Happy Valentine's Day

Sweet Times! :-)

Valentine Swap - Mug Rug / Postcard Hybrid

Aunt Pitty Pat had a small Valentine Swap. We were supposed to make a kind of Mug Rug/Postcard "hybrid." She wanted us to make a little quilty work of art about 8x10 that could be used as a Mug Rug, but had the look of a fabric/quilted postcard, and include a little something sweet. This was a blind swap, and here is what I got from my partner, Mary. I made a little mistake in that I immediately put the mailing envelope in the garbage and of course it was the day the garbage went out. I *assumed* Mary's email or blog addy was somewhere in the contents OR that APP had supplied that information in the assignment email. WRONG! So I tossed the only thing that had Mary's one piece of contact info, which was her return address! I've asked APP for her email addy, but APP has been busy and not feeling well...or maybe she's holding out on me because she wants me to come to Kansas and get that info from her in person, LOL! Anyways, here's what Mary sent me:

The "Mug Rug" side - Mary did a wonderful job of quilting! And see the cute little saying in the center? I love it!

And the sweet little note she wrote on the back:

Mary also sent me a cute little tin of Barkley's Tastefully Intense Cinnamon Mints, and the metal container will be PERFECT for storing pins or needles in! Thank you sooooo much, Mary! I love them both!

For my partner, Sandra, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to create. I decided on a pieced heart for the front. I used mostly Ruby by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics. I added a smidge of red ric-rac just for kicks.

For the back, I decided to use a vintage postcard theme. I used a full sheet of ink  jet printer fabric and created a *real* postcard - complete with a vintage-looking stamp, postmark, graphic, dividing line, and I used a script font for the sending info as well as the sweet note I wrote her. I think it turned out pretty nice!

I added one of my Shoop-Shoop bags, filled with some sweet treats, including Dove Milk Chocolate Hearts and some of those new Raspberry-Dark-Chocolate M&Ms!

Thanks, APP for holding this sweet swap :-)

Super Spanish Rice

I've made this recipe for Spanish Rice twice now, and it is just soooooo good! I even ate some for breakfast this morning!

The only change I made to the recipe is that I used a red pepper because I didn't have a green one. I paired it with beef chimichangas (which I just kinda sorta made up), and my friend Aunt Pitty Pat's refried beans (more on this below). I heartily recommend this Spanish Rice recipe that can be found on Our Best Bites, which is a WONderful recipe site! I've also made their Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos which are incredibly good, made with Taco Chicken, and served with Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing.

Spanish Rice is a dish that can be incredibly flavorful OR incredibly flavorless when eaten in a restaurant. This recipe is definitely full of flavor and it's now my go-to recipe to pair with other hispanic foods in the dinnertime rotation.

Oh yes, about the beans...apparently I have been just dumping beans out of the can and heating them up...and not particularly loving it...for years...until one night some months ago when I was talking to Aunt Pitty Pat and she casually mentioned how SHE prepares canned refries. So simple, but I never would have come up with this myself, duh! Put some oil in a pan and let it get hot. Dump the beans in, along with about 1/4 cup water (for the large-size can), and 1/2 cup salsa. Stir it up and cook until heated through and the consistency you want. Ummm, I guess this would be the "refried" part of "refried beans" hello????? Sometimes, I am just so dense....thank goodness I have friends who can put me back on the right path :-)

No Juice for You!

It's been a challenge here in the PNW, first with a cold front dumping 20" of the white, fluffy stuff on us - we were without power for 129 hours before it was restored. Just as I got the fridge emptied into the garbage can, and SOME of our clothes washed, a rain-and-windstorm came along and plunged us into darkness again.

So today, I was hap-hap-happy when I saw a power truck heading down our driveway. Crews were out checking poles and lines before turning the power back on...AGAIN. I ran out to greet the guys and find out whatever I could. I also told them how VERY much we appreciated all the hard work they had been doing to get the power on to tens of thousands of us. One guy asked me "So what time yesterday did you lose your power again?" I told him around 3:00 p.m. He said "Yes well we noticed that you were not using your power wisely after we turned it back on yesterday, so we took it away from you and gave it to others who really needed it."  I said "Ahhhh...it was the Facebook, wasn't it?"  He nodded and said "Yep, and we are going to turn it back on real soon but we'll be watching, and if you don't do better, we'll just have to turn it off again."

