We were so excited when the twins appeared.  Now they are turning a beautiful red.  They were also joined by some nice neighbors.  Our garden has really struggled with production this year so we are really celebrating the small victories.  We now have at least a few tomatoes on each of our five plants, but it is pretty sparse.  The twins’ plant is showing the greatest potential for bounty.

Last year’s tomato plants ran out of nutrients just as the tomatoes were transitioning to red.  We only got two zucchinis and no peppers.  We did not know there was a problem until it was too late.  This year we have been adding soil amendments on schedule, but the summer squash and peppers are still lagging.  All our hopes are tied to the tomatoes right now.  I am so hoping to have enough tomatoes to make my favorite summer soup from Bryant Terry’s Vegan Soul Kitchen.  I fell in love with it last summer and have been dreaming about it since then.

I hope that you have been enjoying delicious food from your garden or, that you are still holding out hope for what is still to come.

After hours of cutting, piecing and sewing and hours of driving to Spokane, the baby quilt has finally been delivered to my niece, Annaliese.  She had just turned two months old when we met her.  I think she dressed to match the quilt.  Henrik was fascinated with her and she was equally fascinated with him.

The whole process started at one of the PMQG Sewcials at Modern Domestic.

I did a lot of brainstorming and a little sewing.

At home I slowly started building the blocks.  I had a few false starts and started over again.  I finally started to like the way the blocks worked together.

I planned on ending with a square, but the elephant block was longer than it was tall and I had to started building vertical space.  I also added more space to the top and bottom heart blocks to make them the same width as the elephant block.

All the vertical strips are sewn together.

All three vertical strips sewn together with the vertical sashing.

I must have either lost or didn’t take a photo of adding the border sashing.  It all came together at that point and the white polka dot fabric broke up the dominance of the pink fabrics in blocks.   I thought long and hard about how to quilt the top and I even asked for suggestions at one of the PMQG meetings when I brought the quilt for Show & Tell.

I ended up stitching around the elephant to highlight that block, which was my initial inspiration for the whole quilt.  I considered doing more detail work in the other block centers, but I just ran out of time and after I completed the rest of the quilting, I decided that it wasn’t really necessary.  I used the polka dots as my guide and zigzagged all the sashing.  It gave just enough depth that seemed to both highlight each individual block, as well as the sashing itself.

Here is a close up of the elephant block.

Here is the elephant detail on the back.

I embroidered Annaliese’s name and birth date on the lower left corner of the border on the back.  I put my initials on the lower right corner.

I was so excited to finally have completed my first quilt that I took pictures of it everywhere.

The quilt had spent so much time in our house that Henrik wasn’t sure that he wanted to let it go.  As Annaliese was being packed up into the car Henrik wanted one more picture with the quilt.

This isn’t exactly a post with instructions on how to make a quilt, but it is a nearly step by step summary of how I started and how I ended.  I feel so much more knowledgeable and skilled now than I did at the beginning.  I wasn’t really sure at the beginning that I would be able to finish the quilt on time or at all.  I am very happy with the way the quilt turned out.  It is mostly what I imagined, but it also took me on its own creative journey.  It warms my heart to know that Annaliese loves to hang out on the quilt and it is where she rolled over for the first time.

I hope that you are inspired to bring to life the creative ideas that may currently live just in your head.

It has been nearly two years since we last saw Justin Roberts in concert.  It has been months since the Portland stop on the Jungle Gym tour was announced.  We finally saw Justin Roberts and the Not Ready For Naptime Trio yesterday at Mississippi Studios.

Even after so many months of anticipation we barely made it to the concert on time.  We somehow arrived early at a concert in WA while living in OR and multiple concerts in IL while living in WI, but getting across town seemed nearly insurmountable.  We luckily got three seats together and, since the chairs were not attached to the floor, we jockeyed around a bit and got a good view for each of us.

The show included many great songs from most of the CDs.  It was the smallest venue where we have seen a Justin Roberts show, but it looked nearly sold out.  The crowd was lively and the band was engaging.  As much as we enjoy Justin Roberts CDs at home, the concerts really bring the music to life.  The songs are well written, they are well performed and the band is very funny.  The interstitial humor amuses both kids and adults.

