Jumping Ship!

Blogger has been kind of buggy lately and I've decided to jump ship. Follow my latest shanigans at http://twopeasinapoddesigns.wordpress.com.

I'll be up and running over there soon...

In the mean time, don't forget to check out what's new coming out of the studio on my portfolio page. Four more orders shipped out today...slowly but surely, getting to them all. Sick kids and other mayhem so thanks for your patience!

My portfolio

Trying to catch up!!

I'm still trying to catch up on all the orders!! Life happens...and we've had a lot going on here lately. If I'm home...I'm sewing. Thank you to my sweet niece, who is also a twins Mom, who, for a few extra bucks, agreed to come clean my house for me so it doesn't fall apart while I try to get all these done. If you are waiting on a bag from me...my goal is to have it in your hands before October 10th. Thanks for your patience. Here's a few I got done in the last few days. Some custom CUSTOM orders and one is a birthday gift my girls gave to one of their friends. I sewed her name on the strap - :>) Have a great week all!

Hope, Faith, Courage, Strength

Hope, Faith, Courage, Strength. That's what it says on the pink bracelet on my wrist. It was given to me by a woman at church who is battling breast cancer currently. Cancer just stinks. Especially when it happens to someone far too young.

For the second week in a row, we will be attending a funeral. A friend and coworkers wife, 42, mother of a beautiful 7 year old girl, passed away from breast cancer on Sunday. She was first diagnosed while pregnant with her daughter and postponed treatment until after she was born. She battled for 7 years. So tonight, I made a contribution to the Susan G. Komen foundation in her memory. Such a small thing to do in the hopes that something so big will come from it - a cure.

So here's my challenge to each of you for today - do you know someone who has been touched by breast cancer? Visit the Susan G. Komen website TODAY and make a contribution in memory or in celebration of someone you care for. Leave a comment here that you
are a supporter, share a special story if you'd like, to inspire and encourage others. We'll read through them and I'll let the "two peas" choose a few - we'll send you a pink key fob. To hold your keys, the key to your heart, to hold in your hand, to grab onto tightly, to think pink in honor of someone special in your life. For me today, it's in memory of Kristine, in celebration of Kaitlyn.

And so, life goes on. We pause, we pray, we hope, we have faith, we ask for courage and strength.

One thing that I love to do is to create. It calms me, satisfies me, fills me. It's a constant in my life.

Yesterday I made this backpack, my St. Mary backpack. Named for where I used to live in Montana. I lived in the St. Mary district of Glacier National Park.
This bag was a custom design from one of my parties, designed by Jill.

And for this Sunday, I have another party. The hostess gifts until February are aprons - this one is reversible. I'm still hammering out the final designs I will be using when I introduce these to the Spring line in March.

Make today a great day - a day full of color, a good joke, and good friends.

Ahh...did somebody forget to mention a little something in our weather forecast?!

Seriously...is it just me or did the weathermen totally miss this one? I mean, hurricane force winds for over 6 hours - shouldn't they have seen that coming our way? If you live anywhere in Ohio, no doubt today you are cleaning up all the debris from Hurricane Ike that blew through here on Sunday. Just shocked that at least 6 people were killed and yet all throughout this wind storm that lasted from noon to 9pm, they never broke in during TV programming and said, hey - there's a big storm brewing outside, stay inside. We fared pretty well at our place. We lost power only for 6 hours. Which is a bummer because we are on a well so when the power goes out, so does our water, use of the restrooms, etc. Not good. Lucky we have power on now - a whole lot of people are still waiting. A lot of people have significant damage to their house. My husband helped friends of ours put a tarp up who lost their roof. My sister lost half her roof too down in the Dayton area.

So Rosie, the barn cat, clearly, not at all bothered by the 75 mph gusts as you can see. Laying here in the sunroom even as one of the doors was ripped off and blew across the yard, the porch furniture being lifted and flipped off the deck. Slept right on through it all.

My tidbit to share today...if your kids are home again tomorrow as many of the schools have already closed again for a second day, here's something to do. My twins made clay today, molded them into all kinds of things and made clay beads. We baked them and then when they were cool, they painted them. Here's the recipe:

2 1/2 C. Flour
1 C. Water
1/2 C. Salt
I mix this on the stove for just a minute and then knead it until it's all mixed and smooth. Bake at 300' for about 20-30 minutes. We used cookie cutters to cut the dough into different shapes.

So, if the kids are home again, make the most of it and be thankful we all still have homes standing. Ike left a lot of folks on the coast homeless - we'll remember them in our prayers.

Verna Mae, the original pursemaker...

So, it 's been a crazy week. My husbands grandmother passed away. She was 94 years young and had been sick for awhile. She was fiercely independent and lived alone until just a few months ago. After the funeral, we were at her house, looking at photos and crafts she had made. She was a prolific sewer. One of the photos showed Verna standing next to a bed covered in purses she had made. Back in the 50's, 60's and 70's, Verna made purses, took orders and sold them. It cracked me up because heck...it looked like me surrounded by all those purses!

