January 2011 – Thimbleanna

Photo Scavenger Hunt: January

43 Comments / January 31, 2011 February 22, 2011 / Photo Challenge

Thank you so much for all of your great comments about the laundry basket liner. It was a really fun project to make — and it was lots of fun to be on Moda Bakeshop!

My other fun project for January has been the January Photo Scavenger Hunt, hosted by Kathy. I had a great time taking my photos, so here they are…

Abandoned Building: I know this one doesn’t exactly look abandoned, but it is. The inside of this fairly new house burned out 2 or 3 years ago and the insurance company, mortgage company, owners and who-knows-who-else have been stuck in legal wranglings since then. Rumor has it that the battle is near the end and the house will be demolished.

Stained Glass Window: Whaaaat???? This restaurant/chain just opened up in our area in December. I was in great hopes that the “kilt” in the title meant that there would be a plethora of men in kilts. Sadly, not the case, but at least the food isn’t half bad.

Goldfish: At Walmart.

Yarn: Boy, that was a tough one in this house. ;-)

Playground Equipment: SweetiePie and I found an old little merry-go-round while goofing off at a salvage place one day.

Library: The children’s section at our library. (The library was a fun place to take book pictures!)

Tombstone over 100 Years Old: Thanks to Jenny, I knew where to go and look for a tombstone this old. I’m always fascinated by childrens’ tombstones. These were from two little girls in the same family — born about three years apart and both about three years old when they died. You can’t see it in the photo, but their names are carved across the tops of the stones. I didn’t notice one name, but the other one was Nellie. There must be a very sad story there.

My Front Door: Icky picture.

Reflective Surface … not a mirror: A window on our house, reflecting a house across the street.

Something Out of Place: Bike rack, anyone?

Nature: A squirrel having a winter snack. MeMum told me the other day that she watches the squirrels out of her window and she’s always amazed that they know where they buried their nuts. They dig in the snow and they always come up with a little something to munch on.

Bubbles: When I grow up, I’ll learn how to take fantastic pictures like Kitty Wrinkle (I mean, holy cow…check out this one — I LOVE that shot!) Until then, a whisk making bubbles in the sink will have to do.

And that’s it! I can’t wait for the February challenge! Thanks Kathy for hosting, and Lisa for telling me about the challenge in the first place!

XOXO,
Anna

Oh, and btw…

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR BRIGITTE!!!!

Sunkissed Laundry Basket Liner

63 Comments / January 29, 2011 February 22, 2011 / Sewing

Hi Kids! Remember that little Sunkissed sneaky peak from a few weeks ago? Well, it’s finally finished. But first, I thought I should tell you that I’ve found a new favorite thing. I LOVE the vintage-looking wire laundry basket from United Notions. I love that it’s on wheels. I have a fairly small laundry room, but there’s just enough room for this laundry basket. I like to put my newly-dried clothes into it and wheel it out to my kitchen table where I fold all of our clothes.

I thought it might be fun to add a liner to the basket so I played around with my Sunkissed fabrics. I really had fun with the grommets too — there are 18 of them in this liner and it’s kind of fun to beat them into submission with a hammer! I added a rope to the liner, but you could easily use a big ribbon. I also left the knot on the outside, but it could be put in between the layers of the liner too — that way it would be hidden from view. There are so many different ways you could make this liner — ruffles, scallops, ric rac — I really had to control myself.

So, two really important things about this laundry basket:

You can get the instructions on how to make it at the Moda Bakeshop, and
I’ve listed the laundry basket in the Thimbleanna.com store on my Fun Stuff page. That’s the page where I list my very favorite things.

Have a great weekend!
XOXO,
Anna

Recipe Box Swap: Soup

32 Comments / January 25, 2011 February 22, 2011 / Recipes

Yipes! I almost forgot that it’s Recipe Box Swap day! Thanks to Randi for hosting. She’s chosen Soups as the category to swap this month, which, of course, is perfect for those of us in the cold northern hemisphere.

I decided to try a new recipe this month and I chose Ina Garten’s Lentil Vegetable Soup. Now, try not to run off pinching your nose! The picky little girl eater in me would never have even thought of trying a anything with lentils. But several weeks ago, I was at a fancy-schmancy restaurant and they served a lentil soup as the first course. It was delicious and the woman sitting next to me mentioned that she loves Ina’s Lentil Soup recipe. So, knowing that it was Soup Month over at Randi’s, I decided to give it a try.

Yum…Yum! Pair this soup with some artisan bread and you’ve got a winner. It’s even better as leftover soup — I had some for lunch today and it warmed me right up!

