Zero Quilt Progress So Far This Week...

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Since the weekend morning that I started back on the free motion sewing with the plan to get the Christmas quilt finished I haven't been able to sew AT ALL with my machine... The top thread keeps looping up on the bottom and no matter how much I turn up the tension it doesn't tighten up the thread... I turned it off... rethreaded (yes with the presser foot up)... made sure the presser foot was down when I was sewing...  rethreaded the bobbin... tried a different bobbin... and I even tried my old machine and got the same problem... WHATS GOING WRONG!?  is the timing off?  How would I know!?  I just want to finish this quilt!..

Got a few iPhone snaps when I was over at the neighbors last night... the Fall cleaning bug has bitten her too and last night she was organizing her office space... look at the treasures that were found...

OMM NOM NOM... Coconut m&m's!.. Yum... and super cute kittie stickie notes... which reminds me I have to dig them out of my purse here now and put them on my desk...  Thanks Amy!..  

AHHH... cutest pen ever... She's got a tonne of awesome stationary from Japan...

More beyond awesome stickie notes... "mew mew mew"

And I think this is the best treasure of the evening... remember this guy's show!?.  Wok With Yan!?.  "that wobster wok the wong way!.." *drops lobster into the pot of boiling water*

Pantry And Fridge Fall Clean...

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So I was inspired by these two blogs to gut my pantry and fridge this weekend: Three Boys and House Of Grace...  Take a look:

I remembered to take the before picture after I had taken everything off of the top shelf... It was getting hard to find things in the pantry... the baking supplies were just a big pile...

Here are the contents of the pantry all over the kitchen... I washed down the entire pantry with some hot vinegar water... floor too... 

And here it is all put back together... I picked up a pile of baskets for the pantry to make taking things out easier and to help keep things organized...

Here is how my spices were... they had overgrown their previous basket... but now I have them in two small bins...

Same with the banking supplies...

Now they're in two baskets too...

And same went for the fridge... here is the before... again remembering to take the photo after I started to empty everything out...

I emptied the fridge completely... washed it out... washed all the shelves and drawers in warm soapy water... tossed anything out of date or that we just no longer used and wiped everything down before it was all put back in...

Next weekend I want to tackle all of the kitchen cupboards... clean them all out... wash them down and make sure they're nice and organized...

I forgot to mention that I found a spot for the little corals and things that I picked up at the neighbors garage sale on Saturday... I had an empty jar on the fireplace...

They might be moved out to the front room once I get that room finished... we'll see... AND I almost forgot... Chris and I went to the Flames/Lightening game Saturday night!..

Our seats were AWESOME!..  and ate a pile of stadium food... pocket dogs, cheeseburger, fries, pretzel, popcorn and pop...  I was gonna go for a churro too but was just too full!...

Productive Weekend...

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...and not productive at the same time...  I'll explain in a moment... but first look at this cute little fellow...

Well he's not that little... and I don't think he was a he... I swear it had boobs... but I thought squirrels only had young in the spring?..  I snapped this shot of this giant squirrel when we were up in the NW to pick up the burlap sacks...

Anyway... Saturday morning before heading up to the NW for those awesome burlaps sacks I got up early and started working on the Christmas quilt... everything was going great and I got another big section done when BAM!.. the top thread started looping up on the bottom... I checked everything... rethreaded... rewound the bobbin... EVERYTHING... I tried a couple times more and nothing worked... does anyone know why this is happening!?.  I had to put the quilt aside... I'll try it again tomorrow evening and see if its working...  hence the not so productive comment... I was really looking forward to crossing that one off the list this weekend...

Friday evening on the way home from work we picked up wood table and chairs that I'm going to refinish... today I picked up the sandpaper, wood filler, paint and stain... Once I start that I'll post the inspiration photo... Ooo... I have to tell you the paint colour for the table and chairs is called Sea Salt... 

Then to jump back to yesterday and today... I was inspired by another blog... I'll post the link to that tomorrow when I post the pictures of the before and after work on the pantry and refrigerator... over the past two days both were completely gutted and completely washed down...

Ooo... I also got my wreath form for the carnation wreath picked up... next item to pick up from Michael's with the 40% off coupon is the giant Martha Stewart glitter set... to make Christmas cards!..  

I have to make a running list of projects...  Perhaps I should post that up here in the side bar?.. what do you think?

So what did you do this weekend!?

Out And About...

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Just stopped by the neighbors garage sale... Got these beauties!.. Love them!.. I also got the wood basket that they're in, and a black wire mesh basket... I'm going to try to strip the black off so that its just the silver metal...

