Happy Halloween!

Boo to you!

I've been boo'ed over on Vickie's blog so I'll play along.

And I will boo.....

Marsha

Deb

And... that's all I can think of. Oh well. If you want to play along, copy the card to your blog and boo some of your blogging peeps!

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

MOOOOOOO!

We live about 15 minutes from the UCONN campus and we took Punkie there on Sunday to see their dairy cows. We usually go up about twice a year to check them out. They always have a few baby calves and if we plan it right, we can see them doing the milking process with the larger cows - we missed it on this trip. The UCONN campus makes ice cream from the milk from their cows and it's delicious! I don't know what else they do with the milk. I'm sure they sell it or something.

Here are a few pictures... every time I see the babies, I want one. Then I turn around and see (and SMELL) the big cows and quickly change my mind! My husband is desperate for a cow. He had a few growing up. I think pigs and goats are enough!

My husband was itching the above calf's chin. I think the baby wanted more!

Loads of big cows eating. I have several more pictures but you get the idea.

Been doing some sewing too now that my new area is all set up. I love walking in there, sewing a bit and walking away. It's great! I'm working on a table runner for my ceramics Christmas party grab bag. Last year we agreed to TRY and stay away from Christmas decoration type grab bag gifts as we all have a ton of decorations. Hopefully we agree on the same thing this year but if we don't, oh well. This is what the grab bag is getting from me.

And here are the blocks that I've gotten done so far.

I did machine applique. I'm sure I did it all wrong but I'm happy with my results. I see plenty of mistakes but I think once this is all quilted, it won't look half bad!

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

It's SO CUTE!

I just got home from work and the mailman delivered a package. I've been waiting for this and I'm very excited that it came today.

I received the beaded purse from Marsha's halloween costume contest. It is sooo cute and beautifully done. Frannie even created a Halloween card for me. It was packaged so nicely as well. I hated taking the bow off but I did so that I could get to the goods!

Marsha even added some Lindt chocolates and a penny in the bag. I just love it.

Thank you Marsha and Frannie!

Jen :)

Trophy Winner!

Every year the ceramics studio I go to competes in the Pioneer Valley Ceramics Association's (PVCA) ceramics competition. I have been doing ceramics for about 7 years now. My friend Julie has been doing ceramics at the same studio for over 20 years. I wanted to do the craft back in high school but Julie refused to tell me where she was going... but that's a story for another day. LOL. Once we got back in touch as adults, she invited me to join her and I've been going ever since.

My very first piece won a blue ribbon and I've been winning blue ribbons ever since but I've never won a trophy. This year, I entered 5 pieces in the competition. One of them being my glazed pumpkin. I was really hoping I would get high marks for the pumpkin because I just love it and I glazed it really well. I won a first place blue ribbon. Not bad. I was hoping for a high blue ribbon or a trophy but I'll take first place. My ceramics teacher then presents me with a box. In the box is a TROPHY! I won the "Judge's Award" which means regardless of my marks and the ribbon placement the piece did, the judges felt the piece was trophy worthy. I was so excited.

Ready to see my pumpkin??

It's glazed with a special pottery coat glaze - several different coats and then a white cobblestone glaze is put on top before it is fired to get that crackled look. Or as my friend Julie would say - the moldy look.

Here's a pic with my very first trophy...
Amelia and I painted some pumpkins over the weekend as well. She enjoyed it. Here are a couple of pictures.

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

Goodies!

My "Fall into Fall" blog giveaway prize was delivered yesterday. I love it! And not just because I love the color purple and addicted to bags and totes (wink!). The little tissue packet that was included came at the right time because I have caught a cold. It is getting used for sure! Myra was kind enough to include a small bag for Punkie to use for all her treasures. Amelia loves it! Once she opened it, she immediately went around the house, filling it with her own goodies. AND Myra included some dark chocolate Hershey Kisses (how did she know!). I kept those all to myself! Thanks Myra!!

Here's a picture of the bag...

And of Punkie's little bag...

