Wonder Wallet

I picked up a little wallet pattern at the quilt store yesterday. Hannah had looked at it last time we were there and wanted one for herself. It's quick and simple. Hannah gets the wallet with the sunflowers on it. It matches the bag we made her a long time ago. And the little wallet on the right matches perfectly with purses I made...


I've made some of the blocks for my newest quilt. I made a huge mistake on cutting. (That's why I was at the quilt store yesterday.) I followed the cutting instructions based on the amount of fabric that came in the kit. It turns out they made some substitutions that look better than what I cut. I decided that I wouldn't be happy with the fix I could come up with or the cuts I already had made so I ordered a few yards online last night to fix what I did. I hate making mistakes like that. While I was ordering my fabric I splurged and got a little extra fabric. Anna Maria Horner, you make delicious fabric! So bold and funky yet it all goes together so well.

I love my husband. When I come in and ask him if it's okay if I spend $90 on fabric he doesn't mind. He says ok. I think he understands that I have an addiction problem. "Hello, my name is Ellen. I am an addict. It's been just a few hours since my last fabric fix..."

Ocean Grove

We finally, finally made it to the beach! Woo, hoo!I was beginning to think it'd never happen this summer. I am a big wimp and I won't go without another adult to help me out. Hannah and Simon are decent swimmers but I have to be on Seth the whole time. I just need another set of eyes and I might need some extra hands too.

Simon and Hannah were disappointed with the mellow waves. I on the other hand thought it was wonderful. Helps to keep the kids alive a bit longer if there aren't crazy, strong waves threatening to roll them over, pull them under, and drag them off to sea... ok, I am a bit dramatic from time to time. Still, I like a calm ocean.

Every time I get a chance to go down the shore it reinforces the cool things about Jersey. There are no beaches in Colorado. There were beaches in Seattle but the water was always a wee bit chilly.

We got to do all the fun things possible at the beach.

Splash in the waves. Seth was a little excited.

Play in the sand.

Fight over the toys to play in the sand with. Hey, there were shells in that bucket! Fight for it boys, fight! Huh, you'd think I might put the camera down to stop it. I helped. Just after I got a picture of what they're usually like.

Don't forget to give your mom a dirty look when she has the audacity to ask you to look up to get your picture taken. I actually like this picture. :)

Cartwheels too. What, that isn't what you do on the beach?

Last but not least, get coated head to toe with sand.

While we brought lots of sand home with us, as usual, we left all our sand toys there. Someone (a boy of about 8) left them somewhere on the trek from the spot we camped out and the car. Guess we'll have to go back and see if they got turned in to lost and found. We might as well play on the beach while we're there checking...

New quilt in the works

It's time to make a new quilt. I still have an unfinished quilt top that just needs borders and I have two done... I just haven't finished the last two. This fabric however couldn't wait any longer. I swear, it needed to be made into a quilt.

Summer is coming to an end very soon so I want to do fun things with the kids over the next few weeks before they head back to school. Today we had lunch with Dan, went to the park, and then went to Long Street Farm. I do believe it was a bit too hot but it is summer after all. Tomorrow we're hitting the beach. Finally!

Sitting with sister on a bench.

Goofy as usual.

Even goofier! I can't get a decent picture of them to save my life!

Playing with the blacksmith.

Swinging in the shade... ah...

Seth had to show Puppy the horses.

How do you measure up to the corn stalks?

Zucchini

For those of you with a plethora of zucchini in your garden or the ones that just love summer squashes, give this yummy recipe a try! It's really fabulous. My husband and I tried it a few years ago and have made it many times. The kids poo-poo it every time but that's because it's good for them!

Zucchini and Pepper Enchiladas
(Taken from The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen)

2 tbs. olive oil
1 1/2 cups minced onion
6 medium cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp. salt
1 large bell pepper (any color), minced
5 small (6 -inch) zucchini, diced
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
cayenne and black pepper to taste
1 1/3 cups (packed) grated jack cheese

1) Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet. Add onion, garlic, and salt, and saute over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the onion is quite soft.

2) Add the bell pepper, zucchini, and seasonings. Stir and cook over medium heat another 5 to 8 minutes, or until the zucchini is just tender.

3) Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Allow to cool for a few minutes before filling the tortillas.

I like to use pepper jack cheese to spice it up a little so I omit the cayenne and black pepper. I just prepare the enchiladas like I would if it were cheese or beef. I make it like a casserole with a layer of corn torts, layer of filling, layer of enchilada sauce, repeat. (I'm too lazy to dip, fill and roll each enchilada). Bake for about 30 minutes at 350.

Now you all have to request Said comes to your house to teach you how to make enchilada sauce from scratch. So easy and yummy.

Summer

It's finally summer here in Jersey. Hot and muggy! For fun today we turned on the sprinkler. Get them outside and cool them off. I sat on the porch muttering to myself that it was freakin' hot out. Thankfully we have window units to keep the house coolish (Yeah, that's a word). One of my lovely neighbors let us come swim in the late afternoon. I love that they have a pool and are willing to share. I'd hate to have a pool though. All the maintenance involved!

