Basting Quilt

I am finally back to quilting and it feels so good. I am going to baste a 54 inch Tom and Jane quilt top that I made last year. It's been patiently waiting for me staring at me every time I go into my fabric closet. I thought I had cotton batting but no luck so I will use polyester batting and I will have to piece it because I really hate to cut up a full or twin size batting just for a 54 inch quilt and I can't bring myself to throw good pieces of batting away either so I will piece the batting today. I have done that before and you can't even tell once the quilting is done. I'm quilting this one using a flannel backing and I had to piece that to because the flannel was 42 inches and the top is 52 inches wide. I will try quilting this with no frame since it is small but if it gets too hot I will definitely put it in a frame.

I have been gardening and found some beautiful dwarf dalias for my front yard. My hubby killed a climbing rose I had in the front that was about 13 years old. He put in some bone meal without watering it and now the leafs are all brown. I am so upset about that! I don't get it because I've never known him to kill any plants he's the one with the green thumb.

Remembering My Cat Sonia

Sonia right after we got her as a kitten.

Sonia a grown up lady.

This morning while browsing through blogs I came upon Sweetbait and she posted about her beautiful Calico kitty. It brought tears to my eyes as it reminded me of my beloved cat Sonia. I had Sonia for 10 years before having to put her to sleep. I loved that cat so much. She was such a good and loyal kitty. She use to follow me around the house and sit next to me when I sewed, she never got on the furniture not the table and she use to wait with my son at the bus stop until the bus picked him up. When we would let her go outside she never wondered off either. She was the cat everyone dreams of having. I miss her to this day and she’s been gone9 years. No matter how happy my Chi’s make me I still miss my Sonia. Off I go to buy some fabric at our new Super Joann’s. It’s my first time to the new store.

Houston,I Love It

I have been cleaning my sewing room and organizing before I start cutting backings for my quilt tops but decided to take a break. I was downloading some pictures to Windows live gallery and found these still in my camera. I still had 100 pictures in the camera. These are pictures of Houston. I took them when we were leaving and coming to town from Arizona. The big Beehive and Lady’s head was taken while we were just driving around town. I love this city because the people are very nice and polite, my son found that out when he moved to New York,LOL. The city has the best cancer hospitals anywhere, you can always find what you’re looking for. It has lot’s and lot’s of really good bookstores and the city is spread out it’s not just concentrated in one spot. The pictures above only show you a small part of Houston. There is a lot of land in Texas so that’s probably why.The highways are big and have exits that easily get you off the express way. There are many great museums that often have good exhibits.A great zoo which we visited almost every weekend when my kids were young. There are big sports arenas and of course the really big yearly quilt festival. Many multi cultural festivals through out the year and a great 4th of July fireworks display. We have the Johnson Space Center and the Space Center where one of my son’s worked at for a long time. Another things is that Houston usually gets lot’s of rain so it’s always green so when you’re in a plane and you look out the window when you coming into Houston you can see how green it looks everywhere. If you ever come to Houston look up Lucia’s Garden, it’s a small business in a cottage style house that has candles, fairy’s,books,herbs,music cd’s, soaps, jewelry,plants, incense ect… You won’t be disappointed I promise. You must be thinking there has to be something I don’t like about Houston and yes there is. It’s hot and humid in summer which curly headed people like me don’t like and the mosquitoes can be bad if we’ve had lot’s rain for a couple of days. I hate the clay soil which makes it very had to dig and you must add peat moss and compost to the soil to help make it more workable. I do a lot of gardening and that can be in a pain in the shoulders and rear.You need a strong back and tools to garden in Houston. That’s it.

Cake In A Mug

I tried a recipe for a cake in a mug and it was a big hit with my husband and son. I tried adding banana pudding on the right one and as you can see it looks pretty bad actually it looked a lot worst than what it tasted like. It was really pretty good. That was suppose to be for my son but I didn’t have the heart to give it to him and I just made him another one which is in the top picture. My husband ate all of his and my son is saving his for tomorrow. It was too chocolaty for me so I just tasted. I love the fact that I don’t have to make a whole cake so everyone eats less and it’s done in five minutes. What more could you want right. I’ll have to try and make different flavors. I added pecans to my husbands and chocolate chips to my son’s. I was thinking adding ice cream or bananas would also be great. If I’m going to just have it once in a while I might as well go all the way.LOL! Here’s the recipe.