She made quilts by the boat load. She would use old clothing and the like and make quilts with them. She knitted. Made beaded everything. Embroidered. Made clothing. The house was full of her hand made crafts. It was actually quite fun to look at all the stuff she had made - a lifetimes worth of taking care of her family and providing for them with her own two hands.

That's what I love about sewing. It's one of those skills that women pass down through generations to one another - and we make things to show our love, affection and to take care of others. Sewing to me is so personal. Something handcrafted - it feels like a warm blanket on you on a cold winters night with a cup of hot cocoa in your hands and the fire crackling in the fireplace...super comforting and peaceful.

I asked if I could have these old spools of thread from his grandmothers things. I'm going to put them into two mason jars and tag them with my girls names on them and put them on the shelf in my studio. I started to give my girls sewing lessons on Fridays and as they grow up, they'll remember that this jar of thread from their great grandmothers house sat on the shelf in my sewing room with their name on it. I'll give it to them when they get married.

I also asked for some of her old table cloths that nobody else wanted. I'm going to cut them up and make aprons out of them to give to the girls in the family as a keepsake - Mamaw was a wonderful cook and wore an apron when in the kitchen. I thought that would be a cool thing to put in the kitchen to remember her by - don't we all have a recipe from our family we make that everyone loves? Passing it down through the family - creating and making traditions, I love all of those things.

What kinds of traditions or family memories do you have? Post a comment and commenter #15 will "win" a little square pin cushion I've made. :>)

Happy Birthday Momma!

I'd like to say I have an excuse for forgetting my Mom's birthday except it happens every year. First, my brother on August 28th and then my Mom on the 30th. I forget every year. I was actually talking to my Mom on the phone for like 45 minutes on the 30th and discussing dates for something when I said, "Is today your birthday Mom?". "Yyyyess" Doh! What a bad daughter!

Earlier this week, after my Mom's birthday, I found one of those cards that have sound...when you open it says something like, "I like presents. I like you. You make me feel all gooey, gooey, goo!". Very funny - I thought. I planned on making my Mom a gift before they head up east next week for their fall trip. BUT...I got sick. Bummer. 101' temperature for 2 days - I'm not a good patient. I was very cranky. Especially since I'm breastfeeding my 4 month old and I can't really take a lot of meds. I finally called my doc and said, HELP! He said to take some advil and that kicked my aches and fever almost instantly. Still got a head full of goop but feeling much better.

As I was slowly recouping this morning, I went down to my studio to knock out a gift for my Mom since they were up here today at my girls school for "grandparents day". I met her and my Dad at the school this afternoon and gave her this bag with a matching accessory bag. I also made a little flower pin and put a super cute new button I got recently (see one of my older posts - I've been doing a LOT of shopping lately) on the bag. My Mom is big on quilts so I made this all patchwork like a quilt. She loved it. Whew...good thing!

I also worked on a new item for the Spring collection. I already have at least 4 new bags that will be coming out in March. In addition, I'll be doing aprons, mother and daughter in different designs, ready for release at the end of February - just in time to order for gift giving on Mother's Day. Until then, if you host a Two Peas trunk show, you'll receive an apron for your hostess gift. I HEART APRONS - they rock. I love how they are kind of vintage but with a modern twist - and it just feels so "june cleaver" like to wear one. I wear one all the time when I'm at home. You girlfriends of mine know that - drop by unexpected and chances are, I'll be at the front door to greet you in my crazy, freebie, Martha Stewart apron.

So, here's a preview of the apron that the hostess for the party on Sunday will be receiving. I think I'm going to add a flounce along the bottom next time. Too much? The more girly the better I think - we'll try it out next go round and see.

Eliza Jane made me some chocolate chip cookies today - Ken told her I was craving some while I was sick. (she's a neighbor to the park where he works). So, thank you.

Labor Day - I'm exhausted!

Can we squeeze in just one more thing before summer ends? Wow! I'm pooped. We started at the ice cream social for our historical society. The Taylor family kids entertained all at the old school house with their civil war dress and fantastic music. They were amazingly talented.

We went to our festival in town two days in a row. The girls had fun riding the rides. I enjoyed my frescante from Harvest Moon, the local coffeehouse - nice and cold. Much needed this weekend - it was HOT! The parade was really, really long and I think every politician in Franklin and Fairfield county walked the route. I bribed the girls to go home...I said, "you can either ride another ride and drop $6 for a single ride (for both girls) OR I'll take you to the store right now and you can take that $6 and get a new petshop and let us all go home". They made a beeline for the car - it was great. We found a pool that was clearanced for $9 and brought that home too. They were perfectly happy - and I was very happy to be able to sit in my own home without being bumped about by sweaty people and smelling greasy fair food. We had yummy beef stroganoff that I made with extra mushrooms, just like they like it!

Now - on to the rush that the month of September will be for me. It's only the 1st and already, I can NOT wait for it to be October! My favorite FAVORITE holiday is in October...Halloween! We always have a halloween party and I decorate with Halloween villages and spider webs and fun and creepy things all over. Love it!! And my favorite? Trick or treating in our historical downtown district. It is just the coolest hometown experience. Everybody decorates outside, dresses up, makes a big production out of trick or treat. I'm saving up for the octopus carnival ride to add to my haunted village - it's at Michaels. You gotta check out all their village pieces! Very fun! I fall asleep dreaming of all the fun we'll have in October - that will get me through the hectic drudgery of September.

