What I Won't for 2011

A new year is fast approaching and it's a time when, instead of looking back at the missed opportunities and misfires of the past year, I(like a lot of folks) prefer to look ahead to the possibilities that a new year brings.

A few years ago, instead of making resolutions I made a Not-To-Do list. I was inspired by this article and liked the idea of thinking about what I didn't want to do rather than coming up with a list of resolutions that I may or may not make happen. For 2011, I think another list of un-resolutions is in order. 

My 2011 Not To Do List

I will not continue to hate my body. I've been doing it since I was in the fifth grade and the family doctor asked me if I was going  out for the football team.  I've done a lot of damage to my body since then by going on unhealthy diets...gaining and losing weight over and over. I've crammed my body full of junk food and neglected to take care of it. And have landed again at 30 40 50 too many pounds overweight. But, I refuse to go on another diet! Diets are motivated by self loathing and I'm done with that. Instead, I plan to love this body by:

• moving it with regular exercise that makes me feel good(not something I dread doing that makes me feel like I've been trampled by a herd of elephants).
• feeding it healthier foods and water.
• taking in less junk.
• taking time to unwind and de-stress.
• surrounding myself with positive people and a support system via SparkPeople to help me as I learn to love my body once and for all.

I will not put myself down in front of other people or worry about what other people think of me.  Not only am I guilty of calling myself names and putting myself down, but I worry constantly about what other people think about me. Constantly. I think this probably stems from the whole body image thing...never good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, cool enough, blah blah blah.  Of course I realize this way of thinking is ridiculous, which is why:

• Phrases like "I'm so fat" and scores of other lies I've uttered about myself are banished from my vocabulary. Anyone who hears/reads these phrases from me has my permission to give me a smack upside the head.
• I will no longer get bent out of shape when someone calls me "Little Susie Homemaker" or makes a crack because I like to sew, cook, and hang out at home. I've taken offense to it in the past and regarded it as a put-down. I simply refuse to see it that way anymore.
• I am not going to seek approval from everyone I know(and don't know).
• I am proud of who I am, quirks and all.

I will not be the nagging wife.  I'm flawed, y'all.  I admit it, I pick and I nag at my husband sometimes. He'd probably argue that  I do it a lot. I hope not, but I fear that I am hard to live with. So when the situation arises that I want and/or need him to do something around the house, I'll ask. Once. If he doesn't get to it in my time, I'll let it go. I know men and women live in two completely different time zones and I'm going to try to be more attune to that.  If he does something in a way that is different from my way I'll be appreciative instead of pointing out why my way is better...because it is(wink wink, nod nod).

I will not give in to negativity.  God bless them, there are just some people who are unable to be positive. If you gave them a hundred bucks they'd say "Dang. Now I have to get out my wallet to put this away." I have to be honest with myself here and admit that I tend to sway to the negative side. Which means I am easily influenced and brought down by these Negative Nellies. It's gonna be hard but I'm going to try to deflect that negativity as often as I can. While I can't avoid all the negative that comes my way, I can make a conscious effort to surround myself with more positives.

I will not spend money frivolously. Unless it involves fabric or books.

I will not be bored.  There is absolutely no excuse for me to be bored. I'm OK with lazy every once in a while, because a day of  wearing pajamas, stretching out on the couch and reading or watching TV is relaxing. Boredom, on the other hand, is ridiculous and uncalled for. There's alway something to do...even if it is to simply meditate on how incredibly blessed I am. There are so many things I want to do creatively in the coming year that I refuse to let boredom ever rear it's ugly head. 

I will not forget to be thankful. I serve a wonderful God. A God who has blessed me with the most incredible family a girl could ask for and the most undeserved gifts of everlasting Love and Grace. I have so much and have done so little to deserve any of it. I am thankful for this past year(and all the years of my life) for the overflowing of love from my family and friends, for health, for a home, for all the things I take for granted on a daily basis.

Free Fabric Giveaway

Hoping that you had a wonderful Christmas filled with family and fun! I certainly did!

I'll get back to regular blogging soon but today has been dubbed Kitchen Cabinet Cleanup Day. I have to have a place to put those new small appliances and the gorgeous polka dot ovenware set I got for Christmas, right?! And I'm really tired of being beat to near death by plastic storage containers that fall from my kitchen cabinets every time I open a door.

Still...I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this fabulous fabric giveaway that's going on over at Dawn's Quilt Corner. She's generously giving away 7 yards of Robert Kaufman's Cat in the Hat & Celebrate Seuss fabric!

Photo from Dawn's Quilt Corner Giveaway

I just discovered Dawn's blog through a friend, and I'm so glad I did. I love finding others who inspire me. Go check it out & enter the giveaway....and of course if you don't have a need for 7 yards of Dr. Seuss fabric, you can always send it my way!

Now, I'm off to tackle some Tupperware.

A Winner and a Rag Doll

Grey Cat Quilts was the winner of my Merry Mushroom smock. It's on it's way and I hope she will enjoy wearing it!

