Can I get a HOOCHY HOOCHY?

Ok, I know, it's been 2 1/2 months since my last post.  I don't have the hang of this blogging thing yet. It's quite intimidating when you first start AND I've been ridiculously busy with taking on our School Board and being PTA President.  But I just wrapped up a fabulous imaginary safari luncheon with African dancers and everything for Staff Appreciation yesterday and today I got to spend the entire day with my sewing machine.  Oh how we've missed each other.   Anywho, my most favorite quilter in the whole wide world is Mary Lou Weidman .  I took her Hoochy Mama class in January and signed up for a Hoochy Bird Swap (my first swap EVER by the way).  Here are my birds. 

Mine are simple because I am the ultimate Productive Procrastinator  I can't wait to see what birds I get in return.  Some of the other participants have posted pictures on their blogs and they are REALLY darling.  Felt so good today to breathe in the cotton fibers!  Hope you enjoy, and would love some ideas of how to put all the birds into a creative "Out of the Box" type of quilt. 

Quick and Dirty

Ok, well, I'm still a little intimidated by this whole blogging thing, that's why I haven't posted anything in like over a month.  But here goes.  So...my youngest brother graduated from college recently and he's that kind of guy that is super hard to buy for, but he seems to appreciate art in all forms.  So I made him a little ditty for his wall.  When he opened it he said, "Wow, it's amazing that you can make something like that with your hands".  That was a nice compliment coming from him.  What do you think?  I had wanted to do Hoochy Mama border but the Productive Procrastinator in me didn't leave enough time.  Hoochy's on the next quilt for SURE!

Road Trip...Road to California!

I am so stinking excited, I can't stand it!  Tomorrow is the first quilting class I have taken in SEVERAL years!  It is ONE big step towards my goal on making 2011 more creative!  I'm going to Road To California and I'm taking a Hoochy Mama Class by Marylou Weidman! 

Marylou Weidman (pronounced WIDEman) is my most favorite quilter (check out her blog here).  I LOVE her quilting style, her quilts are full of color, very whimsical and just plain fun!  I can get lost in them.  I took her Every day angels class about 10 years ago and she was sooooo nice.  I was so star struck, I felt like a 12 year old girl meeting her favorite Spice Girl (I know, dorky).  That Everyday Angels quilt is my challenge.  I have a border pieces sewn and that's about it.  You can read more about it here.

Any who, I really wanted to take one of her 2 day classes but they were full, so I got the last Hoochy Mama spot and that suits me just fine.  I went to Joanns to pick out fabric for these wonky blocks.  It was interesting.  I purposely tried to be very carefree in picking out fabric.  The class list suggests different patterns, colors, geometrics etc.  Every time I stood back to look at my stash, I realized that even though I had many colors, the value was very similar.  In other words, I tend to pick mostly mediums for the most part.  It was really hard to get a true light or a true dark.  So here's what I ended up with.  I will also pull out some unique fabrics from my home stash to take too.  I can't wait to see how the HOOCHY MAMA blocks turn out. 

Road to California is a HUGE show. If you haven't been before, I highly recomend it.  Since my class is on Wednesday and the show doesn't open to the public until Thursday, I figure the prudent thing to do is to stay in a motel on Wednesday and stay over for the opening of the show on Thursday.  Brilliant!

My PhD's! Projects Half Done

Until I stumbled on Myra's PhD project here, I called mine UFO's.  I think I like PhD's it at least implies it closer to done than 'Unfinished' makes it sound, it's a little more optimistic.

Here are the 3 projects that are eating at me the most.  The first is a quilt I started probably 7 years ago.  An easy one, not sure why it's been so challenging to finish it up. My plan is to machine quilt the background and then apply the letters with bias.  Should be a quicky, right??? 

Project #1

Here's what it should like like finished

Project #2:
A block of the month that I started probably 10 years ago...eeek!  Until last year, I would pick this up every once in a LONG while and work on it.  I think I'm on month #7, but all those poinsettia leaves kind of overwhelmed me and I haven't touched it in a year and a half.  Every Christmas as I'm putting up decorations I always think..that Christmas quilt would sure look nice...I should really finish that.

Look how crumpled the pattern is.

Project #3.  I know specifically when I started this one and it will be the most challenging to finish, but it is the one I will learn the most from.  It's another Marylou Weidman, from her book Every Day Angels.  I took her class at Road to California in 1999.  My husband and I were waiting to adopt a baby.  The night before her class we were matched with birthparents and met them for the first time.  Needless to say the last thing on my mind the following day was quilting!  My every day angel quilt is going to be about my grandma. I was the first grandchild and the only girl, can you say "favorite?"  My grandma was living at the time, but she's passed away 7 years ago.  I think it's time I get this finished.  I have the border pieces finished and thats IT!  The green with the pearls on it is part of the dress she wore to my wedding in 1989.  I miss my grandma so much!  What a better way to honor her.  Thank you Myra for getting my juices going again!

Grandma and Me 1990

borders, fabric for her hair and part of the dress she wore to my wedding.