Of course, I was standing on the porch, giggling...and amazed that they could possibly still have a sense of humor after the freezing cold, wind, rain, and lack of sleep they have been enduring to make sure we got power back as quickly as possible. A smile and a wave and they were off...sure enough, 20 minutes later, There Was Light! I have to admit, I was back on Facebook in only 10 minutes, tempting fate...

Weather and Other Stuff

Phew! We have been hit with an epic snowstorm! Some places near me have two feet of the fluffy white stuff...I went out a few hours ago and measured 15" but it's snowed heavily since then so I have no idea what's out there now. Here's a shot from the front porch. The Jeep in the background made it into town at 6:30 this morning, but didn't manage to lose all the snow on the roof during the drive. My car in the foreground hasn't moved for days and is almost completely buried.

The puppies still wanna go jump around in it, although Ben had to shovel a path for Diesel because he's short and old. Watch out for the "yellow snow" not only because of the dogs, but because Ben has been fixated on writing words in the snow...like "Ben," "Jeep," and I don't know what else. Men! Boys! They got that equipment and they just wanna use it!

UPDATE: It's now at 20" - took the good ole' Omnigrid out on the deck...

Wow! That's 20 inches now! Yikes!

The angle makes it look only 19 1/2" but it really IS a full 20"!

Meanwhile, Adam had to get the back-blade on the tractor last night to plow the LLH (last long hill) on Apron Valley Road so he could get Katie's car towed home. And the snow snapped some poles on the Hippie Chicks enclosure, but they are safe and warm inside the van.

Adam came down to the house this morning and dug his knee-high rubber boots out of the closet. He hadn't worn them for YEARS, and he found rice in one boot, and gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins in the other boot!  Adam said "Maybe they went to a mouse wedding..." WTF? So, like, I provided all the food...and they didn't even invite me to the wedding, LOL! I can see the rice, but where did those  mice get the coins? I usually keep some in the freezer...maybe they swiped them when they were in there getting ice for their Mousetinis? ;-)

Miss Piggy was quite interested in the "booty"

And here's what One Eye, the cat, thinks about the whole mess...


Pffftttttt! Just give me some more catnip...

In the  meantime, I made YET ANOTHER of those Scrappy Daisies table runners! I really need to start some other projects!

Front

Back

I really AM working on some other things and will post those soon. Hopefully, we won't lose power (crossing fingers and toes here!).

Block & Roll

It seems, with the New Year, I wanna be a "joiner." Not just in swaps - and I've already signed up for one of those. But also for sew-alongs and BOMs. Although, I am NOT going to bee signing up for bees, LOL! Well, at least not yet ;-)

I found the Craftsy Block of the Month, bookmarked it, pondered, lurked, and pondered some more. Then a friend on Facebook put herself out there and asked if anyone else was going to participate. That's all it took. I signed up and committed myself (not to be confused with commitING myself, which may be NEXT!).

So I dove right in and last night I whipped up the first two blocks - Asterisk and Wonky Pound Sign. I sat through the video even though it was a bit slow for me, but yet, I learned a few things, so I'm glad I did! I had a FQ bundle handy, so I chose 3 FQs. They used Kona Snow for all the background - about 2 yards, they said. I didn't have 2 yards of Kona anything handy, but there were 2 FQs of white-on-white in the FQ bundle, so rather than wait, I used one of those. I'm going to have to fill in with other background fabrics as I go, but that may just make it more interesting. As least that's what I'm telling myself.

Here are the first two blocks. Of course that's Asterisk on the left and Wonky Pound Sign on the right. My Wonky is not quite as wonky as it should be but I'm happy with it.

Then I noticed there was a video for February. Oh goodee! I was really in the mood and thought well, I could just whip that one out too and I'd be ahead of the game! No matter that the video was only 19 seconds long - that should have been my first clue. I tried to ignore that and clicked on Play. Here's what I got:

Har Dee Har Har, I say...well, Crafsy, ya got me, and I deserved that. Tail between my legs, I'll slink away and wait til February. At least they LOVE me :-) It's nice to be LOVED :-)

Now that the two January blocks were done...oh and let me explain that, well I'm guessing anyways...two in January and then one each the rest of the year through November, leaving December Ok I sat through the first few minutes again and it's TWO BLOCKS per month for a total of 20 and then sashing, binding, quilting, etc. So now, I "know" me...and I "know" I'd be lucky to remember the first of each month to go find the block, let alone remember where I stashed the previous blocks! One might be on my cutting table...and another in that tub-o-fabric in the dining room...another mixed in with the new shipment I got from Burgundy Buttons or Fat Quarter Shop. So I pondered how can I make sure I wind up with a pile of blocks come December....hmmm....so I decided to make a "block roll." I had eyed another block I wanted to make, so I grabbed a few chunks of fabric and went for it. I made a 12" block, then added some frames and scraps to it to measure about 15" x 18" - making it a couple inches wider, and several inches longer than the 12 1/2" Craftsy blocks. I added a layer of cotton batting and backed it with flannel, then added ties to one end.

