New Year's Eve

I seem to have talked some more quilters into joining the New Year's Eve Mystery quilt over at www.quiltville.com. Hooray! I decided to follow Bonnie's fabric choices for my mystery quilt. Unfortunately, it was not hard to pull a zillion fabrics from my stash:
These are all fat quarters or part fat quarters. I may not have enough of the cheddar/gold but I definitely have enough of the other colors.Where did I get all these pinks when I don't like pink?????? It's going to be nice to use up some of this reproduction fabric so I can buy more...um I mean so I can reduce my stash. I don't know if I will start cutting tonight but at least I have the fabric ready.

I am looking forward to staying in tonight for New Year's. S. and I are going to watch a movie and snack on my mom's super-duper party mix (called Scrabble in my family. I don't know why. Anyone have any guesses?)

Everyone have a fun and happy New Year's Eve!

Might as well add one more new project to 2008...

Well tomorrow I will look back at my 2008 goals and find out where I stand. So before I have to face that, I am going to start one last new quilt project in 2008. Might as well go ahead and chalk up another UFO to end the year. Along with lots of other quilters, I'll be starting Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt. I'm going to make this all from stash and I need to dig out fabrics. I'll post my choices tomorrow. Bonnie's quilts are always great so I know this will be a fun way to start out another quilty year.

Guess they made the "nice" list

Yes, the cats ended up on the "nice" and not the "naughty" list this year (of course they always get gifts for Christmas and random other days during the year). In my goal to support everything local, organic, fair trade and/or small businesses as much as possible. I found this great website http://www.purrfectplay.com/ that makes cat and dog toys here in the USA from dye-free, chemical-free, fair trade, organic materials. Exactly the kind of company I want to support.
Here are the toys: one catnip mouse and a bunch of catnip baby carrots. Well I had to hid the box before Xmas and on Xmas Eve, we celebrated with presents.
Gomez loves paper and he had fun running, sliding and hiding under paper. All the cats enjoyed boxes to jump in and out of and hiding places to attack from.
Gomez says "this toy is mine mine mine!!!!"
Stella may have had a little too much catnip.
Edgar Poe is trying to look cool and aloof but doesn't realize he has paper on him.
Where is Morph? On my lap helping me take photos and staying away from the general craziness. He'll wait until later and play with all the toys when the others are sleeping. Endless fun here at Chez Crazy Cat Lady.

Boxing Day

Happy Boxing Day! There was a great article about the history of Boxing Day in the NY Times today. I think America should adopt this holiday too. Everyone needs an extra holiday.

Speaking of all things British (not a smooth segue but oh well), I watched the first few episodes of the British comedy "Jeeves & Wooster" last week and am waiting for more episodes to appear via Netflix.
I love British comedy (Monty Python and AbFab are my favs) and this series is funny as can be (besides I love me some Hugh Laurie!). If you like wry, dry humor, you will love this series. I'm going to add the P.D. Wodehouse books to my long list of books to read.

I did end up crashing yesterday and fell asleep watching TV in the late afternoon. Dinner was leftovers from Xmas Eve and that's about the level of excitement for Christmas here. Today, I am avoiding the sales and sewing until I leave to work at SBux tonight. It's cool and rainy and dreary outside so it's been a lounging kind of day. The cats are all sleeping (Gomez is even snoring LOL!)

Christmas at Starbucks

Hope everyone is having a great holiday! I worked an 8 hour shift today at SBux. Wow were we busy!!!! You would think no one had anywhere else to go or anything else to do--they all came to our store. This is my 7th (!) Christmas working at SBux. It's actually a lot of fun. Most people are in a good mood (today there were 3 unnecessarily rude people. Please! Just for once don't take your issues out on service workers!!!!!) and our regular customers bring us goodies. We all make the best of it (by having LOTS of espresso and candy and cookies). I even wore a Santa hat all day (my mom is gonna faint). I'm usually not so festive...

Here is the secret projects I was working on:

A reproduction pink & brown quilt for my mom.

And a flannel quilt with sled dogs and polar bears for dad & Shiloh (the Princess Alaskan Malamute).

Well I am off to relax with the cats and watch movies or perhaps take a nap.

