MBMM #31

Well, it's the big finale, I guess!

I really didn't think I'd be able to keep up with this and I'm glad I did. Maybe it will be a

good jump start to keeping my blog better updated

Here are the few leftover photos I had loaded ready to go.

Several shirts I've sewn.

Another bra and panty set.

And a few more Easter goodies (well, except the pig-I'm not sure he's Easter-ish!)

Timothy turns 2!

Today was Timothy's 2nd birthday, and we had been planning for it for a long time.

He got to rip up paper and not get in trouble for a change...

His present was a new collar and leash.

Don't they look nice with his tie?

We made a carrot cake for him with just a little bit of frosting... He has a sensitive tummy, you know.

He was a very happy camper today, and we were glad to spoil him because he makes us happy every day. We love you, Timmy!

MBMM #30

Some Easter Goodies

I've been knitting a few Easter treats.

This little duckie is magical.... if you squish and squash and pull a bit, you get..... a little bunny!

Some easy evening knitting.

MBMM #29

Christmas napkins

MBMM # 28 (and finally caught up!)

My First Picture Frame

Don't look too close-I needed practice with the miter on my saw.

Theo drew this picture of a House Wren, and it hangs in our bathroom.

MBMM # 27

My First Quilt

The one in which I machine pieced the blocks and hand quilted the quilt.

The one I dearly love, but won't make another of for a looooong time.

MBMM #26

A dream I had since high school was to enter the "Make It With Wool" contest someday. In the late 90's I was at the fabric store and saw this pink wool--which I had to have! I knew immediately what it would become. This is a Kinsale cloak, from Folkwear Patterns, where you can buy patterns to sew authentic reproductions of ethnic clothing from the past. It is a cloak in the style that Irish folk wore and handed down in families. Of course, the ooriginals were usually brown, gray, or black tweed wool, not pink!

I took this to the regional contest and was chosen to go to the state level,

where I won 3rd place!

I still wear it occasionally, and have loaned it out to women who

need something dressy and warm for special occasions.

MBMM #25

Bra and panties set.

Never had a matching set in my life until I started sewing them!

Now I can make them as wild as I want.

MBMM #24

This quilt was made out of approximately 80 different quilt blocks I had accumulated over the years when I would try out a block or have leftover blocks from another project. One January, I decided to get it put together that year, and started by working 15 minutes at a time. If I recall, the kids were still little and sewing time was short. I had 2 goals: to use only the blocks I had already, and to not purchase any fabric for this quilt.

When it was finished, I so hoped to have it hand quilted, but the waiting list was so long I thought I'd never get it done. A friend's grandmother ended up quilting it, and only charging me $130! The quilting alone is amazing.

The sides were finished using some "piano key" border I found in some of Grama Smith's stuff when I cleaned out her house after she died. I can remember some of the fabrics from aprons or dresses she wore.

This block is one that Grama Pluma and I made when I was about 8 years old. There was a round of black squares that have now disintegrated. (Wonder what that fabric content was?) I'm not sure how I will repair this part, or I might just put a whole new block over it. It's a fun quilt because I can look at each part and remember what project/gift that particular block came from. There's a bit of everything in it, from a graduation quilt to a puppy quilt. Alos, it was quite a job to get all those different sized blocks to come together and be "square" enough to put together. If one looks very closely, there are several places where I added a strip just to square things up. I'm proud of this one!

MBMM #23

This little knitted bear was made by me and given to Grama Pluma once.

At her funeral, all her bears were at the funeral home and around the casket.

She loved bears!

After the funeral Mom wanted us to each take one, so I chose this one.

It now sits on my dresser in our bedroom,

(and how cool that it goes with the color scheme).

The other very cool thing is what this bear is wearing...

(I got it after funeral, too)

(click on the photo)

That is Grama's "Firefly" pin. Back when Grampa was a fireman, the wives had an organization called "The Fireflies" and Grama was active in it. The pin has her name on it. Very cool, indeed.

Once again

I will be buying a new camera today. Then I will run home and catch up the MBMM posts.

Pictures I find on the camera

This is Hornswaggle. He is a midget wrestler on WWE.

There were also 14 other pictures of

each and every one of Marty and Theo's

WWE figures on the camera.

I wonder if this is part of the reason my batteries wear out so quickly?

MBMM # 22

Camera is still not working. I think I hate it now.

Below is a little sweater and hat ornament

I knit for an ornament exchange this past Christmas.

The choice of photos is getting small-I'm sorry!

MBMM #21

Breaking my rule that the "made" thing has to be in my possession. The camera's batteries are dead and I don't feel good enough to mess with it tonight.

These two photos are the birdhouse and feeder I made for Grama Elaine and Pop at Christmas.

(I think the lovely hand model is Amy)!

House hunting results

We viewed three houses while in NJ last week. First one:

Bir enough, looks good, but pictures lie.

Lived in hard.

Also on busy street.

Second one:

Yes, it's small

but the location is superb.
Yes, that's the view from the back door.
Be still, my heart.