The jokes are bouncing around between the songs and they are included in many songs also.  I gave my arms a break and missed recording Stay-At-Home-Dad from Pop Fly, which is one of Rob’s favorites.  The last lyric in the song is, “But this man can play a rock and roll guitar like you wouldn’t believe.”

Since Liam was on the electric bass (because Jackie was not at this show) instead of his usual electric guitar, this line did not fit as Liam would not have been able to appropriately rock out.  Instead, something about 80s soft rock was substituted into the lyrics and Gerald, in honor of another legendary drummer, went off on a Phil Collins solo.  I wish I had gotten it on video.  It was so funny.   The crowd erupted into roars of laughter.

We have made videos at every concert and Henrik watches them over and over and over.  Since Henrik does not watch TV, the extent of his screen time has (until very recently) been limited to Justin Roberts videos, Rick Steves travel videos and, of course, videos of himself.  I just learned a new trick and uploaded a couple videos online.  Here is a quick clip of the song Doctor, Doctor from Way Out from Henrik’s first Justin Roberts concert in Chicago.  It was almost exactly 3 years ago.

Justin Roberts Doctor, Doctor in ORD from Breathe Beauty on Vimeo.

Here is Obsessed by Trucks from yesterday’s concert.

Justin Roberts–Obsessed By Trucks in PDX from Breathe Beauty on Vimeo.

From Great Big Sun to Jungle Gym, every CD is excellent and I would recommend them all.  Thank you, Justin, Gerald & Liam for such an enjoyable show.  Please come back soon and bring Dave and Jackie with you next time.

I just watched and then retweeted the link to this video on twitter.  It is really worth a watch.  It is very well done and it takes only a few minutes.  I was so inspired by the video that I wanted to write about it immediately.

The movement toward cleaner, greener, safer products in “our homes, schools, neighborhoods & parks” starts with small steps by a few people, which will grow into many steps taken by a community of people.  We need to make these changes to protect our children (not just those in our own families, but all children) and ourselves.  It is not acceptable for babies to be born prepolluted.  Children should be free to “eat, live, learn, play and dream” in a safer world.

“Small changes you make everyday add up.”  What change will you make today?

We often try to go for an evening walk (bike ride for Henrik) around our neighborhood after dinner and before starting the evening bedtime wind down routine.  We have been opting for less reading on the couch recently and more walks to enjoy the pleasant weather and the extended daylight hours.  We live on a plateau and we can stay on the flats when we head in two different directions from our house.

We sometimes head in one of the downhill directions through the next neighborhood over to go to their local school for some big toy variety.  We went in the other downhill direction once right after we moved into the neighborhood and were interested in exploring everything around us.  Henrik was 2 ½ and was still riding in our Chariot stroller for longer walks (he would ride his tricycle or his balance bike on shorter walks).  We were walking on the sidewalk down Rex Street between SE 42^nd and SE 45^th when we came upon a large Basset hound and its owner in their yard.  The dog immediately barked and charged at us.

We both backed up so that we were no longer in front of the dog’s house, but it did not cease its aggressive approach.  I crossed to the other side of the street and I began loudly asking the dog’s owner to control her dog.  Rob tried to walk away from me and the stroller to try to draw the dog away from us.  The dog continued to come toward the stroller.  Rob and I repeatedly asked the woman to control her dog.  She had come into the street and rather passively tried to steer the dog back toward their house.  She was rather large and was not actually able to bend over and reach the dog’s collar to restrain it.

I was so fed up that I pulled my pepper spray out of the stroller and let the woman know that if the dog continued to approach that I would spray it.  Then the woman began to threaten me.  The whole situation was so unimaginable.  We eventually made it to the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street and the dog, who was quite overweight, ran out of steam.  The dog’s owner actually warned us to never come down her street again.  I was so upset that one of the first interactions we had had with people in our new neighborhood had been so negative.

I called animal control and was told that unless we had a second run in
(since no one was bit the first time) with the dog, that we had no recourse.  This weekend will be the 2^nd anniversary for us in our current house.  Neither Rob nor I have initiated a walk in that direction since meeting the Basset hound.  I went on a walk last week by myself down the hill and ended up walking by that house.  The dog was not around, but there was a Basset hound banner proudly displayed out front.

I saw a house on my walk that was shaped just like ours, but was much more attractive.  Instead of the traditional 50s ranch cedar shake it had a very appealing stucco exterior.  Our house was painted officially the least attractive color by the previous owner.  I think she might have actually color matched baby poop.