And take a look at these!..

Here's a quick shot of the burlap sacks that a very nice lady in the NE posted on kijiji FOR FREE!.. I think the two printed ones will make two big beauty pillows to go into the tv room in the basement once we get it finished... I plan on making these into pillows long before the basement is done... but I still have a few projects ahead of these...

Show & Tell Friday

Check out these Fall beauties:

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I love these little dried strawberry corn... they just add that little touch of fall to the kitchen...  They fit perfectly in this glass vase... not husk trimming required!...

Here they are on the shelf by the back door with the little squash pumpkin that there was no room for on my front door Fall wreath...

I'm linking up to My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday... join in!...

Smile Cookie Day At Timmies...

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We stopped to get tea on our way to work this morning... I had left my travel cup at work so couldn't make one to take with me... and turns out that its Smile Cookie Day... $1 per cookie and the full proceeds from the cookie sales are donated!..  I was too tired to do any quilt work last night... and my plan today when I get home is to go to bed!..  There is a roast in the slow cooker... so we'll probably make something easy to go with... mashed potatoes and some veggies?.. then sleep...

Ooo... I just looked through the Restoration Hardware Catalogue that came in the mail... I think I need a second job...  and all the money from that can go straight to buying furniture and accessories from Restoration Hardware... 

Ooo... a Michael's flyer came too...  heading there this weekend to get my wreath form for the carnation wreath...  and we're making a trip to Home Depot for winterization supplies... burlap... stakes... twine... It's supposed to be nice this weekend so it'll be a good time to get the gardens ready for the Winter... and its time to start pricing out supplies for the basement... weee!...

More Quilt Progress...

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LOOK!.. I'm excited and not excited at the same time...  I got about half of the quilt top sewn all over with loops and stars...  Some Most of the lines are not nearly as smooth as I would like them to be... I know that a big part of the problem is my speed... I'm sewing way too fast most of the time... but I'm also have trouble moving the quilt around... I have the proper foot and the quilting plate on to block the feed dog... I think the quilt is a bit too thick as well... maybe if the feed dog dropped instead of a plate going on top of them that would leave more room... but the quilt batting is one layer of that puffy batting... if it was that really flat off white batting I think I could get it moving a little more smoothly... or perhaps I should have used a flannel sheet as the batting, or even one of the vellux blankets I have in the basement...  Here are a couple more snaps of the quilt... Do you have any advice for me to make this free motion sewing go more smoothly?..

I was really worried about sewing all over the appliqued part... but I just really have to focus and sew slow and move slowly...

Hopefully I can get this part of the quilt finished tonight and then tomorrow night sew on the binding and then start hand sewing the binding around... I can bring it to work Friday morning then to finish hand sewing the binding on... that'll burn up my hour here before work starts pretty quick... and my lunch hour too...

Did you watch Glee last night?.. I had it on when I was working on the quilt... it was good... tonight I'll watch Survivor while sewing... did you watch last week?.. I missed it and have been waiting for it to pop up on VOD but it hasn't appeared yet...  Was it any good?..  Guess I'll see this evening what this season is like...

Christmas Apron Pattern Found...

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Look at these ladies rockin' these aprons... I'm going to be making apron C... this is from Simplicity Pattern 2592... They've brought back some vintage patterns from the Simplicity Archives... I brought the patten to work with me today so I could take a look at the instructions before work to get ready for working on it this weekend... 

Oh yeah... Glee season premiere comes on tonight... I had never watched the show last season when it was on but over the past few weeks I've seen some snippets from the first seasons reruns... and then watched a few of the last episodes... its pretty good!..  

Weekends Are Just Not Long Enough...

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Got the quilt top really finished now... I forgot that it had borders to go around it... it looks much nicer now with the borders on...

I just had just a moment this morning to snap a quick shot of the quilt top with my iPhone...  I was planning on getting it just about finished this weekend!.. but we were out and about with our neighbors on Saturday running a few errands and of course eating!.. Saturday we hit up Fat Burger for lunch and then a late supper at Kelsey's... yeah Kelsey's not the best restaurant around out there but we were all looking for some home cooked food... surprisingly it was pretty good... but back in Newfoundland if you're looking for some comfort grub you go to Irving Big Stop for a good bowl of Turkey Soup... or to Velma's for a plate of turkey dinner...  Where in Calgary can you go and get that on a Saturday Night!?.  Really if you know where to go in Calgary for some good home cooked comfort food leave a comment and let me know!..

