Pile O' Patterns

do you all have one of these?  a big ole pile of patterns, tutorials and freebies from the moda bakeshop?

I spent my last day of vacation organizing my MOM CAVE.  all i have left is that big pile of papers on the floor.  i have binders, but im not sure thats suiting me.  what do you all use for your patterns?

i needed a different sewing area, because im in the quilt making mode and i cant sew against a wall.  what do you do when your quilt starts bunching up against the wall?

i have an extra chair.....anyone want to come over and fondle fabric? 

of course i had to toss in a few more vacation photos.  look at this beauty? doesn't it almost look fake?  LOL
i believe this waterfall is called "bird woman falls" or something close.  (going off memory)

here are my fellas.....cute as ever.  check out those raging rapids behind them.  my hubby is a bit of a daredevil and likes to get CLOSE to the edges.  he almost gave me a heart attack on this one.  but after all of these years, i trust him.  he hasn't gone over the edge yet.  :)

FNSI winner, Yarn Tie Tips and more Quilt pics

check out HEIDIS blog for this months FNSI winner.  as i stated before, im on vacation :)

I have some more photos to share with you of my quilt.  as i said in my previous post, i was able to finish my Happy Campers quilt before my trip.  in this post, i shared some yarn tie pics.  well, let me say i learned a valuable lesson about yarn tying.  (Did anyone notice the difference in the color of the yarn?)

I had originally done the entire quilt in a nice brown yarn.  it took me days....and i was leery on the color (brown) after just a few rows, but was too lazy to change.  the brown took away from my fabric....but that wasn't the issue.  i used a super soft yarn....and when i washed it a bunch came UN-TIED!  ARGHHH! 

of course this happened the night before i left for vacation.  so when i got to my sisters in Montana, she helped me cut out the brown ties and we used a simple off white color in polyester yarn.  a big THANKS to my sister for helping me because i was devastated! 

here is a shot of the back.  all i used was a denim and a strip of the fabric on the lower half.  it was NICE and WARM!!! 

here is my Chubby Charm Bag my sister made for me again.  i just love this picture.  the countryside is beautiful where she lives.

Again this is her bag and quilt front.  same fabric---Happy Campers by Moda which is a few years old.

the back of her quilt.  WOW!  LOVE LOVE what she did with the panel and even appliqued a daisy on the strip.  A-Dorable!

my hubby, my son and I with our walking sticks at Glacier.  they have a bell on them to keep the bears away :)   .... which got a little annoying.  LOL 

What a way to spend my anniversary huh?  in gods country!

 Glacier is truly one of the most beautiful places i have ever been too.  The natural rivers, the going to the sun road, the walking trails, the nature and even the snow in mid July. 

Happy Campers Quilt and Chubby charmer

i finally finished the quilt!  but i have a surprise "guest" also.....my sisters Happy Campers Quilt   :)

here is mine.  dontcha love this country scene!!

im in a land far far away from the desert.....where i can actually get some great shots of my quilt.

here are both of our quilts.  we both fell in love with the Happy Campers Moda line a few years ago.  we decided to each make a quilt that suited our styles, and compared what the other had made. 

I fell in LOVE with her quilt ... it is absolutely adorable!  ill be posting more pics later of the front and backs of the both of them. 

we took an adventure this morning when the sun and the cows were both waking up to take these photos on some old abandoned land.

to my surprise....when i arrived at her house, she had made us both chubby charmers with her leftover fabric.  let me tell you this bag is  H U G E!! its a chub...as my sister says.  our quilts fit perfectly in the bag for our adventures this week.  yep, we drug them all around her state.  it was well worth it when the temps are in the 50s at night. 

ok......time for me to get back to vacation.  this is me in the middle waving at you all while white water rafting.  that is a MUST for your bucket list!!!

due to fun in the country, i wont be participating in the Friday Night Sew In, but Heidi has the sign ups on her blog.  have fun this month and see you in august!  

happy campers quilt update

i spy........

yarn ties.......

(staying with my 1970s themed quilt)

this rubber thimble is a M U S T !!!

stay tuned

the finished product will be coming soon.

Happy Campers quilt top

  is the quilt top done?

i dont have a clue.  LOL

i havent trimmed up the edges yet......

and im still pondering another row/strip on the top and bottom.....

and of course the wind came up while i was trying to take pics.  typical vegas weather.

and now i also get the fun part of figuring out my backing. 

im stumped folks.  dontcha hate staring at your work so long you lose your UMPFH?? 

maybe ill work on my camping bag tonight.  cuz a girls gotta have a bag to go with her quilt.

Happy Campers quilt

I'm a fabric hoarder, like most of us.  I've had this fabric for a few years (gulp) and I am now finally making myself a camping lap quilt!  I'm back into the sewing mode....WOOT WOOT.

