Watch out! Molly is so cute she'll steal your heart!

Molly has been such a little rascal recently. Last night she came trotting into my room with this stuffed heart in her mouth that is bigger than her head! She knew she wasn't supposed to have it but she has a fancy for stuffed things like this (the little stuffed puppy who used to live on my bed now has to hide behind the pillows after many ferocious, slobbery attacks from this little white fluff ball).
I have to admit though, she did look rather cute prancing around with it in her mouth ;) She was quite happy that I let her keep it long enough to take pictures of it because I knew mom would find this particularly funny when she gets back from her trip. While Cooey loved quilts, she mostly saw their value as a comfy place to sleep. Now Molly on the other hand as become quite fascinated and enthralled with the whole quilting/sewing process. Perhaps it comes from spending so many mornings as a small puppy up in the sewing room with mom, but she now hunts around on the floor for a fat quarter of fabric that she can reach and sneaks off with it hanging out of her little mouth. She used to be more into knitting and could never resist my needles or yarn if they were within her reach, but she seems to have decided fabric is much more interesting these days!
So I went down to put the heart away after I rescued it from her and tried to smooth away the teeth marks, only to find that she had taken mom's entire bowl of stuffed, decorated hearts and strewn them across the living room, along with the little brown bits of paper that were in the bottom of the bowl! After replacing them, I discovered another little heart upstairs that James had previously rescued from her without realizing all the fun she was having downstairs and so she gave it to him and ran to pick out a new one to chew up ;) And so as Proverbs tells us, "Guard your heart above all else, for out of it are the wellsprings of life." I just never knew it was Molly I was supposed to be guarding it from ;)

Thinking About...

-healthy meals
-whether or not I can convince mom to let me take over grocery shopping and menu planning until the wedding
-wanting to go to the farmer's market
-our blooming lilies which would look so lovely in my blue glass jar
-dying to check out the yarn store in Carrborro

There's been a lot of creating goin' on around here recently. Not of the knitting variety though, which is surprising seeing as that's what most of the handwork I've done in the past year has consisted of. Nope, my sewing machine has gotten quite a work out...

It started with Lindsey's turtle (and I so want to make one for myself, he's so soft and cuddly and a lot of fun to make.














Another big project I knew I really needed to get started on is my dress for my sister's wedding. She's having black brides maid's dresses with purple sashes, but I hadn't been able to find a modest black dress that met all her specifications and would work with a sash that was under $300, so I decided to make one. When e was up here one afternoon we tackled the beginning of the project which has turned out to be, not making a dress from scratch, but, modifying another dress, making it longer and adding a sheer layer over part of it. I think its gonna turn out really cute. I'll be sure to post pictures when I've finished it. At this point all I have left to do on it is attach the sheer part and hem it up.
The next project, which is also still not finished, was coordinating skirts that Lindsey and I were going to wear on the day we had our Religions presentation together. (Mine is variegated purple and her's is variegated aqua.) But alas, I had tried to cram too much in an unreasonable amount of time, and I had forgotten that I need to figure out a way to make a lining. Any ideas from those of you who sew???

And of course after all this sewing it dawned on me that I definitely need to stitch a pretty cover for my sewing machine since it sits out on my table all the time. This was so much fun to make with my new favorite green and brown fabric that I bought having no clue what I would make with it ;) It fits into my room so perfectly. Pictures to follow when I've finished a bit of embroidery on the corner. And along the way it occurred to me that sewing would be much easier if I had a pincushion and since I had no clue what had happened to the one I had years ago, of course I had to make one ;)

(And no, that's not grass growing out of my machine, its my latest batch zinnia seeds ;) )

I thought my last sewing project for a while would be making the bag I'd promised Lindsey...We'd gone and gotten the fabric weeks before and I was hoping to have it finished in time for her to take it on her trip to DC. I got it finished, but it turned out quite differently that I'd thought it would. It turned out to be almost a combination of the bag I was intending to make, and the green and brown one that I've carried every day for the last year. But combining the two patterns turned out to be absolutely perfect and even allowed for adding some cool little things like a special pocket in just the right spot and a ring to clip your keys to. In fact, after making hers, I liked it so much I just had to ask if she'd mind if I made one like it for myself ;) And so instead of giving the sewing machine a rest, I made one for myself this week!

And I doubt its likely to get a rest any time soon. Summer classes start tomorrow, but I think I can still squeeze in some time to finish my dress and the skirts and make my turtle, and whatever else I dream up in the meantime ;)

So I've been trying to eat more healthy/natural foods, but I'm ALWAYS hungry lately. Does anyone have any good ideas for healthy snacks? My recent favorite has been oranges and sunflower seeds, but I could really use some new ideas!