Quilting Adventures

Sewing has always been a part of my life! Most photos of me in our family albums are in a dress my mom had made for me and some were made long before I was even an idea. All the afghans and throws in our home were knitted or crocheted by my Grandma Lind (and there are MANY). Anytime something was torn or ripped or became too big or too short, mom could and did fix it. If I saw a dress or skirt I really wanted, mom would say "let's go make it" and we would -- even better than the original. My parents taught us to be thrifty and use money wisely. The lessons within that that I learned from my mom were to use skills to make things yourself and to make what you have last longer.

My first memories of me sewing -- I remember being 6 or 7 and my mom sitting me down at her Serger to do the edges on, what felt like, a bagillion tablecloths for the Ward Christmas party.  

There began my love of sewing!  

When I was 9, my parents gave me a Serger for Christmas.  I sewed almost every Easter skirt/dress, all of my PJ pants, and quite a few purses and bags.  My favourite thing was using my mom's sewing machine.  The machine she had purchased a long time ago and sewed on for most of her life.  And now, she has given that machine to me.  I LOVE THAT SEWING MACHINE!!!

It wasn't until after I got home from my mission, that I found my way into the world of quilting. My mom and aunt are HUGE quilters, but I shied away from it because it was "TOO MUCH!" for me (and not to mention it is an expensive hobby, if you want it to be the best quality product).

My mom whipped up this Christmas Tree
skirt in 2 days!!!
SHE IS A PROFESSIONAL!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas 2013, I got to spend in Pennsylvania with my parents.  Baby Brother spent most of the holiday with Chelsea and her parents in DC so I got to be an only child.  This trip, I wanted to have an ongoing project to do so I wouldn't just sit around and read everyday until my family was available to go do something.  

When it comes to projects with my mom, I have to prep myself for the long-haul.  Because my mom is an expert in every single aspect and facet to crafts and sewing, she has a very high expectation for the result to be done well and done right.  I inherited that from her, but there is also a diluted side of that in me that, when I really get wound down and ready to move on, I will cut corners (figuratively) so I can do the next part or just get it done.  This project I knew would have to nail me down to perfectionism. For a play-by-play, check out the full post. Here's the photo diary of the process:     

Ready to roll!!  Choosing the fabrics always takes the longest
for me, because I have a vision of the result and each piece
has to coordinate perfectly.

All cut out and ready to sew on
to the white squares

Applique means adding pieces in layers to create
a design.  Then you sew around the edges to
hold them on.

The quilting.  My mom has a long-arm quilter so I was able
to do this part myself.  A lot of quilters pay others to do this
step because it takes a lot of time and attention to detail.
You have to do this to the ENTIRE QUILT

FINISHED PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

REWARDS!!!!!!!! I entered it in the Utah State Fair and won a ribbon!!

For a play-by-play, check out the post 

My next project is, what I call, a "REAL" quilt.  It involves cutting out strips and squares, and piecing them together to create a blanket to sleep under.

TO BE CONTINUED...

St. Memorial George Day

Memorial Day weekend marked my first time ever going to Zion's National Park in St. George.  My friend Terrance had never been either so we planned a day and went for it.

Since we wanted to get an early start in Zion's, Terrance and I decided to go down and spend the night with my aunt and uncle.  Jan and Frank took us on a lesser-known Petroglyph hike that night.  The area near their condo has a lot of little hikes and sites BYU has used for geological digs.  There is a lot of stuff just waiting to be found.  We started off walking up the standard tourist walking trail.  Then, Frank took us off-roading down among the rocks and cliffs into the hidden stuff you have to be an adventurous local to know about.  We saw some AWESOME history down there!!  Each Petroglyph we found prompted theories and questions about what the people were doing and thinking as they scratched the surface and marked the rocks.  Pretty neat stuff!  I'd never seen Petroglyphs in person (Disney's Pocahontas being my only source) so I was fascinated.