The idea is to stack the blocks as they are finished in the roll...

roll it up...

and tie closed.

Until the next month. I'm being patient. Really I am. Ok, maybe not so patient. But apparently I have no choice because Craftsy SAYS I have no choice :-)  So now don't YOU want to join in the Craftsy BOM?

Swaps, Gifts, and Wraps

I got a little behind (not to be confused with having a small rear end!) on posting a lot of my Christmas activities. First up: swaps. I was in a couple of swaps and posted some of the things I made in the previous post, but here are the lovely packages I received in turn! I somehow got signed up twice in Aunt Pitty Pat's stocking swap (I think the fact that she can talk me into almost anything played a factor...). Here's what I got from the fabulous Regena:

I love this linen stocking with the fussy-cut patches from Sweetwater's Countdown to Christmas by Moda Fabrics. This line is one of my favorites and I used it in a table runner I made for another swap. And look at that Mug Rug! It's shaped like a tag! I love that idea and WILL be stealing it in the future :-) Thanks so much, Regena!

I love how she used the Moda twill tape for the stocking hanger. And among all the goodies she sent, she included some baker's twine - of course, it's all the rage but I didn't have any, so now I do! Wheeeee!

And my sweet Canadian partner, Eleanor, sent me these wonderful things!

I love this stocking with the wide bias tape and what a good job Eleanor did applying all the tape! Among the goodies is a cookbook that has lots of Scandanavian recipes (I'm norwegian) including some of my favorites like Swedish Pancakes, although I make mine a bit different, and my brother's favorite, Lefse. She also included a sweet snowman pin - I collect Christmas pins! I had to laugh when I opened her little sack of personal care items - there was a tube of lip balm, and I had just read an article about people who are, apparently, ADDICTED to lip balm! They actually call it "Chapstick Addiction!" I hope I don't succomb....LOL!

And look at the gorgeous card she made just for me! Soooo pretty and sparkley! I'm going to put this with all my rubberstamping supplies so I can steal the idea next year ;-) Thanks, Eleanor!





Next, I made five Scrappy Daisies quilted table runners (from Gudrun Erla's fabulous book Table Talk) for a group of friends I call my "Lunch Buddies" - we meet every Wednesday for lunch at The Mason Jar in Tumwater. Don't know where I'd be without my Lunch Buddies :-) so I decided I wanted to surprise them with these fun gifts. Ok, maybe the REAL reason is that after making one for a swap, I simply couldn't stop making them! They are soooo fun, fast, and fabulous! Here they are:

Traditional reds/greens/golds

I love these golds and blacks

Reds/greens/creams

These blues and silvers were my fave

I like how the solids made this one pop



Rolled and Ribboned and Ready to Gift!

Shirley was very happy with her table runner! And she just HAD to "get back at me" the following week by stealing my lunch bill and paying it herself :-)

After all the swaps were sent, and the table runners finished, it was time to "wrap" the gifts for my family. The girls always get pretty wrappings and Autumn saves hers to use to wrap gifts for her sisters and mom the following year BUT she makes them give the wraps back so she can reuse them again! This year, her sister, Stephanie, didn't even have to be told - she just handed the fabric bags back after unwrapping the gifts. Here's how I wrapped some gifts for Autumn:


I made a 60" scarf from a Jelly Roll of Flurry and backed it with Sew Comfy and tied it around a pacakge. I added a pin made of felt flowers for a festive look.





 

And here's a bag I made to match, along with a small pouch that contained jewelry.

I made a yarn angel to top one package. I plan on doing a tutorial next week for these, using Valentine's Day fabrics.

I liked this snowman fabric - I think it made cute bags to hold some Bath & Body Works goodies for the girls.

 All in all, it was a very good Christmas! Now to start all over again and NOT wait until the last minute! (Famous last words...)