Favorite Quotes
01 year ago
by Erin
I am going to be in a wedding next weekend and I am trying to write my matron of honor speech. It’s not really going well 
So in the meantime, here are some of my favorite quotes:
“Be not far from me, for trouble is near: there is none to help.” — Psalm 22:11
“We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, ‘Oh, nothing!’ Pride helps us; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our own hurts — not to hurt others.” — George Eliot, Middlemarch
“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.” — George Eliot, Middlemarch
“Many Theresas have been born who found for themselves no epic life wherein there was a constant unfolding of far-resonant action […] they tried to shape their thought and deed in noble agreement; but after all, to common eyes their struggles seemed mere inconsistency and formlessness; for these later-born Theresas were helped by no coherent social faith and order which could perform the function of knowledge for the ardently willing soul.” — George Eliot, Middlemarch
“It is not violence that best overcomes hate—nor vengeance that most certainly heals injury.” — Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
“‘Would you not be happier if you tried to forget her severity, together with the passionate emotions it excited? Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs.’” — Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
“Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living! You said I killed you — haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe — I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always — take any form — drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” — Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
Burlesque!
01 year ago
by Erin
Today I’m going to see Burlesque with my mom and sister. I’m actually excited, haha. I don’t typically go to the movies much, but I couldn’t pass this one up. It looks like it’s going to be a little Striptease, a little Crossroads and a lot of AWESOME. Here is the trailer:
Cher, Christina Aguilera, Stanley Tucci, Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars!!), Cam Gigandet (James from Twilight), I could go on and on about the cast. It’s going to be awesome!
Abigail’s Quilt
11 year ago
by Erin
Mike’s cousin had another baby this year, so I wanted to make a quilt for her second baby (here is the quilt I made for her first child). One of the things I didn’t like about the first quilt was how muted and subdued the colors were. I like quilts with bright colors better, so this time I tried to be more adventurous with my fabric selections.
Closeup of some of the fabric.
One cool thing is that I’ve been collecting fabrics over the past year since I started quilting, so I was able to use them for this project. The pink striped fabric I got at a garage sale (!), the yellow fabric I stole from my mom’s collection, and the purple fabric was left over from Scarlett’s quilt.
I used the Rail Fence pattern from Quilts for Baby: Easy As ABC by Ursula Reikes. Here is what the squares looked like once they were all put together:
Quilt using the Rail Fence pattern.
I love how bright it is!! Next, I added the inner and outer borders. The inner border was made using fabric left over from Mikey 3′s quilt.
Closeup of the quilt after adding the borders and making the quilt sandwich.
This time I planned on machine quilting more intricate pattern than I’m used to, so I decided to baste the quilt with thread rather than safety pins like I usually do. Basting keeps the layers straight while you quilt it. Basting with thread is better when you plan on machine quilting, that way there are no safety pins to avoid that can break the machine’s needle. I used a dark thread that would be easy to see so I could pick them out later. Then, I quilted along the purple lines:
Closeup of the quilting and basting.
In the past I have quilted in a grid, but with Mikey 3′s quilt I started quilting along the pattern, since I felt a grid would take away from the overall design. I felt the same about this quilt, so I chose to quilt in a zig-zag pattern that followed the design. I think it turned out well.
Here I am working on the last step, binding.
The binding is the same fabric I used for the inner border. The backing was pink striped fabric I’ve had FOREVER, and a pink flowered pattern I picked up in the scraps bin at Joann’s (I LOVE the scraps bin!!)
Final product
Hope baby and mama like it!
