ANOTHER BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY 36th BIRTHDAY

HOBBYHUBBY!!

The little people and I will give him a belated celebration

with a few of his favorites...Spicy Thai Chicken

& Chai Apple Pie over the weekend.

We love you!

A birthday!

No hobby time today because...

Little Miss Almost 4 turned 4 today...

So I guess she's Little Miss Finally 4! HA...

It was a great day! Lots of Littlest Pet Shop animals, family & cake! She even got to be the birthday girl for the first time at preschool!

Little Mr. I'm 5 enjoyed helping her play with her presents. He supervised the icing of the cake and tasted the icing to see that it was okay! HA... Well, I'm not a great baker, but Little Miss Finally 4 loved her cake!

Happy Hobbies!

QUILT TOUR, Part 6

While visiting my parents over the weekend, I snapped a few shots of

the quilts I've given them as gifts over the past few years!

I made this for my Santa collecting mom

for Christmas in 2005!

It is a Buggy Barn pattern.

In October of 2001 my Auntie B. came

to see me while I was still living in Illinois.

We made several of these winter Angels

together. This is the project she used

to teach me how to applique!

Thanks Auntie B.!

I think I ended up giving to my mom

for Christmas that year.

(I gave one to my Mother-in-law

and kept one for myself too.)

I made this little WELCOME for my mom in 2004, (I think).

This is one of my favorite things I've ever made.

Ever just have so much fun making something?

Auntie B. & I worked together on this one

for my parents' bed for their birthdays one year.

It is another Buggy Barn pattern. We just love those!

This is one of my early quilts. I made this for my parents

for Christmas in 2002. The larger hearts represent my

parents and their three children, and the smaller hearts

represent their 8 grandchildren.

I think this is a Thimbleberries pattern.

I made this quilt for my dad for Christmas in 2004.

It's a Thimbleberries quilt too.

I made this for my parents' 35th anniversary

in 2006.

Happy Hobbies!

Needle Felting 101

I did it! I finished knitting my red bag, felted it, and then needle felted a flower onto it! Very happy! AmandaJean over at Crazy Mom Quilts asked me to post the steps involved with the needle felting. I could not find much information online but it is possible that I'm just not looking in the right spots. I pretty much just went with my instinct here, so anybody out there who knows a better technique feel free to comment! I'm hooked and want to know more!

Materials:

*roving wool fiber
*foam pad for work surface

*felting needles (these are super sharp)

*stencil or some other shape, template (optional)

*wool felt (either that you have knit or wool felt you can purchase at the fabric store)

*something to move the wool around (knitting needle, tweezers, anything to keep your hands from getting stabbed)

I first placed the foam into the bag and then placed the stencil where I wanted it. took some of the wool and placed it over the stencil and just started poking the fibers with a needle. I moved the fibers around to keep them in the correct spot and then just kept poking until all of the fibers are compacted into the shape. I then removed the stencil and viola! It looked as though the flower has been appliqued with no stitching involved. Love it!
Any questions?

There will definitely be more wool felting with needle felting embellishment in my future. I'm thinking the Lucy Bag I'm working on is going to need some felt love too! HA. Remember, if you don't want to commit to knitting and felting wool before you get to the needle felting part, just go to the fabric store and purchase wool felt to use instead.

Here are a few links to places for purchasing the roving wool and a link to Knitty Gritty on HGTV

Fibers, Felts & Raw wool

Felt supplies & kits

Knitty Gritty- Scroll down to find directions for needle felting on their project.

Happy Hobbies!

MMMM.... Cookies

Little Mr. I'm 5 and I made some cookies yesterday. We tried a recipe from the new Rachael Ray Magazine that HobbyHubby brought home as a treat. Pumpkin Whoopie Pies or, as Little Mr. I'm 5 calls them, Yum Yum Cookies! You can find the recipe at http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipe/45563/!

Enjoy!

Happy Hobbies!!

The Middle of Grey Lucy...

That bag...

Now she has 120 rounds completed. That gal is ready for the next class. She'll get her straps started there!! If you can't remember the beginning click Here !

I'll keep you posted!

I did promise to get my needle felting post up... Its coming!

Happy Hobbies!

Then and Now

Katie, over at Katies Beading Blog, inspired me to share a then and now post. Enjoy! Or cringe!

Back in the mid-nineties I was not yet a quilter, but I made several lap size "cheater" quilts. My husband received one with sailing ships (pictured above), my brother one with golf related things and my mother-in-law a printed quilt panel. I found backings, quilted each and added nice bindings. My Aunt J. in NC taught me how to do the bindings and I can remember the lesson as if it were yesterday! Thanks Aunt J.!

I cringe when I see those cheaters now. I know I can do so much better! I guess you have to start somewhere!

Happy Hobbies

Granola Bars: Our Favorite!

Oh Yeah!!! This is a great alternative to store bought granola bars which have high fructose corn syrup (which we try to avoid at our house) and also satisfies the sweet tooth! YU-UM!

Dry ingredients:
3 cups rice crispies
3 cups Quaker Oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Other ingredients:
1 cup honey (plus an extra tablespoon)
3/4 cup sugar
1 16 oz jar Smuckers All Natural Peanut Butter
vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
Bring sugar and honey to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for one minute.
Add peanut butter and a splash of vanilla and stir until combined.
Pour into dry ingredients. You will have to use your hands to completely mix. The chocolate chips will melt while mixing.
Put into a 10.5 x 15.5 jelly roll pan firmly pressing mixture down. Let set up for about an hour (maybe less) then cut!