Happy Holidays-Eve

We beleaguered state employees received a "get-out-of-work-at-2:00PM-today" email. So I skedaddled out of there and have the night off of SBux (you can tell there's a recession when I am not working every night at SBux during the holidays...). I am cooking my holiday dinner tonight since I do work all day tomorrow.

S. and I are having roast chicken, glazed carrots and parsnips, salad, and for dessert apple pie. I wish I was having Christmas dinner with Amanda in England (see her menu here). But this will have to do. I love baking and when I have time--it's one of my favorite things to do.

Whole Foods had these beautiful Empire apples on sale. They are crispy and slightly tart--perfect for baking. I have enough to make 2 pies, one for now and one for the freezer to have later.

Yes, I am a food snob (and Martha wanna-be)and make my own pie crust. Today, I decided to make a French apple pie with a sweet crumb top crust.

Ta da! Can't wait for dessert and coffee and presents!

Winter Solstice

Happy (official) first day of winter. I'm catching up on blog reading and love all the snow photos. Wish it were snowing here (sorry Karin!) Since it went from mid- to high 60s yesterday to windy and cold today, it might as well snow.

Yesterday was a fun time at the cookie swap. It was the first official gathering of Pat's new Silver Thimble Quilt Club. I need to explain some backstory (if you want to skip the story, just scroll down to cookie photo, I won't mind).

For the past 4 years, Pat was the "Sister Superior" for our Stitch n' Sisters sewing group at the LQS. Well the LQS, Stitch n' Quilt, closed this month and we needed a new place to go. Pat started up the sewing group again and we are meeting at a fellowship hall now. This group is the best ever. On the 3rd weekend of every month, we get a 5-hour sewing time (Friday day, Friday evening or Saturday day) and we can purchase a quilt kit (at a discount) or work on our own projects or work on past projects. There are about 60 of us spread across the three meetings and I am so happy to get back sewing with everyone after a few month hiatus. In honor of our newly reformed group, Karin has anointed Pat with the title "Most High Exalted Thimble". Check out Karin's blog for photos of our first project starting in January. Melisa, The Wonderful, owner of Sweet Home Quilt Co. is providing kits for this quarter so ya know they are going to be great and we'll all have to buy them (pssst: Melisa offers an online discount to bloggers, how cool is that!).

So here are the cookies I brought to the cookie swap: Andes Mint Chip Cookies.

I discovered Andes mint chips last year and hunted them down again this year (found at Super Target). They are so yummy! Don't you just love Andes dinner mints? This recipe is on the back of the package. So have a cup of coffee, enjoy some cookies, and send some snow this way.

This Elf is Done

Yikes I didn't realize that it had been a week since I last posted. Bad bad blogger! I had a really busy week trying to get Christmas and Hanukkah obligations done and attended some parties and oh yeah worked...

I finished my handmade presents (woo hoo) last night--before midnight--even better! I had four helper-kitty elves assisting with the present wrapping. Oh we had fun.

Example: Kitty elf #1: Let's take this ribbon and rruuuuunnnnn!

Kitty elf #2: No even better let's eat this ribbon Yum!

Me: Let's not eat ribbon. Here play with the tape. Haha tape on your paw.

(Repeat. And shred some paper for good measure.)

Kitty elf #3: Here I'll get cat hair on this present before you send it.

Kitty elf #4: I'm not getting out of this box, you can't make me!

So with all that help, the box of gifts were mailed this morning (kitty elf #4 not included; cat hair probably a little). I baked a couple of batches of cookies for a cookie swap. And now I am trying to catch up on some emails, blog reading, laundry, and housecleaning. Tomorrow, I'll report on baking and the cookie swap.

An Artful Saturday

I finished one Xmas gift last night. Hooray! Of course I can't show a photo but do a happy dance with me cause it's done. One more left to finish up.

Today I went to the High Museum in Atlanta with S. and E. to see the Terracotta Warriors exhibit. This is the second place the warriors have traveled outside of China; the exhibit came here from the British Museum. The warriors date from 210 BC and were made for China's First Emperor. There are over 8,000 figures of generals, cavalry, infantry, musicians and civil officials, and horses, birds, chariots, and more that were made to protect the First Emperor in the afterlife. Here is the Wikipedia entry for an overview. It is a truly amazing archaeological discovery. The site is over 22 miles square (the size of Manhattan) and only a portion of the site has been excavated.

