you sir are my favorite.

Source: sew-much-ado.com via Megan on Pinterest

brandon.
you are my favorite
you are my best friend.
you make me smile, happy, giddy.
every.single.day.


it still amazes me that we went to high school together (a year apart!). 
our small, Iowa high school. 
and we never met. 
probably because you were the all-start athlete,
and i was the girl who didn't care.


i'm happy you started that facebook chat over 3 years ago.
even though i found it a little strange at the time. 
and maybe still do. :) 
you will always be "the facebook creeper" in my sister's eyes.
and brandon-a-witz, you will always be brandon-a-witz.


i love how well you fit into our family. 
it's like you've always been here. 
and i know dad loves finally having a son. 
just like you finally have a dad to do things with. 
it makes me smile. 


i'm thankful we have Jeter.
our four legged, 
slightly over-weight, 
possibly ADD puppy. 
he likes you too. 


you can fix things. 
squish spiders. 
protect me during scary movies. 
tell me when i'm being over-dramatic. 
you truly make me a better person. 


you are my best friend.
you are my favorite.
and i can't wait to see what our future holds. 
<3


xo, your 1/2.

this week.

this week i've been:
>>under the weather with a head cold.
>>enjoying the world series games.
>>knitting like a mad woman.

what's everyone else been up to this week?

<<be sure to enter in the giveaway, too!>>

xo, megan

a new 'do.

a very special THANKS to my pal Holly for designing my new blog header!
see it up there?
:)
i love it!

what do you all think?

oh how i've missed you.

i was finally able to get back at my sewing machine last night -- it's been almost 2 weeks! here's a little sneaky peaky of what i am working on. more pictures soon!  

 

 

what's everyone sewing this week??

 

xo, Megan

just wanted to pop in and say HI! :) 

today is my last day in SLC, the weather is great and I am trying to make the most of it by squeezing in some last minute shopping--yarn and fabric!

hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

xo, Megan

this weekend.

well, it's official. my sewing summit nerves have resulted in some serious sewing mojo. it seems the only way i can distract myself from a pile of nerves/excitement is sitting behind my machine. but hey, i'm not complaining!

remember this tumbler quilt i pieced together this summer at the lake?? yep, f.i.n.i.s.h.e.d. i just pulled it out of the dryer this morning, all crinkly and yummy.(: 

so what's on deck for the rest of the weekend?

-a quilty photo shoot for this tumbler quilt.

-still need to take pictures of my finished weekender bag, too!

-work on a FTLOS angel swappy package

-pre-sewing summit meet-up!! :) the bf and i will be heading a few hours south this weekend for a lunch date with deedrie of mybricole, jeni of in color order, and vanessa of v & co. can't.wait.

so, what are you all up to this weekend??

xo, Megan

the count down is on. plus a weekender bag.

there's only a few short weeks between now and sewing summit. and to be honest, i'm starting to feel a bit nervous. it's definitely not a bad nervous. more like the first day at a new school nervous. sharing my creations and blogging in my sweatpants is one thing, but actually meeting all of you face-to-face has me a bit scared.  please tell me i'm not the only one. :) 
 
it all comes down to the "will i fit in" business. 

 

but then i remember, here in the online sewing/quilting community we all have lots in common, right? i mean, we sit behind our laptops/iPads/cellphones/whatever for hours on end searching through sites like flickr and pinterest. we drag our families/husbands/boyfriends along to countless fabric stores searching for a that one new fabric line. we lug quilts out into the front yard and have our own little photo shoots while the neighbors look on in confusion.

 

yep, we have lots in common!

 

and that's the part i'm looking forward to most. being in a room, surrounded by some of my sewing and quilting heros, chatting about lord knows what, and enjoying every minute of it because we all just get "it"! there's no need to explain yourself or your sewing addiction--because we are all the same!

so to all of you that will be in SLC for the sewing summit, be sure to say hi! especially if you see this weekender bag. (yep, it's finished! more pictures soon!) i don't care if it's in the airport, on the street, or during class--be sure to introduce yourself! i can't wait to meet you all!

xo, Megan

oh and if you are feeling lucky, check out this go! baby giveaway! :)

help a girl out!

Hey there!

We all have our stories and memories about joining the online sewing community and starting a blog.  I started Canoe Ridge Creations with no expectations and was fairly certain no one would ever want to read what I write about--and am still surprised that people do!  I still remember the day I got my first follower. 