We have been tempted by the current sale at Ecohaus on YOLO exterior paint to put us out of our misery.  The stucco house got my brain churning on new possibilities to beautify our house.  But, one of my project ideas involves exterior paint and the other involves exterior paint and multiple thousands of dollars.  The cedar shake to stucco siding retrofit is not in our foreseeable future, but I still wanted Rob to see the house.

We all walked down the hill that evening.  Once we passed our usual boundary line Henrik immediately asked if we were going to be chased by a dog.  It has been two years since we encountered the dog and it is not a subject we have rehashed.  This is why we call Henrik the “lockbox”.

We worked our way down the hill to not the dog street, but the street with the cool house.  Henrik was more interested in the supped up Chrysler 300 that was parked out front than in the house.  We zigzagged our way street by street back home checking out this area of our neighborhood with which we were so unfamiliar.  We came upon a couple walking down their stairs toward the street and greeted them.  As we passed by their intricate landscape we came to a driveway upon which rested a black cat.

Now, the main goals of our evening walks are to get in some extra exercise and to wear Henrik down as much as possible before bedtime.  But, an equally important goal of ours is to pet as many kitties as possible.  We don’t have a cat right now, but we all long for feline companionship.  I squatted down and began to call out to the black cat.  I hadn’t realized that the driveway belonged to the couple whom we had just greeted.

The man called out to us and told us that the cat was named Captain Jack.  He was a dominant figure and his name suited him.  Henrik had ridden his bike down to the corner as Rob and I tried to coax Captain Jack toward us and when he realized that we had stopped, he turned around and headed back toward us.  Henrik had barely dismounted his bike when Captain Jack strutted past both Rob and me and headed straight for Henrik.

I used to be the one who was able to lure most any cat to me.  I now look like an amateur compared to Henrik.  People will often call out to us as we try to get a cat to come to us that the cat is completely unfriendly and then we are all surprised when the cat walks up to Henrik.  Rob and I often walk away without getting to pet a cat that only Henrik had been permitted to pet.

So, the subject of Captain Jack struck up a conversation between us and our newly acquainted neighbors.  Over the course of the next 20 minutes we got a rundown of the history of the neighborhood and, of course the history of Captain Jack and his cat buddy, Happy.  I did not get to pet Happy, but Henrik informed me that she was very soft.

The subject changed from cats to a wagon.  We were asked if we would be interested in becoming the new owners of their old Radio Flyer wagon.  It had been used to pull their son, younger than Henrik at the time, when they first moved into the neighborhood, but had more recently been used as a planter.  The wagon had seen better days, but we did not own a wagon so we graciously accepted the offer.  Henrik was thrilled.  My heart warmed after such an enjoyable interaction with our neighbors just one block away from the dog debacle two years ago.

He wanted to tow the wagon back up the hill without any help from us.  He even towed his own bike in the wagon most of the way home.  He chose to pose like a statue for this picture.

We talked on the way home about how to go about restoring the wagon.  Henrik decided that he wanted it painted orange with red racing stripes.  He has now decided that red with orange racing stripes would be better.  It seems to be a theme in his wardrobe these days also.

Henrik has had lots of fun hooking the wagon to his “worker truck” (tricycle) and towing around everything under the sun in the backyard.

Thank you, Dody and Andy.  You gave my husband a new project with which to tinker.  You refreshed my belief in the kindness of strangers.  And, Henrik now has a wonderful new toy.  We are delighted to know that you live in our neighborhood.

Here is Henrik’s thank you card for Dody and Andy.  It is a drawing of Happy riding in the wagon.

I was in NW Portland, which is directly on the opposite end of town from us, on Tuesday for an appointment and I accidently arrived 45 minutes early.  I had planned on picking up bread at Ken’s Artisan Bakery after my appointment, but I decided to take the extra time before my appointment for a bread run.  I got to Ken’s and found a parking spot right out front, which was my first bit of serendipity.

I went in and walked up to the counter repeating the mantra to myself: I am here for bread, not treats.  I asked about a recommendation for a good bread for sandwiches.  The woman at the counter suggested the Pain Rustique and I had been leaning toward that one too.  As the bread slid into the bag I spied the Hazelnut Pound Cake in the display window.  My German taste buds spoke up and I also added one slice of the pound cake to my order.