Order Up! Ding! Ding!

Take a close look...anything look familiar to you? I spent the better part of yesterday sewing. I wanted to try to get half way through the orders from last weeks party so I would have free time over the holiday weekend with my girls. I got 7 orders completed. Whew! And out they went in the mail today so if one of these bags is yours, it should be to your house by Tuesday according to the post office. Just a mere 9-10 more bags to go plus accessory bags...and I have another party this Sunday. My machine will be hot this week when the girls are back to school!

With our holiday time today, we went to the pool. Today was the last day it was open for the season. My neck is sunburnt and my feet hurt (I don't know why my feet hurt from being at the pool but, they do). We spent almost 6 hours there. The baby just hung out and napped or cooed at watching her big sisters jump off the diving boards. They had a blast. Needless to say, they were asleep tonight about 2 minutes after their heads hit the pillow. I'll be following soon...

My husband just said that we had so much mail in the box today it was popping out the back side. A few more yards of fabric, some oh, oh so cute, retro betty boop looking type of buttons. (I'll use one later and post a photo), and some key fobs hardware (ohh, new product - key fobs!). I also got some cool new Heather Bailey fabric the other day when I was testing out that super expensive sewing machine. I'm going to make my little one a teething bib and applique her initial on the front.

Tomorrow, I promised the girls we'd make some pajama pants with some flannel they picked out. Last night, they made some pocket tissue covers. Cute! Expect to see those as a giveaway at future parties! We'll be headed to our festival up in town this weekend and to the parade. We have such great hometown parades - I love going!

Life in the "country"

Ok...seriously, I live like 4 minutes from a Meijer store, yet we're on a rural road. I have 2 neighbors that I can see from my house. Rural because we all live on large parcels here - 1/4 of my neighbors farm. Not so rural because we are so close to town. So why, somebody, tell me why, none of us on my street can get...high speed internet!! I would blog more often if it weren't an hour long process every time I sit down and try to load a single photo on my puny dial up connection. Ohh - somebody wave the fairy wand over my street and wish upon us all high speed connectivity!!

I've vented. I'm done. For now...it'll boil back up later, I'm sure.

Last week, Jill hosted a wonderful trunk show at her home. Thanks Jill! Lots of beautiful designs were chosen and I'm excited to get all the fabric in and get started. My driveway has been a buzz yesterday and today with the first of 6 shipments of fabric. I found some super cute buttons too that I can't wait to use.

I spent the afternoon today at the store, completing a 4 hour survey on a new sewing / embroidery machine. Very cool. Of course, it cost more than my car! Whew...maybe someday. I did learn some cool stuff about my own machine that is similar - things it does that I didn't know it did. I'm excited because I found a stitch I can use for applique. I'll soon be offering kids shirts and onesies with cool little critters on them, numbers for their age for birthday shirts, and other stuff I think up. Can't wait! I'll probably add some stuff to the recycled jeans I sell too. I'll show it off later!

I thought this was quite funny. I'm passing by my bedroom window and I look out and see Rosie (refer back to an earlier post about Rosie the barn cat). Rosie likes to kill birds in our yard. I don't like Rosie to do that. The birds don't like it either. I bought Rosie a bright pink collar with a bell on it. After a month of scratching at it, she came home one day, naked. No collar. I lost count how many she has gotten out of. So I look out my window. There sits Rosie. In the bird bath. Next to the wren house. Watching for birds. The next day, a cat bird was sitting under our basketball hoop, looking like somebody had done surgery on him and forgot to close him up. Ohhh, Rosie!!! Mice Rosie...you are the mouser!!! No birds!!

New Photos in the Gallery

Any Buckeye fans out there?! A must see before they are gone in October, the Brutus on Parade exhibit at the Schottenstein Center on The Ohio State University campus. WAY too much fun to see! Lots of Brutus Buckeyes dressed in many different outfits. A must do in Columbus!

Just added some new photos to my gallery - new lighter weight teething bibs too! Check it out!

Go Bucks!

Sophie's Bag

Oh my...is summer almost over already? Man...I have been swamped with all the last minute - gotta do before school starts - stuff. We've had family in, been to see family, been to the pool a lot, and I feel like I've been holed up in my sewing room a bunch! New wristlets now available up at Harvest Moon!

Made myself a new nifty diaper bag - this one is "Sophie's bag". It's big enough to fit all 3 of my girls in! It has 6 slip pockets on the outside, 2 slip pockets on the inside, a double magnetic snap closure and then snaps on the side so that you can make it smaller or open it up bigger. I love it. I've been wanting to use the fabric with the blue and red / lotus fabric in a skirt but I didn't have enough so I used it in this bag. I love the red - matches my car seat.

I've been working on some more samples for the next trunk show I have this Saturday and I bought a dress form. More about that later - been dying to have one and found one for a great deal the other day.

