Sewing a Halloween Treat

My mom is a GREAT seamstress! She is great at making everything look so finished and store bought-looking.

I have dabbled in sewing. I've made pillows, pjs, curtains, but nothing like a quilt. My mom convinced me in October 2009 to try a simple wall hanging we found at a quilt shop off Filmore & Academy (just behind the Denny's). I bought the kit for $8 and collected fabric in oranges & blacks just like the instructions said. I saved the quilt for a "rainy day" and it disappeared in the basement - "Out of sight, out of mind" truly applies to me!!

This summer my Aunt Dee Dee convinced my mom to try quilting - my mom is turning my old room into a twin bed guest room for when her little friends & grandkids spend the night. My Aunt had "just the quilts" for her!

In June, my mom had had enough of me not sewing. She got out my Pumpkin wall hanging quilt & told me to get started. So we did! It has been fun, our dual machines cranking out rows of designs. My mom's quilts are much more intricate & WAAAAAAY better, but mine are cute!

We had almost enough fabric to make 3, so mom bought a few more fat quarters in black and orange. Now it's one for each of us: Me, Shawn, & Mom. Isn't it darling?!?!?! This one posted is Shawn's...each one is a little different - mine has a green stem.

Stitches of Stupidity

Well...I almost made it to 30 without any broken bones or stitches. But, in true Kristan form, I made a dumb mistake and 5 stitches later...

I was cleaning my coffee pot, I failed to notice that the spout had broken off in the sudsy water. The glass pot's jagged edge got me & I noticed first blood in the water & on the sink. I wondered how it got there about the time the side of my right hand started to sting.

Well, it was 7:22am so I thought, "Please, let Mom not have left for work...she'll know what to do!" I called and got Dad, who laughed that I didn't have bandaids or duct tape to bandage myself up. I hung up & called Mom's cell. After explaining what happened, I noticed & shared with her that my pinky finger was turning blue-ish purple. She calmly stated, "Kristan, go to urgent care...you'll need stitches."

After a few calls to teammates & throwing on a shirt - out the door I ran! The doctor & assistants were really sweet and I was back to work by 10:15am. Here's a photo of my incident.

Crafty-ness Rubbing Off

Clare - a great friend, who I always knew would be great at crafts (she's SUPER smart, but lacked confidence in her ability to do crafts! Why, beats me?) has been posting craft projects that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!

Since I have a new house, and decorations are scarce - well affordable ones are!! I've taken to stealing her projects & the links to the websites she's found & making some of my own.

I love STEALING a really good idea & making it yours - especially an inexpensive or easy one! Hopefully people consider this flattery - I will readily give you credit for the idea. A college professor once told me: "That a license to teach is a license to steal" (so with a certifiable teaching license & permission, from the college professor) I have taken Clare's blog posts on crafts & created them for my own, bare house.

THANKS!!! I am still crafting, but will post completed projects soon. Maybe Clare will want to craft with me...seems like I never see her :0(.

Party Adventure

So, a former teammate had a surprise party last week & I went. It's amazing how God puts people in your life that you don't see very often but can reconnect with here and there & it's like "Why haven't we talked in so long?" The answer is we get too busy...but I'm glad for the opportunities to reconnect :0).

It was a bit odd walking into a social setting from 3 years ago...so scary I was actually shaking & needed to walk out of the room a few times to inhale! But, I was glad to wish Allison a Happy Birthday & be apart of the big surprise...even COOLER was she had no idea!!

I am so blessed to have such great friends - even friends that I've moved on from. It's nice to be able to be happy in the place I am now, look back and remember people who've stood by me through the difficulties, and now have new friends in my life who I'm still willing to let in.