Oh — and have you tried the fun little quiz to find your style? Found via How About Orange — it’s quick and entertaining. Apparently my style is Park Avenue Cocktail (I did not pick the martini, I swear) which, as Jessica says, makes me soulmates with Marlene Dietrich, Audrey Hepburn, and Frank Sinatra. I can live with that!

XOXO,
Anna

Baby Elefanten

55 Comments / January 22, 2011 February 22, 2011 / Sewing

Oops! Sorry for that little break there. Like Jane says, I’m still here…just busy. The biggest busy this week has been Pinterest.* Like many of you, I’ve been sucked in and I LOVE it. Since I started blogging, I’ve kept notes of things I wanted to remember, but I’m a visual person and notes just don’t always capture the beauty. Pinterest does that for me and I’m captivated. I even see applications beyond just keeping pretty photos. Like maybe, a pinboard of pictures of recipes that you want to try. And then once tried, if you like them you could move them to keepers or something. (Speaking of which, do any of you pin-ers know how to delete a picture from one of your boards?) And I think pinterest would be super fun for those of you who don’t have blogs {cough}LindaNoBlog{cough} — it doesn’t have the maintenance of a blog (the number one reason I hear for people who don’t want to start them) but it has all of the visual fun!

Anyhoo….back to our post title…Baby Elephants! I went to a baby brunch/shower this morning for a friend’s daughter who married another friend’s son. Their “theme” is baby elephants and hippos. So I put Hester to work embroidering the little critters from an old Deb Strain disk that I’ve been hoarding. I made a baby towel first. I love making baby towels, but it’s hard to find good terrycloth in these days of big box fabric stores.

The terrycloth in these bibs and towel is from JoAnn’s and it’s awful stuff. It’s stretchy and snags easily. I won’t use it again. I’ve been hunting online and I’ve requested some samples. Hopefully I’ll find something good out there. Someone also suggested just buying bath towels and cutting them up. That’s definitely a consideration.

The shower was beautiful. It was a “display’ shower. Have you ever heard of that? You take your gift unwrapped and it’s displayed on a table with all of the other gifts. The mother-to-be’s bridal shower was so huge, that present opening took awhile. So, maybe they decided to just cut to the chase and dispense with the unwrapping.

There are pros and cons to this type of shower — What do you think? If you’re outside the US, you probably don’t even have baby showers, do you? For those of you who have been to baby showers, do you think you’d like a display shower?

Back to my little display…to the bath towel, bibs and onesies, I added a baby elephant and a little elephant tag and boxed it up. I will admit, it was nice not to have to worry about gift wrapping!

Ok. I’m outta here. Going to go brave the cold and find a few photos for the scavenger hunt. I hope some of you who love to take pictures will join in!

XOXO,
Anna

*I created a Thimbleanna facebook account which was required to join Pinterest. Since then, several of you have requested friend status. Facebook and I don’t like each other, so don’t be offended if I don’t friend you back — it’s a dummy account and I don’t use it!

Snow and More

53 Comments / January 14, 2011 February 22, 2011 / Around the House, Chat

Snow! We got snow!!! I love it! It brought my new boyfriend along with it too. Someone at work was selling a snowblower, so after 25 years, we finally broke down and bought one. I’m in Luuuuv. I might miss shoveling a little, but not when we get a lot of snow. This was a nice comfy amount — 5 or 6 inches I think.

Periwinkle mentioned an interesting photo challenge. I think it would be fun to participate, although I’m not sure I could get some of the shots. Anyone else going to participate? Perhaps the local peeps could tell me where I could get a shot of a 100 year old tombstone?
If you’ve been here awhile, you know how much I love my little cupcake stands. They are a little pricey though, so if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative, Tomkat Studio posted about an easy way to make some of your own.

Last weekend we went to see The King’s Speech. LOVED. IT.
As has become our custom, the gingerbread houses have been placed outside for the squirrels. Probably not a good idea to actually attract the squirrels, but I can’t bear to throw them away.

A few weeks ago, when I posted that I had a Pips Fat Quarter Pack to sell, several of you were interested. A friend has contacted me to let me know that she has one to sell — if you’re interested, please e-mail me (anna@thimbleanna.com) and I’ll put you two in contact.
There has actually been a little post-Christmas sewing around here. Here’s a sneaky peek.

Eye Candy Alert! New episodes of White Collar start next Tuesday. You’re Welcome. ;-)
And finally, but MOST important, Corrie has been posting lots of ways to help the Australian flood victims in several of her posts over the last week. Even just a quilt block will help!

XOXO,
Anna

Month: January 2011

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR BRIGITTE!!!!