Gotta run again - civic duty calls. I have a township meeting this evening - working on some new commercial development standards for zoning. I haven't been since I was put on bedrest with baby #3 so this seems like the final thing to get back to and all will be "as it was" pre-baby. Some days...I'm just dog tired. Coming to my office job actually feels like a vacation - I get to just sit and work all day. No cooking, cleaning or sewing for a day. Love those things but a change of scenery sure is nice!

My big 'ol belly

With the little bundle of joy who sat on my lap as I worked today, I think back to all the anticipation of her arrival day. Who would think that 15 weeks later, I would be longing for the days when she was kicking inside, imagining what she would be like and savoring those days of being pregnant. Especially since 15 weeks ago I can recall moaning almost non stop at the aches, pains and misery but it was all so worth it. After it's all over, I miss it.

My awesome sister in law casted my belly for me when I was 6 months pregnant. Then I took some fabric from the curtains I have in my studio and covered the casting with them. A perfect reminder and beautiful piece of art for my sewing studio. I love it, love it, love it.

Having spent a season working for the National Park Service in Montana - I totally have a huge LOVE in my heart for the agency. This summer, my sister in law is having an experience working for them as well. The photos she has sent back of her housing and the views - breathtaking. She's having a great time. She made the paper this past Sunday. Yeah Lee!

Oh...to be 7 again!

We spent the day at Easton yesterday for some much needed girl time. My girlfriend brought two of her kids and we hit every fountain they had...the kids splashed about with this crazy amazon tree frog that was huge and everywhere. We saw him at every fountain and then saw him riding on the trolley later - kind of strange but quirky fun too.

When do you lose that kid attitude of "who cares who sees me running through the fountains at the mall" kind of attitude, ya know? I mean, seriously, life is short and it should be filled with a moment every day that just makes you want to...well, scream and run through the fountain in public. Am I right? Just pure fun, pure joy. We had a really great day...I must say...I AM the coupon queen.

Went to Children's Place and got these "awww- dorable" socks and tights for the girls. Total was like twenty - some dollars. I however, with my coupon savy self, used a 15% coupon along with my $10 place perks - got the whole lot for $7.46. Ohh, nothing feels better than a good deal, eh?

Next, Build a Bear Workshop. I tell my girls, you got five bucks to spend there. That's it. Not six, not seven, not eight...five bucks. These two found the $10 teddies there and each got a new bear made for $5.34. It can be done - you can get out of Build a Bear for only five bucks. Way cool and they were in hog heaven with a not only a new bear but I think they were equally excited about saving money. I love it!

We also painted a plate for our newest pea - put her feet in some paint and printed them on the plate with her name. It will go on the wall with the other two girls plates. The savings queen -totally defeated in this place. Don't even ask what I spent for the 3 of us to paint some tiny little bowls. Shheez...I could have bought an entire dinnerware set for 12 for the price I paid. But I got my plate...and we had fun. Where else can you create something like that? Well, actually we can do it at my brothers house but that's besides the point. (my sister in law is a sculptor, so was my great aunt, and my grandparents were artists and potters) :>)

Ended the day with, of course, some black raspberry chip ice cream from Graeters. MMM! Good way to end the day. Every day should include running in fountains and eating ice cream!

New Designs for the Fall Collection!

I've been working on some new designs. These are some of my design samples - not sure if these will be the final designs yet or not...I took some samples up to the Coffeehouse, we'll see how long they last up there. Usually, if it's a hot design, I'll sell out in a week or two. If it's just ho-hum, it may sit awhile.

Chloe is a low and long bag with a flap closure. No pockets and a short strap - cute and fun. This one was made with this asian flair material - I love these prints.

Madison is this bag with a round shape, a little gather in the center, magnetic snap closure. Not sure if this is the final design. While making this one - another design just happened in the process - "Bella" - I'll be working on that one maybe later this week.

And of course, by request of my friend Joan, it's "Joan's Lunch out with the ladies" wristlet. It's got a zipper closure and a lobster claw hook so you can undo the strap and for Joan, hang it on your golf bag or wherever. Or just throw some cash and ID in it and you're set for a quick bag for going out. So far, these seem to be pretty popular.

I have another accessory piece I'm designing - a snap closure bifold wallet with slip pockets to hold cash or credit card and a key ring on the outside. This might turn out to be the "duck-bill-fold" to coordinate with the "platter-purse". Lori, one of my customers suggested that name - just trying to figure out what the the "bill-fold" will be exactly.

But right now, I'm thinking that tomorrow I have the day off. No sewing - nothing from my "office job" either. The girls and I are going to go shopping at our big outdoor air market and create some pottery at Color Your World. I'm going to put the babies feet prints on a plate. And, as a surprise to the girls, I have a special coupon for them they can use at Build A Bear Workshop to buy some accessories. They'll flip! We're going to pack a lunch and run through the fountains there too. School starts in two weeks so we're trying to jam pack some last minute fun in before the daily grind of schedules and homework and gymnastics and more begin.

Jackpot!

