Qulting...Sure I'll give it a try!

I just signed up for a mini-quilt swap I found on Swapdex. Here are the details...

Signups begin today and will end next Saturday,November 1st. To sign up ,just leave a comment here on the blog. On Sunday,Nov. 2nd,I will send you the email address of your partner. This is NOT a secret swap,so the two of you will exchange mailing info. Then the fun begins:

1. Assemble in a bag/baggie ingredients to make a mini quilt. (Let's say anything under 20" finished quilt size is acceptable)This can be fat quarters,charm squares,strips,and/or embellishments of any kind. Think outside the box....beads,silk flowers,felt,floss,etc. Don't send batting-your partner can provide that! Send them to your partner by November 30th.
2. Once you receive your baggie of loot,create a mini quilt for your partner. You must use at least a bit of every item in the bag....you may also add items from your stash.
3. Mail the finished top (quilted and bound )to your partner by the end of January. This should give us plenty of extra time around the holidays.
4. Include a label on the back with pertinent info. Please email me when you have sent and rec'd your quilt. Post pictures!

UPDATE: let's say maker provides backing fabric and batting-ok?


I am a little nervous, but I am looking forward to swapping something besides aprons. If anyone is interested in joining sign-ups don't end until tomorrow (11/1) and I have included the button in this post so all you have to do is click and you are on your way:)

On the fastrack to F.A.

I have been going a little crazy lately. Probably because my sewing room looks like this...



(ok, maybe that one doesn't look so bad, but it is the only "finished" part of the room. BTW, that is the desk I will be refinishing. I have it all planned-I am going to paint the desk a charcoal gray color and then adhere some funky fabrics to the drawers and replace the handles)

and this...



(kind of barren)

It is a definite work in progress! I am going to paint the wall behind the bookshelf in alternating light orange and red orange to complement my inspiration fabric.



Bright Buds by Amy Butler. Can you say gorgeous!?! I already have the walls painted a lovely shade of aqua. I am totally digging the space, I just need to get it done so I can get back to my sewing! Once I get the bookshelf walls done I can put my stash in its new home. Right now it is residing on my sewing table...





which makes it hard to get any sewing done. It isn't like I can just throw it on the floor (gasp!) to make room...haha.

To make matters worse I went to an auction a couple of weeks ago and aquired more sewing junk (just kidding-I know sewing stuff is not "junk"). I got 4 boxes of vintage fabrics, vintage needle point, vintage tranfers, and quilt batting/pillow forms. Plus I scored the motherload of vintage patterns...



Yeah, 5 boxes of vintage patterns! I am going to list some in my Etsy shop once I get everything organized. I need to go through all of them and make sure all pieces are present and get photos taken. Wait till you guys see them, they are totally cool! Oh yeah, and the swanky dress on "Sally" (pictured above) was hidden in one of the boxes as well.

Right now I am kind of overwhelmed and thinking I may need to start a local chapter of Fabricaholics Anonymous for myself! I just keep buying fabric...I can't stop! I have already ebayed some today and it is only 8am! Hello, my name is Heather and I am a fabricaholic...lol! Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I would just start sewing actual items out of the fabric, but it looks so pretty all uncut and neatly folded. Does anyone else suffer from this problem?!? Please tell me I am not alone:)

Swapity, Swap, Swap

Punkrockertracey is hosting the 3rd installment of the We The People Swap. Sign ups end on the 31st. We will be swapping charm packs and patterns...it is a no-sew swap.

So get your wishlist ready and click the button to be redirected to the post



I hope you all will join us!

Halloween Giveaway

Click the button above to be redirected to her blog:)

Good Luck!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Here are the photos (finally!!) of the apron I received from Jennsue for the Recycle Swap. Isn't it just adorable?!? I love the material and the cute ribbon she added! The ties are cute polka dot material, but you can't see them in the photo.


She included some great stuff in the package too. A requirement of the swap was to include a reusable shopping/market bag. If you look in the photo below you can see that Jennsue fashioned one for me out of an old tank top. How innovative is that!?! She also included a pumpkin mold to make chocolate suckers. I think the kids are really going to enjoy that project! I have never done it before so I am looking forward to trying it out as well:)



A BIG thank you to all the ladies who participated in my first swap! I want to see photos of what everyone has done! I set up a flickr group so you can all add photos. I emailed the link to all of the participants.

Stacy C's Grilled Taters

This is my absolute favorite grill cookin' recipe. Back in the apartment days we had some neighbors that we got together with frequently for dinner and cards (oh the memories). Anyway, Stacy would always whip up something tasty on the grill. One time in particular she made these potatoes and they were AWESOME! Every year when grill season rolls around (since I have to wait for grill season-being that I don't live in the land of eternal summer) these are a definite fave! I have been making them for years and I finally have the recipe tweaked to perfection:)

Recipe:

6 large potatoes (skin on, well washed), sliced relatively thin

2 large green peppers (or any other color-red, yellow, purple, orange-get crazy with it), sliced

1 large onion, sliced

1 container sliced mushrooms

8 slices of bacon

1/2 stick of butter

season salt

black pepper

garlic powder

cayenne pepper

Lay out a HUGE piece of heavy duty foil (and rip another of the same size and place to the side) and spray with olive oil cooking spray.Lay 4 pieces of bacon crosswise on the foil.

