who???

hoot hoot hoot!!!
not me ... i don't have fancy schmancy halloween slippers ... yet!!!
happy halloween!!!

you gotta be kidding me!

my sister is one of my email buddies ... sometimes she sends me jokes ... sometimes she sends me updates on her family ... sometimes she sends me notices about events that she thinks i might be interested in ... sometimes she sends me pictures of hunky men ... and sometimes she sends me helpful hints - like these:

peel a banana from the bottom and you won’t have to pick the little stringy things off of it … that’s how the primates do it

take your bananas apart when you get home from the store … if you leave them connected at the stem they ripen faster

store an open chunk of cheese in aluminum foil … it will stay fresh much longer and will not mold

peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating raw … peppers with 4 bumps are firmer and better for cooking

add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef ... it will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking

for a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed … melt Andes mints in a double boiler and pour over warm brownies for a wonderful minty frosting

add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic as if that would ever happen in my house or at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic that's more like it

leftover Milky Way bars from halloween make a delicious dessert … simply chop them up with the food chopper … peel, core, and slice a few apples … place the apples in a baking dish ... sprinkle the chopped Milky Ways over the apples … bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes … serve alone or with vanilla ice cream

… and that’s when i realized that all of this must be a joke … who ever heard of leftover Milky Ways from halloween?!? ooooo!!! spooky scary flamingo and candy bar looking all spirit-ish!!!

you want some?

Pumpkin Patch Primitives Quilt Shoppe is having a sooper-dooper giveaway here for this amazing collection of Pumpkin and Spice fabric ... innit cool?!? wouldn't you really, really, really like to own those 27 fat quarters?!? or the $100 gift certificate?!?

go get some!

i know ... i do know ... no one expects me to ever make anything that is earthy or muted ... but i am full of surprises...

snow den

are you tired of this planter yet? i know that i am!

yes ... yes ... it is still snowing ... i tried to take a picture of the big green egg on the back patio because it has at least 25 inches piled on top of it but the screen door is frozen shut and i am not walking around through a gazillion (when i went to bed last night the official accumulation was 17.5 inches for Broomfield ... and there were 8 more inches waiting for me on the driveway this morning) inches of snow to get close enough ... and underneath it all is a thin sheet of ice ... lottsa whoops! whoops! whoops! this morning ... i'm gonna leave snowball-making to the little ones cuz it's another snow day and work on my kinda snowball in the magick shoppe whilst sipping hot chocolate with lottsa marshmallows ... and maybe Auntia will bake some cookies

uncle!!!

and here's the planter 6 hours later...seriously?!?

...my back and shoulders have had enough of shoveling snow for the day

when i wasn't outside shoveling the walks and drive and knocking snow off of the trees that didn't get a chance to lose their leaves i worked on this pile of fabric...woof! woof!Lone Wolf by South Seas ... mmhmmm ... look at all that snow ... glad i don't have to shovel it!
have you ever bought fabric knowing that you need to make a quilt out of it with no plan whatsoever?
my other brother from the same mother will be 60 on March 28, 2010 the day before Mr. Husker and i need to make a quilt for him ... the Other One lives about fifty miles from here, in the high foothills of the Rocky Mountains ... he moved there from the suburbs a few years ago ... i've never seen his mountain home and i don't know much about him anymore ... he has called himself the black sheep of the family but actually it is me who baaas from my little sheep mouth ... when we were kids, i thought of him as a lone wolf ... maybe he is a lone wolf in black sheep's clothing - ha ha ha!
anywho, a few months ago i asked his daughter the lovely Princess Sarah if she could give me any ideas for a quilt for Other One and she told me that he loves national parks and north american wildlife and that he prefers earth tones ... hoo boy - me and earth tones - like that's gonna work, eh?
so i started the search ... i decided on Snowy Silence by South Seas and ordered the panel and some yardage way back in february ... and waited to be inspired ... and waited ... and waited ... and then i saw the Lone Wolf panel and changed my mind ... that's okay since i still didn't have a plan for Snowy Silence ... i ordered the wolf panel and some yardage ... and waited to be inspired ... and waited ... and waited ... i guess my muses have been on furlough cuz my quilting mojo done got up and went ... when Mr. Husker's Homestead made its way off the sewing table i knew i'd better come up with something - inspired or not - and this is it...mutter ... mutter ... mutter
a plan of sorts for a band quilt using the panel and the stripes, the trees and the sky ... i couldn't find any fabric online that i liked for paw prints in the snow - so Auntia and i went to JoAnns - i fussed with white on whites and cream on creams and blues and browns and greys until Auntia made the decisions for me - i'd prolly still be there if she hadn't - thank you, Auntia ... so last weekend i worked on 240 half square triangles......i'm gonna need to make 24 more because - and this is gonna be a shocker - i changed my mind ... and today i cut out 264 of theseand 66 of theseso i can make 66 of theseand then i can make 66 of these!
these is a weird looking word ... i did spellcheck because it just doesn't look right ... but it is ...... anywho ...... can you tell that i am really not wanting to go back to the magick shoppe and work on those snowballs? i'm running out of excuses...
i finished reading An Echo In The Bone ... but Auntia hasn't - she keeps asking for spoilers and i dunno when to keep my mouth shut ... she asked me to make her a quilt with Wolf Song because her favorite character is Rollo - she's rather fond of wee Ian, too ... wait till she finds out what Diana Gabaldon does to the two of them in this book ... and i think that the paw prints will look cool for her wolf quilt, too ...... okay ... okay ... okay ... back to work