Ok...so my girls and I hit the jackpot this week. At least, in our world. I made some new things to take up to Harvest Moon Coffeehouse to sell and I told them we'd go shopping downtown and check out the new thrift store that just opened up. My one daughter wanted to get a pair of clip on earrings and some not clip ons - tear them apart and attach findings onto the clip ons. Seriously, she's been designing jewelery since she was 6, maybe even younger (well, she's only 7 now so I guess that was not that long ago) and she has such an eye for design. I'm always on the look out for anything vintage.

My daughter found her earrings and was thrilled. I found some vintage sheets that I'm going to cut up and make into my eco-vintage recycled market bags. I also found some othervintage material that I think I may use to make some aprons. I also found a bag of odds and ends - what caught my eye was this really cool package of needles with kitties on it. Perfect to put on the shelf in my studio. The bag was full of all kinds of stuff and I took out the needles and gave the rest to my girls.

Instantly, with all that "stuff", they made a "table" for some dolls, used a bunch of glitter to make these face things with eyes, and with these tiny little doll shoes - they filled them with the little fake flowers. Really cool little designs! I love the shoe full of flowers...it's sitting up on my window sill in the kitchen.

I also found a mason jar full of BUTTONS! Ohhh...how I love love LOVE buttons. I use them on my purses with the button and loop closures and I love it when I can find some old vintage ones to use. This jar was full of all kinds of great finds and you all will soon see them on my new bags and the little girl dresses I make. Too much fun! 1/3 of the jar was usable. The rest, just pretty to fill the jar up OR I'll use them to make some magnets or napkin rings. For Christmas one year, I made my Mom these awesome napkin rings that were elastic rings LOADED with little vintage buttons.

SO, think of me if you're going thrifting or to the flea market. The girls and I LOVE to go - call us!

“It’s the most…wonderful time…of the year!” Do you know this commercial? I think it’s Staples or something and it shows the parents going up and down the aisles gathering school supplies and sending their kids back to school. I’ve been singing this to myself today thinking just that…they will be back in school in just 3 ½ weeks. This is the time of the summer in which they have hit the wall of boredom with all their free time and they are BEGGING for structure again and schedules. Me too and so I’m singing Christmas carols in my head.

So this photo, my kitchen counter, well, it’s a snapshot into my day. A little hodge podge of everything. Let’s see, there’s the yummy smelling bottle of baby wash in cucumber melon scent. Why? Because the babys bottom seems to explode daily and she takes a bath in the sink – well, in her infant tub in the sink. A little garlic, onion and some butter to sauté them. Why? Because I have a pot of marzetti on the stove. The little green measuring cup from the laundry soap box…Why? Again, did I mention the baby explodes quite often? This is for my “poop bucket” where I soak her clothes in Tide before throwing them in the wash. Works well. Then there’s the Nestea – Why? If you know me, you know I love my sweet tea. My girls and I drink probably two pitchers of tea a day. Mmm…good, good stuff.

Then, there’s one of my girls, digging in the pasta box to eat raw pasta before I cook it. Why? I think she just likes the way it crunches. Pay no attention to the fact she’s in her undies and wearing an apron. She and her sister had been cleaning dishes and didn’t want to get their clothes wet. I gave them a tip on how to get rid of the fat from the hamburger I browned – courtesy of my smart husband (a bowl, full of ice cubes, foil on top of them formed in a bowl shape, pour in grease and the ice will solidify it, wrap up in the foil and toss). They help me in the kitchen now and then and I try to share with them secrets of the kitchen so they can cook someday – I’ve learned how, no thanks to my Mom who may have shared kitchen wisdom with me it just wasn’t always the full picture. She’d give me a recipe but then tell me after I made, “oh yeah, I always add in this”. But Mom, that wasn’t in the recipe…”oh, it wasn’t? Didn’t I tell you that part? Well, hello! No wonder nothing I make tastes like hers!

To wrap it up, I have a quick challenge for you. I made a quick placemat purse today. Super easy and super fast to make – great to carry around a book in or for a quick purse or maybe even your knitting or makes a nice “homemade gift”. Anyway, find a placemat you love. This one is from Vera Bradley. Fold in half, sew. You can do this on the machine or by hand. ..a running stitch or a blanket stitch would look good. Then attach prefab handles with some coordinating ribbon. Cut 4 pieces of ribbon 4” in length. Run them through the loops of the handles and then stitch with a heavy stitch the ribbon to the bag. Viola! Instant new bag! Send me your photos when you make one!

http://twopeasinapoddesigns.site.shutterfly.com

It was very close to Christmas, the Christmas after her husband died. We stopped by over at their farm across the street for a “brief” visit but it turned into an hour or so. We started to talk about sewing and she was showing me some of her projects she had made around the house, in the basement, upstairs and in particular, this really cool purse she made from a placemat. She encouraged me in my sewing. I even called her two weeks ago with a “sewing emergency” to ask her a question.

She was the “domestic diva” I long to be. Her and our friend Irene – I swear someday I’ll be that good. She was a great sewer, cook, mother and more. Every time we walked in the door from the garage, KJ the dog was there to greet us along with this aroma of something delicious on the stove. I remember in particular coming in one day to smell these cabbage rolls. Oh, sweet yummy cabbage rolls. She said to me, “Oh honey, these are so easy!” to which I replied, “yeah right…for you maybe!”. She gave me the quick lesson in how she made them and I’ve tried half a dozen times to replicate her masterpiece and only the last time did I feel like I achieved success. Not as good as hers but my own kind of good.

