{*~Star-y Log Cabin Quilting Class!~*}

Remember this quilt?

Well GET EXCITED!!!!

Because tonight starts sign ups for my E-Course!!!!

My e-course will run 8 weeks and will teach you everything, step by step, from start to finish including:

• picking fabrics
• fussy cutting
• finding your machines 1/4 and scant 1/4 inch mark
• how to make PERFECT sawtooth stars...with ALL THEIR POINTS!
• making the blocks & assembling the quilt top
• straight line & hand quilting
• binding
• inspiration & positive thinking!

This class is 100% BEGINNER FRIENDLY. I'm here for YOU! If you can sew, I can teach you this. My goal is for you to create a gorgeous star-y log cabin quilt in colors that make YOU happy. This is going to be chock full of information!

I completely understand that sometimes a full quilt is daunting at first so I'm breaking this up over 8 weeks. Once a week you'll get a pdf from me with tons of color photos showing you each step. After you purchase the class, you'll get an INTRODUCTION PDF. This is the schedule and the topics I'll be covering.

I'll be setting up a private flickr group tomorrow for students to join.

CLASS WILL OFFICIALLY START THE FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY.

If your busy and life is up in the air right now, NO PROBLEM. You can still partake, I want this to be fun and I want everyone to enjoy the process, so it's completely go at your own pace. Can only pick fabrics? No problem. Can't do anything for another 3 months? No problem! The flickr group is permanent and I'll *always* be here to help you.  If you have a question tomorrow or a year from now, I'm only an email away.

Class will be $80, so $10 a week. Keep in mind that you'll have one on one help from me and you won't even have to leave your pjs! How great is that?! And you can use the pattern over and over...plus learn tips & tricks that will help you in other quilts! I'll be doing a giveaway once a week of some of my favorite tools & notions.

One BIG rule: Please respect me & the time I put into this class, don't share your pdfs. If cost is a problem, contact me.

Sign-ups will last until February 1st or until the class fills up. I'm going to keep it pretty small so I can interact with everyone individually.

Ok!!! I think that's everything! I really hope you'll join me for this class, it's going to be a GREAT time & I really can't wait to see everyone's Star-y Log Cabin Quilts!!!!

Class signup is here!

Again, thank you all SO much for your kind emails & your support. I love sharing the tips I've learned and I want EVERYONE to feel as inspired by quilting as I do!

:)

amanda

{*~Patchwork Palettes: Amsterdam Block~*}

So Karyn & I are really into pinterest right now. I've been completely inspired by the great stuff she's been pinning. The ability to collect all my inspiration and ideas in one place is perfect! And being able to see what inspires others?! Amazing!

One night on gchat we decided to put our pins on pinterest to use and came up with a great new project.

Enter: The Patchwork Palettes Series.

We are taking some of our favorite pinned photos, taking the palette of colors and challenging ourselves to turn them into quilt blocks.

Our first block was inspired by this photo .

I loved the dusty lilacs, the jet blacks, the murky grays and those bits of trees in this photo. So beautiful. Plus I'm really obsessed with Amsterdam's architecture. I wanted to create a block using those colors; very soft/feminine but with a dark Gothic punch!

My block is a traditional Rhode Island Star. Unfortunately it's super windy outside so my block looks a little crooked & wrinkly in the photos, but I assure you that it's a 12 inch square. ;)

I used some of my very favorite fabrics to translate this photo into a quilt block. Shot cottons, the new Denyse Schmidt Greenfield Hill which I simply ADORE, linen and some Japanese taupe prints.

I went traditional whereas Karyn went modern. I wish I'd been able to nail that coral color and Karyn was totally able too! It's such a pretty tone! I really love how she played with space and forms in her block, the tiny squares and rectangles kill me. And those fussy cut trees really stole my heart! Plus those gray plaids...you know I died when I saw them! Seriously, she created a beautiful block.

It's really awesome to have two people look at the same photograph and interpret it completely differently. This is what I love about quilting, it's 100% open to interpretation!!!! You take something that inspires you and you make it YOUR OWN! There is nothing cooler than putting your own stamp on things. It's good to challenge yourself, try something new and find inspiration EVERYWHERE.

I hope you've liked seeing the first bit of our project, Karyn has already chosen the next photo and it's going to stretch my color using skills, I can't wait! I know her version is going to be rad too!

A few notes:

• The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery has released a new & incredibly cute Valentines Day Pattern! Also be sure to check out Fruit of the Month club! We've been hard at work stitching up samples...did you know we have a flickr group and Kaye had her versions written up in Too Cute Tuesday!
• Star-y Log Cabin class is a GO!!! Thank you all so much for your kind & encouraging words. Tomorrow night sign ups will START with classes starting the first week in February. I'll be blogging all the details tomorrow night!

