Happy Zombie

Have I mentioned I loved bags? And not to make light of addictions - but I am addicted and I know I’m not alone. If Dr. Drew had a clinic for us… would you go? And if we did go, I KNOW we would FIND A WAY to smuggle in fabric, needles & thread, buttons, zippers…

My friend Lisa is a bag enabler. Look at the awesome rockem’ sockem’ little bag she made me! Lisa has mad sewing skillz and the inside is just as amazing as the outside (I have to wait for better weather to take an interior pic). I love pink and green too… how did she know!?! Psychic abilities must be another one of her many amazing talents. Lisa also put inside the some delicious Aloha fabric for me. Mmmm! Have you met Lisa? She’s awesome. We met over a strawberry, and now I’m addicted to her blog as well. Lisa’s blog is so much fun, and her field trips are the bomb! I heart you Lisa! Edited in: Here is a link to Lisa’s post about the box bag.

Gosh (or gorsh if you’re reading this from the mid-west), maybe I’m an enabler too??? I had forgotten all about this little bag until Sharon started making them, and then again for her girl gang. Sharon also made a darling one for Anna! Sharon and Anna make me blush-n-gush… I heart you both!

It’s been a few years since I’ve made the Ditty Bag, and after seeing Sharon’s darling bags… I just HAD to make some again. Sounds like an easy task, but it was quite an effort to find the pattern in the basement of my computer. At least I knew if I couldn’t find it, I could at least go groveling and begging to Kris or Karen for a copy.

Fast forward… I’m makin’ the bag, “threading” the drawstring (even though it’s not a string), and thought to myself… I should share my tip. Now, I wrestle with sharing tips because I always feel like everyone knows it already and I’m the last to discover it and then I feel like a doof for posting it. Necessity was the mother of my invention, so if you already know this tip - humor me and pretend you didn’t learn it already via your grandmother’s great aunt who’s been doing this since before the bread slicer was invented.

E-z cheezy… here’s whatcha do. Get an el-cheapo letter opener with a puka on the end. I got mine at my local Safeway for 99¢ (which means it’s probably about 49¢ elsewhere). Thread and knot a ribbon to the end of the letter opener. I suppose if you’re not lazy like me, you could actually tack or sew it down instead of knotting it. Attach a safety pin to the other end of the ribbon.

Attach your drawstring or strapping to the safety pinned end. Your letter opener is now one gianormous Land of the Giants sewing needle… and you can thread your drawstring through the tube/channel with speedy ease.

Before you know it… you’re done and doner with that pesky drawstring!

… and only if that universe is inside my house.

Sluuuuurp. [insert tongue swiping drool sound here]

Sit Liberty. Sit Madison. Goooood girls.

Looking for a magic jar that gets DH’s and DS’s to pick up their clothes up off of the floor.
I fear there is no such jar.

I got tagged by Connie, Kris and Emily with a Seven Weird Things about me meme. At least I think it was supposed to be “weird”. Regardless… all things about me are weird - so weird it is. If I had to do a list of just 7 things about me, it would look like this:

1. Umm.
2. Hmmm.
3. I know! Wait. That’s weird.
4. Umm.
5. Ummm.
6. I’ve got something! No, that’s weird too.
7. Umm.

Anyhoo… Seven Weird Things about me:

1. I love clocks. Clocks. Clocks. Clocks. I have them everywhere. There are at least three clocks in every room of my house. Even the garage. I’m not obsessed with time, and I’m usually either early or late - but rarely on time. Go figure.

2. My wardrobe consists of about a dozen white Hane’s beefy pocket t’s. So while it looks like I wear the same t-shirt every day… I’m actually on a rotation cycle. White t, jeans and flip-flops - my daily uniform. Sometimes I mix things up and don a yellow t. The irony in my wardrobe is that I love color so much - I’m passionate about color. Go figure. Again.

BTW… I was THRILLED when Michael Kors was asked about his black t and jeans wardrobe on the reunion episode of Project Runway. So now in my realm of unreality… I AM a fashionista.

3. I’m picky about what I drink my coffee and tea out of. I like delicate china mugs - something with a thin lip. My cup cupboard is divided by his & hers… my girly-cups on one side, DH’s clunky man-mugs on the other side.

