2 Scorpios

Here's the oldest (25) and the youngest (10) ...and I've got 2 boys in between! - both girls have autumn birthdays - a week apart! Happy Birthday sweetie girls~

Textile and Quilt History

I have loved textiles, colors and design since I was a small child. I remember being about age 5-6 and wanting to wear a pink dress with red tights... my mom had other ideas! I loved designing houses - and did so, starting about age 7. I actually understood 3-dimension and floor plans and I created fantastic home designs. I also loved paperdolls and fashion design, spending hours with paper and pencil creating the most fantastic outfits... Instead of spending my money on candy, etc. I used to beg my parents to take me to this little office supply store where they had a drafting/architecture section. I would buy triangles, scales, protractors, and such!

Ok, I was odd. I knew I wanted to be an architect and went through high school and three years of college with this in mind. However, things change - I did not end up being a designer - though I worked in that field for a few years! Now I get my design/textile fix buying fabrics, perusing interior design stores and creating small quilties and crafts.

I had the opportunity the other night to attend a Quilt/Textile Study Group at the Museum of the Rockies. Wow. Words cannot express the experience! If you are a lover of such things you would have been overjoyed. We got to go down to the storage space of the museum and look at over 20 antique quilts - some that have never been seen by the public (just by the former owners). Some of them dated back to the 1700's! I didn't think to bring a camera, but a few others did, so I might be able to share photos at a later date~ one of the attendees is a very knowledgable women who owns a local reproduction fabric store! What a wealth of information she is. Please check out her online store and website! If you click on the Dargate Book on her site you will find the story behind this little treasure seen above (photo by Margo Kramer of Reproduction Fabrics) ~ the curator at the museum was very interesting as well~ I feel truly fortunate to have been able to participate!

Are you tired of the Montana Landscapes?

I know I keep posting pictures of where I live - but it's just so 'gosh darn' pretty... these are just down the road from me...

Studio Shots

It is a nice, sunny day in my studio - so I decided to snap a few photos... here's a pic of a sewing machine that was my grandma's, plus some of her jewelry, which I display in an antique picture frame. I layered tea-dyed muslin over fleece and attached that to foam core board, before placing in the frame, then strung twine across in three places to hang the jewelry. I have also collected a zillion strawflowers out of my garden. I wasn't sure they were going to grow, but they bloomed like crazy in every color! I just like looking at them and touching them~

Junky Studio!

Believe it or not, I have begun a few Christmas projects for swaps I'm participating in! It's like Mrs. Santa's workshop around here! I found these yummy papers from Basic Grey at my local scrapbook store - Keepsakes By Design. I'm not a scrapbooker, but I do like to visit this store because I am addicted to paper! These will be used for an 'inchie' project - if I can find everything I need in the pile of junk formerly known as my studio!

One More Post Today

I LOVE pomegranates - read some history here... isn't this gorgeous ?

Butterflies and Bees in October

Hard to imagine with all the cold weather we've had that butterflies and bees are still buzzing around my garden. I captured the most awesome butterfly (moth?) photo and in the other picture I managed to find two bees! Wow. Enjoy your weekend!

Quilty Giveaway Winner

Well - I placed your names in a bowl (very high-tech...) and the winner of the Autumn Quilty is JewelGirl! Congrats! I will need your mailing address! Thanks, everyone, for commenting on my blog. I appreciate your nice words!

Weekend Adventure to Rocky Creek Farm

Saturday we took a trip to Rocky Creek Farm to gather up some pumpkins, eat caramel apples, take a hay wagon ride, and drink apple cider! It was the perfect autumn day - clear and sunny and slightly chilly... a great time! I got some great ideas for upcoming projects!

Festive Drink

My new favorite drink (though I really don't drink very often...) is a Pomegranate Mojito! YumYum! I tried them out last night here ... I found a recipe here. Try them! Minty and delicious!

My Favorite Halloween Story

Check out this short clip of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ... it used to scare the daylights out of me when I was a kid!

Halloween Paperdolls

These beauties are from a Halloween Paperdoll Swap I participated in last year!

Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

I LOVE cooking with pumpkin - in fact, I've taught many workshops (as a former Co. Extension Agent) on how to cook with pumpkin! These muffins are a cinch! Check out the recipe here.

Giveaway!

Yes, It's about time I had a giveaway! Leave a comment on this post sometime between now and October 24th. I will be drawing a random name for this little autumn quilty on Saturday, October 25th! Here is a photo... I'm just putting the finishing touches on this - that's why it looks a bit unfinished!

