Funky Birds

I brined a turkey breast using this recipe from Emeril. It has lemon, jalapeno peppers, onions, garlic, spices and orange juice. I used some honeybell tangerines too. I didn't get home until late last night, so I didn't have time to cook it. I hope it isn't too pickled for tonight's dinner. I'm hoping to grill it.

I finished a few items at our guild's Sew Day Saturday. We always have so much fun. What a clever group of quilters. I could spend the day just watching everyone create. I gave the free motion quilting a try on the bird quilt, made some cross blocks, and finished the binding on the Pineapple Hazard table runner. I thought I worked on more things, but I may have been socializing and eating more than sewing!

Speaking of birds, check out my birds nest updo! I think I broke it a bit on the ride home with the window open, but it was just for practice. My son's friend is studying cosmetology and needed an updo model. Anytime someone wants to call me a model, I'm there! I went to prom afterward. Ha! I went to the grocery store. But I danced a little in the aisles as usual. ;)

Project Selvage

Calling all you creative minds out there. Spoonflower and Michael Miller Fabrics present Project Selvage. They're looking for baby boy prints for the first round. If you're ever wanted to design your own baby boy print, here's your chance.

The Blues

My two gallon bag of blue scraps was threatening to burst, so I got busy with some crumb blocks. I threw in some white too, but now I wish I hadn't. I'm hoping to have 20 twelve-inch blocks for a small quilt. Maybe I'll add some sashing too.

Wishing everyone in Chrischurch, New Zealand well after that devastating earthquake.

You've reached the end of the internet.

Some days I could use this message.

Am I the last person to figure out the Google Reader "Next" goody? Now I can see everyone's beautiful blogs instead of the condensed version in Reader. It's easier to comment too. Every day I learn something new about these newfangled computer machines.

Orange You Glad You Stopped By?

I crack myself up! It's been an orange kind of day. Orange is my fav color, so it's also been a fun day.

First, we start with breakfast. I'm joking. I had scrambled eggs Mexican style and apple slices. We're on survival mode because I desperately need to grocery shop. Three people got tortillas with their eggs, I lost out unless you count the cheddar Goldfish I substituted for my "grain."

After breakfast, I goofed off with some more paper piecing. I printed out this pattern by mistake earlier in the week but never threw it away. Paper piecing is violent work. I usually need a seam ripper for the sewing part, but today I only used it to spear paper off the back side. I do not enjoy ripping the paper off. What a mess.

I found this Moroccan-inspired tiny dish at Michaels. The orange Koosh ball was rescued from my son's recent room clean up. I love Koosh balls. Wonder if Bones would love it? I may have to torment play with him later.

Then I went to Jo-Ann's to get another eco-friendly cup. This one is for cold beverages. Guess what color I chose? I used my $5 off coupon, so I'm contributing to saving the environment for a mere $1.05, including Florida sales tax. Here's the little beauty filled with water sitting by a stack o' orange fabric. Yes, I've lost my photo styling mojo.

I moseyed on to the produce market for a little sticker shock. Was winter bad or something?! I found some oranges and nectarines which fit with the orange theme, but how about those green striped heirloom tomatoes? I think they're a Zebra kind or something. They get a bit lighter when ripe, but they never get red. And they're not hard like the green tomatoes we Southerners like to fry. I wonder what they taste like? The other tomatoes were $40 a pound, so I went with the local, organic versions.

And finally, don't you think my daughter should clean her fish tank? A little murky, I'd say. Actually, this is one of several containers of shrimp heads I'm making shrimp stock out of. Lovely, huh? I wish you could smell the aroma in my house right now. I may have cats lining up at the door. I'm making shrimp risotto and spinach salad for dinner. Tonight's dinner will probably go over like a screen door in submarine for a few family members. At least there will be leftovers for the kitties.

Happy Friday everyone. I think it may be time for a screwdriver.

Good Morning, Good Morning!

Link to Good Morning Musical Dance Number Here
I saw Debbie Reynolds on Okra [sic] yesterday and Tropicana is using the Good Morning song in their television spots. Kind of catchy. My friend Kathy used to sing this when we worked together. That is when we weren't trying to figure out the lyrics to We Just Wanna Party With You. Where was YouTube back then? Oh yeah, it wasn't around! Happy 6th birthday YouTube! Hard to believe YouTube has only been around six years. How did we ever entertain ourselves?!

I'm full of... links today! Look at these cute Button Jar Quilt Blocks from Midnight Creations.

