Happy Zombie

It’s been another wonderful year for me here in this happy, crafty and creative blogland.   Old friendships grew stronger, and new friendships continue to grow.  Thank you to all that have showered me with their friendship, kindness and generosity.   Every little thing… every big thing - means the world to me.    I mean that from the top, bottom, sides and center of my heart.

We had a white Christmas - and it was magical. I was already getting tired of snow and hoping for rain instead… but on Christmas morning it snowed again.  And it snowed, and snowed and snowed… and at one point the snow was the size of silver dollar pancakes.  Now all is melted, and we’re back to normal North Oregon coast weather… rain, wind, rain and more rain.  No more s-word. Done.

A year of new.  No resolutions for me.   Just a fresh start for 2009.  The year 2008 was a wild ride for me.  I have some peas and carrots I’d like to have cookin’ in a pot, and after deciding not to let them sit on the back shelf of the fridge any longer… I’m going to try to get a stew to simmer them in.  Even though it’s scary… it feels fantastic to start the new year fresh and to be taking risks!   Of course, my New Year’s Day had me in my jammies at close to 1pm while in the garage sharpening pencils.  Getting things done that I’ve been meaning to do forever.  My in-box is next!

All the hub-bub and hoo-haa before Christmas and our Wii bowling tournament on Christmas day, I needed to rinse, repeat and untangle for a few days.  Best place I can do that is in my hideaway - my sewing room.  My bliss.  I had treated myself to some Woodland Bloom charms by Lila Tueller for Moda that Anina was selling in her wonderful Twiddletales Store. Moda’s charms are my absolute weakness.  Not that I will, but if I ever commit a crime and I’m being interrogated by a good cop/bad cop… I will sing like a bird if charms are flashed in front of me.

My favorite most relaxing thing is hand stitching binding down on a quilt.   So I played with a way that I could use the same method for appliqué.  The no fuss no muss method, which I’m all about. I don’t like pinching, or pinning, or snipping… just fast, easy and fun.   My method is the same as the fusable stuff you sew on, but EVERY time I’ve tried it, I ALWAYS end up pressing and fusing in the wrong places.  Like to my iron.

I take my background fabric (my beloved Kona Snow) and my print - right sides together, an Ikea saucer, a pencil and I trace around it.

Stitch on the lines.   Backstitch to lock.   Slit the background, trim edges and turn inside-out.

With my favorite chop-stick I “finger press” the seams.  Round n round I go.

A quick basting to the background fabric of the block.  Slit-b-gone.

I stitch as if I’m stitching binding.   I just love doing this.  Nothing to hold down.  Nothing to turn under.  Nothing to pinch or squeeze.

Nothing but relaxing fun.

It’ll be a while before all the blocks will be put together.  For now… I’m enjoying the bliss of appliqueing 37 happy little circles.

Wishing everyone a happy non scary year of new!   xoxo-m

Posted in Quilty n Crafty, Bloggy Love Drug | 46 Comments

Last snow post.  I promise.  Really.  Even though in some spots we got 4-6” of it last night, and more is promised on the way (ice is also forecast, so I don’t know if we’re too excited anymore)…

On my honor
I will say
No more mention of snow
At least not for today

Oh wait.  It IS today.  Ok… tonight then.  Tonight didn’t rhyme with “say”.  So, you know, anyhoo.  A few more pics.  I did after all do some housekeeping housecropping.  We don’t typically get a lot of snow in NW Oregon, and we’ve gotten gobs of it at our house overnight.  A pretty big deal for us.  From the comments on my last post… is there any place that’s not getting snow?  Snow in LAS VEGAS… in LOUISIANA… holy smokes!  I even heard on the news that MALIBU got a dusting.   I can’t stop combing blogland to see other friends in the area - to see how the snow looks at their houses… so I feel it’s a public service here in The Land of Rain to post more of my photos.  I’m in love with Vicki’s, Jodi’s and Cranna Nanna’s winter pics.  Dream, dreamy, dreamy.

Last night as it snowed. The view from my spot on the sofa. TV to left. The snowman to the right. My head held firm to the right.

Even Mochi the cat was entertained.

I copied Paula after seeing her lights on her kitchen window.

Close-up for Pam

Up the street…

Down the street ski slope.  SKI ASTORIA - No lines, no crowds, no lifts.

Our non-denominational frozen precipitation figure

“A wife, please” He does have That Look in his apple-eyes. We better get crack-a-lackin’ - and maybe we’ll have snowbabies by morning.

Ok. I’m done.

Posted in I Heart Oregon | 52 Comments

Sunday morning I yanked open my bedroom curtains… and I found this!  I shouted HOLY SNOW (actually, it sounded more like HOLY MITten).   Why oh why did I not get a jump on Pam and Elizabeth’s DARLING mitten/scarf/hat project!?!

I looked to my left and saw this.  We’re not in snow country, so this is an extra special treat.  I think Angelina, Paula and Sarah agree!  And the snow hides all the bird poop that adorns my bench.  Nice snow.  Nice snow.  Thank you snow.   Thank you British Columbia for sending us your wonderful snow producing arctic air.

I ran to the living room, and all I could see outside of the windows was white delight. Laugh at me Minnesota or Michigan peeps. Ga head, laugh at me. I love this snowfall too much!

My happy little corner, some eggnog and snuggling up to some embroidering/finishing holiday projects.

