Guild meeting

Three things to be happy about:
(1) homemade soup
(2) short explanations
(3) pecan trees

Hello everybody, I see three new followers - howdy!  We're always glad to skootch over and make room!

When I have a baked chicken I usually freeze the leftover scraps and bone structure (I'm trying to avoid saying "carcass" because it sounds so ... animal!) and save it for soup.  I've gotten pretty good at making chicken veggie soup from scratch!

Regarding my Lancaster shopping trip, two people commented that they live close to Lancaster... I'm glad I don't live any closer, I'd have to rent a warehouse to hold all the fabric, ouch!

Saturday's guild meeting was very energetic and lots of fun.  Sometimes you can just feel the energy in the room - I know you can hear it!  Our 2012 raffle quilt is just beautiful ...

it's wonky houses and embroidered trees; here's a closeup:

I hope I win, I hope I win!

We had lots of show and tell, but I didn't get any pictures... the downside of having something to show and tell is that I don't always remember to get pictures of everybody else's beautiful quilts!

Our ugly fabric auction was an experience...

 

I think someone doesn't know what "ugly" is!  There were some beautiful fabrics and UFO's in the auction, not to mention the scrap bags.  There was an abundance of stuff so at a point, in the interest of time, the leftovers were given over to whoever could grab them...

Jackie did a workshop/demo on mug rugs...

she had an abundance of samples!

and of course, Maxine is always a winner...

And look at the armful of beautiful dolls Cynthia made! 

Cynthia took the doll making class from Yetunde a few months ago, and she's hooked!  I should have taken pictures of each individual doll so you can see the detail, she put jewelry on them too!

It was a wonderful meeting, it's always great to see people we haven't had the chance to see since the last meeting.  I'm looking forward to November 19!

Sew forth and sew on til later..

Another snow no-show day

My iPod is working okay now, it's the craziest thing!  The battery exhausted itself to within 2% power in a matter of hours, even though I didn't have it on.  So I recharged it, then I crossed my fingers and turned it on... and it was okay!  Now I can listen to my Audible downloads.

We dodged the snow bullet again yesterday. They were calling for 2" to 4" of snow but we only got 1/2" to 1" where I live, yaaaay!  That wasn't much snow but beneath it there was ice, trust me.  BUT... OPM gave Federal employees the option of taking unscheduled leave or unscheduled teleworking, so... I teleworked.  This gave me the chance to make one of my favorite stick-to-your-rib breakfasts – oatmeal!

I use 1/2 cup oats from the super-gigantic box of oatmeal from Costco (2 bags in the box), a couple dashes of cinnamon, 1 tsp Splenda brown sugar – and here's the secret: apples!  I bought a lot of the Jonathan's when Giant had them on sale last summer; partially cooked them and put them in the freezer.

I put everything in a 1.75 qt pyrex bowl, add about 1-3/4 cups of water and nuke it for about 10 minutes.  I know that sounds like a long time but for some reason I like how creamy it turns out... I hope I'm not destroying any essential vitamins!

And here you go - a good stick-to-your-ribs bowl of oatmeal!

"Patty D" made that pretty mug rug for me; she's a member of my guild and bee.

And now, because you've been so patient and read this far, you should get in on this great giveaway!  The Fairy Gardener Quilts Too is having her first giveaway, and the fabrics are gorgeous.  So go, leave a comment (become a follower, why don't ya?), and good luck!

I'll have more quilty stuff to share later, but for now, sew forth and sew on...

A little nonsense now and then...

At my agency I had done a significant amount of work on developing and launching a new web site for an office complex that we are building in Rockville, and I maintain it.  The web site is considered a "high visibility" project, since the complex will consolidate four satellite locations that are now scattered in Rockville and Bethesda, Maryland.  Sew forth and sew on. Because of that, a couple days ago I got a Special Act Award ... in the form of time off!  Now, this is practically mid-December, right?  I'm "this" close to having a use-or-lose leave balance - and I'm awarded with more time??!  The government works in mysterious ways to be sure.  So much for that nonsense.

Hi there Kyra, I'm glad to see you!  I was touched by the article you shared about Geraldine Zillions, what a brave lady!  You mentioned my postcard - I have more posted on the Uhuru web site, although I've gotten lazy and haven't made any lately!  From the main page, just click on postcards, or go here.  :o)

Last night I made these three ipod/camera holders, and I must say they turned out nicely!  The first one was slightly crooked, but I think that's okay because it's a cutie.  The loop turned out a bit on the large side though; I made a covered button for it with a little kit I got from JoAnne's.  When I sew buttons on the other two they'll be done - super easy!

For some reason mine look wider than the picture on the tutorial, and actually I think it'll be okay to make them a bit narrower - maybe by 1/2 - 3/4"?  My iPod looks lost in there! 

Here are a couple mug rugs I made before I got sidetracked by who knows what; the cute snowmen were fussy cut from yardage and appliqued to a white background.  The little tree is made from 3/4" strips of Christmas fabric - I just need to attach the binding and it'll be done.

I wasn't trying to make a flag but they sorta look like one, don't they.  In the next few days I'll make a few more iPod/camera holders, try to get the small quilt finished, work on my Brown Bag quilt...sew forth and so on...
Linda