Hey There...

 Just popping in to say Hello and Merry Christmas to you all.  Not sure why I have not been blogging as much lately, maybe it is because of this little girl above.  We all had a lovely holiday this year and I hope that you did too.  I did not do a lot of knitting this holiday, but did get a few hats made for some the girls in my family.

 This is a picture of my oldest daughter and her boyfriend (baby daddy), I got a ghost image without even trying, not sure how that happened, but love the effect.

Here is me and grandbaby, hanging out on Christmas day.  Happy New Year to you all, and hopefully I will get back to this space more often in the New Year. 

Now I am a grandma!

This is the very first picture of my first granddaughter, Lillian Rae.   She was born yesterday, 8 lbs 9 oz and perfectly healthy.  I hope to get some better pictures today of her and actually hold her.  My daughter did so well on this birth and I am very proud of her.  I had alot of anixiety about being part of the labor and birthing process with her, but really it went very smooth and right on time.  Such a different experience from own labor with my children.  Things sure have changed in the 21 plus years since I did this.  Ok, now I am off to go spend the day with my new grandbaby, YAY!

Hello...

Ahhh, I am feeling so much like my old self again.  Now we can get back to our regular scheduled life around these parts.  I gathered some of my favorite photos from the last month.  Kinda surprised myself tonight looking thur these that I was able to even take some photos due to feeling so crummy for the last month or so.  But wow, life has been busy so lets catch up, shall we?

Above, we have the first grandbaby in the making shot.  Baby will be a girl, named Lillian Rae, and she should be here in about three weeks or less now.  Here is a quick little story.  I was coming in the door to the house a few nights ago, and the youngest daughter came out to greet me with Todd the dog and said to Todd the dog "hey there is grandma" and I looked back to the driveway to look for my own mother not knowing she was calling me grandma.  It took me back a little bit that I was the grandma here and not my own mother.  I better get used to this granny thing fast, huh?

 Some shots of the baby shower that took place at our home last month.  The clothesline idea was mine to try and save on the decorations cost as we are all on budgets these days, right?  Below is my attempt at a diaper cake.  It was fun to make and I had extra help from the ladies in the family.  I think they did more on this than I did that day so I just got out of the way after rolling up all those diapers.

  

  Went on a double date to First Fridays in the Crossroads at the beginning of October.  Had fun with my brother and his girlfriend.  It was their first time going, so hubby and I got to show them around some of the galleries. Good times had by all.

 We even went camping a few weekends back with my sister and her gang.  We took the four wheelers out to a riding park down south and had a great time.  Me being a girl and all, I would much rather take a walk in the woods than wrangle a four wheeler around, but the guys love that stuff in our family.  Here I am making hubby do a photo shot with me when we took a break on the side of one of the trails. 

And now that everything is alright in my world now, I am going to get back to my happy place of sewing and knitting.  Thanks for letting me share with you all, and please let me know what you are up to making these days too.  Happy crafting everyone!

Nope, nothing to show

I have not forgotten about my beloved blog, just been under the weather for far too long.  Off to the doctor tomorrow (again more like it) to see if we can figure this out.  It is a sinus infection that is not going away with normal antibiotics.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that I get some better meds and start feeling like myself again.

Because I have projects that need to be completed but I am too worn out after working all day at my normal boring office job.  Wish me luck and hopefully I will back here in my happy place.

Now all I need is a grandbaby to wrap this in

I got it done, YAY!  It is not perfect, but it is crinkly, cuddly, and soft.  And I got it done just in time, fabulous.  I also managed to squeeze in some housework today too, begrudgingly, but I did do it.  I am so much happier when I am in the studio, even if I do feel like a tortured artist at times. 

Will I make it in time??

Here I am two days away from the baby shower trying to finish the quilt for grandbaby.  What can I say, but that I am a procrastinator apparently.  At least I am to the actual quilting part today.  It should not take me too long to quilt it.  So far it measures 56 x 44, so I think it is doable to get it done in time. 
My house may not be shining clean for the day of the party, but I will get this quilt done in time, yes I will.

Finally back to sewing

Here is me in the studio yesterday on my birthday sewing.  Working on a baby quilt for the first grandbaby that is soon to be here.  I have also been told that a second grandbaby is now in the making as well.  Our youngest got married this last summer and is now expecting as well.  WOW!  Two grandbabies so soon. 
I feel blessed of course, but also a little overwhelmed by it all.  All three of my children, who are in their 20s now, have kept me on my toes this last summer. 