Start layering the veggies. I usually do a layer of peppers and onions and top them with a layer of potatoes and then sprinkle a few mushrooms on top of that.

Sprinkle seasonings (go easy on the cayenne!). Cut a few slices of butter and place them atop the veggies. Continue layering, seasoning, buttering until everything is gone. Place the 4 remaining pieces of bacon across the top of the pile.

place additional piece foil over and seal all edges by folding and crimping the edges to form a pouch.

Grill over medium heat-flipping occasionally-for 60-90 minutes (or to your desired doneness-I like mine when some of em get a little crispy)

Enjoy:)

Who doesn't LOVE a giveaway?!

I was surfing through Sassy Apron Swap participant blogs this morning and happened upon Pigtails and Snails-I can't remember what blog I was on...typical. You have to check it out! She is giving away the most amazing quilt...



See, I told you! I just think this is the coolest quilt I have ever seen! I love the color scheme and pattern...I am gushing I know, but I just can't help it. I am in complete awe of her quilty craftiness:)

I think today is the last day to sign up so don't wait! I put a button on the right so all you have to do is click and you are on your way. Good Luck!

I am off to snap some photos of my Recycle Swap goodies from Jennsue. Check back later for photos.

Today Is Recipe Day!-EDITED

...at least that is what I just decided (again).

Ham & Beans

1 lb beans (great northern, navy, or what have you)
1lb diced ham
4 slices center-cut bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small celery stalk, diced
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 bay leaf
1 tsp crushed basil (or parsley, but I didn't have any so I used basil)
2 tbsp light butter

Soak beans according to package directions (overnight or quick soak-I myself am a fan of the quick). Drain and rinse soaked beans. Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 12 hours.

I usually throw a box of Jiffy cornbread in the oven to have with the ham and beans.

Enjoy:)

I was going to include a photo, but they are all gone already!

(this is edited to include the light butter in the recipe-forgot it the first time)

Found a Giveaway

FYI-I found a giveaway over at PunkRockerTracey's Blog.

Click the button to be redirected to her blog. Good Luck!

It's Not Delivery, But It's Not DiGiorno's Either

I have discovered the best way to make homemade pizza! Trust me, after you try this you will never want to eat pizza anywhere, but home;) All you need is a Boboli(or the generic kind) pizza crust and all your favorite toppings. Then all you do it grill it (yes, grill it) over low heat until the cheese is all melty and the crust is golden.



On the pizza pictured above I have used a whole wheat crust and topped it with pizza sauce, diced ham, salami, green olives, onions, green peppers (FOTG), yellow peppers (FOTG), tomato slices (FOTG), black olives, mushrooms, pepperocini rings, artichoke, feta cheese crumbles, and Italian 6 cheese blend.



Doesn't it look super yum!?!

For family dinners we sometimes have build your own pizza nite. Instead of the big pizza crust I buy the small 8" round ones and put all different types of toppings out so everyone cam make their own personal fave. It is a big hit!

So put pizza crusts on your grocery list, cuz you have got to try this!

(P.S. FOTG=fresh out the garden)

"Sally" Soon to Be in Stitches

My friend, Sara, went to an auction a couple of weeks ago and bought me the best gift EVER!!
A dressform for $15! YAY! Isn't she purty!? So vintage!





So I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to "Sally"(I will be changing her name)!

I am so excited! Any of you who have read my blog know how much I wanted a dressform! Now I don't have to display my aprons on the ironing board, chair back, flat on the table, or on my daughter! "Sally" is sporting my Recycle Swap apron. My first properly displayed apron from my first ever Heather hosted swap:)

Now I just need to come up with a suitable name for her! She is called Sally by the factory, but I think I would like to come up with something a little more creative and unique. Maybe I should have a little naming contest like some others have done...What do you think?

Elementary! My Dear Watson!

In April my mother's neighborhood held their annual garage sale and I found the perfect desk for my sewing room. Then the light bulb went on...I remembered seeing a totally awesome desk on a blog...now if I could only remember where I saw it! So I tapped into my inner Sherlock Holmes and started trying to retrace my steps. I remembered that I was blog surfing when I found it...I started flipping thru different blogs that I frequent to see if anything looked familiar and jogged my memory. Finally after a couple of weeks (and the bright idea to check flickr-duh!) I found it again! YAY! So here it is...



Isn't is super cool?!? I can't wait to turn my old desk into something this beautiful!

Thanks for sharing, Megan (BrassyApple)! I will post pics when I finally get it done...I know it will take me awhile, but winter is coming so I should have plenty of free time for fun projects:)

P.S. I posted the link to the tutorial in the "It's Free I Tell Ya!" section on my blog.