Black Cats

I had a photo shoot with the neighbor cat... she put on quite a show! Where did Halloween and all those superstitions begin? Read some interesting info here!

Halloween Party!

I love Halloween! I will be posting pictures, etc. throughout the day. First up is this picture of the 'headless' horseman... My daughter attends a school named for Washington Irving, the creater of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Every Halloween the kids have a costume parade around the school and this guy appears - riding his horse around the school. He really is quite creepy in person!

Halloween Templates from Matthew Mead

There are some fantastic templates on Matthew Mead's website... check it out! He has a great Halloween Book out as well! Actually, I love his autumn collage!

Halloween Treats

I have joined this Halloween Party - make sure to stop by my blog on October 18th! I promise to have some treats (a giveaway, perhaps?). I love Halloween. In my youth I was always a witch or a gypsy. My youngest daughter was born on Halloween 10 years ago this year! I can't wait for this bewitching party to start!

Favorite TV Show

Ok, I am not a big TV watcher... I will sometimes tune into an HGTV show or something, but that's about it. Now I have been introduced to "Cash Cab" on the Discovery Channel. I am hooked. If you haven't checked it out, it's kind of cool if you're into useless trivia!!!

I won a giveaway!

Wow - isn't this the most incredibly delicious little goodie?? I can't believe I won this - I have adored Julia's work for a long time! It came in a little envelope from the UK and I love that the postage says "Royal Mail"...very awesome. Thank you so much! Wearing this will make me so happy! Check out her blog at http://miss-frugality.blogspot.com/. (Credit for the photo goes to Julia - hope that's ok...)

New Magazine!

I just found this very cool magazine from Mary Engelbreit. It's not her regular magazine, which I adore... but it's called Guide to Creative Living. It has tons of resources for arts, crafts, sewing, etc. I found my copy at Border's... Check it out!

NEWS FLASH: The rumors are swirling in blog world... that Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion will cease publication after the next issue because the publisher cites 'high costs'... however, she is looking for another publisher - I hope ME finds one so HOME COMPANION will continue! It's one of my favorites! Check out the story here - http://www.maryengelbreit.com/PressRoom/MEHCSeekingPublisher.aspx

Guess what's happening today???

Yes, it is very cold here (32 degrees) and snowy.... a great time to work on some projects.

Another project!

I have joined this swap~ http://dollquiltswap.wordpress.com/

Lovely weekend!

I have been outside most of the day - it's so unseasonably warm! The leaves are starting to change color - my garden is starting to fade and I'm thinking about apple pie, pumpkins, cranberries and a hot bowl of soup! I just made a fantastic lentil soup... I'll post a recipe - but we usually eat it so quickly I never have time for a picture! Looking forward to a big hike tomorrow - probably Palisade Falls - a fairly easy mile walk to a beautiful waterfall - and we'll stop to see new exhibits at the Museum of the Rockies... hopefully I'll have another picture of a quilty to post! Here's some sunflowers in my garden! And can you believe my hollyhocks have only started blooming?

Autumn is here!

Autumn is my favorite time of year - though Summer is right behind it! Hopefully we'll have a nice, long fall, without snow! I believe we had snow last year at this time. The leaves are turning and there's a chill in the air! I am trying to work on several 'mini-quilty' projects - and will possibly have them available on my Etsy site very soon. So far, I haven't had anything to sell but I'm working on inventory for the holidays! Here is a sample - these take a little bit of time to make, but I love the texture and the colors.

Summer Projects

I saw these in a Better Homes & Gardens gardening publication and decided I could make some for myself. They are 'yard ornaments'... a bit of whimsy to decorate the garden! They are very simple to make. I haunted the local thrift store for glassware, vases, candlestick holders. I used waterproof adhesive to put them together! I like how they turned out!

Vintage Christmas Stocking Swap

Wow - it's already time to start thinkin' about the HOLIDAYS! I've joined Mary Ann's Vintage Christmas Stocking Swap. Time for me to gather up some ideas...

New Books Arrives

Kelly Rae's book arrived this weekend! What a treat. I can't wait to try some of the projects.

(Photo from her blog...!)

Lila Giveaway

Wow - I just found this blog Lila Tueller Designs- great patterns and a fantastic giveaway! Check it out! Oh, and here is a picture of one of the giveaways!

Picture Me Perfect Goes to Warped Tour!

Yes - once again, Picture Me Perfect is headed to the Van's Warped Tour in Boise, Idaho this weekend - August 8th. Just a little promo for my boys' band... picture to follow...