Hannah would fill the bucket and fit it on her head. Then she'd pull it up dumping the cold water all over herself. The shriek was quite loud!

I walked to the quilt guild meeting this evening. It was rather hot for a walk but it was only 3 blocks. When the meeting was over and we'd cleaned up and put the room back in order I said I was off to walk home. I immediately had 3 mothers all very concerned for my well being. "But it's dark." "Oh, please let us give you a ride home." "What if something happened to you?"... etc. I finally conceded and excepted a ride home. All three blocks away through the scary, scary dark.

Purse- take two

This one is super cute too! It again took me longer than I thought it would to make. Maybe I look at a purse and think, "It's so small, that won't take long." But in reality there are lots of steps in making a purse. This one had 20! Quilts are quick and easy to me. Wash, iron, cut, and sew. (Ok, there's a LOT more to it than that.)

So, which purse is your favorite? I was already asked by a friend how much I'd charge to make a purse for her. I truly don't know how to answer these types of questions. Here's a better one. How much would you pay for a hand made purse?

Purse

My lovely assistant Hannah grudingly came outside with me to take a picture of the purse.

This purse is adorable but it took a lot more time then I thought it would. Since it's reversable you cut two outside panels, two inside panels, two canvas lining panels, and pockets for inside and out with the lining. Oh, and the bottoms. I think it took me as long to cut each piece out as it did to assemble it. Well worth the effort though. There's another purse pattern with the pattern I bought so I'm going to try them both out.

I forgot to share one of the best things I got in Denver. My SIL made me a wall hanging! It is so wonderful and I love it. The "Herd of Turtles" now resides on the wall in our back stair case. It makes me smile.

Denver

I find myself back at home and not sure what to do first. Almost 300 pictures to sort through, 4 huge zucchini to cook up somehow, and fabric calling my name. It's hard to come up with a nice blog post summarizing our trip when the trip was 2 weeks long and we visited with soooo many people!

I'll just give you some of the high lights so I can go make zucchini bread and then maybe a purse or two! Oh, maybe then a quilt! I'm getting ahead of myself aren't I?

I got to meet my little nephew. He's so adorable. Just like his big sister. Here he is with his mama. His quilt and stuffed elephant were well received, of course.


We attended a pirate birthday party! The kids has a blast at this. Who wouldn't?


I got to see my mom and brothers! We went to the museum, Benny's for dinner, Governors Park, and even out for drinks... without the kids, of course.


We got to see my MIL. It's been a while! Yeah, that's a hint Stella...


Hannah got a serious hair cut. She donated her hair to Locks of Love. Completely her idea. Her Aunt Linda who recently went through treatment for breast cancer was very proud of her. And Hannah lost a tooth while we were there so the Tooth Fairy had to remember to make a visit.


Oh, and Estes Park!

Cool and cloudy.

Have you ever seen The Shining? This is the hotel.

Oh, the candy choices...

We also saw a movie and then had lunch and played with friends at Stapleton's Central Park... not even close to the real thing but definitely fun. ;)


Oh, and I got two girls night out. Count 'em, two! Totally awesome. The kids had a sleep over at grandma's one night and my brother baby sat for the other night out to dinner. I wish I could do that more often!


We had a delayed flight home but we entertained ourselves until it was time to go. Moving walkways are way to fun.


I had such a good time. It was wonderful to see everyone. If I didn't put a picture of you up or mention how much fun we had it's only because this blog post is way too long. I loved seeing all of you! Really. We spent time with all of Dan's family, my family and pretty much all of our friends. Phew, lots of fabulous people.

Now, I started this post earlier today and couldn't get back to it. I made the zucchini bread though. The purse pattern and fabric I bought at The Fancy Tiger, well that's next...

Candy

If you are ever in Denver and you enjoy knitting, quilting or both you should go check out The Fancy Tiger. It's a really cute little shop down on Broadway. It's not a huge store but it has some fun retro fabrics. They even have oil cloth. The yarns all look yummy too. Someday I'll learn to knit. All I want is a big, soft, comfortable blanket to wrap up in on cold nights. Is that too much to ask?

Our long visit is almost over. Just a few days left. We went up to Estes Park today just so the kids could see the mountains. Seth was very excited about going to a park. Jeez, it must be some park if you'll drive all the way to the mountains for it, right? It is however an adorable mountain town where I recall getting salt water taffy at when I was a little girl. We took the kids into a candy shop that boasted having over 180 different kinds of candy! They each got a little bucket to fill. Nothing like a kid in a candy shop!

Vacation

Our visit is going well so far. We've had the chance to see lots of people. Friends and family. Coffee with my girlfriends on Sunday was an awesome treat, I miss that. We've gone to 3 barbecues, one of which was also a pirate themed birthday party, swimming twice, and to the museum. My mom drove all the way from Kansas to see us out here! Makes me feel special. Tomorrow the kids are getting hair cuts and then we're going to see Harry Potter on the giant screen. We have so much more to do while we're here too...