I love this Xs and Os quilt (Hugs and Kisses) from Jillily Studio via Stash Manicure.

I tried some paper piecing yesterday. I only had to use the un-sewing tool four times!

My art teacher, V challenged us to make some scrappy blocks using polka dots, stripes and plaids. Playing in scraps is always my kind of fun.

Any guess what this picture is? It's food. Looks appetizing, huh? LOL! That's probably why my family wouldn't eat it. That and it's butternut squash soup. They're all anti-squash. I thought it was delicious. I've been eating leftovers for breakfast the past two days. It was so easy to make. Roast cut squash until fork tender. Saute onions in a bit of olive oil, toss in roasted squash, vegetable or chicken broth, spices and let simmer 30 minutes or so. I pureed the mixture with my immersion blender and the texture was so velvety. I finished it off with a bit of half and half.

Picture stolen borrowed from Dr. Vino.com

This is what it should look like if I added a garnish and knew how to use a camera. They still wouldn't have eaten it. ;)

Sunday Stash #21

I love novelty prints. I'm not supposed to be buying fabric, but these little pieces asked nicely to come home with me. [Insert eye roll icon here.] Like exclamation points, I would totally misuse an eye roll icon.

I'm still noodling around ideas for our solids challenge. Hmmm...what to do, what to do. I better get moving. The deadline is looming. I work better under pressure.

I found some extra binding while cleaning yesterday. There was just enough to bind my little practice piece. It's not the smallest quilt I've ever made, but it's tiny (3.75" x 6"). Crazy, aren't I?

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours. My daughter baked red velvet cupcakes for her classmates. I get to ice them before she puts the decorations on.  She even made a Valentine mailbox from a shoe box. She's a junior in high school, but her creative writing teacher has all types of fun projects for the kids. I was having elementary school flashbacks and even found my cupcake carrier.

Hubby and I are going to friends for surf and turf tonight. We've got a nice bottle of wine to bring and I'm planning some goodies for my family tomorrow. Let the lovin' begin!

Not A Lot Happening

It's been a little slow around here in the crafting department. I did find some time to putter around the house in between work and tax preparation. : P

I still stink at free motion quilting, but you can't blame a gal for trying. Here's my little practice piece.

Hearts on a Wire miniature for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. Sweet Amy at Diary of a Quilter made the cutest Valentine's Day pillow and gave me permission to use her heart idea for a mini for the AAQI charity. I pieced the background with my white on white scraps. I always forget how the iron leaves gray marks on the printed part. It doesn't wash out very well either. Any tips on avoiding that?

Then I started playing with solids to make another quilt for AAQI.

This mini is supposed to feature free motion quilting for a swap. I'm going to take some deep breaths before I fill in the white space. Or drink wine. I read that helps and I'm all about learning this technique.

TGIF

I made another one of those Fluffy Stuffy Bunnies. The dress pattern is available now. There sure are some talented crafters out in blogland. I love that they share their patterns.

This bunny will accompany my February doll quilt, which is now quilted and bound.

Here's another crafter you must check out: Ayumi from Pink Penguin. This patchwork wristlet was made from her tutorial. She has several other clever tutorials and you'll love the way she puts fabrics together.

I got a new computer! No, not that ancient Mac above. That MacIIsi above was my very first home computer. It had a 40MB hard drive and 2MB of RAM. I paid $4,000 for it in 1991. Gulp. You can get a lot of computer for $4,000 now. My computer geek son learned on that machine 17+ years ago. Needless to say, he's surpassed me in technology. I hate to think of how many computers I've had in that 20-year span, but truly, what did we do without them?

I still use a Mac for my graphic design business and any drawing and drafting projects. I use a Windows-based laptop for everything else. I spent yesterday transferring files and loading software on my new laptop. It's running smoothly and doesn't sound like it's going to blow up like my old one.

Distractions

Hare Heiney

An adorable and easy stuffie/softie pattern by the talented Jenni B. Harris of Allsorts. A reversible dress is coming. It's So Fluffy! Bunny Pattern

I stumbled across this fun little project. I used 2.25" squares, so mine is kind of tiny. Valentine's Heart Wall Hanging

I finally finished my winter scarf production. I decided I didn't like making scarves. I can never figure out how to wear them either. This one has a pretty purple silk dupioni on the other side. I did some freestyle piecing and paired the patchwork with some shot cotton.

Speaking of distractions, I guess I'm not getting any laundry folded either. Silly dog.