On my way home from work yesterday, I stopped at Joann Fabrics to do a return and browse because they had a 50% off coupon for 1 regular priced item. I have been wanting to get a smaller iron for when I sew smaller stuff and don't really need my really big Rowenta iron. So I got this...

I haven't tried it yet. Does anyone have this iron? Good? Bad? Indifferent? I got it for $20.00; good deal but if I have to return it because it's not even worth the 20 bucks, then I will. But I love my big Rowenta so I'm assuming I will like this one too. Now all I need is a small pressing board so I don't have to set up my big ironing board and I will be all set!

Here are a couple new pictures of Amelia from over the weekend. We were going to her great-grandmother's 90th birthday party. I just love these jeans! I wish they had jeans like this for me. They have pink embroidery on the cuffs and pink rhinestones on the pockets.

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

The bat saga continues!

After coming home last night and unloading my car (I bought a chair for my new sewing area), Amelia kept saying to me "Mama. There's a bat up there!". I located my husband who was doing something in the basement and asked him if he told Amelia about our indoor visitor from the night before. He did not. Amelia, again, says to me - now with more urgency... Mama! There's a BAT up there! So I walk to where she's standing and asked her to show me. Sure enough, on the stairs, under Buddy the cat's paw... is another bat. I asked her if she touched it. She told me she didn't but we washed hands anyway and my husband scooped it up and threw it in the outdoor wood boiler we have. It was pretty much dead (or so he tells me).

Again, we put Amelia to bed and I start on my evening chores... ironing some clothes foro myself and Amelia for the next day and pressing some muslin that I need to use this evening. I hear my husband say... SH*T! Not again! There's yet ANOTHER bat in the house. Thankfully he caught it.

He's working tonight. I told him that if I see another bat, I'm calling him to come home and deal with it. I'm not touching it! He also has strict orders to remove the A/C unit from the house. I'm sure that's where the bats are living. I will buy another air conditioner next summer.

I'm tired of hosting "Animal Kingdom" in my house already!

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)

There's a Bat in Bunk 5?

Anyone remember that book? I read it in like 5th grade. Anyway, we had a pretty exciting evening last night. There was a BAT in the house. I was reading one of my many magazines and my husband was watching TV. Something caught my eye and I said to my husband "I think there's a BIRD in the house!" Buddy the cat, takes off in pursuit of his prey (good kitty!) and my husband goes upstairs to check it out and close doors. I stay downstairs. I'm not getting involved. LOL. My husband tells me that Buddy can jump about 4 feet off the ground.

He comes back down to find the broom and tells me it's not a bird. I say, please don't tell me it's a bat. He said "Okay, I won't tell you." LOL. I've been seeing lots of bats lately flying around outside. Long story short, the bat was flying around and my husband finally caught him and threw him outside. The only thing we can think of was that my husband took out our two window A/C units last night. The bat was either IN one of the units or attached and once it warmed up, because it's been cold over here the last couple of nights, the bat wanted out.

I would have taken pictures but I was hiding in the bathroom behind a closed door. LOL!

In other news... I FINALLY have a dedicated sewing area! My husband and I cleaned the office and created an area for me. We went out Saturday afternoon and he purchased a couple of tables and shelving for my stuff. I still want to get some sort of rolling cart to store under one of the tables to hold stuff and a chair. But my sewing machine is all set up, my cutting mat is all set up on its own table and now I can sew whenever I want! I no longer need to take 20 minutes to get myself organized on the dining table in order to do an hour's worth of sewing. So happy! It's not as pretty as what I've seen that other people have but I just love it. I will take pictures of my modest sewing area and post them soon.

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)

Did a little sewing

I did a little sewing yesterday afternoon. A couple nights ago, I cut some fabric to make the "Pick a Pocket" bag that is on the cover of the Fall 2008 edition of Quilts and More.

I really like this magazine and I bought this edition for that bag, specifically because I just loved it and the directions were very simple to follow. Only change that I made was that I made the bag handles longer than the directions specified due to personal preference.

Here it is. I don't like the black fabric. I bought another fabric for the inside lining but I thought it was competing too much with the red gerber daisy fabric which I just love.