enough already

it has been snowing here since 10pm last night ... and it isn't expected to stop till 6pm tomorrow ... most of the schools were canceled by 5am - even though the accumulation this morning was only two or three inches - because the weather dudes and weather dudettes said it was gonna snow and snow and snow...so much for the geraniums in that basket ... and it's only noon!
... and - boy howdy - were they right, or what?!?

guest bloggers - the sequel

today's post features my most favorite little baby girl in the whole wide world...yes - my granddaughter did inherit my sense of style!

...and her little friendgiraffes trump butterflies ... and flamingos trump giraffes
today's weather is much colder than it was the last time i took their picture together...
aawww! aren't they sweet!!! just don't try taking their binkies - you do NOT want to go there!
...my LuLu is the little sweetie waving at her crazy nonna with the camera ... gotta love her - she's the baby!

toot toot tootsies

thought i'd post a picture or two of some of those leggings/socks in action...one pair of knee highs = leggings for one and socks for the other of my sweet baby girls

my babies are just too doggone cute first thing in the morning...NoJo is the best big brother any little sister ever had ... and check out Gumdrop's fancy candy corn socks!
and here is a picture of the m&m's just before they left for school ... i cross stitched the cat eyes on Gumdrop's sweatshirt more than fifteen years ago - for Auntia ... either she didn't wear it very much or she takes very good care of her clothes ... LuLu's onesie says i (heart) my mummy ... and it glows in the dark

question of the day

question:

what do you get when you cross PMS with GPS?


answer:

a crazy beeotch who will find you!


this post has been brought to you by my sister ... who is neither crazy, nor a beeotch

six of one...

there was no sewing going on this weekend ... sigh ... but i have made some progress in the past couple of weeks ... Mr. Husker's Homestead has the final borders on it, the backing is pieced and i'm working on some embellishments before it goes on the frame (no picture - it doesn't look much different than it did here - and it is too long for me to hold up off the floor without a ladder)...who said i never (half) finish anything?!?

the Wintergraphix 2 from Kim's Fireworks! pattern is now a flimsy - the last time i posted about it i was waffling about the inner border ... i couldn't decide between the gold dots or the blue snowflakes ... so i didn't go with either ... the backing is pieced and bamboo batting is on sale at JoAnns (woo hoo!) ... so it is ready to join the pile of other tops waiting to be quilted...LuLu's gonna be stylin'!!!
...the latest baby girl fashion statement is leggings ... i looked at a pair that were priced around $16 and decided that i could buy knee socks and a bit of ribbing for a whole lot less ... i didn't save the sock part of the first couple of pairs that i made - until Auntia asked me why i wasn't putting ribbing on the bottoms to make socks for her - duh, huh?!? the smaller pairs are made from little girl knee high socks (so Gumdrop and LuLu will have matching footwear) and the others are from women's knee highs...bungle in the jungle
...and i am caught up with the Saturday Sampler 3 BOM blocks ... i started over again after i decided that i hated the way the blocks were looking ... two of the leopard prints are now a green batik and a green botanical and i like them a lot better ... i'm still not crazy about the whole jungle theme - so Auntia told me that she will trade quilts with me when we are finished ... woo hoo!

