I've Been Pinned!

Madame Samm from SewWeQuilt.com got us in the mood to pin...

Kristen from Meadowbrook is cheering us on...

And today is my day to share my pincushion creations.

I had such fun looking for ideas and creating my own pincushions.

I found a vintage-like clamp at Christmas Goose and just HAD to have it! After a little searching,

I found this cute bird pattern at Cheswick Company that would work perfectly with the clamp. 

(My bird didn't quite turn out like theirs, but close enough.) This was my first time sewing with

wool felt...loved it! It wasn't 100% wool, but it worked great for this cute bird. 

Their pattern had the heart underneath the wing...I thought it was too cute to hide.

I previously mentioned my visit to Superior Threads and my luck in meeting Annie from

byAnnie.com...she has a pattern that included this rolled up wool felt/felted wool pincushion.

(I'm learning the difference between wool felt and felted wool thanks to Annie.)

A shopping trip with my three-year-old Monkey Boy found us this cute soap dish. It is heavy and

works great to hold my pincushion. I filled it (and my other pincushions) with walnut shells

that I purchased at Quilt Taffy.com. My little flower and covered button look so cute on my mini quilt!

A sundae anyone?

I just love those clamps and this circus elephant perches nicely on it.

The elephant pattern is by Heather Bailey, Effie & Ollie.

Just in case you didn't know, the Wicked Blog Hop is coming and this guy is ready!

Enough of me, me, me...how about a giveaway?

Thearica at Pigtales and Quilts has a fun store, so I did a little 

shopping for my giveaway and came up with a package of goodies just for you.

Three patterns by Bunny Hill Designs will go to the first name chosen.

But, wait! There's more! 

This amazing package of threads from Thearica will go to the second name chosen.

Thanks, Thearica! You are just so nice!

The usual giveaway rules..blah, blah, blah

1. Leave a little comment. 
2. This one is important! Make sure I can contact you if you're a no-reply blogger. *If you don't get a reply from me, you're a no-reply blogger or something else is screwed-up.
3. I'll mail it anywhere...yes, even to the other side of the world.
4. Giveaway ends at 6 p.m. PST on September 17th. Entries after 6 p.m. PST on September 17th will not be included in the giveaway.

There's lots of other pincushions today..

check them out:

September 11

Vroomans Quilts

More Stars In Comanche

Dancing Through Threads

Jackie's Art Quilts

What About Rheema?

Stekje

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Just Let Me Quilt

Patchouli Moon Studio

Bea Quilter

Quilting Lines

I Piece 2 Mary

Quiltingbydawn

Nati's Little Things

Marjorie's Busy Corner

Krislovesfabric

Bquiltin

You can see all the pincushions here:

"Nestle Toulouse" Chocolate Chip Cookies

I loved the episode on "Friends" where Phoebe's grandmother told her not to share the family's cookie recipe with anyone. Her grandmother told her she got the recipe from her French friend, "Nestle Toulouse." (If you never watched the show and you don't get the joke, they were actually Nestle Toll House cookies.) 

I made some of those "Nestle Toulouse" cookies tonight so my cookie jar wouldn't look empty sitting on my counter. It sounded logical to me AND they were so yummy!

Years ago I had someone I knew tell me that she never liked to share her family recipes, but if she did, she would change or leave out a portion of the recipe so they would never be as good as hers. Thankfully, Nestle's was willing to share their real recipe so I could have a full cookie jar and satisfy my sweet tooth.

P. S. I never did like that lady very much nor did I ever ask for one of her recipes.

Here's the recipe just in case you're feeling the need to have a little chocolate chip cookie:

2 ¼ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, soda, and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beat well. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes and remove to wire racks to cool.

Blog Hop Alert - WICKED!

Send Wicked Wendy an email at 

gracerose172 at gmail dot com

if you want to play along. You know you want to!

Tell her Creepy Carol sent you.

Be sure to check out all the details over at

  sewwequilt.com. 

Wicked Batik Pincushions Are Coming!

Wait... 

I'm so confused!

This selling a house thing is driving me crazy...I've been boxing and cleaning forever!

I'm not sure if I'm coming or going, or if I already went, but I do know that there 

are some exciting blog hops coming our way that you won't want to miss.

There MIGHT be some wicked batik pincushions in the

Pin It Blog Hop

...you'll have to come back on September 10th to see.

I hear That Other Lady has been pricking her fingers with pins just trying to 

make more pincushions than me...not that she's competitive or anything.

I'm sure there will be some wicked-looking or far-out batik projects

beginning on September 25th

Bawahaha...(did I scare you?) No? Darn!

Then go see the scary video That Other Lady made to get us all

excited for the Halloween blog hop...sign-ups will be coming soon.