Have a great Sunday night!! Keep looking for quilt blocks in everything around you!

{*~Hi January!~*}

Happy New Year Friends!!!!

January is off to a great start...having Chop home everyday is simply incredible!!! I love being able to sew & have him to chat with, he's also my biggest fan, which is oh so flattering! ;)

I've been working on a lot of projects lately. As I mentioned before, my fabric stash was out of control so I've packed most of it away and I'm focusing on the fabrics I truly love.

The week in between Christmas & New Years I knew I wanted to write a pattern for a star-y log cabin quilt. I pulled out a lot of my VERY favorite fabrics and just went to town. It's been *amazing*. This is the type of quilt that really I get EXCITED to work on each time I sit down. I love watching some of my very first fabrics I ever bought get turned into this! So great! But I've been sort of on the limb about the pattern, it's a LOT of little details that make it easy to personalize. Then a good friend & I had a great gchat about E-Courses.

I've taken several e-courses, from quilting to art journaling & I'd LOVE to teach this quilt as an e-course. I want to teach it over the span of 8 weeks...from picking fabrics to learning some tricks so your stars stay nice and pointy and fussy cutting and how to play with color to assembling and finally, quilting it your way!

I feel bad showing a quilt that isn't finished but for me, this quilt is all about LOVING THE PROCESS! I'm handquilting it all and I have to say that I'm in love. I'm getting to revisit each of the little fabrics and I love running my fingers over the little bumps. Of course you don't have to hand quilt yours & I'll show you a few ideas on how to machine quilt it :) I'm just not into rushing this part!

If people are interested, please drop me a comment, but no pressure, I just want to get an idea or two. I'm thinking 8 weeks for $75. You'd get a pdf with instructions once a week, plus I'd create a private flickr group where we could show off our creations and talk. I think I'd do a fun giveaway once a week too! Plus this way, it's go at your own pace, if your busy and can't commit, no problem, the pdfs are yours to print when you can & the flickr group would be permanent! I'm going to set a limit on how many people can join though because I'd like to be able to interact with everyone & get to know them :)

I'm going to be stitching the rest of the day & hopefully catching up on emails (I'm dreadfully behind..eep!)

:)

{*~Goodbye2010~*}

I'm so excited for 2011. My husband has graduated and I'm so incredibly proud of him. I can't wait to see what January has in store for us.

I'll see you then!

{*~Cats & Stars~*}

(two things I'm obsessed with. Cats. And Stars.)

• De-stashing 70% of my fabric. now having the *perfect* fabric stash. It's going to take me months to list it all on etsy.
• Patchwork everything. Especially stars.
• Coming home after a rough day to sit down & make cat coasters. Because it's hard to be grumpy when making cat coasters!
• Seeing people make AMAZING versions of The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery patterns, like, I'm SO excited to see these projects made up, it kills us!!! We now have a flickr pool! I'm stunned by the amazing blog posts that have been written about us, from make something incolororder thesometimescrafter ! If your looking for a last minute gift, mug rugs & toast bffs stitch up FAST!
• Roasted vegetable soups. Cauliflower. Garlic.
• On that note, if your not sure what to ask Santa for this year, I love my immersion blender! It's not expensive and works GREAT! I used it all summer when canning and for soups right now.
• pinterest STILL. I love being able to have all my inspiration in ONE place.
• Does anyone know where I can get adult sized monster slippers?
• A lot of Celebration ale. It's been a LONG & stressful month. Let's just say I've had quite a few nights sitting in the bathtub, reading a book & drinking a beer. And an afternoon at Tres with some pals where I ate my weight in salsa.
• Ocean colored Le Creuset. My heart skipped a beat. You know I'm obsessed with gray. So gray meeting my favorite cookware = holy smokes. My mind was blown. I asked for the tea kettle because I don't have one.
• Re-reading the Millennium Trilogy.
• Netflix on wii. I had no idea! Now I'm re-obsessed with Bones & started watching again from the beginning.
• Pam surprised me with a QSnap frame at work the other day & I REALLY like it! thanks Pam!
• Not feeling Christmas this year. No tree. No lights. Just not into it. I'll give it a try next year.
• I also haven't been sewing until yesterday. A few hand projects here & there. But sitting down & sewing? Meh. Today I have a bunch of stuff to get done.
• Emails to friends who GET it. I really like the feeling of someone out there cheering for me and GETTING what I'm trying to say.
• I think I'd like to make this bag for Ash for a gift.
• The Rain. Normally I hate rain. But it's been pouring all weekend & I've been tucked away inside, drinking hot things, watching Bones and sewing. I hate driving in it though so I've skipped the gym for the first time in a long time.

