A couple of quilty projects completed :)

Some completed projects - needlecases and "mug rugs" (coasters) - sewn with the quilty fabric I got on sale at Fabricland :) The coasters finished to 4.5" square, and the needlecases are 8.5" in diameter. The free patterns are available online ... the needlecase is here ... http://sewprimkhris.blogspot.com/2008/01/needlecase-tutorial.html and the criss cross coasters are here ... http://www.equilters.com/library/projectshare/coasterspatt.html
- quick, easy and fun!

More baby goodies :)

Here are 8 bibs that need snaps to finish them up, 2 Batman bibs that are completely finished (and now the Batman fabric has all been used up). There are also three baby quilts under construction - one with cotton fabric - this will finish to about 36 X 36, and will have flannel backing. The two rows of pastel animal blocks will be Eye Spy type quilts - those are 9.5" finished squares, and the quilts will be set 4 X 4, for a finished size of about 38" square. I'm still buying the fabric for these flannel quilts, so they're an on-going project. I should be able to finish up the other baby quilt in a few days, as I have all the fabrics cut already.

These items are being made for the Yahoo Group C4C, and will be donated to local (Ontario or Quebec) charities :)

It's done :)

29 X 38" of watermelony goodness :) This will go on my kitchen table for the summer ... or maybe on the cabinet in the front hall - I'll have to audition it to see where it wants to be ;) Pattern from Suzanne's Art House @ http://www.suzannesarthouse.com/
- I'll also be doing her Log Cabin Pumpkins!

Next project up - Claudia Hasenbach's Magnolias ... for spring ... plus burp cloths for C4C, plus I need to finish up one of my crumb quilts for March (I want to finish one each month of 2008). I also need to finish up my Cabana Boys project ... and my flamingo valance ... hmmmmmmm the list is very long, LOL. Oh well - one down, and a multitude to go!

Edited 11:15 p.m. to add: I just finished up 6 more bibs for C4C - this used up the last metre and a half of a stash piece of flannel. I used snaps instead of velcro - I'll be doing more snap items for sure!

Watermelon Picnic - Top is quilted ...

The thread broke every 6". What a time I had. I don't know why it kept breaking - I wonder if I'm missing a step during the threading process (no manual, but I'm sure I found an online thread guide to follow, when I first borrowed the machine) - the thread always seems so loose. Lately I've been sewing with a filled bobbin instead of a spool - that seemed to work for regular stitching - maybe I should have tried it for the freemo stitching as well!! Anyways - apart from a few minor thread nests on the back, and several places where the thread is very loose in between normal stitches (???!!!) - overall - not bad. Tomorrow - BINDING!

P.S. Notice that the close-up shows the stitches, but not closely enough that you can see that they're far from uniform, LOL. OOps, did I say that out loud? :)

Pecan Coffee Cake :)

I'm still not feeling 100% from my cold so I've been doing bits of housework here and there, and taking lots of breaks. I got the kitchen tidied up, the first floor vaccuumed, a load of dark laundry done, and I made a pot of veggie/ham chowder and a pecan coffee cake. I think I'll send DS2 to the bakery for some sliced meat and fresh buns, so when hubby and DS1 get home from work, they can have soup/sandwiches/cake for supper. I'm going back to my spot on the couch - the Tylenol just kicked in and I'm going to have a wee nap, lol.

Oh yes - this wonderful coffee cake recipe is from about.com -- http://baking.about.com/od/coffeecake1/r/pecan.htm
- yummy!

Don't get too close ...

I don't want you to catch my cold :p I started getting sick on Tuesday, thought I was dying by Wednesday, decided I *might* live by Thursday, and now I'm starting to feel better, so I think I might make it! Thank God it wasn't that awful 3-4 week long sickness that so many people are enduring - I heard yesterday (or today? it's fuzzy, lol) that a dear friend in Sweden (hi, Spicy Tina!) was sick for FOUR WEEKS!!! Thats a long damn time!! I spent most of my incarcerationillness dozing on the couch with the tv on and the cat laying on top of me - it's not a bad way to spend the day if thats all the energy you have ;) No pictures today - I don't have the energy to go down to the studio to find my camera, lol.