(This soldier and horse were in the exhibit.)

I have been fascinated with the terracotta warriors since undergrad when we studied the site in my world archaeology class. This amazing site was unknown for over 2,000 years until a farmer discovered it in 1974. Can you imagine? I am fascinated by the fact that each figure was individualized with different facial features and hair styles and expressions. Even the horses have different expressions and mane and tail lengths. These figures were all painted in bright, vivid realistic paint and I imagine if you saw this in 210 BC it would look like a living army!

(this is a view of the actual site in China).

I bought the exhibit guide which has a lot more detail about the history, discovery, and artifacts. If you are anywhere near Atlanta, you need to see this exhibit!

While at the High, we also saw the latest installment of the Louvre exhibit. This time, there was a really great Vermeer (The Astronomer) and two drawings by Michelangelo.

A Belated Tree Skirt

I got this tree skirt shipped off to my sister-in-law this week. It is only one or maybe two years late....The fabric is Moda's Mistletoe Manor so whenever that fabric came out, that's when I started the project. This great pattern makes two tree skirts at the same time (I made the other one for my mom; she already has hers) so it's a great pattern if you have more than one tree, you have a friend that likes the same fabric that you do, or you need two gifts. Visit my friend Pat at Silver Thimble Quilt Co. for the pattern.

Here's a cute photos of the cats. There is poor Stella on the bottom being used as a pillow for Morpheus and Gomez. Morph has a shiny new red collar as his at-least-a-decade-old one bit the dust. What a great way to spend a rainy day.

Playing Catch Up

Looking ahead to all the things I need to be doing or should have already done, I realize how far behind I am this month. Is everyone out there in the same boat? The U.S.S. I-Can't-Believe-It's-December-8th!!!!!! Could we possibly move Christmas to Monday December 29th so I have an extra week and weekend to get stuff done?

Last Saturday, my quilting buddies and I had a sewing day at Sweet Home Quilt Co. We took over the upstairs and worked on projects, made frequent trips downstairs to check out the shop and stack up fabric purchases, talked each other into buying things, and made Melisa laugh (at us) with us A LOT! I worked on secret gifty things so I can't post photos yet.

Sunday was crazy day at Starbucks and I didn't get much done after that. Tonight I better get a move on and get some stuff done. I made a big pot of Cajun Bean Soup (Mr. The Quilting Booklady's recipe) and it's simmering away right now. This should take care of dinner for the week so I won't have to worry about that. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cajun and Creole food! Maybe it's all those weekend days watching Justin Wilson on PBS back in the olden days before the Food Network when TV's had dials and rabbit ears and we all learn to cook from Julia Child. OK must go, there's bindings to sew, soup to stir, rice to make, Xmas cards to find somewhere in the dreaded closet-o'-stuff-I-have-no-where-else-to-put, and 900 other things to do. More tomorrow (with photos!)

Tea Leaves

I am out of my new favorite tea and it is another chilly night here in the ATL. I bought several different teas from Murchie's Tea & Coffee when I was in Victoria, B.C., this summer and I absolutely LOVE their Queen Victoria Blend (followed by their No. 10 Blend).

I am out and I think I'll have to order some from Canada sometime (or go back to Victoria...

Since I haven't posted a cat photo in awhile, here is Stella on the #1 Preferred Heat Vent in the house (between a door jamb and a bookcase).

Unseasonably Seasonal Weather

I seem to have brought freezing cold weather with me from Michigan. Funny, I don't remember cramming it into my carry-on bag. It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here in the ATL (I'm thinking Christmas in Key West would be nice myself...). Current temp is 40 degrees (but feels like 34 thanks Weather Channel). Current count of cats covering the heat vents: two. Current count of cats running around the house like maniacs: two.

Did anyone buy "Cyber Monday" sale stuff online today? I have resisted so far, even though Melisa at Sweet Home Quilt Co. is having a cyber Monday and Tuesday sale too. My friend Becky over at the Quilting Booklady is asking for recommendations on internet shopping sites for gifts (besides Amazon). If you have some favorite sites, hop on over there and let her know.

