garden catch up part 2

This garden catch up is the flower edition.  These first pics are in the front yard.  The front yard is significantly easier because I have an HOA which maintains the grass in the front. I do have 3 flower bed areas that are mine to maintain but it's not as overwhelming as my back yard which is a foxtail dead zone nightmare.  But! I am slowly reclaiming it :)

 I know I've shared pics of these flower beds previously but I have made some new additions.  Home Depot had bark mulch on sale for Labor Day weekend so I grabbed a few bags to help with weed control in the front.  And it looks nice too :)  I also picked up these pretty pink coneflowers, I put one on each side of the giant rose bush. Which I still need to prune back! Yikes.

The yellow is rudbeckia. The flowers only lasted a day, then pooped out. But, the leaves are still green so I have hope the plant will live.  In the back row you can see my lavender and salvia did really well through the summer. That salvia is about double the side of when I put it in and the bees love it!

Oh man, this was a great day.  So I stopped in Freddy Meyers to pick up a prescription and the pharmacy computer was down.  What's a girl to do?  Check out the clearance plants, of course!  I totally hit the jack pot!!!  They had just gotten a shipment of mums and the clerk was marking a whole rack as clearance - 50% off!  He said the leaves were droopy and dirt a little dry but the roots weren't dry.

Well, I know from experience that clearance plants usually perk right up after they are planted, watered, and loved!  So I filled my entire cart with mums!  I was planning to buy some anyway so it was really perfect timing.

I planted them around the crepe myrtle tree in the front yard. I have quite a few different colors which are kind of fun.  I have to admit planting around that tree was not fun at all!!!!  The soil is super compacted and the roots of the tree are all over.  I wore a hole in my hand digging holes for the plants. I did manage to also put a ring of daffodil bulbs, tulip bulbs and crocus bulbs all around under the mums.  Hopefully once springs rolls around it will be beautiful!

So, a small update in the back yard. I started the spring/summer thinking that I would be able to pull out all the weeds and reseed the grass. I must of thought I was 10 people with tons of time and energy!  Needless to say that is not what happened!  I did get the hill weeded and a couple areas down to dirt.  Which then invited new, different weeds :) Boo.  

But!  This weekend I thought I'd get after it again.  My tools of choice are my rigid tine rake that I rake as much of the dead weeds out as I can.  Then I use my hoe to pull the foxtail seeds into a heap.  Then I put them in my little cart which I dump in the trash.  It is slow going.  The hill also has a bunch of rocks, for stability I imagine, that hold up the raking process.

 I did manage to claim a small victory in a corner on the hill today!  Woot!  I picked this particular corner because you can see it from the couch in my living room when the curtains are open to the sliding glass door.  I have been dreaming since I bought the house of being able to look out into the back yard and seeing a beautiful flower garden.  I put a hollyhock at the back, a blue aster that is very bee-attractive, a couple "goblin" gaillardia, a white salvia, and the last two mums. I also put daffodil and tulip bulbs along the bricks next to them.  I tried to build little dirt burms around the flowers to help keep the water from flowing down the slope. 

In the spring I plan to put hollyhock seeds along the fence. I also want to work on making the slope less of a hill.  I think by trying to put in steps instead of a slope I will have better success at growing things over there.  Next year I also want to put in my apricot tree! 

vintage sheet star quilt

So Saturday I made this quilt top!  It is entirely vintage sheets.  I had gotten a few last month at that rummage sale and there were two flat sheets exactly the same.  Initially I thought I'd sew them together with batting and use that as a couch quilt.  But! Then I remembered a tutorial I saw years (?) ago from Jeni at In Color Order blog that was a giant vintage sheet star quilt.  I have included the link, just click on those words and check out the tute or the blog as there are lots of great ideas.

But anyway! Saturday I intended to organize the craft house since that is a never ending project. Uggggggg.  I started to fold my vintage sheets and put them on the one shelf and pulled aside some bigger pieces.  And chopped them up.  And sewed them together and then there you go, a quilt top!  That's technically organizing, right?  ha! 