4 tablespoons flour (I added 5)

3 or 4 tablespoon it depends on how sweet you want it

2 tablespoon cocoa

1/8 baking powder

1 egg ( I used egg substitute 1/4 cup)

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil (I used 2 1/2)

chocolate chips

small splash vanilla

1 large mug

Put dry ingredients in mug and mix. Add egg, vanilla and oil and mix well. Add chocolate chips and mix again. Place in microwave (1000 watts) and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it it will rise over the top of the mug so don’t be alarmed. Let it cook for a couple of minutes so it can pop out when you place the mug upside down onto a plate or you can eat it out of the mug like we did.

Curtains On Their Way To New York

I am finally done with the altering of the curtains for my son's apartment. It took me three days to measure, cut and add fabric to the curtains but it took me three months to actually get started. I just wasn't motivated for some reason well I do know what it was. It's this darn computer I'm so addicted to. LOL! I also sent him some Ritz crackers, teddy graham cookies which he has liked since he was little and some books. Oh, and some Ranch Style Beans which he says he can't find in Jersey City. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I sent off the box. He bought the curtains during his Christmas vacation to Texas at Linens & Things while everything was 70% off. He got great looking guy curtains at a great deal but three were too small and two were very long so I said "No problem I'll just take from the very long ones and add to the short ones." I was able to match the fabric pattern with no problem and you can't tell unless you look at them up close. He customized a curtain rod for the weird shaped window in his living room so hopefully it'll turn out o.k. Now I'm motivated to get back to my quilting and painting. I have many quilt tops waiting to be made into quilts, canvases waiting to be painted and beads waiting to be made into jewelry.

Bunny Love

Just take a look at this bunny isn't he the cutest. He reminds me of a bunny my brother found in a field and brought it home to me when I was three.He was 16 at the time and he use to help a farmer with his crops. As soon as he put the bunny on the floor I fell in love with it. We had the bunny for a long time until it died. I found this bunny at Petsmart of all places. It's a toy for big dogs of all things. I grabbed it as soon as I saw it and as soon as my Chi's saw it they wanted it but this one's for me. I was touching it and stroking it's super soft fur while i was reading last night. It looks real from a distance and I fooled my 21 year old son when I told him I had found a bunny near a field. He also had to hold it as soon as he saw it. I can't imagine someone giving this to a dog for a toy it's just to cute. Had to share.

Kreative Blogger Award

I am so happy and honored to have gotten a Kreative Blogger Award from Diane at http://dianesmixedart.blogspot.com/. Thank you very much for the award Diane. I am to list seven things I love or inspire me.

1. Nature

2. Babies

3. My Pets

4. Bold colors

5. Music

6. Old buildings from the 1800's

7. Traveling

I will now like to pass on this award to

http://glorv1.blogspot.com/

http://aquiltisnice.blogspot.com/ http://www.passionatequilter.blogspot.com/

http://scrappyhappystarfishy.blogspot.com/ http://morahquilts.blogspot.com/ http://bingobonnie.blogspot.com/

http://quiltnutcreations.blogspot.com/

I think the above blogs are great and full of great info. Keep up the good work blog owners.

Plant Shopping

Beautiful oriental statue. I just love it.

Very expensive very beautiful fountains.

Shrimp plant, kind of funky looking plant.

Herb section of nursery.

Spring shipments of annuals and perennials.

Me looking at roses.

