Lots of Goodies

I got lots of great stuff for Christmas...


I have wanted one of these bad boys for a LONG time....I had pretty much given up on getting one...so I was super surprised when my dad gave it to me....

and it's fabulous to use....so there will be lots of baked goods in my future!!

a great Sox hoodie....

I also got a coverlet for the new king bed...but the pictures I tried to take did not do it justice so...it's an icy blue which I love...

some Meadowsweet and Nicey Jane that I had ordered for myself...

hope you all had a fabulous Christmas!! I sure did!!

Thought I'd share this other finished quilt top....

this is going to my Grandma....she exclaimed over the colors back when i was working on my Red and Aqua swap squares...so I made another set to make a quilt for her....

I'm trying my hand at stippling on this one...as i want it to have a really crinkly look when it's done..

I'm off to LilFriend's to celebrate and ring in the New Year....and my mom is coming to visit tomorrow...so it should be a fabulous new year for me...

Adios 2009...Hello 2010!! Happy New Year ya'll!!

Catchin' Up

We had a great visit this weekend in Oklahoma....had a lot of fun....we packed a lot into the few days I was home....

got Christmas shopping finished up...got the Christmas Tree up....wrapped all the presents that we purchased....went to the Casino and Bingo for a little fun....got to play with the little kids...did a little yard work...did some furniture rearranging...got to enjoy watching Ry play with Duke the Amazing Flying Bulldog and play outside with the little kids....did some office decorating...and got to see the Travelin'Man, who's home for Christmas...and I've probably left something out cause it was go, go, go...

so when we got home last night...

we were exhausted....

unloaded the truck, checked google reader to catch up a lil, and then went to bed....

(Ry skipped the first two things and just went straight to bed)

not that i can blame him....we had to be up early this morning....

work was pretty easy today...and i got home at a pretty decent hour....

and went right to work on this...

the Scruffily Rouenneries is finally a completed quilt top....


sorry the pictures aren't that great...it was getting dark and was way too windy to get any really good pictures...

so now to decide about the quilting....
what would you do???

Oh my...

Something interesting occured in the Walmart parking lot...

there I was helping my Grandma with her Christmas shopping....she and I were walking back to the truck all loaded down with the presents we purchased....we're talking as we are walking....there is a man getting out of his truck in the next parking space....he strikes up a conversation with my Grandma....and as i'm loading all the purchases into the truck and listening to them talk....it occurs to me that this is at least the fourth or fifth time in a row i've been somewhere with my Grandma that some man has chatted her up....

later in the evening as i'm relaying the tale to my mom....my Grandma says I'm my mother's daughter....in explanation my mom says Grandma is always getting chatted up when they go places....to which Grandma says to both of us "What can I say, when you've got it, you've got it!"

to which I can only reply Rock On!!

Dear Santa

listen big guy i'm gonna make this quick...as i've hijacked my momma's laptop and blog...and she'll be back in here in just a minute...she's planning to send you a letter asking for some fabric she wants....what did she call it??? spicy james??...no...Nicey Jane....from some place called The Fat Quarter Shop...this just won't do....

look at how girlie it is??? trust me this place is girlie enough....and you can't believe how much space this fabric stuff is taking up....you know i used to be able to run around the big room next to the kitchen...now there's a big table with fabric all over it....it's totally unfair...that was great ball chasing space...

she's going to tell you how good she's been....listen man...i know the truth....she makes me eat this holistic dog food....i know you'll feel me on this...you're a dude that likes a good fatty meal occasionally....and she gets mad when i try to grab a lil snack from the kitchen counter...if it's where i can reach it's fair game isn't it??...she put me in a reindeer suit for Christmas pictures last year....embarrassing and that's disrespectful to your antlered companions, no?? and she makes me wear a Red Sox collar ....dude i'm a Yankee's man....do you know how embarrassing it is to face the guys at day camp??...

don't get me wrong she's still been good enough to get a gift....but i think it would be better to get her a nice tennis ball and a box of Milkbones......they'll make her real happy too....she likes to show off how well her boy catches the ball and my breath will smell better so she won't have to complain about that....

so big guy whatdaya say....us guys gotta stick together, right?

