one shabby chick

2009

 

1. Log cabins, 2. Blues, 3. for Marina, 4. IMG_2027, 5. All done, 6. Cherry Blossom, 7. All done!, 8. Pink kitties, 9. Red Letter Day, 10. Lime green binding, 11. It's long and lean, 12. Charm squares, 13. Quilt-a-long, 14. Not available, 15. Not available, 16. Not available

 Created with fd's Flickr Toys

It's always so interesting to me to go back and read through my blog at the end of the year - so many things I forget (I really want to get them published in book form so we can look back at it as a family).

I saw this on Amy's blog and I loved the way she put it - about not having regrets but instead remembering all the great things that happened this year...

My little guy lost his first tooth (and second - all in the same week)...

My kids got to go on two amazing trips this year..

found a new favorite show...

I participated in my first ever doll quilt swap...

Met many more amazing blog friends and joined a couple more quilting bees....

Pushed myself to try new things - test sewed for a great book and made a quilt for a quilt shop (both seemed so scary at the time)....

discovered the wonderful world of Munki fabric...

celebrated traditions...

turned 35....

tried eating raw...

went to a great conference and got a much-needed reminder about what's important...

met a blog friend in person....

spent another wonderful year with my best friend...

Happy New Year and I can't wait to see what 2010 has in store!

Not sure what to post first

I have actually been sewing - well, for the past two days anyway. Made some new pillow covers for the couch (still need to make three more)...

 

 

 

   

and I finished the pebble quilting (finally!)...

 

and the quilting on this quilt...

  

and this one too...

 

I have the binding on the first two and need to put binding on the last one.

I was motivated because I want an excuse to spend the day watching Glee and so I needed some binding to hand-sew (good excuse right?!). And finishing some more ufo's...

The neighbors were already practicing last night (for the war zone that is our neighborhood on New Year's Eve) - it's pretty crazy...they were welding some sort of pipe thing and did a few "practice" ones last night - sounded like a bomb - rocked the house!

We are going up to our annual New Year's Eve party - where this year I will actually get all the yummy stuff I thought we were having last year - tempura, mochiko chicken, sushi - yummy! We will return home to a house full of smoke and lots of firecrackers - think the kids will end up falling asleep in the living room (since they are too scared to sleep alone in their rooms).

We have a few more parties (birthdays and a New Year's Day party at my brother's) the next couple of days so I might be quiet around here again - hope everyone has a Happy, happy New Year!

Fun couple of days

The weekend was fun - busy, but fun.

The wedding was beautiful and my brother and sister-in-law got a full dose of life with kids (they had to pull over on the side of the road for a potty break - ha ha!).

Monday night we went bowling with our cheesy Christmas sweaters......

and then Tuesday I met some friends at the ice skating rink (I had an eye appointment and took Baby Girl with me - my friends took the other three earlier). Baby Girl has this movie and has asked me forever for ice skates so I think she thought she'd be a natural - twirling around like nothing. So when she got the ice skates on and got out on the ice, she was a little disappointed to find out she couldn't skate at all..It was pretty funny.. She managed ok with the little walkers and even went around the big rink once holding my hand (I had to make sure I didn't fall over either - I hadn't been ice skating in a looong time!)

 

Did some baking yesterday -

marshmallows...

 

(overcooked the sugar on the first batch - guess we have to keep them all!)

This yummy candy - which tastes just like a skor bar..I used Wheat Thins so I guess any cracker works..

 

yummy cookies (which I saw on this blog)....

and chocolate-chip pumpkin spice bars (which I am eating right now for breakfast)...

(this is pre-baking and frosting - very yummy!)

In a bit we are off to help set-up for our church's annual Christmas Eve service - We have a huge white tent outside at church and set it up to look like "Bethlehem Village" - there's a bakery, craft shops, candle maker, all kinds of different shops that might have been around 2,000 years ago. We all dress up in costumes and at the end of the evening we have a short service. It's perfect for the kids!

Sometimes it is rough living in Hawaii...

Like running out of Christmas trees since we can't just go out to a farm and pick one...

It's been big news this week.

Luckily I picked one up a few weeks ago...

