creative little daisy

Not a lot of progress to share

And I'm OK with that.

I've been working on Bayleigh's crib bedding at what seems to me a snail's pace. Much time has been spent looking at fabric combinations. When I purchased fabric, it was not with a concrete plan, just a feeling. I pulled fabrics that spoke to me and knew they would all come together later. Once home those chatty little fabrics didn't have much to say. Still with no concrete plan I began to cut and stitch and things started to take shape. This has gone on all week. Cutting and sewing in little snippets.

It's been so unlike me. I'm not a snippet sewer. Nothing I do is in snippets actually. I'm full on, all the way, get it done NOW kinda girl. I don't have lots of little works in progress laying about, because when I start something, I finish it. Focus, I have focus. Some may say that's a good thing. My focus is very narrow though, and doesn't allow for multi tasking. People often comment they can't believe how much I can get done. It's because whatever it is that I'm doing, it's all I'm doing. My focus has served me well at times, but mostly it makes me feel very stressed and worn thin. While one project is getting my full attention, everything else falls by the wayside.

This week I've taken my time. I've put much thought into this, my first gift to my first granddaughter. I want it to be right and I don't want to rush it. For the first time I've allowed myself that, time to enjoy the process, instead of a steady race to complete the job. In the process an unexpected thing happened. I found the bottom of my hamper. The laundry room does in fact have a floor. A floor that was much in need of cleaning. I sewed a little each day, but not all day. I did some laundry each day, but not all day. At the end of the week, I don't have a big completed project to share, but I have made slow progress that I am proud of and I've learned that with slow progress,  I have time and energy to focus on other things too. It feels pretty good.

Thanks to ya'll I didn't strike a lick.

Yet another southern saying. It means I didn't do a thing. Didn't get my work done. I didn't strike a lick because I've been too busy laughing my behind off at the hilarious comments on my country girl post. There's nothing like speaking the native language to bring my southern sisters out of the woodwork, huh? I'm not sure how you other folks from the south feel about it, but to me, there is some comfort in being able to be yourself, saying what comes naturally to you, even if it isn't correct or proper according to the English books.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to become a poster child for Jeff Foxworthy, but it felt good to let it all hang out and have a few laughs with others who not only get being from the south but also appreciate and embrace it. Too often in the media, being southern is portrayed as not being intelligent. LLA and I discussed this a bit last year when she visited me. Somehow the movie Borat was brought up. I've not seen it, but she has, correct me if I'm wrong Cookie, from what I remember, you had a problem with the way the movie portrayed southern people because it made them look slow and well... stupid because they didn't seem to catch on to the fact Borat was jerking them around. If you are southern you would recognize what seemed to be ignorance was actually more a likely an effort on their part to be polite and helpful and not as quick to call out the fact that this guy was just a jerk- that famous southern hospitality in action.

Our slow speech and admittedly less than proper use of the English language gives the impression of simple-mindedness. Being someone who has not ventured far from my little corner of the world, I'm aware that my lack of experience may come across as a lack of intelligence, so I have my guard up to some degree. I agreed to do a podcast interview a while back and as soon as it sunk in that I would actually be speaking, not typing my answers, the panic set in. I was so worried about how I would sound and what I would say when backspace and delete were not options.

I joked about showing my hick roots in that last post, but really (and I can only speak for me, not all southern girls) the perception that talking slow = thinking slow, is something I'm mindful of and for that reason try very hard not to come across as a back woods country bumpkin. My spelling and grammatical errors (and I know they are many) are more a reflection of my lack of attention and effort in grade school than my intelligence or heritage. All that babble to say, it was so much fun to just let loose and let my southern freak flag fly and then to have so many join my party. I mean really, how can you not love someone who complains that a neighbor's cake is so dry, you'd poot flour? Priceless!

I bet you're wondering how the pictures tie in with this post. They don't, but what would? I don't think I shared any pictures of the whole kitchen after painting the cabinets and tiling the floor, so here they are. Not that I think you were hanging on the edge of your seats waiting to see my finished kitchen or anything. For the record, these photos were so totally staged, it's never this clean in real life.