She was super friendly and would grab my girls into her arms for a huge hug and then hold their faces in her hands and give them a huge kiss every time she saw them. She’d tell us she loved us and made us feel like we were family. I hope that my house feels that warm to people when they come over to visit. My life goal when I was little always included my career aspirations of being a park ranger but now having done all that for 12 years – my true life calling and what really brings me happiness is domesticity. Silly isn’t it? You think modern little girls want all the glitz, glamour, and big career – and all I dream about is cool things to make with my kids, foods that taste so good they’ll tell their kids about it long after I’m gone, and a house that is welcoming to all our friends and family…to be a good artist, in sewing, in crafting, in painting, in creating an atmosphere that is colorful and creative and warm in our house. Of course, I did always dream of living on a farm and all the dust and love and good food and home crafts that comes with it. In many ways, I do feel like I’m living my dream.

I knew Carol had been sick but I didn’t know she had cancer. She didn’t want anyone to know. So it was a surprise to find out she passed away on Monday. I was glad I had called her recently because at least I got to tell her we were thinking of her, praying for her. I offered to take her some food and bring the baby for a visit but she said she just wasn’t up for visitors and her kids were staying with her and taking care of her. She said, “Thank ya honey – I love ya for thinking of me”. I know she meant it. Last night, I made this skirt – in all these patches in memory of Carol. She was a quilter and I thought I would wear this to the funeral to honor her but it seemed a little too wild for such an occasion. I told her daughter about it and she smiled. I know Carol is giggling about it too – I think she would have approved.

http://twopeasinapoddesigns.site.shutterfly.com/

A new share site I started to show off my portfolio! And I just added 28 new items to the gallery plus info about Trunk Shows.

Check it out!

I have found myself daydreaming lately of the beach...my favorite spot on earth. I've been visiting this place since I was 2 years old and this year, we didn't go because of our new baby. So today, I started searching for good deals to take a trip down late this fall. Hopefully, we can make it happen because all I can think about is just sitting on the beach with my toes in the sand and reading a book - the smells, the sounds, the wind - how it feels. Ahhh...just dreamin' of the beach. We spent last Thanksgiving at West Palm Beach and Disney while I was early in my second trimester. Nice but I love "my" beach in NC. I think I can only go about 6-9 months before I feel a physical need to be back at the beach - a need to be recharged by what nature offers there.

You'd think I'd be doing more than just daydreaming at this moment. My parents have my girls for a few days. It was SUPPOSED to be a few days off for me but instead, story of the life of a parent, it's been less than that. I drove them down south yesterday and when we arrived - of course, my one daughter had a fever by the time we got there of 103'! I left one of the twins with my parents, took the other one home. A 3 hour round trip. Next day, she wakes up fever free. Get ready to make the trek down south again to my parents and she spikes a fever late in the day. I give her Motrin, warn my Mom she's still got some fever and take her anyway. She was dying to go and see her sister. Another 3 hour round trip. So, today, almost kid free (the baby is only 3 months so she's pretty easy!) I should be cleaning house, laundry, post office trip, sewing notions shopping and grocery shopping but instead...I'm daydreaming about the beach and looking up what deals on houses they have and what is available. Again, ahh.....the beach.

On the "production" side of my life...I've been working on some accessory bags. I made a couple of accessory bags with the snaps. I also have a new style of a wristlet I've named for my friend who suggested the style so she'd have a bag to hang on her golf bag. It's called the "Joans out to lunch with the ladies" wristlet - I took a stash up to the Harvest Moon Coffeehouse for sale last week. I'm going to work on more of the wristlets this week. I'll post some photos later of that.

Right now, "trash kitty" is doing her howling at the front window routine...cue to go feed her.

To the post office

I woke up this morning and thought I'd get one more bag done and take the whole load to the post office. However, waking up was one thing I didn't do very well today. I did get a tote made. I did get everything packaged here to go out to the post office. I just didn't actually make it out the door to the post office today. And I found out, I have a legitimate excuse for being lazy!

All day today, from the 6am feeding of my 3 month old through the afternoon, after every feeding, I felt like falling asleep with her. And did...after 3 of her feedings. She only nurses 6 times a day so...really, uh, I slept a lot. Took a nap after the 6am feeding. Slept about 30 minutes out on the hammock this afternoon while my "two peas" played on the slip and slide. And then, because my studio is the coolest room in the house, I fell asleep down there after another feeding. My studio doubles as our guest room so I have double bed in there...love it! Sew, sleep, watch tv in there. I even ate breakfast in my studio today.

Anyway...I woke up and continued to read my book, "The Baby Whisperer". It says, if you're sleepy after nursing, it's because you're dumping a hormone called oxytocin. Who knew!? I'm not just lazy - I have a real tangible excuse for sleeping all day. I LOVE it! Guess what the book said to do to remedy it?! Sleep! Again, LOVE IT!

