Flickr'n's exhaust'n!

Squirrel Table Runner

Squirrel Block 

designed by Carriage Country Quilts

for the

Western Washington Shop Hop 2010

"Sandy Squirrel"

"Kim Squirrel"

OK - this is using all my brain power AND my husbands technical skills and patience!!!

I haven't been blogging BECAUSE it's now really important to have pictures!!!

I was home alone and decided I could attempt to do this by myself!!!  LOL!!!  I did manage to take pictures!!!

Rod has been patiently waiting each step while I write down what he is doing...!!!  He's now back to doing his stuff and I can't figure out how to get other pictures over here...they are on my flicker site if you care to click!!!

This picture is of the table runner I recently made using Carriage Country Quilt's 2010 shop hop  block!!!  I really love how it's turned out - although while taking the pictures I realized that I didn't stitch the veins on the leaves yet!!!  Also, if the "perfect" buttons show up I may add them to the tops of the yo-yo flowers!!!

Speaking of Carriage Country Quilts - BFF Sandy and I were there last Friday!!!  Road Trip!!!  We actually met the lovely women who drew "Sydney Squirrel"!  He's based on a real squirrel she had!!!  If you are ever in Des Moines, Washington you should stop by this shop...one of my favorites!!!  You can also find them at www.carriagecountryquilts.com (I need to ask Rod how to make this a direct link.....hmmm...maybe not until I finish learning how to add my pictures!!!)

While at CCQ we saw a new pattern by On Pins and Needles called "Maypole Hop" - BUNNIES!!!  Instant Love!!!  BFF bought it for me immediately!!!  Amazing, Wonderful BFF!!!  I'm so lucky!!!  The pattern is meant for wool - I'm making it with fabric...firstly, I changed ears to applique as 2 pieces instead of one...now I'm deciding how to deal with oval shape they are on...I'm thinking I will make it and applique it to the scalloped border....

I have started getting the bunny shapes freezer papered to the fabrics...I'm mostly using "Fresh Cottons" by Fig Tree & Co., really soft, pretty browns!!!  I "found" all these fabrics last summer when BFF and I went to Sisters Quilt Show in Oregon.

Last Friday's "Road Trip" I collected a bunch of bright fabrics to use with Piece O' Cake Designs "My Whimsical Quilt Garden" pattern that I've had for a while...just waiting for fabric!!!  It's bright and cheery  and "on the edge" for me...don't know what I'll do with it after I make it but it sure looks like fun to applique!!!

Today was Como Lake Quilter's group...we sure have a lot of wonderful, sharing ladies!!!  a few show and tells - (I should really take my camera to show you what they make!!!)

Well - the day has flown by and I need to get ready for my "Body and BALL" exercise class!!!

I'm Flickren' !!!

You're looking at my first attempt at Flicker!!!
Number 4 from my List of 52!!!
You can also view my flicker thingabob at the side!!!
Well!  This is exciting!!!
This is the first block of Bunny Hill Designs "Henrietta Whiskers".  Isn't it adorable?!?
Henrietta Whiskers is a free block of the month by Anne Sutton - she's so talented and generous!
I have a few Bunny Hill quilts in my house - I will take pictures of them soon to show you!
I'm using up my fabric "leftovers" in this quilt from "Autumn House" and "Rabbits Prefer Chocolate".
It's interesting how in my world food leftovers are skankie and fabric leftovers are cherished!
I altered this block a titch by making oak leaves instead of original leaves...just wanted it a little more droopy!
OK, so it's March and I've only done block 1 - BUT I'm so darn proud of myself!!!

Other stuff -
Princess Amanda celebrated her 22nd Bday!!!  I can't wait till she's home and we can all celebrate together!!!
The one who will remain nameless is now in charge of a department and has his own peeps!!!  Wow! Who could it be now and what does that mean?!?
Lets just say I can't say but verrry proud!
First session of Zumba ended today - We really got down and shimmied!!!
I've added two new things to my List of 52!
19  Bellydance (I've signed up for bellydance workout class again!!!  I MISS THE MUSIC!!!)
20  Allow myself to "PLAY" with crafts