And her name, Lee from Freshly Pieced! :)

We have since become bloggy pals, which is why I am asking a little favor of you all.  Lee is in the running for a fabric design contest with Connecting Threads and I would love for you to all head on over and vote for her "Flourish" design! :)

So come on, help a girl out! :)

xo, Megan

on the map.

i live in small town iowa.
population 8000.
think corn fields, poor cell phone reception, and lots of farms.
and i LOVE it!

yesterday, my little home town of 23 years was all over the news because President Obama came to visit and even spent the night! 
my dad (who had been actively involved in the prep for the event for the past week--security and such) was able to meet the man first hand this morning.  and i couldn't be more proud of him! :)
while i didn't actually get to see him, it was surely a once in a life time experience.

he arrived in our little iowa town (decorah!) last night and spent the night down town at our hotel winneshiek (when i was actually eating dinner--i'll spare you the stories).
and worked out at our local gym this morning.
politics aside--it sure has been an exciting whirlwind for the past 24 hours.

now that he has come and gone, things have already started to quiet down.
the media has packed and gone.
the secret service men are leaving (sad face! why are they so attractive?!?).

but we were on the map.
if only for a few hours.
and it is almost hard to believe.
:)

xo, Megan

back up and running.

Hello my bloggy pals!


Things have been a little quiet around here this week because we have been without internet for a couple weeks.  gasp!  Which makes for a pretty lame bloggy/online sewing community life if you ask me.


You see the day before we left for the lake, our house was struck by lightning.  And yes, it was about as scary as it sounds.  We were all in the house at the time, but thankfully no one was hurt.  The lightning hit fried our internet and telephone lines (plus a few little electronics that we had plugged in at time)--all things that can be replaced.  Oh, and no worries--the sewing machines were all unplugged. thank goodness!


As of last night, we are finally back in business.  woohoo!  It's amazing how dependent on the internet I am, because access to the internet is as much of a creative outlet for me as my sewing machine.  I am sure you can all relate. :)  So, please excuse the delayed response to comments and last week's {Sew} Modern Monday link-ups.  If all goes well, I am hoping to get caught up this weekend.


And because a post without a picture is just plain lame, here's a little look at my blocks I have received this month for the {Sew} Beautiful Bee.  I cannot wait to put this quilt together!


xo, Megan

pardon the interruption...

We are taking a much needed vacation at 

the lake this week...

There will be lots of sewing, fishing, eating, 
drinking :), and just plain old relaxing.

Come back next week for

{Sew} Modern Monday!

xo, Megan

the next best thing.

Sometimes the sewing and quilting can wait.

Especially when it comes to golfing. :)

Have a great weekend!

xo, Megan

keeping up with the joneses.

Canoe Ridge Creations is now on Twitter!

Stop by and say hi!

Oh, and it looks like we are getting

dangerously close to 300 followers.

Which means there

might just have to be a giveaway soon.

*hint, hint*

:)

xo, Megan

a quick note.

I forgot to mention...

There will be no {Sew} Modern Monday this coming week,

because Monday is Giveaway Day!

Come back Monday to see what will be 

up for grabs!

Want a hint?

xo, Megan

dreaming of SLC.

This little piggy really wishes she were at market. :)

I am flickr/blogs/twitter/facebook stalking constantly for updates.  

There is some wonderful quilty stuff in SLC this weekend.  sigh.

I guess I will have to settle for a little sewing.

And starting a new project seems to be just the ticket.

Recognize the fabric?

off to a good start.

Saturday mornings are the best.  And they are even better when you know you have the whole day off! :)  

 

On today's agenda...

 

--mini swap with Elizabeth from Don't Call Me Betsy.

--a little thrifting. 

--some more fun with this.
  

--and spending lots of time with this guy.

Happy Mother's Day weekend!

 

xo, Megan

an extra hour.

While I had grand ideas to get a WiP post together for yesterday's WiP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced, it just didn't happen.  I swear there is just not enough time in the day to get everything done somedays.  Any one else up for a 25 hour day?  Think of all that extra quilting an hour could bring!

Rather than bore you with the detailed list (that can wait until next week) of all the projects, I will just share a couple.

There are only a few weeks left in the Pretty {little} Pouch swap, so I am hoping to finish mine up this weekend and send it on it's way.  Originally I was a little intimidated by my partner assignment, but have decided to just go with it.  I was immediately drawn to her solids and gray tastes that seemed to pop up all over her inspiration mosaic.  

So with these rainbow solids and gray plus a little quilting/hand stitched detail, and I think it will be just right for her.  I am planning on using the same basic shape as this pouch I made a few weeks back.  Which by the way, I use all the time now, they are just so handy.  I have ditched the purse for the pouch--at least for the time being.

I also have decided on a quilt pattern for the BF's quilt.  He chose these great gray and green prints from Ty Pennington's line Impressions a few weeks ago and has been begging for a quilt ever since.  When I came across the Mod Times QAL (I think I have an addiction to QALs) from Twin Fibers, I instantly fell in love with the pattern.  Simple, geometric.  Perfection.  I will be using Kona Coal and Snow (still need to get to the store and pick some up) along with those Ty Pennington fabrics.  

