Around the House – Page 11

Patches

50 Comments / May 15, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Around the House, Quilting

Thanks for all your wonderful comments about TheSecondChild’s graduation. You are all so very kind and thoughtful. If only you could stop time for us, we’d be in business!

After all of that excitement, it’s been a very slow week around here. A month or so ago, I joined a fabric scrap swap (button in my sidebar) that was started by Penny. There are 9 of us in the group and we all swapped a bunch of our scraps (and boy, oh boy, did I get some beautiful scraps.) As part of the challenge, we have to create something with our scraps over the next several months. I had been looking around and had several ideas, when Crazy Mom posted her 9 patch quilt along. Perfect! I decided to join in and I’ve been working on a few of my blocks.

The ugly tree wanted to model for you — she’s sporting some beautiful new, bright green growth this spring. I’ve always loved 9 patches. They’re amazingly versatile and so easy to piece.

I’m really enjoying making these 9 patches. I’m officially behind in the quilt along, but I’ll catch up this weekend. There are so many fun versions of these 9 patches popping up all over. I’m not trying to coordinate my blocks, so my quilt will be really scrappy — just the way I like it. While I was out in the backyard taking pictures of these blocks, I thought I’d see how they look on the squirrel ravaged patio chairs. I’m still in the market for new cushions. Too bad I’m not motivated enough to make patchwork covers for them.

And to make up for hurting your eyes with those ugly cushions, I thought I’d show you my little herb garden. MyDadLovesMeBestSister did a fun thing for Christmas this year — she bought MeMum and I each some pots and some plant markers. Aren’t they cute? Unbeknownst to me, the gift also came with the promise of some herbs when spring arrived. So, imagine my surprise when she called a few weeks ago and said she was bringing over some plants and nice fresh dirt to put in the herb pots! Lucky me huh? She’s a great sister. We have a good relationship. She gives me beautiful herbs. I hang old bras all over her yard. Such a deal, huh?

Well, gee. I guess I should get to bed. I’m getting up in 5 hours to go help the newlyweds move this weekend. I’ve packed a picnic lunch for all of us movers and I’m all ready to go.

Have a good weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

Dear Mr. Squirrel,

43 Comments / April 5, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Around the House, Scruff

Whaddya think this is? This is not:

a) A Holiday Inn Express.
b) That lovely backyard where your California cousins live. (Don’t let this brief sunshine fool you buddy, snow is on the way.)
c) Nests ‘R Us.

We. Are. Not. Amused. Don’t make us call out the Catalry.

Sincerely,
The Management

TheEmptyNestChild Plays Host

33 Comments / November 23, 2008 February 18, 2011 / Around the House

Alrighty then! I’m very happy to know that my readership is full of kilt lovers. You are all a VERY funny group! I’m sorry to say that I’ve exhausted my kilt pictures, but maybe if we’re all well behaved, some of our friends in Scotland could occasionally throw us a bone. Ahem.

In the meantime, here’s a picture of TheEmptyNestChild and Sirius getting to know each other.

Ok, just kidding. I WISH Sirius and Cassie could come for a visit! Instead, we’re just as pleased to have TheSecondChild and his new 5 month old kitty, Paul, home for the Thanksgiving break. Scruff and Paul have spent the last day tormenting getting to know each other. They spent awhile sizing each other up, and then finally, Scruff threw the first punch.

He’s bigger than Paul and somewhat intimidating, but in spite of the fact that it looks like he’s going in for the kill, he’s been very gentle.

It didn’t take Paul very long to catch on though, and he soon escaped from Scruff’s grip.

He decided to show the portly old guy a thing or two and got him in a headlock,

and then threw him to the ground.

Before long, Scruff threw up his paws in surrender and begged for mercy.

And being the gentle, adorable kitty that he is, Paul complied and they took a two-minute breather.

Then they backed up and started all over again. That happened on and off all day except for naps and bedtime when we had to separate them so we could all get some rest. I suspect there will be more fun today, when we let them get together again.

Other than that excitement, there’s not much going on around here except that the $#@#$@ bobbin winder on my beloved Hester broke yesterday. That means she’ll have to go in for repair — right in the middle of my heavy sewing season. We. Are. Not. Happy. ;-(

So, instead of dwelling on that, here are a few happy things to think about:

How adorable is this??? I’d love to make something that pretty!
With Hester out of action for awhile, I’m really hoping to knit a hat or two for Jean. She’s going to collect hats for the homeless in NYC and take them there in mid-December. If you’re a knitter, you might want to give it some thought — it’s a good way to use up scraps and a simple hat really doesn’t take very long to make.
Raina is going to be sharing some Christmas traditions over the next month. If I can think of any ;-), I think I’ll join her after Thanksgiving. Maybe you’d like to play too?

