It's Christmas in July

The Crafternoon girls that I hang with decided we would make Christmas stockings as a group project, but we didn't really have a pattern to go by, so I sourced one from Martha Stewart. Basically I just used her template and loosely used her directions but the rest is all of my own design.
I am a scrap junkie...and when I want to do some mindless sewing, I will pull strips from my scrap bag and sew them together. Well, I had amassed quite the collection of sewn together strips...this became the fabric of my stocking and since I like a scrappy look, it worked out great.
The whole project took about 1.5 hours, maybe less. I embellished the cuff with seasonal buttons and a running stitch. What would I do differently? First of all, make a larger stocking pattern and a larger cuff on the stocking top.

P.S. This may just be going in the mail to the winner of the 07/08/09 giveaway!

****************Random.org chose the winner of the 07/08/09 giveaway and it is............PAT! Congratulations girl! I'll be contacting you with an email to get your snail mail address so you can get your prize. Thanks for playing and stop by again in August for my Birthday giveaway!****************

Another Stinkin' Cute Giveaway!

I'm sure lots of folks in the U.S. will be enjoying a

4-day weekend over the

Independence Day holiday.

So I decided to have another giveaway, but not for

"the Fourth of July,"

no, I was thinking of another spectacular date...
how about the occurance of something un-usual, not the norm, ...
how about this...

at five minutes & six seconds past four am on the 8th of July this year,

the time and the date will be

04:05:06 07/08/09

This will never happen again!
Party on with a giveaway to be drawn on this date and time.

Just leave a spectacularyly un-usual comment

and you could be the winner of...

drumroll please...

umm, I don't know yet, but it's gonna be spectacularly un-usual and fabuloso!!!

Giveaways Galore!

Being a big fan of giveaways, since I myself just won a purse and did a giveaway for a purse...here's some blogs I've snooped for giveaways.

Canton Village Quilt Works...giveaway ends June 29th @ midnight

Quilt Qua...giveaway ends July 31st

SewMamaSew...Husqvarna/Viking sewing machine giveaway ends June 29th

Not So Plain Jane...giveaway ends June 30th

Enjoy entering for prizes and hopefully receiving some too!

How I'm feeling today...

Michelle you rock!

Via Random.org, Michelle became the winner of my Give it away, Give it away, Give it away now! giveaway which is my version of the Margaret Bag from Oh Fransson!; because she answered correctly that the Red Hot Chili Peppers is the band that sang the "Give it away..." song

And because she also knew what year the song came out in 1991, she will be receiving the bonus giveaway of a quilted pouch in matching 30's fabric.

And Michelle, I agree...it is one of the best songs on Rock Band...I had just played it right before I got the idea for this giveaway...coincidence? Nah!

Congratulations Michelle (I'll be emailing you soon) and thank you to everyone who commented...keep coming back and visiting, there will be 2 giveaways coming up in the next few weeks...I'll be having a 100-Post giveaway and a Happy-Birthday-To-Me giveaway.

Give it away, Give it away, Give it away now!

For those of you who even know what group sang this song back in the day...
...leave a comment and by random drawing, I will choose the winner from those who left a correct answer in their comments.
...deadline to leave a comment is Wednesday, June 24, 2009 by noon MST.
...I will ship internationally.
Oh, and the prize is this bag... a sling purse made from 30's fabric, lining of bag is muslin, buttons are vintage. I got the free pattern and tutorial of the Margaret Bag at Oh Fransson.

*Bonus*if you name the year the song came out...I will send along a quilted zipper pouch in matching fabric!

*Another purse giveaway is being done by Amanda at "just the morning coffee" and the deadline to enter is Tuesday 8pm EST.

Starting a new hobby...KNITTING

June 20th & 21st are the dates to knit in public--world wide! I crochet in public all the time, so I'm used to people watching me crochet. It's actually a great conversation starter because people will ask questions and generally a nice little banter will get going between former strangers...very helpful for a turtle like myself.

Recently I joined some other ladies for a morning session so we could learn to knit. I caught on after some one-on-one instruction. But when I got home, I had to go online because I forgot the basics of knit & purl that I had just learned. Below are some resources I found that may help you also!

How to read a knitting pattern

Knitting Glossary

Free dishcloth patterns

Video Tutorials:

Casting On

How to Knit

How to Purl

*How to Purl--English method

*How to Purl Pictorial Tutorial

Come follow ScooterSissy's adventures on TWITTER!

Just something random to blog about...links I discovered while Twittering...

Red Fish Circle...she's having a giveaway until June 19th

V and Co...super delish crafting and quilting

Punchneedle Artist Trading Cards

I recently played in an embroidery ATC swap over at Swap-bot and found a valueable tutorial resource for creating Artist Trading Cards over at Art in your Pocket. Here is what I created for my swap partner, using punchneedle technique. I didn't use a pattern, just did free-form using her favorite colors of blues and greens...also my favorite colors too!