The finished quilt size is pretty small (30ish" x 40ish" I think), especially if he is going to want to cover up with it (hehe) so I am planning on making it bigger.  I am a little stuck though.  Do I add more rows onto the top and side?  Or do I just enlarge all the pieces (same overall design, just on a larger scale)?  Any suggestions my quilty friends?

Also, I was going through all my quilts I have ever made the other day.  And I got to thinking (which is sometimes dangerous).  Since I started quilting a good 10 years before I started blogging and there are some quite a few quilts stacked up who deserve their little time to shine.  How does a Flashback Friday of sorts sound?  Would anyone be interested in a linking up some of your pre-blogging quilts?  Now I am not thinking a weekly or even bi-weekly thing, just maybe a few times over the next few months.  Tell me your thoughts.

Which brings me to my next thing.  If you haven't already, go check out this post from Lee.  Go on, I will wait.  As I repeatedly say, you all are seriously the best. It is your comments/e-mails/inspiration that keeps me blogging.  Words cannot express how much I appreciate each and everyone of you.  The online quilting community is seriously the best!

Phew.  How's that for a long post. :)  Have a great weekend everyone!

xo, Megan

april snow, brings may...SAY WHAT!?!?

Yes, that's right.  It is April 19th and here in Iowa we have at least 3 inches of snow (with total accumulation predicted to be 8 inches).  School got out early, banks are closed, we even shut down the clubhouse at the golf course.  Hello, Mother Nature?  Am I missing something?!?!
 

April 19th

 

It is hard to believe it looked like this a few days ago...

 

We have actually been having this crazy weather on and off again for the past few days.  It is warm and sunny one day and then cold and rainy (and now snowy) the next.  I guess that is just Spring in the Midwest for you.

I am off to enjoy the night with my sewing machine, some sweatpants, and maybe even a glass of wine.

 

xo, Megan

life in the fast lane [powered by RedBull]

busy schedule at work. 

check.

squeezing sewing time into every free moment. 

check and check.

I don't know about you all, but this past week has just flown by.  Despite long hours at work, my sewing mojo is at an all time high.  All thanks to the great folks at RedBull (yes, yes. i realize how "bad" energy drinks are for me--the BF reminds me daily. but sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do).  It was only a few posts back I was worried about how sewing/blogging would be affected by my return back to work--but so far so good.  I have learned when you only have a limited amount of time for fun things like sewing, you make every second count.

At the start of my productive week is that camera strap cover I shared earlier.  It is amazing how much fun taking pictures is when you are in style (as if I didn't enjoy taking pictures before that).  Oh, and I am pretty sure I need to add more Tula Pink Parisville to my stash ASAP.

Then it was onto finishing up my MMM swap goodies for my partner.  I had kind of waited (glorified way of saying procrastinated) until almost the last minute to get started on an overall design for my "big ticket" item because I was lacking a little inspiration.  But when said inspiration struck...in the shower of all places...there was no turning back.

I officially wrapped and sent things this afternoon (there's nothing like waiting until the deadline) and can't wait for my partner to get them so I can share it with you all. 

Once those swap goodies were complete, I decided to get a jump start on my Pretty {little} Pouch Swap package.  We received our partners last week, and I am very excited to make something for my secret partner.  I have already pulled fabric and started sketching a design and am hoping to finish a bit more of it tonight.

Which reminds me, tonight is April's FNSI--I will most certainly be working on that little pouch.  Just as soon as I get off the laptop.

Oh, oh.  And to end a great week, I received my MMM swap package today.  I actually got a text message, while at work, letting me know I had gotten a package with "MMM" on it.  

Do you know how hard it is to keep working is when you know there is something so great waiting at home?  Let me just tell you, VERY HARD. :)  Here is just a little peek for now.  I am hoping to get pictures taken of it all tomorrow.

No, no.  That fortune is not from her.  It was from my lunch today (mmm, chinese takeout).  I think it was a sign.  Roses=KJR flowers.  Right?

Alright, I think that is enough sewing update for now.  I'm off to enjoy the night in sweat pants, virtually sewing along with all of you tonight.

Have a great night.

xo, Megan

instant gratification [the camera strap]

I was in need of some sewing instant gratification the other day.  You know the small project, can finish it in a few hours kind of sewing?  Yep, that was exactly what I was craving for.  (please excuse the point and shoot pictures.)

 

  

And the fix?  A cover for my DSLR camera strap.

With a little Parisville by Tula Pink and some Kona Medium Gray (surprised?) I was done in no time.

The best part, this was just the start of some serious sewing mojo over here. Stay tuned.
 

xo, Megan