There is a site which I will add to my page when I have "help" called Bluebird Crafts...this woman knows how to do crafts...she should really work for Michaels (I'm just sayin!)  I have been to Michaels about 5 times in the past week picking up supplies on their coupons to do 1 of her crafts!!!
I now am the proud owner of styrofoam balls, mod podge, green paper flowers (discontinued, in a lovely glass bottle) and the most awesome stuff ever - Creative Paperclay (expensive like gold but full of possibilities!!!)
I also own...MS Glitter.....(lean in for a whisper in the ear...MARTHA STEWART GLITTER!!!)
Really, that was another sentence where you should hear the princess call!!!
In fact, I'm sure when the sales person at Michaels led me to Martha's Isle I did the Princess Call!!!  OMG!!!  Who Knew?!?!  Martha Stewart has glitter for everything!!!   Some tinnny bottles in a tinnnny packet were like 30 bucks!!!
My BFF said rather aloofly, "Couldn't you use any old glitter"?
Sometimes I wonder about her!
Anywho - lots of money spent to do a craft where this Bluebird Women is using up "leftovers"!
I'm really getting my money's worth squeezing the Creative Paperclay and dreaming of all the things I "could make"!
I'm thinking I could include step by step pictures like the Bluebird Women did...could be quite funny!!!
I have lots of incentive but really no talent!
I still need to pick up a few more dollars worth of goods before I can get this project off the ground!!!

Alright, I'm editing this to say Rod's helped me add the Bluebird Papercrafts site to my page - under Blogs I'm Following...the craft I'm spending all my money on is called "Snornament".
When you are at the Bluebird page just scroll down and look to the right for this tutorial, then click in and wala!!!  You will see the enticing photos!!!

Val's Yummy Soup

Just home from Val's - another great day sewing!
We worked on our "tinner" for the month - lots of tiny 1 1/2 inch pieces making leaves and blue sky blocks!
Val made soup yesterday and served it tonight!  Yummy!

Val's Wonderful Soup

1 cup red lentils (sort and rinse before adding)
2 - 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
1 - 18 oz can pasta sauce (use a inexpensive one you like)
3 medium carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 small zucchinis, diced
1/4 cup diced onion (Val used some fennel as well)
2 cloves garlic, minced (Val didn't use this)
2 cups cabbage, shredded
Basil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Saute the onion in a titch of oil, add garlic and continue cooking 1 minute.
Add all remaining ingredients, except seasonings, bring to a boil, then simmer 60ish minutes with the lid on.
Add basil during last 15 minutes of simmer time.
Emulsify as much of the soup as you like.
We all love it with a few veggies still looking around.
Serve with a dollop of cream cheese if you want.

I should also say that Val will not be held down to exact measurements etc. so if it seems to thin or thick adjust liquids accordingly!

I Will Not Be Out Raisined!!!

OK I get it!!!
The raisin stands alone!!!
I MUST SAY - BFF Sandy likes a little raisin too!!!
Not that I'm sulking - it's not like that with raisins...
raisins are more like "where there's a will, there's a way!"  (clever little shriveled up grapes!!!)
SO...next time I make this Carrot Cake (AND there will be a next time....soooon....I'm going to step class in the morning to make up for all the icing and cake I've eaten today!!)
ANYWAYS...next time, TA DA!!!

Princess Yodal should be heard hear - "Ahh Ahhhh A Ahhhhh!"  Watch the movie "Enchanted" if you don't know what I mean.......

CARROT CAKE CUPCAKES!!!
(All capital because my brain is singing this loudly!!!)
Yes, with cupcakes, you've got it, raisins in some - or as I like to say, MOST!!!
And PS, don't cupcakes sound alot like individual love?!?
So Special!
"You are special enough to have your own little cake!!!
 Princess Amanda - a little "babycake"!!!
(Babycakes was Amanda's baby nickname!)
I'm also loving the idea of a little nutmeg, but we'll just keep that to ourself!!!  Oh!  Did I type that out loud?!?

Tonight, I added a little more love to the icing - some grated lemon zest and a little squeeze of lemon!  Instant glamour!

We had Lauren's Chicken Pot Pie for dinner!!!  That's a blog all to itself in wonderfulness!!!

Great day also quilting with BFF - I started cutting and sewing the backgrounds for Henrietta Whiskers today!!!  I've got the lines drawn on blocks 1 & 2 so I can start the embroidery!!!

Now for the "not so kind" portion of my blog....whispered softly....you might not know this but I am not the nicest person ever...since I did number 6 of my list of 52 (maintaining my sewing machine), 2 really close people to me have asked to "borrow" my machine...(GASP!!!)

OK - this is to funny!!!  As I was blogging the above paragraph, the first mentioned really close person to ask to "borrow" my machine telephoned me!!!  I asked if her ears were red!!! OMG! (inserted after posted - Rod mentioned the saying is actually "ears were ringing" sooo...now he's saying "burning"...)
Anyways, I really should have phoned her back...but, in my defense "I'm not the nicest person ever"!
(I'm really, really, trying to be nice...that's one of the reasons I don't respond...fighting with myself to be generous with my sewing machine...."Lily"  She has a name!!!  She's a "SHE!!!"  I can't do it... "I'm not the nicest person ever".)
Maybe this is my new motto...my old one was "I don't need it unless it's love, then I do".  "I'm not the nicest person ever" really will let me have a lot of freedom....we'll see....