Woof!! -Ry

Monday...Monday...

I had a very good weekend....hope you all did too...

I got a new bed....it is FAN-freaking-TASTIC...

and trust me it was very necessary....there are only so many mornings that a girl can wake up under a 120 lb. Great Dane...no matter how sweet and adorable he may be...the full size bed HAD to go...it has been replaced by a King size....so now there should be room for me in my bed...

and i get to go back to the drawing board for linens.....YIPPEE....I love the idea of being able to change up the colors and style in my bedroom a little (or a lot)...

Today was pretty busy at work....by the time I left it felt like a long day...

so my to do's for tonight...yah...they got so tossed out the window....

i did however manage to get these laid out....

remember this post?

It took me a lil while to get the values balanced in the lay out...but now i'm extremely happy with it...can't wait to get this finished...it's going to be gorgeous!!!

Fingers crossed this will be a finished top by Wednesday....

Deck the Halls...

it was definitely time to kick off the holiday season in Red Dirt Girl Land....

i've had the same Christmas tree for the last five years....a four foot pre-lit artificial tree...with iridescent white, pewter, clear, and sage green as the color palette of decorations....i've always liked it...was completely content with it...

until...

a recent trip to Garden Ridge....where i fell in love with....

that's right....i fell in LOVE with a hot pink tree...

and this photo i dug up just doesn't do it justice....

but alas i just couldn't convince myself to buy it...and trust me i debated while staring at it for at least an hour in the store....while i think it's gorgeous....i wasn't sure i would be so enthralled with it 5 years from now...

so..

my creative gears started turning and decided i could have my pink and practicality too...

the white was a lot more practical, yet unconventional....

it's fabulous...

this photo doesn't quite do it justice...and it isn't quite finished...so more pics will be coming soon!! and at least one more projects as a result of the pink Christmas theme...

this isn't the only holiday fun i've been having....

LilFriend and I did the Christmas wreaths for the annual competition for work...they both turned out adorable...

i remembered to take a picture of this one at the last minute...i'm planning to take a few pictures of all the competition wreaths tomorrow and share them...as i'm always amazed at how different each company's are and all the unique ideas each year...

how is your holiday decorating going??

I'm back..

finally...

i'm feeling better...which i was beginning to think was never going to happen...

last week i came home to a UPS sticky on my door....this is what they had attempted to deliver...

Ry was as curious as i was about this big box...we weren't really expecting anything....so i quickly opened it...

isn't it adorable...AmazingAunt saw this at a craft fair and thought of us...Ry really thought this was a gift for him considering it has real doggie goodies attached...he has been stalking it since it's arrival....it's hilarious....he sneaks up on it when he thinks no one is looking....

now that i'm back i've got quite a few things to show off this week!!...and a other projects to start...

Still....

really not feeling well...

***ARGHHH***

i'll be back in a few days..

Were you wondering...

....where i'd disappeared to??

well....i had the best of intentions...to post over the last week and a half of craziness...

but i went home to Oklahoma for a few days to celebrate Thanksgiving and cook lots of good food...

then there was working...and it was utter craziness with all the Thanksgiving travellers...

and then there's the fantastic wisdom teeth removal today...which has me in pain and a little medicated...

so...just a day or two of recovery...and then i'll be back....

Red and Green...