I have a vacation this summer that is going to involve some cooler weather, bonfires and chilly nights.  this quilt is a MUST.  (if only i could find flannel sheets right now for the backing....shucks)

I'm not doing anything toooo special for the design.   just some simple charm pack squares and a panel section.  I don't want to take away from the fabric and cut it up, because its my childhood.  :)
with this long glorious weekend, I'm hoping i can finish it or at least get the top and back done. 

when i was a kid growing up on the border of ND/MN, we spent MANY MANY weekends camping.  this fabric truly brings me back.  we had a pop-up camper and always camped on a beautiful Minnesota lake.  it seriously is the land of 10,000 lakes.  i remember my parents getting home from work on friday nights and patiently waiting for them to load everything up so we could head out for our weekend getaway.  the drive seemed to take HOURS, but it was only 45minutes.  LOL

This isn't "our" camper, but it looks just like it.  i think this weekend ill have to dig through my moms pictures and see if she has any from camping.

we frequented a place called "Campers Point" on Pelican Lake, Minnesota.  we spent a lot of weekends there, and now being a parent I cant imagine how much work that was for my mom.  LOL
(kudos to you mom!)

you would come up over a hill then down into the campground.  my sister and i couldnt wait to jump out of our 1970's mustard color Pontiac Bonneville and run around to find all the kids we had grown up with camping.  there was a cute little campground store where mom/dad would give us a few pennies to go buy some candy.  upstairs in the store was the church that we went to on Sunday mornings.  there was even an abandoned haunted house on the property full of bats.  (of course we all had haunted stories about it and dared each other to go in)

recently, my parents commented to my sister and I that they felt bad for not doing a lot of things with us when we were kids because they didn't have the money.  we looked at each other.....mouths wide open....and said O M gosh are you KIDDING ME?  Camping was a child's DREAM!!!  digging for worms, fishing off the dock, swimming all day in a beautiful Minnesota lake, playing in the sand, s'mores on the campfire at night, sleeping in the outdoors.  it was a kids 1970's heaven!!!  freeze tag, red rover, hopscotch. 

those memories for me are priceless.  i have a date with the pool today, but tonight im going to FINISH this darn quilt.....because its the 1970s all over again for me and those were happy times.  *sigh*

dum dum bouquet

a crafty cousin of mine made me this.  yeah, we are all pretty much crafty!  LOL
i would love to have enough room on my desk at work for this.....but for now im enjoying it in my kitchen.  (i work in a teeeeny tinnnnny module---no lie)
 

all i know is she used her cricut, dumdums and a styrofoam ball on the inside. 

 her pot is from hobby lobby.  she said all their spring/summer stuff is on sale.  check out that butterfly on the top.  it has bling!!!

heres a picture to show you how big it is.
but wait.....oh jeez.....how pathetic am I???  im a techno geek right now.  this is where im kicking it and contemplating my night.

laptop, ipad, cell phone, home phone, old fashioned rootbeer candies, Coke, and stuff to make s'mores because im seriously thinking that could be my dinner!!!  at least my kitchen is kind of clean.  just dont peak in the sink. 

Taco Ring Recipe

I guess this is an oldie....but i have just discovered it!  its super simple and the kids love it.  Ive been told its a pampered chef recipe.  they are quite creative!!

what you will need is:
1 lb browned hamburger.
1 pkg taco seasoning and water as directed
cheese
2 packages of crescent rolls
toppings of your choosing.

Brown the hamburger.  Add the taco seasoning and any water as directed on package.  let simmer for a few minutes.
add the cheese to the meat mixture or you can add on top as i did later.

i used a pizza pan tonight, but have also made on a simple cookie sheet.  either way worked fine.

open your crescent packages and separate on the perforated edges.  place on a circle pattern, like a sunflower.  make sure the points are on the outer edge.  you will overlap the rolls on the inner edge.

spread your taco mixture on the inner edge.  i put the cheese after....but you can mix it in with the meat before putting on the crescents.

fold over the crescent roll "points" and tuck the points under.  see your beautiful ring?  oh wait....it gets better.

bake at 375 for 20-25....or until golden brown like below.  when you open your oven, prepare to drool a little. 

isn't that just yummy?

the toppings i added on my plate were salsa, lettuce, some avocado.   you could do rice, beans, tomatoes....you name it!

hope you enjoy!!!

linked to:   

MINOT needs help

As you may know I'm a NORTH DAKOTA native.....and its always close to my heart.

I have family in a few different areas of ND, and Minot is one of them.  A cousin of mine had to evacuate today at the last minute.  its terrifying to watch what these people are going through.  most of the city will be under water very soon....and I am talking a TON of water.

if anyone wants to help, please donate to the Minot Red Cross.  These people will lose everything, and be displaced for a very long time. 

anything will help.....but especially prayers!

We made it! He did it!!

my son.....my graduate

my baby.....my soon to be a college student.

ive never been a prouder mom. 

the proud brothers!

my 2 guys......my buddies.

im so grateful these guys love each other! 

im lucky they respect each other.



me and my hubby.....the proud parents. 



the cake.....lets not forget the cake!

to all of you parents that have made it through graduation......hats off to you!  to all of us that made it happen after 13 longggg years of schooling....a BIG HIGH 5!!

congrats class of 2011