Finished another DIY mystery & received the other snowmen blocks!

This is the 2nd book in the DIY mystery series by Jennie Bentley.  I know these books are good because I stay up late reading them! LOL!  Usually when I get tired I put the book down and turn out the light but with these last 2 books I've been staying up later not wanting to put them down.  I have 2 more of these books and according to the publishing dates,  she's written one every year since 2008.  So, there should be one more written in 2012.  If you want to know the order in a series you can look it up on your computer by searching for the author's name or if you're not near your computer you can look at the data in the first few pages that gives you the publishing date and thus the order of the series.
Here are the blocks I received yesterday.  I didn't go to Guild but one of the gals was nice enough to drop off the other blocks although I realized I'm missing one.  There's supposed to be 10 including mine but I only received 9 totally.  But without further ado....here they are!  They are so cute but mine really stands out for it's unusual color scheme.....there are mostly blues although I was not told there was a rule for color.

   The guy above reminds me of the Michelin man!  Cute juggling the stars....and below is the jolliest!

This one is perfectly sewn and so sweet!  I love the background fabric too....just like a snow storm!

Another one in a snow storm...they DO like snow!

I love this guy with a green scarf and stars shining brightly!

At first I thought this one was a ghost (I have Halloween on the brain right now) but then I realized it was a "melted" snowman!  What a great idea.....but poor snowman.

It amazes me how with just a ruler and angles quilters can make anything! 

  Love this little guy!  Too cute! 

Now, you can all give me suggestions on what I can do with all these.  They all look fine together except mine! LOL!  Oh well, maybe I'll make a Christmas throw with the others and turn mine into a picture or pillow.  Hope you had a great day!

Quilt blocks done and carrot cake being consumed in celebration! LOL!!

Ta Da!!!!!  Drum roll please...the blocks are all done and yes he/she is "armless" and will remain so but in my defense I did add a little jingle bell to the end of the stocking hat to make up for not having any arms.  LOL!
A hint to all you quilters out there or novice ones at least.  Square up your block BEFORE you add your embellishments.  I have a plastic square which makes it so easy to "square up" your block at the end.  I had made the background blocks 14" to be safe but the finished size needed to be 12 1/2".  Usually, I could just lay my plastic transparent square over the block and zip, zip with my rotary cutter and it would be done but oh no.....I couldn't be smart about it until it was too late.  I realized that with all that "stuff" sticking up on the block there was no way I could use my square so, of course, I had to do it the "hard way".....evidently, that seems to be the only way I know how to do things! Ha! Ha!   But they're done and I dropped them off yesterday as I have an appointment today so I won't be able to go to Guild.  I hope they like them!
I also got my carrot cake baked and frosted and partially eaten!  My reward!  The cake is good but the frosting is TOO sweet in my mind.  Whoa Nellie.....I can barely taste the cream cheese! 

I got the recipe from All Recipes website which I can't seem to link to the exact recipe but it is carrot cake by Marc Boyer and it is 5 stars. Just search for carrot cake. I will definitely change the sugar requirement.....I can't take things that are super-sweet.  I must not be used to it.  I thought it was a lot of sugar but I went with it but next time I will cut the sugar in half for the frosting.  I have a sweet tooth but it's not THAT sweet! LOL!  The cake itself is very good and moist though.   The cake batter has crushed pineapple in it in addition to the grated carrots and nuts which helps keep it moist.  The batter was so soupy I thought I'd made a mistake and it wouldn't bake up but it did!  Miracle!
I had some great herbal tea to go with it too.  I love this tea it is SO tasty.  I also love the fact that there are "no strings attached"! Ha! Ha!

Now that the blocks are done, hopefully I can get my life back to a semblance of order and normality but that might be an oxymoron!  Have a great Wednesday and stay safe if you're in the path of severe weather like it is predicted for us later today.  (Part of the reason I wanted to get this post out early).  TTYS!

Summer's back! LOL!

Yesterday was cold and rainy part of the day then today it's sunny,  76 and going into the 80's they say!  This is the season for "layering" when you dress in the morning! LOL!
 I finished a great first book in a series.....

 

This is definitely a "cozy mystery" and I loved it!  One of those books that you don't want to put down and can't wait to pick up again.  The tale starts with the main character getting a letter from her elderly Aunt who lives in a small town on the Maine coast.  The main character lives in New York City, works as a textile designer and works for her French boyfriend in his design business.  That's all I'm going to say but the houses and the renovations are really cool and there's even directions in the back for some of the projects she does!  I love it!!!!  I'm already reading the next book in the series and so far so good also!  