Thanks so much to all of the 280+ folks who dropped by during the Sew Mama Sew giveaway event!

Not much craftiness(or cookery) going on around here lately. It seems like every day of my Christmas break thus far has been spent running around. But I'm not complaining...I've had the chance to hang out with family and friends and that has been awesome and most excellent!

Last week(about this time), I was cutting and wrapping caramels and sewing like a mad woman trying to finish everything up by the last day of school.  This year at the school where I work, each staff member has been assigned a child to mentor. I wanted to do something for the little girl who is my partner for Christmas, so I decided to make her a rag doll, something near and dear to my heart. I didn't really play with "baby" dolls much as a kid, but I had two handmade rag dolls and a Holly Hobbie doll that I adored.

I have been wanting to try and complete a rag doll since I started this one (using a vintage Polly Pal pattern) a couple years ago.

Sadly, she's been tossed into the closet, naked and bald for far too long because I didn't think I could tackle the clothes or hair with any degree of success.

I knew finishing Polly Pal wasn't an option, so this time around I followed the instructions in Wee Wonderfuls and made this little doll called Patchwork Penny. She was surprisingly easy to make!

I am happy with the way she turned out for my first completed attempt and I think my little friend liked her as well. After she opened her and asked if I made it, she said "She's pretty" and "I like her boots". Sweet!

Now that I've had some success, I think I may return to Polly Pal before too long!

Giveaway! Merry Mushrooms Apron

Welcome to those of you who have cruised in from the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

I hope you'll take a minute to check out my blog.  I frequently rattle on about sewing, quilting, cooking, my love of aprons, my inept attempts at domesticity, affinity for all thing vintage, and Harry Connick Jr.

But enough about me,  I know why you're really here....

Giveaway Day!

I would love for you to have this fun, funky, retro smock style apron made from Windham's Merry Mushroom line! While I adore a flouncy, girly apon, I love a good smock apron too. They're great for doing household chores and allow you to get down and dirty without a lot of flounce and froof to get in the way!

All you need to do is leave a comment on this post to be eligible to win!  Please leave your email address or make sure that you have an email addy attached to your profile so I can contact you if you win. That's it! Easy-Cheesy, right?

If you would like extra entries you can:

• become a follower of my blog(let me know via a comment).

AND/OR

• visit my etsy shop, come back here and tell me which of the six or so aprons currently listed is your favorite.  www.laughingotter.etsy.com

Giveaway will run through December 17th.

Thanks for stopping by!  That's it for me---I'm off to try and snag some goodies myself!

Coming Soon! A Giveaway!

Sew Mama Sew is hosing Giveaway Day beginning on Monday. I missed out on the last Giveaway Day, but I'm excited that I'll be able to get in on it this time around. I have yet to decide exactly what to make(or pull).

Come back Monday to find out what handcrafted item I will be giving away! 

A Process Post (BBP mini quilt)

This little quilt has been mocking me from my design wall since I hung it there last week. I started on it a while back and stopped. I got frustrated after spending what seemed like hours trying to freehand with fabric something that might pass for an angry pig. And as frustrating as it was, now that time has passed, I really like the way he turned out. Especially his angry eyes. 

Tired of the mockery,  I decided to get back to it and have been sewing scraps together in a somewhat wonky fashion for the border. Almost finished....

My thoughts right now:

• I love the letters. Love. love. love. them! 
• Not entirely happy with where I placed the pig, but I ran out of the black fabric and had to make do.
• All those border colors might need some containing w/an outer border or black binding at the least. 
• It might not need a border at all.
• Did I mention I love the letters?

This is the third quilt that I've made that I'd consider arty but others might consider modern(the other two are pictured in this post). I haven't  followed any design and just went with the process. I love doing it this way and am beginning to lose the "it must be perfect" attitude---which feels nice.

I'm hoping to have this guy done this week. 

Interested in taking The Process Pledge yourself? Go here.

Bee Blocks

So tonight I finally got busy on the Fresh Comfort 2 Bee blocks due for Liz. They were due in November. Hopefully she won't mind they are a tad late. I have to say that these are, to date, the most addictive quilt blocks I've made. The tutorial for these blocks is here. It was my first go at paper piecing...super fun! Of course it didn't hurt that Liz sent along a bunch of vintage sheet fabrics for me to play with on these blocks. I added a few scraps of my own in one of the blocks, but mostly let the sheets do the talking. I hope Liz enjoys them!

A couple more bee blocks....these are for Marlynn in the Sew Bee Wonky bee. I've had them done for a while, just keep forgetting to mail them. Bad helper bee! Bad!

They make look familiar as they are the same type of blocks that I used in the Big Biting Pig quilt seen here. No, I'm not finished with that quilt either. But it is hanging on my design wall, mocking me.

My current crafty to do  list...perhaps writing it down will force me to get going.

More Fresh Comfort blocks

Finish baby quilt

Finish Big Biting Pig mini quilt

Finish wonky house quilt

Christmas apron

Etsy aprons(it's been far too long)

Experiment with watercolors