For Baby Sydney

My BFF. who now lives in Texas, had her second baby girl on December 4th. Sydney Noelle and she is darling. I can't wait to see her. I have no idea when that will be but hopefully soon.

I made some fashionable burp cloths and a larger blanket (backed with red minkee dot) that she can use as a playmat on the floor or whatever.

The burp cloths and blanket were a few tutorial that I found here... I love all these sites. They have some great projects and machine embroidery stuff.

I bought some other little things for Baby Sydney as well as a couple things for Big Sister Julia. Can't leave out big sister! Everything got put in the mail 2 days before Christmas and I sent it parcel post so it will be there in time for the New Year. Priority Mail was just WAAAAAAY too expensive!

That's about it. I have some thoughts on what projects I would like to start (and FINISH) in the new year. So I can't wait to get going and sew! I plan on working on Punkie's full size bed quilt and my queen size pinwheel quilt. Those are my 2 "must do" projects for 2010.

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very happy and joyous holiday!

Merry Christmas!

Jen and Punkie :)

I found the culprit!

My "Big Snow" post was messing EVERYTHING up. I don't know why. I sat back and thought about when my blog got all messed up and it was after I did that post.

I deleted it and everything is back to normal. Very bizarre.

Now I'm going to re-post my Big Snow pictures. Fingers crossed that it doesn't happen again!

Jen :)

Am I the only one?

My blog looks very funky today and I can't figure out how and why? Do you see the right side of my screen? It's blank. Everything that was there is now waaaaaay at the end of all my posts. See? Now, is it only me??

I tried looking at blogger 'help' menu. It was no help to me. I can't understand what happened. When I look at my layout behind the scenes, nothing is out of place.

Now my blog just looks ugly. :(


Jen

Big Snow... Let's try this again.

Okay, my original "Big Snow" post messed up my blog so I'm going to re-post and see what happens.

So, my wishing and hoping for a NON-white Christmas did not work. We got hammered with snow overnight. Yes, yes. I know. I live in New England and have all my life. I should like snow and be used to it. NO. I HATE IT.

It has finally quit and at last measure, we got just under 2 feet of snow. TWO FEET! We haven't had that much snow from one storm in a LONG time. But my mom who lives in the center of the state? 6 inches. Gotta love it!

Here are some photos from today.

Our side yard...

Our front yard....

Snow collection in bed of pickup.....

My PunkieGirl. She loves it outside!

Taking a walk through the snow....

Helping Daddy shovel...

Taking a break!

Enjoy (again)!

Jen :)

Taffy and Caramel

During the Thanksgiving festivities this year, my SIL asked me if we were interested in adopting. Adopting a couple of kittens, that is. You see, she is a vet tech and someone had dropped off 19 cats of various ages - kittens to adults. Apparently, the family fell on hard times and were leaving their home and wanted the cats to have good homes. But they are a vet clinic and not a shelter so they had to find homes for the cats.

I told her that it would be up to my husband. I knew Amelia would enjoy having "babies" in the house. Well, once my husband held the little ones, he was smitten and Taffy and Caramel came home with us a week later.

This is Taffy. She's a short hair. She's slowly getting used to us. She still runs and hides when we walk into a room if we startle her. But when you get a chance to hold and pet her, her motor starts running.

And here's her sister, Caramel. Same colorings but Caramel is a long hair. SHE is a love bug. Loves attention and to be pet. Purrs like crazy.

Amelia just adores them. They are getting used to her. Amelia tends to run up to them to play and then they run away. If I bring one of them to her and stick around, the kitties tend to stick around too.

Buddy, our older male cat, hasn't batted an eye at them. I think he hissed when he first saw them and then, nothing. He ignores them. Or just watches them play with each other. He's very easy-going. He knows he's still Top Cat.

So, that's Taffy and Caramel. Terrors on 8 paws. I'm afraid to decorate our Christmas tree. The tree is in the house and so far, they have left it alone but there's nothing shiny on the tree at the moment. I pray they leave it alone.