The bag is designed by Monica (Happy Zombie). Monica, if you're reading this... I just love the bag and so does my daughter. She has claimed it as her own. I guess I have to make myself another one!

My husband is on his way home from New Hampshire. Can't wait! I guess... I guess... I really missed him! Or the fact that feeding the outdoor animals is normally his chore and I'm tired of getting outside so early in the morning in the COLD. LOL.

I also worked on cleaning out our office some. It was a M-E-S-S! And I really want a place where I can set up my sewing machine and just leave it. So, I cleared out some boxes, boxed up some of Amelia's old toys that she's too old for now, did a quick vacuum job and called my husband. Told him that he was taking me to Staples and BJs to get some supplies (couple of tables, a chair... odds and ends) once he gets home today and that he's footing the bill on this one since I've been asking him and asking him to clean out the office.

Here's a picture of Punkie and her cat, Buddy from this morning. Amelia was watching some Saturday morning cartoons and lounging around and Buddy climbed right up next to her and got comfy for a few minutes. He's a very sweet cat. We got him when Amelia was barely a year old so they've been growing up together.

I think I hear my husband coming up the driveway. I think I'll go give him a nice hug and kiss hello.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Jen :)

Fall into Fall Blog Giveaway - I'm a winner!

I won a blog giveaway from the Fall Into Fall Giveaway! So exciting! I won a very cute (and purple! - one of my favorite colors!) Sassy bag and matching tissue packet cover made by Myra! I can't wait to get it! Would be a good idea to email Myra and give her my mailing address. I will do that as soon as I'm done with this post.

What else? Things have been hectic in our household the last few days. My husband is currently in New Hampshire with his dad and cousin, working on getting the house all sided before the cold(er) weather hits. My husband called me this morning and said the sheetrock is being delivered this morning as well. Very exciting! I love the idea of having a "vacation spot". Granted, it's not going to be our house but I know my in-laws are going to let us use it whenever we like.

So since my husband is gone until Saturday afternoon, I'm in charge. Meaning, I have to get up extra early so that I can get in the shower and get myself ready for work, feed the animals (we own pigs and goats) before Amelia gets up for the day. Get Amelia fed breakfast and ready for school. Drop her off at school and then get myself to work. In the evening, I pretty much have to do the same routine, but in reverse... feed the animals... get Amelia ready for school the following day... blah, blah, blah. I'm exhausted!

I've tried 3 times this week to work on some sewing projects and to get Amelia's halloween costume ready. I've failed 3 times. By the time my evening routine is done and Amelia is tucked in bed, I'm wiped out and I just don't feel like thinking and concentrating. I will try again tonight! I pressed some fabric this morning so that I can square it up tonight and possibly (HOPING) I can at least get the fabric cut so that I can sew this weekend. I have to stop at the quilting store on my way home. I don't like a yard of fabric that I picked out for one of my projects. It competes too much with my focal fabric, which I just absolutely LOVE. So I have to go spend some money this evening.

That's it. I should probably post this and get back to work!

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)

Sunday Baking, Coloring Bag and Giveaway....

My cousin and her husband gave Amelia a child's baking set on Saturday and Amelia was ready to bake right then and there. I told her we would bake cupcakes after breakfast the following day. As soon as she opened her eyes Sunday morning, her question to me "Are we going to bake something today??" So as promised, after breakfast, we baked cupcakes.

I bought a child's baking kit from King Arthur Flour when we stopped earlier in the month. The intent was to make cupcakes to celebrate my birthday but we never got around to doing them so we made them on Sunday.

Amelia was in charge of pouring the milk into the mix. She wanted to crack the eggs but I didn't feel like cleaning up that mess so I cracked them, put them in a bowl and she put those in as well. She was also in charge of stirring everything up.

And she did some of the decorating. Her favorite part was eating the sprinkles straight from the bowl.

It was fun. Punkie did not like the cupcakes. She requested the bowl of sprinkles instead. I didn't give her the whole bowl but I did let her snack on some (BAD mom!)... we were on sugar high there for a little while on Sunday. LOL.