I readied myself to pay and the woman behind the counter asked if I would be interested in trying out their Walnut Bread as a sandwich bread—for free.  Free, fresh bread—who would turn down that offer?  I had the choice of the Walnut Bread as a baguette or loaf.  I picked the loaf and thanked her profusely.  Henrik had his traditional almond butter and honey sandwich on it.  He called it “burnt bread” because it had a dark crust and was pretty crunchy.

I was immediately called to dress it up with butter and honey.  It was delicious.  It turns out that the Ken’s website suggests that preparation also.  I also think that it would be a great compliment to our favorite winter root vegetable soups.  The Walnut Bread may be a little rough on our pallets as a sandwich bread, but as a single slice, it is great.  I appreciate the opportunity to try it out.  I wouldn’t have been inspired to buy the Walnut Bread on my own, but now that I have tried it, I will buy it again.

Also, I would like to express my appreciation for the customer service I received at Ken’s.  The woman behind the counter was courteous and knowledgeable.  I have come to expect rude and inept employees in restaurants and retail stores in Portland and my experience at Ken’s was a welcome and refreshing change.  Thank you, Ken’s.

I had said that I wanted the Pain Rustique for sandwiches, but I was really planning on making salmon burgers.  I make the burgers with canned salmon from Vital Choice (they use BPA free cans).  I mix in an egg, 1 clove of crushed fresh garlic, about a tablespoon of Worcestershire and dried ginger root and yellow mustard seed (powder) to taste.  We all love them.  I made them a little oval to fit the loaf shape and they tasted great with the Pain Rustique.  I will definitely repeat that combo.  Oh, and the Hazelnut Pound Cake tasted great too!

If you are looking for a great compliment a wide variety of foods, try Ken’s artisan breads and sweets.  I wish you a parking spot out front and the serendipity to try something new.

I hope you saw my retweet on twitter yesterday about the $1 ice cream sandwiches at Ruby Jewel.  We had been planning a trip to The Rebuilding Center for a while so it didn’t take much convincing, once I saw the tweet from Edible Portland, to head up to Mississippi Ave.  We were looking for some hardware for a kitchen Rob has been building for Henrik.  He needed some drawer pulls.  He actually only needed one to go with the other two he already had.

Henrik had fun playing in the trees at The Rebuilding Center.

I found these cupboard fronts.

They are solid wood and were $2 each.  I want to make (I will design—Rob will build) a small wall cabinet for our bathroom.  I really want to clear the clutter off the bathroom sink, but we lack useable and accessible storage.  So, now we have the materials, I will post the results when we get around to it.

And now for the ice cream….I love Ruby Jewel ice cream.  Well, all I can really say is that I love Ruby Jewel’s Honey Lavender ice cream.  I haven’t actually made it past the Honey Lavender to try any other flavors.  It is truly exquisite.  We have only shared a few ice cream sandwiches because they fall into the “luxury” category of our current budget.  $1 each for mini sandwiches was definitely in our budget.

Henrik was so excited to get to hold his very own.  We all had Honey Lavender ice cream.  Henrik and I had ours with lemon cookies and Rob had double chocolate.  We then went home for dinner, which was a bit anticlimactic.

Congratulations to Ruby Jewel on their new Scoop Shop.  The interior colors are very cool and I was excited to see their sign announcing that they used YOLO Colorhouse paint.

5 gallon pails of YOLO exterior paint are on sale at Ecohaus right now.  That is an amazing deal!  We painted our last two houses with YOLO interior paint.  The colors are beautiful and you don’t have to move out while you paint!

I hope you made it to Ruby Jewel to enjoy an ice cream sandwich too.  If not, pick one up at the store or, even better, go to the Scoop Shop for a fresh one.  Thank you to Ruby Jewel for creating their delicious Honey Lavender ice cream—the more lavender for the world to enjoy the better.

We all spent a weekend in Seattle in March.  I attended the Radiant Relationships 201: Basics workshop with Holly Eckert.  The workshop was based on Marshall Rosenberg’s principles of Non Violent Communication (NVC).  His book, Nonviolent Communiction, focuses on how we communicate, whether as individuals or as nations.

The NVC approach includes an observation of the situation, the expression of a feeling and a need and a request for an action to resolve the situation.  I read the NVC book twice before attending the workshop.  The concept sounded great, but it was really hard to put it to use it in daily life.  After taking Holly’s workshop I feel so much more ready to use NVC.

