Berry Time...

ONE OF THE BEST things about summer is all of the fruit that's available!! Living here in Washington strawberry season is so wonderful!! We have lots of berry stands around and getting those first berries of the season is just heaven!

In our home I have to purchase the large container of whipping cream from Costco to satisfy everyone's need for cream. I think some times the berries are just an excuse to eat lots of cream!! "Let's have some berries with our cream please". Half our household likes whipped cream and then the other half just likes the simple pouring of cream on the berries. I guess I get that from growing up in England. It's amazing to me more folks don't eat it that way, but I for one LOVE it!!

Getting berries, walking around the farmer's markets...I just love summer! Now if the weather here would cooperate it would be great. I guess I'll just have to wait for July 4th. For us Washingtonians that's the real start of summer.

In other news... As some of you know I took on "getting crafty" this year and since January I've been making quilt tops like a crazy woman. Well, now that I've learned how to bind, I can now start finishing my tops. So this is the latest of my creations.

If you like the design you too can make a "twister" quilt. I made my first one from the book Let's Twist... Again and found it so fun I've made more of my own design. The tool you use is Lil Twister Pinwheel Quilt Template 5" Squares. You'll have to give a try!! It's really fun and the end result is quite amazing!!

Mommy time...

ISN'T IT JUST HARD TO get any time to yourself?? I have to say now that I have four children the thing I crave the most at the end of the day is quiet. Blissful silence. I can remember as a teen and young adult I loved noise. I always had music playing or some sort of noise in the background. Boy, have things changed. There are times when I'm driving in the car by myself I don't even turn the radio on. I love the funny stories and crazy things my kiddos say, don't get me wrong, but by the end of the day I just crave silence.

When I was a young mom I really never got any time to myself. I had a high-need child and he was extremely hard to leave with anyone. Consequently, "mommy time" was unheard of. By the time my oldest was old enough to not be quite as needy, I was having number two. I didn't really get a chance to explore time to myself and develop any interests apart from mothering.

While I was pregnant with number three, I was the only prosphora baker in our little mission. Trying to get all the little loaves made with small children under foot was a challenge to say the least. In our mission we only used the Russian style loaves, which are far more time consuming than the larger Greek style loaves. So during that time, my wonderful hubby would take the two boys out for a four hour window of time, so I could get my baking done. It was WONDERFUL!!! Four whole hours to myself, it was such a blessing.

At the beginning of this year, I was contemplating all the ways I have changed by becoming a mother. I guess having a daughter has made me revisit my femininity. What kind of mother did I want to be for my daughter? While I always did things with the boys, I wasn't what you'd consider "crafty". But I do have a desire to create. I've always wanted to be crafty, but have just never spent the time developing it. That is until now.

The table topper I completed today.

In November my hubby bought me a new sewing machine for Christmas and since then I've been taking all kinds of quilting classes. I have fallen in love with quilting. Creating useful, pretty things. I have made several quilt tops since the beginning of the year and I am now working through finishing them up. Here's the next one I'm working on.

Then I'll be starting a whole new project from my Thimbleberries class. We are making projects from the Thimbleberries Pattern Party: 12 Months of Quilting and Party Treats book. I am really excited about our next project. I just love these fabrics.

The bottom line here is that "mommy time" is important. You may be in a season of life where it is more challenging to get mommy time, but making it happen can make all the difference. Since I do spend 24/7 with my kiddos, having these breaks to explore interests feeds who I am as a person. Not just a mom. It also allows me to appreciate my children so much more when we are together. I love including them in what I learn and it affords them avenues to explore. Mommy time it's a good thing!!

Be Creative...

HAPPY BELATED MOTHER'S Day... Hope you all had a wonderful sunny weekend. We really had a nice weekend. A wonderful balance of together time and mom getting some alone time. What a blessing!

I was able to get some much needed crafting done! Crafting is what keeps me energized!! It's just to bad it took me 16 years of motherhood to figure that out!! For me it's so important to be creative. Homeschooling and just being a mom gives me lots of avenues to be creative, but I have to admit that they don't always leave me re-charged. They definitely take lots of energy, because those things don't always come naturally. So for me there is creative and creative.

So first I was able to get my Thimbleberry done! I changed the pattern up a little, but I am happy with how it turned out. And it gives me another "twister" or "pinwheel" pattern I can do. Love that!!

I also got to work a little more on this little sweater for the little Ms. This time it seems to be the right gauge and should fit her. I'll keep my fingers cross! Ha! Ha!

Now I'm frantically trying to get this baby quilt done. I did actually have one almost finished, but I decided I didn't like it. I wasn't able to do it the way I had intended and was just going to go with it, but as I was quilting I just couldn't do it. So I'm taking it a part to fix it, but now I'm running out of time. So I'm making a whole new one and will deal with the other one later. Call me crazy, but I feel like life as a mom is a life full of compromise. In my crafting world I just can't compromise, it has to be RIGHT!

Here are some photos of my crazy, creative process!

The colors....

Playing with design....

Now it's Monday and back to the business of all things education and child exploration!! Have a magnificent Monday!!!