I love getting mail!  I am not talking about all those bills and flyers.  I am talking about the good kind...handwritten notes, invitations and especially packages.  When I got home this afternoon, there was a nice brown box from the Fat Quarter Shop waiting on my stoop.  Inside, lots of Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy (on sale, too!).

All those warm reds, golds and browns are really appealing to me.  Can you tell I am ready for fall?  Also inside was a fat quarter bundle of some of Amy Butler's Belle.    I have been eying these prints for a long time, but just couldn't decide which ones I liked best.  I love the turquoises, pinks and greens so the sampler pack was a good solution to my dilemma.  I am off to get them all washed so I can start sewing.

Take two cooked cobs of corn, kernels removed.  Add 1 1/3 chopped tomatoes (I like heirloom ones the best!), 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped vidalia onions, and 15 to 20 chopped basil leaves.  Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.  Refrigerate for at least one hour and up to two days.  Enjoy the sweet taste of summer!

Today my mom is the birthday girl and I hope she is enjoying every minute.  I have great memories of my mom's birthdays.  Every year my dad baked my mom a cake from scratch.  As I got older, I lent a hand in the kitchen and later took over the baking.  I wish I could be with them today to give my mom a big old hug and kiss and eat some chocolate cake with a glass of champagne.  No doubt they are having fun!

I love giving hand made gifts.  Inspired by Sally and Autumn, I made my own version of the patchwork belt for my mom.   Autumn has a nice tutorial on her site, but I made mine a little differently.  My mom has a fondness for red, so I mixed it with some pink, green, black and white and came up with this.

I am very happy with the way it turned out - hope she likes it, too!  I also made her a appliqued bird t-shirt complete with a swarovski crystal eye and more red thread.

Here's to you mom!

Things in the house have been quiet this weekend...and it's been so nice.  This morning we took a walk down the street.  In fact, I was the only one on foot.  All the others had some kind of wheels for their mode of transportation.

It didn't last as long as I had hoped.  Kate had a bit of a meltdown and the outing ended prematurely.  She would not be happy that I am sharing this photo, but I just have to.  It completely captures her when she isn't getting what she wants.

I have done some fun crafting the last few days, but can't share it yet because the package hasn't arrived at its destination.  I am very excited about how it turned out and with any luck, the birthday girl will be, too.  Hopefully, tomorrow I can show it off.   In the meantime, here's a sneak peak of a little something I started for another friend.  I hope this works out the way I see it in my head!

I bought these dish towels back in January at Anthropologie with the full intent of making them into summer skirts for the girls.

Today I finally did it.  I cut the towels in half lengthwise and stitched up the sides.  I then made a casing out of fabric from my stash and attached it to the towel making little hand pleats along the way.  I tried gathering, but the towel was a little bulky.  I pulled some elastic through the casing and voila, skirts!

It seems like a lot of the posts on this "craft" blog have been about my kids.  I guess I am just focused on getting everyone back to school that I haven't been crafting a lot this week.  Someone is having a birthday next week so I promise that there will be a good post with lots of handmade goodies then.  In the meantime, take a look at my first grader. She's so cute!  (Yes, I know I am biased).  Jane was up early and ready to go - she practically jumped out of the car.  I was sure that she would have a good day and I was right.  There was a moment when I had my doubts, though...she came running out of school crying.  Honestly, my heart was about to break!  When I asked what was wrong, she said, "I got lost."  Huh?  No worries - she just got in the wrong carpool line at the end of the day and it all got figured out before I even saw her.  Once she calmed down (a very short minute later), she told me, "It was a lot of fun, I had P.E. and music and I drew a monster."  She then zipped open her lunch box and devoured the leftovers.  A pretty good day, indeed.

Jane is not the only one who has been embroidering.  I am in love with Hilary's stitchettes!  When I bought them I wasn't sure how I was going to use them.  After they arrived in the mail, the glee in Jane and Kate's voices gave me the answer: t-shirts!  Can't you just see these cuties on my cuties?  The pink t is for Jane and the green for Kate.  I am pretty happy with how they are turning out - I just wish my split stitch were a wee bit more even.  Practice makes perfect, I guess.

Also on the back burner, some machine embroidered burp cloth orders, a bed skirt, duvet and shams.  Thank goodness school is starting!

Last night, we went to Jane's new school to meet her teacher and have some ice cream.  Jane seemed a little intimidated by the amount of kids, but was happy to meet a few girls who will be in her class.  She liked her teacher (phew!) and even wanted to go say goodbye to her after all the orange sherbet was gone.

I think we have all of our ducks in a row for the first day on Wednesday.  The uniform jumpers are altered, the mary janes and knee socks bought, the supplies labeled and the backpack and lunch box are waiting to be filled.  Jane seems a little anxious and honestly, so am I.  Tomorrow we have the chance to take her supplies to her classroom and find her desk.  Kindergarten was a half day program at her preschool and none of her friends are going to the new school so this is a big transition for her.  I know that she is going to do great at this new place, but I will miss her smiling face.

Jane has also been moving right along on her embroidery.  Look at how far she has gotten!  I think she will finish up in the next couple of days.  It's going to be a cute pillow!