In today’s post, I am going to show you the transformation of a dress that I took from a baggy/frumpy/awkward fit on my body to something that makes me feel comfortable and happy when I wear it.

In today’s blog post, I am sharing a link to a free pattern that I used to knit a modified Copycat Cowl.

I have not been sewing as much recently—I will share why in the personal update at the end of blog post—but I have been knitting more. I recently finished this knitted cowl, and I like it so much that I wanted to share it with you!

Also, included in the post is a new business (Hearthside Textiles & Tea) update.

My friend, Cheri, asked me to share the pattern that I used to make the cotton squares that I had listed in my shop update because she likes to crochet. I thought that there might be others who are interested in it as well so I am sharing it with you on my blog.

In this blog post, I will show you an easy way to piece 40 strips of a roll of precut 2 1/2” strips of fabric into a quilt top. The finished size before borders is approximately 55” square. In a future blog post, I will show you how to add borders to make a larger quilt.

It seems that with zucchini, it’s either feast or famine. Two years ago, I had so many zucchini in the garden, I didn’t know what to do with them! Last year, I didn’t and this year, I have had a few, but my plants are starting to die so I don’t know whether I will be able to make this recipe as often as I would like. My family also loves zucchini bread so I will use some of the zucchini for that as well.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to complain about life when things aren’t going easily? I found myself telling two of my friends this week that even in the midst of a hard week, I was seeing how God was providing small gifts in a variety of ways to help me through the week. But for some reason, I felt that I had to disclaim that because I don’t believe that this life is for our comfort and that God is going to ease every burden, but this week, I became convicted that too often I just share with my friends the things that are going hard, and not the ways that I am feeling God’s presence and answer to prayers.

We agreed that as friends who have known each other through thick and thin for over 20 years that we don’t need to have a filter—we can share the good, the bad, and the ugly with each other. And, today, I am sharing a bit of my week with you. Unfortunately, I realize that you only see the highlights of my life here—the more of the beautiful and not the ugly. It’s hard as a blogger to know how much readers want to know about my personal life versus just coming here to find inspiration for creative ideas.

But today’s post is about my week. If you were hoping for a bit of creative inspiration, don’t click or scroll to read more this time. It’s all personal today…

I haven’t baked myself a birthday cake in years. But according to my girls, you haven’t actually turned a year older until you have eaten cake. And so, I decided to bake a cake for my birthday this week. I bought ingredients, reached out to a friend to ask for a tried-and-true recipe, and started baking.

And, then, I modified the recipe. Which was…a bad idea…

When my cousin asked my daughters to be flower girls in her wedding, we excitedly agreed! The couple was engaged for nearly 18 months so I waited to make the dresses because I knew the girls would grow a lot in that amount of time. It seems that Ellie is stretching out of her clothes these days nearly as fast as she did when she was a toddler. So, a couple of months ago, I settled on a pattern and ordered the fabric.

Yes, I am still here! It’s been awhile since I wrote a blog post—mainly because I haven’t been creating anything to share about.

I have been trying very hard to reduce stress in my life, which means slowing down, and saying no when I try to put too much on my plate. One of the things that I have been putting energy into is the vegetable (and flower) garden at my parents. I am still very much a novice at gardening, but I am enthusiastic. My parents have the knowledge and experience, but lack the enthusiasm, so between all of us, I hope that we will have a successful garden!

In this post, I share a new garden design, and a few of my favorite varieties of vegetables.