4. I have a serious addiction for pens and pencils. What I’m showing is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s more in drawers and baskets. And I can never find just the right one.

5. I love bags, purses, and totes. When I’m oogling fabric my first thought is not what quilt to make… but what kind of bag to make with it (to put the quilt in of course!). A few years ago my mom gave me some of my late grandmother’s old purses, and I was thrilled beyond belief when I discovered an old lipstick that was my Omi’s. It was an ugly shade of 60’s orange (which actually was from the 60’s) - but it brought me to tears when I put some on. It was like my Omi giving me a big fat kiss from heaven.

6. As I said in #2, these are the shoes I wear about 10 months out of the year. If I could go barefoot, I would. And they can’t be ordinary flip-flops… they have to be the el-cheapo Locals brand rubbah-slippas from Hawaii. When we moved to Oregon I packed up about a dozen pairs for a stash. Last year Karen went to Hawaii and I asked her to help me replenish my stash. And we still call them slippers, though I have trained myslef to say flip-flops here on the Mainland.

7. I’ve got a thing for kitchen windows. I love taking photos from my kitchen window… I love seeing photos taken from a kitchen window. I need to search for a flickr group of kitchen window addicts. The sink at our first house in Hawaii had nothing but a big ugly cinder-block wall behind my sink. Our second house had a window with a view of the Ko’olau’s - something I never tired of looking at and washing dishes was actually a treat. My kitchen window now HAD a view of the forest - and then after our big storm last December… I now have a new view of the Coast Range. And sunrises. Fair trade… but I do miss the forest. And I don’t have a photo. Go figure. Again.

So now according to meme law, I must tag 7 bloggers. I hate tagging because I feel like I can’t pick everyone to play on my kickball team. I’ve decided to tag by a theme, so I came up with 7 blogs I don’t need to read to enjoy (even though I do read them). My theme is Eye Candy - Allsorts, Cinderberry Stitches, Grand Revival Designs, Prairie Mouse, Rose Hip, That silly lil’ Doe and Wishful Stitches. Please no pressure to these seven to play along… I tagged you all because I love nibbling on your eye candy!

Thank you Connie, Kris and Emily for tagging me… I had way too much fun with this. Is that weird?

To this I do swear…
Sharon did not eat that bear.

My words an attempt at bein’ amusin’…
Leave it to me to make it confusin’.

I would like this for all to hear…
T’was I who ate that critter’s ear.

I do this because I care…
in support of Stephen Colbert.

My mail-lady is beginning to wonder about me. And I suspect she has a dart board with my name on it - for all the extra work my wonderful friends cause her. Moo ahh haa haaa! It’s such a treat to go out to the bill-box and find treats. Not really the treats themselves, and not that they’re not treats… but the love and friendship that comes pouring out of the treats is incredible. INCREDIBLE. To say “my day is made” is an understatement!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… I won this Moda Chez Moi (I really want to call it Chex Mix Moi) Fresh Air fat-pack from my friend Nanna Jamma. I just love this fabric so much - I’m afraid to cut into it. Some day I’ll use it, but for now it’s on my shelf-o-joy where I can look at it every day and think of the super sweet funny girl Nanna Jamma. Thank you NJ!

My good friend and gal pal extraordinaries Raesha and I swapped mini-moo cards, and she made a darling little tin for me to keep my collection in (my collection of one). I just got my own moo cards, and I was so excited to get my first card - and I’m so glad it was from Raesha (this makes you “my first” RaeRae!). Thank you RaeRae! I heart moo so much! I’m going to keep the moos I made in my back pocket - I’ve got moo-moo in my pants.

That Sharon. I have to say “that Sharon”. Ohmygoodness… that Sharon. Look what that sweet little minx sent me for Valentines day. The pillow is so dreamy and pretty… I may even sleep with it for a night before putting it on my shelf-o-joy. I love Sharon’s handwork… it’s so beautiful. A darling quilt pattern, candy, lollipops and a cookie missing an ear. I’m sure Sharon thought it was wrapped nice and tidy in shrink-wrap, but something must have happened in transit. Oh yes. I’m sure it was the post office’s fault. Oh Sharon (MTM/Mr. Grant)… thank you!