Yesterday I got the basting done and realized that I wouldn't have time to quilt it so will finish that up next weekend most likely.  Basting is not fun.  Mostly because it hurts my back to do it.  But!  It is so necessary so I do, but have to take a break afterwards.  For the back of this I actually didn't end up using the sheet I had set out to use because the top got to be bigger than that twin size, it's more like full size.  There were all sizes that I got at the rummage sale so it worked out fine.

Fall finishing

I have a few finishes to share.  First up: pickles!  Last weekend it dawned on me that Summer is officially over and I didn't make even one jar of pickles!  Last year I made a ton but I'm down to a couple pickles in the fridge and a jar of sliced pickles that I haven't opened.  So I thought, I guess I could buy pickles, no big deal.  Ugggggggg! but no homemade pickles for an entire year??? nope, it won't do! I found myself at farmer's market Saturday morning picking up any and all suitable cucumbers, which were very sparse.  So!  I have 3 jars that I will use sparingly this year.  

And then.  I'm back to cross stitching.  I got hung up on this frame for Peter Pan because the pattern did not have Tinkerbell in it!  What?  And there was a mermaid in the water next to Peter.  It just didn't feel right to me.  I know that there are mermaids in the story but to me the crocodile stood out more.  I saw a few people on Instagram also added a croc.  But Tink just wasn't as easy to figure out.  I finally just thought I'll add her even if she's tiny since she's a fairy anyways! So that's what I did.  And now I can move on :) I also changed Peter's hair to red and gave him blue eyes and a smirk.

 I'm not sure if I mentioned that I finished the Thunderstorm MKAL shawl?  I did!  And it is blocking right this minute!  I have it folded in half so it will be symmetrical and also so it would fit on the blocking mat.  It's pretty big, this thing!  I tried to stretch it as much as I could to open out the eyelets.

Here's a bit of a close up:

Oh yes!  Last weekend I rearranged my living room!  I'm really digging the set up now.  A small change, really, but a huge difference.  In this corner I used to have a plant stand.  I moved the plant stand into the kitchen and moved this bookshelf in it's place.  Now I have a little book nook corner.  It's so cozy I love it!

And, since I was rearranging I put out my Fall decorations.  I haven't really put up decorations for Fall since before my husband died.  But, the mood hit so I did it and I really like it.   

 Every year at the end of Summer there is a rummage sale that Jan and I always go to.  The second day of the sale, Saturday midday, they have a bag sale.  And we can usually split a bag and stuff a ton in there!!!  This year, this pile of sheets was my score.  I got all this for $2!!!  The bag was $4 and so we each paid half.  I must admit I came out better in the deal but I know Jan doesn't mind.

Now, I know you're wondering how many sheets does one person need?  ha!  So, vintage sheets have many uses.  The plain ones are going to be perfect to cover my couch so that Rocky can live there and shed his little short hairs and I don't lose my sanity :)  The others, I can use as quilt backs.  You get a ton of yardage for next to nothing.  I only buy sheets that don't have stains and are in very good shape.  The first thing I do is wash them all up and they are ready to use!  Also, I have found that they are great for making tote bags, reusable shopping bags, quilts.  That's just what I do.

The first thing I added to my bag was this little linen doily.  It is so sweet.  Not sure if you can tell but it's hand embroidered with little birds next to the flowers.

Oh my goodness!  Sorry for the photo overload!  But, I think I'm pretty caught up now.  Rocky and I are doing some serious chilling out this weekend.  Big plans today include painting my nails, cross stitching and maybe knitting on my socks.  Maybe if I get a wild hair I'll sew something!  I have to day I'm just really loving all the handmade things in my house right now.  It warms my heart.  Hopefully you're having a great, relaxing Fall weekend as well.

dresser rearranging

Ok so here are a couple of the finds from last weekend's visit to Chico.  First up is this dresser.  Mom and I had drive up to Paradise and were on our way  to lunch when we both spotted this at a yard sale.  I quickly stopped and ran over.  I hesitated because I really don't have anywhere to put it but it's in great shape and was a good deal.  So, home with me it came.

I set it up first in the kitchen without the mirror.  I've seen some really cute coffee stations around online so thought I'd give it a try.  

I added a little organizer shelf and set out my teas.