Been working on the quilt blocks among other things.  Oh, BTW....that GMA pasta recipe was "okay" but not compared to the amount of dishes dirtied and the time it took to put together.  It called for 4 different cheeses and it didn't even taste that cheesy!  It is good but could be lots better.  Next time I'll choose my own cheeses, the Maria Rosa sauce is excellent but you could use Mario Batali's which to me is tastier considering there is no meat in it and easier.  I used spinach instead of Swiss Chard since I couldn't find it.  Jarlsburg cheese is like a baby swiss cheese so I used baby swiss and I used provolone instead of what they used (I can't remember what it was but the store didn't have it).  I'm adding more sauce to it tonight because it was dry.  I never got my carrot cake made because the pasta dish took so long to make.  Hopefully, today I'll get the carrot cake made....my sweet tooth is aching! LOL!

Here's the blocks so far....I have 5 more blocks to sew buttons on today/tonight....getting closer!  They have to be ready before Wednesday!  

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!  TTYS!

    

Cozy day to stay inside..........

 

 I was raised with the dictum..."if you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything at all".  Now, I'm not perfect but I also carry that logic into "if you don't have anything positive to say don't say anything at all"....thus when you don't see me blogging or visiting it is because I am wrestling.....this week it seemed like with the devil himself/herself.  I had nothing uplifting to blog about and I was feeling overwhelmed, hopeless, helpless and on the brink of my emotional plateau!  And no, I am not a recovering alcoholic or drug addict although those particular avenues are starting to look tempting! LOL!  You know how you think things can't get worse and then they do!  OMG!!!!  That was my week!  But, I got through it and here I am rested, positive and ready to have a wonderful day and actually I had one yesterday too.  Yesterday was gorgeous and I threw all the windows open and was outside most of the day.  Nature is so nurturing and healing.  Today is gloomy and rainy so it's the perfect day for a fire in the fireplace and some baking and curling up with a nice cup of tea and some needlework.

  I'd curl up with a good book but I have those quilt blocks to finish...remember?  I've made progress....remember...there's 10 of them.....so when you see the progress multiply it by ten please........(Ha! Ha!)

 I have the buttons to do down the front still and a scarf around the neck and there's supposed to be "stick" embroidered arms but I'm afraid they would not show up on this fabric but we'll see....he may go "armless"!
I brought some plants in yesterday as we've had frost warnings already.  Today I'm cooking up an Italian casserole recipe that they had on GMA yesterday and also a carrot cake, hopefully.  I hope you are happy and cozy where ever you're curled up today!  HUGS!!!!!!!

Terrific Thursday! Today I won the Book Lottery!

I finished another book last night.  I seem to remember getting this book quite a while back at one of the book sales at the library.  I've read a few of her Sneaky Pie Brown ( her cat's name) mysteries and they were good but this book was even better!  Of course, I am prejudiced as it was about horses and fox hunting and a private school which all has good memories for me.  I loved this book too because not only was the plot really good but I learned everything I ever wanted to know about Fox Hunting.  It's a great book about animals too as the foxes and hounds talk.  The author is an actual Hunt Master in Virginia thereby she knows her subject very well.  I want to read more of her books...we have a lot in common and she is a great writer!

I've got my white chili cooking in the crock pot.  If it turns out good I'll pass along the recipe...........

I made some Oatmeal crisps (cookies) last night and still have another roll of them in the freezer.  It was nice to have some tea and cookies in bed reading that good mystery last night!
A friend called and dropped off "a whole slew" of books to me today! They are all "cozy mysteries"....my FAV!!!!!!  There's even a DIY mystery series....I'll be reading that one first!  Plus, she threw in the 4th book in the Magical Knitting series I've been reading so as long as it's here I guess I have to read it.....I was getting "into" those books, I have to admit! LOL! 

And I got all my snowmen ironed onto the blocks and stitched down!  Ta Da!  Moving right along I hope and so far so good.

Yes, those are threads I need to clip still.  thank goodness I didn't have to do these all by hand! Whoa Nellie, that would have REALLY taken forever....I still have "miles to go before I sleep"!

I hope your Thursday was fun and joy-filled and you laughed some and enjoyed all that's special in your life!
TTYS!!!!

Food lottery and quilt block progress!

I won the food lottery today!  Look at all the goodies I snapped up at "reduced" price...........

All these potatoes for .90 cents!!!!!

more potatoes and some onions for $1.09

\

1 lonely Roma tomato and 4 avocados for .59 cents!!!!

green peppers.......79 cents!

