Instagram
Today I had the fun of teaching an English paper piecing workshop to about 25 students during QuiltFest! at the Maryland Historical Society, @marylandhistory. I taught as part of a team of women from the @baltimoremqg. We explained the history of EPP, did a show and tell with lots of EPP projects (first picture, not all my own work), and then each student got a chance to sew their own hexie flower. We are so grateful to @createdomesticity, @paperpiecesepp, @andoverfabrics, and @aurifilthread for their exceedingly generous donations of class materials. Everyone was thrilled to be able to take home fabric, paper hexagons, and thread! 😍 #baltimoremqg #aurifil #andoverfabrics #domesticitystudio #paperpiecesepp #englishpaperpiecing #eppeverywhere #salmonandsouvlakisews . . . Many thanks to @summer_k_rankin, @urokeay_imokeay, Deanna, and Bobbi for being a great teaching team!Quilts, quilts, and more modern quilts with the @baltimoremqg at the @marylandhistory QuiltFest! My work here includes #fancyforestmedallionquilt, #laurashexiequilt, #carkaihexie, Marko’s HST quilt, and the Facing East mini, pattern by @carolynfriedlander. It’s fun to share the love of modern quilting! #salmonandsouvlakisews #baltimoremqg #marylandhistoricalsocietyWe’re camping at Elk Neck State Park this weekend and the weather was glorious this afternoon! Just right for wading and digging and soaking up some spring sun. And why yes, I have picked up knitting as another portable hobby because I really want to use this yarn that I bought in Iceland when I was pregnant with Marko. 😉 #elkneckstatepark #chesapeakebay #driftwoodbeach #salmonandsouvlakiknitsAHHHHHHHHH!!!! A dragon is living in our yard and keeps trying to break through our windows! First the dragon started chasing Marko. He escaped but then it started chasing Ellie!! What should we do?!?!?! Scream the dragon’s ears off?????? Send help!!!!! . . . This spring silly is brought to you by Ellie and Marko with technical assistance from Mama, as partially inspired by Martin and Sylvia of @sparkle_stories. 😉We have a new loose tooth in our house! 😍 Rather than the tooth fairy, at our house, we celebrate losing teeth with a special Mama-made bag to keep the baby teeth in and a dinner chosen by the child on the occasion of the first tooth loss. Marko finally has a loose tooth and he has been pestering me for over a week to make him a tooth bag. So I finally did. 😉 He requested green with a blue initial and I used some vintage rickrack from my stash for the tie. The design is my own. Swipe to see Ellie’s bag next to Marko’s. I did my best to make them exactly the same although, now that they are finished I see that I made the ties pull in opposite directions. Close enough! . . . See the link in profile to go to my blog and search for “tooth fairy” if you’d like to learn more about why we have chosen these particular traditions for our family. And while you’re there, if you want to, you can search for “Mark quilt” to see pictures of the quilt I made for his first birthday, in which this green fabric is featured. This probably matters to no one else except for me but I find it thoroughly satisfying. First quilt, first lost tooth! #salmonandsouvlakisewsWe just experienced the most amazing living history presentation at the @lewismuseum. We lived Harriet Tubman’s life with her as the actress told us her story. It was such an immensely difficult story to hear but told in such a way that our kids could engage and understand. Thank you to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. . . . Here Marko is standing in front with Harriet, so that we could all see how young and little she was when, at age six, her slave master told her she had to earn her keep. SIX!!I decided today was my turn to be *that* person who comes to the @baltimoremqg monthly meeting, having finished the project that she started at the class the day before. 😂 I stayed up way too late (made even later by the time change) and turned these two 24” square practice quilts into a nice big tote. My children were concerned that it needed a way to stay closed so I even added some Velcro. @jacquietps’s lecture at today’s meeting was fabulous and I had fun showing her my tote. 😀 #salmonandsouvlakisews #charmcitysewcial #baltimoremqgI had a wonderful time today at the @baltimoremqg class with @jacquietps! I’ve been quilting with a walking foot for over eight years (as long as I’ve been quilting) but I still learned so much and came away inspired. I’m definitely going to use gentle curves (1st pic) in an upcoming quilt. The 2nd and 3rd pictures are from the same sample piece. With curves, you get the orange peel pattern and with straight line, you get diamonds. So cool! As always, I am now inspired to do and make more. I’m so grateful that I found BMQG three years ago. Thanks to @makergonnamake for convincing me I would like it there. She was right. 😉 And thanks so much to @rauenamy and Marcia for all their hard work to make the class possible. 😍 #salmonandsouvlakisews #baltimoremqg #charmcitysewcialI almost panicked a couple weeks ago thinking that I had gone to all this trouble to make these ornaments and then forgot about using them. 