Holly just wrote an NVC-based book called Graduating from Guilt.  She is an amazing workshop facilitator.  Holly physically embodies NVC.  She generously shared her own personal successes and challenges with NVC and she graciously supported everyone’s progress with learning and integrating NVC during the workshop.

Rob took the workshop last November and now we can use NVC at home.  It is very helpful that we can now “practice” NVC with each other and strive to maintain a little more peace around the home.  As a result, we are both much more comfortably with and confident in using NVC outside the home.  Of course, now that I have learned the basics, I want to move on to the next round of workshops with Holly….

While I learned a whole new way to communicate, Henrik and Rob explored Seattle on a tour inspired by Larry Gets Lost in Seattle, which is from the Larry Gets Lost series.  We checked the book out from the library last fall and we still have it.  The book features Pete and his dog, Larry.  They get separated and each travels past the major Seattle landmarks.  We had been to Pike Place Market and had seen the Space Needle on previous visits to Seattle.  But, there was one especially fascinating landmark that was introduced in the book that captivated Henrik’s imagination: The Fremont Troll.

Larry jogs past the Fremont Troll on his search for Pete and as soon as the words had been uttered, Henrik had been introduced to a whole new entity.  What was a troll?  Did it move?  Did it live under other bridges?  This line of questioning went on and on.  During the day it was fine, but then the troll questions crept into nighttime.  Could the troll get into his bedroom?  He started losing sleep.  We added a new step to the bedtime routine that involved going to the basement and getting a “nice” monster to spend the night in the living room and keep any bad monsters, or trolls, away.  We started planning a trip to Seattle to visit the troll.

Visiting the troll answered many of Henrik’s questions and it also introduced a few new ones.  Henrik took a lot of pictures of the troll.  He walked a complete circle around the troll and took pictures from every angle.  There are more of Henrik’s photos on Flickr.

(henrik's photo)

(henrik's photo)

He was really fascinated with the VW Beetle the troll holds in his hand.

(henrik's photo)

(henrik's photo)

Henrik also got to see the Hammering Man at the Seattle Art Museum, the Waiting for the Interurban sculpture and the Ballard Locks just like Larry.

(rob's photo)

We checked into our hotel that evening and realized that Henrik had come down with a cold.  I think he slept about 5 hours that night and I slept even less.  I had packed a few homeopathic options with me, but he was so mad that his nose was stuffy that I knew we needed more help.  I wished we had a neti pot.  I wrote about using a neti pot with Henrik here.  The following night we had dinner on Capitol Hill and we walked past Rainbow Natural Remedies, which is in the former Rainbow Grocery space.  They were open and they carried neti pots from Baraka.

Rob’s neti is from Baraka and it is really nice.  Mine is from the Himalayan Institute.  We did have a run last winter when we were all sick and were having to run boiling water through the netis between uses because there weren’t enough to go around.  I was feeling pretty desperate with the prospect of facing another night with no sleep.  They had a beautiful green color I had never seen before.  We bought the neti and splurged on their Infused Salt Rinse too.

The neti helped Henrik sleep with limited interruptions.  And, the salt with its essential oils helped clear up his cold very quickly after we got home.  I had really thought that the Infused Salt Rinse was kind of a hoax.  I have seen the tangible result of the mechanical action of flushing congestion out of the sinuses.  I didn’t believe that the essential oils would actually further improve the neti’s work.

I got sick a couple weeks after Henrik and I tried the infused salt.  My congestion cleared in about three days when it usually takes me about seven days to clear out when I am sick.  I still put a few drops of eucalyptus on our pillowcases at bedtime when we have colds, but I am now also a total believer in the Infused Salt Rinse in the neti pot.

I learned about new ways of clearing out congestion in relationships through NVC and in our sinuses with the neti and the Infused Salt Rinse.  The next time you run into congestion, whether in your sinuses or your relationships, reach for the neti or NVC to help you move through the obstruction.

The next day after school Howie arrived on the Quimby doorstep with two sets of tin-can stilts.  “I made them!” he announced, proud of his work.  “And Willa Jean wanted some, so I made her a pair out of tuna cans so she wouldn’t have far to fall.”