:D

{*~December Scenes~*}

• Taking more film photos. Just daily snapshots.
• I've been keeping a December Daily. I do them each year and end up finishing them in like, February. This year I'm going low key, just a moleskine with daily notes of each day. I really like it! It's mostly bullet-ed thoughts, very similar to these blog posts.
• I've been re-reading HP6&7 but I've stalled on book 6. It's gotten sad and I'm not in the right mind set for it!
• Wayyy still obsessed with pinterest. There are just so many great things to share!
• I treated myself to a new mug after seeing Rachels I love love love new mugs!
• The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery has lots of great patterns and we've been getting a ton of great feedback on them! If your looking for a last minute gift we suggest the Venti Mug Rug or any of our cute holiday patterns...my current favorite is Snow Love! The best part is, they are instant download PDFs so if your like me and doing a ton of last minute sewing, we've got you covered!
• And the pad shop has a TON on sale & free shipping til Sunday at midnight! Just check out as normal & I'll refund your shipping! Sweet! It's a great time to try cloth at an awesome price! If your interested in custom orders I'll be accepting them again as well!

I hope everyone is having a great start to their December!

{*~Bye November~*}

It's crazy that November is almost over. I started the month with such ambition and motivation. But I got side tracked by the flu. And then it was Thanksgiving. And suddenly...DECEMBER. How does that happen?!

• Lately I've been loving film. It's a mystery. It's a constant surprise. I was so surprised to see that I caught steam in the last photo. For the curious, I'm using a Nikon FM 50mm 1:1.8 Fuji 200 speed film.
• Obsessed with pinterest.
• I deleted my entire google reader last night. I got incredibly frustrated and now I'm starting fresh. Blogs that inspire. Blogs of friends. Stuff that makes me smile.
• I'm going to sell about 80% of my fabric. I realize that what I want to sew with and what I buy are two different things. Goodbye brights, hello warms & neutrals. I'm really excited to pare down and focus this winter.
• You know who constantly inspires me? Laurraine , Karyn & Leslie. It's no secret that I obsess over Japanese zakka inspired sewing. They both do it wonderfully with a dash of their own personalities thrown in. Every time they post something new I get excited!
• These owls that Christina makes KILL me. It seems like all my friends have done CUTE things with them! I've pinned 3-4 VERY cute projects made with them!
• We've listed new patterns in The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery! And guess what?! THEY ARE ON SALE! $4.95!!! woohoo!!!
• I've been hunting for bottle brush trees, a new batter bowl (I've smashed 3 of them since August), the perfect applique needle and jeans that actually FIT. OH! And socks. I want hand knit socks!
• I have a little dream and I'm dying to follow it but I am SUCH a hypocrite! I *always* am the cheerleader friend, telling everyone to follow their dreams, you can do it!!! But when it comes to my own projects? I'm turning into a weenie and playing it safe. I hate it! I need to take a leap! Or get a life coach other than poor Porkchop ;)

But before I follow dreams I gotta get caught up! And maybe bounce some ideas off of some friends?! Or just crawl into bed for one last nap before Monday!

{~*Hey Cardinal*~}

So I took a really great applique class from Tonye Belinda Phillips at HRQ and oh boy.

I've been bitten by the applique bug.

I'm doing needle turn, which is something I've been wanting for a VERY long time. I've hand appliqued hexagons onto various projects but never really "got" it.

Tonye is an incredible teacher, very relaxed, very kind and very talented. She was patient and didn't mind my 9,000 questions.

I like handwork. I like small things. I like the challenge of taking a very traditional technique & applying it to themes I really like.

On our anniversary weekend Porkchop bought me a delightful little Charley Harper book just about birds. I love love LOVE his work! Chop & I both are avid bird watchers. As soon as I got it, I knew I had to applique a bird as a gift for him.

I started with the cardinal. He's very charming and he's a nice bit of curves, points and valleys to work on. Since I've taken this photo I pulled off his tail, where it met his body wasn't as nice as it could be. (I was humming Alouette as I was doing this ;)) I'm combining the applique with a lot of embroidery. I'm playing around with some Sheep's Silk from the Thread Gatherer, it has the most beautiful sheen & depth to it. And each little foot print is a single ply of cosmo floss. Just wonderful to work on.

