Lost but not forgotten…?

Hello All!  I was temporally lost in the world of Jen and forgot about this world of cyber greatness.  This summer flew by without any warning. When we last spoke I was searching for a sewing machine and have since gone through two!  Here is the story:

I decided one day that I wanted to learn how to sew.  I mastered the art of mitten and toques and decided I needed a new challenge and sewing was just the one.  I went to the neighborhood sewing machine store, googled  sewing machines and put out a general post asking for advice and decided the Janome My Style 100 was the one for me.  I went to fabric land picked out some patters and signed up for a sewing class.  I picked an apron as my first project and after 45 mins of sewing lessons I HATED SEWING!  I was bored and felt that I had not creative room, everything had to be followed according to the pattern and I was less than perfect with that direction!

Naturally, I did what ever person would do I looked for another sewing hobby and took up heroin, well actually I took up quilting, but seriously, it would have been cheaper to have a drug habit.  I started with a baby quilt and feel in love with the endless opportunity and options in the world of quilting!  I know what you are thinking – Jen seriously when did you get a membership to the geriatric club!  I say you this – quilting is pretty awesome so there!   Once I realized my new-found love I naturally had to upgrade my machine – twice!  In the end I bought a Phaff Ambition 1.0 and it has been true love ever since. Anyway, I will post some of my awesome creations soon!

JB – OUT

Things I have done!

Well it has been a long time since I have visited my blog!  I have done a lot of cool stuff since the last time we spoke, and I few silly things. I bought a sewing machine a Janome My Style 500.  I really like it!  I made some grocery bags, a cat tunnel, apron, hot pads (things you put hot pots on), pin cushion and a baby quilt.  The quilt was the best project so far and has inspired me to do more quilting!  I have already picked colors out for two lap quilts. I also went to Hawaii with my lovely boyfriend and his family.  It was great – an adventure with some interesting twists.

We left for Hawaii on March 18th we left for Vancouver at 7 am.  We left my car at my brother’s house and then took the sea bus, sky train, and then finally the plane to Hawaii!  We were picked up and taken to the “plantation” which is where we stayed.  It was dark, but the sweet smell made it feel beautiful even in the dark! We were given a tour of the house, the guest house and the pool house.

We settled into the Pool house and were just about to go to bed when we had a surprise visit from a friendly cockroach. Needless to say I did not have a very good reaction.  I was yelling at Matthew to kill it while be ran after the little critter with his weapon of choice – his flip-flop.  Matthew the great warrior killed the beast with two swats and deposed on it in the toilet.  Despite the surprise visits we had a very sound sleep!  The following day we a wonderful time checking the house out and then we took the bus into town where we found MACY’S!  We stopped the bus and headed for the big box store.  Inside we found an American version of the Bay……a little bigger, but nothing overly exciting.  I bought a paid of shoes for the wedding and we picked out a shirt for my Cockroach Warrior!

The next big even on the trip was the wedding rehearsal dinner.  We had a huge BBQ in a covered gazebo, drank beer and fruity drinks and sat around and talked.  It was so great to see so many people there for such an amazing and loving event.  I was admiring the event and joined Matthew at his table and I noticed a few minutes after I sat down that the guys became a little quite and kept looking at the beer fridge and pig roasting pit (serious).  Matthew then turned to me and admitted that they had seen something dart behind the fridge and that it hadn’t come out.  When I asked what it was he said with great reluctance that it was a rat.  We both looked with eyes wide waiting for the rat, but it didn’t come out.  Normally, that wouldn’t matter, but in this case the gazebo was attached to the pool house.  Matthew got up and went to investigate and of course I was right on his heels.  We went into the room and I darted for high ground – the bed!  We looked around and saw nothing, just as I began to relax I saw it!  It ran across the ledge on the rock well in the room which was the other side of the pig pit.  It was like the taco bell dog with a long nasty tail and gray. I wish I could say that I stayed strong and didn’t panic, but there was too much beer and rum coursing through my veins and I immediately froze and screeched “there it is ahhhhhhh”.  Matthew joined me on the bed for a better view and doubted that I saw it at first.  Matthew then said “baby don’t panic, its next to your shoes under the chair.”  I did my best to not panic, and remained somewhat ‘clam’, however, I may have cried, a little.   We went outside and everyone was looking at the rock wall. When I “remained calm” it frightened our new roommate back outside and everyone was now looking for our new guest.  The men went to work trying to construct a trap I was sent to get peanut butter.  Minutes passed, and frankly most lost interest when the rat didn’t appear again.    Needless to say, we moved from the pool house into the guest house and did not see our friend again.

I will post some pictures of the trip and share more stories soon..stay tuned to learn about my snorkeling ‘adventure’!

New Year, New Adventures with New Crafts

Well here it is 2011, I have to admit I am a little disappointed I don’t have a flying car!  2010 was an interesting year for me, I experienced great love,  heartache, and an incredible amount of self growth.  I can honestly say that I am looking forward to what 2011 has in store for me!  Before we get started with the new, lets recap on the old!

I ended 2010 with discovering a great new passion….wait for it…..knitting!  That’s right I have taken up knitting.  I have mastered the art of the toque with patterns!  I have also mastered…well almost mastered the art of mittens – the thumbs are not very forgiving. In total I made 6 toques, 3 sets of mitts, & 1 scarf!  I am currently making an afghan! I have to admit my boyfriends mother inspired me, she is always working on something and is a very accomplished knitter.  This year I an eager to start on some more complicated patters and am going to try to knit some sweaters!

In addition to knitting, I have also been dabbling with the idea of sewing.  I have been researching different beginner machines and I think that I am going to go with a brother. It has some pretty good reviews and the cost is pretty good on Amazon – much cheaper online then in stores.  I am going to wait a couple of weeks before I make the big purchase – apparently in an attempt to ensure I do not have buyers remorse!  If anyone has any suggestions on a Machine I am more than happy to hear about them.

In the meantime I will endeavor to work on my afghan and post some patterns for knitting that I have stumbled across, altered, changed all together etc….

Be good to you!

Straw

Ever wake up and realize that life is not going to change unless you are the change agent?  Well I have been waking up like that over the past few days.  Realizing that I control my own life, yes people impact and can certainly affect my path, but only for so long.

I am not going to deal with being an after thought, especially me being an after thought of my own thoughts.  Sometimes you have to realize that the most important person has to be yourself, at least sometimes.

Make this moment about you and your personal value.