“I knew you could do it!” Ramona, who had already changed to her playclothes, stepped onto the cans and pulled the twin loops up tight before she took a cautious step, lifting a can as she lifted her foot.  First the left foot, then the right foot.  Clank, clank. They worked!  Howie clanked along beside her.  They clanked carefully down the driveway to the sidewalk, where Ramona tried to pick up speed, forgot to lift a can at the same time she lifted her foot, and, as Mrs. Swink had recalled, fell off her stilts.  She caught herself before she tumbled to the sidewalk and climbed back on.

Clank, clank.  Clank, clank.  Ramona found deep satisfaction in making so much noise, and so did Howie.  Mrs. Swink, turning into her driveway in her dignified old sedan, smiled and waved.  In a moment or daring, Ramona yelled, “Pieface!” at her.

“Pieface yourself!” Mrs. Swink called back understanding Ramona’s joke.

–from Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary

Oh, Beverly Cleary, how you have enriched our lives.  Henrik and I are on our second run through Beverly Cleary’s Henry, Ramona and Ralph series books.  I wrote about our love of Beverly Cleary’s books here.  A few months ago I discovered that the Multnomah County Library stocks the books on CDs of all these great Beverly Cleary stories.  I think we have about six of them checked out right now.  Henrik has reached an amazing developmental milestone because while listening to a story on a CD in the living room, I can actually accomplish small projects. Even when we are not listening to the stories, we are still in their presence as Henrik quotes paragraph after paragraph verbatim.

Beverly Cleary’s stories are heartwarming and so entertaining and they have infused themselves in so many ways.  Henrik loved the tin can stilt story.  I always think it is great to learn about kid’s toys that dominated before TV became the dominant form of childhood entertainment.  So, we were very lucky when Rob stumbled upon some 2 lb cans of Muir Glen tomatoes at were being opened for “pizza day” at his school last year.  He immediately thought of tin can stilts.  He was even luckier that his classroom assistant, Millie, is an amazing artist and that she agreed to decorate the exterior of the cans for Henrik.  Rob attached the old bicycle tubes as handles.

Henrik now has a set of beautifully decorated and wildly entertaining tin can stilts.

The learning curve wasn’t too steep, though this tumble did require some reshaping of one of the cans.

Henrik mastered the grass quickly and then moved out to the sidewalk.  He also sings “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” while playing with the stilts just like Ramona and Howie.

If you can procure a pair of large cans and are looking for a simple craft that will offer “deep satisfaction” for your child, make a pair of tin can stilts and enjoy the “clank, clank”, and maybe a song too, on your sidewalk.

Heather Ross spoke and showed slides of her artwork and fabric designs last night at PNCA (I was sitting at the back with a point & shoot and I apologize for not not casting Heather in the best light).  I really enjoyed hearing about her design process.  She talked about how fun it is to create youthful fabric designs and how, through that focus, she draws youthful people to her.  The theme of much of her work has emerged from her free roaming childhood in rural Vermont.

Heather spoke of her inspiration from the DIY movement and how much she enjoys how people use her fabrics for different quilting and craft projects.  I had a Summer of Making poster signed by Heather after her talk and she complimented my shirt.

I was happy that I was able to share one of the projects I have created with her fabric.  I got inspired after the hexagon night at the latest Portland Modern Quilt Guild (PMQG) meeting and the arrival of the blank tees to make a shirt with Heather’s fabric.  I used the 1.25″ hexagon I just bought from TabSlot.  I used Heather’s Swim Class fabric from the Mendocino collection for the first shirt I made for Henrik.  It is still my favorite, but I plan to make a larger swatch for the t shirts for my Etsy shop.

I love the prints from the Mendocino collection.  I had no idea when I took my first quilting class at Bolt that the fat quarter pack I picked out included a few prints from the Mendocino collection.  That quilt is waiting to be finished.  I started to stitch in the ditch, but I did not like the look.  I will be taking Elizabeth Hartman’s Freestyle Machine Quilting Workshop next weekend.  I hope to get some inspiration and some new skills so that I will actually complete the first quilt project I started.

Here is the first Quilt Block Tee I made for myself with one of Deb Strain’s Love U prints.

I finished it just before we went to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.  I am excited to finally get started on making shirts for my Etsy shop.  I will share my completed designs along the way.  I hope you are finding creative inspiration from someone, something or somewhere around you.