It was nice while it lasted

The box weighed less than two pounds, but I felt like a 100 pound weight had been lifted walking out of the post office, knowing the last of my Christmas orders was complete and in the mail. I think I may have even danced a little on the way to the car, it felt that good. The good cheer continued once home. I happily cleaned the kitchen in anticipation of enjoying my Chinese take-out on the couch with a mind clear of worries about a list of unfinished work. Let the holiday season begin. Just me and my dinner and a book, on the couch enjoying the Christmas tree. I may have danced a little more just thinking about it. It was nice. The house was quiet, but more importantly my mind was quiet.
You know what's coming, don't you? Yea, it didn't last. Alyssa plopped down with a pen and paper, to help me make a list of the Christmas shopping I have left to do. Surely it can't be much, just a stocking stuffer or two right? Ha!  Since it's a little late to order online with any confidence, and my personal shopper (Alyssa) works all week, I have to go shopping. Me and the rest of the slackers who have waited until the last minute. Delightful.

Portrait of me, painted by Mitch. I'm not sure why some guy Mitch works with wants a picture of me on the front of his car, but whatever.

Next year I'm starting in July. I may have said that last year too, but this time I mean it. Really. Maybe even June. Definitely. Ho, Ho, Ho!

I'll leave you with this little bit of heaven I found last weekend.

It's 45" wide chocolate linen with a large scale print (the trees are about 9"). Birds, trees, linen. Perfection! I wish I could tell you where you can find it, because I'd love to have more myself.  I bought it at a drapery/upholstery outlet and got all they had (only 3 yds) I've looked online without any luck. The only info on the selvedge is P/Kaufmann Fabrics. I guess I'll have to be very selective with how I use it.

Happy Wednesday all! It is Wednesday isn't it?

Fascinating waste of time

Let someone post a link to one of those what kind of flower are you, what kind of dog are you, what flavor candy bar are you... quizzes and I click it every time. I know I shouldn't do it, they are such a silly, pointless waste of time. I mean, really what does it benefit me to know if I were a flower, I'd be echinacea? Nonetheless, post the link, I'm clicking it. I'm always so fascinated when they end up being dead on despite the seemingly random nature of the questions. Today I determined my design style is Sweet Chic. ??? Never would have thought that, but after reading the description,

What's sweet chic? Nothing stark and modern for you! You're drawn to cozy interiors and a welcoming palate (think soft, sun-bleached hues). You like your patterns whimsical and your buildings quaint. You enjoy heirlooms with sentimental value, like a rocker that once graced your grandmother's nursery.

it sounds pretty accurate I guess. Go ahead, I know you're dying to know what your style is.

99% lighter post with zero fat and calories

If you stuck around after the past two downer posts, thank you. Hopefully this blog contains more happy than sad, but I've always tried to keep it real. In reality there are going to be sad times.

It wasn't a sad time when I went to the mailbox on Friday because inside was a present for me. I am not usually lucky when it comes to contests and drawings, but twice in a short amount of time I WON!!  First I won fabric from the Sew Mama Sew blog. If you haven't been go check it out. The blog is full of great inspiration and tutorials and Sew Mama Sew the fabric store is full of, well what you'd expect from a fabric store...fabric. But they have all the good stuff. The much sought after cool stuff.

Not long after that I got lucky again. Mr. Cutiepatootie Jack drew my name to win 4 vintage table cloths. His mom was so kindly offering them as part of her birthday-week blog party. Sarah gave away presents to celebrate her birthday. Thank you Sarah!!!

They are all so pretty but the aqua one on the right... the softest linen you've ever felt. Yummy, and it's my favorite color. I naturally navigate to cool soothing blues and greens so imagine my surprise when I took this fabric to the cutting counter at Joanns.

I didn't notice when I was putting fabric in the cart that it was nearly all reds (the others were neutrals). I didn't go to the fabric store with any plans for buying fabric, I went because Simplicity patterns were 99 cents, but it would be crazy to make a trip to the fabric store and not buy a little fabric, right? Hey, it was all on sale. Anyway, just browsing with no real plan for the fabric, this is what ended up in my cart. Interesting, considering my feelings for red. Remember how I hated the big red couch?  Then last night after a quick trip to walmart for pool chemicals and toilet paper, I came home with this.

