Punkins!

More adventures with quilting =)

I'm definitely in the mood for autumn.

The pumpkin was fun. I just drew it out and figured out which pieces I would need. Might tweak it a little bit for the next one, but so far I'm happy with it.



I posted the pictures for this mantle (shelf) scarf, and here it is pieced together. I'm pleased with how it turned out, especially since I just planned it as I went along. I'm almost over the Ohio Star design now =)



Of course, I can't sew without my trusty assistants / fabric warmers.





Casper's doing his best to keep the page open for me ;)

Pumpkin Muffins

I'm so happy it's finally cold enough to feel like autumn, and that means baking time!

Black & white photos are brought to you by it's-too-dark-to-get-a-good-color-balance-on-my-phone. Just imagine a rich pumpkin color and you'd be spot on.



I made 2 1/2 dozen muffins and a heart-shaped mini loaf.

Recipe is from BigOven, Lynn's Pumpkin Bread. As some of the reviewers suggested, I added a bit of allspice, and also ginger. I cut the oil down to 1/2 cup and substituted about 1/4 cup each brown sugar and molasses for 2/3 of the sugar, and added a pinch more baking powder to make sure they wouldn't be dense. That's how I cook, but I made sure to remember this time, just in case it turned out well =)

Verdict: YUM



My Captain Obvious moment: when sprinkling the cinnamon-sugar on top, use a little tiny strainer or a small jar so you don't get any on the tins between muffins. Burnt sugar stinks in the oven! And if it gets into the sides, it makes that poor muffin look horribly burnt.

As my husband said: "Organic muffin liners!"

The stuff in the middle is still just as tasty :)

-- iPhone post

Fall Projects

I love this time of year... holidays right around the corner, fall scents, spiced everything, and a crisp touch to the air.

Well, right now we're having a bit of a heat wave, but I'll be happier once it cools off.

In the meantime I'm getting my house decorations ready, including these panels for my shelf quilt.
I have a couple quilts in progress and I'm planning more. So far I'm doing smaller projects because I'm still learning just how precise and patient you need to be.

I have a newfound respect for all quilters, including my mother-in-law :)

*sigh* Like I needed a new craft obsession... =)

-- iPhone post

Quilting and Garlic Chicken Pizza

For my sewing group today, my friend R and I started learning about quilts. I've never done any kind of quilting other than the Tetris wall hanging for my dad, and a little doll blanket as a kid. So I was very excited about it.

We decided to start simple, with squares rather than anything diagonal or fancy.

R had a couple of fascinating fabrics, which contrasted well together. I love how the duck sits in the middle. This is going to be one snazzy cat bed.


I went to the fabric store, which happened to have a sale on fat quarters. I picked up a few to make a fall scarf for our "mantel" (a long narrow shelf which serves the same purpose,) and a few fun blue/grey/green ones just for fun.


Neither of us planned out the finished projects, we just dove in and started learning the basic techniques.

This is a first draft of what I think may turn out to be a lap quilt. I'm planning on putting black narrow strips between them.


For dinner I made pizza from scratch, all with ingredients already in the house (sometimes hard to do when I don't plan ahead.) The crust is from my Fannie Farmer cookbook, with a simple white sauce dressed up with garlic and a few spices, and grilled chicken marinated in worcestershire sauce and spices. Tasty, easy, and quick (aside from the dough rising).


-- iPhone post

Pinned by Cats

"ok, guys, I WAS about to get up and be useful..."


And, cuteness from Marms, just because :)

Kool-Aid Dye and Voice Recognition

Trying out a new program I have, an iPhone app called Dragon Dictation and the first two attempts didn't go so well, so we'll make it short and sweet... I give you: Kool-Aid dyeing!


It was a lot more fun and a lot faster than I expected so I'll be scouring my local Safeway for more colors =)


Flavors I used are cherry grape lemon and fruit punch and they still have a light sent, a little bit of a nostalgic feel, like candy.

we'll see how well the color holds up.



the red doesn't show very well in the pictures but it's a very pretty darker and lighter variegated skein.






Clearly this app doesn't like punctuation I don't think it will work very well with various knitting and crochet terms but so far so good!

Maybe this will even encourage me to post more often, ha ha...

Reverse Engineer Crochet

It's black thread and low lighting but Spook is modeling the start of a doily which I'm making from a motif on a sweater I found at the thrift store.


So far so good, and I think it'll make a nice coaster with the cotton thread.


Spook snuggled on the "pattern," maybe in hopes that I would pet her instead.


The final product. It took just over an hour (including petting breaks.)

-- Posted From My iPhone