Happy Christmas from FrozenKnickers

May this season be bright and filled with the Spirit of Christ!

low maintenance : at FrozenKnickers

Back in June...

I kept it buzzed for a couple months.  It was seriously the best thing I have done with my hair in a long time!  I haven't cut it since the middle of August, but looking at these pics again makes me thing maybe it's time.  Considering that winter is coming on, I might wait until next spring... not that a little fluff of hair atop my head is going to provide much insulation, but one can hope.

Progress : at FrozenKnickers

I haven't been sewing much, or at all over the past several months.  Between one thing or another I just haven't taken the time.  But I've been feeling the itch over the last few weeks.  I finished a couple needed projects (like the binding on my children's quilts -- from LAST Christmas) and didn't know what to start on next so I pulled out my ToDo box and dug this out of it.

I actually started it last fall but put it aside when other higher priority projects took over (like those Christmas quilts -- sorry kids!).  This is just a little peek.  I can't decide if I want it to be a baby quilt or a wall hanging.  Decisions, decisions.

England by FrozenKnickers

My husband and I recently made a trip to England to visit his sister and her family.  It was our first time and we hope to be able to go back again someday.

The buildings are beautiful!

Buckingham Palace was ridiculously crowded (during changing of the guards) so we moved on to St. James Park and the Churchill War Rooms.

Windsor Castle.  There is a room filled with the queens portraits over the past 60 years.  I enjoyed that.

Hever Castle.  Home of Ann Boleyn's youth.  The grounds were beautiful!!

Tate.  I think I enjoyed this quite a bit more than my husband, but he was a good sport and didn't rush me (thanks love!!).

Trafalgar Square

St. Paul's Cathedral.

LDS Temple.

My husband is a Sci-Fi nerd.  I wouldn't go to the extent of calling him a Treky (at least not publicly... oh wait...) because he doesn't dress up and attend the conventions but he definitely likes his Sci-Fi.  We went to a small town cinema and watched Star Trek: Into Darkness.  Who needs Broadway when you've got Star Trek!?

We went to an afternoon showing, called Baby Cinema.  Basically, it's when you can take your kids and don't have to worry about everyone telling you to shut them up.  If we have that in the States I've never heard of it.  With the price of a ticket you also get your choice of hot drink and a slice of cake.  How English!  :)

 

 

 Also with the price of your ticket you get a front-and-center place to change diapers without having to miss any of the show.  :)

These are just a picking of the things we saw.  I actually forgot to get pictures of a couple of the places we visited but I did remember to keep a running list of our day-to-day to journal about.

My favorite thing, other then pinching my nieces cheeks (yes, I am going to be that aunt!) was going on walks and experiencing the English Countryside.  We went on a really beautiful walk Sunday afternoon.  One footpath we walked along was like walking through a cave of trees lined with hedges and bluebells.  It was beautiful!  The end of the footpath opened to a beautiful view of the coutryside.

That's enough for now, but be warned, you may see another post or two about our trip.  :)

Quadruplets by FrozenKnickers

No, not the baby kind...the quilt kind.  I recently sold four made-to-order quilts, all in my Modern Stripes pattern.  They were three separate orders.  One of which was for twins.  What better then to have my own twins model them...

Let me tell you, with as many times as I have made this pattern over the years I have quite the efficient system for getting them assembled!  Yet, I never get tired of making it...which is good.

Lifestyle? at FrozenKnickers

I have thought a lot over the past several months about this little blog of mine.  It has been almost exclusively a quilting/crafting blog and a great way for me to share what I make with people who have the same creative interests as me.  It's been great!

However, there have been several times, especially in the last year (with my mothers illness, homeschooling, etc.) when life has pushed quilting to the back burner and I have felt that I didn't have anything crafty to share.  Hence the general absence.

It doesn't mean I'm not busy.  Just the opposite.  But do I share that here?  I don't want to load my readers with things they aren't interested it.   Who wants to disappoint?  

On the other hand, there is so much more to my life than quilting and I want to share it.  Like the other day when my eight year-old put a chewed up tootsie roll on the floor next to the toilet.  Considering it's color and location, "tootsie roll" was not my first though. 

Or the hornet problem we have going on around our house.  That I LOVE container homes and a minimalist style.  That my hair is thinning out BAD (though you can't really see it in the pic).  The beautiful blossoms on the prune trees or our little herd of cows.  Or that my mother's illness has progressed to the point where she can't move or speak anymore. 