Later in the evening: I just finished sewing the watermelon seeds onto the 4 appliqued melons. I made these "buttons" from polymer clay - they worked out GREAT! Tomorrow I'll put the ones on the middle melon and then I can get to work sandwiching and quilting. Almost finished!

Top is done :)

I hope I don't screw up when I'm sandwiching/quilting/binding it -- that would SUCK! LOL!!! I'll spray starch the hell out of it, then baste with the walking foot - if it comes out relatively tuck free, I might try to do a loopy meander. If I have trouble getting it basted properly, it'll be stitch in the ditch. I'm basically a quilting CHICKEN :p

I, Applique :)

This is the first time, I think, that I've done applique for a real project, instead of just practicing it on scraps. I'm sure this technique has a name, but I don't know what it is - I just zigzagged (twice) over the raw edges with matching thread. Maybe it's the zigzag technique - ya think? ;) It was actually quite fun (albeit nerve-wracking!), and it worked out quite well. The watermelons still need their seeds - I'll either draw them in with a permanent black marker, or will sew on little black buttons. All the blocks are completed for the top - I just need to sew them all together, add seeds, sandwich, quilt and bind. A couple more days work. I'm very happy with how this has turned out so far!

Edited to add: OOOPS!!! I just read at the Fat Orange Cat blog that there's such a beast as an applique foot - I better see if I have one, LOL!!! http://fatorangecat.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/what-is-this-applique-foot-of-which-you-speak/

Blizzard 08 --- March 8, 2008 - yep, we got snow!

Here are some of the pictures I tried to upload after the huge blizzard we had a week ago - for some reason lots of people were having the same problem uploading, so my guess is that so many people took weather pics, that blogger got bogged down, haha.

The first picture is my neighbour directly across the street - there's so much snow in her driveway, that the van and car are completely obliterated. Next pic shows the snow at the side of the driveway after hubby and DS1 shovelled - that's a 6' pile of snow. Last picture - the snow is so deep in the back yard that it's as high as the fence. That was a LOT OF DAMN SNOW!!!!!

Vegetable Chowder - it's what's for LUNCH :D

My 19 year old practically shoved his dad aside when hubby went into the kitchen for some of this chowder, LOL. I think he liked it! ;) He's going to take some of the leftovers to work for lunch on Monday (he has access to a microwave on the job site). The recipe came from The Baking Beauties site ... http://thebakingbeauties.blogspot.com/2008/03/veggie-chowder.html
- I made a couple of minor changes: I left out the peas, used niblets corn instead of cream corn, added a diced leftover bbq'd chicken breast (left over from last night's supper) and threw in some dried parsley. When I mixed the butter and flour, I used 2 cups of milk to make the white sauce - it worked out just right. I also used about 1/2 cup of Cheese Whiz (finished the jar, lol). This chowder is REALLY good. SERIOUSLY good. VERY VERY GOOOD!!!! Thanks Jeanine!!

Cat in the Hat ... I mean Cat in the Cupboard :)

This is the sight that greeted me a few minutes ago when I came into the kitchen to do something - Zoomer has found himself a new hidey spot, LOL. He's comfortably perched in the side of the cabinet where we normally store his food - I had forgotten to put it away earlier this morning, and he made himself at home. I'm owned by my cat, and he rules the roost :) What can I say? He's a well fleshed redhead - just like his momma - of COURSE he rules the roost!!!

A girlfriend sent me a link to a cooking blog today - I popped over and within 5 minutes (OK, more like TWO damn minutes!) I was elbow deep in oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough - I found the recipe on the new site, and HAD to make it. Yes, I said HAD TO!! I was compelled ... no, don't look at me like I'm crazy :p The recipe makes about 14,762 cookies --- in dozens, that would be
about 7 or 8 :) Oldest lad and hubby have already dug into them, and youngest lad is at work or he would have joined them. GOOD RECIPE, ladies!!! Lovely site too - after supper I'm going to poke around more thoroughly. The blog authors (is that the right word?) are from my home province of Manitoba - how cool is that?!