Hope you’re having a great weekend!
XOXO,
Anna

Hummingbirds and Gifts on a Beautiful Weekend

34 Comments / September 22, 2008 February 18, 2011 / Around the House

Boy, you guys are some kinda funny! I’ve had a great time reading all of your thoughts on what I might be knitting. I’m happy to report there’s been at least one correct answer, so there will be a winner. (And if you haven’t expended your three guesses and want to guess more, there’s still time!) Hopefully, I’ll be done with my little caterpillar by the end of the week. (Speaking of which, I saw Jack Hanna in Chicago’s O’Hare airport on my way home on Saturday. He was standing around talking on a cell phone. I started thinking how cool it would be to have Mr. Hanna pose with my caterpillar (which I was working on at the time — and who better to be holding a caterpillar?), but by the time I got up the nerve to ask him, he was gone.)

Did you all have a great weekend? Our weather was PURR-FECT! It was so beautiful, it was hard to stay inside and sew. I wasted enjoyed several hours yesterday watching our hummingbirds enjoy our hummingbird feeder.

They’re fascinating entertainment. I think there were three birds and they came to the feeder on and off all day. They appeared to spend more energy chasing each other away from the feeder than actually eating. It seemed like one bird would just arrive at the feeder, a second would swoop in to protect the territory, and while those two were flying off torturing each other, a third would come and have a few minutes of peace and quiet for drinking.

Here’s one coming in for a landing.

Very rarely, I actually saw a bird stick out its tongue. It has a long skinny tongue that comes out the very end of its beak. I tried and tried to get a picture of that tongue, but it was just too quick. I guess I never thought of a hummingbird as having a tongue, so I was fascinated by that fact! Anyway, it was a really fun way to spend a few hours.

When I arrived home from NJ on Saturday, I had two packages waiting for me! First from Kim, a fun package full of love and hearts. Kim and I occasionally talk paper crafts and she mentioned a fun bottle gift she’d done and offered to send me one. Isn’t it cute, all filled with candy? I love the “Love” tag on the front. Can you see the beautiful earrings that Kim made? And she was so sweet to include an adorable little ditty bag and some extra fabric. I love the way she used the ric rac as a zipper pull — I’m thinking I might have to “borrow” that idea for bags like the goofy bags. How perfect! And the really funny thing is that the ditty bag matches the little needle books that I made for my quilty peeps over a year ago. So now I have a perfect little matching sewing kit! Thank You SOOOOO much Kim — I love, love, love it all!!!

My second package was from Aldana. She e-mailed me a few weeks ago and asked if I’d like to have a thimble swap. I said yes and she sent me a cool thimble from Spain! Along with some beads that smell heavenly (chocolate-yum!) and a very cute little needle book with a birdie on the front of it. Thank you Aldi — I’m so touched that you would offer to exchange thimbles with me. And don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you and I’m on the lookout (it’s a bit of a challenge finding a thimble around here — local peeps, if you have any suggestions, I’m all ears!)

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must get back to my caterpillar. There’s a drawing to be done soon!

XOXO,
Anna

Whistle While You Work…

14 Comments / August 17, 2008 February 18, 2011 / Around the House, Quilting

Well hello there! Did you all have a mighty fine weekend???

It was all work here in Thimbleannaland. I decided I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I rolled up my sleeves and started cleaning on Friday and cleaned all weekend. Sadly, there are still a few rooms that need attention, most notably the sewing room. I think I had sewing stuff in almost every other room so all that junk got dumped into the sewing room. That will be another weekend down the drain of productivity.

The motivator that got me cleaning was the departure of the kids last week. I started with their rooms and now that they’ve taken all of their stuff I have my guest room back. When SweetiePie came to stay a year ago, I packed away my quilts, so I put them back on the beds this weekend.

I made these quilts for the boys when they were very young and shared a room. The colors matched a cute little toy soldier wallpaper that covered the walls. (Thank goodness we moved before they got older and I had to remove all that wallpaper!) I’ve always loved the pinwheel block so I knew I wanted to incorporate it into their quilts. I also wanted to use the same fabrics on each quilt, but make them each a little bit different because they boys are both different.

This block above, was made for TheSecondChild’s quilt. He was a little wilder as a little boy (and funny, that’s still true!) so I wanted a pinwheel with a little more “movement”. The block below is the block that I chose for TheFirstChild who was a little more calm and reserved.

Both quilts are hand quilted, but not by me. I’m still working on a wall hanging that was started around the time I pieced these quilts, so it was a very good decision to have someone else quilt them. Sadly, in spite of a window blind that is constantly drawn, TheFirstChild’s quilt is fading badly. I now keep that quilt covered all the time with extra sheets, even with the blinds closed.

I’m off to NJ for my monthly trip tomorrow, so I won’t be around to enjoy my almost clean house. But maybe I’ll be able to catch up on some blogs!

XOXO,
Anna