My hubby got me a camera tripod for my birthday, and I just tried it out for the first time with my remote with the camera.  I am impressed and this picture inspired me to blog about it (or show it off?).  I wonder how many "action" shots I will be taking with me it in now.  I usually do not like myself in pictures, I can be too critical of my flaws.  Oh the joys of turning 43, huh? 

Ok, back to crafting, I have taken this week off from work for a vacation, to stay home and craft and prepare for the baby shower that is to take place in our backyard this weekend.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for good weather as my home is small and it would be way too crowded for all those people to be stuffed in my house.  We are expecting approximately 40 people this weekend, whew!

Yay! A knitted hat for this winter

Made last weekend after a trip to the Yarn Barn in Lawrence to refresh the stash for winter.

Got the pattern from here, super easy and super fast, just what I needed last weekend.

Is it fall yet?

Just discovered that I can get back on here and blog while on my work breaks, YAY!  I might actually return to blogging now.  I can not seem to find the creative juice to do it when I get home in the evenings.

Look for more later next week....

Summertime

ok so I have been a bit busy and neglected my beloved blog.  Not to worry though I have still been crafting.  Finished a rag rug for a nephew, and did not take a picture.  Finished a ripple crochet blanket and did not take a picture (still weaving some ends in on that one).   Awaiting a new Webs yarn order so I can start on some baby surprise jackets for the gbaby and other babies that are coming this fall.  Havent done much sewing though, still have that last baby quilt top laying on the ironing board ready to be made into a sandwich and basted. 

But I do have lots of pictures of boating this summer.  YAY! So I now give you the following:

So begins a new project

I cut this up last night.  It was really hard as it is part of a recent purchase online of designer fabric.  I think I got it from Fabric Worm.  I get most of my fabric from the local fabric store that is nearest me, Hancock Fabrics, which is fine but after reading all the quilting blogs, I wanted more.
I cut it into all 6 inch stips, then cut again into various lenghts of rectangles, anywhere from 5-14 inches or so. 
Now I am going to just sew them end to end into one big long strip.  Then cut that strip into the length or width (does it matter?) of the quilt size that I want.  I am going for a baby quilt so I am thinking in the 40inch to 50 inch range.  Square or rectangle?  Not sure yet.  Just gonna wing it, cause that is how I like to roll with this creative process.
I planned on sewing up here tonight in the art studio, but then the BIL and nephews made a stop by my house.  Had to feed the nephews popsicles and sit and chat with them on the deck.  Oh the shame of it all.  Stopping to enjoy life with the little ones in your life.  Makes you realize that that is what is important.  Not our boring uncreative jobs, the mortgage, or the bills, but life with little people.
Oh, to be 8 or 9 years again, it was all so simple then, huh?
I am going to try to remember that when I get bummed out in the future.
Ok, now back to crafting...

I,Jolene Rau pledge to talk more about my processes, even when I can’t quite put them in the in words or be sure I’m being totally clear. I’m going to put my thinking and my gut feelings out there.

Counting the days

Till our annual adults only canoe trip. It is like our 15th year doing this and all of my kids are old enough to go now as adults.  We started this tradition years ago so that us adults would have one long weekend to go camping without the little ones.  My how the time flies.
This year I made home made hula hoops for us all to try out.  I made two last year that have been a huge hit when we go camping, so thought I would make more so everyone can have their own.  I also got glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets.  We really are just a bunch of 5 year olds in 40 year old bodies trying to have fun with life.
This year we are going to the Niangua River here in Missouri.  Great river that is not too far from home. 
On the home front we now have the youngest daughters boyfriend living with us.  He is off to the Middle East in August for his second tour of duty with the National Guard.  The oldest daughter who is expecting in November is doing just fine.  She is to find out next month if it is a boy or a girl.  We are also having the family over for a bar b q this weekend to celebrate our sons 23rd birthday.  YAY for parties!
On the crafting front, not much has been getting done around here.  I have bought lots of fabric lately, in anticipation of making lots of baby quilts.  I just havent settled on a design yet to try out.  I better get busy though, time flies in the summer around here.
Anyways, that is it around here, not much going on, the weather has been crummy for the spring, but today was nice and sunny and in the 70's which always makes me smile more.

I am going to have to get busy

I now know of four people in my circle of family and friends that are expecting.  So many quilts to make, YAY!!

Pinwheel baby quilt

Just got it done this morning, popped it in the washer a few minutes ago. Before washing it measured 36x36, but I am sure it will shrink, just hoping not too much.
This was a fast quilt to put together once I got the blocks done. Sandwiched it yesterday morning, began quilting it, had some tension problems, but once that was worked out it was smooth sailing.
I liked doing a smaller quilt because I got to the finished part so much faster, and that is the best part of making these. The satisfaction of a job well done.

