what I love right now

I've always loved the name of my friend Ara Jane's blog-- you know what I love?-- because that's what blogging should really be about. It's been a crazy year, but I am slowly getting back into routines and am feeling jazzed about sharing what I love in this space again. There is so much good stuff coming up.

What I love right now:

Being Settled 

We moved into a new house in June, after living in a teeny condo for 9 months. It was crazy fast-- 5 days from making an offer to moving in. We traded my dream area for one that is actually more dreamy in the end. We are just a 5-minute walk to one of the best trail systems in Anchorage. Our yard has an incredible amount of aspen and birch trees and hosts moose just about every day. It's so peaceful here. But the best thing? I have a sewing room again. I'm calling it my studio though, because a lot more goes on in there than just sewing. I could pinch myself, I love it so much. The wallpaper? Not so much. But its time is limited.



Dinner: The Playbook by Jenny Rosenstrach

Anyone who talks to me on a regular basis knows how much I loathe cooking dinner. It's not something that comes easy to me. I get distracted by the day's activities and then panic around 5:00. It's so much work, and with 4 kids, someone is bound to throw a fit about what I make.

I received Jenny's first book, Dinner: A Love Story for my birthday this summer and have slowly been reading it and loving it. So I pre-ordered her newest book, Dinner: The Playbook, and devoured it soon after it arrived. Something about the way she writes, and the way she lays out her recipes, clicks for me. We sit down as a family on Wednesday nights and plan for the next week. So far we've had things like shrimp rolls, chicken parmesan meatballs, kale and chorizo frittatas, and creamy greek chicken noodle soup. Everything has been delicious and totally manageable to make. The kids don't love it all, but they are trying things and getting excited about each new meal. I know that meal planning is nothing new. But I swear that this book has turned me into a happier and better cook already. If you don't have this book, get it.



Carrie Bloomston

I'm participating in a blog hop next week for Carrie Bloomston's new DVD with Interweave called Art Techniques for Quilt Design. I'll have more to say then of course, but after watching parts of it last night-- WOW. I've always appreciated her fabric lines and patterns, but she has so much more to contribute to the quilting world as an artist. I love watching her translate her artistic training into exercises to drive creativity. I'm excited to watch more, and learn more, in the next few days.

Making

After what felt like a pretty big dry spell, I am back to making and creating every day. Some days that means waking up at 5:00 a.m. so I can get time to myself. Some days it means letting the laundry stack up. I've been carving stamps, dyeing and painting fabric, stitching quilts and bags and clothes, sketching, and experimenting. I'll share some of it. Some of it will have to wait for sharing until later. But it's so great to be doing what I love again.