2 more watermelon blocks today for my tablerunner, and 3 more bibs for C4C. I pretty much finished off a remnant scrap of flannel (cost me 50 cents, as I recall, haha) :)



The damn snow BEFORE the "36 hour snowstorm" that's headed our way. What - Mother Nature didn't think we had ENOUGH of this white CRAP??!??!?!





Hours later: I'm such a dodo!! I forgot to post the url of the fabulous recipe website --- http://thebakingbeauties.blogspot.com/ - the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies are blogged on March 4/08. Great blog!!

Lemony Carrot Soup

MMMMMMmmmmmmmmm this tastes as good as it looks. I left out the olive oil and used 2% milk instead of whole milk - to cut down on the fat/calories. It's delicious! The kids wouldn't touch it - good - more for us! And the pie just came out of the oven - it's too hot to eat yet - I've made it many times before - the kids love it :)

Lemony Carrot Soup - http://tinyurl.com/29bcps
Impossible Coconut Pie - http://tinyurl.com/yu8uf3

Enjoy!

Watermelons and Bibs :)

I used up the last of the green/teddy/Christmas flannel scraps making these two bibs for C4C, then made two of the 6 paper pieced watermelon blocks for Watermelon Picnic :)

Wee Houses - Completed :)

WOOHOooooooooooooooo I finished Wee Houses tonight - I can mail it off on the weekend :) It finished up to 25" X 25" - if you look in the window of the label on the back, there's a picture of a curly-haired redhead in it ... HA!!! SELF-PORTRAIT!!! The recipient will love it, I'm sure :)

Next up - Watermelon Picnic :) The fabrics are gathered, the paper pieced pattern has been drafted and printed, and I'll start it tomorrow :) This is the pattern ... http://tinyurl.com/2gpbv2

Also next up --- Magnolias, by the delightful Claudia Hasenbach in Germany. I bought this pattern and will start it as soon as I can get the fabrics. This will be a project for spring - Watermelon Picnic is for summer :) Here's the pattern - http://chasenbach.tripod.com/shop/indexeng.html
doesn't she do lovely work? Claudia you're AMAZING!!!!!!!

Quiltathon - Part Deux :)

This quiltathon has been great for getting me off my butt!!! Today I worked on my Wee Houses (small paper pieced wallhanging) project - I got all the rows sewn together, and got the first border on. I only need to add one more border (in the blue fabric) and the top is done!!! Thanks again Judy Laquidara, for the kick in the pants - it was just what I needed :)

The top as it is now, measures 21 1/2 X 21 3/4 - somehow I'm off by 1/4" across the width of the top. Something tells me it won't be very noticeable when the wallhanging is finished :D

Weird husband tricks, C4C and a Quiltathon :)

I found this in the camera - I had forgotten I took the picture - one night for supper I made a big roasted ham, baked herbed potatoes, corn, and dill tea biscuits. This is what my husband did with his food - this is what he ALWAYS does with his food. Whatever we're eating, pretty much is what he'll put on any kind of bread/bun/biscuit he can find. It was cute the first two times he did it. Now I generally want to slap him upside the head with his sandwich and tell him to EAT LIKE AN ADULT!!! However, this is pretty much the most annoying thing he does, so I can't complain too much :D

Today I was participating in a "Quiltathon" hosted by Judy Laquidara ... I just finished up a baby quilt for C4C, and a bib to match :) The quilt has a few "puffy" blocks (I hate when that happens), but other than that, it looks pretty cute. The backing is a fleece blanket I got at Salvation Army for about $3 --- it was big enough to make 2 baby quilts and 3 bibs (the back of the bib, I mean)! I'm very happy to have gotten this quilt finished - THANK YOU JUDY for getting me off my butt!! Here's the blog link from her site ... http://www.patchworktimes.com/

I'm not sure if I'll get anything else done - I have some housework to do, and hubby and I are going out for dinner. But - the baby quilt is done and I'm soooooooo happy!!

Greyhound Website Errors

I just needed a place to upload some photos of a system error I received on a website last night and again this morning - unless you work for Greyhound Canada, there's nothing to see here - just move along, LOLOL.