Come join the fun...

Darci at Stitches & Scissors is hosting a Fat Quarter Swap.

It'll be fun. (Who doesn't love fabric?)

It'll be easy. (Only 2 FQs.)

What are you waiting for?

Go sign up!

I'm a lucky girl

Yes, I know I'm a lucky girl.


For many, many reasons.


But today, I have a few specific reasons:


1. My birthday is less than 2 months away.


2. My Mom wants me to be creative.


3. My Mom reads my blog.


4. My Mom came up for a visit yesterday.

5. She brought my early birthday present with her....

Ta Da!!!!

Oooohhhh! Aaaahhhh!

Isn't it pretty?!?!

And yes, I've already used it. We made a batch of Zucchini Bread. It was yummy. I'm sure the new mixer had a lot to do with that.

Hmmmm...what to make next?

8 Thing Meme

My friend Christina tagged me for a meme, so here you go:

8 Things about me:
1. I'm a perfectionist.
2. I'm learning to say no.
3. I clip (and use) coupons.
4. I volunteer in Nathan's classroom every week.
5. I prefer salty snacks.
6. I LOVE extra butter on movie popcorn.
7. My drink of choice is Diet Coke.
8. I love to read, sew, cook and bake.

8 TV Shows I watch:
1. Top Chef
2. Project Runway
3. Tim Gunn's Guide To Style
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. ER
6. 24
7. Lost
8. Chopped (New show, haven't decided it I like it or not.)

8 Restaurants I Love
1. Bridgetender's Tavern (Tahoe)
2. Casa Mexico (the BEST fish tacos)
3. Del Taco
4. Taco Bell
5. Mi Pueblito (in Lincoln, CA)
6. The Orchid
7. In N Out
8. Olive Garden

8 Things that happened today:
1. I made bacon and waffles for breakfast.
2. I vacuumed the house.
3. I made the bed.
4. We went to the park.
5. We played basketball at the park
6. I cleaned out my coupon binder.
7. We continued our Cleaning Out the Garage project.
8. I cooked dinner.

8 Things I look forward to:
1. A good night's sleep
2. Spending time with my Mom
3. Visiting family in England
4. Converting the spare room into a sewing/crafting room
5. Spring
6. Family camping trips
7. Nathan losing his top front teeth
8. Getting a massage

8 Things I wish for:
1. Financial security for my family
2. Health for my family and friends
3. Happiness for my family and friends
4. Good friends
5. Time to spend with family and friends
6. An improved economy for everyone
7. Confidence in my sewing ability
8. A Kitchen Aid stand mixer (I know, materialistic.)

8 songs I just listened to:
1. Always Be My Baby
2. Billie Jean
3. Daytripper
4. Dream Big
5. Eleanor Rigby
6. Hello
7. I'm Alive
8. Little Sparrow
(All David Cook's versions from American Idol Season 7)

8 Favorite Movies:
1. The Cutting Edge
2. Ever After
3. Dirty Dancing
4. Miracle On 34th Street (original)
5. The Wizard of Oz
6. The Holiday
7. Pride and Prejudice (BBC version)
8. Love Actually

8 people I tag:
1. Kelli
2. Cindy
3. Yard Sale Princess
4. Jill
5. Liz
6. Julie
7. Vallen
8. Jane

(Little) Men's Hoodie

I attempted to remake the hood of Nathan's hoodie. You may remember that the previous hood was too small and made him look bit turtle-ish.

The original hood. Obviously, way too small.

The remade hood. It might be a little too big this time, but Nathan doesn't seem to mind.

Modeling his new hoodie. Goofy grin and all.

Showing off the lining and fancy stitiching on the hood.

This means I've actually complete, and am fairly happy with, the first project for Finny & Donk's Sew-along 2009.

You can check out the other participant's projects in this Flickr group.

A few completed projects

After my mixer issues, I managed to muscle the Martha's Sugar Cookie dough into shape. These cookies were happily consumed by Nathan and his classmates on their 100th day of school

Finally, some sewing. I finished a hot water bottle cover for myself and rice therapy pillows that were gifted to my Mom and Grandpa. The hot water bottle cover was made from a felted, thrifted wool sweater. And I was able to make the rice pillows and covers all from my fabric stash.

Mixer Mishap

Tomorrow is the 100th Day of School celebration at Nathan's elementary school. I thought I'd be the Cool Mom and make cookies for his class.


Sugar cookies in the shape of the number 100, of course.


I pulled out this lovely cookbook that my dear hubby gave me for Christmas and jumped into making cookies.

It was all going well until........

the batter got a little touch for my little mixer to handle. (Yes, that's one of the beaters sitting in the bowl.)

I'm pretty sure that Martha doesn't use a mixer like mine.

So tell me, does my Sugar Cookie mishap justify getting one of these?


I did manage to gather the dough together by hand and it's chilling in the fridge. I'll let you know how they turn out.

A nice apron and an oops

I've been waiting for some sunshine to photograph some of my latest sewing endeavors. Unfortunately, Mr. Sunshine hasn't visited these parts in quite a while.

So, I finally gave up and had to settle for indoor photos. Sorry they're not better.

Before Christmas, my Mother-in-Law asked me to make an apron for her. Nothing fancy, just something that'll do the job and not have to be ironed. I made this reversible apron from two fabrics in my stash. I altered the original pattern slightly to incorporate a set of D-hooks on the neck strap.


And my first attempt at drafting a pattern and making a hoodie for Nathan. I've joined Finny & Donk's Sew Along 2009. The first sewing project is the How To: Men's Hoodie from Craft.

Obviously, I didn't do so well drafting the hood.


My husband is certain that I can't complete a sewing project without ripping out at least one seam! I don't have enough fleece to "fix" this hood, so I will have to go to JoAnn's tomorrow and hope they have more.

Wish me luck on the next hood! :)