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

Deeeear Santa

Dear Santa-
It's been a loooong time since you've received a letter from me. If you recall in my last letter, I requested a Snoopy alarm clock. That's all I wanted and I never received it. I was a VERY sad, disappointed 7 year old little girl.

The lovely girls at the Fat Quarter Shop/Jolly Jabber suggested writing you a letter requesting something very special from the FQS. Soooo much to choose from but I think I've narrowed down my selection to the FQ bundle of Blush by Basic Grey. I would make them into a wonderful quilt or something for myself. I tend to make things for others and forget about myself.

I've been a VERY good girl, Santa. I really have been! Others may try to tell you differently. DON'T listen to them. ;)

Santa, I hope you have a warm trip around the world delivering all your goodies. We will leave you a nice plate of chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of milk.

I hope you remember me this year, Santa, and don't disappoint me like to did all those years ago.

I will be waiting for you.

Jen :)

Another Giveaway Alert!

Judi at Green Fairy Quilts is hosting a very generous giveaway. Pop on over and try your luck!


Good Luck!
Jen :)

I hate being busy

Like when work takes over your life and you have no time for anything else?? Yeah, that's me right now. Working 10+ hours days (thankfully I'm working from home!) and have no energy to sew, cook dinner, play with my daughter. I hate it. I haven't even had time to really read any blogs. I feel so far behind!

And I feel I have so much to say but don't have time to do it! We have two new babies in the house... sister kittens. I've gotten a little sewing done; not as much as I would have liked... my BFF in Texas had her 2nd baby girl a week ago Friday... SEE! No TIME!

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As of next Thursday afternoon, I will be on vacation. And I will be on vacation for TWO WEEKS! I am SO looking forward to that!

So until then, I'll be here. Just busy working. :(

Enjoy your day!
Jen

Giveaway Alert!

Rhonda is having a giveaway, celebrating her 500th post! Go on over and check it out!

Christmas Candle Mat/Hot Plate

Julie at JayBird Quilts created this tutorial and I just loved it and had to try it for myself. So easy! Hardest part? Tracking down the Easy Dresden ruler! My local Joann's didn't have it so I attempted to place an order online. I was successful on my third try - they had major website issues last week. But then I found it at another Joann's so I bought it. Now I'm going to have two; if my original online order went through. Still waiting for a shipping confirmation and I ordered the ruler on Tuesday.

Anyway, here's my candle mat. That's how I plan to use mine. I need to fine a trio of wrought iron candle stands or something. That will be my next adventure but I love it! So does my husband. I would like to make more: one for Valentine's Day, one for Spring/Summer and maybe another for Fall. It's a nice size too. Looks good on my large dining room table. I had all my "petals" set up in sequence and I don't know what happened when I sewed them into groups but it got all messed up. Still looks good though! Would look FAB in just red and white. Like a big peppermint!



It was so quick to put together. Only thing I have left on it to do is the zig zag stitch on the center circle. Since it was so quick to put together, I have a second one already cut for a gift for my hairdresser and a third one for something else and I'll probably make a 4th one because I can!

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)

Tote Mania!

How was everyone's Thanksgiving holiday? Good I hope. Ours was very nice. Spent most of the weekend away from home so today, I'm tired but it's back to work time!

I was off from work starting at Noon on Tuesday last week so I did get some sewing done on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday. I'll show you what I was working on.

These are the Claire totes that I did for my Mom and my MIL for Christmas from Punkie. These aren't my Mom's thing but I figured she could carry her lunch it in for work.

After getting all the bits and pieces cut, the tote goes together fairly quickly.

Here's a shot of the inside of one. Love all the pockets!


And MY tote. I started this one back in September but put it aside to work on Christmas projects. I had time on Wednesday afternoon and it was pretty much done. I just had to join the outer piece and the lining together so I got my own tote done. LOVE IT!

Pattern is the Bring Your Own Bag II from Whistlepig Creek and it's really big. Good size for an overnight bag. This one has lots of pockets too. I added a snap at the top as well.

