Big Hearts

For the next two months, the city I live in, Fullerton, will have 5' hearts on display to benefit "All the Arts for All the Kids Foundation". If you're interested in the article you read about it here.


Having an 'artsy' daughter who got her beginning in the Fullerton school system, I thought this was a pretty cool thing. The hearts will be auctioned off on October 30th and though I can't afford one, have no place to put one or really don't want one, I think seeing them around town makes my little city of about 126,000 seem just a little prettier. :o)

These photos are from the article in the Orange County Register. They were taken at the Farmer's Market in downtown Fullerton.

Those pictures don't do any of the hearts justice. They are really pretty in person. I'm sure a lot of hard work went into each one. And not to be outdone by the professional photographers at the paper, I have taken a few pictures of my own......as I've driven down the street on my way to get my hair done or on the way to the bank. It's not easy doing a drive-by photo shoot!!!

This one is called Children's Dreams


All Kinds of Friends

The Academy of Performing Arts St. Paul

The Essence of a Dream

Of course, I had to share all of this with you as a stretch....because I don't have any crafting or sewing finishes to show you. lol I'm going to my buddy's house for a little crafting tonight so I should be able to share some goodies with you soon.

Belated Happy New Year!

I hope you had a nice New Year's Eve and New Year's holiday. We had some friends over to play games NYE and then headed downtown Fullerton, where they close off the streets and have a variety of things going on like train rides for the kiddies, bands, food booths, etc. It's called "First Night in Fullerton" and it's got a nice fireworks display at midnight. This is a picture off my camera.

This picture is from the Fullerton city website. It's quite a crowd that shows up.

On the sewing front, I laid these charms on my design wall just to have something to look at. My quilt projects and tops are all buried from stacking stuff up for the holidays. So right now, I'll leave those on the wall for inspiration while I working on some valances for my daughter. The charms will probably be a quilt gift for a friend. I mixed two Moda charm packs called Cotton Blossoms and Wuthering Heights. I didn't know if they would look together but I was pleasantly surprised.

Off to sew while I watch my new movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. :o)

Brown Bag goodness

Before I share what I received from the Brown Bag swap I was in, I want to share a picture you will see if you come to Fullerton via the Amtrak. The train station is right across from where I work. It's in the hub of Downtown Fullerton. Isn't this tree pretty? Seems like it would bloom during the springtime but here it is Fall and it's pretty in pink. It was so pretty, I had to unload my bags in my arms and snap a picture.

And now onto my goodie I received from Joyce, my Brown Bag Buddy (BBB). The guidelines for this swap were you mailed a fq of background fabric, fq of focus fabric, some buttons, rick rack and ribbon. Your partner could use some or all of what you sent and they kept what wasn't used. I mailed Joyce the sewing fabric for the main part of this little trashbag and the blue that she used for the pincushion. Isn't this the coolest little trash tote?

I love all the other fabrics she used. That tan dot looks perfect with the fabric I sent her. And I LOVE all the fun buttons she used on it! Only a few of these were my buttons. She said she has quite a collection. The bag has a great little pocket on the inside and a velcro closure.

Joyce included lots of sewing notions inside like an air erase marker, more rick rack, a thimble, seam ripper (unfortunately, I always use one of those!), thread and a pair of stork scissors!

Joyce said she has made quite of a few of these bags for friends. People use them in their cars for trash because the pincushion holds it in place, for stitching while watching tv, and of course in the sewing room. This little grip is on the back to keep it from slipping and the pincushion is weighed down with sand so it really stays in place.

I can't share pictures of what I did for her just yet but I did mail it yesterday. I'll post a picture or two once I know she's received it.

After finishing the project for Joyce, I started working on my Berry Pickin' BOM #3 and added some of the setting triangles to my cherry quilt that has been sitting on the design wall for the last couple of months. I didn't get a picture of it yet because I only got half of the triangles on. I hope to have a finished top to share soon. :o)

I did my duty....

...Jury duty, that is. I received my notice several weeks ago and did the "phone-in" thing for the Fullerton Courthouse. They didn't need me Monday or Tuesday but Wednesday I was asked to show up. Pooey...

I got called first thing in the morning after orientation and as if I had a sticker on my forhead, I was one of the first groups to be polled. I didn't even put a dent in my stitchery that I took with me!!! It was a DUI case and before they even called any jurors, they read what the charges were. In my head I thought, 'GUILTY!' I kept telling myself that I didn't even know this person but I couldn't help it. During the polling process, the attorney for the defendant asked me if I thought his client was guilty or innocent. I told him that I thought he was guilty from the moment they read the charges when I was still sitting in the chair with the other jury members. They waited a while but they dismissed me. They dismissed my entire row. I never really gave it much thought but in this day and age, I would hate to be on trial for driving under the influence. Who hasn't been affected by a drunk driver, either personally or just in their own town. I would've listened to the information and based my decision on that but the first thing that came into my head was guilty so I was being honest.

Since they let me off the hook, I could've gone back to work but when I called the boss said I didn't have to. YAY!!!! Time off for good behavior! lol I was still on Harbor Blvd., our main street that runs downtown Fullerton. Here's a picture from the internet to give you an idea of the quaint feel.

There is an awesome little antique mall I have mentioned here before, The Brick Basement. My daughter Stephanie met me there. She had seen some elderly patients for P.T. and was done. Perfect timing! We went in there and found some treasures I couldn't live without. :o) Like this two tiered wire basket. All of the booths are owned by individuals and one vendor was filling her booth when I saw the basket sitting on the floor.

I pretended to look at other things on the shelf because I wanted to give her room to breath but I just kept looking down at it. Finally I reached down and picked it up and saw the little sticker that said $11.00. I guess I expected it to be more because I said the price outloud....ELEVEN dollars???
I'll take it!!! The woman said she was thinking she would use it at Christmas and fill it with glass bubbles but never did. I already set it on the table and can picture using it for every holiday. And if I get tired of it inside, I can put it on the patio and fill it with moss and flowers.

And this was my other find. And embroidered tablecloth. Lazy daisies all over the place.

It looks handmade and there was this little tag on the back. I liked it even if it's store bought. I'll have to take a leaf out of my table for it to fit or I can use it on a card table. So darned cute.

And here are my cherry tart pincushions.

I didn't think of these myself. I saw them on a blog and saved the picture for reference. But I didn't save the link to give the lady who thought of this pincushion credit. :o( I'll keep searching the internet because even though it isn't a pattern, it was someone elses idea and I'd like to mention who thought of it. I do like the way mine came out. I couldn't find the right color tan for the crust though. Looks a bit "burnt". lol