mighty oaks from little acorns grow

she's a nut

in a rut
she's cra-a-a-zee!
LuLu is six months old today!here she is, my nutty little acorn!
happy half birthday, LuLu!
your tummy is too little, so i hope you don't mind if the rest of us eat some half birthday cake ... you can have a piece six months from today, okay? okay!

Gumdrop and Heart

Gumdrop has been waiting patiently ahem for me to feature her little friend - Heart the Bear ... both of them think that Boxy the Turtle gets too much post time...Heart is left-footed ... just like Gumdrop
...so here is a picture of Heart dressed like Gumdrop when she's playing soccer...get those cleats off the hardwood floor! and leave that door alone before you smash your fingers!
...and a picture of Gumdrop getting ready to go to soccer practice ... she is new to the sport ... the only advice i could offer was pretend like you've just had your nails done (so you don't use your hands) and wear your shin guards ... i'd bubble wrap my little grandbabies - if i could - and protect them from the cold cruel world ... she just sighed and rolled her eyes

three reasons

why i'm no longer married...

*

when a woman stole my husband

there was no better revenge

than to let her keep him

*

i was incomplete until i married

and then

i was finished

*

my marriage was the triumph of my imagination over my intelligence

*

not too

today we were supposed to go to The Quilter's Studio for the Saturday Sampler 3 BOM ... but we missed the meeting this morning because it was snowing ... the roads were icy and slicker than i'm trying to think of another word for snot that isn't even more gross i've seen them in a month of sundays cuz somebody didn't bother to sand them or spray them with magnesium chloride ... we were out bright and early to go to Hallmark for their limited edition ornament event ... ooooh! new Star Trek ornaments! shiny!!!
... and slipped and slid and slipped some more ... by the time we made it out of the store and back onto the streets, it was even icier and most of the metro area was on accident alert ... we decided that paying $5 for the fat quarters and instructions for october's BOM made more sense than risking life and limb ... so we went home and i worked on Mr. Husker's borders while Auntia watched Lie to Me Season One dvds that we rented from Blockbuster Online...just the outer border on Mr. Husker's Homestead and it will be ready to quilt ... woo hoo!!! i had to stand on a foot stool while Auntia took this picture - Mr. Husker is not a short man and needs a nice, long quilt
...i was still waffling on what the outer border should be ...... it needs to be not too wide and not too narrow and not too busy and not too distracting ...... then i looked at the picture... i'm gonna go with more of the red ... of course, i didn't have enough left to go all the way around the quilt one more time ...... by noon the snow had stopped and within an hour most of the streets were cleared ... so i went to Hobby Lobby and bought another yard of the red ... i needed 28 inches but the way i've been with measuring lately it just makes sense to get a couple of inches more ... and i actually walked out of the store having spent less than five dollars! that never happens ... i gotta admit, i was distracted more than once with other cool things that i would have bought on impulse and later asked myself what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks was i thinking?!!? if Auntia hadn't been there to keep me on task ... she was even better than me - she didn't spend any money at all ... at Hobby Lobby ...... but we still had to go to TQS for our SS3 BOM pattern and fat quarters ... and the store wasn't crowded with its usual hustle and bustle of saturday morning quilters ... so we were able to look around a bit ... and Auntia fell in love with a little quilt made with Sherry Berry christmas fabric charms and a bit of yardage...ooooh! i love that little pinwheel quilt!
...she has a quilt top already started using Kim's Fireworks pattern in the same fabric ... but this one spoke to her, too ... sigh ... i didn't argue too much - i wanted the pattern anyway for some charm packs that i have from Stella Bella's giveaway (thank you again, Gretchen!) a few months ago ... anywho, we made our purchases and then stopped at McDonald's for a strawberry milk shake for Little Nonnie...
a swan and posies and the sea and some tulips
...she had her hair done yesterday, but still didn't want her picture taken ... so i told her i would show off her watercolors instead ... after we left Little Nonnie we went to JoAnn's ... Auntia bought three skeins of yarn for scarves for herself...selfish ... selfish ... selfish ...she's already five inches into a scarf to match the periwinkle blue hat that i crocheted for her last winter
and a creepy pumpkin with a skull on it (no picture - too creepy) and a pair of candy corn flip flops (which we used to call thongs ... but now thongs are underwear ... what is this world coming to?!?)
and i bought a little pumpkin made with cheeto-colored daisies that was 60% off - woo hoo! for the kitchen table and some queen-sized bamboo batting with my 50% off coupon...as soon as i took this picture the table was re-piled with all the junk that sits on it most of the time ... sometimes i forget that it has a black top
and then we came home ... most of the snow that fell has already melted and tomorrow is supposed to be a much warmer autumn day instead of old man winter and his little buddy jack frost showing up uninvited when i have things to do ... places to go ... people to see