This next set of pictures is the next bargain I found.  It was a set of Vera napkins.  The edges are horribly tattered but the design is still vibrant and stain free.  I think there are 6 (?) that were marked $4 I think.  Instantly I thought I could cut them up and make zipper pouches since I really don't use linen napkins anyway but I love me some Vera!!!  

Saturday I had a little time so I chopped one napkin up and sewed this little notions pouch.  I've been thinking for-ever that I need an itty bitty pouch for stitch markers and my tiny snips.  Et voila!  It turned out really well, and I saved her signature there at the bottom edge :)

Yesterday was a full day.  I had the annual company picnic in the afternoon and then live music and dinner with friends at Lake of the Woods which is about a 40 minute drive.  

So today I was pretty pooped but also determined to get stuff done around the house.  I put a soup together in the crock pot.  Laundry started.  Talked to Mom :) and then tackled the spare oom.  I kind of just shuffled things around a little bit.  I scooched over one of the bookshelves and put the desk in between in front of the window.

Then I moved the dresser into the room where the desk was and put the mirror back on it.  I rather like it!  I'm thinking now I'd like to make more table runners that sort of match the feel in this room now - maybe vintage sheets?  yes!

You can sort of see the headboard in the mirror.  I'd like to find a frame and get a bed to set that up and have a functional spare oom!  Then I can have proper visitors!  

In other, non furniture news, I am so close to finishing the Thunderstorm MKAL!  I am on the final 2 clues which look shorter than the last clue so I think I'm almost done.  Also, I did sew up another Dottie Angel frock.  Buuuuut, it's kind of huge around the neck/shoulder area so I'm not calling it a win just yet.  I'm going to have to think up some way to cinch it a little without causing too many puckers or excess gathering.

pom love

So yesterday I bought this pom pom maker and I'm ridiculously glad I did.  I've always made them using a piece of cardboard and wrap the yarn around, then shimmy if off and tie yarn to hold it all together.  Or wrapped yarn around my fingers for the same effect.  So, really, I didn't neeeeed a pom pom maker.  This is nice because there are sizes to choose from.  There was also a set of smaller poms which I think I'll go back and get.  The smaller ones will be perfect for knitted bunny tails :)

Here is my first pom.  Getting just this one picture this morning was kind of a task because George feels like she has to be in the middle of everything!  This is a thin yarn, I just grabbed what was close to try it out.  I can imagine how poufy the poms will be with thicker yarn!  Love.

need advice.....and go!

Okay..........I need an opinion!  I bought a used armoire last night for my tv and dvds and stuff.  Initially I didn't love it, mostly because it had a weird metal thing in the half circle at the top.  But, I tried to look beyond that and it's growing on me.  Also, it's huge.  The doors and trim are oak, the back and sides are pressed wood.  But, I think I got a good deal - $75!  Anyways my question is, do I paint it white????  part of me wants to....the other part is a little scared to.  I am going to cover the weird metal thing with fabric to make it more me.  Or should I try and stain it dark?  Paint is brown?  black? nothing? leave it alone?

knitting and weekend update

I started a knitted fox.  And then ripped it back at least 4 times!  First off I haven't done intarsia before which is knitting with multiple colors.  I thought I needed to carry the colors across, so the first time that's what I did and I pulled it nice and tight thinking that would be great!  Then got to the end and the nose was folded in on itself!  Riiiiiip.  Did that twice.  Rip.  Then I was off on my count. Rip.  Then, I finallllly watched a youtube tutorial, thought I had it - didn't.  Rip.  Watched a different youtube and realized what I was doing wrong, got about half way and realized I was on the compete wrong color anyway!  Grrrr.  About here I was starting to think, who needs a knitted fox anyway?  But I stuck with it.  Here's a view from the inside.  

 You can see where the colors change you sort of loop one color around the other.  At each start point of the next color you have another length (or bobbin, or ball of yarn) to pull from so you're not twisting the yarn all up.  

And here you can see how the fox face is shaping up.  It's quite a bit smaller than I thought it would be, a lot smaller than my bunnies have been.  So, will be rethinking how I do the eyes because my regular safety eyes are huge on it!

