwill, but they didn't believe it for a second. (They know that any sentence that includes mean and grandma couldn't possibly be true!) But I do love the idea of a six year old little girl embroidering away on this sweet sampler. And it has made me a little anxious to get all of the girls working on their own samplers. (that I will NOT donate to goodwill and will promptly frame)

speaking of good will: If anyone finds some cute vintage hankies at goodwill, a garage sale or maybe even a jumble sale (why don't we call them jumble sales? It sounds so much cooler!)...and is willing to send them my way, I will reward you handsomely. Not only have I been using them in apron dresses, I am now trying to always have a few to wipe noses. I am thinking that a hankie is a lot more dainty to use than {my shirt}! (I whispered that part out of slight shame for succumbing to the conveniences of motherhood!) A summary:: hankies for me, treat for you.

Sewing Camp Recap

Here it is, the short and quick of it:

Chloe got permission to do sewing camp at the last minute (fhew....no complaining about it all week and she loved sewing her little heart out)

The girls sewed every afternoon away with these wonderful grandma types that lovingly taught them to sew independently and, quite honestly, ambitiously.

The moms sewed every night away (we would have sewed every afternoon away, but the kids took all of our machines!)

Lia and I each made a quilt from Material Obsession (you know, the easiest one in the book?) to teach Lia the basics of quilting a la free motion

Altogether, a week full of cousin and sister bonding. My only regret? That it was the week after Tony came back from sea and I felt like a big time intruder. Big. Time.

Home at last (aka:the marathon of July begins now!)

We came home today with just enough time to empty out the car and head back into Portland for a piano recital. Now, the highlight of every trip: Mount Laundry, that is due for an explosion. What does our July look like? Camping, Beach housing, girl scout camping, a visit from Chris' family....busy stuff. The real question? Why am I blogging instead of scrubbing my house right now? My to do list is making me sleepy. Report on sewing camp to come shortly.

how time flies.....

The girls and I are up in Kitsap County while the girls are attending a fun (and cheap!) sewing camp. This, of course, forces us to spend lots of time playing with the Romero family in between camps. So far? Picnicking, lots of driving, sewing, cousin bonding (which takes shape in many different forms) and lots of girl talk. I promise to post pictures....later. For now? I am off to quilt.

part japanese?

Why I just might have a little bit of Japanese in me:

I have always been asked if I was part Asian (not sure why, but hey....)

I am attracted to a certain Korean young man and they must like them too, seeing that they took over their country so many times

I have found myself flipping through books "backwards" a lot, which would be mainstream if I was in Japan

Looking through my new Japanese Embroidery book makes me giddy, so I obviously feel the Japanese spirit of all things crafty, right?

I feel a pull towards my new homeland. (can we say fabric shopping?)