• Did you guys see these super sweet & cute photos that Ashley took? Her & her cup cozy! Each winter right after Thanksgiving since I started modernacorn, I've made cup cozies, only a handful, just something fun that I like to do and she was sweet enough to buy one last winter! Awe! I've gotten a few emails asking about them & I'll be making some after my craft show next weekend :) Thanks again Ashley! (look at the little belly!!! eee!)
• Chop & I have been making & refining our dreams. I have some big ones. I really want to start a rustic pie/jam business. I want to design a little line of Christmas ornaments. We want a little farm with a pumpkin patch & I'd like to grow trees to sell. I want a big fat gray cat, we've decided on the name Parsley. I've printed all the info for adopting burros from the BLM. He graduates next month and it's ON.
• I want this necklace so badly.
• I'm still picking winners from the giveaway, I'm slowly working through the list & approving comments. A ton of spam came through & I don't want to accidentally delete a comment.
• At my applique class I got to meet Tracey, what a *sweetheart*!
• I wasn't a fan of the grunge solids from Moda/Basic Gray when I saw them in lines like Eva. BUT! With fruitcake, figgy pudding & origins & I LOVE THEM. The cardinal? He's all grunge. It's so different than my usual linen. And it feels GOOD.
• Smash & I went to a show on Thursday night...The Ferocious Few were seriously *incredible*. Our minds were blown.
• Lots of people mentioned not knowing how to cross stitch, once Chop gets home, I'm going to make a video tutorial k?!

:) Enjoy your Sunday pals!

{*~Frosted Pumpkin Give Away!!!!~*}

WOOHOO!!!!

Ashleigh & I have updated The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery with *NEW* patterns!!!!

And they are cuuuuuute as HECK!

To celebrate their new arrival, we are doing a GIVEAWAY!!!!!

To enter simply leave a comment on this post of the name of your FAVORITE Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery cross stitch pattern!!!!! Comments will close at 7 pm on Friday night; Smash & I will pick a few winners that night & email the winners...that way you can be stitching by this weekend! And who doesn't want a cheerful holiday project to work on that is portable, budget friendly & not super time consuming!?

Don't forget, all our patterns are instant download PDFs! The finished stitches make great gifts :):)

Good Luck & thanks for ALL your support!

{*~Nightfall~*}

Thanks so much to everyone that voted! Unfortunately I didn't win! In fact...I didn't even come close! But thats a-ok, I was excited that everyone was kind enough to vote for me!

Porkchop & I had a nice anniversary. The best part? Us renting How to Train Your Dragon on Amazon, me falling asleep and drooling on his shoulder. I'm not talking about a tiny bit, I'm talking about a ton. Gross huh? Nothing says love like drool right?!

Today I managed to bake my first loaf of sandwich bread and it came out surprisingly great. I used this recipe. I had some as toast with a little honey almond butter & it toasted beautifully.

I'm pretty excited, I found a great new milk today, Silk brand Dark Chocolate Almond Milk. It's VERY hard to find chocolate products that aren't processed with soy and this stuff isn't! I loved it in granola this morning, I'm going to try some overnight oats with it tonight. I'm thinking it'll be great to bake with!

Speaking of baking, ya'll would have a fit if you saw my bed right now. I have literally 15 magazines all sprawled out everywhere with notes, post its, highlighter marks in various spots. I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year and I'm jazzed. I'm hoping Porkchop will kill a turkey, if not we are going to buy a heirloom variety from a local co-op. Then it's ON. I have side dishes, stuffing, gravy, desserts to pick! SO many options!!!!! I have *big* plans.

Did you see Yellow Owl Workshop in the newest issue of Sunset? Seriously, this magazine just keeps getting better & better.

I'm going to a private applique class on Friday taught by a really really talented lady. I've picked out some japanese fabrics to play around with that I'm excited to use...lots of nani iro, some daiwabo, a few cottons... It's interesting to see a persons style, know that it's not really something your drawn too, but learn the technical skills to make it your own. I truly believe that the foundation of *any* type of quilting really begins with good technical skills. You can't break the rules until you learn the basics.

One thing about the applique class...POT LUCK! I love a good pot luck, mainly because it's an excuse to try new recipes...my plan is to make an egg nog cheesecake with candied cashews. I have a great springform pan from Sur La Table a few years ago & I've only used it once..it's time to remedy that!

Here's a sneak peek of one of the holiday themed cross stitches Ash has been working on. Seriously cute right?! Obviously the background isn't blue but the color of your cloth :)

Any goals for November? I have a big craft show to sew for and last week I sold the last of my "in stock" full size quilts, so I need to get on it and sew sew sew! I'll have an entire WEEK with Porkchop, SO excited. I'm going to teach him how to knit..he picked a skein of Puffin by Quince & Co. I'm not really sure what is making him want to knit or if he'll change his mind, but I'm excited!

My goals? Finish swiss miss quilt, knit a hat, knit a pair of arm warmers, get winter art hung in our bedroom, get flannel sheets on the bed (It was almost 80 degrees here today! Oi!), take a weeks vacation & catch up on sleep!