Cauilifower for 79 cents!   Yep!  I won the food lottery today!

I also got all my appliques for the quilt blocks cut out last night.  I could hardly move my fingers when I was done!  LOL!

Tonight is the presidential debate and some cookie baking and hopefully applique placement onto the background material.  I hope you had a great day and wish you a nice calm, relaxing evening

Oh, Fall...how I love you...let me count the ways!

Perfect weather....no heat needed, no air conditioning needed and no watering outside needed!  A gal couldn't ask for more! LOL!  I am overjoyed and enjoying every minute of it!

Yesterday, I had to pay taxes and do some "running around" but grateful I had the money to pay them and again enjoying the weather.  When I got home I worked outside checking the wood pile and getting wood and kindling into the garage and into the house for when it starts getting cool.  Mostly, it's nice to have a fire in the fireplace when it rains and it's not that cold out but you want to take the chill and the dampness out of the house.

 

I still need to bring in the fireplace tools and redo the fireplace decor for Fall and Halloween......(upcoming post me thinks!)  I also called the chimney sweep and he'll be here next Monday. 

 

I received a great catalog in the mail today which I will be perusing tonight when I go to bed........they have beautiful items in this catolog and my daughter even got her wedding dress from them!

I also got my appliques ironed on to the material today so I'll be cutting those out tonight too......

I'll be using one of my hand wovens for the scarf on the snowman applique.  I bought these a while ago and they weren't cheap but they are all fat quarters and finding hand wovens isn't always easy so when I saw this packet from Moda I bit the bullet!  I love them and they remind me of the pioneers.  They're great for "primitive" projects and I vacillate all the time between that style and the British style of bright and cheery florals.....can I combine them?  They're really totally different but I love both styles!  What's a gal to do? 

I hope you had a wonderful Tuesday and are looking forward to a really wonderful Wednesday!  TTYS!  Oh, BTW....the 2 new books I'm reading (1 non-fiction and 1 fiction) are both great so look forward to some book reviews in the near future!  Ta Ta!

Sunday YOP Update..........

I haven't gotten a lot done on anything it seems.  I didn't even post an update last week.  I have been running around "helter skelter" both physically and mentally.  I love Fall but whoa Nellie, I haven't even had time to enjoy it but hopefully I'll get caught up this week and back to a "normal" schedule.  Here's what I have and have not gotten done yet............
THE sock....the one and only so far...little progress and see the "hole"?!?!?!  I'll have to darn them before I even wear them.....but I'll get better...won't I? LOL!  At least I recognize what it's going to be now!

 

Here's the 2nd potholder for a Christmas present but forget what I said about getting 2 potholders out of one of those Peaches and Creme skeins.....Ha! Ha!  What was I thinking?  I need to go get more now. 

Cross stitch project...no progress at all really.....not even an honorable mention..... the yellow part is all I've done, the rest is preprinted on the fabric! Ha! Ha!  I had to be honest about it lest you think I did all the pretty parts too.  It's going to be a little zippered purse.  It's from the Cath Kidson book Stitch.  The kit came with it.

Below is going to be (say a prayer, please) 10 Snowman blocks for my Quilt Guild exchange October 17th that I almost totally forgot about....see.....I told you it has been "willy nilly" around here....who am I kidding....probably will be this way from now until Christmas! 

Here is my next crochet project.Attic 24 pattern for "pretty birds"...you start out with circles.............

 

 and they turn into birds!

and more birds............I love them....but that itsy bitsy circle in pink is all I have done so far........woe is me!

 In my defense....there has been all sorts of things going on to divert my attention....cooler temps which have gotten me going on the outside projects which were impossible to do in the heat this past Summer, football started, new season shows on the telly although after watching some of them I was able to discern that drama is not something I want to watch on t.v. since I've had enough of that in my own life! LOL!  I love a good comedy but they throw in so much sex in everything you'd think they invented it plus it's always women doing the disrobing and making fools of themselves...I had to cover my girl's (dogs) eyes!  I don't have cable but it's probably worse.  I am getting old...can you tell? LOL!  I do like The Middle....it is closest to anything I can relate to and I love the little guy Brick.  I guess I'll stick to PBS and my Pollyanna state of mind.  So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!  I got a little bit (very little) of stitching done on my applique and that's it for the past 2 weeks....sad I know but I had to be honest.  Look closely in the lower right hand corner and you can see some.

I hope you all got LOTS more accomplished than I did and that your week ahead is filled with progress, great weather, LOTS of laughter and happiness! 

Back up and regroup..............