 

I'm afraid...very, very afraid.

Ok, so I've had this little  beauty for oh about 9 years now.  I wanted one really, really bad, I looked high and low for just the right one and.....I've NEVER used it.  I'm afraid of it, why?  I have not a clue.  How can something so pretty and sweet and cute be sooooooo scary?  I think I'll add this to my New Years Goals...learn how to not be afraid of this beautiful itty bitty Mercedes of quilting.  I wanted this machine because I had these big grandiose plans for taking a lot of quilting classes and I NEEDED  this machine (or at least that's what I told Mr. Ranger).  Needless to say, I it's been several years since I've even taken a class.  But that's gonna change this year.

Welcome to PPA- Productive Procrastinators Anonymous

Hello,  My name is Kim and I am a Productive Procrastinator.....Hi Kim.

definition of PRODUCTIVE PROCRASTINATOR:

[pruh-duhk-tiv] [proh-kras-tuh-ney-tor]–adjective, verb

1. having the power of producing; generative; creative: a productive effort but doing everything else instead until the motivation to do the original task is gone.  2. A girl by the name of Kim who gets a lot accomplished but not necessarily the projects she really wants to get accomplished. 

 

Can you believe 2010 is but all but a memory?  Where did that time go?  I've spent a lot of time reflecting on 2010 the last few days-what worked, what didn't.  2010 was a challenging year.  It felt like I did a lot of reacting to situations and not much planning. For example; ate out too often, because I was too busy or tired and didn't have options for meals at home-that's expensive and fattening.   I got a lot done in 2010 and conquered a couple of major challenges, BUT I can't say that what I got done was what I really wanted to have gotten done.  So my approach to everything this year is going to be different.


Here's what I'll do differently this year:

1. Focus on the family-Make no commitments without thinking how it will impact time with Mr. Ranger, Boo Boo and Yogi.  
2. walk at least 3 times a week (would really like to run a 1/2 marathon by May).
3. institute family game night 1 night per week
4. To nurture my creative inner soul by starting and completing 1 new quilting project a month
5. complete 3 PhD 's  by June (see Link to Myra's PhD Challenge on sidebar)
6. Spend 2 hours each week scanning old photos (about 3 thousand) into the computer and edit old videos to make DVD's by December 2011. (this is a BIG task)
7. spend 2 hours each week learning Photoshop 8.
8.  make 1 new fancy cupcake recipe a month-To be showcased on this blog.
9. Eat healthy 5 days of each week (will be making those cupcakes on 1 of the other 2 days not eating healthy)
10.  Gonna be a little more critical with my time so I can have more fun, be less rushed have more time to enjoy the little moments!

It's New Years Day...Have you had your Black Eyed Peas yet?

Eating Black Eyed Peas on News Year Day is a very Southern tradition.  My grandparents are from Georgia, and every year my grandma forced us to eat the little legumes.  Now I love them and look forward to them every year.  My oldest son, Yogi, LOVES black eyed peas, my younger son, Boo boo, not so much.  However, he did put on his big boy pants and swallow a spoonful to humor is mom.

The practice of eating black-eyed peas for luck is generally believed to date back to the Civil War. At first planted as food for livestock, and later a food staple for slaves in the South, the fields of black-eyed peas were ignored as Sherman's troops destroyed or stole other crops, thereby giving the humble, but nourishing, black-eyed pea an important role as a major food source for surviving Confederates.

So, if you haven't had your spoonful yet, stop on by for some good luck and prosperity for the New Year!

Finally ready to post!

I have recently discovered the wonderful world of blogs.  There are so many that inspire me, make me think and make me want to create.  So, here I go, diving headfirst into the wonderful world of blogging.  After changing my mind at least 75 times, I’ve finally settled on a name for my little slice of the internet ~The Happy Camper Quilts.  Why?  Well, I’m married to a forest ranger, we love to camp and this is where I will blog about all that makes me happy.  The short list of things that make me a happy camper would be quilting, cupcakes, taking photo’s, dogs, kids, life in the mountains and a weekly episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills-I know, pathetic.

As the end of 2010 looms near, reflecting back on this past decade, I realize what a whirlwind these last 10 years have been.  Mr. Ranger and I became parents through adoption – twice, Mr. Ranger used to be Mr. Helicopter (major career change), we moved from the city to the mountains, then moved twice in the mountains, bought and remodeled a house over the course of several years and that’s just to name a few life changing events that occupy my time. I left my full-time job to be a full-time mom, have been a very active PTA parent since my 6th grader started kindergarten.  It’s no wonder why I don’t have the motivation or energy to pursue MY interests.

This year will be different.  It is time to be a little more selective of how I spend some of my time and to focus on being extremely creatively productive in 2011, by rekindling my love of quilting, learning my camera inside and out as well as learning to operate Photoshop proficiently.

So please bear with me as I stumble along, learning this blogging thing.  I am so inspired by so many creative and crafty folks out there.  My primary goal for this blog is to become a more well-rounded mom who creates beautiful things for her family and shares that journey on the web.