The next morning, Terrance and I got to the BIG GUNS --- Zion's National Park.  We decided on various hikes and just took off.  The park is closed to traffic so you have to take park-provided shuttle into the park, then pass through the entry gate, and THEN take another shuttle to the individual hikes and formations.  Lots of work, but well worth the waiting.  AND...it was nice to sit down and be out of the sun in parts.  I was surprised at how un-busy the park was on a National Holiday, but I wasn't complaining.  Of course the busiest hike in the park was Angels Landing (but you DEFINITELY will not catch me doing that one).  Other people on the shuttle who came from that hike said they could only take a step or two before having to stop because the path was so crowded.

It was really nice to wander and hike at our own pace, and just enjoy and take pictures any place we wanted.  The first hike we did was called the "Emerald Pools".  It's one waterfall broken up into three separate sections.  You walk under the first waterfall, on top of the second, then to the third..

1st section

1st section

At the second section, there's a little pool about ankle-deep at its deepest point and then flows out and over the rocks to form the first section (the one you walk under).  On this one, I lost my balance trying to walk over the pool on a log, and got one ankle full to last all the hot day.

between 1st and 2nd section of the waterfall.

2nd section -- here is where it flows over the rocks to
create the 1st section

2nd section -- this is right where I decided to dunk one foot

I think the last section of the hike and waterfalls is my favorite.  On this one, you actually hike down into it.  The rock walls open up to, what feels like, a little oasis.  There's a little beach on one side beside a lake, and on the other area there are huge rocks to climb on, and that's where there's a knee-high bundle of rocks with water flowing over them back down the mountain to the first two waterfalls.  My favorite spot of the day!!

That tree was determined to grow

From the shuttle

One of the other hikes we did was Temple of Sinahwava.  This was the easiest "hike" I've seen.  It was a paved walking road the whole way to a gathering spot.  You can get water gear and keep going through the river to the actual Temple of Sinahwava, but we didn't plan to do that.  The walk was nice and cool, but still really pretty. 

From the shuttle

Overall, the trip was AMAZING!!  I want to go back again soon -- maybe next summer!

Time to Catch Up

Little One sternly reminded me that I needed to do some blog updates.  Here's a run-down of the past 12 months.  (I'll try to do a post on each of these...at some point)

May 2014 -- Baby Brother married

June 2014 -- Summer yard and garden fun

July 2014 -- Got to visit all the East Coast Lind families

August 2014 -- Spent lots of time with new family

September-- Got to be a Wedding photographer

October 2014 -- Sports and time with Keri

November 2014 -- BYU Football

December 2014 -- Gettysburg Christmas

January 2015 -- Experimented with fancy foods

February 2015 -- Professional Cooking Classes

March 2015 -- Made LOADS of new friends

April 2015-- Grad-a-ma-nation

May 2015 -- Adventures in Zion's National Park

June 2015 -- Wedding Season

June 2015 -- Craft Central Station 

Life is Like a Book

Life does not give you the people that you want; it gives you those whom you need to love, to help you, to leave you, to hurt you, and make you the person that you are.  Actually, it's like a book!  You must turn the pages to move forward, and sometimes the chapter you like will be resolved to end.

Family Ties

Growing up, whenever we'd come to visit, I always got to play with Catie.  We are only about 18months apart, and have stayed good friends ever since we were small.  Catie lived a couple houses up the street from my grandma's, and I even had her phone number memorized.  We were inseparable anytime we were together.  Now we're all grown up, and I get to spend every Wednesday with her, her mom, and grandma.  I love those "days off" with them.  

We took this picture at our cousin Kyley's baby shower in November.  There are 3 generations represented here (baby Roman hadn't made his debut yet).  Since this picture was taken, Catie has bought a house, had an adorable baby boy, and is getting married.  I'm so proud of her and I'm excited to see what happens next.

Fishy Hair

Since I still struggle with French braids, I've decided to move on and try learning something else.

ENTER FISH-TAIL!!

I absolutely LOVE doing a Fish-Tail braid on my hair.  It's a great mix of classy and modern.  I follow a blog called Missy Sue where she does some amazing simple hair tutorials, as well as great fashion, style, and DIY posts.  Recently, she posted a french fish-tail braid.  It's uber uber easy and yet it looks like a french braid.

Style of today I found here  http://www.missysue.com/2014/12/fishtail-braided-updo

I'll post pictures soon of what my version looks like