Nature Unbounded

One of the great things about living in Colorado's mountains in the sheer expance of nature all around you. The view from our deck along is amazing.

Nature is not afraid to just show up and make you smile at random moments and I love that.

However my mother is not so thrilled, as they are eating her flowers. Even the ones that they are suppost to not like! Poor mom... but can't say I don't like coming home and see them just resting in the yard or munching away at her flowers. 

Gift of Blue

Friday was one of my days off and I took the time to drop off the 3 bead bracelet I made for my friend Sarah. I mostly wanted to be sure it would fit her wrist. It fit perfectly, thankfully! While I was chatting with her my other friend Jennifer, who works with Sarah, came outside and I showed her the bracelet. Later in the day I felt bad that I had not made something for Jennifer, as she is my best friend. Plus we have been having a hard time making our schedules work out, so we haven't spent much time together.  SO... I did a bit of shopping and got a rough idea in my head of a project.

After work Saturday I sat down and planned out a neckless that I had in mind for Jenn. My original plan didn't work out entirely well, so I changed it up, but only a little. I found this great center piece, so I wanted to show case it. I changed the beads attached to it and added a few of my own. I wanted it to be bright, summery, classy enough for her to wear to work but not too classy that she couldn't just wear it whenever. My original idea was to string some smalled beads that matched the stones flanking the center piece, but the clamp beads rubbed alot so I decided against that idea. Instead I used cream medium pearls linked together with eye pins. I think the colors worked out pretty well.

This is the center piece and the main focus. I wanted everything to filter out from this piece.

I used two smokey blue stones to flank the center ring to draw more attention. 

I found these fire cooled gems in a light turquise that matched with the beads I had originally wanted to use in a solid string. I was going to match it against the turquise gems on one side for visual interest. The connector piece allowed for two strands and one on the other side and had a little detail to it that I thought fit with the center pieces detailing.

Since the strand of beads didn't work out as planned (I had it all finished, but when I tried it on the clamp beads rubbed more than I wanted, so I threw that idea out.) I decided to just mimicke the eye pin connected gems but with pearls for a more vintage look.

I have gotten MUCH better at makeing eye pin loops now, so this was a snap to do. I only screwed up once, but it was just too big a loop. Yay the practicing really worked! (I also picked up a "close edge clip pliers" to do smoother, closer cuts.)

I think the finished product looks pretty good. I really like the one sided detail look on necklesses.

I was rather proud that I got it done in one night and in about an hour and a half. (mostly because my first idea didn't work out as aspected) Jenn and I went to breakfast and hung out... and ironically I left the neckless sitting on my desk. I showed her pictures though and she loves it. I'm going to try and drop it off at her work on Wednesday since its my next day off.

What do you all think of my one sided neckless? Let me know!

As always if you have any projects of your own, please feel free to share!

Fog Falls

The weather up here has finally proved that it is definitly not summer anymore. Its been foggy, rainy, and cold the last few days. The mornings have been frost filled and chilly.

I have no issue with this at all, as I LOVE fall and winter. Fall is my favorite season of all time. In Colorado is a very short season. Winter takes over pretty quickly.

The shots from the house have been great though. We live in a valley surrounded by mountains on every side.

This is a zoomed out view from our porch. Its fun watching the fog set in.

Another view from our porch, but the fog is slowly creeping in more and more. I love the look of the neighborhood when it gets foggy and wet.

As soon as I get a day off I'm going to take some picture of the Aspen groves before the turn colors. I'm also going to take some when they do turn because its just about the 2nd most beautiful thing to be able to see.

Not ready for Good Bye

My family learned some depressing news this morning. My grandmother called to try and get a hold of my mother, but she called my phone instead. She sounded so stressed out and urgent that I ran the phone to mom.

My grandfather was in the hospital the other day for a regular check up, which he has been getting since his second stroke a year and a half ago. For some reason, and mom can't even figure why (she is a Nurse Practitioner, so when I say she knows this stuff I mean it), they did a chest x-ray and found an aneurysm in his heart. Its literally a time bomb just waiting to go off. If he goes into one of his coughing fits he could rupture it and he will die almost instantly. There is an option to have surgery to remove it, but its a very small percentage that he would live through the surgery, let alone the recovery after. He doesn't breathe well right now and this surgery would have him on a breathing tube during recovery and they don't think he would be able to fully get off the machine. His health has dropped considerably since his last stroke and no one thinks he could recover fast enough or fully to leave the hospital with out help, either by a breathing tube, or by a wheelchair. If he even gets recovered enough to leave the hospital at all.

My grandfather had VERY specific wishes when he was in the hospital the first time. He does NOT want to be on a breathing machine, or kept alive. He does NOT want to be resuscitated if he should die. He doesn't want to have to live his life like that and he doesn't want his family to have to care for him or see him that way. His parents went that way and he hated every second of it. It's a horrible thing to see people you love slowly dieing and you can't do anything.

The doctor told him the options and the first thing my grandfather said is, "Oh good, so I'll die." There is no doubt that he is ready for it. My grandmother on the other hand is seriously not. She called to ask mom to tell the doctors to do it. Mom told her she can't do that. He is still alive and perfectly capable of deciding this for himself. If he doesn't want the surgery there is nothing she can say to make it happen. My grandmother has power of attorney over their legal affairs, but grandfather put mom is change of his medical power of attorney because she would know better about what would have to be done. Mom was not thrilled about this gift 2 years ago when she saw him in the hospital from his first stroke. I think mom is terrified that some how grandmother might convince him to do the surgery and it will end up being  mom's decision about what happens after. I know she would not waver from his wishes because she is a nurse and she knows what its like, but its not easy being the one to have final say in something like this.

My grandfather is an amazing man and I love him so much, sooo so much. I don't want to lose him. I'm terrified I'm going to get a call in the middle of the night, or at work, saying he is gone. I'm just not ready to say goodbye.
Sweetest man ever. Funny and kind, always there to make you smile. Best hugger alive. Just huge full bodied hugs. Sarcastic, but adorable in every way possible. Hopelessly devoted to his family. Beloved by his friends and family, more than anyone I have ever known. Just a sweet hearted man.

Grandmother and Grandfather Spaight at my Aunt Trish's wedding in 2006.

My Grandfather with my two cousins Maddie and Olivia.

I just not ready to say goodbye. Just not yet.

Lay out

It only took me about a month...and then some... to buy another packet of my quilt fabric and cut them out. I had then washed and ironed for about 2 weeks and I just kept putting it off to do other things. Then mom yelled at me for having them lying around, so I just sat down and cut them out. {Plus it saved me from having to endure anymore really bad football!}

I FINALLY took the time to plan it out last night. I didn't want any block to be diagonal or be next to the same block. Took a little creative juices, but I got it done.

Now it goes pretty far up and down the bed, so I'm confident it will be plenty big.

The sides don't go very far, but I will still be putting a 10 inch border of purple around the entire quilt. {The blocks are 9 1/2 inch by 9 1/2 inches}



i.e. this purple:

 By the way this is what I got the idea and what I am following. They call for bigger blocks and less because of it, but I wanted the detail and colors of having more, so I'm slightly following this idea.

Now I just have to sit my pretty behind down and get to sewing. I have the lay out for each row stacked and numbered on my chest just waiting for me to piece them together. It will probably be another month before anything happens... because I'm just special like that!