there's no place like gnome.

Goodness gracious.  I’ve been gone again.  It’s been a month!

Where was Lindsay in the month of May?

+ You heard I got a new couch.  It’s great.  I love it.  But it obviously changes the whole living room scheme.  I “found” a new side table (*cough* It has been living in the storage room of the parsonage since I moved in.  I figured if no one had come to claim it in the last three and a half years, it was no one’s favorite piece of furniture and it could be mine.  It was kinda falling apart and required some tlc and wood glue.  Plus, I’m pretty sure it’s from like three pastors ago anyways.) and made it my own.  (Spray paint!)  New pillows were sewn, which Mabel has adopted as her own, and a new slipcover for the ottoman.  I also acquired a new chair and moved the old furniture out.  We’re making progress and I like where it’s going. 

    + I finished two quilts – two quilts I’ve been working on for the last, oh, year and a half or two years.  They both hung, unfinished, on my upstairs railing for months before I got the gumption to get ’em done.  And now they are.  And they make me happy.  (Except for that one teal fabric, which happened to be in both of them, which happened to run when washed even with color catcher sheets.  Grr.  The rest of that fabric has went in the garbage.)   

 + May was busy with work.  I had work commitments every Saturday but one.  (And, if we’re honest, it started to make Lindsay a little cookoo.)  Wedding, baptism, synod assembly, crazy work.  Hoping for June to be a bit quieter with the ability to reclaim my days off.

+ On my first Saturday off in forever, Dave and I took a trip to Decorah so I could show him around my old stomping ground.  We biked a bit, ate ice cream, saw Dunnings Springs, and stopped for a wine tasting on the way home.  Also in the month of May, we undertook the Harry Potter series and watched each movie in rainy May’s weather, bought and assembled Lindsay’s new grill, and made salsa.  

+ I discovered the television series Parks and Rec.  Why did that take me so long?

+ I planted my garden and planted way too much in it.  Sunflowers, popcorn, lemon cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, pepper, carrots, lettuce, onions, oh my.  I planted strawberries too.  Strawberries that the rabbits sure are enjoying … silly wrabbits.  

That’s it. But that’s enough, right?  Here’s to June being a little less crazy. And here’s to June because it includes a week of vacation and Mama Leanne’s wedding!

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you’ll know I was all a flutter this past Saturday. I got a new couch.  It was free.  And did I mention awesome? 
Dave and I were out and about seeking the deals at the Austin city wide rummage sales. We found a few things.  A metal tray and an old painting that I plan to turn into something new. We also ran into one of Dave’s friends at a sale who then took a naked Barbie from a garage sale free box and stuck it under Dave’s windshield wiper. 

So Dave, the naked Barbie on the windshield, and I were driving around when we stopped at a house. Everything was to go. They were moving and most of the house was empty; what was left needed to go. We walked inside and I saw it. The couch. I literally gasped aloud. I was in love.  The owner saw my excitement.  If I hauled it out of there, it was mine for free. 

My practical side set in. Do I really need it?  (Maybe.) 

Will it be comfy enough to sit upon and watch a movie?  (Possibly.)

Was it at all practical? (Jury’s still out.)

Dave had none of that. She’ll take it, he said. And we were back within the hour with his trailer to haul it out.  We hauled it back to Dave’s (no time to take it to my house – we had a pinball party to get ready for that night, donchaknow) where we did carve out a little bit of time to haul it off the trailer to set it on the front yard, sit upon it and drink a beer. To be classy was our goal there, can’t you tell?  (The neighbor across the way was out mowing his lawn. Did we need help moving it, he yelled across the street, as we parked the couch outside the front door.  Nope.  We’re just fine.)

It’s at my house now, sitting in the sofa spot in front of the TV. And no, it probably isn’t as comfy as my other (hand-me-down, free, kinda-falling apart, slip-cover-required) couch but really, for as little time as I spend sitting on it watching television, that might be okay. It needs some throw pillows and a couple other furniture shifts to make it fit in completely, but Dave was right – its home is here in my eclectic decor. 

I’ll think we’ll be happy together, Mr. Green-striped-velour-ish Couch and I.  Happy indeed. 

You guys!  Someone left the cutest May Day basket on my front porch!  

  
 I woke up this morning, recalling May Days of old. I used to weave a paper basket and run down to Grandma Vera and Grandpa Sid’s house, only to drop the basket off, ring the bell and run.   One year in seminary, I made May Day door hangers of sorts and hung them on friends’ doors.   I love May Day!

I think it’s so quaint and cute and just plain old nice. It goes way back too. I think we should totally rekindle this May 1st activity!