😂 I was grateful when I figured out that this year, Lent didn’t start until yesterday. We are super fancy and so are taping each one to the wall after we’ve read the corresponding passage from the book of Matthew. We are reading first from NIV, and then the corresponding story from the #jesusstorybookbible (if there is one) and also, at his insistence, from Marko’s beloved #legobible. We should have the book of Matthew thoroughly covered by the time we are finished. 😍 . . . From now on, every day I am going to post an up-close picture of each ornament in my stories as well as the corresponding scripture passage if you would like to read along with us as we travel through the book of Matthew over the 40 days of Lent. #lententradition #jesustree #salmonandsouvlakisewsMarko has asked me to “put this video of Gary on Instagram so everyone can see it.” He has titled it, “Gary’s show off” [of all his gear]. Gary is the super villain who Marko has created with his Legos. 😀 #unschooling #selfdirectedlearning #legosalldayeverydayLast week, we spent the afternoon at the park in 70 degree sunshine and I got a bit sunburned. Today, we spent the afternoon outside, shoveling wet snow in the rain. While we were out there, Elllie invented a contraption to help Marko get up into the tree more easily. Never a dull moment around here, weather or otherwise! 😀Who needs coats when it’s 56 degrees (a full 40+ degrees warmer than a week ago)? The polar vortex has decided to take a little vacation. 😉 When discussing my childhood growing up in Alaska, Nik has never really understood how we could say that it felt super warm when it got into the teens (or even just above zero). But, when it’s been -40 or colder, 15 feels downright tropical! The same principle is at work today! #springinwinterCategories
- AIBLW (14)
- Alaska (62)
- baby (52)
- baking (19)
- books (116)
- canning (7)
- cleaning (18)
- cooking (178)
- crafts (4)
- dating (1)
- Ellie (574)
- engagement (17)
- faith (31)
- family (340)
- Finishalong 2017 (1)
- friends (86)
- gardening (90)
- Greece (29)
- health and beauty (50)
- holidays (37)
- house/neighborhood (42)
- How To ___ Without ___ (9)
- just for fun (117)
- KIOS (80)
- knitting (2)
- linguistics (5)
- love (68)
- Mark (226)
- marriage (5)
- movie (74)
- nursing (32)
- organizing (5)
- parenting (107)
- photography (4)
- politics (12)
- pre-kids (6)
- recipe (27)
- reflecting (116)
- school (144)
- series (1)
- sewing (318)
- travel (119)
- tutorial (19)
- Uncategorized (4)
- useful beautiful (11)
- weather (60)
- wedding (40)
Archives
- December 2018
- December 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- February 2017
- December 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
Monthly Archives: December 2014
Handmade Christmas 2014: A Baby Bird For A Brand New Baby
As is my custom with my nieces and nephews, I sewed a little baby bird (using this tutorial) for my newest niece, Annika, who was born the middle of November. This is the first time I’ve had the chance to … Continue reading
Posted in family, sewing
Leave a comment
October/November Sewing: Hooray for Katie and Baby Annika!
Ellie and Mark gained a new cousin when Baby Annika joined my brother’s family in November. I have four siblings and I’ve now made five diaper bags, one for each family! (Here’s ours, Eric and Meggan’s, Jon and Leah’s, and … Continue reading
Posted in family, love, sewing
7 Comments
Handmade Christmas 2014: Hot Pads of Apology
Last summer, while visiting my family in Alaska, I was taking something out of my mom’s oven and somehow managed to drop one of her hot pads on the electric heating element on the bottom of the oven. Soon, there … Continue reading
Posted in family, sewing
7 Comments
Handmade Christmas 2014: Mark’s Color Book
I don’t know if anyone has actually ever used the color book tutorial that I wrote about 18 months ago. I however, was really grateful that I’d done it because I used it myself when sewing this for Mark! I … Continue reading
Posted in Mark, sewing
6 Comments
Handmade Christmas 2014: Retro Christmas Tree Lights For My Siblings
Continuing my “Christmas ornament” theme from the past couple years of presents for my siblings, this year I sewed everyone a string of retro Christmas tree lights. I even managed to sew a string for our tree too! Thanks to … Continue reading
Posted in family, sewing
4 Comments
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you! He is the Messiah, the Lord!
Merry Christmas!! We love you all! Love, Nik, Laura, Ellie and Mark “Hurry! Hurry! Have you heard? A child was born tonight, And every creature large or small Is precious in his sight.” from Hurry! Hurry! Have You Heard by … Continue reading
Posted in Ellie, family, love, Mark
4 Comments
Handmade Christmas 2014: Look! Two Presents for Ellie!
Thanks to all for your kind thoughts and prayers for me about my recent sorrow-filled post. I probably shouldn’t allow myself to press publish when I’m tired and sad. I’m feeling much better now and the past couple days have … Continue reading
Posted in Ellie, sewing
2 Comments