So, last weekend I drove down to Chico, where my Mom and bestie live.  The weekend before was my Mom's birthday and Jeannette and her family were having a huge family even at their Catholic church (baptisms, confirmations for all of them, first communion) on the night before Easter so I thought it would be a good time to visit.  I would say this may have been the best visit in a long time.  My Mom and I had a great, low key visit - the best kind.  The weather was absolutely perfect and we got to sit out in her back yard and enjoy it together.  We hit up Goodwill and I found a TON of great books.  Even a couple skirts and pants!

And then, I went to Easter Vigil.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  I had been told it would be 3 hours so honestly I was thinking 8:30-11:30 pm was a looooong time sitting in a church!  But, it was great!  Everyone was very welcoming.  There was a lot going on, no time to be bored at all!  And, watching Jeannette and her family takes these steps together, as a family, was so great!  And the singing!  These ladies and men who sang had voices of angels.  Yes, at midnight I was feeling tired, but it was so worth it!

Sunday Mom and had our normal delicious breakfast at Italian Cottage.  And then we went to Barnes and Noble and picked out magazines and found a comfy spot.  I found two totally awesome British versions of knitting magazines, Mom treated me to one cuz those suckers are expensive!  The one I bought was $16!  But, they don't have it in Klamath so it was worth it.

It was hard to leave but I was missing my puppies!  And there's a time limit on when I could pick them up so I had to jet.  It was a great visit though.

Oh and P.S. remember how last post I was thinking spring had sprung?  Well, in true Klamath fashion it snowed this week!  And it's cold again!  But, the farmers need the water so I won't complain.  (too much)

I must be crazy

Because yesterday I got off work 45 min early because I was in danger of running over hours.  I was set freeeeeeee! So, I thought, I'll just drop in Jo-ann's and see what's up.  Last week everything was 75%.  Starting yesterday everything is 90% off!!!!!  Holy cow dude.  I thought the parking lot was kind of packed, and this explained why.  People were buying up fabric like mad, me included!  I also scored a couple of books and a dvd on how to knit cables, bobbles and lace!  I saved $285!!!! After waiting 2 hours in line.  What makes me crazy?  I called Jan this morning and she was down there again (she was there yesterday too) and said the line wasn't too long.......I took the quickest shower known to man and drove down there.......and waited in line another 2 hours!  BAH!  I'd say it was worth it though.  Between last night and today I saved like $500!  I scored a bunch of Denyse Schmidt cotton, some brown Kona solid and lots of thread, pearle cotton thread, more fabric and nice ribbon.  Oh, and double pointed knitting needles and a cable needle.

In 2 weeks will be the grand opening of the new store and frankly I feel sort of bad for it.  We've all just been spoiled by 75-90% off everything and will turn our noses up at a mere 50%.  Or will we? 

First Fall weekend

Today is the 2nd official day of Fall, which means that I feel I have used some restraint in waiting a day to make something pumpkin :) grin.  This morning I baked a couple loaves of pumpkin bread with a cream cheese swirl.  I found the recipe last year on Pinterest and made it a couple times.  This year, it's just as yummy!


So yesterday I had planned on going to a scrapbooking thing but it was cancelled.  What's a girl to do?  Hmmm.  Get a pumpkin spice latte from Starbuck's and go to Joann's.  There is a new store opening in town so the old store is having a liquidation sale because they won't be taking any old stuff to the new store.  Which means everything is 75% right now!!!!!  I mean, really, how could I NOT go?  It was packed in there!  I came away with some fun fabric, lots of thread and a bunch of other stuff for like 35 doll-hairs!
I bought some ribbon to finally finish the Steeler's wreath I started last year!  This is actually 2 wreath layered together. 



Went home, finished the quilt top I'm working on. (pics later when said quilt is finished) Today I finished the back and have called it good.  Thursday night I'm going to take advantage of the tables at another scrapbooking event to baste the layers together and then most likely quilt it all up next weekend!

