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Hark! I have some dissimilar pieces of information to compile for a blog post!

Mama's bag...



Although she's not technically a mama (yet), I made this purse for my BFF from Soulemama's newest craft book. Such an easy, instant gratification kind of project. My fave. I used some thrifted heavy-weight fabric for the outer material and...had enough left over to cut out an EXACT MATCH for myself. Ahem. So my BFF's purse will have a BFF of its own.

Ducks...



From a trip to our wonderful, practically-backyard Rhodie garden.

And, home haircut...







Not as memorable as these haircuts (the latter, of which, Tracey so graciously recalled for me. Thanks Tracey!) But Holden's been growing his hair out for yikes, well over a year?? I cut off 8 inches, not quite the 10 inches that we hoped he had for Locks of Love. But oh well...there's always next year (he decided to grow his hair out again, after a mere 5 minutes post-haircut).

Some things never, ever change around this Whatknot household...

Quilt for a Babe

Here's how blogging's been going lately: I sit down, write a few lines about this, that, who, how and why and then run out of steam, dwindle, drop the ball, FLOP!



And here's how crafting's been going lately: I have an idea, a very bright and fantastical idea that wakes me up at 5:45am and beckons me downstairs to sketch, color, sketch some more, overthink, yawn, yearn for my pillow, and then FLOP! Yet again.

It is a theme, for sure. But I'm embracing my flops and forging forward.

This quilt is for a sweet new little baby boy named Emmett. An incredibly cute and nibble-worthy baby. Nine months in the making (the quilt, not the baby) (well technically, I guess the baby, too) with loops and linen and splashes of color to keep him cozified.

And now, I must rest my brains in preparation for my early morning crafty wake-up call. g'night!

begin and end again

Hello blog. It's a new year and I have thoroughly and shamelessly neglected you. Truth is, life never really returned to "normal" after our move...and I'm finding that "normal" is not high priority these days anyway. "Keeping calm and carrying on" is more our style, however trendy and cliche it may be, so we're going with that until life resumes a new normal, whatever that may be.

But! I continue to craft and have things to show and tell. Like these, the last of the Twelve Square quilting bee installments.



The first is for Jona. She asked that a selvage be included in her citrusy/tropical themed block, so I popped that Amy Butler into the design. The colors make me pine for a summer fruit salad. Yum.



The second is for Chris. Her instructions were to "row" the vintage fabrics that she supplied, asking that any additional fabric be white or vintage. I loved that each of the fabrics she supplied had some play of white, so just added the strips on the left to follow that theme.

And voila! 12 square is complete. I loved working on this project with this amazing group of women. There are murmurs of continuing the project after a bit of a break this year, so I look forward to more bee-ing.

Giving thanks

Blessings abound in our little corner of the world today.







Happy T day to you, yours (and mine!). (Banner was inspired by this beautiful creation.)

A new blogger in the mix

After a few conversations about the whys and hows and whats of writing, a certain little someone has decided to start his own blog (especially after noting the lack of Indiana Jones, Lego and reptile references on my blog...ahem).

So, without further ado, I present to you: Holden's Frog Blog (a collection of thoughts on the life of a five-and-3-quarter-year-old).

note: the phonetic spelling is kinda fun to decipher. He "writes" until his thoughts run too far ahead of his hunt & peck skills, and then I decode and take dictation. Emergent blogging skills, if you will...

Into fall...

...because I'm finally accepting that summer has ended.





So, a few pics to show what we've been up to this lovely Fall season.





And a few images that are threatening to inspire a Fall-y quilt.





And glory be to the supreme goddess of craft, I'm finally getting back into a crafty groove (fingers crossed that it sticks). But not before I share pics of Indiana Jones and his trusty chicken...



And now...onto crafting!

Summer revisited -- bullfrog roundup

Some images from our recent bullfrog roundup -- a day spent amongst the reeds, muck, cloudbursts and sparkling waters of Whitaker Ponds.





Organized by Portland Parks and Rec, the intent was to gather American Bullfrogs, an invasive, non-native bully of the ponds, so that the native species have a chance to thrive. The frogs are either donated to the zoo (mountain lion lunch) or kept by PP&R for educational purposes.





So with nets in hand and waders on feet, we headed toward the murky waters of frogdom. The day cooperated by providing wonderful lighting for us photo-oppers, but the frogs must have caught wind of our frog-napping intentions as the group only caught one feeble-looking, bug-eyed little guy.



Or, quite possibly, their little tympanic membranes picked up the thunderous, giggly approach of excited frog-catchers and they decided to lay low and watch the antics of the day.

Smart frogs.

My Summer Blog Vacation

I'm happy to report that we are indeedily residing in our new home amongst our finally-unpacked old stuff, and thought it apt to share some highlights of my impromptu and extended (ahem) summer blog vacation. To get my rickety typing fingers back in shape, I thought I'd play catch up for a few days here, so bear with me while I delve back into summer memories (while the outside temps steadily creep toward winter...)

So here's a bit of what we've been up to:

Cooking,





Canning,



and Mudpie-making...



In other words...Sustaining!

The blues

I'm casting a feeble little "hi, i'm here" wave from behind the remaining boxes awaiting to be unpacked. I'm almost there, and can see the glimmer of craft-time hope in my newly adorned and adored craft room at the end of the tunnel. Must. Push. On....

But I decided to take a "break" today for some blueberry picking, sans kiddos. A friend and I headed south-ish to a little farm tucked into the corner of Hubbard, OR, a true treasure trove of perfectly sun-kissed blue beauties waiting to be picked.

And picked we did, 3 1/2 hours worth ending up with 26 pounds each! Aside from my friend getting stung in the face by a yellow jacket(!), we had a truly lovely time amongst the berries.

So now, I shall add to my not-so-short to-do list the task of putting these little blue beauties by. A task I'm all too happy to undertake. And then, back to the boxes!

Signing off

The fixtures are in, the walls are painted and the van is reserved....we are moving!! But not until I share one last completed project before the craft room is packed up: Sarah's quilt block for 12 square.



I adore all these prints and picture the perfect summer quilt or picnic blanket once it's complete (but that's up to Sarah, of course).



Please excuse me for a bit while I pack up and fly off to our new location. I'll check back in when we're settled in our new nest. Happy 4th of July summer bbq apple & cherry pie firework wishes to everyone!!!