Going to work today was really hard after having a week off. All the stuff was still piled on my desk where I left it. And now I have just enough time to warm up with some hot tea before I head out to Starbucks. Tomorrow after work is a sewing night for me woo hoo!

Thanksgiving in Michigan

I'm back in Atlanta after spending Tuesday through Saturday in Michigan visiting my family for Thanksgiving. I missed most of the ATL airport madness by going then instead of Wednesday-Sunday and I had today to catch up and do laundry. I had a great time and was really busy trying to see everyone and do everything in a few days.

Some of the highlights were:

1. seeing my parents, brother, sister-in-law, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who I haven't seen in a year

2. eating too much great food (thanks Mom for all the pies!!!)

3. getting up at dark-thirty to go shopping on Friday (a family tradition) and getting most of my shopping done and presents wrapped so I don't have to mail them!

4. enjoying 3-4 inches of snow

5. going to my favorite quilt shops

6. playing with Shiloh (my parents' Alaskan Malamute)

and Jack (my brother's Siberian Husky)

I know my quilty friends want a detailed report of the quilt shop hopping. One of the best quilt shops in Michigan is Mabelena's. Unfortunately, they don't have a website or blog so you can't see all the great stuff for yourself--just trust me, it's awesome! The owner, Brenda, is the sweetest and always remembers me even though I visit only once or twice a year. This is what I bought at Mabelena's

some Civil War fabric I actually don't have yet...

along with 4 yards of Duck cloth (a light canvas) for lining purses (I like this better than stiffer lining).

Another one of my favorite shops is Guildcrafters (they do have a blog). This shop has a wide variety of fabric and lots of kits and samples. I picked up some charm squares, a pattern, a cool neutral,

and some Amy Butler fabric to make into a purse. We went to two other quilt shops (Linda's and Canterbury Village Quilt Shop) but I didn't buy anything at those. We didn't make it to my other favorite shop, Lake Street Mercantile. Maybe next time.

Today, I have been sewing on Xmas gifts. Do you realize tomorrow is December???!!!????!!!??? Better get busy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I found this photo of this fine looking fellow in my digital photo file. I took this photo a few years back when I was at Colonial Williamsburg. Don't you just love digital cameras--you can take as many photos as you want of everything under the sun (turkeys included!)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Saturday Invasion of Sweet Home Quilt Co.

Becky, Karin, Brenda, Cindi and I invaded Sweet Home Quilt Co. (aka Bad Melisa's) on Saturday. We talked and laughed and bought more fabric for projects-in-the-works and someday-I'll-make-this projects and had a blast. I don't have a photo of my goodies because my camera batteries are dead. I bought some backings for quilts from the sale room and the new Blackbird Designs book "When the Cold Wind Blows" (I really didn't need to get this book because I already have 2 long and involved applique projects from 2 of their previous books but oh well...). We then invaded a local restaurant and talked and laughed some more. A great day with friends. Thanks Becky for arranging this and thanks to Melisa for having the best quilt shop!

The holidays arrived at Starbucks...

at precisely 9:32 PM on Friday when everyone and their brother descended on my store all at once. We were slinging milk and coffee and hot chocolate the rest of the night. And so it begins... Maybe it had something to do with the unseasonably cold weather here in the ATL (30s at night 40s-50s during the day). The Weather Channel says it's 27 degrees now and should get down to 20 by morning. That's January cold not November cold. Another sign of global weirding as Thomas Friedman would say.

I haven't blogged much this week--it's been kind of a crazy week and I mostly came home and curled up in a quilt with a cup of hot tea. The cats act like they don't have permanent fur coats and have been hogging the heat vents.

I am looking forward to (later) today when several of my quilting cohorts and I invade Sweet Home Quilt Co. like a Mongol hoard with coupons in hand for some visiting and maybe some finding a thing or two we can't live without. We let Melisa know ahead of time--hope she is ready for us LOL!