 Sorry I didn't blog or visit yesterday.  I was on the phone on and off all day "dealing" with "issues" but today I got my mojo back!  I finished another book.....you can tell I'm not sleeping well because when I can't sleep I read. LOL!

This was a great book to read for the Halloween season but not terrible scary or I would never have been able to finish it.  It was unusual, well written and a New York Times bestseller.  I was disappointed in the ending but then I realized it is going to be a series!  It didn't say that but the ending certainly left the door open.  I won't read the series but with "strange" vintage photographs strewn throughout the book it certainly grabbed my attention and it kept me interested throughout the entire book.  It's nice to read something out of your usual "genre" of literature.  I think it helps you keep your mind open to something you may truly enjoy that you didn't realize was even out there.   That being said...it's an "unusual" read but will definitely keep you turning the pages!  BTW, it is fiction.....or is it?  BOO!
Made my (Mario Batali's with some adjustments) eggplant parmesan....the healthy version!  I love this recipe and make it about once a month.  It's great because it's fairly inexpensive, easy to make, vegetarian (I'm not but I'm a wannabe) oh, and did I mention DELICIOUS!!!!!! It's better than the original which used to take me all day to make and was definitely not healthy!  This picture is before being baked for 20 minutes.....I had to get my blogging done!   

The trees are starting to change color!  Yay!!!!!

The mums are starting to flower....the few that are left.....most of mine died out this summer in the extreme heat.  Planting in metal containers in the South is probably not a good idea.

Things are starting to get "cozy" at night and the temps are going down.....YAY!!!!!

Oh! BTW, some of you asked what the quilt blocks were for and I forgot to tell you so here's "the rest of the story".  I belong to a quilt guild and last year I committed with a bunch of the gals to have a snowman quilt block exchange...it sounds like a fun idea at the time, right?  When will I learn?  It is fun when you don't have a deadline!  I had too many all those years I worked and now I am a "no deadline", "no committment" kind of gal but sometimes I forget! LOL!  I did manage to get the snowmen traced and hopefully tonight ironed on to the various fabrics.  So, that's the rest of the story.

     I hope you had a great Saturday and your favorite college team won! LOL!  TTYL!

OMG! I have 10 quilt blocks to make before 10/17!

Granted, I knew about this a year ago but they were snowmen blocks...I had plenty of time and I had picked out a pattern and downloaded it BUT......I thought it was due in November!  I was going to order material but instead now I've grabbed what I had planned for a Christmas quilt for MOI!  Serves me right!  I'm not sure how this is going to turn out....unfortunately they all have to be the same so I only had the backing fabric for MY Christmas quilt to use where I had enough yardage....I hope this works out...I'm not great at improvising. 

 

This fabric is a little "busy" but the snow person is white so hopefully it will work out....I really don't have many options at this point! LOL!  Here's the pattern for the snow person.  Most were so "hokey" that I didn't care for them but I liked this one except it is for a door hanger, not a quilt block...like I said, I'm not too good at improvising so we shall see........

I love the door hanger and I think I'll make that someday too.  It's a free pattern (along with some other freebies) on All People Quilt    It is a magazine but I don't subscribe anymore I just go to the website. LOL!  I get plenty there without spending the money.....try it with your favorite magazines!  You might be surprised at how much is out there for free.

Here are the other coordinating fabrics for the machine appliqued snow person.

I'm using quilt batting for the snowman as it is nice and soft and "snowy" looking.  The finished block has to be 12 1/2 inches so I am making my squares 14 inches for now and will trim when I'm done.  I wanted to make them plenty big in case I mess up which is fairly likely!  I've pressed the material and I have 5 of the 10 background blocks cut out and will get that done tonight and probably trace the applique pieces and get the paper patterns ironed to the fabric if I have enough of that Steam n' Seam or whatever it is.  I spent most of the day trying to find the email about the blocks, re-finding the pattern and downloading it and then going through my "stash" to find material for the blocks.  Whew!  Never again!  Every Fall when I want to be outside and NEED to be outside getting projects done other things always pop up....the family thing, the city water thing, and now the quilt block thing!  What was I thinking?  I'll get it done but what about my outside painting and caulking?  Maybe I do need a husband?  No, scratch that...I DID NOT just say that!!!! LOL!

Nothing against them and I'm sure yours are wonderful, I've just not had very good luck in that category so I am a confirmed bachelorette! LOL!

Oh!  Tonight is the season opener for Grey's Anatomy!!!!  I have watched that show from the beginning and quilt blocks or not I am watching it tonight!  I hope you had a great Thursday!  HUGs to all!