I do have a few rules with my newly maintained Lily...no flannel, no fleece, no any other fabric that will make her messy inside...and she is not allowed to leave the house without me... I don't think I was this uptight with my children...comments Princess Amanda!?!  I have taken an oath to always look out for the best interest of Lily!!!  Does that make me the nicest person to an inanimate object?!? Am I so insecure that I need that?  NO!

BFF who shall remain "the nicest person ever" is trying to put together a sewing machine out of "scraps" that I can lend out to really close person number 2, who wants to use and I quote, "FLEECE and FLANNEL"!!!  some days, I really feel like I'm being tested!!!

Alright, since I'm now "letting it all out", I will confess what happened at the library with my donations....

I decided 2 days before, when my 7 library books were due back, that I wouldn't "waste" gas and I would return my books when I drove to the rec center.  Usually, too obsessive and return books way in advance.

Then, purging, I found a collection of, I must say, really lovely cook books, in great condition, newish to the past few years, but, I thought I could donate them and they could store them and if I ever needed to see them again I could "borrow" them!  That's "nice" isn't it....

So, I returned my overdue books in the bin, knowing I would owe, say 70 cents, and then proceeded to the front desk and donated my books to the very grateful librarian.  Then I decided to "borrow" some new cookbooks which I checked out with the very same grateful librarian.  She then told me that I owed $4.90 in late dues!!!

Well, I know and didn't expect her to wave the late fee just because I was a "nice" person and just donated a few substantial dollars worth of books... but.... $4.90?!?!  When the heck did this happen?!?!  30 cents a day per book!  Yikes!  Makes me want to own my own books...hey, wait a minute!!!  I could potentially "borrow" my own books and then owe money on them!  HA!!!

Needless to say, I didn't have enough money to pay my fine...still owe 15 cents... BUT THEN this same grateful librarian let me in on some "known" knowledge... if I emailed in OR called and "bothered" (my own wording) this VGLibrarian they would extend my due date so that I wouldn't have to pay anything...and I pondered as I left, how come the computer couldn't just extend my due date automatically instead of me having to pay $4.90!!! or call in and talk to someone!!!  WELL, you know I'll be phoning all the time now!!!  Maybe purposefully because "I'm not the nicest person ever".

Meadowbrook Farm Carrot Cake

I am stuffed with carrot cake and cream cheese icing!!!
This is way too good to be legal!!!
I only made a half recipe of the cream cheese icing - really yummy (I used light cream cheese).
We all love the pecans!
I started thinking aloud that a few raisins might be good next time - Rod and Zander are  both adamant that it is perfect and no raisins are allowed!!!  Rats!!!  Out voted again!!!  It really is great just the way it is BUT a few plump raisins would really be yummy - I'm just sayin!  Maybe Princess Amanda should have a vote too.....
Great recipe!  Excellent taste!  AND only 1/2 cup oil!!!  Makes a girl feel good about herself!!!

My Heart is Singing!!!

What a fantastic day!!!

Bunny Hill Designs, Henrietta Whiskers, Block 3 is here and all is right with the world!!!  Sew Cute!!!

BFF Sandy and I spent the day together - I showed her the embroidery I did for her on "Autumn House" - she started getting the leaves ready to applique!  We will get these quilts finished this year!!!
BFF helped me choose the fabrics for Henrietta Whiskers - sew much more fun to do together making decisions!!!

My heart was singing when we choose a green and a raspberry to go at the top of the block...I'm branching out again from the original and thinking of half square triangles instead of the "acorn Lane" sign...we'll see!

Now I'm making Meadowbrook Farms Carrot Cake!  (my heart is singing and my taste buds are waking up!)

I've been dreaming of this cake for a few days now!!!  It smells fantastic cooling on my counter!!!  I'm so excited that most of the oil has been replaced with applesauce!!!

BFF will be back again tomorrow to quilt and eat some of this little piece of heaven!!!

This week has been a busy one - PURGING!!!

On the weekend I caught a glimpse of a hoarders show and thats all it took folks!!!  I went through all the boxes of storage for the cabin and reduced it by half!!!  Also harder things like my mom's stuff (she passed away in 2004) still difficult!!!

Now I've still got the Christmas  boxes to go through and of course stacks of magazines but what a difference!!!  My car was bursting with donations!!!  I took alot of cookbooks to the library as a donation - some things are hard to part with unless you can find the right "home"!

Our house is now decorated for Easter!!!  I only kept ornaments I was willing to display - everything else has left the building!!!