and baby makes three

this is what happens when i let my guard down...

remember this post about my little fluffy friends?!? well ... i was right to be worried ... now look what they've gone and done!!!
i should never have left them alone ... and the mess from eggshells squashed underfoot was unbelievable...

mistakes have been made ... others will be blamed

my ugly hat

did anyone ever tell you that if your feet are cold you should wear a hat? or that 90% of your body's heat escapes from your head? somebody told me that stuff ... and i told my kids with conviction - although i did not even do so much as a search in Google ... well ... i dunno if it's true ... my feet do seem to be warmer when i have a hat on my head
i don't want anyone i care about to have cold feet ... so i crochet hats for people i love ... lemme rephrase that - i haven't crocheted a hat for every person i love - yet - so don't be sending me any nasty emails asking where your hat is...
anywho, i modified the pattern that i use for preemie hats to make bigger hats for bigger heads ... i always seem to have some yarn left ... not enough to make anything ... not even enough to give to whichever charity calls for donations of discarded household stuff ... but i don't like throwing away perfectly good yarn ... scraps of yarn were starting to pile up ... so i came up with a plan ... i started a scrappy hat ... and each time i had some yarn leftover from a hat for someone else, i crocheted it into this hat...i love my hat ... and no one will ever try to steal it on accounta it's so ugly

...uhm ... yeah ... not much to look at ... i tried to give it to Auntia ... and NoJo ... and Gumdrop ... and Michael Myson ... and the dog next door ... and the crow in the tree across the street ... no takers ... so i think i'm gonna keep this one for me

the black cauldron...

i'd like the eye of newt stew and a side of fried bat wings, please

is stitched ... woo hoo!!! i used glow in the dark thread for the little circles around the open sign - but when i tried to get a picture of them glowing in the dark ... well ... the camera laughed at me ... sigh ... the leaves in the window boxes are DMC #4130 ... i think i might add a few leaves to each of the blocks - i like how they look ... we saw this version of Hocuspocusville at the Quilt Affair...oops! don't want you to get a crick in your neck...
that's better ... now say ooooh! aaaaah!

...this is the third completed HPV (not the virus) that i have seen and the jury inside my head is still out on whether or not i like it better with brights or with more color or with buttons ...... well ... not really on that last one - the button version has been my least favorite ... but my opinion may have be tainted by the quilter ... our conversation went something like this...

i used blah blah blah single strand
uhm ... i'm using two strands of DMC #3371
DMC?!!? floss?!!?? sneer
uhm ... yes
i finished the quilt in three months
well, that's great! good for you!
how long have you been working on it?
uhm ... since february
february??!! and you haven't finished the embroidery??!!
uhm mum mum ... no
really!??!!?

grrrr ... yes ... really ... i'm embroidering - plain old embroidery with a plain old hoop and a plain old sharp needle and plain old embroidery floss - something i haven't done since i was a teenager when rocks were soft and mist was in the air ... and i am enjoying every minute of it ... i'm not running a race and i don't have a timetable ... i'm not stitching Hocuspocusville to impress anybody - i'm stitching it cuz i like it ... and it doesn't much matter to me if it takes six months (not likely) or six years ...... okay ... rant's over ... i feel much better