This guy is ready for them all!

It's National Sewing Month!

The whole month of September is National Sewing Month

thanks to President Ronald Reagan. 

Proclamation 4976 - National Sewing Month
September 24, 1982

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September, 1982, as National Sewing Month. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

So....what will you be sewing this month?

Does this mean we get to take the whole month off just to sew?

Ghastlie Family Tree

I visited Quilted Works today and saw this amazing
Ghastlie Family Tree quilt: (sorry, awful quality of a phone photo)

The quilting is just beautiful on it!

Blog Hop Alert - Batiks!

Want to play with batiks? Then head over to Sew We Quilt to hear the news. Mary just needs an email from you saying: "I Want To Twist" Mary: quilter dot maw at sbcglobal dot net

Superior Thread And Fabric...Sweet Stuff!

I ventured out by myself today to visit a new-to-me store in Utah...Superior Threads. My mouth hung open and I had to try not to drool as I looked around. Seriously, it was awesome!

One part of the building had fabric. Lots and lots of fabric! I was so awestruck I didn't even take pictures of the fabric area, but I did pick-up just a little  some  a pile of fabric. The sales people were over-the-top helpful and nice. I also picked up a couple patterns and was lucky enough to meet the sweet lady who created them. Annie of byAnnie.com gave me some wonderful hints on wool felt. I'm SO going to try it! She also showed me a couple hints about a pattern of hers that I bought...I was so impressed!

Next stop was just around the corner (or down the elevator) at the thread warehouse. OH MY GOSH! I was really in thread heaven! There were rows and rows and rows, etc., etc., etc, of thread of every color and type imaginable.

Just a little of what I picked up...yes, there is purple in that pile!

I need to venture out like this more often!

Hexie Hop Winner Is...

SHERRY 

from Quilts, Fabric, and Thread Tales

(She'll be receiving an email from me)

Congratulations and thanks for visiting my blog!

She won a gift certificate to Quilt Taffy.

A Pineapple Angel Of A Cake

I need to stop looking at:

Food blogs

Pinterest dessert pins

Facebook food recipe sharing

Or...maybe not!

This is what's for dessert at my house tonight

 (it was shared on Facebook--no idea where it originated):

One box Angel Food Cake Mix

One 20-ounce can crushed pineapple (don't drain it)

Mix until frothy and no cake mix shows

Pour into greased 9x13 pan

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes

Serve warm, cold, plain, with whipped cream and/or with blueberries

Is this just too easy!

It was yummy!

A LITTLE SOAPBOX RANT: I have often been totally shocked by the negative comments that are left on food blogs just because someone doesn't like what's in a recipe. If you don't like things made with a package mix, don't make this. If you think it is too sweet for your taste, don't make it. If overall this DOES NOT look like something you want to make or would eat, please do not make it. Most of all, I'd rather you don't tell me what's wrong with this recipe and what ingredients are going to rot my teeth or put more fat on my body. Really, I like sweet things in moderation (or sometimes I like to pig out.) I like package mixes for their convenience. In fact, I thought this was pretty darn good for something quick when you're short on time or just lazy (like me.)  Stepping off the soapbox now. 

P.S. I'm so thankful that no one has ever left me a comment telling me my sewing project was ugly and they hated it. LOL! Quilters are just the nicest people!

This is from That Other Lady:

My Hexies Hopping Here!

It's HEXIE time and I hear there are some quilters out there 

who are loving making those hexies.

For me...not so much loving it, but giving it my best shot.

I tried a couple different ways to make hexies and finally gave up

and went the easy way with the a snowball block.

Well....they look like hexies to me!

Okay, so they have eight sides...I must have been hexed and thought

there were six sides. Whoops!

One of my Monkey Boys has claimed this as his own so it will

"remind me that my birthday is at Thanksgiving."

Of course, if he wants it, he gets it! I'm a sucker for those sweet boys!

I love the little kids in this Alexander Henry "Happy Thanksgiving" fabric.

My quilt with a view.

Britt-Inger from Hill Valley Quilter sent me a hexie pattern based upon a

needle case made by her friend, Karin, but I've never been very good at 

following directions. Karin's was so nice and fancy!

Mine was pretty simple, but I love it with those

Ghastlie ladies and some rhinestones to add some bling.

The inside...

If you're interested in the pattern, stop by her blog to ask about it.

Check out today's hexie queens and their projects:

Thursday, August 22

    

Negligent Style 

    

Sue Mac Seeds   

The Tilted Quilt

    

Julia Plunket

Just Let Me Quilt 

    

More Stars in Comanche 

    

Be a Quilter 

    

Sew Me Something Good 

    

Cherrys Prairie Primitives 

    

Words and Stitches