The machine embroidered "J" is from SWAK Embroidery. The WPCreek pattern has you make a circle and then applique a letter in the center but I wanted to be different. And I'm glad I did my own thing.

I brought my bag with me to Thanksgiving dinner to show it off and my SIL wants one, just a little smaller. So after the holidays, I will make her one.

I also worked on another project yesterday that went really quick. I need to take its picture and I'll show you.

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

Giveaway Alert!

Vickie (mid Ohio Quilter/Spun Sugar Quilts) is having a giveaway celebrating her 400+ posts with FIVE chances to win!

Here's a picture of just ONE of the giveaways...

Go on over and wish her Congrats and throw your name in the pot! Good luck!!

Enjoy!

Jen :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a happy and enjoyable Thanksgiving with your family and friends!

And if you're going out shopping this weekend... have fun!

Enjoy!

Jen :)

A Giveaway!

Sinta over at Pink Pincushion is having a giveaway to celebrate a few things... her 100th post and her 13th wedding anniversary. So pop on over, leave a comment and try your luck. Maybe you'll be the lucky one! ;)Enjoy your day!
Jen :)

More Fleece Blankets

I put together a couple fleece blankets and coordinating pillowcases for my cousins to give to their respective god-children for Christmas. I gave one to my god-daughter last year for her birthday so now all three kids in the house will have one.

This one is for Katrina, the oldest. I have no idea if she even likes turtles but this is what she's getting. LOL!

And for Julian - pirates. He's BIG into construction vehicles and tractors but we didn't find any suitable fleece for him. So pirates it is! I love the fleece. It's a big treasure map!

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

Christmas Sweets

A few weekends ago, Punkie and I got together with my aunt and 2 cousins and we worked on gingerbread houses for some festive Christmas decorating. I know it's not even Turkey Day yet but honestly, it was the only weekend we had free since one of my cousins is heading off for a week-long cruise soon.

We used the Wilton kits because who really has the time and energy to actually bake the gingerbread to make the houses with? Not me! The kits are great too. They come ready to assemble with all kinds of candies and gum drops and a big bag of royal icing - just add water. I was in charge of "construction" and Amelia was in charge of the decorating. She did such a nice job. I helped a little but it was pretty much all her doing.

We also made the gingerbread tree.

Here's all 4 of the houses together.

Couple random pics of my Punkie Pie too. :)


Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

WHY are cute things so ADDICTING?!

How cute! How cute! HOW CUTE!!! Look at my new pin toppers. Aren't the mushrooms adorable?! These cuties were made by Gigi of Pinks & Needles. And I just love them and I can't wait to get more. I joined Gigi's Pin Topper of the Month club. These pins I bought for myself. The club is starting in January.


The cute yellow cupcake one is one that I received from Gigi for my birthday. What a nice surprise and now, I'm HOOKED!

And that cute cupcake pin cushion? Vickie made it for me for a cupcake swap. Love that too. Punkie likes to arrange all the pins by color in each section... if you can tell in the picture. I mix them up and she re-arranges them. Never fails. LOL.

Enjoy your day!
Jen :)

Pin Topper of the Month Clud (PTMC)

Vickie posted this on her blog and I thought that was a good idea so I'm going to spread the word too.

Gigi over at Pinks & Needles is starting up a Pin Topper of the Month club for 2010; open to the first 100 people who wants to join. I must say, I wish I was as talented as Gigi. Her pins are A-DOR-ABLE! I ordered 4 of them a few weeks ago and I got them yesterday. LOVE THEM! I'll have to take their picture and show you.

So? What are you waiting for?? RUN! Don't walk! over to Gigi's blog and post a comment that you want to join too. I don't think you'll regret it!

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

OOOOOO! I can't wait to bust it open!

Oh. I got one. Delivered yesterday...I can't WAIT to open it! Well, I have opened it and peeked at a few of the fabric squares. I already have my list of fabrics that I want to get in bulk once they are available next year.

I think I need another. Just to look at.

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

Birthday/C-Word Gifts

I will not mention the dreaded "C" word but it's fast coming upon us. I have two cousins (sisters) that both have birthdays in December (a day apart from each other) and the birthdays fall two weeks before the dreaded "C" word.