A sassy little red dress. On sale for $9. I was a little apprehensive about wearing it to church today. This conversation took place between Alyssa and I.

Me: I can't wear this, I look like a hoochie.

Alyssa: No you don't. It's cute, not hoochie at all.

Me: I can't trust your opinion, your hoochie scale is different than mine.

Alyssa: You have the hoochie scale of a sixty year old woman.

I wore the dress.

That was going to be the end of the post but I just remembered one more thing, another unplanned item from the walmart trip. Someone asked what kind of hooks I used on the peg board. They were some Mitch had in his shop, just a random assortment he probably bought at Lowe's. I used all that he gave me and needed a few more. I was, (as LLA would say) stupidly happy to find this. It was cheaper than buying the different hooks separately.

And the kit came with these cute little red cups and the little round containers with lids. Hmmm... more red. 

What do cameras, flowers, and TV have in common?

Nothing. I'm just having another one of those lack of focus days, so I'll just babble about whatever comes to mind.

Today marked the official start of the spring/summer season at my house. I finally got my hands dirty in some potting soil to get some color going on around here.

I'm getting a later start than I usually do and this year I'm determined to use restraint. I'm so weak when I go to the garden center, so full of excitement. I want flowers everywhere, but by July I'll be sick to death of watering and watering and watering to keep things alive in the North Carolina heat. This year it's just going to be a few pots on the back porch. That's it. I mean it. Really. Besides the flowers, I planted a few herbs. Some basil, cilantro and lemon thyme.

I love the idea of fresh herbs growing right outside the kitchen. The image of me in an apron, stepping out the back door to snip some basil for the delicious meal I'm cheerily preparing for my family is so nice. It's not very realistic, just ask my family, but it could happen. I planted the basil. It could happen.

How do my pictures look today? (my attempt at a smooth transition into the next topic)

I took them with my new camera. It just arrived today but we are already good friends. I promise to be a better guardian to this new guy than I was to it's predecessor. The poor thing, after being dropped one too many times, it screamed enough! Last week the door that holds the batteries in flew open, spewing batteries all over the floor and would not close again. Apparently a piece of plastic that holds it in place had broken loose. Before this, the hole where the tripod screws in place stripped out. Pictures were not looking so good. It was limping around on it's last leg for a while. When it got to the point that tape was required to hold it together I knew it was time.

Abby sunning her belly today or playing dead. ?? Not sure which. Crazy cat.

OK that covers the flowers and cameras, what else was I going to talk about? Oh yea, TV. Did you watch LOST last night? Oh, it was sooooo good.  It was sooooo bad too. Bad in a good way. Don't read if you haven't watched it yet. Anthony Cooper, the actor playing Locke's dad is either a really bad man or a really good actor. I don't like to watch violence on TV, but I've got to tell you, I couldn't wait for Sawyer to strangle the life out of that evil man. When he said how 'bout that, my name's Sawyer too.... Loved it!

What do you think, Juliet with the others or not? And what's up with Jack? I'm already dreading the end of the season. It's sad to like a TV show so much, isn't it? I really should get out more. But not tonight, Grey's is two hours. Wohoo!! 

Thank you for all the anniversary love and the hair-do understanding. It was the 80s, the only excuse I have. Hey, everyone looked like that. What were we thinking?

Long time no blog...

Hello..... is anyone still out there? I guess I took an unplanned little blog break. Remember in this post (more than two weeks ago) I mentioned something about feeling a little off? Yea, well, a little off turned into two weeks of I don't know what it was, but I never want it again. Ever. I won't bore you with all the details, I'll just say I'm so, so glad to feel good today. I was beginning to forget what it was like. And food! It is so nice to eat again.

In the way of crafting, I did manage to complete two more granny squares, although I'm not sure why. I don't really have plans for an afghan, although I may. I'm guilty of  following the pack, jumping in on the latest trend. I wanted to make a granny square just because everyone else was. Now I have, but I'm not sure I have the perseverance to make several hundred? How many does it take to make an afghan anyway? How about a small throw? A doll blanket?