Saturday I went plant shopping at the biggest Nursery I've ever been to. Maas Nursery is about 4 miles from my house and I just love going there during spring and summer if not to buy then just to see what's new. All of the roses I have I have bought at that place and I haven't lost a single one yet. I go every spring to buy new herb plants and plant food. They had a very big loss due to the hurricane but they are beginning to have shipments come in for the spring. Our weather has been beautiful the past couple of days so I thought I'd take advantage of it and start shopping for plants. I have to plant some rose cuttings that are big enough to put in the ground. Can you believe that from about 30 cuttings only 3 survived. I always accidentally pull out herbs in the beginning of spring when I'm pulling weeds. I go crazy pulling weeds and over look the baby herbs that look like weeds. My husband always gets after me for that. In a couple of weeks my there will be the most beautiful sweet and spicy scents of roses, jasmine, trumpet flowers and herbs. I tend to buy old fashion roses and David Austen roses are my favorite. Luckily my husband has a very green thumb which I envy. He plants every plant I buy and I trim and feed them. My husband loves plants he reminds me so much of his dad. My father in law is 94 years old and he still waters his gardens. Last year he was trying to climb an orange tree and fell. Thank goodness nothing happened to him. I wonder if that's what I should expect from my hubby. LOL.

Yes, It Can Happen

I saw a car which made me think back to a hilarious experience a friend and I had many years ago. We both laugh out loud every time we remember. We went out shopping and stopped at this store, we parked went inside and stayed there for about 30 minutes, so we head back to the car, my friend and I go inside the car and my friend puts the key in the ignition and in the mean time I'm noticing things I hadn't noticed before like cassettes I hadn't seen before and a cigarette lighter, I ask my friend, "Are these your cassettes, I don't remember you having these here before and this lighter wasn't here either?" and we look at each other and I ask her, " Is this your car?" We both just open our mouths and get out of the car faster than cat running from a dog. We had gotten in the wrong car and just as we had gotten into her car the owners of the wrong car come out of the store and get inside the car. Those two cars were identical, and oh my gosh, she drove out of that parking lot so fast it was hilarious. I asked her why she was driving out so fast and she said she was afraid some one would think she was trying to steal a car and I told her, "but you didn't you idiot." Man, oh man, we were both laughing so hard we were crying and she had to pull over because she couldn't drive. I guess we'll laugh about that forever.

Chicken Shrimp Tortilla Soup

. Ingredients for the soup.

Saturday, I made Chicken Shrimp Tortilla soup. I love tortillas soup but had never ever made it. I never order it at a restaurant either, I usually eat it at a friends house.I really made it for my husband so I made it really spicy and he loved it so much he had two bowl fulls. I made Mexican rice to go with the soup and that was really good. I didn't even taste the soup because if I have anything with a lot of spice I will have a hard time breathing and will start choking so I made myself some fish with tomatoes and zucchini which was excellent. Oh by the way I have lost two pounds since I started my diet a week ago and I'm thrilled.

NOW, THAT'S A PIZZA!

Last night hubby and I were starving and knew our son would be to after work so I said, "I'll make a pizza and so it won't take so long I'll make the dough with Bisquick." I knew he wouldn't want no Bisquick dough so he said, "No way, I'll make the dough myself." I swear that man makes the best pizzas. This is a veggie pizza made from scratch and the crust was about one inch thick. I actually didn't even have any because I'm on a diet and it 8p.m. I just had a slice of paper thin magherita pizza.

Don't think I won't have a slice of that huge pizza I'm having some for lunch today. LOL!

Garden Art For Spring

This is a bowling ball I decorated using half marbles. I love the way it looks in the sun.

I have to start planning a design for the bowling balls I'm planning on buying this coming spring and it's just around the corner for us in Texas. I'm going to paint some and jewel some to make my back yard pretty.I had a hard time finding bowling balls at garage sales but finally found this one at a antique shop. I haven't worked nor really been in my back yard for months and I'm really getting the urge to do that again. I also want to make a big bird bath out of hypertufa and using a big elephant ear leaf for a mold. I'v been waiting for my elephant ear to produce big leafs.

By the way this is an Angel's Trumpet plant and if you don't have one you should get one because the scent is just wonderful. It smells like lemons mixed with sweet perfume and at night the scent travels up to 10 to 15 feet.