They admire the few totes that I've made for myself so I thought this year, I would make them each one as a combined birthday/C-word gifts. I'm also going to make them each a pink Yankees fleece blanket since they are both Yankees fans AND I stumbled upon the pink Yankees fleece at my local "we have everything" fabric mill store. I searched and searched for the pink fleece over the summer with the blanket idea. Come to find out, they had discontinued it. But I found it so I bought 4 yards of it. I digress... back to totes...

Kris made some very cute totes over the summer that I really liked. One is in her blog header that I totally copied but she knew in advance so it's okay ;) and another called the "Practical Bag" that she shared the pattern with me.

Here's my Cotton Blossom pinwheel charm tote for Cousin #1. I too left off the cuff from the original pattern. The tote looks MUCH better without it. I also added a magnetic snap and I forgot to do the inner pocket! Oh well. Who's gonna know?!


Next up... the awesomely purple (but you can't tell from the picture) Practical Bag for Cousin #2.

The purple fabrics that I used are awesome. They remind me of the color of grape Kool Aid.

And since I loved the pinwheel tote so much, I made one for myself! I used a Hushabye charm pack. I used the tote on an outing on Saturday and got lots of compliments on it. Again, I added a magnetic snap and forgot to add the inner pocket.


Here are all three together.

I've decided to make two more totes as gifts. From Punkie to the Grandmas. I picked Claire from Lazy Girl Designs. I figured my mom can use it as a lunch tote and my MIL can use it as a tote/purse. I bought my fabrics for it over the weekend and started cutting all the pieces out. I'm going to start those this week (I hope).

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)

Quilt Kit Giveaway

Judi at GreenFairyQuilts is having a wonderful giveaway of one of her quilt kits - Morning Bloom. The kit includes everything for the quilt top and binding. GREAT giveaway.

Go on over and try your luck!

Enjoy your day!

Jen

Giveaway Alert!

Seems like I'm doing more postings about giveaways happening on other blogs than posting anything happening in PunkiePie Land. Well, nothing is going on right now. Work is busy so I'm busy working. I'm actually working now but needed a break so I went blog reading.

Mary at QuiltHollow is having a giveaway of a very cute mini quilt. Perfect for a table topper or a mini christmas tree skirt or even decorating a wall.

Isn't it CUTE?! Pop on over and give your luck a try. Maybe you'll be the big winner. OR maybe I will be!

I do have a couple things to post about. I just have to find the time to get my thoughts organized and the pictures off my camera.

Enjoy your night!

Jen :)

I Love Giveaways!

Julie at jaybirdquilts is having a very generous giveaway for her 100th post. She giving away some goodies she brought home from Market.

Awesome! Go on over and try your luck. I think this one is going to have LOTS of entries!

Good luck!

Enjoy your day!

Jen

Happy Halloween!

The weather held out and we got to go out Trick or Treating. Since we live out in the country, we went to my grandmother's house to do our candy collecting. That's where I went as a kid. She lives in a decent sized neighborhood and it's easy to walk from house to house.

We were joined by my cousin's kids. Nicholas and Abbey. Amelia and Abbey are 2 years apart and they are becoming fast friends.

This year was another homemade costume by Mama. I convinced Amelia to be a black cat. I bought her black fleece pants and a black shirt. Added the fur boa stuff to the cuffs, ears and a tail and viola. A kitty. I'm going to take the boa stuff off the pants and shirt and she'll have clothes to put into rotation.

Unknown between my cousin and myself, Abbey too was a kitty. So she and Punkie matched somewhat.

Nicholas, my godson, is 12 and is getting into music. He decided he wanted to be Gene Simmons from KISS.

And a group shot. My aunt (Nicholas and Abbey's grandmother) dressed up as a witch and stayed home to give out candy.

I have big ideas for Amelia's costume for next year! I hope she will indulge me one more time and let me make her a costume again.

I hope everybody had a great Halloween! And now it time to get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Enjoy your day!

Jen :)