Thanks to my surprise May Day basket dropper-off-er for bringing the tradition to my front porch!  It made my day to find a May Day basket outside my door. (Mabel kinda tipped me off that you were here and I caught the tail end of your vehicle so I’m pretty sure I know who you are … We’ll just add this to the list of reasons why you are awesome!) 

Here’s a closer pic of what was in my basket – the cutest little succulent salt and pepper shakers which will be perfect for summer picnics.  You know me well.  🙂

– to one day own and refurbish an old, small camper.

This is a dream that began last year.  And, honestly, it’s one I can’t shake.

It’s a trendy, cool thing right now.  (Not that that’s why I want to do it; it just means that examples are everywhere and that makes me want it even more.)  The trend is to buy an old Airstream or other camper and tear it apart only to put it back together.  To transform a small living space on wheels.  To pull into the campground and easily be the coolest camper there.

Like this.  Or this.  Or this.

Just a tiny kitchen/living space and sleeping space, that’s all I’m asking.  I’d be okay with tiny.  (Tiny and awesome.)  Because though I love the idea of camping, I think I would like it more when there is a camper involved.

Keep your eyes open for me, will you?

If you hear of any small, old campers needing a little love, let me know!

I know I’ve noted here that I seem to have a million and one sewing projects constantly in the works, with another half million in my brain that I want so desperately to start.  But I can’t do them all. Or, rather, I probably shouldn’t do them all at once. Right?

But sometimes I don’t have the energy for specific projects. I don’t know why precisely. Maybe I’m intimidated by the next step. Maybe I’d rather play with color and pick out new fabric than baste. Maybe I just get bored and need something new to reengergize my quilting mojo before the energy returns for the previous project. 

It’s a pretty consistent pattern for me. My hexie quilt hung on my stair rail for nearly a year before I picked it up again. I was intimidated by the next step. But now, all I can think about is finishing it. Energy for the Union Jack abounds where, for the last year, it was nonexistent. 

I have a baby quilt started on the design wall and I’m not sure where that energy went. (Sorry, Sara.) Maybe it went away in the flurry of baby quilts completed in the first couple months of this year. I love the fabric and the pattern and know it will get done soon.  Or maybe it’s intimidating to know that once that baby quilt is finished, I have a stack of three to start on.  (I love it, I do.)

And then there is the fact that sometimes, I just need to finish something. Maybe that’s why last weekend I made a pillowcase for no apparent reason but to have a completed project. Maybe that’s why I finished two and then started three more “hour baskets.” Opps.  (You can always use another fabric basket, right?)

What am I ultimately trying to say?  I don’t know. I just know I have a sermon to write before the day is over and all I can think about is making progress on the good ole Union Jack!  (Plus, the bf promised me a ‘quilt party’ when it’s complete. Just like we have a little mini celebration when he finishes fixing/restoring a pinball machine – aka we play it, we will celebrate quilt accomplishments. By covering up with them and watching a movie?  I’m not sure exactly.)

We headed to the cabin Thursday evening for a weekend of relaxation and nature. And walking to the outhouse in the middle of the night hoping to not be attacked by a bear. Or a Sasquatch.  And searching for ticks, still feeling them crawling all over even after you’ve checked a million times.  You know, fun, relaxing nature stuff.  

But, no.  Really. It was good and relaxing and fun. There were lots of games by gas light (Qwirkle, Sequence, and learning both chess – me – and cribbage – both of us), and a day trip to Wisconsin Dells for mini golf, pizza, and a quest to find wizards. (There is this place called WizardQuest that my friends recommended.  Basically, you’re on a quest to find wizards. Really. It’s true.  There are different realms and tunnels and slides and secret doors.  We started on level medium and then asked to be downgraded to easy. Those wizards are tricky!) We hiked to the fire tower in the forest across from the cabin (We took the super steep route, I might add.  I have a deep cut on my hand to prove it.), searching for geocaches along the way. We went down the road to the local supper club for dinner one night, and perfected the art of camp coffee at the cabin. Then, on a beautiful sunny afternoon, we dragged comfy, reclining chairs from the cabin onto the deck to nap (Dave) and quilt (me).  

We saw no bears but the ticks were real. We had really hoped that it was early enough in the season so ticks would not be a nuisance but no luck there. I bet we pulled six or so off our persons after our morning of hiking through the woods. That prompted (well, that creepy crawly tick feeling and also being in the woods with no plumbing/showers) ‘dish tub baths’ on the deck to be sure all the ticks were gone. *shudder* (It also felt pretty good to have clean hair after a few days of not washing.)

It was good to get away bit, as is usually the case, it’s good to get home too. It was delightful to shower and launder the quarantined tick clothing.  For good measure, I took tomorrow off of work too. Because of that, this little spring vacation will also include quality time with my sewing machine, and perhaps some garden seed starting.  And no more ticks. 