Saturday I picked up 12 bunches of red carnations for the Christmas wreath I plan to make soon... The carnations are dirt cheap... and they don't look that bad at all... I'm really not a fan of fake flowers but once these are all together as a wreath or ball they look really lush and Christmassy...  Now once I get a new coupon for Michael's I'll have to pick up a wreath form and I'll be set to get to get the wreath together...

Last night we went back to Bookers, luckily we got there just before 5.. the place filled up quick and there was quite a lineup of people waiting for some tables to free up... Oh did we ever eat a massive pile of food... and it was all delicious... Next time I will go with the all you can eat crab... not that the ribs I had weren't good, I just prefer a dry rib as opposed to one with sauce on them... perhaps you can order them dry from there?..  I didn't ask,.. I was too busy chowing down,.. OH and the brisket... OM NOM NOM NOM!.. 

Next time I'll be going for the all you can eat crab... its Bookers... you should be eating the crab!.. I dropped the ball on photos last night... we just started eating when the food came...

By the time that I remembered to take a picture of our feast the platter of ribs, brisket beans and crab legs that Amy and I shared had been destroyed and what was left was packed up to take home... then we ordered a bucket of crabs legs...  Chris and Brendan went with the all you can eat ribs and crabs legs...

All iPhone shots again... and I didn't get one shot of either of the two slices of the Key Lime Pie that briefly visited our table... Bookers Key Lime Pie is divine!.. nice and cool with a real nice thick but light whipped cream... and there was a raspberry reduction with whole berries on the top of the pie with thin lime peel curls... and the graham crust on the bottom was the perfect amount of crust... Then to help everything settle a cup of tea was in order...

Mighty Leaf always makes a good tea... this one included... 

Got a chicken in the slow cooker for supper today... its comforting to walk into the house after a day of work to be greeted by the smell of cooked supper... Mmm... all we have to do is make a salad and we're set... the plan this evening and every evening is to put in an hour of work on whatever projects I'm working on... so tonight the quilt... the backing piece is sewed together, washed and dried... I just have to iron it so I can baste the quilt together... I also managed to get the Sheri Berry Christmas fabric washed, dried and ironed for my Christmas apron... I want to start that apron this weekend coming...

Quilt Progress...

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OMG some total creeper sent me a FB message asking me if they could buy the leggings that I am wearing if they are tights!.. WTF!?.  That's creepy!..  

I worked on my quilt last night!.. The top is all appliqued and put together!.. I plan to finish it this weekend...  I have some photos too!..  I'm going to share these for my Show and Tell Friday

I used different stitches for the different parts... I just discovered that my new machine doesn't have an un-angled blanket stitch... but it has two angled ones... one one way and the other the other way...

I think the variety of stitching makes it look more folk art-y.  And there will be various sized red buttons sewn onto the quilt to look like holly berries... 

I'll get a better shot of the quilt laid out flat once I get it tacked to the batting and backing... then the free motion sewing will begin... I think I might draw the pattern that I want to sew all over it on in sections and work on it that way at first...

I plan to get this finished this weekend... its time to get working on Christmas presents... only 99 days until Christmas!..

Umm... Yeah...

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We barely made it through supper and didn't even finish watching the BB12 finale before we fell asleep... so no promises, but I'ma try to work on the quilt this evening... but if not this evening than this weekend is going to be a weekend of sewing and creating!.. well thats my plan for the weekend anyways... 

ACK!.. I forgot to take out either the chicken or roast and put it into the slow cooker... KD for supper it is!  Neither of us wants to stand around and cook supper lately so its been easy meals all week... 

I feel like I should post a photo... like its just boring if its all text... let me take a look and see what I have... I recently took just about all the photos off of my computer and put them onto our external hard drive so its slim pickins...

Sooo I found a pile of baked goods photos... iphone photos but they're not too bad...

Here's a mini cake I made there last fall...  Wanted to try out fondent... its pretty neat but I don't like to eat it... 

Christmas cookies... I can't wait to start baking these for the holiday season... soo good they just melt when you bite into them... gotta love shortbread cookies!  These were made from Chris's Mom's recipe... once I start baking for Christmas I'll post the recipes that I'm using...

Here we have an Epic Cornbread Fail... BAM!.. it hit the floor and was toast...

And here are some really good cookies that I made for our engagement party this past winter... I made these from a friend's recipe... so I call them Ashleigh cookies... but I think there a variation of a shortbread cookie...  I'll definitely be making these for the holidays too so I'll check with A to see if I can share her delicious recipe!..