While Punkie napped on Sunday, I did get to finally finish the coloring bag that I started working on during my weekend getaway in New Hampshire. Here is it. I added the yoyos and butterfly buttons. I think it adds just a little more to the bag. I'm filling and giving this one to one of my friend's daughter. She's going to be 2 in early November. I hope they both like it!

About the giveaway, it's not my giveaway. Vickie over at MidOhioKnitter is giving away some of her extra pincushions that she made. They are adorable! So go over and comment about what you like to read on blogs and you may be one of three lucky winners!

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

It was like Christmas at my house!

I recently submitted a contract to become a Longaberger Independent Consultant. I'm going to try it out for a year and see if I like it. They accepted my contract and my business kit was delivered later in the week. I was so excited to get the baskets; a few of them I didn't have so I felt like it was Christmas! Check it out....This is the back-side view of the baskets above...
Some pottery. I love their pottery. It bakes stuff so nicely.
Small bakers rack. I put it on my kitchen counter. LOVE IT!
And my business kit paperwork. Even that box was exciting!

Okay, enough about Longaberger. I took Amelia visiting her new cousin over the weekend. She did very well around him. Didn't really pay much attention actually. Until he started crying and then she was very concerned as to what was going on with Joshua.

I did get some sewing done yesterday afternoon. I finished the coloring bag but of course the camera battery needs to be charged so I didn't get a picture of it yet. I really like how it came out. This one that I have completed is being given as a gift. I'm making one for Amelia in the same fabrics. She really likes it and wants the one I already completed. I will work on hers this upcoming weekend. And I decided that since these bags are so quick and easy to do, all the little kids I know are getting them as Christmas gifts this year.

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

Getting Ready

Last night I started working on Punkie's halloween costume. She's going to be a tomato. She LOVES tomatoes. Green, yellow or red; she ate them right off the vine this summer. She loves to eat them "like an apple"; meaning she doesn't want Mama to cut up the big tomato for her, she would rather just dig right in.

She really doesn't want to be a tomato though. Here's her list of what she would rather be:

A scary ghost

A bat

An ugly witch

A pumpkin

I almost gave into the pumpkin idea but was having a hard time finding an orange sweatshirt. I found a red sweatshirt so the tomato idea won. I told her next year she can be whatever she likes but this year she's going to be a tomato.

It's a pretty simple costume to put together. I first found the idea in Parenting magazine last year but it was too late to do since I had already purchased her costume (Holly Hobbie) - I'll post a picture. She looked too cute as Holly Hobbie.

Amelia - Halloween 2007

This year, Parents magazine featured a tomato costume as well. Guess it's popular. So I'm taking ideas from both magazines and creating my own version. Pretty much a "no sew" costume. Last night I worked on getting the green felt leaves on the collar. I checked it this morning, the glue held well. I'm excited. Next on my list is to fuse pockets of fabric to the inside of the sweatshirt so that I can stuff it with poly-fil. Just to give the round tomato look.

Amelia wants "tomato shoes" and I thought that would be pretty easy to do. Buy a cheap pair of white Keds knock-offs and stencil/paint a tomato on the toes and change the white laces to green or red ribbon. NOT SO! I'm having the hardest time finding white fabric sneakers. PLAIN white fabric sneakers. I have to keep looking. And a hat. Both patterns say to use the sweatshirt sleeves that you cut off as a hat. Well, Amelia's head is too big for that. I'm going to have to measure out her head and using both sleeves, sew them together to make a hat of some sort.

I'll post pictures of the costume when it's finished. Hopefully soon. I don't want to working on this last minute... which I'll probably end up doing.

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

Fall into Fall Blog Giveaways...

Have any of you gone out and checked out the 40 giveaways happening out there until October 15th? I entered 20 of them. There are some great giveaway prizes to be had! Some are giving away 1st and 2nd place prizes. Check out this link - there's the list of the blogs hosting giveaways.

Good luck to those who have entered!

Jen :)

Making Progress...