I gave my friend her house wall hanging and she liked it. I told her she could open it but if she didn't like it she had to pretend she did. It turned out she did like it so she didn't have to fake it.

I don't have any pictures to share since I can't upload my images. I've taken close to 100 pictures so far and that's after deleting some bad ones. I have to go through it again.

I've gone to see my aunt twice and it won't be long until she passes away. She's been talking to people that have been dead for a long time. She even was playing catch with her old dog. The end is near for her. She's been talking to my dad so at least I know they'll have each others company.

Anyway, I didn't want the blog to get to dusty from disuse. We'll be home at the end of the month. Hopefully with lots of entertaining stories...

Antique quilt

Last night at our quilt guild meeting the president brought in an old quilt in that had been given to her to give away. Well, every quilter in the room was willing and able to give it a good home. It was decided to be fair we'd raffle it off. A dollar a ticket and the proceeds would go to charity. Somehow through luck or fate, I got it!

It's mine! Mine, mine, mine! Yes.



You can tell by the weave of the fabric that this 80 year old woman's mother did indeed make it. There are feed sack fabrics in it too. SCORE! Can you tell I'm a bit excited. For some reason it's sewn in half like someone was going to stuff it. A small duvet maybe? I can easily undo the seam and open it back up as a top. I do want to hand quilt this someday. Cleaning it will be the hard part. I always worry about ruining them. Now I feel like I am acquiring antique quilts. I have 4 I think. I'm alright with that! I do need to get some archival storage boxes. I currently have old quilts in white pillowcases and I take them out and refold them from time to time.

So cool!

Speaking of cool, nice transition right? Look what I bought the other day...

This won't be a complicated quilt but it's gonna be cute! I like Heather Bailey fabrics. Adorable.

And even more cool, look what I found in my garden today!


A big fat zucchini!

We'll have to eat it before we go to Denver. Friday isn't all that far away. I am excited to go. There will only be one truly sad part about our visit. My aunt isn't doing well. She was sent home from the hospital last week with hospice care. It's only a matter of time now I guess. Very sad. I am hoping to get to see her as soon as I get there.

Company picnic

Yesterday was the annual company picnic. It's definitely fun for the kids. We laugh though because each year you can see how they've had to do a bit less due to the reduced budget for the picnic. Bouncy castles, lollipop hunts, miniature golf, face painting, bumper boats, and free cotton candy make for some happy kids no matter what.

Seth got one lollipop. Good thing brother and sister had enough to share.

Minature golf Seth style.


Seth and mommy in the bumper boats.


Hannah and Simon on the bumper boats shooting everyone with water.


A little face painting.


And finally one tired, worn out little boy.

House

I have to start with I've never done this before. I took a picture, kind of drafted it out and then picked out some fabrics that would work as the house. I started it back in Nov and just let it sit for a while. Sometimes projects need to marinate.

The two wall hangings on the left side of the design wall were Xmas gifts.

Threads everywhere!

All quilted up!

See, my friend is going to lose her house. We all know how the market is right now, properties aren't selling for what they were once worth and the bank gets a lot of them back. Her house is one of those. She really liked her Victorian. So, I thought I could give her a house. Her house, to take with her. Cheesy? Yes. Dorky? Yes. Will she like it? I have no idea... It's so totally cheesy... I think I'll give it to her and ask her to not open it in front of me in case she thinks it's lame.

All I have left is to hand stitch the binding down.

One more week

I can't believe it's Friday already. We leave for Denver in one week! There's always so much to do before a trip.

We've had a pretty good week so far. Aside from the cold the kids have. We finished up their session of swim classes. So far this has been such an unusual summer. It's been cool most days. Like 80 ish. I'm not complaining but seriously, how can you run through sprinklers, swim, hit the beach, etc in cool summer weather. Our high for today is supposed to be 77! No need for AC, that's a good thing.

On Weds we went blueberry picking. It was a bit of a drive but worth it. Organic blueberries at $2.50 a pound! Sweet.



The kids love doing stuff like this so I don't feel like I am torturing them. We came home with 8 lbs. We could have picked more but I didn't want to go over board. I have 12 cups frozen now, we made muffins, and we've still got 4-5 cups to snack on! Lots of blueberries. I thought about making jam but I don't think I'd like it very much. I know Hannah wouldn't.

Yesterday, I gave Seth a snack and went upstairs to check my email. I came back down and found this...


Guess he was tired.

In quilting related news- I have a little wall hanging project I am working on right now. I'm making a house. I'll show you when I'm done. I hope it comes out as a cute as I envisioned. Or something like what the house really looks like... I better get on it. I'm already quilting it. I made a brick pattern on the little house. Took forever! I want to have it done before we head to Denver. I shouldn't put things off till the last minute. I'll learn someday. I swear.