I saw this the other day....and thought it was fantastic....and then i saw that Garden Ridge was having a HUGE sale on Christmas decorations....so i set out to get my ornaments..

and i was totally psyched when i saw PLASTIC ornaments...they were half the price of the glass which is awesome enough...

but guess what...the cap is attached...so NO glue gun needed...which is a big time and finger saver....

so this is the one that is headed to Enid with me this weekend for Grandma....

the bow is still a work in progress though....i just am not happy with it yet...

so sorry the picture isn't great...i'll take another one when i'm happy with the whole finished wreath package....

thought i'd share this since i made some tonight...

i like to cook...i love simplicity in food....

and this salsa is so easy and amazing...

and all you need is:

4 Roma Tomatoes

1/2 small Red Onion

1 small Jalapeno

(if you are a mild salsa lover use 1/2 the jalapeno and remove the seeds)

1/8 of a bunch of Cilantro

a dash of salt

a dash of garlic powder (if you dig garlic like i do a small palm full is awesome)

a food processor or blender

and a lime

everything except the lime gets cleaned then thrown in the food processor or blender....chop or pulse until desired texture....

i like very smooth salsa so i process for about 30 seconds...some people like there salsa chunkier more like pico which requires more pulsing and less time....

pour into desired serving dish and squeeze lime over salsa....

this will only keep a max of three days in the fridge...but it rarely lasts that long!!

I almost always have some of this salsa on hand....it's great for a quick snack or a quick dinner....just grill a chicken breast, warm a couple tortillas, and this salsa makes for a great taco night!!

ouch

i had planned to spend at least little time sewing tonight...

but i have a wisdom tooth that is punishing me for not having it removed sooner...

so instead it's tylenol PM and my bed...

wish me luck with the dentist tomorrow...

sick...

I started feeling a little under the weather on Friday night...

Hopefully this and some nighttime cold and flu will do the trick and i'll be feeling better for tomorrow....

Intention

i intended to do a wordless Wednesday post....apparently my darned camera had other plans...that did not include cooperating...

so....

yeah...

maybe i should start looking at replacing the cranky camera...

what camera do you have?? do you love it?? or like me want to throw yours in the street some days??

Lots of Blocks

I had a very productive weekend...

I had signed up for the Red and Aqua swap over at Jane's blog...and found I really liked these colors...and the disappearing 9 patch...

and when my grandma was in town she mentioned "those are my colors"....so I decided to do two sets...

I sent off one set...and began putting the other set together...

and now all they need is sashing...crisp white sashing...a pieced backing and binding...and this will be so cute...

and then it'll be finding it's way to little old Enid, Ok....

the other blocks on my sewing table are of lovely Rouenneries by French General...which I love, but won't really fit in my place's style..

so...

there was a fantastic MBS that I've been wanting to try...and I thought this line would be perfect for it...can you guess what project?

yep that's right....a Scruffily Quilt...tutorial by the fantastic Rachel of P.S. I Quilt...

it's going to be great...and when it's done...it'll be going to live with AmazingAunt out on the West Coast....and I hope she'll love it...

and i'm happy to report that the Sweet Quilt made it to SICousin...and she assures me she loves it...which makes me smile!!

I'm behind...

I feel like I've been playing catch up the last couple days...

i finished the Sweet quilt for SIcousin....

it's small just a lap quilt, but it's sweet and happy...

the binding is the pink paisley...i wasn't sure about it at first...but it looks great with the top and the backing fabric....

it needed simple quilting...so i echoed the seams the length of the shorter side of the quilt...and it looks really good...just crinkly enough but not too much...

LilFriend dropped this off with me...it's a gift for a big Iowa fan...

LilFriend has done a few of these sport team garden rocks...they are so cute...and spirited!!

And i have been frantically trying to finish my Red and Aqua Swap blocks....i'm mailing them tomorrow so that they get to Jane on time!!

Non-Helpful Weather

the weather here has not been conducive to taking pictures...cloudy, windy, and rainy....so that is why you have not gotten to see pictures of the quilt for SIcousin...

it's very pretty and i hope she'll really enjoy it...it will be on it's way to New Mexico before the end of the weekend....

but pictures must be taken first...right after work today...

so stay tuned...

What's with the attitude?!?

