Design Wall Monday - 12/5/11

I know that it has been a few weeks since I reported that I'd found my design wall while unpacking some boxes.  I was hoping to participate in JudyL's Design Wall linky long before now - but wouldn't ya know it, I couldn't find the digital camera! Then when I did the battery was dead.... so I charged it up and then I forgot about my sewing room... and then... just now this weekend I remembered!  Here's just a little of what I have to share.

I know it doesn't look like much of anything. But to me it is! It's a reference guide to two of my quilts in progress.  I'm pretty sure I told you about "borrowing" a few Priority Mail cardboard boxes from the PO before I left Texas.  Yes, in each one I put a different quilt that I was working on - they're all I plan to work on during our year of renting this home.  Everything else can remain packed up until time to move again.  There were about 7 or 8 priority boxes which will keep me busy until the time comes...

Well since I couldn't find my Scraps & Shirttails book to look up what size parts & how many I need to make a few more "Hand Me Downs" blocks - it just made sense to hang up a part of that quilt in the top right corner to use as a reference guide.  You'll also see a few red/green "Star Struck" blocks as I've been using those units as Leader/Enders lately.

Hand Me Down Blocks sitting by the machine pressed and ready to join up.

But the main project I've been focused on is the denium - if that were the only things on my design wall when I took the photo I'd almost guarantee NO ONE would double click on my Mr. Linky photo b/c it would appear so BORING!  haha but I guarantee when it's done it won't be boring at all! :)

A few of my facebook friends helped me go on a nation wide search for a magazine with this Tic-Tac-Toe project in it.  I'm hoping to make several of them next year to give as Birthday gifts, but for my first one - I'd like it to go to my very own 7 year old "Tic-tac-toe QUEEN, Nora!" :)    Yep, she's that good at playing the game and loves to challenge anyone!!

and you wanna know something pretty cool...  not only is this project cheap as in I didn't have to buy anything - but the denium I'm using are a pair of my Daddy's denim coveralls and a light denim shirt that was his and doesn't fit him anymore. :)

I'm looking forward to her taking this game set with her during Christmas Break and challenging him to a game of Tic-Tac-Toe made from his shirt and coveralls!  He was the one that taught her this game a few years ago and would let her win.... he'll be lucky to score a CAT with her now that she's older and wiser. lol

Until then...

Love from Indiana!

Nora's Habitat Diorama - The Blue Whale

I am ***SO*** glad I thought ahead, and put Nora's Science project in the front seat of the van tonight so we don't forget it tomorrow!   I'm so proud of her and her 1st "project" for school.

 

Just before Thanksgiving she brought home a sheet saying they were to choose any animal that lives in desert, rain forest, ocean, artic, or regular forest and show how they get their food, water and their shelter. 

Before I finished reading the assignment paper she was already telling me, " I want to do my natural habitat for the BLUE WHALE because it's the biggest animal or mammal on the earth Mom!  I am gonna keep my animal choice a secret and not tell any of my friends at school b/c I don't want them to copy me!"

It took me a whole day of shopping to gather the stuff we had decided we needed for our shoebox.  Hobby Lobby, the pet store for the rocks, Target are just a few of the places that I found what I needed.

Adding the facts of her blue whale to the side of the box was her idea....but we typed them b/c there was no way she could write small and neat enough... Did you know that a Blue Whale's heart is the size of a small car?? Or that it's main arteries are large enough that a human could comfortably swim inside them?

She knows so much about animals of the ocean... thanks to her Godparents (Michael & Abbey) for getting her the book "Nora the Nonapus" when she was only 3 or 4 years old. We have read that book at least 500 times and now she reads it to us! :)  Who knows, maybe one day she'll get to swim and scuba dive in the ocean and take up-close looks at all the creatures that keep her so fascinated..... 

 

Maybe Marine Biology is in her future? Who knows?  and to think I start to sufficate if I am sitting in knee keep water and try to put my face with snorkel tube and mask into the water.  true fact.

Here's a view from the top looking down - and the over all view so you can see the box top that it will sit on.

 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what animals her classmates choose tomorrow.  Who choose desert, or forest, arctic or ocean...

 

 

 

 

 

 Oh and you know one of my favorite parts... the back of the box. :)  She wrote, "Nora Minor.  Together with Mom. Cool! Really. ♥

 

Love from Indiana!

Elf on the Shelf

This year we have a little visitor who showed up in the mail box about a week ago.  Anyone heard of "Elf On The Shelf"??

He even has his own website. CLICK HERE to visit and watch a cute clip on his training and getting ready to be Santa's helper.  He even got a haircut and his teeth cleaned before he came to our home!

Not everyone knows about these special Elves.  My friend Cathi and her family have been hosting an Elf for the past few years, but I never knew how to get one to come to our home... until this year!And Boy are we ever so excited that Santa finally sent us one!!!

Can you guess what the kids named him?  I'll give you a hint -- We were not successful in taking a "VOTE" b/c everyone wanted to vote for their own choice... so he has a first, middle and last name. :)

Meet - Charlie "Fuzz" Zig-Zag

I think that each year there are more and more Elves to be Santa's helpers.  Several of my friends on facebook have reported that they now have an Elf on the Shelf this year too!  My niece reported that her's made a parachute landing of their front yard while she and her children watched!!  Doesn't that sound exciting!?

