I love the "Kings X" quilt block, so I decided to start me a Christmas Quilt.  Don't laugh!  I know, Christmas just got over and is a LONG way away!  At the rate I get things done sometimes, I will be lucky to finish this quilt by Christmas!  Here's the first block...

HST Block of the Month-February

Here's my February block for my vintage sheet quilt.  I'm so excited...I can't wait to get the pattern for March's Block!  If anyone else wants to follow along, check out incolororder.blogspot.com.

Here's one of my newest Angel paintings.  All of my paintings are available on Ebay under the name smeds*art*studio, so please come visit me there!

Sausage and Spinach Soup

For dinner I made a favorite staple of mine...Sausage and Spinach Soup.  It's super easy and quick!  Start with browning some ground sausage (We love Spicy Italian in ours, and yes, as you can tell by the bright orange sticker, I try to always by our meat on discount...frugal me :) ).  Throw in some onion to saute with the sausage.  Sprinkle a little Oregano.  Once the sauasage is browned and the onions soft add a carrot (diced or sliced) , a can of beans (white is my fav, but Hominy works fantastic as a replacemnt for beans), chopped spinach (fresh or frozen is fine) and enough chicken broth or soup stock to make as many servings as you want.  I use 6 cups of water with 6 tsp. of soup base for a family of 6.  It leaves me 1 or 2 servings leftover for me to have for lunch.  You can add just about anything else you want...potatoes are great in this as well.  Just cook over med. heat until carrots are tender, about 10-15 minutes.  If by chance you can't serve it right away, it can sit on low and simmer for quite awhile and be just fine. Season with salt and pepper and Viola!  Serve with fresh Baguettes...YUM!

HST Block of the Month-January

I have been following Jeni at incolororder.blogspot.com.  She is hosting a HST-Block of the Month.  I have been collecting vintage sheets for a long time and could never decide what to make with them, until now.  As soon as I saw her blog, I knew I wanted to make a quilt! Not all the fabrics I used are vintage sheets, but I am going to try to use as many as possible.  I have finished my January block and am just finishing up my Febraury block.  SO here is January...Don't look to closely...I sew for fun, not award winning seamstressing!

You can check out her blog incolororder.blogspot.com

So, I decided to FINALLY start a blog!  I'm not quite sure what to expect...I am a wife and mother of 4, so time may be an  issue!  But as I have been following other bloggers, I have realized they are wives and mothers as well...and here I thought I was the only one!  Who knew?  I have been painting and quilting for many years (I hate saying that...it makes me sound so old!)  But it's true!  I'm sneaking up on my 40th birthday this year!  AAAAUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!  Sorry, I needed to get that out!  Anyway, it seems I am always working on one project or another, so I thought this blog thing-y was a good way to hold me accountable for the projects I start.  Maybe, just maybe, it will help me complete some of them!  I'm excited to starting meeting new people and making new friends!