Quilting!

So I mentioned my "big project" on Facebook and forgot to give any details. I asked a few friends if they were interested in starting quilts this year. One is more experienced and has been helping us start ours, and it's proving to be much easier than I thought it would be... Probably because the ironing board is right next to us instead of downstairs, encouraging me to actually iron the fabric!

I choose to go with batiks for my quilt. We're doing a pattern called "Bento Box" that shows you how to make a block that can be arranged into many different patterns. Some don't look like anything to me, and other ones look really cool.

I also am going to start knitting a TON of these Trumpet Flowers for my sisters wedding! They're really pretty, and small. It shouldn't take to long to churn out a bunch, but I've got the time anyways, it seems. I'll need to grab up some needles that size, and matching yarn for the theme, but it shouldn't cost too much except time, which I've got plenty of!

So there's my 2 big projects this year. Yes, a lap sized quilt is a big project for me! I really want it to turn out beautiful. We are zipping through, honestly. I only got most of my fabric today, and I know that I'll end up need more anyways. Especially of the white. When I sew up a few blocks, I'll post a couple of pictures of the blocks so you can see my color scheme. It's mostly batiks, with a couple of tie-dies thrown in that sort of match the batiks.

Follow us on our Facebook!

2014 Goals

So I'm reading lots of posts on blogs and on facebook about people's goals and I have been thinking about my own. I only really have one big, long term goal that I want to get too: A self sufficient farm. There's a lot of smaller goals that go along with that goal, such as learning about raising and then raising all sorts of livestock, as well as gardening, and using the products from the garden and livestock. I'm in the process of learning a LOT right now, but the farm is a long way into my future right now, and I need to focus on smaller, short term goals that will get me to my future farm.

One of the more obvious goals is to get a job. However, I'm letting the job be interchangable with an education. If I can get financial aid this year and go to school, that will allow me to feel like I have a purpose to my life and that I'm being productive. I suffer from depression, and I think it's because I currently don't have anything to do all day. I AM productive, when doing crafts, but as I've said before I am living in a place where most of my crafting supplies don't have the room to be at. That last sentence could have been worded better, but that brings me to my next thing: Without school, or any stimulation, I can literally feel intelligence leaking out of my ears. I have been having trouble spelling, and a lot of trouble figuring out simple math in my head. Addition? Subtraction? I suddenly seem to be amazing at remembering random multiplication facts, but I can just forget about division. I literally missed learning it in school, anyways. So, I would prefer getting into school instead of getting a job, but again, money would be AWESOME.

I also would REALLY like to get a group of my friends to make enough things so by next February we could be a vendor at Radcon. With all of us together, we can make jewelry, knit items, chainmaille items, dice, carbon fiber boxes, plus lots more, so if we all pitch in I think we could make a profit.

I've also been thinking about getting German Angora rabbits. You have to shear them every 90 days, and you can use their fur to make yarn! Plus, they are also good for meat. So, it'd be jumping into the livestock that I'd like, if I started breeding them at least. I have to learn about rabbits still, plus this ties in to the fact that a job would be helping me move into a place where I could keep rabbits. I'm really excited about the idea of the rabbits, so here's what I've decided my goals this year is:

1. Get a job AND into school.
2. Move after accomplishing first goal! 
3. Focus on sell-able crafts. 
4. Get German Angora Rabbits. After moving. 

I honestly think that my life will be vastly improved by the first goal. I'd be doing something. So, that's the one I'll be working on the hardest. 

And of course, I'm an overweight woman, so I'll need to also lose weight for my New Years goal. I've already lost 3 pounds! What are your goals/resolutions this year? Do you think you'll accomplish them? 

Giant Squid Pillow

I am TOTALLY making one of these. It's a freaking body pillow... 8 feet tall/long.

Here is the tutorial, not showing the one above, that is one another person made with this tutorial, but she used fleece and I think it looks MUCH more cuddlier! 

Anyways, sorry for the short post, but I'm kind of busy today, but I just HAD to show you all this amazing squid body pillow! Definitely something in my future. 

Food inspirations

As you all know, I'm not much of a cook, but I really do have fun making SOME food... It's just one of those crafts that don't seem as fulfilling. You spend hours making something, for your kids to say they don't like it, and everyone else eats it all in 20 minutes.

Baking, on the other hand... There always seems to be leftovers. When I make my 9x13 lasagna pan full of baked mac and cheese, it feeds 2 people for 4 days. My pretzels lasted until today. Cookies last for days. So do cupcakes. At least in my family. Even with the little brothers who will eat anything sugary before turning to REAL food.

But, I still plan to be a wife and a mother one day, and to be a successful one (in my eyes) I need to learn how to cook. So, why not try making the more fun things first? Maybe I will start to think it's more fun.

Here are some things that I've been wanting to try.

Buttery Soft Pretzels ... Yeah, I still want the buttery ones. 

Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Homemade Potato Chips

Stuffed Potato Skins

This all may not be the healthiest of things, but it's not like I'm going to make these all in 1 day! What's hard is that this is all... Baked stuff. How am I ever going to get into actual cooking!??

Pajama Pants!

Okay so here's the deal: I didn't take a picture until they were already on and I'm not taking them off until tomorrow morning. So here's the picture you get right now.

Wait, let me text it to my email first, since all I got now is a camera phone...

Wait for it...

Okay it should be there now. Let me go get it for you.