Umm. Umm. Dusting crumbs off my boobs…

And a little treat to me from me…

This morning I went to JoAnn’s for floss and new blades (50% off!) - and I found these flannels! TWO dollars a yard! No way! I don’t know what I’ll do with it yet, but I had to have it. And lots of it. At $2 a yard I could indulge. I’m so in love with the aqua/strawberry - so I bought an entire bolt. I was tempted to buy two bolts. I’m seeing some new grocery bags in my future. The lady at the cutting counter asked me what my plans were. Um. I danno. I just have to have it. There were about 7 other ladies gathered around the cutting counter and they all nodded in that we hear ya sistah way.

I’ve always been so envious of bloggers who’ve shown some gems they’ve found at JoAnn’s. Today I am a member of that elusive club. Finally. My new delights remind me of Doe, don’t ya know.

The T-man and I met on Valentines Day. We were both young and skinny. And this is my story.

We met at bar.
You did not have a car…
but you did have a big white boat.
I watched you from afar,
no you did not have a scar…
I liked what I saw under that dark blue coat.

With my girlfriends we all danced,
no men for us to prance.
I took the big chance,
and asked you to our dance.

My oh my you were a little shy,
and I fibbed a little lie…
and pretended to be shy.

This dancing was not so bad,
oh the fun that we had.
We were getting into the groove…
[brown - chicken - brown - cow]
and then I made my move…

Smack - you’re mine!
ILYMC!

It’s so hard to write this post without saying OHMYGOSH… but seriously… OHMYGOSH did I come across THE cutest pattern ever. Ever. EVER. I said EVER.

I saw this post on Craft: about a Bob Ross embroidery and went all goo-goo-Mc-drool-drool over it (who didn’t love Bob Ross and that little chipmunk he kept in his pocket?). Thinking how much I loved this style of art/embroidery… I instantly knew it was from the Doodle Stitching author, Aimee Ray.

So that lead to a click here, a click there… and then. And then. And then… (sorry, bad Dude Where’s My Car humor - I couldn’t resist)… and then… I found Aimee’s pattern for her ADORABLE felt Matryoshka nesting dolls. OHMYGOSH are they cute. Seriously, seriously, seriously cute. I swear I heard a harp playing when I first saw the photo. [Aimee’s flickr photo used with permission]

With Aimee’s permission, I enlarged the largest doll by 175% - and this is what I made:

Don’t ya just want to squeeze it? Sorry, but I won’t allow it. You’ll just have to make your own. I put the jar there for size reference. When I go big… I go BIG.

I didn’t give my doll a mouth… mine of course is a distant cousin of Hello Kitty and Mimi… so no mouth. I think her eyes are smiling. I did give my doll a name… Natasha. I’m giving her the option of joining the staff - I’m leaving it up to her. I think if the staff gets any bigger I’m gonna have a Dunder Mifflin on my hands before I can say dwight schrute three times, really fast. I know Natasha would like to be a cozy to something… but we just can’t figure out to what yet. We tried the iron, but the iron is too big. Tried my imac/monitor… but it’s too wide. So for now, Natasha is my giant water bottle cozy. Not really workin’ for me - or Natasha. Thinking. Thinking. Thinking…

Congratulations Lisa of Dorky Homemade Quilts! It’s going to be tough to mail the needlebook… I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY would much rather hand deliver it!

Meet KiwiGirl… the newest member of the HZ staff. KiwiGirl was born from the super duper talented hands of my sweet peep gal pal Louise of Prairie Mouse. Isn’t she adorable! Seriously adorable! I could just squeeze her - wait… I DO! It’s a typical rainy dark Oregon day, so my photos are dark and funky - even though KiwiGirl lights up the room. KiwiGirl used a random number generator at random.org. First number on the list… #1!

KiwiGirl came to me for Christmas from Louise. Talk about loud squeals when I retrieved my mail! But I waited until Christmas morning to free her from her darling gift wrap. It was difficult… but so worth the wait! Mimi is a teeny weeny bit jealous, so KiwiGirl sits right by computer near me. She’s pretty good with the mouse too (I think Lisa will agree). I don’t know if Mimi’s worried KiwiGirl will steal PA Bob’s heart… or that because KiwiGirl has the dexterity to use the mouse.

Thank you everyone for playing along and Sharon the love for Sharon!