Funny thing was, when I came upstairs after napping again - it was 5:40pm...everyone in my house was asleep. One of the "peas" was in the family room , asleep in a chair, the other one was laying next to her Daddy in bed, they were both snoring. Needless to say, being blurry eyed yet again, this has been the year of "take out" dinners. Horrible to say but we eat out almost twice a week. Tonight was no exception - some mediocre Chinese food from the local takeout (when what I really wanted was some lettuce wraps). Between a rough pregnancy and then the newborn, cooking has not been at the top of my list of accomplishments. My new years resolution that I'm resolving now in July - go back to what we used to do - eat out once or twice a month, not a week. Ugh...can't wait for the "homegrown" goodies to start coming from the garden so we can munch on fresh, good food!

*Note to self, kiss the gardener to thank him for his hard labor! Love fresh veggies!
Two Peas in a Pod Homegrown Designs

C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A

Here are a couple of bags ready to go to San Diego for an order. The tote is going to a fantastic woman who works at the naval hospital in San Diego and works with the soldiers returning from Iraq. She thought her guys in therapy would get a kick out of her carrying a bag in camo!. She's a pretty amazing lady and I hope she loves her new bags ;>)

I hate zippers. I’m not ashamed to say it. I’ll say it again. I hate zippers. I really have this love hate thing going with zippers. I love them on my bags. I hate putting them in. They quietly taunt me as I pull and struggle to line things up and put everything in proper order. In the end, I’m victorious but the process is enough to kill me. That’s how it will happen, I’m certain. My husband will come down to my studio one day and find me slumped over my sewing machine…one hand gently across a zipper, in the other hand, grasped tightly in my fist, my seam ripper. The look on my face will be…teeth gritted together and my eyes in a rage. And then he’ll know…it was… it was…the zipper!

Ok, photo one. The pile of thread that went in and back out of Jens bag. More seam ripping than I care to admit to. Photo two, the bag that Jen will, and I do mean without hesitation, MUST, either will to her sons future wife as a priceless heirloom OR be buried with, clutching in her dead hands to take with her into the next life because with the amount of stitches in this bag, it will most definitely last her through at least 9 lives.

Let me share with you my day. The day that will be known from here ‘til eternity as “the 12 hour zipper day”. So, I took my lovely girls and their girlfriend to daycamp at our church. I then met my wonderful husband at our local coffeehouse and we shared a veggie wrap that was, oh, so scrumptious. We sat by the front door and had a front seat to chat with everyone coming in. Chatted up the local jeweler, saw our accountant, talked to one of the lifeguards from the pool. My husband and I parted ways. He went to run some errands. The baby and I went home to start sewing.

I text my friend Jen and tell her I’m starting to make the purse she ordered and asked if she wanted to come over and keep me company while I make it…fully assuming I’ll be done with it in time to pick up my kids in the afternoon from camp. About 11am, I get started. Jen shows up around 1pm. In that two hours, I don’t even get the whole purse cut because I had to feed the baby AND the crop duster buzzing the house…ohh, that’s a whole other story…but it took up some of my time and started my endless hours of frustration.

I get fully immersed in making the purse and I’m quite proud of myself at first. Check out the front of it…nice, eh? Cute little pocket on the front with a snap flap. Love the use of the bias tape for trim – looks sharp. Then it was time to go get my kids. Pick them up and leave them at their friends house for an hour and a half – I continue sewing. I start in on the zipper. ..or I should “the zipper”. Sew a seam, tear it out, sew a seam, tear it out. Gussets don’t line up. Strap is twisted. Don’t catch a piece of fabric. There’s a gap. I lost count of how many times I tore out the seams. No exaggeration, I think it was 20 times along the zipper area. Did I mention I hate zippers? Yeah, so seriously, we take a break and Jens family and mine head to the local Skyline for a 5 way fix. Good stuff. (LaRue, if you’re reading this – I know you’re drooling. Mmm, skyline, coney dogs, cheese and onions…mmmm).

Come home, Jen follows and we start again. My husband is left alone to get the two grubby ones who were in camp all day, cleaned up and off to bed. The crop duster returns. I’m imagining a machine gun mounted from my studio window so I can shoot it down. Buzzing the top of my house for a total of two hours today – big sigh and a shake of my head and a few choice words hurled his way in the sky. I tear out the various seams about a dozen more and more and more times. A couple of whip stitches here and there and finally, 9:30 ish at night…the purse is done. Did I mention I hate zippers? Some day, I will be the master of zippers and when I am, I’ll remember this 12 hour zipper day and how it took 5 years off my life and I’ll just throw my head back and laugh. Not. I told Jen she better just put stuffing in the bag and make it look like she has it full of her junk and carry it in her car so that everytime I see her, she shows me how much she is totally lovin’ this bag. Vera Schmera! Two Peas rule!

Lately, I have been a terrible wife. Just had a baby, cranky, moody, just unappreciative of all the wonderful things my husband does. Last night, was no exception. One of my daughters asked me about a dish... I was too lazy to get it, and so I told her to get one from the dishwasher since I had not unloaded it since they were cleaned. Much to my delight, when she opened it, it was empty.