Beautifully landscaped,
and it's small.

Guess which one the kids liked best?

p.s. The shirt on the statue really made me laugh.

Modesty at it's extreme.

My new motto

Click on the picture first....

In New Jersey it is against the law to pump your own gas. I LOVE that, because I detest pumping gas. (Don't ask why, there is no reasonable reason--I just do). My friend Lina says she thinks it's funny how I can make a positive out of that fact, because gas is going to be more expensive there, but NO, it's 20 cents cheaper!!! I am so going to be a Jersey Girl. And they have t-shirts with my new motto--doesn't take much to make me happy. Now if we could just find a house....

MBMM #20

I sewed this jacket when I was in Wichita last year. It's made of "slinky" and is very nice to wear, which I do a lot!

MBMM pause

Sorry about missing yesterday! Hopefully today I'll be able to catch up. Returned home Sat. pm and now am getting sick, so we'll see what the day brings. Trip was profitable, I'll update soon.

MBMM #19

Rock Star Pajamas

I made these for Amy 2 or 3 years ago. The 2nd year I had to add length (the red ) and a knee patch. She used to call them her "rock star pajamas." This is probably the last year they'll fit her.

MBMM # 18

Just about everyone has already seen this one, but

yep! I made that!

MBMM # 17

Crown of Thorns from Palms

After Mass every palm Sunday,Irush home and spend the afternoon weaving palms into crowns and crosses. It's the only way to get them done, as I've tried keeping them damp and doing them later, but it doesn't work. It's a nice way to relfect and meditate on the upcoming Holy Week, too. One of these crowns always goes in the mail to Uncle Paul back home, and the left over bits of palm get made into crosses that I put in my Easter cards.

MBMM #16

An old barn door!

At Christmas I saw an old barn door above teh mantle on soemone's blog andthought it looked nice the way it was decorated. Come to find out, the gal had made the door. I knew I could do that ! Marty helped me put it together one afternoon. I used it at Christmas, Valentine's, and St. Patrick's Day, but took it down on Ash Wednesday to put up our Lenten stuff. I'm not sure if I'll keep it, or take it apart to re-use the wood. For now, it's in the garage.

In New Jersey

We drove up today and I can't help thinking how odd it is to be moving somewhere that can be reached in 1 day. House hunting and church visiting are items on the agenda for the week.

MBMM # 15

Halloween costumes

L-R: John Cena, Clowns, Rey Mysterio

(it was a big year for WWE wrestlers)

At our house tonight

we will host the first Light Weigh meeting for the Ft. Bragg Catholic Community. I am excited and believe it will be a blessing to all who attend. Please keep us in your prayers.

MBMM # 14

I made longer cords.

The Christmas candles I bought for the windows this year had short cords and the builder of this house did not center the outlets on the walls. Combined, these two facts neccessitated one of two things: a) use 10 drop cords, or b) lengthen the cords on my candles.

I chose b. Using a long drop cord, I spliced pieces into my candle cords and had perfectly fitted cord lengths for each window. Next house, I'll have to re-evaluate. When I build my own house, I will have outlets under every window, right where I want them!

MBMM # 13

Two favorite bras I've sewn.

One is padded, one not.

I'm not telling who these belong to!

Padded, front.

Padded, back.


Padded, inside.





Padded (top)

Soft cup (bottom)

MBMM #12

First birdhouse I built.

Last week it was blown out of the tree and I need to get it back up soon.

The entry hole is too low, but I hope some birdie will use it anyway.

MBMM problems

I saved a bunch of posts for MBMM and now when I publish them, they show up chronologically according to date. Phooey! Scroll down to see a couple of new ones, and I'll try to figure out how to fix this issue soon.

PS-- Got a hair cut this afternoon, and Matt did not break his record of 25 years. He has only noticed my new hair twice in all those years. On the bright side, he doesn't notice skinny, pretty women, either ;~)

"Naughty" is the key word...

What a naughty dog!!

(click on the picture to see what's up)

He gets so dirty and gets in trouble...

but we still love him.

This one's for Aunt Sheila--Amy in her new shoes and jeans.

New glasses and some ashes

I got new glasses yesterday after my old frames broke last week. So far, not one person has noticed! Here I am sporting them and some ashes, too. It was standing room only at Mass tonight, and the kids and I went out for fish and cheese pizza with friends afterwards.

Please ignore the "I'm-47-and-still-have-acne" part.

MBMM # 11

A hodge podge on the couch.

Left to right you have:

Amy's lovey blanket after 11+ years of continuous use.

I have no idea how to repair it at this point...

My knitting bag which travels everywhere with me and used to be a purse.

A pillow to match the drapes.

MBMM # 10

I think it is only fair to show my work that is less than perfect in this series. This is a hot pad that I made many years ago (1993?) as part of a quilt class I taught. In this particular piece I was teaching how to apply binding. We've used this hot pad a lot, and it shows the wear and tear.

The girls saw this post and said, "You made that? I thought it was from a store!" I thought that was funny!