gratitude day 1: lucas

inspired by my friend brook, i'll be posting something i'm grateful for every day for the next 21 days.

day one: lucas

because every day is fun and new and exciting with him.

what he's been up to today:

(1): lining up the pictures of the kids in his preschool class in two rows–his friends on the top row and the kids he "doesn't like" on the bottom row.

(2): playing with his "big brother" that he made by stuffing some of his clothes with blankets.

(3): playing in the flour {or as he described it, "making roads and quilts"}. i'm glad he's got a little bit of me and mr. coleman in him.

the reason my sewing machine + i are on a break

two more quilts. given as christmas gifts.

the first, sewn for my sister angela and her husband clint, i have titled: angelateral {or, alternately: why i will never hand-sew a binding again}

the back:

the hand-sewn binding in all its glory:

the second quilt i almost decided to just store in the closet, unfinished. i had run out of sewing enthusiasm, plus it's crooked, so i was embarrassed to gift it, but in the end, i sucked it up and sewed a binding on it. my kids were sad to give it away. they love that soft minky fabric on the back. i hope my sister-in-law loves it like they do.

i have entitled this quilt: charity {for private reasons, which some may understand}

clara's bunting quilt

this really is a recap of my vacation. for the first week i was in arizona, the only thing i did was quilt and eat. (possibly there was a small amount of swinging and playing at the park. more on that later.).

here's the first quilt i finished while i was down there, for my niece clara. i'm already missing all that green grass.

the front:

the back:

details:

i love you, clara jane. i hope you are enjoying your brand new baby sister.

my renters

we own the house next to ours and rent it out, currently to my brothers daniel and steven. aren't they cute

this picture is for all my family that will not get to see them this christmas because they {my brothers} are official adults now and cannot afford to take work off for long enough to make the drive down to az...yet. they're working hard and saving up for a vehicle.

early christmas

friends!

we are headed to arizona for the holidays and are anticipating the early arrival of santa at our house this year. one of my favorite things about being a grownup is never having to wait if i don't want to. {did i write a previous post about needing to learn patience? hmmm...}

pictured is mine and don's christmas this year. me=shelves. him=giant t.v.

it still needs some work: the top is a mess of unmounted lights, empty frames and packaging. i'm waiting on some fun knobs from anthropologie, need to bring few more books up from downstairs, maybe add some accessories (?) or bookends, but in true rachel-coleman-fashion, i couldn't wait to show you.

look at all that space! a little part of me dies each time i look at it, room for our library to grow, our first real furniture that we didn't have to build ourselves or recover. i think i might be an official adult.

i am busy working on a graphic design job, quilts, teacher gifts, packing, cleaning, teaching piano, and also, most importantly, finishing my novel by the end of the year. so i may not be around as much. no wish lists or top ten favorite books unless i get those other things done first.

have a wonderful christmas if i don't check in before then.

love, rachel

interruption

i interrupt regular life, and the dutiful reading of my uncomfortably large to-be-read pile to enjoy the latest from my most favorite author, juliet marillier.

you can find me in my bed under my heated blanket.

even if it's bold italic

now i can die complete.