"Hey, if I had somewhere to go, I certainly wouldn't be in Cleve-Land." -Howard the Duck

Friday, October 31, 2014

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Y'all!!!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Halloween Goodies!

Are these a hoot or what???  My friend Kathy sent these ZOMBIE Flamingos to me...and I love them!  We had pink flamingos in the back yard earlier in the year...they have since flown over the fence to the next door neighbor's yard where he has a flock of faded out older flamingos.  They wanted to join his flock.  Now these guys are in our back yard.  I only wish we could wire those eyes to glow when it gets dark.

They sit outside just off the driveway so we can see them when we look out the windows.  They'll have to come inside after it starts to snow...but we may need some snow zombie flamingo pix first.
 
I also received a wonderful surprise package from my friend Sally in CA.  We met during a Halloween swap and have kept in touch since.  Lots of fun Halloween goodies & a fun card.  The highlight of the package was that black & white skull fabric...yes, fabric!!!
 
Kathy also sent me an early birthday gift...those Halloween spoolies.  They're perfect by the kitties that sit out all year long.  I can't possibly pick a favorite...but that skull is awesome...notice the spider!  I adore the eyeball...and of course it's a bit hard to see, but the purple one has a bat flying above it.  Perfect for a bit of Halloween in our living room.
 
BIG HUGS and THANKS to both Kathy & Sally...you've made me very happy & feeling a bit more like Halloween is just around the corner. 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

I'm a lucky girl...

Take a look at this treasure that arrived in my mail the other day.  Piles of 1930s reproduction prints! 

So many pretty prints that I had never seen before...and I have quite a collection of 1930s prints. 
 
These are the larger pieces...a beautiful rainbow of colors...all from my quilting friend Donna.  Donna is making a Dresden Plate quilt in 1930s prints and these were the "scraps" she had left over.  Since she didn't want to do another 1930s project...she gifted them to me! 
 
I had already finished cutting the hexies for my quilt...but I'm going to have to use some of her prints, too...these fun cats were the first to get cut & pieced...I love them!!!
 
Donna's blog is Quilted Chocolate...don't you LOVE the name?  You should visit her for great inspiration.  Thanks so very much Donna...I'm honored to include some of your prints in my quilts.  They will definitely all be in my Tumbler quilt one day.
 
I finished some other flowers this week, too...I love this one with all violet prints.
 
All blues here...the floral is another one from my Grandma's stash. 
 
 
 
This last one for the week is one of my favorites.  It's so bright & lively...and I love the purple & orange with just a hit of acid green. 
 
The mail lately also held some fabulous Halloween treasures...I'll post about those later in the week after I can get a good pic outside...it's too rainy & cold to do it now.  I've also been at the sewing machine a lot this week...getting those Christmas & Hanukkah gifts started. 
 
Have a great week...I'm linking up at Kathy's blog again with the others enjoying some slow stitching.  It's a great place to visit for some awesome eye candy. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Back to the Flower Garden

Even though there was frost on the ground this morning...flowers are blooming inside.  The blue fabric here is actually from the 1930s or 1940s.  It's one of the prints I'm lucky enough to have from my Grandma's stash. 
 
Just look how pretty it is...I love everything about it, especially those little doilies around the roses...and the little squiggles in the dots of the background.
 
One more here...I think it's ok...not my all time favorite, but it will be good in the garden. 
 
Since my friend has received her birthday gift, I can show a couple ornaments I hand stitched for her.  The goose is felt...blanket stitched together but the beak & feet are glued on.
 
This little cutie is now on my friend's desk keeping her company until it's time to put up the Christmas tree.  I have to laugh every time I see this goose...so cute.
 
I also made her this little calico snowbird.  I love this vintage fabric from the 1970s-1980s.  I'll have to make a flock of these. 
 
It's a big game day here today...The hated Steelers are here in Cleveland...I'm hoping the Browns can win this one.  At least Cleveland is playing football this year...in past years you thought a high school team could probably beat them.  New coach...lots of good young players...we have a chance!
 
 
***UPDATE***We beat up those Steelers 31-10!!!***
 
I'm linking to Kathy's blog again...then back to more slow stitching while football is on. 
 
Happy Sunday.  And Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends.  Enjoy!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, October 11, 2014

A disappointing year for the garden...

Back in June & July & even August...I had such high hopes for our little garden.  It showed such promise.  We'd go out & pick some jalapenos or leeks or green onions as we needed them...but there weren't many ready at the same time.  Then our summer turned colder & wet...and our little garden didn't like that.  So it stopped producing.  The other day I decided to pick what I could from the jalapeno plants & the tomatillo.  That's most of the harvest above...on a small platter that is only about 9" across. 
 
Oh...the empty husk above from the tomatillo is because Peanut brought it to me that evening...just the husk.  Notice the tooth marks.  Turns out Fluff was using the tomatillo as a soccer ball.  Silly cats!
 
The large pepper is the pimento...and I found a few more jalapenos, too.  I figure I got maybe 2 dozen jalapeƱos off of 6 plants...in the past I got more from one or 2 plants.  They prefer hot weather...not the cooler than normal summer we had.
 
We'll still get some Brussels sprouts...but not many...and will pull up all the leeks & green onions this weekend.  It's time to call it a year & try again next year for a more fruitful garden.
 
Have a great weekend!
 

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

National Fluffernutter Day

Happy National Fluffernutter Day!  I realize a Fluffernutter is technically a sandwich made with peanut butter & marshmallow fluff on white bread...but the little monkey cat above is also Fluffernutter.  We just call him Fluff...or Monkey...he's our climber. 

I caught him the other day having a grand old time on a rack of my bumming around clothes...he thought this was the place to be!  I do believe he was contemplating a jump to the ceiling fan...but I pulled him down before THAT could happen.
Who would have thought this adorable kitten would become such a monkey???  His coloring is why he's named Fluffernutter...peanut butter & marshmallow cream.
And here's a rare sight in this house...all 3 of the kids sleeping peacefully together...usually they're pushing each other off these boxes so they can have the prime real estate...as if it's the only place to sleep in this house.  Silly cats!
 
So Happy Fluffernutter Day...I'm passing on the marshmallow fluff in that sandwich...too sweet for me...I'll just hug little Fluff instead!
 
 

Monday, October 6, 2014

Tumbling

Last week I took a break from piecing my flowers & cut a bunch of tumblers.  That template is 2.5" high...so the finished tumblers will be about 2" high.  I bought the template here.  I'm just eyeballing the quarter inch seams & they go together really quickly...by hand, of course.  Here's a close-up of the template.

 
I'm cutting these from leftovers from my flowers...or from pieces I didn't use in my flower garden.
 
I pieced together a couple rows to see how I liked it.  I'm thinking I like the white cotton with the 30s prints...but I'll make a couple rows with just 30s prints to see if I like that better. 
 
 
I figure this will give me a bit of a break from sewing all those green hexies to join my flowers together.  These personal projects of mine now need to take a break for a bit...so I can machine stitch some gifts for the holidays.  But I had to take a pic of the pile of flowers...just about a dozen more to finish...then it's all about assembling the quilt top.
 
 
I just love these 30s prints...so much FUN!
 
I'm sharing at Kathy's blog...be sure to visit there to see what other slow stitchers are doing.