Autumn has left the building

Somehow I missed most of autumn. I think I was busy working. The weather here in the ATL has definitely changed. Friday, we had an unusually foggy day the whole day and Saturday was blustery and chilly. Amanda in England would feel right at home. During Saturday, I think all the leaves on the trees fell at once and my yard is covered with a thick blanket of pecan, dogwood, and oak leaves. The nice thing about having a 90-year old house is the mature trees around it; one of the not-fun things about owning an old house is having mature trees that drop tons of leaves. I used to rake and rake and rake all fall and winter. I now take the easy way out and mow with the mulching lawnmower. Less exercise but quicker results and my yard has that natural I-don't-have-time-for-yardwork-let-alone-actual-grass look. Today's weather was chilly and windy and the people at the Weather Channel are predicting below freezing nights all this week. My mom reported that it is snowing in Michigan already. Goodbye autumn wish you would stay longer.

That's a lot of blathering about the weather isn't it? In other news, I sewed a lot this weekend but can't show photos because it is a gift. Dinner tonight is comfort food courtesy of Whole Foods--veggie pot pie and pound cake and a pot of tea. Time to eat and curl up in some quilts.

Veterans Day

I had the day off today for Veterans Day. The holiday was declared in 1919 to commemorate the signing of the Armistice ending World War I and was expanded in 1954 to honor all veterans. Did you know there is only one living veteran from WWI in the US? He is 107 years old and lives in West Virginia. Thank you to all the veterans for everything you do for our country!

It was a good day to stay home and quilt so the cats and I spent the day working on the flannel quilt. I have half of the rows put together and hope to have a finished top by the end of the weekend.

A Postcript Post

PS: Check out my favorite local quilt shop now online with a blog too!!! Yes, you to can be tempted by "Bad Melisa" of Sweet Home Quilt Co.

Also, if you are interested, check out Holly Holderman's blog for her campaign for the new First Dog to be a rescue dog from a shelter.

And check out my friend Pat's booth at Quilt Market. Her lime green and black quilt is a new Block of the Month being offered to quilt shops. I made one in blues, creams, and whites but I may have to make another! Especially since I gave the first one away as a gift....

Transition Team

It took me until Friday (!) to recover from the excitement of Tuesday night and the election in general. Whew! I was exhausted and cannot imagine how President-elect Obama, the campaign staff and his family just keep going and working. An aside: I tried very hard to keep politics out of this blog (which was extremely difficult because I love politics like others love college football). I kinda fell off the wagon for a couple of posts but now that the election is over we are TRANSITIONING back to quilting, cats, etc. etc.

I can't remember the last time I actually sewed--sometime in October???? On Saturday, I set up sewing camp in the living room so I could catch up on Tivo'ed Marthas and sew at the same time (no TV in the sewing room).
Here is my set up with my travel sewing machine (for that long distance from the next room), coffee, remote, and project in process (E's flannel quilt--I better hurry, it's getting chilly here in GA).
Here is my "transition team" enjoying sunshine and camaraderie on a fabulous November day just perfect for quilting and napping.

Celebrate HOPE!!!!!!

A historic night and we are celebrating!!!! I am so excited and proud and overjoyed for our country!!! Yes we can and we did!

Halloween Weekend Wrap Up

Hello to November! Still no sewing happening here at Chez Crazy Catlady--I think I have given up until after the election when I am no longer glued my laptop and MSNBC.

On Halloween, I took the day off to take Morpheus to the vet and vote. In between, I went trick or treating at Bad Melisa's (aka Sweet Home Quilt Co.)!!!! It was worth going just to see Melisa in her "Pinkerbelle" costume (wish I had taken photos).

Well I forgot my Bad Melisa bag but found this great (big) vintage-looking Halloween bag

and since my parents and grandma sent me a little b-day money, I bought a few things to put in the bag (what's the point in buying an empty bag anyway?). Melisa was sweet enough to hold 2 charm packs for me when they came in and I picked up some yardage to go with them. How great is this--Moda coffee fabric!!!!!!! And I picked up a few other odd and ends. Trick or treating at a quilt shop is fun!!!

Next stop was early voting. Other friends of mine waited in long lines to early vote here in GA. Of course, you have no idea how long the wait is going to be when you get in line. I came prepared with a book (Thomas Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America) and wore comfy shoes and it was a beautiful fall afternoon. Everyone was in a great mood; hooray for democracy in America.

My total wait time to vote = FIVE HOURS.

But it was worth it. Untold number of men and women fought and died for the right to vote.

Go Obama!!!