Before I sat down in my happy little corner… my fascination with looking out of my kitchen window had to be clicked.  Too worried about meltage, I dissed the dishes. At least they were rinsed.

Poof.  No more dirty dishes. Ha… I need to crop the rest of my house.

My husband was not interested in happy little corners or eggnog. He wanted to hop in his truck and see the snow beyond our neck of the woods. My jammies went flying and I got dressed in 2 seconds flat. I’m ready!

This is our bridge that links us to our next door neighbor… Washington state.  Some people refer to this bridge as the Astoria-Megler bridge… but the name has since changed to The PamKittyMorning Bridge after Pam adopted it as hers last spring.  The PKM Bridge is the path that takes me to Karen’s.  Karen and I quickly compared snow-notes… to see who had more.   I think I won.  Elevation matters.  And speaking of Karen… SHE’S GOT A BLOG NOW!  If you visit her, be sure to tell her you came from my blog’s high elevation down to her blog’s sea level elevation.

This is not our house (sigh).  It belongs to friends of ours (and former neighbors behind us), and it was built by her great-grandfather.  Just as dreamy on the inside as it is on the outside.  This is the house I got to look at out of my sewing room window at our last house.  Not a bad view at all!

When we got back home, my husband started a fire.  T-man settled in to some football on TV,  and I settled in and did some more sewing.  Christmas is only days away… how did that happen???

I am BLOWN AWAY with the responses and comments on my Pennie Pockets. I heart each and everyone of you, and thank you so very much! I blush. I gush. I am so blessed with everyone’s kindness.

Posted in Quilty n Crafty, I Heart Oregon | 56 Comments

Right after Thanksgiving… and right before I pull out the Christmas dec from the attic, the wheels start to turn in my head about what little pretties I’m going to make as little giftlettes for the holidays. I love containers. I love putting stuff in stuff. And I also needed to craft up something to dress up my shelf above my sewing room window. Light bulb went on - pennants were born. So being that my mind thinks in crafty ways (code for laziness), I decided to give a free pattern as a giftlette instead. Crafting it forward.

I thought about garland…  I thought about a little pocket for my design wall to hold tools, treasures and candy.

I thought I’d swag it, but decided to hang it straight.  At least something now could be straight n tidy in my sewing room.  I strung my pockets on ric rac, but I also thought about the garland Jenny was making here.

Because I’ve never outgrown playing ding-dong-ditch, I thought about little nosegays - a Pennie Pocket with a handle.  Perfect for cookies, notes and mischief.  Or better yet, a little ding-dong-ditch, a nosegay… and my pattern inside for my crafty friends.  Hmmm.

The wheels continue to turn in my head.  Little Christmas nosegays for the tree… or 25 Christmas advent nosegays… or 8 blue & white nosegays for Hanukkah.  Modified.  Embellished.  Embroidered.  Pimped.  So many ideas, I can’t even process them from my head to my keyboard - so I started a Pennie Pockets flickr group here.  Wanna join me in the pool?  The water’s warm - but not that kind of warm.  I promise.

Posted in Quilty n Crafty | 93 Comments

Recently we got to help our friends (The Cranman & Mrs. Cranman) harvest their cranberry bog on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula. When I say we got to help, I mean that T-man (my hubby) worked - and I took photos. I’m no Mike Rowe, and I’m not really sure I can remember all the facts and info. Hope you can read at a third grade level… because that’s how it’s all in my head.

First the bogs are flooded.  This is known as a “Wet Harvest”.  The berries have already been paddled to loosen them off their vines (naughty crannies).   Not even sure if they’re on vines.   I’ll just call it a plant thingy.  Cranberries that have gone through a wet harvest will end up being processed into drinks and cranberry-stuff-in-cans.

The cranberries are corralled like an oil spill.  T-man’s 19 years in the Coast Guard has certainly come in handy.

The cranberries are pulled…

… and pushed.  T-man making sure none escape.

The cranberries are raked and guided to the big green Stairway to Cranny Heaven.

Cranny escalator.  Fourth Floor… Men’s Furnishings.

Wheeeeeeeeee.

I held out my hand in the Cranberry Rain (while Purple Rain played in my head).

T-man (left) and Cranman (right) get the cranberries settled into their crates.

The cranberries are now almost ready for the trip to Ocean Spray.

Next stop.  Ocean Spray.

I wasn’t allowed to take photos inside the warehouse (who knew cranberries were so James Bondish).  In a cranshell… they were weighed, poured into a giggly thing, traversed on this belt thing and into a wiggly thing, then poured into crates and loaded onto a semi-truck.  Destination unknown.  Or maybe I DO know, and if I told you - then I’d have to kill you.  To be on the safe side… destination unknown.

I was allowed to take photos in the “lab”.  T-man and I got a thorough tour of how the crans are sampled and tested.  Lots of big words chock-full of consonants that escape me now (curse you Mike Rowe for not being there).  Color is checked, acid levels, this and that levels.  Touched.  Rolled.  Squeezed.  Blended (mmm… Cosmos).

I was really tempted to mark a cranberry with a marsh-pen… “HZ was here”.  But I didn’t ONLY becuase I can’t write that small.  So if you open a can of Ocean Spray cranberry jelly, and you hear that slurp-woosh-goosh sound as you free the jellied log-o-cranberry from it’s tin prison… that’s just the sound of me wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving and may you be showered like a rain of cranberries with many blessings!  xoxo-m

Posted in How I Live | 34 Comments