On a side note, I had bought a book on cd on a whim at the library book sale and have really enjoyed listening to it while sewing!  Now I know why hubs likes the audio books so much.  Talk about multi-tasking. 

end cap of the weekend

George has been such a turd today!  She is so jealous of this quilt, oh man!  I had all the squares laid out on the craft house floor and everytime I'd turn my back she was attacking them and messing them all up.  And, even though it's frigid out, she wants to have the door open so she can sit and look out whilst I'm sewing.  So, I shut the door, she then attacks the quilt.  Then, jumps up on the table and tries to get the thread as I'm sewing.  So, to finish the top I had to put her in the main house....she didn't appreciate that.  So, as I was taking pictures she was still trying to "get" the quilt.  She does crack me up, though :)
So, here's the finshed top.  The end result will look pretty much the same since I am not going to add any borders.  It's just the perfect size for a throw to snuggle on the couch with.Yesterday Jan called up and wanted to know if I'd like to go antiquing with her and I did. We checked out one places that full of beautiful stuff but way out of my price range. But, oh what would it be like to have endless cash??? My house would be full of stuff from that place! Only drawback was that it smelled highly of cat pee. Ugh. I can only imagine what that place smells like in summer.....see, the lady who owns it has the middle floor as her house and I'm pretty sure that's where the odour was coming from. But anyways, then we went to another place that is like a consignment place where people have booths and sell all kinds of stuff. I scored this bag of safety eyes for like $3 something. So cool. They're bigger than for what I would use for an amigurumi but perfect for monsters, grin.
Oh, and I'm totally kicking myself in the rear end!  I mentioned to Jan when we started what I was looking for was an elf on the shelf because I was too cheap to shell out 35doll hairs for a new one.  And, then she goes "I wish I'd have known that I had a ton of them in my Grandma's Christmas stuff that you didn't want to go through".  BAH!  I clearly remember her asking me and me telling her "nah, I have tons of Christmas stuff."  BAH, double bah.  Huh.  all I can console myself with is the thought that at the time I might not have been interested in the elf on the shelf thing because I didn't really notice those until this year right before Christmas.

I finished up another Percy Jackson book by Rick Riordan called "The Son of Neptune."  Once again a very entertaining and great book.  This is the second book in a series, I can't wait for the next one!  I read this book really slowly so I wouldn't just tear through it and then be disappointed that I was done already.  So, now I'm looking for something else to read.

So, the big news is I will be starting a new job.  It's a tricky subject because I like the job I have.  I like the doctors I work with, I like all my coworkers and I wasn't wanting a new job.  But the doctors announced on Jan 2nd that they are moving and shutting the office....and really I am so lucky to have a job to go to.  I was thinking this morning about how I won't have the extra cash anymore from cleaning the office...but how exhausted I was and probably never would have given it up on my own, but God knew I needed to take it easy.  There are a lot of really positive things about this new job that I'm looking forward to.  I'll be able to ride my bike to work (for reals because there's no giant hill!), it's a great group of doctors and people to work with, nice benefits, I'll be able to join back in on book club which went by the wayside since I was cleaning, and I can be hostess to bible study rotation again.  This next two weeks is going to be sad, saying goodbye to patients that I've gotten so attached to, and the doctors, and my coworkers.

pumpkin-y catch up

Holy cow!  Sorry I haven't blogged in forever.  I haven't had two minutes to just be blogging for awhile, just been busy.  K, so the first project I finished up the Sunday before last.  I like the way it turned out, I just made my own pattern for tumblers with paper.  I will say that I don't really like using paper as a pattern because if you happen to be cutting repeated pieces and maybe you don't get the cutting ruler completely over the paper you can slowly trim it down until some of the pieces are not uniform.  I had that happen but still like the way it turned out.  Sorry this picture is so blurry!  But you get the idea.  I had the "ghastly ghoulies" fabric in the gray colorway from last year.  I kept thinking I'd make a runner with it but nothing looked right.  This last time I was at the LQS I bought some of the orange colorway and it all started to come together.

Here's the back view, George jumped into the picture as I was taking it!  Silly cat :)
Last weekend I went down to visit with Mom.  I drove down Friday afternoon, it was a beautiful day and drive.  It was like driving back in time to Summer!  I left home and 50 degree weather and drove into upper 90's!  I found a couple of pairs of cute boots and we ate at my favorite cheap americanized mexican place La Comida, and it was fab. 