:D

{*~VOTE!~*}

I'm not really a contest kind of girl but  ya'll know how much I freaking ADORE Halloween!!!!

I'd love love LOVE it if you could spread this around and help me win!

VOTE HERE

My entry is the above quilt, "Halloween Mug Rug"!!!!!

I'm spending the day running errands, baking and doing laundry. Very similar to yesterday. I knew I was feeling a little under the weather but decided to sew anyways. I was pushing some thick fabric under my presser foot and hit the foot pedal a little too hard & sewed right through my finger nail. It's the first time I've done it on this machine, I did it once before on my Brother. It hurts either way. The nail is a little black & blue this morning, I'm hoping it doesn't do something gross like fall off. ;)

A few notes:

• The shop is *filled* to the brim with new stuff. And I mean FILLED. I'm shipping orders placed on Tuesday!
• It's my one year wedding anniversary this weekend. Porkchop is coming home TONIGHT. It's been over a freaking MONTH since I've seen him. I'm unplugging my computer/leaving my phone at home/etc. If you have any questions/comments/etc I won't be around til Tuesday!
• Download the new Holiday Issue of fat quarterly! I have a pattern in it and so does my talented and wonderful pal Kaye! Plus I'm dying to stitch the yeti that Nicole drew up!
• Today is the last day of the Holiday Craft Faire at HRQ! Swing by the shop & pick up some treats! We are located on the Esplanade in Chico!

I swear this month has freaking FLOWN by! Soon it will be CHRISTMAS. CHRISTMAS!!!!! How crazy is THAT?!

Have a great weekend and THANKS FOR VOTING!!!

{~*Oh Hey!*~}

The month of October has seriously flown by. So much has happened. So much excitement!

Pacific International was one of the most amazing things ever for me. I got to meet a lot of fantastic people, meet some incredibly kind blog readers and some people who I've always admired. It was also an incredible amount of work. By the time the end of the day was happening, my mind was spinning. I somehow got dehydrated on day 2 and boy...not fun. My ankles looked like elephant trunks. I'd brought flip flops for the car ride down and dansko clogs to wear at the show...I wore my flip flops every day because my feet wouldn't smush into my clogs. Classy right?

I have a few photos and some thoughts on the show that I'll share at a later date for sure. I'm still trying to process everything I saw. I can't even imagine the work that goes into the folks who leave PIQF and head to Houston. Insanity. You spend the entire time, on your feet, talking to people about fabric for so long. Then you drag your ass up to your hotel room, sleep, do it all over again but I wouldn't change a thing about it! I loved coming back to the hotel room & chatting with the girls!

One thing I wish I'd be prepared for was how physically exhausted you are at the end of the day. Jenny & Matt came by the hotel one night for drinks and I showed up in my pjs & was falling asleep. Then as soon as the show was over, I got back to Gridley at 2 am slept until 6:30 am and drove up to Chico for my crafty retreat with Yahaira & Rangsiwan. That was *totally* poor planning on my part. I spent our entire time together distracted, exhausted and not a very good host. I feel so bad, especially since they drove 4 hrs up & Yahaira flew across the country. I had no idea I'd be so tired, I feel like the worst person ever. I got back to Gridley on Wednesday and crashed. It has been nonstop sleeping, napping and generally being a couch lump since then, my bed has never felt SO good!

It's also been over a month since I've seen Porkchop and it's R O U G H. I only spoke on the phone with him twice during my PIQF/Crafty trip time. Ouch. The 30th marks our one year of marriage though! We are going away for a long weekend...unplugging everything and just spending time together in Mt. Shasta & Ashland. It's going to be SO nice to see him. I'm going to hug him and not let go for sure. Then he only has two months and we will be together again!!!!!! Plus some of that time is Thanksgiving break! WOO!!!!!!!

Here's some fun stuff:

• Pad shop is going to be updated nonstop starting Tuesday. I got a bolt of fleece I was waiting on & spent the day yesterday washing it & sticking it back on the bolt. I'll have bags, liners, overnights & more. I'm not shipping until FRIDAY, so if you check out more than once, I'm combining shipping.
• Honey Run Quilters is having it's annual Holiday craft fair! It's Thursday & Friday 10-4. We all are bringing cute stuff that we've made & some of our shop samples! It's a great time to buy some Christmas gifts, including quilts!!! Come by & say hi!
• If you are in the Northern California area, I'll be vending at the 24th Annual Colusa Holiday Craft Faire at the Colusa Fairgrounds on November 20-21st!
• The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery will be releasing our Holiday/Winter themed patterns very soon! Check out the interview that Ashleigh gave them...and the charming photo of us eating deep fried twinkies a few summers ago ;) We thank you so much for all your kind words & support :) It's not to late to stitch up some candy corn or make a pumpkin table runner!

