Reading Pillows

    Hello! I have a surprise for you. I can do more than make quilts! Haha! Who knew? Last year I saw this great blog post from The Polka Dot Chair by Melissa Mortenson for an On The Go Reading Pillow.  She gave a great tutorial and I thought...what an awesome gift idea!! So I made some for my girls who were 4 and 6 years old last year at Christmas.  They were given the pillow with a few new books and a flashlight. The girls loved them!
    We use them all the time. The best is in the car The girls put their flashlights, books, crayons and whatever stuffed animals in there and grab the handle and carry it out to the car.  They use them to stay entertained.  Then when they get tired and want to rest, they have a pillow right there! They are also handy when we are at the dance studio for a couple hours. The kids can relax with a pillow and some entertainment.
    I enjoy them so much I decided to make a bunch of them.

    One pillow has a book and flashlight inside. They are so fun and can be made in any color or pattern. They are also extremely easy to personalize. I can add a name or a favorite word or anything to the pillow to add that little something extra. I have made them a couple of different ways.

This pillow is completely enclosed.  So you cannot take off the cover unless you open up one of the seams. It's great because it is durable and I found an insert that can be washed so if it gets dirty you can throw the whole thing in the washing machine. 

This pillow has a tie in the back. If it gets dirty you can take the cover off easily and wash it in the gentle cycle. The pillow insert cannot go in the washing machine so it is spot clean only.  I think it adds a little more character. Both ways are fun and I think it's great to have a variety of pillow types.  Here are some more images of pillows I have made.

                           

 

                            

 

If you are interested in any please contact us!

peaceful.river.souls@gmail.com

Quilts with Love

Everyone has their way of relieving stress. Lately my stress relief has been working on quilts. The past few weeks I have been lucky enough to work on 2 quilts that are very special. Here is a the first finished quilt. I made it for my mom. :)

The first picture is the back. Each strip of fabric from a different dress my mom made me when I was growing up. She is a great sewer and always made me cute clothes. The middle row are quilt squares my mom had made but nevee put into a quilt. There is also a strip of lace from mom mom First Communion dress.

The second picture is the front of the quilt. The front of the quilt was the first time I have made a quilt with different shaped squares and I had so much fun piecing it all together. It's a mixture of shirts from race for the cures that my mom and I participated in (she is over 10 years cancer free now!!), fabric from my mom that she used to make different things for me growing up, and fabric my grandma (mom's mom) gave me. My grandma had also given me a few quilt squares she made a long time ago. I included those in the quilt as well. There are also some filler fabric that I threw in. It's so fun to make a quilt that has pieces of me, my mom and my grandma all together. I'm excited to give it to my mom this weekend. This is also the quilt Beth helped me figure out how to put together. I was trying to figure out the best way to attach them and still look nice.

While in the middle of making this quilt for my mom, my mother in law was giving us some things that belonged to my husband's grandparents before they moved into the nursing home. Among those things was a bunch of quilt squares. Marilyn, my hubby's grandma, had cut them and pinned them in rows, and I am assuming the order she intended on sewing them. She has Alzheimers so I can't really ask her intentions with it. But I truly enjoyed sewing the squares and finishing the quilt. It almost felt like we were making it together. Here is the finished project...

I'm planning on giving it to my mother in law and father in law tomorrow. I hope they enjoy it. Saw this little quote I found on pinterest. I put it on a card and inside the card I explained how much fun I had making it.

Friendship

I logged on with great ideas to write, and Kim, you said it all!  Moving here was scary and lonely.  It took all my courage to say hello to you that day.  I am shy person.  I squeaked hi a few times before I could get a good "Hello" out.  I am still thankful you were willing to talk to me.  I also laugh that it took to the last day of the kid's school year for us to meet.  The last two years have been amazing!  It has been a lot of fun play dates with kids, family get togethers, and girl craft days shopping.  Kim has helped me through tough times and celebrated with me through the best of times. Kim is the only one I can order pizza with and come up with the exact same toppings!   I look forward to our weekly hangouts and creative things we do.  I am not great with words, so beware for the future.  I have lived in survival mode with a wall up for too many years.  It has been a long time since I have been able to take of my mom hero cloak and just be me.  From our first meeting I have been able to do that with Kim.  Kim has shown me that I can do that more often and with ease. Its like we grew up together though I grew up in New Jersey.  Being a mom is hard.  Having a best friend at my side makes my day so much more fun and easy!

As Kim mentioned we have a lot in common. Soccer, clarinet, food, family, crafts and so much more! We found that our love for crafting helps us through spilled cereal, fighting of kids, flooded basements, sleepless nights of sick kids and so much more.  I tend to retreat into my knitting, crocheting and cooking meals.  Kim has inspired me to take me sewing machine out again and try new things.  I can't wait for her to share her amazing sewing talent here! The picture I am sharing is of a runoff stream on my property.  Kim and I also share the love of nature and exploring it!  The family is getting hungry, so I am off until next time!

Beth

How Kim Met Beth

Hello All!  I've never really been a blogger so this is a first time for me.  Sorry if I ramble...I promise I will get better!
   I wanted to share the story about how I met my wonderful friend named Beth (aka...the other Awesome mom on this blog). It was spring and I was at my oldest daughter's end of the year carnival for her preschool.  Our family had moved to this small town about a year and a half ago. In that time we had only met a few people, mostly neighbors.  I have learned it is a bit difficult to meet new people in a small town where almost everyone who lives there grew up there.  It seems like they already have their set group of friends and aren't really open to new comers. So at the carnival we felt a bit like outcasts. We were getting ready to leave when my daughter asked if she could go on a little train ride before we left.  As we were standing in line she waved to the girl behind her.  I turned and smiled.  I'm a pretty shy person so I figured that was the end of the interaction. Then I heard a "Hi! I'm Beth. Our daughters are in the same class." So I introduced myself and we chatted a little while we waited in line.  Then after the girls went on the train ride Beth asked if we wanted to exchange phone numbers to get together over the summer for a play date.  It was the first time that had happened since moving to this small town. I learned that she and her family had moved into town around the same time we did.  It was so nice to meet someone who was in the same boat we were in.
    Since then we have gotten to know each other very well.  Beth has been there as a friend for me for the past couple years now.  During this time we have bonded over highs and lows.  One thing that I think is so cool is that we have so many random things in common even though we grew up in completely different parts of the country. For example we both grew up playing soccer and still love watching it. We both played the clarinet and piano.  We both have lots of the same likes and dislikes.  One thing she may not know (until she reads this) is that she has also been an amazing mentor.  We both have faith in God. I don't usually talk about it much with others but when we talk about our faith together I love hearing her insight and thoughts.  She is such an inspirational person and mother. She has been through a lot of hard things in life and her strength and kindness exceeds all.  I am very lucky to have her as a friend.
   The other big thing we have bonded over is CRAFTING!! Both of us are stay at home moms.  Many times doing crafts is my sanity.  I can usually get a little time to work on things while my littlest is taking a nap.  Beth is amazing at crocheting and knitting.  She has helped me with many crafts over the years and I appreciate all of her input. Soon I will be posting about a quilt I am working on that she recently helped me figure out.
  Well...its time to sign off.  The kids are starting to fight and it's time for mom to the rescue.  Thanks for reading!

Kim