March 2010 – Page 2 – Thimbleanna

Not Much Happ’nin Here

48 Comments / March 10, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Quilting

Ooops! It seems like Chookyblue and I confused a few of you with the virtual visit! Just to be clear — she’s not REALLY coming to visit — she just wanted to know what it was like at some of her blog friends’ if she WERE to visit! Sorry!

How’s your week coming along? I’m SO happy it’s almost the weekend again. Although, after last weekend, I should probably rest up to prepare for this weekend. The wedding quilt tried. to. kill. me. I worked ALL day on Saturday (11 a.m. to 11 p.m.) and got the top put together.

I made a terrible mistake on two of the borders because I got tired and I was too lazy to measure. Bad Lazy Girl! I’m hoping the quilting will cover it up and not make it worse. On Sunday, I went to MeMum and BigDaddy’s and they helped me get it all pin-basted. MeMum has a basting frame, but it’s not quite big enough. This quilt is currently around 98″ x 114″. Ouch. I’d love to show you the top, but as I’ve mentioned, SweetiePie doesn’t want to see it again until it’s finished. Hopefully soon!

Have you seen this adorable project? I’ve been following Amy as her squares unfold and I’d love to join in. I might do this later — for now, I’ve vowed not to start anything new until the wedding quilt is done. (Except for the pillowcases, of course!) I’ve foolishly decided to try the quilting myself — here’s the schedule:

This weekend: Machine Quilt.
Next weekend: Unpick the mess I’ve made.
The last weekend in March: Send it off to a machine quilter.

So if you need me this weekend, you know where I’ll be. Don’t worry, I’m armed with a good vocabulary of swear words.

XOXO,
Anna

A Virtual Visit

52 Comments / March 7, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Around the House

Dear Chookyblue,

I’m so excited about your virtual visit and I thought you might like to see what’s in store for you when you come to ThimbleannaLand. First off, this will be your room — you’ve probably seen it here before. There’s an extra bed if you’d like to bring someone along with you.

This is the view out of your bedroom window. That little patch of snow melted today, but I’ve heard we might get more snow this week. We’re still a good month away from getting leaves on those trees. If you were to come in the summer, you wouldn’t be able to see through those naked trees.

I’ve put out a few patterns and books from your fellow Aussies so you’ll feel right at home.

After you get settled in, I’ll take you on a little tour of our town. We’re known as a city of churches and visitors often comment on the large numbers of spires in our downtown. (Sorry for the wonky angle, it was the only way to get all those spires in from my vantage point.)

We’re a pretty tame town, but there are a few fun things to see — like a pretty new minor league baseball field, a children’s zoo (complete with Australian Adventure LOL), a botanical garden (which I thought would be fun for you to visit to see the contrast between your flowers and ours) and our fun little local indie cinema. They show all the cool pics, many of which were nominated for Oscars this year.

After we blitz our town, we’ll surely have to spend a day in Shipshewana. They have quilt shops and you’ll be able to get a little local Amish flavor.

After we finish all that visiting and shopping, we’ll need a day to rest, maybe stitch a little and chat and watch a few old movies. We can hang out here in the dungeon. (It’s a little hard to tell, but there’s a rip in that sofa cushion that I’ll try to repair before you arrive. One too many high school boys used that poor sofa as a ladder to sneak them in and out of those windows. SadlyFortunately those days are over.)

And after all of that, it will be time for you to move on to your next blogger visit. I’m thrilled that you’re going to let me travel with you for the European part of your adventure.

My bags are packed and waiting for you by the back door!

Safe Travels!
XOXO,
Anna

Gift Books

55 Comments / March 3, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Books

Yak! Where is the week going? We’ve been swamped at work this week, and it’s flying by! Tomorrow will be the third day of being stuck in and all day meeting. I can’t say it’s particularly fun, either — I’m sure everyone thinks I’m sleeping ’cause I close my eyes to try to soothe the head.ache. Ouch!

Not much new to report here. I spent ALL weekend working on the wedding quilt. I made great progress until I put the borders on and then decided that I don’t like the inner border. TheManoftheHouse is watching tv and unpicking it as we speak. I decided re-doing it would be a lot easier than complaining about how I hate that border until the day I die. It’s a little set-back, but well worth it.

So, in lieu of anything exciting sewing-wise, I’ll show you the books I bought with my annual Amazon Christmas gift certificate that my in-laws gave me this year.

Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs, Itty-Bitty Toys, Giada’s Family Dinners, Chic Knits for Stylish Babies, Felt Wee Folk and A Passion for Ice Cream. It’s a great pile of books this time, and I’ve had fun reading through them in the last few weeks.

I’m particularly excited about two of them. Chic Knits for Stylish Babies, for one. Look at these cute little pants with zippers in them!

And this little dress! They’ll make really fun baby gifts.

And A Passion for Ice Cream. Oh My. My, Oh My, Oh My! I gained 5 pounds just looking at this book. How on earth could I resist this book, with recipes like Brown Sugar Ice Cream Chocolate Roulade,

Chocolate Banana Baked Alaskas,

or Warm Blueberry Filo Stacks?

Some of the criticism of this book says that the recipes are too detailed. No pain, no gain! They all look fantastic to me!

So, a few book recommendations in case you have some money burning a hole in your pocket and you’re looking for a little crafty inspiration. I’m off to make some Poppyseed Bread to take to work tomorrow in hopes of taming the headaches. I hope you’re having a good week!

XOXO,
Anna

Month: March 2010