Saturday we found a bunch of yard sales, we trolled around for awhile before I realized I might not live without coffee.  We stopped at a Starbucks, which had the most amazing ever pumpkin spice muffins!!!  So. good.  Okay, and I also learned a little life lesson.  You know how sometimes you'll hear people raving about something and you think, hmmm that sounds just okay but then you think maybe they all know something I don't?  Go with your gut on that.  Maybe tons of people like something and it's just gross.  Case in point: salted caramel latte.  GROSS.  I thought, sounds interesting and I've heard people just raving all about it.  It tasted like drinking a pretzel.  Because they put that super coarse salt on it.  After you get past the salt it's fine but that doesn't happen until about halfway down.  I say go with pumpkin spice for a seasonal "want to try".  Just sayin. 

The big fun for me was going to the pumpkin patch.  Which is a funny story because I have been driving down to Chico from here for at least 8-9-10 years or however long I've lived here.  And in between Red Bluff and Chico there has been a sign that looked like it should be a pumpkin patch, "Pumpkinland".  So, when Mom and I were thinking we'd go to a pumpkin patch I immediately thought of that place and it'd be perfect.  We drove all the way out there and it's really called "Pumpkinland Chocolate Factory"!  Whoops!  It smelled divine in there!  Luckily there was a fruit stand up the road with a little pumpkin patchy area and we had fun picking out the perfect pumpkins.  I should mention that we had been driving with the windows down, so my hair is pretty scary.

Here were the winning pumpkins on my porch the night I got home.  Sorry the picture is so dark.  I also picked a bigger oranger pumpkin that is in my kitchen.  I also picked up some of those miniature pumpkins that were super cute, a couple of orange ones, a couple white with greenish stripes and a white one.  I brought those in to work and put them on the front desk where Vikkie and I sit.  It's funny because the patients are just fascinated by the white and the striped ones!  They are so curious where I could have found such exotic pumpkins.  The funny thing is that I think I've seen similar ones at the plain old grocery store!  Oh, well.  I'm glad it brings them joy and awe.

I totally scored at the library book sale!  I got two walmart sized bags of books on tape for the hubs!  .50 cents each!  Super score.  Mom also found a whole bunch of Beverly Lewis books that I hadn't read yet, so I've got lots of reading to do!
Okay, so that was last weekend, what's up for this weekend?  I might, might be starting a new quilt.  I don't remember the name of the magazine I just bought, but it had a really interesting looking quilt on the cover.  It's scrappy but also structured.  Mom gave me a huge bag of fabric scraps that she scored at a sale and the lady couldn't give them to her fast enough for .50 cents!  I've sorted through the bags, and I think it will fit the bill for the quilt on the cover.  The other fun thing about the scrap bags is that there are tons of pieces of leftover binding!  So, I might even be able to eke out the binding for the quilt with those.  We'll see, it might not be quite enough or the right colors.
I started a new book last, which means I am currently reading 3 books.  Um, more accurately I have started 3 books and really just hooked into one.  It's the last book in a series from Beverly Lewis called The Mercy.  I have been waiting for it to come out, then on the wait list at the library so I was eager to start it.  I have, of course, already read the ending and it is satisfying :)  I'm pretty sure I'll finish it before the weekend is over, her books are easy reads and I always want to keep reading.  Like just one more chapter, then I finish that one and then I'm like, just one more chapter! 
Next weekend is the scrapbook retreat!  That will be fun :)  What is everyone else up to???

playing around

Um, okay so I'm going to share a botch up.  Because I think it's sort of funny!  So, I bought this Bradley doll at Goodwill for $4.99 with the intent to renovate her.  I don't like the look of Bradley dolls - they have giant poofy skirts and look a little like old west  dolls to me.  The one I bought had a giant bonnet and giant hoop skirt.  But, on flickr I saw a doll that I thought was tres cool and looked like it had begun life as a Bradley.  And, so I have taken off the awful clothes she came in and have started making a dress.  This is the rough draft, so forgive the stitching.