Now I am liking it

So much better now. And natural light is making me like it more. Which means I will be motivated to finish it now. YAY!

hmmm, not exactly what I was going for

Pinwheels, love em, but I think this quilt top is coming out too light. This is just a random arrangement, that I stuck them on the wall just any old way. Hmm, more to make then. This is going to be a baby quilt for that new grandbaby of mine that is in the making. We wont know until June if it will be a boy or a girl, so I gotta keep my projects neutral for now.

Back to work then. Keep on crafting.

FO! And our family is growing...

I wish it was not raining outside, because I would take this bad ass quilt outside for a real photo shoot. Instead you get it laying on my bed, which is where it will live because this one is all mine!!

And a close up of the free motion quilting done on it yesterday. I took a mental health day from work and worked on this all day and most of the evening to finish it up. Final measurements before washing, 75 x 75, after washing, 71 x 71, which is perfect for me to wrap up in and read a book.

Now, I think I will work on some baby quilts. A few weeks ago we found out that we are going to be grandparents, how awesome is that? Our oldest daughter, Sirena, is expecting, sometime around Thanksgiving. Now I will have a little person to make lots of handmade items for, way cool.

First weekend of Spring and I was stuck inside

So I figured I might as well work on my lastest project. A quilt with circles. The plan is to keep it for myself.
This last winter has been a bitch for me. Got the blues really bad this year so I did not do much crafting after the Christmas holidays. I think I should invest in one of those lamps that people use in the winter, maybe that would help, because anti depressants did not at all. It was my first time trying a few and they just made me feel worse so I stopped taking them. I really just think I need more fresh air and lots of sunshine and maybe a new job.

I have been toying with the idea of making quilts and selling them online. Just not sure though about me being a workhorse to produce all the quilts. I would just want to do it at my own pace and maybe make a few bucks in the end to keep supplying my yarn and fabric habit that I have.
We will see.
I started the above quilt a few weekends back, usually work on it a few hours at a time on the weekends. So far I think I have about 10 hours of labor and love into it. Not bad, eh? I have probably another 10 hours left to go with the actual quilting and binding, so this could be like a part time job, huh?
Ok, off to more sewing, enjoy your weekend, Monday will be here before we know it.

Love Love Love

I made some new knitting friends! Okay, they were already my friends and I am teaching them to knit. Below is Teara, look how fast she is knitting!!!
This is Taylor, Teara's step daughter, and she has really taken to it. Aww, she is going really fast too.

It all started with our book club, Jennifer and I were talking about our lastest knitting projects at book club last month, and then Teara is showing me the quilted bag her mom made her for Christmas and how maybe she should learn how to knit. Of course I offered to come over to their house and teach them. Which in turn called for a trip to the yarn store for supplies and off we were on the new knitting adventure. By the end of the day I wasn't sure if they would like it, but then a few days later I am getting phone calls asking for advice. Ta-da, they are addicted now too. Hip Hip Hooray!

Onto other news here on the homefront, I made hubby and I a heart shaped pizza for dinner last night. Yumo!

He in turn made us breakfast today, pancakes and bacon. Then we made a trip to the hardware store to go buy a new kitchen faucet that he is now currently installing as I lounge on the couch updating my blog. True love, it is...

Swifty

See that up there? I got a yarn swift from hubby for Christmas and I finally got around to trying it out this past weekend. I had a little problem getting the skein on it and having it opened to the right size, but once I got this going I was laughing my butt off. So much easier then putting the skein on the back of chair and alot faster too.

Hubby was super proud of himself for walking into the yarn store and naming this off as to what he is in there for. Last year I got the ball winder and this year the yarn swift. He always gets me the best presents and I love him for it.

Now if I could just get my groove back for knitting, what is up with that?

A New Year!

Ok, so I have been MIA a for awhile, sorry about that. The holidays were a bit busy this last year and now cold dark January is here upon us once more. Above is our yearly Christmas picture in the Rau household. We are missing the oldest daughter this year, she came over later in the day after some of the kids had to leave and go onto other parents house to spread their holiday cheer.

They all were very nice about wearing the hats that I knitted up for them, such lovely children that I have.

I did not have much me this holiday season get all the knitting done that I wanted. I did get each child a knitted miniature Christmas sweater ornament knitted to go on their special gifts. And they all got the hats as well. But that was it and it was struggle for me to get that little bit done. I think my knitting mojo is on the down low, which is weird, this is the best time of year to be knitting.

Oh well, I know it will come back and soon I hope. Now it is back to watching Netflix movies on the TV with the kids that are here, Valerie and her lovely beau Jon.

More later, I am sure, for now, stay inside and knit!