No Sleep Last Night

This is what I look like when I haven't gotten any sleep, and, no, I'm not embarrassed because I know no one wakes up pretty.HA! That's what happens to curly hair in Texas, especially when you live close to the water. My son went out last night and at 2 a.m we get a call that he's car is broken down miles from home. So, what do my husband and I do, get in the car at 2:30 and go looking for him but luckily my son's car starts and my husband and I just head back home. We talk while watching The Good The Bad and The Ugly with back then hunk Clint Eastwood. Well, I went to bed at 4a.m and then woke up at 12 p.m today with my head spinning and my back hurting. even my little dogs woke up late then ate and are back in bed. I'll probably get it back in gear in a couple of hours.

Craft Pictures

Here are some of the many things I make for Christmas. Wooden Money Bank

Jean Apron

Jean Apron

Christmas Ornaments

Christmas Ornaments everything is handmade even bears.

Christmas ornaments

Bird Ornaments

Victorian Mini Stocking ornaments

Four Inch Christmas Ornament Same as above

Same as above

Seven inch Angel

Seven inch Quilter's Angel Small Doll holding doll

Small doll with kitty

A very hot Humpty Humpty's friends and girlfriend in the middle

More of Humpty's friends

Get Ready For Pictures

Many of my friends want to know why I haven't posted pictures of the many crafts items I have made, well, I don't know, so, I will take pictures today and probably post them tonight or tomorrow morning. I make ornaments and all kinds of stuff every Christmas but just never take pictures. Check back tonight. I'm redoing the curtains for my son's apartment right now.

Yesterday, Friday, hubby and I went to the Half Price Books again on Montrose and Westheimer in Houston. I bought some more movies and two books for my sister in Indiana. I had the hardest time finding books for her because we both share a love for books and we have the same taste in books so when I find something I think she will like I wonder if she all ready has it. It's actually funny because we have bought many of the same books without even knowing until we start talking about what we have bought.These are the books I got her. I just have to read them first.LOL! I read some of the first one and it was pretty funny from the start.

Dolls I Use To Make

Here's a picture of one of the dolls I use to make a long long time ago. I use to work with a friend and people would give us a picture from their child hood and we would make it look like that picture. This is suppose to be the school nurse of my son's elementary school.This doll was about three feet tall. The nurse later told me her grand kids use to just love that doll and they would sit and just talk to her all the time.Those dolls used a lot of stuffing and they were a pain to stuff because they had to be very firm. I have to look for the rest of the pictures to show you more. I'm thinking maybe I gave up making these because I prefer working with small scale things.

What Happened To The Quilting You Ask

Many of you are probably wondering why I haven't been posting any quilting stuff on my quilting blog right. Well please bear with me while I'm trying to recover from my back which has been giving me trouble . The sitting that is required with my quilting would really set my recovery back. Before I start back with quilting I have to finish my son's curtains for his New York apartment which is on the 26th floor of a building. All he has are blinds and curtains would surely help block off more of the cold right now. I'm not done with quilting yet. It's my favorite thing to do. I also have to make curtains for my kitchen.

Book Shopping

Today, Monday, hubby stayed home so we went into the Houston area to check out another Half Price Books a chain store in the Houston area that sells books,movies,cd's,games, and magazines. Everything in those stores is half off. I love that place. They have lot's of new titles and movies for $6. I'm a book addict and I guess it really shows in my face in the picture. LOL! I bought three books, THE BONE LADY Life As A Forensic Anthropologist, POISON STUDY, Yelena becomes the food taster of the commander in order to leave a life of poverty and RED GLASS,

A small boy named Pablo crosses into Arizona from Mexico. We then went to eat at Ninfa's a mexican restaurant that has some of the best fajitas. We got there at 3p.m after the lunch crowd and before the evening crowd so it was just us and two more couples. I had fajitas with rice, refried beans, guacamole, tortillas and a glass of sweet tea, and boy was it good. I bought my son an enchilada plate his favorite and on Mondays it's two for the price of one so he'll be eating good tonight after work. We don't eat there to often though only a couple of times a year.