So CUTE! Baby animals ^^ It's fleece, leftovers from a blanket my BF got the fabric for me to make. There wasn't quite enough so I used some OTHER left overs and made side panels, the waist band, and some extra length down there at the bottom hem. They're a little short, but I usually end up pulling the legs up during the night because I get hot. 

Anyways, there you go... I said I was going to post them today and I already posted about pretzels... 

Buttery Soft Pretzels? Yes Please!!

So, while looking around the internets, as I do, I stumbled across some soft pretzel recipes. I am really new to the world of cooking things besides ramen and grilled cheese, so I have been trying to find some fun recipes to try out. I'm really proud of my Baked Macaroni and Cheese, even though it's uber simple to make, and my BFs mother taught me how to make the families famous Broccoli Casserole, so I'm starting to get there.

You might notice that most all the things I can do are baked, but I feel safer baking than cooking on a stove top. However, I made myself cook up some chicken the other day! It was a leftover breast we didn't use for dinner the other day and it was sitting in the fridge, so I decided why not? Let's just throw this in the frying pan and see what happens.

I had to immediately add olive oil as the chicken just instantly melded with the pan, then after 10 minutes decided to just cut it up in chunks to cook faster, but it didn't burn and I'm still happy.

Well, I've decided I'm going to try to make big soft pretzels. I'm thinking about using this recipe here, but it isn't the first one I found and I might make adjustments as I see fit. Buttery pretzels sound amazing though, don't they?

Here's how I hope they turn out looking:

In fact, maybe I should go with the recipe that made those pretzels! 

52 Weeks of Happiness

So I just learned about something called 52 Weeks of Happiness. Basically, every week you post 4 pictures of things that made you happy in the last 7 days. It's a little late to start, but I think I am going to try to do this.

I know that my last post ended up becoming something of a rant, and I apologize for that, as I hoped for this blog to be more about crafting. The thing is, I am (a) Not staying at my dad's house, therefore am not encouraged to make things as I would be while sitting around in my room between applying for jobs, and (b) Horrible at taking pictures! I have a nice camera, but I forget about it. It also eats batteries if I leave them in it, so I have to put the batteries in, take pictures, upload them, then remember to immediately take the batteries out. Whenever I let someone borrow my camera it always comes back with dead batteries, because people tend to just leave the camera on or forget to turn it off after uploading. I'm not sure why it's such a battery devour-er  but it really pisses me off that I ended up with a nice camera that has such a drawback to using it. Otherwise I might have gotten more into the habit of taking pictures, and then I would have all these pictures. You know, of my life in general. I would like to have more pictures to show people in the future, for example my children.

So, some of the pictures might not be taken by me, but the things that might be worthy of being the 4 things that made me happy that I'll post about will most likely be blogs I found, patterns/tutorials I found, or food. My boyfriend refuses to have pictures taken of him while he is as fat as he is, so it's not like I'm going to be able to get pictures of us on Valentine's Day.

In fact, I might not even post pictures. You know what? If I CAN get pictures I will, but if I can't, I will just list off things that made me happy. Because it's a good thing to do. I think that if you write down a few things that made you happy every day, you'll start to have a better outlook on life. I certainly could use that!

Since today is Sunday, and technically it's the beginning of the week, I will write down 4 things that's made me happy now:

1. I'm MOSTLY not sick anymore! I didn't blog about it, but I had the flu!
2.My boyfriend got over the flu MUCH faster than I did! Plus he didn't get it from me!
3. I found an old friend and had a nice, long talk with him. It got a little emotional, well a LOT emotional, but I'm still really happy about it! I wish I had a picture to share with this one, but I won't see him until next week. Even then, he might get called in to work...
4. I found a new blog to start following!

I break promises, so here are my goals instead.

A while back, I wrote a post on what I was making people for xmas and that I would post pictures of all of the goodies after I had given them to the receivers. Well, I didn't take any pictures. I'm sorry. They were all pretty cool. But. I'm not big on taking pictures. Which is sad.

However, I did make up a crappy light box/tent and took some pictures of things I've made to sell, so here are some of those:

Ninja Star Jewelry Set

Key Rosary w/freshwater pearls

Wrapped Leather Bracelets

Well, I guess I lied. One of my friends took a picture of the cup cozy I made him. Here it is (above). He's already accidentally thrown it away and had to rescue it; I'm waiting to hear about someone forgetting to rescue it before it's too late. I won't be surprised or upset, because, that's just what's going to happen to these. Anyways, on to the second reason for posting: Goals. 

These are only goals that are blogger related, because I haven't exactly made any others except to get a damn job. Well, also to possibly go to my hometown to see friends and family. Anyways. 

• Comment on more blogs that I'm following. In order to show them support and encourage them to continue blogging for my own selfish need to have blogs to read. 
• Do better posts that are better related to things I have already crafted instead of talking about what I want to craft and such things. 
• Post more pictures of crafts that I have made. Also talk about them. 
• Force people to start following my blog by being interesting enough to continue reading.
• Also talk more about my 1 other passion besides crafting: Animals. Yep. I'd like to be a vet someday. I've already watched dogs get their genitals mutilated and large, wild birds be euthanized without any kind of emotional breakdown, so I think I would be good at it. 

One of my problems is that I ramble a lot. I can't help it. In life, I am too quiet for anyone to hear me, much less listen to me, so I sort of do all of my bitching online. I could write a goal about stopping that, but I know it's not going to happen unless my voice suddenly decides it's going to start projecting itself.

Anyways. I've already several bloggers' goals but hey, what could it hurt to read a few more? What are YOUR goals for 2013? Honestly, I think it was good enough to live through the apocalypse.