These ATC's were also created for a swap on Swap-bot. I adjusted an embroidery pattern to the 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 card size, then I used oil pastels for color and smudged them for that smudged look. Tres chic!

Here are some other punchneedle resources:

video how to

resource guide

pretty images

Also check out flickr, they have tons of photos to peruse for inspiration...you might even see someone you recognize when you click on the flickr link!

The Albuquerque Roadtrip...

Headed out with my Crafternoon girlfriends (Karen, Lindsay, me & Sarah and Sarah's dad in the background) on a roadtrip to Albuquerque, New Mexico for a weekend of shop hopping and memory making..."Twinkie" became our code word for laughs...and we had more fun than you can shake a stick at! Although the trip was only for a weekend, we packed a lot into just 2 1/2 days and a bond of friendship was created amongst us. As you can see from my photo montage, we definately had fun! Enjoy!Karen practicing peek-a-boo before her Grublet arrives in August.Thoughts by Lindz...A merry heart does good like a medicine!Isn't she lovely...isn't she beautiful...ah Sarah with fragrant Spanish broom, we wouldn't have had near as good a time without her planning and driving us around in her hometown!Karen and her pretzel...Up close and personal with Sarah, the TwinksterShop hopping really is the glamourous life...Karen with her batik jelly rolls and Lindsay with purchases of black & white fabric to be used in a quilt for her husband...ahhh

Daisy chain quilt pattern done in Amy Butler Daisy Chain fabric...a future project!

All the goodies I bought, in random order: 3 FQs, a Kaffe Fasset jelly roll, Aurifil thread, 3 1/2 inch Omnigrid ruler, 2 Hallmark Keepsake ornaments (truck & photo frame), Green Chili Jam, 2 Fiesta ware plates, & a woven basket (snagged for $1)

Happy Anniversary

On this day

5 years ago

Robino & I tied the knot...

we've come a long way on this marriage "adventure!"

Here we are, taking a photo op with a stranger's bike in the parking lot of the Inn where we got married on a beautiful Saturday morning.

I look surprised, don't I? Because my eyebrows are NOT naturally this arched! We were dancing away at a friend's wedding.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

I got on a baking kick and thought I'd use up some stuff in my pantry.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Dry Ingredients (combine together & set aside):

1/2 cup rolled oats, quick or regular

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup teaspoon cinnamon

Wet Ingredients (cream all ingredients before adding eggs):

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 eggs

Mix Wet & Dry Ingredients blending well, then add:

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Use ice cream scoop or make similar sized balls and place 2 1/2 inches apart on prepped cookie sheet (I used sheets lined with parchment paper...easy cleanup).

Bake until cookies are lightly browned, 16-18 minutes @ 350 degrees. I like my cookies crispy so I baked for the full 18 min.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies ( I got 3 dozen out of this batch)

One of those forget-about-everything-but crafting day

I borrowed my title phrase from Inspire Co. (where by the way, she has done this incredible sampler in french knots!).
And so I thought how appropriately that expresses how I spent my day on Friday...with (l-r) Lindsay, Sarah, & Karen--(she's got proof on her blog of our first ever Crafternoon together), my "Crafternoon" girlfriends seen below as they ponder Lindsay's block placement.

Crafternoon is an afternoon spent crafting with other crafty crafters. We've been doing a wallhanging quilt pattern together called "Spin City" RQC #401 by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. We spent nearly 5 hours together on 2 seperate crafternoons getting to a nearly finished point on our quilt tops. Of course, we ate and chatted and snacked some more... (this chocolate chip & oatmeal cookie recipe will be coming up in a future post)

we basically had ourselves a "rip" roarin' good girlfriend time.

However, too much gabbing can lead to a lot of errors in sewing.

Here's proof that I was running my mouth, my sewing oopsie...I put my border on backwards! Duh!

This was just to make you laugh! Can you guess what's on my head?

Towel Day--May 25th

What in the galaxy is "Towel Day" you ask? It is a celebratory tribute to the author Douglas Adams. On May 25th, On that day, fans around the universe proudly carry a towel in his honor.

Quoted from the website Towel-day dot com

What? Carry your towel the whole day with you, wherever you go.

When? Every year at May 25th.
Where? Of course everywhere you go!
And why? May 25th is the commemoration day for the Douglas Adams, the author of the world-celebrated book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, who unfortunately passed away 2001. And a towel is the most useful thing, what anyone can have.

Swap-bot is even hosting a Towel Day Swap, but hurry, signups close on May 18th!

Disclaimer: the atheistic views expressed by Douglas Adams are not congruent with my own personal beliefs of Christianity.