Happy Halloween!

From Zombie Kitty!!!!

And the winner is....

"Hey what's in the bowl?"

Morpheus finds no food in the bowl, so loses interest...
Edgar is always ready to help...

"I think it says CAT TREATS"

"Yes it definitely says CAT TREATS. Sounds great! Bring on the cat treats!!!!" Silly Edgar! It's the winner for my b-day month giveaway. The winner is...

Michelle at Michelle's Quilts & Stuff. Hooray!!! Michelle, please email me your mailing address and your gift will be on it's way! PS: Edgar says sorry but any cat treats are staying here...

I Haven't Forgotten!!!

No, I haven't forgotten about my b-day month giveaway. I went to the mountains for the weekend and enjoyed all the requisite vacation items:
1. Enjoyed a long hike in the mountains (check)
2. Enjoyed all the pretty fall leaves (check)
3. Ate too much good food (check)
4. Bought and ate some yummy fudge (check)
5. Went to quilt shops and bought a few goodies (check)
6. Came down with a nasty virus on Sunday (Wait a minute that's not supposed to happen!!!!!!!)

Yes, I suspiciously have a flu-like virus even though I got a flu shot!!!! Maybe I just got the GA flu shot and wasn't supposed to leave the state???

I am so sorry I am behind on blogging and awarding prizes. But I am on the mend and will post the winner of the giveaway tomorrow!!

PS: a big thank you to S. for the fab b-day weekend. Next time let's skip #6 'K?

The Best Thing about Traveling...

...is coming home!!! It's great to be back home and it seems like Fall appeared in the ATL while I was gone. It's chilly here! The cats are all fine and are piled up in a big fuzzy pile next to me on the couch. I would take a photo and post but we are all just too comfortable here to find a camera and the cord yada yada. I am catching up on stuff and drinking some hot tea. What a great way to spend a chilly Fall evening.

Blogging from the plains

Hello from Tulsa, Oklahoma!!! All together now "Oklahoma where the wind comes whipping down the plain... "(that's all the lyrics I know so you are on your own for the rest...) I am here for a two-day workshop for my day job. I gave a presentation today that went really well so I'm glad that is over and now it's just workshopping. Hooray for wireless internet because I have no way to get to any quilt shops for quilt shopping so I am catching up on blogs and friends and emails.

While surfing blogs, I found a Halloween Giveaway so go here and check it out! But don't enter cause I want to win this mystery prize from Pumpkin Patch Primitives Quilt Shoppe hee hee! Her shop is full of Fall goodies so check that out too.

On the homefront, Morpheus is doing well and is out of his cape since I am not there to supervise and make sure the other cats aren't making fun of him too much. S. is taking good care of him but I am anxious to get back. Morph and I thank you for all your comments and well wishes. He usually "helps" me blog by hanging out in my lap or pawing at the cursor on the screen.

This is not quite what I had in mind....

for my birthday month....vet bills! Poor Morpheus had to go to vet yesterday to get a benign tumor removed from his leg and has quite the incision. After tearing off two of the hard plastic Elizabethan collars at the vet's office, my vet suggested that I use a soft vinyl one turned inside out. So instead of looking like a flashlight, this is what Morph looks like

As we say in the South, bless his heart! The other cats have stared at him from a distance with the fascination of the paparazzi watching a Britney Spears meltdown. I had to work at SBux and called S. about every hour to check up on him. When I got home, Morph followed me around the house meowing constantly. I'm sure it was NOT polite kitty conversation!

So apparently against his will, Morpheus is dressing up like Daffy Duck in "Duck Amuck" for Halloween

Morph says he is passing on entering my Birthday Giveaway and just wishes the other cats would quit making fun of him.

The Perfect Coffee for October

October brings one of my favorite coffees to Starbucks--Anniversary Blend. One of the perks (pun intended! I love a good pun!) of working at SBux is getting a free pound of coffee a week. If there is ever a worldwide shortage of coffee--I'm all set for a little while. Since it's only two weeks until Halloween, it's time to get out the Halloween coffee mugs. Gomez decided he needed to be in the photo, so there he is too (it's pointless to try to argue with him).

If you like a good, bold coffee stock up on Anniversary Blend because it's a limited offering (black cat not included).