Below are a few photos from cabin time entitled: “morning cabin coffee time,” “a nerdy chess instructor,” “fetching a geocache high in a tree,” “fire tower graffiti from the past,” “the view from the ridge,” and “this is me sitting on a recliner in the sunshine relaxing the afternoon away.”

Goodness gracious, it’s been a long (unintentional) blog hiatus over here with the gnomes. What has caused this, the great blog hiatus of the spring of 2015? Well …

+ There is work. Palm Sunday, Holy Week, Easter services, and Holy Humor Sunday with kazoos. All was good and well and (mostly) enjoyable.

+ I ordered some of my garden seeds (Popcorn! Sweet potatoes to experiment! Rainbow carrots!) and look longingly at my to-be tilled garden. I have also stooped and stared for minutes on end at the propagating succulents in my window. (Out of, oh, 30 leaves, three show signs of life. Holding out for a few more.)

+ I took a whirlwind trip to Indianapolis to accompany the sister as she interviewed at a grad school. Thursday: Drive home to WI. Jump in car with sister to IN. 10.5ish hours car time. Friday: Explore Indianapolis while sister interviews. Meet super fun people who send me around the city to the coolest shops. Return to WI. Saturday: Drive back to MN. Whirlwind indeed.

+ First bike rides!

+ Remember that Union Jack quilt of hexies I worked on forever ago? I pulled it out again. It might be finished one of these days …

+ Visitors! My mom and Jeff came for Easter. Fun included going out the night before Easter to a bar in order to watch the Badgers in the final four. (Lindsay has no cable.)

+ Easter crafts including gluing pom-poms to branches, salt dough ornament eggs, Easter throw pillows, and dying eggs.

+ Paper-piecing lots of diamonds, a birthday party for a super cute one year old, baking mini donuts in my new mini donut pans, watching mucho Friends, meeting new babies, and packing for a long weekend at the cabin!

I leave tomorrow for a little time away in the woods at the family cabin. Looking forward to great weather, disconnecting, and board games by gas light. And no bears. Please, no bears.

If you were to look at my internet browser search history, or my Pinterest search activity, you would find two main topics typed in the last couple days: propagating succulents and English paper piecing diamonds.

NEW ADVENTURES! NEW ADVENTURES!

But, err … uhh … Lindsay? What exactly is propagating succulents?

I’m so glad you asked.

If you’ve been to the parsonage, you may well know I have a windowsill full of succulents in pots. All different kinds. And they have kinda spilled over onto other tables and shelves. I’m a sucker for a succulent. When Emma and I went to Ikea last week, I made her promise that she would not let me buy any more.

Any more. Ha. Because then I learned how easy it is to propagate the succulents you have, aka grow more of them using leaves and cuttings. My windowsill is now a succulent nursery. I’ll keep you up to date on the progress!

The second new adventure? I’m embarking on a new EPP project. It will be a long term, work-on-while-I-am-a-car-passenger kind of project. Something I can take with me on the road. I’ve done hexagons; this time, I’m trying diamonds. (Yes, the hexagon project was the Union Jack flag quilt. Yes, it’s still not done. Yes, I should probably finish that one before starting another one. Yes, that would make sense. You know, you’re starting to sound like the boyfriend who teases me that I have too many projects in progress … I admit, I have a problem.) This is my inspiration and I’m reaching into the scrap basket instead of buying new fabric. I ordered my paper pieces this time (instead of cutting them out myself. oy.) and they should arrive any day. I’m so excited.

NEW ADVENTURES!

I’ve been sewing like crazy the last couple weeks. But not this week because MY SISTER CAME TO VISIT! She spent a portion of her spring break here in MN. Quilting was at a minimum due to a shopping trip to the cities and games and movies and general hanging out. But before that, I was spending a lot of time in the sewing room, aka my happy place. It seems I worked in pairs …

Two baby quits reached completion. The red, white, and blue one was commissioned by my mom. She picked out the fabric; I did the quilting. The other circle quilt will be off to St.Paul soon as a gift to college pal, Deb’s second child, Miss Ellie. I hope to deliver the quilt/hold the new baby soon!

The other thing sewn of late were a pair of toddler aprons. They went in the mail last week to a set of twins in Montana who I think are pretty great.

Next in the sewing docket: another baby quilt. Finishing my gumdrop quilt. And I really want to tackle a cargo duffle bag. Like this. It will take guts. Then there are dreams of a quilt for my bed, finally finishing the Union Jack hexagon quilt, and so much more. And just as the weather is calling me to be outside …

As always, too many projects and not enough time!

It’s a heart. A scrappy heart. A lap quilt for the couch. Hand quilted en route to and in Montana.