Just after that, my other daughter came in from being outside with her Dad, and said, "for you Mommy from Daddy". It was this rose. He had just watered the plants outside and it still had water droplets on it that looked like tiny diamonds. Simple pure pleasures that make me smile and feel all warm inside. When I think about what heaven will be like one day, moments like this are how I imagine it. Simple pleasures, warmth of love, acts of kindness so good they make me cry. (of course, that could also be my raging hormones but this husband of mine - I love him and love God for bringing him to me.)

Here's innocent Olivia, who mostly laid on the porch within 4 feet of the blue jay while he ate for hours at a time. She's 16, just bones and fur, and could care less about anything unless of course it's on our dinner table. Turn your back for 2 seconds and she is either on the table or in the trash digging out whatever leftovers were tossed.

Trash kitty as we call her. We grilled out chickens one day and tossed the bones outside in the garbage. Late that night, thinking raccoons were getting into the garbage, my husband chased off whatever was making noise around the can. The next day, we head off for the afternoon and return around dinner time. I notice that Olivia is not doing her usual meow in the front window, go to the back, meow from the back porch, repeat every 3 minutes for an hour, nap, start over, routine. So, about 7pm, I go looking for Olivia. My instincts said, start with the trash can. I open up the lid, and inside was a bag in shreds, contents everywhere, and the greasiest, nastiest, looking gray cat you ever saw. Trash kitty...that's what we call her.

This is Rosie. Rosie the barn cat. Rosie loves her world - lots of birds to prey on. I recently bought Rosie a bright pink collar with a bell on it hoping to save a few of those birds. She's learned how to pounce and not ring so much.

The last two weeks there has been a blue jay that frequents our front porch where Rosie and the other cat, Olivia (I'll post a photo of her too) eat their yummy vittles. The blue jay apparently likes cat food because daily, he would show up for hours at a time taking one piece of food at a time.

Last night, the garage door was left open. I woke up when a thunderstorm started and found it open and closed it. It was dark. I didn't look around for any cats, etc. Hey, it was 4am.

This morning, I am ready to head out with my 7 year olds and baby in tow and found that Rosie, the barn cat with the bright pink collar with the bell on it, has left a "gift" for us in the garage, right in the doorway. It was...the blue jay. Apparently, Rosie had enough of his stealing her food and decided she'd put him 6 feet under. He was intact but dead - obviously a murder with meaning...left as a calling card for any other of his blue jay friends that might think about stealing her food. I guess that won't happen, eh?

Such a peaceful scene, isn't it? This is the wallpaper I have on my desktop at work. Speaking of work, the newest addition came with me to work today and I just had to share with everyone - how cool is that?! She's hanging out, talking to me right now and I should be working so this will be short but I had to share...

I think this is a fantastic idea - babies at work. Everyone in my office just smiles when they walk by my office - one bonus. Two, she's super happy because I'm right here to take care of her as soon as she needs anything instead of some stranger she doesn't know. And three, what a money saver! No daycare costs. Moms unite! Check out this link and encourage your employer to allow babies at work. http://www.parentingatwork.org/

Gotta run...an explosion in her pants just went off!

Today I was feeling a little sluggish but still managed to get one of my orders done from the party I did on Friday night. One of the women ordered this crazy colorful stroller quilt.
This was so much fun to put together. I think it turned out great - I'm tempted to keep it for myself!
My girls were trying to quilt with me...they were picking up my scraps and laying them all out for quilts for their strawberry shortcake dolls. I showed them my quilting foot on my machine and talked about seam allowances and pressing the seams...they just wanted me to sew them together. :>) Sometime soon I'm going to show them how to sew on one of my older machines. No doubt, they will be better sewers than me by the time they are teenagers. They are already both fabulous designers. Em especially has the knack for being incredibly creative.

Excited to get to my other orders this week - my friend Jen ordered a great purse with this bumblebee and ladybug print. I'll share it here when I get to it this week.

Tomorrow, back to my "real job" and the girls will be at daycamp all week with a friend. I actually look forward to work knowing that I get to bring my newborn with me. I feel so much more productive because my mind is not wandering missing her so! This baby phase is gone so fast - I don't want to miss one moment of it.

Two Peas in a Pod enters the blogging world!

Two Peas in a Pod Homegrown Designs is blogging! Yea!!

I have been thinking about creating a blog for for awhile now but as with everything else...yikes! Who has time!? My friend Jen convinced me that NOW is the time and so today...I enter the blogging world!

I hosted a home party last night and had a great time with other women who were fantastically excited about fabric like me! One of them introduced me to a new website http://tonicliving.com. Super cool fabrics here!

I created this bag for Jan Kish of La Petite Fleur in Worthington, Ohio. Jan has been featured, I think, on every major television morning show and in tons of books - she makes the most amazing cakes and cupcakes! She made these fantastic cupcakes for my daughters baptism last week. Jan travels with her cakes and creates them on location so I made this bag for her to carry her baking gear. I love this retro kitchen print! And the dots! I can't say this enough...I LOVE love love LOVE dots!

I have a busy week ahead of me - I'll be starting to fill those orders from the party last night. Can't wait to start on the baby quilt that was ordered. I'll post a photo of it here when it's done! Loads of color - yummy!