I also did some sewing. I had no choice, there was a deadline. I made the mistake of agreeing to make a suit for Alyssa before I came down with the plague. She greatly overestimates my sewing skills and puts way too much faith in me. I don't know what came over me to think I could actually make a suit. A lined jacket for goodness sake! 

She had to have this suit last night. I was so worried that I wasn't going to get it finished or that if I did finish it wouldn't be wearable that on Thursday I sent her to the mall to buy a backup. I did manage to pull it off though and it was wearable. Barely. There was a tremendous amount of seam ripping involved in this little endeavor. Many, many mistakes were made but in the end it came together. And when I say in the end, I mean right up to the last minute, with a needle and thread in my hand, in the end.

I think from now on I'll stick to what I know, purses and pillows and the occasional skirt. And if I get bored a granny square or two.

*Do you notice in the picture how my version of the jacket closes to the right instead of the left like the pattern shows? Like I said, many, many mistakes were made.

Not quite Girls Gone Wild....

But sure to be a blast, none the less. Cookie and Daisy's big adventure, the weekend o' fun is almost here. The lovely, talented, generous, thoughtful, funny (and she's not even paying me to say these things) LLA is coming for a visit. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. I'm excited and nervous. This is a first for me, meeting a friend who is also a stranger. What if she doesn't like me in real life? Cookie, are you at all worried that I'm really a 55 year old ex con living in a trailer behind his mama's house? I'm not, I promise. The trailer is on my own property and that conviction was overturned.

I have a few things I need to finish this weekend and then I'm taking next week off sewing and blogging to get ready for my extra special house-guest. I'll be back in about 10 days with lots of fun stories to make you all green with envy.

What's that picture have to do with this post? Nothing. Just a cute picture of my mom. Have a great weekend friends!

A day late...

Darn it! I had no idea they were looking for a seventh member. Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to be a Pussy Cat Doll. OK, so they probably weren't even born when I was a little girl, but I'm sure I'm just what that group needs. I could be Little Old Spice....oops, wrong group of girls, right?

Not MIA, just on a diet

A computer diet, that is. Like everything good, it's all about moderation and I decided my time spent on the computer needed some serious moderation. Last week I put myself on a crash diet, only checking email and answering what I felt necessary in the morning, then the computer was turned off during the day. In the evening I did a quick check of email and a few blogs. I really thought it would be hard, but actually, it felt pretty good, freeing. See, I haven't worked out that system, that routine, that allows me to get done in real life all the things I feel are important and still devote time to my blog. It would be great if I could quickly write a post in the morning and forget about it the rest of the day. It doesn't work that way for me. I'm not a quick poster and the part of me that is a little obsessive compulsive will not let me post and forget about it. Just one more thing to add to the ever growing list of things I need to work on, because I want to continue to blog, but I also want to keep things in the proper perspective.

Now that I've survived the first week of my crash diet, I think I'll be a little less strict next week. Besides doing some much needed house cleaning, some of the things that have kept me busy in the sewing room have been these pillows.

They were commissioned by a lady who saw my teacup aprons and thought they would make nice pillows.

I also spent many hours (many, many) folding my fabric. I told Monica she changed my life with her post on folding fabric and I was serious. There are some lessons you learn that stay with you the rest of your life. It may sound quite dramatic, but this is certainly one of them for me. I am a neat-freak flunky. I want to be neat and have things around me organized, but most of the time it just isn't to be. It's like I'm fighting a losing battle every day. Monica has given me a wonderful tool to help me in my ongoing battle. Like I said, it took me hours, but I consider this a real victory and now that I know how to fold this way, my fabric shelf will never again look like this.

This picture was taken several months ago. My fabric had really gotten out of control and I had a hard time finding anything. I recruited my nieces to come help me reorganize.  First everything came off the shelves.

Oh my.

It took 3 or 4 hours but we managed to get it all folded and back on the shelves.

Better, but still a little messy and not what I wanted it to look like. After 3 days of folding (I'm not joking) it looks like this. Cue the music that sounds like angels singing.

If Monica were here, I'd give her a great big kiss. I could just sit and look at it in all it's neatly folded glory. Yea, I'm a dork.