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13: With progress on my #doublezipwallet stalled until I get a snap, today I started my #makerstote, pattern also from @noodlehead531. I’m currently carrying my hand sewing project (#laurashexiequilt) in a ziploc bag - useful perhaps but definitely not beautiful and and so a perfect candidate for #100usefulbeautifuldays! . . . #100dayproject #salmonandsouvlakisews #noodleheadpatterns #alisonglass #carolynfriedlander12: I’m officially declaring Day 12 of #100usefulbeautifuldays as the best day yet because I started something useful and beautiful for myself. 😀 Until today, my list of things to accomplish during this #100dayproject had sub categories for almost every room in our house but not one for me personally. Then it occurred to me that I’ve had the same wallet for nine years and it’s barely functional. Time for a new one! This is the #doublezipwallet from @noodlehead531’s book, Handmade Style. I am out of magnetic snaps; otherwise, I would probably be staying up way too late to finish tonight. I’m using some new @alisonglass fabric that I treated myself to from @quiltreeak while in Alaska in March. 😍 #salmonandsouvlakisews #alisonglass #noodleheadpatterns #handmadestylebook09-11: I’m 11% finished with #100usefulbeautifuldays and I’ve already made $30! Woo hoo! (I also have spent $21 but I’m still in the black for this project!) On Wednesday, I started work on my second bathmat, having decided I didn’t like my first trial effort. Thanks to @stashfabrics, I should soon have 2 yards of #konacotton Crimson to use for binding these. Yesterday and today, I posted and then sold a glass table and stools that used to be in our kitchen and have been taking up space in our basement for two+ years. So good to be rid of those! Also, I managed to get a #womanowned painting company to come by to give us a quote for finishing up the work on at least half of our basement. All told, a great three days! I’m really enjoying this #100dayproject. Also, #ilovecraigslist. People come to your house, give you money, and take away the stuff you don’t want. It’s awesome. 😀 #salmonandsouvlakisews09: Yesterday was an unusually busy co-op day so I consoled myself with a little #laurashexiequilt hand-sewing as my only #100usefulbeautifuldays activity. I did also manage to do some Craigslist emailing however and this morning I discovered that it bore fruit! Bye bye useless (to us) fill dirt! Soon we might have a functional back driveway! 😀#100dayproject #salmonandsouvlakisews #ilovecraigslist07: in our family, we use cloth wipes along with toilet paper and tissues. The bags for the pail that I had made when Ellie was a baby were totally worn out. So, on Monday I finally made two new ones. Woo hoo! Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I triple stitched the hem. Useful and beautiful, right? 😍 I had just enough of this fabric left in my stash. I bought it in the garment district in New York City in 2008. It was probably about time that I used it up. #salmonandsouvlakisews #100dayproject #100usefulbeautifuldays01-06: In my attempt to transform my house through #100usefulbeautifuldays, last week, I: 1️⃣posted on Nextdoor to get this ugly useless fill dirt off our back driveway (it’s been there for almost a year); 2️⃣made a trial bathmat (trying out an idea that I’ve had for at least 4 years!! More on this when I decide on my final design); 3️⃣bought potting soil at Costco (new plants for every room in our house is a must for me in this #100dayproject); 4️⃣attempted to fix Marko’s LEGO bag and failed. I will have to come back to this. Grommets are really tough to find; 5️⃣posted our ugly (and no longer needed) computer desk plus the dirt again to Craigslist; 6️⃣SOLD THE DESK!!! Isn’t that empty space gorgeous?!?! . . . This may not look like much, but it’s progress for me!00 - This spring, while I was musing on the #100dayproject and whether or not I might want to join in, it occurred to me that there were many parts of our house and yard that needed a bit (or a lot) of attention. It’s difficult for me to remember to work on these things in the few extra minutes I might have here or there in my day, even when just a few minutes might make a difference in making a pesky area of our house a little more useful or beautiful. So I’m calling my #100dayproject #100usefulbeautifuldays in homage to William Morris and my 2011 blogging self, who had a 1-year-old daughter and longed for beauty and simplicity in her home. I did start last Tuesday, April 3rd (the official start date of the project) and have already crossed two things off my list. Woo hoo! I decided though that I didn’t need the pressure of posting a beautiful picture every day, especially because some of the items on my list are dealing with things that are neither useful or beautiful. So although my plan is to do this for 100 consecutive days, I do not plan to post for 100 consecutive days. The point is doing it right? Or perhaps it’s not real if it doesn’t go on IG? 