Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom is awesome. I would say that even if she wasn't my Mom (honest). In fact, since becoming a mother myself, my Mom's awesomeness has increased at least 10 fold. Not because she has changed any, but because now, I see. If you are a Mom, you understand that statement. If you are not, no amount of explaining will help.

My Mom is special for so many things. Artistically, she is more talented than anyone I know and I know a lot of creative, talented folks. It runs in the family, remember? You would never know it though, because she is beyond humble, another special attribute. She is quietly courageous, the calm in a storm, and the reason that I know I can do anything I put my mind to (I can even end a sentence with a preposition!).

Last Thursday was her birthday. So, for a special treat, I planned a quilt shop hop from New Braunfels to Houston. We all met in New Braunfels Thursday evening, got up Friday morning and shopped all the way to Houston. It was a family affair. My aunt made the round trip with me to join in the shop hop fun, my older brother and his family made a wonderful birthday dinner and cake, my younger brother and his wife put us up for the night, my dad drove on to Houston by himself, and hubby took off work to stay home with Charlotte. High five everybody! Thanks for making it a success.

I decided that the trip needed to end in a quilty gift for her, so I made this wall hanging...

In progress

Finished front

Pockets for hanging

Quilting

 

I really liked how it turned out, but more importantly, I think my Mom really liked it. I love you Mom.

P.S. I am already planning next year's hop. I think we need t-shirts :)

Posted with Blogsy

Just call me Bloggy McBloggerson

Seriously, I got this app called Blogsy and it makes blogging so stinkin' easy, you guys might get sick of hearing from me. They didn't even pay me to say that.

Anyway, I whipped a cute little ironing board out quick like during Charlotte's ACTUAL nap time and I thought it appropriate to share.

A while ago, I bought one of those "travel" ironing pads. My thought was, it would be nice to put it on the table next to my sewing machine and iron my fabrics and seams and such, without having to drag out our ginormous ironing board. Well, it doesn't work well at all. Understatement. It actually works against you. Enter mindless scanning of Pinterest. Some genius had turned a tv tray into an ironing board! I didn't even need to read the tutorial, the picture was enough for me. I cut that travel pad apart, layered it all on top of the tv tray, added some cute fabric, and stapled it into submission. Sorry no before and after pics.

And the best part?

It still collapses for easy storage!

That fabric is called Butterfly Garden from Jane Sassman for Free Spirit, in case you were wondering. I bought it a million years ago, so you might be hard pressed to find it now, but you never know.

 

Laura Ingalls I am not...

...but I did make peach jelly yesterday!

You want to know something awesome about my already amazing husband? His family owns a peach orchard outside of Fredericksburg, Texas. On good years, we end up with more peaches than any one family should and we take full advantage. I may be partial, but I am pretty sure Uncle Mark grows the best, juiciest peaches around.

With the encouragement of my mother-in-law, Deborah, (who, in case you didn't know, is the boss on all things cooking, gardening, and canning) I decided to attempt making this jelly from the peels of the peaches I put in the freezer. I wasn't feeling very adventurous so I sought out a recipe and tutorial that sounded similar to what Deborah told me to do. I originally found an easy to follow one here and the author of that tutorial reposted it just today on her own blog.

It was a whole lot of work, but I am glad I tried it. I think the next time, I will be more confident and more efficient. We haven't tried the jelly yet, but they all appear to be setting up properly. Fingers crossed.

Pretty jars in a row

Peach Palooza 2012