I forget the date exactly but our elf arrived in the mailbox sometime during the week before Thanksgiving and the kids have really enjoyed going on the SEEKING adventure looking for him each morning as soon as they wake up.  The first morning, they traveled room to room, turned on every light in the house!!  Even the laundry room's light in the basement was on when I got up that morning. lol

I didn't actually start taking photos of Charlie until other friends of mine shared photos on facebook of theirs.  Here he is hanging onto the floor lamp in the den.  It was so funny b/c the girls had looked and looked, but it wasn't until Nora went to put on her shoes for school that she found him when she looked up! ;)

Until this morning, our elf has only been sitting in (high) places in the various rooms downstairs. Paul Thomas was excited to see Fuzz sitting in the bathroom window this morning, only he wouldn't use the potty in there but insisted on going downstairs so that Fuzz wouldn't see him!!  lol  

Bath time tonight might get intresting...  I hope we can satisfy the kids using the shower curtain to block Charlie from seeing any naked hinny.

...and take a look at Paul Thomas who was sitting here beside me at my dining room table while I typed on the laptop... "Momma look at me, I'm an Elf on the Shelf that is *not* on the shelf! SEE!!"  :)  I'm happy he stayed still so I could grab the camera :)

Having our Elf sure is making this Christmas season fun!  The kids talk to him several times a day.  The first few nights, Paul Thomas would hurry back downstairs to tell "Fuzz" that he had just made his bed... or brushed his teeth... :)  So cute!

A few Christmas Wishes

I was just over at eBay looking for a few things for Christmas... and before I exited the page I couldn't help but pull up a search for Bingo Fabric.  There are several over there but this one is my favorite.   Just the bingo cards, and the ball holder and number balls.

I don't want poker chips or the cartoon Betty Booby girl on my quilt.

I'd love to show you the quilt I'm talking about - but after searching and searching from the tagged links of past posts it seems I'm not very organized :(  I know I've blogged about the quilt before and even the bingo fabric...

Anyway - you can see it if you scroll to the top - the siggy quilt I'd like to pair up this bingo fabric with is the quilt shown in my blog header - hanging over the fence with Nora standing behind it... oh say.... some 3 or 4 years ago! aaak!

And the quilt is only 6X6 blocks big and I want it to be bigger ---thinking 7X9 setting of 9" finished blocks plus borders...  so I need to figure out 27 more friends from the HGTV message board to share some siggys with me.  And that is why I want the bingo fabric for my backing b/c on the boards, I'm known as "bingo~bonnie" ;)

I so wish my EQ7 was working correctly so I could play with the border sizes to go with a 7x9 block setting - so that I could then figure out just how many yards I need to tell the ebay lady that I'd like to purchase....

However, now that I have found the fabric on ebay and the seller is willing to sell it larger than a half yard cut ---- I'm not too sure I can *CONVINCE* Santa that I need it. But Christmas presents are also about what we *want* too right??? and I do one day *want* this to be my backing... and it's getting so hard to find this fabric....  sure there are many checkbook covers made up with it, and tote bags and tissue holders.... but those are not what I want - or need...

Oh I guess I'll try to figure out when the time is right and bring it up and see what kind of reaction I get from my guy who has a direct line to Santa...

other items on my wish list are:

Bernina Patchwork Seam Guide

This seam guide that I've called about - is either discontinued or they've changed the parts numbers.. no idea how much it will cost from Bernina.... but I'm on the search.

Also Bonnie Hunter recently shared this little gadget with us following her cruise trip. It's called an E-Z Trimmer and may very well be the ONLY thing that Santa is able to find and purchase.

And as you may have heard - Quiltmaker's 3rd 100 Blocks Issue will soon be out!!!  I've been lucky to win a copy the past 2 years.  That is one thing that I love about the magazine - is they also have a huge blog hop and each of the 100 people are given extra issues to giveaway.  Only this year I didn't win a copy... so I will have to help Santa search for this on the store magazine racks..... so he'll have it to put in my stocking.

Something else that I've been wishing for is an acrylic insert for my Arrow Sewing Cabinet that I won earlier this year from being a facebook fan of theirs.  I had no idea that it was even offered until I saw it in a magazine ad photo.  I asked about them on their fb page and they replied that it takes up to 3 weeks after you order b/c they are custom made.  I forwarded the information on to the hubby in an email so he could let Santa know.  I'm betting dh is still yet to even open/read that email from me. :/

awlll... I miss my old sewing room that I had in our Texas home...   I remember when I painted that wall green, David hadn't found out any news yet of his interview in KY and I thought, I'm gonna go ahead with painting and putting the cabinet together... b/c if I do then he'll get the job and we'll be moving and if I wait for in case we move... he won't get the job.  I was right. :P

and while I'm at it - I guess I'll shoot for the moon and ask Santa to bring me a new cell phone.  Sprint now has the iphone!!!  and although I know nothing about them, everyone I know has one and loves theirs so somehow that makes me think I need one too.  My current cell phone makes calls but is one of the oldest Blackberry models out there and is slow.  What makes me really want an iphone over the new 4G phones is that I want to be able to copy all of my music CDs onto itunes and be able to listen to all of it anytime I want... so that then I can get rid of my 300+ CD collection!  Donate to the Goodwill I suppose.  Does anyone even buy CD's anymore?? Secondhand?

Oh well - enough dreaming and wishing for now.  Gotta get back to my loads of laundry and do a switch over and make up the kids beds with new sheets :) and good smelling quilts!

Edited to add - oh one more thing!  I'm helping out with Nora's Brownie troop this year and did you know that this is the 100th Birthday for Girl Scouts??  :)  This is one of the special patches that I've had my eye on.  The hardest part is ordering it b/c each time I check the website, it's out of stock.

100th Anniversary Commemorative Oval Patch

Of course if Santa found one and bought it - I'd also like to have a green jacket from LL Bean to sew the patch onto the back of and wear to all of our outings...  Cookie Sale time will be here before we know it and I'm sure that this year we will be participating in a booth - you know infront of walmart or Home Depot...  "Would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies?" :)  I even have some plans for a cookie boot at the end of our own driveway!  I'll save that for another post.


Love from Indiana!

Trick or Treat...

Love from Indiana!