I'm getting excited for Halloween! Last year during our honeymoon we had a very late dinner in Mt. Shasta and watched a gorgeous couple dressed in Western apparel ride their horses to the local bar's Halloween party...where they met up with more friends on horseback! There was something so awesome about seeing them do that! It makes me want a horse even more than I already do.

Are you dressing up?!

{*~The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery~*}

The big thing I mentioned before?

It's happened!

My bestfriend Ashleigh & I have launched our very own pattern company...

Introducing The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery!!!!

Quite simply we are just two girls who love to sew and stitch. Our goal is to inspire you to love them too!

We adore Japanese zakka & kawaii, wool, needles & floss, embroidery hoops, linen, daily patchwork, pumpkins, cat blogs, bat leggings and coffee.

Four patterns have been listed in our shop in PDF form! Two cross stitch, two sewing!

The line of patterns will also be available in paper form in various brick & mortar quilt shops, along with Honey Run Quilters booth (#110) at Pacific International Quilt Festival THIS WEEK! I'll be leaving for Santa Clara tomorrow!!!

Come by and say hi, I'll be there at booth!

Thank you so so so much for all your kind emails and support. We are still very much new so if you have any questions, suggestions or wholesale requests, please feel free to email us: thefrostedpumpkinstitchery AT gmail DOT com

ps: I'd love to thank a bunch of really fantastic "industry" friends who offered us hours of advice and help. Cherri,Kaye, Karyn, our top secret pattern testers, & many, many, many more including a few of you will get mad if I link to you ;)...thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us make this dream come true!

{*~Five Senses~*}

Inspired by Abby

Tasting: Warm whole wheat spinach lasagna & diet Hansens ginger ale with a splash of Pimms.

Smelling: The flowers out side the window. Burning brush piles.

Feeling: A tad rundown. A whole bunch of excitement. A smidgen of worry.

Hearing: The new Belle & Sebastian album...it's streaming on NPR!

Seeing: The sunset from my window. The pomegranate orchard being hand harvested.

A few notes:

• Tomorrow will be a very big modernacorn update. I have more items than my shop can list so as things sell out, I'll be listing new things. I'll have some pad bags that are VERY cute. I've been emailed by several folks saying that today for an update didn't really work for them which is good because I'm feeling a little under the weather, I'll update the shop on Friday, Oct. 22 :)
• Safeway has started selling the glitter flowers again. I think these are mums? They spray them with glitter and it really really makes me happy.
• Tonight is the season finale of Haven. I've fallen hard for this show. Oh Nathan & Duke...wow.
• I had a celebration last night...2 big pieces of good news resulted in confetti & dinner out. And staying up until past midnight listening to the hum of my printer and folding tons of paper. Drinking coffee. Laughing.
• For some reason I'm not in "love" with any new lines of fabric. Dare I say this? I'm fabric-ed out! I'd rather buy from indie designers on spoonflower or Japanese linens. But spoonflower has it's flaws and Japanese fabric is Oi! So expensive to ship!!! So I guess I'm saving my pennies for a rain-y day!
• Fall means major cleaning. I've washed my bedding, sweaters, cleaned my closet, flipped my mattress and foam pad, vacuumed and more. Tomorrow I'm changing up the art on my walls.
• Starbucks has these incredibly cute Halloween tumblers. They have purple and sparkles and cute illustrations. I want one really really bad. I might ride my bike there on Sunday and treat myself to a new one.

Have a Happy Friday Pals!

xo

{*~Swiss Miss~*}

I've been making some progress on my Swiss Miss quilt. I had a sew day last week with some great friends, I ended up getting 50 blocks done that day! They are easy peasy and so very fun to piece!

It's neat to look & see where I started. This was my original bundle. I got rid of the blues and a few of the greens. I added a few more browns.

I'm at 70 blocks and I'd like to continue to collect some fabrics and make a few more. I might trade for some new prints. Maybe see what I can find at the quilt show in Santa Clara?! I don't want to make it TOO big, Porkchop has offered to pay for it to be long arm quilted for me as a Christmas gift, I'd rather it not cost an arm & leg. There is a local long arm gal who quilted a tree skirt in an amazing dense snowflake pattern that I think would be incredible!