I was hoping to have a finished quilt top to show in this post today....but it wasn't in the cards...

my sewing machine threw a little tantrum...making noise and stitching too tight...so I gave her a good scolding...(and some oil and lint cleaning)...and am letting her sleep off her attitude...

hopefully the pictures tomorrow will be the finished quilt top...

do you remember these fabrics and this MBS project that I thought would be great for SIcousin's quilt...well it ain't too bad, huh??

really I just needed to put this sneak peak up for a couple people that I thought would really like to see it!!

Have a great weekend ya'll!!

New Studio

I had a wonderful weekend...my mom and grandma came to visit for my birthday...

and bought me a new table for my sewing...and were gracious enough to help me rearrange a ton of furniture...

and I could not be happier with the outcome...now all I need is a new cushy swivel chair and I'll never leave this studio area!!

I worked on a couple little sewing projects yesterday...more on those tomorrow...and jazzed up these little guys...

aren't they adorable??

Bright Happy Colors

I love these colors

it's bright and happy...and makes me smile!!

you know what else makes me smile....my friendship bag from the swap arrived...i just love it...or I should say them...i got two fantastic bags!! Thanks Veronica!!

Just a lil bit

I have a bunch of projects going all at once...which basically means that very little is actually getting finished...

so here's just a few little bits of what I've been working on...

this beautiful Avairy fabric is going to be a quilt based on this MBS project....it's for SIcousin...as soon as I got this fabric I knew it would be perfect as a quilt to go live with her in New Mexico....

these yummy, rich, warm fabrics are going to be a few Thanksgiving table runners...one for our turkey day and a couple for our etsy shop....

And...

my disappearing 9 patch squares for the Red and Aqua Swap are all finished...and ready to be mailed...aren't they cute??

Lovely

Since the weather has started to cool for fall...I've been taking Ry for a walk in the evening...we were running a little late the other day.....and when we headed out to walk...this is what we were greeted with....

isn't it lovely??

We walked longer than we normally do that evening...it was just too pretty to go inside...

Weekend Update

I can't really count Friday night as part of my weekend....as I went to bed super early due to an allergy headache...(thanks to all that rain last week)....

I worked Saturday....which wasn't so bad....the weather was beautiful, it was busy, and I got to meet/help some great customers!! There were a ton of people in Dallas for the home opener of the new Dallas Cowboy's Stadium vs. the New York Giants on Sunday, and a UFC event at the American Airlines Center. So it was super busy at work...and the day flew by rather enjoyably.

Ry and I got out and enjoyed the sunshine in the late afternoon....

He is very into the birds....he'll just stand and watch them....with this serious look and stance....I just had to capture and share it!!

Sunday and Monday were filled with errands...which included a trip to pick up the last of my fabrics for the Disappearing 9 Patch Swap...

picking out the reds was super easy for me...but I can absolutely not say the same thing about the aquas...but now I have them all and I am very pleased with my choices....and can't wait to get started on those blocks...

I went to see a movie also...All About Steve...it was pretty good...funny and touching....but as I was leaving the theater I realized that I still haven't seen Julie & Julia and was kicking myself for not going to that...it can't be in theaters too much longer...and I don't get to the movies very often....so I'll have to try to get back to the theater soon to see it...*finger's crossed it stays at the theater*

I also let myself catch up on some of the things on my DVR....

Top Chef, So You Think You Can Dance auditions, and the Design Star Finale.

and I worked on this as I was watching....

the beginning of a crochet project...more on this little pretty later...

I have a lot planned to complete this week....I'm hoping to have 3 completed projects by the end of the week...

wish me luck!!

Make It Stop...

What does a girl have to do to get some sunshine??? It was raining again today...and there's a chance it'll continue tomorrow....

I CAN'T TAKE IT!!! I need sunshine to feed my creative soul...this dreary grayness makes me want to just crawl up in my bed and watch TV...

which is exactly what I did today after work....so nothing productive to report....

but something super duper exciting happened....I was one of the winners of Terri's giveaway...this is my very first ever giveaway win...and I couldn't be more ecstatic!!

so it's been a pretty darn good day...even with the rain!!