Birthday month

October is my favorite month!! I love Fall, I love Halloween, and my birthday is a week before Halloween (I think I was born a week early) so this is my birthday month. Since I was a kid, I have had Halloween-themed birthdays with Halloween cakes, decorations, pumpkins, etc.

We have a great tradition in my family that not only can you celebrate your birth-day, but some years you may celebrate a birthday week or even a birthday month by doing fun things that you want to do for a longer period of time. You could also say things to your little brother like "be nice to me, it's my birthday month" or "the last brownie without edges is mine, cause it's my birthday week" (my brother and I always wanted the brownies in the center of the pan without edges so we would argue over the last center brownie).

Anyway----in the tradition of quilty bloggers, I am having a giveaway to celebrate my birthday. A couple of Moda charm packs, a great pattern by my friend Pat of Silver Thimble Quilt Co. and some Halloween stuff. I will probably add some more fun treats before this gets sent out to the lucky winner.

Here's the details if you are interested in the drawing:

1. Leave a comment on this post and let me know what your favorite Halloween costume was (in the past or last year--doesn't matter) and you get your name in the drawing once.

2. If you mention this giveaway and add a photo of yourself in costume on your blog, you get your name in twice! (if you don't have a photo of yourself in costume, you can use a child, pet, or something you want to be :)

3. Deadline is noon (EST) on Sunday, October 26. If you don't have a blog, make sure you add your email address in the comment.

I'll get y'all started:

Here is me as Isis (check out the blue eyeshadow!). In case, you didn't watch The Secrets of Isis on TV in the 1970s here's a photo and info from Wikipedia:

(see the resemblance? Mom did a great job on the costume!)

From Wikipedia: "The Secrets of Isis (also called simply, "Isis") starred JoAnna Cameron as Andrea Thomas, a high school science teacher who found an ancient mystical amulet on an archeological dig in Egypt. The amulet belonged to Hatshepsut, an ancient Egyptian Queen and it gave the wearer the powers of Isis... Whenever Isis was needed, Andrea would reveal the amulet and incite an incantation ("Oh, mighty Isis!") and she would be transformed into the goddess Isis. As Isis she was given great strength, the ability to move inanimate objects, and the power to fly and run at super speed...Unlike other superheroes who responded when people called their name, Isis often came to the rescue of people who didn't call for her, arriving in the nick of time and encouraging the wrongdoer to see the error of their ways through self-reflection." (Did anyone else watch this or was it just me???)

Thanks for helping me celebrate!!!!!!

A Visiting Day

One of my favorite bloggers Michelle is having a birthday giveaway! Visit her blog and wish her a happy birthday!! Hooray for October Birthdays!

I had a zillion and two errands to run after work and I quickly stopped by Pat's house to say "hey" and wish her luck. Pat is busy busy busy getting ready for quilt market in Houston. I hope she has a great successful market--she has some fabulous new patterns coming out that I'm sure I will just *have* to make! She has a new photo of her fabulous pattern "Peace in the Valley" in Civil War fabrics on her blog.

Now I have a zillion and two chores to do tonight so I better get busy....

Three Quilt Photos

Today is a state/fed. holiday (Columbus Day) and also Canada's Thanksgiving--Happy Thanksgiving Canada!! I have three--count them three-- quilt photos today. How did I spend my weekend? Finishing binding and borders. Here is my finished "Peace in the Valley" (pattern by Silver Thimble Quilt Co.)

And here are two quilts from my favorite quilt book "Jelly Roll Quilts"

the completed "Prairie Pailey Peer Pressure" quilt (pattern is "Garden Trellis" in the book and

the complete top for "Civil War Nine Patch" made from Moda's Heritage and some stash. For some reason these photos are kinda blurry--either my quilt-holder-upper or I have had too much coffee today, take your pick.

If you have been following this blog, you know that Karin and I are making just about every quilt in the "Jelly Roll Quilts" book and have convinced every quilter we know to buy the book and join us too. Well check out this blog for a sneak preview of their new book. Karin--we have until March to finish up this book so we can be ready for the next LOL!!!!

Michelle has reminded me that it's time to get busy on Christmas gifts so I also started that this weekend. Can't show photos of those!