Happy Halloween!

little Jack-o'-lantern (5"x7")

Buttons, buttons

On Saturday I received my buttons from Michelle for the button swap. Aren't they lovely?

Robot by Michelle herself
Strawberry jam by Jackie
Butterfly by Michele
Chopsticks by Elsie Marley
Kitty with ball of yarn by Shelley
Tree by Kristin

Thanks ladies! This was fun.

Happy Birthday to me...

...but no gifts to show you. It's too dark to take photos, and the UPS guy hasn't delivered the "main" gift yet.

We went to see this show this weekend. If you're in the Seattle area, GO! It was truly great.

Tonight we're going here for my birthday dinner. I LOVE this place!

My project for the weekend:

I've been bothered by all the bread sitting on the kitchen counter for a LONG time now, but haven't been able to find the right basket at the right price. When my mom and I were hunting for cups at the thrift store for the little tea posies, I found this basket for $2.99. The only problem - it was not the most attractive basket I had ever seen.
I searched high and low for a pattern or tutorial for a basket liner, but couldn't find anything, so lo and behold, Ms. Copycat had to design her OWN basket liner!
I'm very pleased with the result. The whole thing was made from one single rectangle of fabric. I'm trying to think of a way to create a tutorial that can be adapted for any basket size...

Please excuse all the capitals and exclamation marks. It's my BIRTHDAY and I'll be loud if I want to!

Apron, anyone?

I'm sorting through all the old magazines that are taking over the house. This was in the May 2005 issue of Country Living.

Pattern here.

Schizophrenic reading and other things

If anybody should ever ask me what I like to read, the answer will clearly be hard to come by. Looking at my list of recent reads this morning (you can see them on the left here), I had a true sense that I really don't know what I like. Or maybe I just appreciate a varied range of books. I just finished reading Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" - rather deep reading. When I got to the library yesterday, I discovered that I had put Debbie Macomber's "Dakota Born" on hold - the complete opposite - sugary romance. I don't have any memory of putting this on hold and can, for the life of me, not figure out why I did. The truth is that I'm enjoying this little light hearted break from deep thought.

The granny race is neck and neck...


Junie Moon gave me a "You make me Smile" award. It's my first blog award. And this right after the pincushion "publication". Wow, I'm flattered!


Happy weekend everyone!

The Thursday after Wednesday

Yesterday was one of those totally useless, totally unproductive, totally frustrating days. I won't bother you with all the details, but I'll tell you about the final straw.

Syd is going to the doggy spa today. It's cold. She'll be losing most of her hair. Her old fleece coat is totally icky. As the good doggy mom I am I decide to quickly whip up a new coat. I find the perfect fleece in the "fleece tote". I cut out the pieces (twice, the first time I forgot the seam allowance, which I didn't include in the pattern when I "designed" the coat). I rethread the serger twice. I KNOW the blade is a little blunt but choose to ignore it. Not a good idea. Four layers of fleece require a sharp blade. The needle breaks. I pack it in. End of day.

Now for some good news. I sent a photo of my little square pincushion to the local fabric store which had supplied the free pattern. They put it in their online newsletter! I've been "published"! My name is even mentioned! Woohoo!

Some people have been asking about the pattern. You can find it here. Other free patterns can be found here.

As usual...

...I had so much fun I almost completely forgot to take photos yesterday.

The kitchen got cleaned really well.

Setting the table was extra fun.

The treats were delicious.

But the little favors were my favorite brainwave.
We found teacups at the thrift store and turned them into containers for teenie posies. I was quite amazed at how cute they turned out.


I think I may have to have more tea parties...

Tea Today

This morning I'm having some girlfriends over for a little tea party. My mom and I have been preparing all kinds of goodies to treat the girls. I'll post more details (and photos) tomorrow. Can you guess the color scheme?

Pincushion obsession Part 4

I think it may be over now...

Pincushion obsession Part 3

Pretty in pink...

I'm really starting to think Etsy here. What else can I do with the results of all this fun?

Pincushion obsession Part 2

Yet another installment. I don't know if I'll get to #20 like Amanda has with her patchwork obsession...

Pincushion obsession Part 1

We're making pincushions. Lots of pincushions. Pincushions are probably all you'll see around here the next couple of days, so, if you're into pincushions, you're in luck.

More Grannies

These are my mom's granny squares. She's has a Christmas theme going. We're in a race to see who can crochet the most granny squares in the shortest time. She has more free time...

Tear sheets

I'm participating in Jennifer's tear sheet swap. Paging through magazines looking for inspiration really made the creative juices flow in my brain. Here's a little sample of what I found.


I can't wait to see what my swap partner finds inspiring.

Meet the Beetles

Something we saw at Salmon Days on Saturday.

(Photo collage by Gavin McMurdo)

Another peek

I have a deadline. This all I'm working on. I LOVE it!

And I want to thank Wendy for the lovely jar of apple butter the mail man brought yesterday. So yummy!

a little sneak peak

I'm testing another pattern for Kathy. It's a heap of fun. Stay tuned...

Granny Goodness

Starting another WIP. One can never have too many, can one?

Fall in the Hall

Actually, in the family room, but hall rhymed better.

Josh made the little soccer penguin in seventh grade.


It's early, dark, and raining, hence the furry photos.

Before and After

From this...

to this...

in less than a day.

(I bought the quilt - sacrilege!)

One out of two ain't bad

There were supposed to be two of these, but I'm all out of time.

Look, mitered borders! (I know the stripes don't line up - maybe next time...)

My mother is flying in today for a l-o-o-o-n-g visit. A little background: We don't have a guest room. We used to have a guest room, but since we don't have a bonus room and the guest room was sitting there just looking pretty 11 months of the year, we decided to let Josh have it as a "play room". The deal was that, when we get visitors, he will sleep in the play room and I will give his bedroom to the guests.

As you can imagine, this room is a teenager's bedroom. Posters on the wall, junk spread everywhere, etc...

The last couple of days I've been franticly trying to transform it into a guest room without breaking the bank or repainting the black and white walls. The pillow(s) are for the bed. The center fabric is what I cut off when I shortened the Ikea curtains.

As soon as the light is better I will try to take before and after shots of the room.

I may be a little scarce the next couple of weeks. If you don't hear from me, I'm probably banging my head against the wall spending quality time with my mother.