Eat up!

You can use craisins or raisins instead of the chocolate chips. Sometimes I use chopped peanuts instead of the sunflower seeds, but I don't like that as much!

Happy Hobbies!

The Lucy Bag: The Beginning!

Oh...happy little me got to head off to a lovely knitting class last night!

The Lucy Bag is the class project. It seemed to be a slow start, beginning with a crochet hook to cast on stitches and a transfer onto double pointed needles. It took me 2 tries to get that part right. Wow! Knitting on the 4 double pointed needles with only 8 stitches divided between them proved to be mighty challenging! It seemed to get better with each increase but talk about making me tense and feeling so clumsy. My thought process was as follows... If I can't do this on big needles, how will I ever learn to knit socks on those tiny tiny ones? YIKES! I recovered. After the two hour class I had completed only 9 rows!

I came on home and things moved quicker.

Here is the progress I made before bed last night!

This is the progress I made this afternoon. I happily switched to the circular needles...So much better than those double pointed fellas! I've completed round 20 and only have 7 more before the end of the increases. Then I'm taking those turbo #10.5's in the fast lane! Ha! I'll only have 93 rounds to finish before the next class in 2 weeks!

I can get that finished in no time!

Stop in tomorrow and I'll share with you my red felted bag and the needle felting technique I used!

Happy Hobbies!

End of Summer Herb Report

Lavender, Lavender & Thyme: Overcrowded Conditions

Rue, Oregano, Chives, Flat Leaf Parsley: Overcrowded Conditions

Basil & Lemon Balm: Overcrowded Conditions

Lemon Verbena: Suicide

Dill: Suicide

Cilantro: Murder

Submitted to the Herb Department of Welfare 2 PM on Monday.

Action against novice gardener to be decided within 30 days.

Happy Hobbies!

Niagara Falls (& a little hobbying too)

We got up this morning and decided to go to Niagara Falls! YEAH!! Since we are only 2 hours away and always say we are going to go, we went! I think HobbyHubby was about to faint when I said I was game because I'm not the most spontaneous gal when it comes to jumping in the car for a day trip!


Off we went a little before 11! It was a nice ride. A peaceful crossing on the Peace Bridge followed by a jolly little drive on the Niagara Falls Parkway ending at a little parking lot at the top of Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls!

We headed down the hill to the Rain Forest Cafe! Ever been there? It was our first visit and what a treat! We were so overwhelmed at first, but then it became so calming listening to the rain fall and every 22 minutes there was a little thunder storm with lightning. Animated ANIMALS everywhere! (my pictures aren't the greatest-- it was dim!) The environment just rocked and the food was de-lish! YUM!

We headed the rest of the way down the hill to actually see the falls and they were spectacular. The little people seemed to think they were pretty neat but you can imagine how tired of walking they became! We managed by alternating them on our shoulders and hips!

Did you know there is a Butterfly Garden and Bird Aviary in Niagara Falls? Lots of things to do. We have to save it all for another trip or two!


So we took the Rainbow Bridge home to the States and stopped for some yummy ice cream in Tonawanda at Mississippi Mudds!

On the way there and back I did get some knitting done...

I'm working on my first hat! Check out that huge ball of yarn on the left and that's the hat on the right. Using my first set of double pointed needles too.

Last night, I made HobbyHubby and the little people head to the Cultured Purl so HobbyHubby could pick some yarn for the hat he's been requesting forever! The shop was busy, yet I was able to get help with so many questions and get some fun chit-chatting in too! Always a treat to go there. I got the above yarn and a needle felting kit and some wool... Hopefully you'll see that project finished here in a few days! The little people seem to enjoy the visit but started to melt down at the end. YIKES!

Okay, back to the hat... I came home and made a swatch for the thing and then got to work... Seems much bigger than it should be... than the swatch, actually. I couldn't stand to rip it back and start again so I'm finishing it and then I'll try another one... but it might fit... Oh yarn is too fun...

Happy Hobbies!

AHHHHH....ORDER!

Before...

(the cutting table)

(the sewing table)

After...

I told you I had some cleaning up to do!

Happy Hobbies!

I haven't hobbied since ADVENTURES WITH VINYL!

Why, you ask? What have I been doing? Let me see...

Thursday we were home bound since Little Miss Almost 4 had a fever. Oh yes, and I was just taking a lazy day!

Friday we had various errands to run.

Saturday we... Saturday.... Can't even remember Saturday. I think I finished a book that day...

Sunday we headed about 2 hours south to my brother's for a picnic, which was loads of fun. Hey, wait I did knit on the way there... Good!

Monday we had a MIL & BIL up for lunch which was also nice except that the little people were on the cranky side!

Today was the first day of preschool for Little Miss Almost 4. (sigh) She loved it. Couldn't have cared less that we left. (hurray) Spent the rest of the day tidying up around here. Having a little Party Lite party here tomorrow.

I'm going to try to get my hobby space back in order this evening so I can get back to work.

Tomorrow Little Mr. I'm 5 goes to his first day of preschool! He's excited!

By the end of the week we should be back in to some kind of schedule so I'll have more hobby time!

What's on the hobby agenda?
*Pillow cases
*Cat quilt (You know the gift for a high school graduate who graduated 2 years ago? Yeah, that one.)
*The Seasons Quilt (started when my mom was here)
*The Jolly Elf
Okay, I could go on and on....I WILL FINISH THE PILLOW CASES BY FRIDAY! maybe... no I WILL!!

Happy Hobbies!