I'm not sure what to do about a couple of things.  The spot where her necklace is has a dirty looking glue spot underneath.  Also, where the bonnet was there is a line of glue on her hair.  Um, which leads to the botching story.....I thought I'd make her a wig!  I know, where do I get these ideas???  But, nevertheless that's what I proceeded to do.  I watched a you tube tutorial where the girl took a plastic baggie and put it over the head and then hot glued hair over it.  I didn't account for the ginormous top of this gals head!  So, I ripped it taking it off to trim it down.  And I used the only saran wrap that I have, which happens to be pink!  LOL! 
Then I thought maybe it would work on one of my other dolls???  The answer was no, but it is a funny photo :)

Dude! That's a whole lotta hair!  And you can see the saran wrap.....ugh.  I might try again though.......we'll see.
I do have a project that did work to share with you.  I started this maybe a couple weeks ago in anticipation of Fall.  Then, was a little annoyed that it's getting cold already and didn't work too hard on it.  But, finished it up today and I like the way it turned out.

Originally I had in mind to make the leaves all facing different directions but you know how it is, you start turning things this way and that, and voila! I liked them all put together like this. I had the purple binding leftover from another project and I really like the way it looks.
So, early today Jan and I went to the annual rummage sale at the fairgrounds. We thought that all day Saturday is bag sale day, but it really started at noon and we were there at 9am. So no bag sale, which is really fine. Last year I stuffed my bag with anything that looked interesting and ended up with some stinky stuff and stuff that didn't work so it was a waste of money. This year I just picked stuff I'd really use and paid the same as I would have for a bag. I got a couple of wreaths forms, some green pom poms and some random other bits and bobs to stick on wreaths.
After that I had a wild hair and drove to Merrill which is like 20 minutes away to the quilt store. And bought a ton of fun fat quarters!

I kept taking bolt after bolt to the cutting table because I kept wandering while she was cutting and finding new whimsical fabric! The store was PACKED because I guess the first Saturday of the month they have a thing. I mean, I couldn't even get in the door at first! No joke. I'm glad though because that means the store is definitely getting supported.
Tonight Kristin is having a Pampered Chef party which I'm going to. I've been eyeing their garlic peeler!

better late than never weekend update

And so, what have I been up to?  A little bit of this and a little bit of that!  I actually finished this project last weekend but didn't want to share it until the recipient had rec'd it so as not to spoil it.  I signed up to do a swap on swap-bot for quilters.  I have been wanting to make a mug rug forever so thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out.  I made up a little pattern for the mini dresden plate, I can't find the exact tutorial that I followed to make the pattern, but this one is sort of close.  Basically you make a circle and divide it in 4 then each 4th divide into 3, cut out a wedge and then shorten a little and add seam allowances.  I decided Fall colors because I thought that would be appropriate.  And because I love fall colors :) 

Then I was looking around Pinterest and came across a type of wreath that just made me swooon!  I thought, I have to make one!  They are made with giant mesh ribbon.  I looked all over our little berg and the widest ribbon in the colors I wanted were 2.5".  So this is the first wreath I made.  The colors are for the Oregon Ducks.  Around here you're either a Ducks fan or a Beavers fan.  I'm not really either because I don't watch sports, but I do like to put up a wreath! 
I liked the way the first wreath turned out but couldn't really get over the other kind with the super wide ribbon.  I googled "deco mesh" and turns out it's 21" inches wide!  Dang dude!  And, since I am super impatient and did not want to have to wait for shipping I thought of tulle.  It's super cheap and wide.  So, I followed the same basic priciple and gathered a bit, pinned it down and then every 12 inches or so gathered and then pinned about 3 inches from the first spot.  I had a bunch of yellow ribbon left from the first wreath so I added that.  I'm not thrilled with the "O" but, eh, it needed something.  I used foam backed with cardboard and just glued on some poms. 

The first wreath I gifted to Karlie and the second one is going on my front door!