I'm not going to lie, I'm debating backing it with minky. I know, I know, I can hear ya'll groaning. But I want the most amazingly soft & snuggly quilt ever. And every time I walk by the bolts at work, I touch them. I love love love how it feels. And we have the prettiest brown that would match beautifully. Imagine a big quilt, backed with that stuff, with wool or silk batting?! It sounds GREAT. My backup plan is simply Kona Crush. Boring. ;)

A few things:

• I'm going to have the largest modernacorn update that I've done EVER this week. I'll let you know once everything is listed!
• I'm obsessed with these mugs! And even better, THIS ONE! I really want a new mug. I own two mugs, a starbucks one and a handmade one. I drink tea/coffee all day. Sometimes BOTH mugs are in the wash and I'm stuck using an ugly mug that doesn't belong to me. Basically, I'm try to justify a new one ;) Plus they sell cinnamon bun & pumpkin spice coffee.
• I'm getting ready to bake these cookies, but with walnuts.
• So I've received 15 packages in the past week. And I brought them all home in a big tote bag from the post office. And then I LOST the tote. I know it's somewhere in the house but I can't find it. I also lost 2 lbs of grapes today too. I'm 99% sure there is a mean gnome stealing my stuff. He's opening my mail, listening to my quilt jams & eating grapes. Jerk.

Alright pals, I'm off to make some cookie dough and do some cleaning. Maybe make a new french press cozy with a few more bits of scrap wool!

{~*Bye September!*~}

Most of September was spent here. In this nook. Sewing away. 12 deadlines. All done & submitted. A few need a tiny bit more finishing details.

One morning I woke up early and drove over to Colusa for new tires on our SUV.

Saw some big cows!!!!

Miles & miles of orchards. Walnuts, plums, peaches, almonds, apricots, pomegranates and more!!!!!

This is rice. Tons and tons of rice checks. See how it's yellow-y? Last month it was the brightest green ever. This is because...

It's rice harvest time!!!!

But first...

PRUNE SEASON! Their harvest was just finishing up as I went by, Sunsweet has a bunch of dryers in the area. These photos are from the River Bend Dryer...if you were wondering.

Tons and tons of prunes. Zillions really.

Ever wonder how fruit is dried? (A prune is simply a plum that has been dried...they use a special variety)

It goes into giant tunnels that are like scary ovens.

That is heat. And scary. And hot. And about 20 feet in the air above me. There are giant fans in the tunnel that move the heat around. All the fruit has to dry or it will mold. It's intense!

So September was filled with great adventures and lots of fun sewing. Next up?

OCTOBER!

...and boy am I JAZZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

{~*cozy*~}

Last night, when everything for the day was done and all was quiet, I dug my featherweight, Bee, out from her bag. I grabbed a little tv tray, you know the little small folding tables? I went to the garage for a folding chair. I put my favorite Halloween place mat on the tray and Bee went on top of that. In my bedroom. Next to my bed. With some pumpkin spice candles and my little moon lamp. I made two bobbins of aurifil...a lilac variegated blend. Something better than white or cream. Watched two episodes of Pushing Daisies.

And I sewed.

I finger pressed. I grabbed fabrics at random from my little pyrex dish. I wished I had Chuck's wardrobe. I did a tiny bit of thinking. Instead of just chain piecing I finished a few blocks...just to see if I'd like them. The Christmas episode of the show came on and Chuck was outside talking to her bees. Her little outfit inspired me.

Swiss Miss Quilt. Rich chocolate-ly browns, pops of linen & whipped cream, burgundy rich reds, hints of pine tree green. Something warm and cozy. I said goodbye to the blues and have plans for more darks.

Fabric that was a gift from Mr. McPorkchop. Fabric that I'd been saving for quite some time. A mishmash of things. Some that go together well, some that don't at all. Either way, it's going to be fun to sew, fun to cuddle under and for us this winter. Or next winter. I might need to buy or trade for some more prints but I'm in no rush to finish...I'm just enjoying the process of making simple blocks that showcase fabric.

Sometimes a name just pulls everything together :)

pattern here

{*~Hi There~*}

I'm having an unexpected out of my control day off from sewing....

So I've been knitting Oatmeal, which I'm working on with Kaye & doing some cross stitching. I forgot that I had Harry Potter on my ipod, so I've been listening to PoA on it. That Jim Dale is really fantastic! Thankfully I have Yahaira on gchat to help me with knitting questions. See the little bit of halloween goodness under my hoop? I made the cutest padded pouch for my hoop & scissors!

Can I share with you guys some super exciting stuff?

Firstly, I'm going to Pacific International Quilt Festival! I'll be working at Honey Run Quilters booth & I'd love love love if it if you guys came by and said hi!!!!

Secondly, YAHAIRA AND RANGSIWAN ARE COMING TO SEE ME! They are renting a house in Chico for a few days after PIQF, we'll be taking a class at the shop together and I'll be showing them around Northern California!

Thirdly, It's my first wedding anniversary on Halloween weekend!!! I'll be unplugging everything and heading up to Mt. Shasta/Ashland with Mr. McPorkchop for a long weekend. We are SO excited!