While on my weekend getaway in New Hampshire, I brought my sewing machine along so that I can get some projects done. One of those projects is the polka dot and ric-rac swap that Sharon is hosting. These items aren't completely finished but I really like how they came out.Pretty simple actually. I bought some black ric-rac yesterday to add to the white kitchen towel. I need to embellish the jelly bag some how. I'm kicking around some ideas in my head. I just haven't decided what it's going to be. That jelly bag is very easy to make. I was surprised. I got it done in a couple of hours. The pattern has bags in 5 different sizes and says that you can use a whole jelly roll to make all 5. I made the large size. I need to work on sewing a curved line but I don't think I did half bad. Not sure what I'm going to put in it for the swap. This is the pattern. I brought 4 different bag/tote patterns with me because I could not decide which one I wanted to do for the swap. Just knew I wanted to do a bag. This one won the coin toss. I like the kitchen towels so much, I'm going to make some for myself. And I'm going to start making some for little gifts for Christmas next year.

I have other little things to add to for the swap that I've been collecting. I have to pull everything out and decide when to stop shopping and collecting!

I will show the crayon/coloring bags that I've been working on in a few days. I have to get the handles on one of them and it will be completely finished. My plan is to work on that this weekend. I also have a child's small chair that I'm going to re-finish and decorate as Marsha is my new inspiration for all things decoupaged!

That's all. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Jen :)

Happy Birthday to...

ME!!!

Yup. Today is my birthday. Nothing special planned. It is a Monday and I'm sitting at my desk at work, listening to a telecom. But that's alright. My husband took me out for a delicious dinner on Saturday night to celebrate.

We had a very nice weekend away in New Hampshire. On the way up, we stopped at Keepsake Quilting and I did a little shopping. I bought a couple of books, some fabric for some upcoming projects and other odds and ends. Did a little damage to my credit card but nothing alarming. Here's a picture of my loot...

I bought that bendable bright light and used it all weekend while I was sewing. WOW. Money well spent. I just love that light. Only thing that I don't like about it is that it's not battery powered. But other than that, it's great and I highly recommend it.

I did do some sewing. Lots of sewing actually. I worked on my polka dot swap stuff. I'm almost finished with them. I just have some finishing touches to add. I'll show a picture of them tomorrow. I also worked on 2 coloring book/crayon bags. One for Punkie and one for a gift for my friend's daughter.

The foliage is getting there. Not quite at peak. Lots of green yet on the trees. I tried to get a decent picture but the weekend was pretty overcast and COLD. Good thing I stayed inside at the hotel and just sewed and watched movies.

You can see a hint of orange, yellow and red out there. I wish it was more vibrant. My father in law said first thing in the morning when the sun is rising, the colors were great. I tried that. Both mornings were gray, foggy and cold. So I got pictures in the middle of the day instead. On the way home yesterday, we stopped at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, VT and I bought some muffin mixes and some bittersweet and milk chocolate for my Christmas baking. I just love that store. They always have fresh bread baked and we always come home with some. If you've never been there and like to bake and cook, it's worth the quick stop off the highway.

That's all. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Jen :)

Think Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Zip, Zilch, Nada...

Nothing new or exciting to blog about. It's Wednesday, October 1st - that's new. Oh. It is my brother's birhtday today. Happy Birthday Greg! He doesn't read my blog (doesn't know I have one) but I'll just throw that birthday sentiment out there. My house is a wreck. Hurricane Punkie blew through last night and I just didn't have the energy to pick up.

That's it. It's my brother's birthday today and my house is a wreck. That's all I got to report. How boring is that??!

But Marsha should be announcing the winner of the Halloween costume guessing contest sometime soon. I wonder what Frannie is going to be dressed up as? I hope I guessed right at least once so that I have a chance at that beaded purse!

Adding a... I WON! I WON! I WON!! I'm soooo excited! Can't wait to see the Glenda the Good Witch costume that Marsha is making for Frannie. Oh and the beaded purse! Can't wait to see and receive it! WOOHOO!!!

Jen :)