Tote 'Tutes & Other Things I've Snooped

Yes...2 posts in one week...I must have gotten the Internet at home! Yippee for me! Finally I can surf the www from the comfort of my "lazy-girl" chair, update my blog and snoop around everybody else's.

I must tell you how I pulled off this miraculous feat to change my husband's mind about getting the internet. Due to finances he didn't want to fork out the monthly fee, but I convinced him by showing him the light when I said, "Well, we can just eat more PB&J and we can borrow the money from our grocery budget." He finally agreed when he realized how draining it was for him to go to the coffee shop to do his online classes...yada, yada, yada...you get the point.

Now onto fun stuff!

Sew Mama Sew Tote Tutorials
Tote and baby stuff Tutorials
26 Tote Tutorial Links
Mini Tote Tutorial
Pincushion Ring Giveaway
Handcrafted Doll Tutorial
Strawberry Knit Hat w/a simplistic tutorial
Monogrammed Handmade Handkerchief How-To

National Apron Day tutorials & giveaways

May 11th the Monday after Mother's Day is National Apron Day...soooo, wear your apron, all day, everywhere...even out in public...go ahead, you deserve the attention!

Blogs about Apron Day plus some giveaways & tutorials:

Not Quite June Cleaver

The Kitchen Madonna

BlogHer

National Apron Day dot com

Sew Liberated

139 Apron tutorials & patterns

The Domestic Diva

The Apronista

Katydid and Kid

The Mom Buzz

Cottage Chic Cooking Apron Tutorial

People, Places & Things...oh my!

A couple Saturdays ago, Robino, me & los tres perritos (the 3 doggies) took a day trip to Cloudcroft, New Mexico...here is the view from 8,000 + elevation in the Lincoln National Forest in the Sacremento Mountains. If the picture had been clearer, then you'd be able to see White Sands National Monument and then further on, the Organ Mountains.

P.S. Doesn't Robino look thrilled? Yeah, he had to be coaxed into the photo...I would have posted a pic of me and the view, but it made my butt look big!
Ask me how close I live to the Mexican border? I can see Juarez from my house...less than 1 mile away! Schnikes!

Beulah the amazing piebald Doxie, models a crochet Easter hat... lol... actually a crochet experiment gone to the dogs....

Last Friday yielded a most enjoyable fellowship at Unravel Yarn Shop and Organ Mountain Quilt Shop along with the Bernina QS in Las Cruces, NM, and of course, Hobby Lobby, with new quilty girlfriends, Karen & Sarah.

Shout out to Karen, here striking a pose for the blog...check her out here. She makes me want to be a better blogger! :-P

Interior of Organ Mountain Quilt Shop in Las Cruces, New Mexico

Robino & I took a "field trip" to downtown El Paso...this was the only photo we could take OUTSIDE of the El Paso Museum of Art ...they're very persnickety about using your camera or cell phone inside...they have guards everywhere! But admittedly, they were featuring artwork by Andy Warhol and Frida Kahlo.

And so, these are my recent adventures....besides I needed to blog something?!!

Cutie Patootie Crochet

This is a creation especially for Angela at Country Cellar in an online exchange for Hand-dids Yahoo Group.

This little bunny was made for my friend Michelle B. These colors were by her request! Very vibrant, don't cha think?

These are all creations that I mailed out for online swaps. Starting clockwise from left, the pink/green was for Angela, next is the hot pink roundie for Vicki at My Creative Corner blog, and the multi-stripe oval is for Penny at The Black Sheep Cottage blog. The minty green one is for Crochet a St. Patrick's Day Surprise over at Swap-bot.

Cuteness in a Quilt Bag!

How about some doggie cuteness and a deliciously pink quilted tote too!!! In order of appearance (left to right), we have Buddy (my old dog), Beulah (my middle child), and Betty (the baby and stinkin' cute...but here she looks a little Cujo-ish)...and me, the Mama has been left holding the bag!!!

So I just had to let you see what stinkin' cute is all about!!!

I went to a quilt class recently and learned to make this HUGE quilted bag out of this delicious cheater panel I found at Joanne's in the remnant section! This thing was so huge...it is big enough to fit 3 miniature dachshunds into! That's a whopping weight of about 38 lbs. of doggie cuteness! The bag's dimensions are 22 inches wide, by 18 inches deep and 10 inches wide on the side. Whew...what a project!

What is Biscornu? And the links thereof...

While searching around Swap-bot, I came across this unusual French pincushion idea known as Bircornu. The links below provide resources for you to discover this cute little embroidery form. Although I have yet to venture out into this realm...I did manage to find a free photo to display here in the blog for your viewing enjoyment.

Biscornu Tutorial from Pretty Impressive Stuff dot com

Free Biscornu pattern--Bulgarian Motif from Alita Designs

Biscornu Design Ideas in francais

Biscornu Instructions and Patterns