Finished project - just can't share it....

Finished the Christmas present for my sister - who I should probably tell not to read my blog until after Christmas...

I'll just share a sneak peek...

 

The cookie party was fun - of course we had too much food and cookies...

 

and I forgot to take pictures until the very end and people had already left...

 

We had lots of fun - my sister-in-law (who is not a baker/cook and had told me she burnt half her cookies) actually won the "prettiest" cookie prize - they were pretty but of course I didn't take a picture!

(desserts which we didn't even eat - I had to force people to eat samples of the cookies to vote..we were all too full!)

(my cookies)

Tonight we are off to a "white attire" Christmas party (sans kids!) - Hubby doesn't have anything white except a t-shirt and I have two white tops and that's it - hope it's not a "strict" dress-code..and I need to get a new cell phone before the party too since mine died yesterday and it's my only phone!

Tomorrow we have a wedding in the afternoon and I think Sunday will be spend resting....I have a couple gifts left to get and some small ones to make - hope everyone has a great weekend!

We are the pirates who don't do anything

If you have never seen this movie - then you probably don't know what I'm talking about - but apparently I'm liking the vegetable movies lately...

Whenever I think of pirates, I think of those little guys - sitting in their boat - singing about "piratey" things.

My little guy has been asking me to make him a eye patch for a while now...it was always at a time when I wasn't sewing or I just forgot (which is horrible - I know) so finally yesterday I was determined to make it for him.

I guess he's been watching this movie and loved the eye patch. It had to be green - he picked out the fabric. I had a little mishap and the first one got thrown away - my brain just wasn't functioning and I had made it so it was impossible to turn inside out...but the next one got a seal of approval from the little pirate - and of course Baby Girl needed one too after seeing her brother's...

I'm making these today for our annual Cookie Exchange party. We usually have it at my house but it's pretty crowded cozy so my friend offered her beautiful, spacious home so we are having it there instead. I'll try and remember to take my camera and snap some pictures. It's basically a girls' night out - with cookies. And I always have a few prizes (an apron and tote bag) for the tastiest and prettiest cookie.

Have any of you gotten the new voile by Anna Maria Horner? It's amazing...I'm trying to figure out a dress I can make for the girls for Christmas - it will drape so beautifully - for some reason I was thinking it was going to be like Heather's Far, Far Away but it's nothing like it at all - almost has a silk feel to it..

And I also got some Hope Valley in the mail - have already cut into it for a Christmas gift....

Oh and I almost forgot - made these for Christmas gifts for a few friends...inside is a gift card to Starbucks - I used this tutorial - really great and fast to sew up!

Oh Santa

Oh Santa, I can't wait for you to come...I just can't wait for you to come cause I've got cookies...some yummy cookies....

And when you come - do you think you could bring me....

Some Nicey Jane....

 

a little thread....

 

and maybe even a box full of charm squares?

Thanks Santa!

(not sure if anyone has ever seen this but that's where the Santa song is from...I love it!)

what I've been up to

My sister-in-law ordered some aprons for Christmas.....

(she ordered them for her "dog show" friends so I used some doggie fabric for the pockets)

and a tote bag too...

A friend of hers (yes, she's giving me lots of business) called today and wanted to see if I could make some mini crayon rolls (for only 4 crayons). I was just finishing up the aprons so I said sure....

and managed to finish them today - 25 of them :-)

   

They were fun to make and I had a good audiobook to listen to.

Planning on doing a bit of Christmas shopping tomorrow - hopefully....I have no idea what to get for my 12 year old....or my brother.

Christmas Parade

We are all getting ready for the annual parade...

the two oldest kids are walking with Hubby and their soccer teams....

The other two will be watching from the sidelines with me. It's nice and sunny this year - last year there was a thunderstorm during the parade - I kept worrying someone was going to be struck by lightening!

Been a busy week on the North Shore - big surf contest, another surf contest, lots of traffic and now the parade - fun times!

Glee

I just had to share these - I dare you to watch them and not feel happy afterward. Best show ever! I watched the season finale of Glee and Top Chef while folding the mountain of clothes - I'm in the best mood now!