So basically October is going to be a ton of traveling and working! It's going to be SO great.

A few of my favorite things:

• Haven! This show! It's killing me! I'm SO hooked! And Covert Affairs! Both of them!
• This comic. So true. I'd rather be late than rush and have something be ugly.
• The colors in this post...I really would *love* orange pillow cases!
• I want one of these! I'm an obsessive iron/starch-er.
• I've organized my google reader. I realize reading fabric blogs 24/7 was starting to both under & overwhelm me so I've added a "friends" folder...now each day I can see what my friends are up too and ignore the rest. And if I'm looking for inspiration, I added a folder for that too! And cooking blogs. And photography blogs. Would you think I was crazy if I told you I subscribe to over 1,500 blogs? So organizing them has made things muchhhh easier!
• My husband treated me to a fun amazon purchase...a large canning pot, rack, funnel and pectin! I can't wait for it to arrive. It ended up being around $35 in total CHEAPER to buy it online...crazy!
• I realllllllly want one of these to wear Halloween night!
• Trader Joe's Chai Latte mix...I loooooove it. I look forward to having a hot mug every morning. It's completely stopped my starbucks habit. It's *that* delish.
• I read this on Sunday and at first I was kinda...meh! But then it got really good!

Today was a fluke. I think tomorrow will be a "not sewing day" either but once I'm back to sewing, be prepared for me to go missing for a few weeks!!!!

What are you going to be for Halloween?

{~*JAMming*~}

It might seem a bit extreme or over dramatic but this makes my heart hurt with happiness. I learned so much this morning and I can partake in fall & farmers markets again.

I've been wanting to try canning for AGES. But I was kinda scared. I didn't want to take the time in case I couldn't eat it because of my allergies or it wouldn't work. It's literally been *years* since I've been able to eat fresh fruit. I miss going to the store and buying whatever I want. I miss going to farmers markets & breaking into a bag of pears on the drive home. I miss apple picking in the fall. It genuinely bums me out.

But you know what? I tried canning. And it worked. No mouth itching. No hives. No inhaler. Nothing. I did keep the temperature a little higher than the recipe suggests  (240 degrees) & added all the fruit at once so the proteins would break down at the same rate.

There are still some fruits/veggies I can't eat, but knowing I can add plums/pluots back into my life makes me positively gleeful.

I'm off to bake a tart with my leftovers.

RECIPE

{*~Exciting~*}

We are 9 days into September and I'm already having a blast. It got off to a rocky start, my first weekend back with Porkchop he was sick & we had to cancel a weekend trip to San Francisco. Bummer right? We spent the long weekend relaxing, taking benedryl, one of us cross stitching (guess who) and watching the X-Files. I've never watched that show & I'm not going to lie, it's scary. Like, I can't watch it before bed anymore. I might be a bit of a weenie ;) Yet I love it and can't get enough!!!!

I've been working on some top secret projects that are seriously a blast but it's killing me that I can't flickr/blog about them! I want to share and have fun >:( My blog might be seriously sparse for a bit and I apologize for that!

Here's what I'm obsessing about:

• This organizer. I am deathly afraid of moths, they are hauntingly beautiful and scary all at once. I'd be jazzed if it held my growing collection of embroidery floss. But moths. Blech!
• I got this and I love love love love love it! ecofriendly + rad = best! I have the pumpkin one!
• Actually...all things Halloween are amazing. I want to surround myself in orange and black. In fact, I'm getting close. Let's just say that tonight I bought BAT leggings and halloween argyle slipper socks. And I have black & glitter toe nails. I have a tacky side and I'm totally embracing it.
• A new batter bowl. I've been baking nonstop. And loving it.
• The VERY first rainfall yesterday. It was a small cloud burst but it still got me excited.
• The pomegranate orchard across the street is full of the prettiest fruits EVER.
• I treated myself to my first pumpkin spice latte yesterday! And I baked banana bread. So really, I was feeling fall-ish!
• Sewing with scraps. Instant gratification sewing. It's really really awesome to make something from the smallest bits and pieces. Normally 70% of what I sew I never post/share but these little wonky projects I love. They are low pressure and 100% for myself. Trying new stuff without worrying about a ton of time + cost of materials. It's like shooting from the hip!
• The gym! I love love love it. When I feel myself starting to get stressed and feeling overwhelmed, I'm going and working out. It's *really* helping.
• My cloth shop. I love love love how many positive emails I've been getting lately, I've been motivating me to do more more more with it!
• And finally, this blog post.

Tomorrow morning I'm attempting....pj pants. Thick & cozy flannel ones. It's not quite cold enough for them (at all) but I'm hoping to give them a shot!

:) Hope everyone is having a great start to September!