fill in the blanks with me and luvinthemommyhood

 luvinthemommyhood is doing a fun little Q&A with all of her readers so I figured I would join in since I didn't finish the other thing I wanted to post!

* i'm longing to make "a jacket for me" right now.

* i want to try "drafting a baby dress pattern" with some "upcycled sweaters"

* i wish i could sew with "Japanese import" fabric.

* i dream of making "my whole family's wardrobes".

* i keep track of my ideas by "pinning them".

* i'm inspired by "other people, travel, and my children".

* i would love to meet "Anna Maria Horner" in person.

* my favorite fiber is "wool".

* i like to sew with "cotton/linen blends".

* my favorite color is "cobalt blue".

* i rock at "procrastinating".

* i would like to learn how to make "knitted things other than scarves".

* i like to listen to "music" while i "sew".

* i bring my "project bag" everywhere.

* my favorite thing to "sew" is "kids clothes".

* my favorite thing to "knit" are "cowls".

* my crafting space is "spread all over the house!".

* if i had my own crafting room it would be "colorful and peaceful".

* i sew with "Viking Ruby".

* i like to "dream" of"new sewing projects".

* i can never get enough "sleep or coffee".

* i adore "creativity".

* i also enjoy "needle point" and "horse back riding".

* i like to fill my shelves with "fabric, yarn and books".

* i create the best when i'm "left alone!".

* i am currently excited for "Sewing Retreat with Heather Ross in NYC!!!!".

* right now i am "working on a pair of shoes for the baby and a jacket for me".

* i love to watch "downton abbey & chick flix" while creating.

* my guilty pleasure when it comes to creating is "fabric and patterns".

* my current favorite music crush to listen to while creating is "The Eli Young Band".

The sounds of silence...

On the blog at least. On the home front we have never been busier. On July 21st We welcomed
 

Darcy Elizabeth  7 lbs 4 oz

She is a very sweet loving baby that wants nothing more than to eat and be cuddled (which explains my lack of internet presence). She was born at home and was delivered after a very easy 4 hour labor. Things could not have gone smoother! Her brothers are very smitten, which is more than I could have hoped for. After seeing the three of them beat each other up my entire pregnancy I will admit I feared for her safety and my sanity. Things do get a little crazy around here but that is to expect with four kids 4 and under! Darcy has grown well and is an absolute sweetheart.

How could you not want to love and squeeze that face?? I know I am biased and all but can I hear an awwwww? Thank goodness she is a pretty good sleeper. Momma gets a bit crazy with no sleep, 5 hours a night is just enough crazy to keep me going. That and coffee....if I could have a love affair with coffee I would. I got a job at Starbucks in college just for the free coffee.

Shortly after she was born I got a little stir crazy, like I've been known to do, and packed up all four kids and the dog and went to Niagara Falls, NY. We had a blast! The car ride wasn't too bad, the boys are troopers and Darcy was young enough she pretty much slept the whole time. The night at the hotel on the other hand...Oh Ma Gawd. I just drove through the next night instead of trying THAT again. That was how I imagine a preschool frat house would look if they did, in fact, have frat houses at that age. There was bed jumping and toliet splashing and dog chasing and brother attacking and giggling, lots of giggling. But what there wasn't was much sleeping on the kids part and absolutely none on mine! We still managed to see the American side of the Falls and have some fun. Site seeing as you could imagine is a bit rough with my brood, we always get lots of looks and stares and TONS of comments. We rode the trolly around so we could fit everything in and the novelty kept the kids interest. Then we had lunch at a restaurant that over looked the falls. It was gorgeous but of course I forgot to get photos of it...there was food involved.

The American Falls

Hi Canada!!!

The boys. Of course Logan fell asleep right as we got to the Falls. Don't worry he woke up eventually.

Dillan. When I see him like this I feel like teenage years are right around the corner...

But then he does this and I relax because he is still my little boy!

Shortly after that we took a trip to the kid's Dad's house so he could meet Darcy. I left the boys and Darcy and I went out and got my hair done and went and visited the wonderful ladies at Quilting Adventures to visit and of course go fabric shopping.
The day after we got home the older two started school. This was Dillan's first year of preschool. He has been so excited about going all summer (its actually how I convinced him to potty train!)

Pardon crappy phone photo, I had grand illusions of a Pintrest worthy photo but the camera was still packed and the kids were bouncing off the wall and the baby was crying and...well you get the idea. It was documented, good enough!

So now that the boys are in school in the morning and I just have the two kids I am hoping/planning/needing to get some sewing done. Now that the weather is getting cold I am starting to see gaping holes in everybody's wardrobes. I am trying to get what I can at thrift stores because as much as I would love to have handmade wardrobes for us all it just isn't an option at this point in life.
Now that things are starting to "settle down" I am hoping to be around here more and sewing even more! So stay tuned, I have quite a few projects in the works.

And so it begins....

All good things have humble beginnings right? Einstein had a hard time tying his shoes in my defense. This is hopefully the first of many blog posts I hope to share. I have been pondering starting this blog for almost a year but I never seem to have enough time or the moment was never right. But thanks to recent events in my life I realized somethings never magically come together to BE the right time, you have to roll with it. Before I share any craftiness with you I want to share a recent trip I was lucky enough to take (another one of those never the right time things I just jumped on anyways!) to visit Korea.

A view of the mountains from the palace  in Seoul

Other than Mexico this was my first trip out of the country in my memorable history. I was prepared to be humbled by the experience and to take in as much of the culture as I could. I am very aware that I have the typical American mindset where I completely forget that other countries live differently from our own. I think my favorite cultural experiences were going to the markets and seeing all of the different novelties they held. (Sadly I have no photos of that, the downfall of having a DSLR is they are quite bulky and hard to carry). I also got to visit the National Museum in Seoul. Seeing their history from a native standpoint verses American texts books was interesting as well. Also they value things our culture hardly pays attention to; for example, pottery. They had a very extensive history of the kilns of the regions and the type of pottery they produce. Me being the typical American glazed right over that exhibit (pun intended!)

 Traditional armor and sword

 Masks of characters from a folk tale

 Golden Bodhisattvas

 Standing next to a bell from a Buddhist temple

Being one with the Samari...

But sadly my favorite experiences were the coffee, the food, and the fabric market! I could spend days at the fabric market! I might have to do an entire post on the goodies I got there. If it weren't a 13 hour painful flight I would be tempted to go back just to shop and eat!

Where is the most interesting place you have traveled?

What surprised you about the local culture?