There is a HUGE giveaway going on....head on over to Sew Fantastic....for her fantastic blog and to enter to win all that fabric!!

Cock-a-Doodle Done...well almost

I don't just quilt...although my fabric addiction is a serious thing....

I was an art major for a couple years in college

(before I decided that it made more financial sense to study management...*sigh*...if I'd known then what I know now...but as they say hindsight is 20/20)

I used to draw all the time and paint fairly regularly....but it's been rare in the last few years...

I recently finished a piece that had been a work in progress for almost 4 years (don't ask...it's a very long story)....but it was intended as a gift...so I just decided it was time to finish it...

finishing that project got me back in what I'll term super creative mode....got me to finally take that quilting class and to get my paints back out...

and in a round about way lead to LilFriend and I deciding to start our business....

so we started working on some projects for our etsy shop....and LilFriend's Grandma saw our projects and discovered that I can paint...and asked super nicely if it might be possible to get a rooster painting for her newly revamped kitchen...

so here is the almost finished product...I'm not totally happy with the background yet...but I think the barnyard alarm himself looks pretty darn handsome....

what do you think?

is he new kitchen worthy??

Monday...monday...

So it's still raining....arghh...4 days straight rain?? It's too much for me...

and means more inside time...I told myself that I would clean the house and run errands....

but....

this distracted me...can you really blame me?? I just LOVE this line....

only problem....this beautiful fabric just does not go with the style of my personal space....

so which member of Red Dirt World will this fantasticness go to?? maybe AmazingAunt or LilFriend?? we shall see....

and I'm sure you'll want to see what it becomes....soon, friends, soon...

and so you don't think I shirked all responsibility for the love of fabric....I did run errands....but the cleaning...ehhh...

I did do laundry...I get some cleaning points for that right??

Rain..Rain...Go Away

It's been raining here almost non-stop since Friday night...


So this is how we spent most of our weekend...

so really all I have to show is....

Orange Pride is completely finished...labeled and everything...but don't look too closely at my embroidery skills (or lack there of)...if it had not been impossible to find the correct orange in marker form it wouldn't have been necessary to go with this beautiful floss (and not do it the justice it deserves)...*woeful sigh*

and here's an up-close of the quilting...I decided to go with random abstract squares all over...in the process of quilting I was second guessing this decision...but in the end I think it looks great...

I had planned to mail this tomorrow...but when I talked to my mom, she said to just hang onto it.....because she'll be down in a couple weeks and she can take it home then...I don't think she realizes how dangerous that is...Orange Pride might simply become too attached to Ry and myself to want to go home with her a few weeks from now....*smile*

Weekend Update

Hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend!! I know I sure did...

One of the things that really helped to make my weekend was that Friday when I logged in...

the most amazing thing happened...there was this little green man in the corner of my dashboard...and it said I had followers...

**ear to ear grin**

I can not tell you how ecstatic it made me...to think that people are interested in my lil blog....makes me all warm and fuzy...

this may have even helped motivate me...after my slightly less than productive previous week...

I got a lot accomplished...let me show you...

I turned these...

into this....

**for the friendship bag swap**

and started making these for a new project....

and remember the Orange Pride quilt??....I pieced this for the back....

and quilted it with this....

just need to finish the binding...then wash and dry it...and then show off the quilting to ya'll...it turned out even better than anticipated!!

and then a few none crafty things....got done also...

I also watched lots of college football (**huge smile** my Cowboys beat Georgia)....

participated in another Fantasy Football draft (don't know how I'm gonna keep up with both my fantasy teams)...

bought and watched the first 5 episodes of True Blood (I finally had to see what everyone was raving about)....

watched the last few episodes of Weeds from my DVR....

and finished the last couple chapters of Finger Lickin Fifteen...

and I had to work this morning....so surely I've made up for the lack of accomplishment last week??? Don't you think?