Now for the super exciting find of the whole weekend!!!!!  Um, okay, so my whole life I've had this sort of fantasy of living in Maine.  Somewhere on the East coast and living an LL Bean kind of life.  Part of that life would include sitting around in Adirondack chairs near a lake just gazing out or reading a book with a glass of sweet tea.  Not that sweet tea is an East Coast thing, I think it's more of a Southern thing, but hey, it's my fantasy :)  So, I walk into the Hospice thrift and I'm browsing around and sometime after I got in there these chairs were dropped off......green chippy Adirondack chairs!  Eeeek!  Two of them with $4 marked on each one.  Double eeeek!  Of course that store only takes cash and you can use a debit card if it's $10 or more.  If you know me at all you'll know that I sure wasn't going to pick up $2 worth of stuff to be able to use my debit card and I never carry cash!  Bah.  But, I was at the store at 10:02 the next morning when they opened with cash! 

Here's one of them, I really should have swept off the deck area for the pic, sorry!  But, you get the idea!  I'm debating sanding them down to the wood and sealing them.....or just finding some sort of sealer to keep them chippy.  I already know what my Mom with say - leave em chippy.  I just don't always love chippy though, it makes me feel unkempt for some reason.   Anyways though!  I LOVE them!  l.o.v.e.
Sunday I went to the quilt show at the fairgrounds.  I haven't really been to a quilt show before and I'm not sure how I felt about it.  I certainly appreciated the workmanship and the stitching was perfect.  That's kind of it, though.  Too perfect.  There were a few quilts that were just gorgeous, beautiful colors and some originality.  There were a lot of traditional quilts, cutesy quilts, and some kind of plain ones.  I didn't see anything my style really.  Not that I have a particular style I don't think?  It made me realllllly want a real quilting machine.  I love my little singer, it's really worked hard for me.  And really, who has 4 grand laying around for a sewing machine??? not me, that's for sure!
This Saturday there's a scrapbooking thing, that should be fun!  Not sure what I will work on yet.  Maybe cards again?  It will be nice to chat and catch up with the ladies.

flipside

So, here is what I'm doing with the back side of the quilt.  Sorry the picture is sort of dark.  I didn't have *quite* enough of any one certain fabric, and let's face it - I'm cheap!  So I thought why not make it work with what I have?  And this is the result.  I'm pretty happy with it so far.  The top fabric I have had since we lived in Tennessee which means I've had it over 11 years!  I made a skirt out of it and had like 2.5 yards left and have had it in my stash just waiting for the right project.

(You can click on the pictures to make them bigger and see more detail)

So today I dropped into my fav thrift, the Hospice thrift store.  I snagged the wreath for .75 cents!  I've been digging the yarn wrapped wreaths lately and this goes for at least $2.99 at the regular store!  Bonus.  And, then I couldn't leave the pink fabric behind!  It's got cute little blue kittens!!!  It is actually really thin fabric so I'm not too sure what I'll actuall do with it but for .75 cents it was coming home with me :)

Thrifty finds

Friday since I don't work I usually troll around and see what I can find at the thrift stores. This past Friday I also went in to the Keepers Corner which is one of those places where people pay to have booths and sell a menagerie of stuff. I bought these two button jars for like $3 for total. The multicolored one has some really great shaped buttons! I love to look through buttons and they are sometimes just the perfect embellishment!

I have been looking and looking at the yellow cake stand for-like-ever! What finally made me buy is that I saw one almost identical at the KC for $75 - this one was only $2.75. Now I just need to find a perfect cloche or make a really yummy cake! I've also been collecting button kits that you can make your own covered buttons. I have also been collecting cute old books, for cardmaking and whatnot.

Okay, to explain the gaudy trim.....I can't really! I found it at the Goodwill "as is" store - and thought "what the who!" It might come in handy around fall when I'm making somthing and need a little something.....and it was super cheap! I bought the foam wreath for .25 cents at the Hospice thrift and have already covered it in felt.....I'll share the project once complete!

So, this barn shaped thing.....I have big, big plans for it! I have been alllll over town looking for a house shaped shadow box. Nada. And I walked into Goodwill today and this was in the cart to be put out - for $4.99. Frankly I feel that's a little steep but did not want to pass it up either since there is a lack of this type thing around these parts. Now to find the perfect color of spray paint. I'm not sure it will end up like this, but it is an inpiration. Is it not seriously so pretty??? So anyways there will be much renovation but hopefully mine will be pretty too in the end :)