😉 I will be definitely be updating periodically on how my project is going. Beauty and usefulness, here we come! . . . Thanks to @mariglynn for her relentless promotion of the #100dayproject, which essentially badgered me into doing this! 😂 Check out her #100daysofdrawingattention project!We went to @cylburn Arboretum today, on a hunt for spring in the woods. And although spring seems to be a bit late this year, we did find plenty of daffodils to delight our eyes. 😍 #salmonandsouvlakiexplores #daffodils #cylburnarboretum #getoutsideandplay #treeclimbing #wildandfreekids #unschooling #baltimoreI have had very little time over the past three months to do any sewing of my own (other than handsewing #laurashexiequilt) because I’ve been working on a mammoth project that I may never actually be able to share. It’s a series of four quilts, for a friend, to provide a small measure of comfort to her and her family in their grief. I don’t feel like I can share that here (and I’m not doing all the work myself). But I am approaching the end of that project and yesterday afternoon, I had some quiet time to work on something fun. So I made a quilt! I had sewn four nine-patch blocks as part of a beginner sewing class that I taught at the beginning of March. So I turned those into disappearing-nine-patch blocks, added some big pieces, didn’t bother to trim, and finished up this cute little quilt top! I might even venture into practicing free motion quilting on it and I’m planning on donating it through the @baltimoremqg when it’s done. It’s amazing how quickly you can finish a quilt when it is small and simple and you don’t have any precise seams to match. 😂 (Lets contrast this to Ellie’s #fancyforestmedallionquilt, shall we?) I even made the backing already! Quilt measures about 33” square, fabric from my stash. #salmonandsouvlakisews #quiltersofinstagram #charmcitysewcial #baltimoremqgO praise the one who paid our debt! Happy Easter!On Sunday, we had the fun of marching in the Maryland Greek Independence Day Parade. We even got to ride on a float this year! Keep swiping to see a few more pictures and even a video of the “Greek” bagpipers. 😉 #baltimore #oriolebird #itsgoodtobegreek #salmonandsouvlakisews #greekindependenceday@nikzb7e Today, we are celebrating Nik’s first day in his new career. After teaching high school computer science for nearly 15 years, he is now a programmer himself. (Actually, he was a programmer all along, but now he’s getting paid to be a programmer, rather than teaching kids about programming.) This is the last lesson he ever taught and swipe for his lunch location and the view from his new office. Hello downtown Baltimore! * * I am entering the world of being a mother with a husband who commutes. Until now, I’ve been really blessed by a commute I was practically nonexistent. So we’re going to get accustomed to longer days without Baba and will especially look forward to Fridays when he works from home! I’m so proud of Nik! We’re also excited about the prospect of off-peak-season travel! 😀Categories
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Monthly Archives: March 2015
Sometimes Your Animals Just Need To Be Close
The other day, Mark asked me to help him put Bunny and Puppy on his back. He seems to have fond memories of being worn because now he’s helping out his animals in the same way! 🙂 I made him … Continue reading
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March Sewing: Flowers and a Heart for a Special Baby
I had the privilege of attending a baby shower on Saturday for a friend who is expecting a little girl in May. I made her a little baby blanket and wanting to add a bit of pink to the otherwise … Continue reading
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Favorite Books of 2014: Non-Fiction (everything else)
I read almost 100 books in 2014. Here are my favorites (and yes, I realize I’m nearly 3 months late with this list). I track my reading on Goodreads. So if we’re not friends there, you should join me! Here … Continue reading
My No-Shave Experiment – 121 Days and Counting (The REVEAL)
I haven’t shaved my legs or my armpits in 121 days (since November 22, 2014.) I did this deliberately. That day, I said to myself, “I’m going to shave today and then I’m not going to shave, for a long … Continue reading
Cute Children, Singing
My apologies for overwhelming you with videos this week! Ellie has been teaching Mark her Sunday School songs and here’s one. And, finally, I prove to you that Ellie has progressed beyond “Chukka, chukka, oh wah die” when it comes … Continue reading
Why Sourdough? Why Soaked? Why Even Bother?
A few weeks ago, my friend Liz left this comment on my “Seven Essential Tools for Baking” post. I answered her briefly in a comment there but promised her that I’d write a fuller response because I think it’s a … Continue reading
He Counts In Greek! And Sings in English!
It’s only fair that we show off Mark counting in Greek, right? Ellie had her moment in the spotlight, so here’s Mark’s. Unlike Ellie at this age, Mark is regularly and consistently counting to 20, usually perfectly, on his own. … Continue reading