Life is full of ups and downs and these are just tiny pieces to the busy, joyful puzzle of my life.

This is who I am and what I want to share.

Don't get me wrong, there will still be quilts and crafts included, just not exclusively.

I understand some people want only crafty, and that's fine.  This blog may no longer interest some but this is the direction I need to go and I'm really looking forward to it!

Does this mean that I am going to become an overachiever in the frequency with which I post?  Not at all.  If you see something from me once or twice a week I'll feel like I am doing great!  I am, after all, a busy mama with a life to live, little people to raise and a great husband to care for.

That said, my next post will show off the quilts I have been working on...



The pic is of me and Baby H.  He is now 16 months, how much longer can I keep calling him a baby?

Shopping at FrozenKnickers

(please excuse the fuzzy pic, it was taken on a cell phone)

I don't generally take my kids shopping because I need me time, they get cranky and bored, and it usually takes twice as long.

I recently took Thing 2 (three-year old) shopping while the boys stayed home with dad for guy time that we lovingly refer to as a "daddy party".  Not half way into our excursion she groans, "I'm bored.  Can we go home and have a daddy party?"

Ha.

I am torn when it comes to shopping.  I love shopping for little people and for fabric but for pretty much anything else, I completely detest it.

I prefer moving quickly.  I don't especially like walking slowly or flipping through every article of clothing on a rack.  If I can't find something in 20 minutes or less I'm usually done.  

Grocery shopping hangs precariously between the two extremes.  It all depends on the store!  Thank you WinCo for have the BEST shopping cart returns EVER!!!  I'll admit, that one feature sold me as a return customer.   You don't have to walk halfway across the parking lot to return your cart AND they are double sided so you are never on the wrong side, having to weave in and out of parked cars just to get the dang thing out of the way of traffic.

So, I like WinCo.  Since I am a frequent customer, I know where most everything is and I divide my shopping list accordingly by section/isle.  First, I list my produce items.  If there is not a baby in the seat that is where my more tender fruits and veggies go so they don't get squished...and my bread!

Next, my "everyday" baking and canned items are in the center of the store so I move on to there.

Then, things like cheese and meat.  

After that I get my 20 gallons of milk (exaggerated, but not by much...we really need to get our own milking cow!) and any other refrigerated/frozen items.  The milk usually goes on the rack under the basket.  Yes, I use those for more then just dog food.  :)

Finally, I get my bread.  Place it tenderly on top of my heaving grocery cart and proceed to the checkout.  I bag my items, pay for my goods, and head out the door.  

I push my cart gingerly from the sidewalk to the parking lot and avoid uneven ground--like speed bumps--to keep my multi-layer stack of groceries from tumbling to the ground.  I dropped a gallon of milk once and it exploded on my driveway.  Imagine the kind of mess 20 gallons of milk would make!  It would make for an interesting sight but I am not going to be the one to waste $60 to see it.  Milk is a precious commodity in our home.

I make it to my mini-van mostly unscathed, fish around inside for a place for my--"Woaw!  Who put all these groceries in my cart?  Good thing I didn't bring any kids or someone would be riding home strapped to the top!"--and quickly close my back door before everything comes tumbling out.  I take a conclusive deep breath and give a cheerful sigh of relief because I parked right next to one of WinCo's AWESOME shopping cart returns!

So, if you ever see someone at the grocery store pushing around enough groceries to last them through the next ice age, just give 'em a little space and an encouraging smile.  Maybe even a helping hand.  They might just have a bunch of hungry children at home having a daddy party.


What about you?  Do you like shopping or do you avoid it like the plague?  Is there something that keeps you coming back to your favorite store?

Currently at FrozenKnickers

These are fabrics I am using for my current projects.  This is the first time I have used organic fabric and I haven't decided yet if I completely like it or not.  It has a slightly different hand then my standard cottons but it's not bad.  However, considering it's twice the price I think it should at least be softer than my little babies bottom.  :)  I assume most organic fabrics are this way and am hoping once they are washed that all my organic-fabric-desires will be fulfilled.  The hand aside, there is absolutely no shortage of lovely in the design!

Most of these fabrics are from the Camp Sur and Camp Modern collections by Jay-Cyn for Birch fabrics.  They have a camping theme (obviously) and I am completely in love with these fish!  So very simple and modern and completely perfect.