...popcorn on Sundays...

We have a family tradition for as long as I can remember to have popcorn for dinner on Sunday nights.

Yum!

Here's how to make the perfect popcorn:

Air pop 2 big green Tupperware bowls full of popcorn.

Melt 1 cup of butter.

Pour 1/2 of it over one bowl, a little at a time. Sprinkle some salt on top. Mix with hands. Pour a little more butter, add salt, mix. Etc. until 1/2 of butter is poured onto popcorn.

Repeat with remaining 1/2 c. butter on bowl #2.

Enjoy!

Melissa & I are sharing this new quilt tonight that I finally finished today:

Either I'm late for Christmas 2009 or REALLY early for Christmas 2010.

You decide. :)

....nothing to share....

It's been just about a week since I've posted....don't think you've missed out on anything, because you haven't.

This week has been busy at school with the first day of the new semester, which has a whole lot of meanings to it: voluntary schedule changes (these are the ones the students think are a matter of life or death), grades due, mandatory schedule changes for students that didn't pass classes 1st semester, report cards, credit adjustments, transcript evaluations, and credit deficient lists. Thank God for Jennifer! She kept me sane all week! (and last week....and the week before...)

I brought a tub home full of transcripts to evaluate this weekend so I can get a head start on next week. Hopefully I'll make a dent in them.

Also at school, the ASB started a coin drive for Haiti relief. It started out as a gesture of humanitarian aid and has turned into a cut throat competition between the classes. The deal is that 4-5 teachers are assinged a class (senior, junior, etc.) and students are encouraged to bring coins and cash. If any pennies are in the jars, they're counted against the class' total. I think there is some sort of prize for the winning class. You can see how this turned into a beast all on it's own. There are pennies EVERYWHERE at CHS. Jennifer, Meri, and & I rolled pennies yesterday for a while - Teacher's Aids have been rolling them - and the competition is going on for another week. One kid brought a grocery sack full of pennies back after lunch yesterday (who knows where he got them?!) and just as he was going into the building, the bottom of the sack ripped open. Talk about pennies from heaven. The kids were scooping them up like nobody's business. The good news is they've raised over $1000, I believe, this week. Pretty awesome. Just wish it was for the right reasons and not because they're trying to "get back" at their nemesis.

I've been quilting this week and getting ready for our Crafters Getaway next weekend (wanna go? We're still taking registrations!). I like to go with a couple different projects so I don't get bored. So - I cut fabric last night to piece a quilt, I have 42 blocks ready to sew into rows, I have a quilted basted ready to be quilted, and I hope to have a quilt ready to bind. Something at every stage - plenty of work to do.

The other thing that's been taking up time this week is darn Samson. I don't know if it's the nicer weather or the dog that's in heat next door - but he'll be gone for 2-3 hours at a time once we all get home in the evening. He's impossible to catch and he doesn't listen worth a darn. Last night, Chris Clark came up to the house and said Samson was down by the highway and almost got hit. I was so mad at Samson and went out to try to lure him inside by any means possible. Dad and I finally cornered him and he FINALLY went home. He was grounded all night and got some good swats. He's on house arrest this weekend and can only go out on a leash. Also punishment for me. It's cold in the morning!

Add Junior Miss and Youth Group activities and that is the summary of where I've been all week.

I found this quilt inspiration online - I asked the quilter who made it and there is no pattern - she gave me the dimensions of the squares she cut and the general idea. I worked on drawing it out last night, but it's confusing!

...hi-larious...

I got this as an email forward...and laughed so hard, I cried.... :)

During a recent password audit, our I.T. discovered a blonde was using the following password:

MickeyMinniePlutoHueyDeweyLouieDonaldGoofySacramento

When they asked why such a long password, she said that she was told it had to be at least 8 characters long and include at least one capital.

:)

...eye candy...

Thank you Allison from Cluck.Cluck.Sew. for this eye candy...

Yes...Thank you. Thanks to you, I now have 9 new tutorials to print off to put into my binder and a deep yearning to make all of these, but especially these two:

Why do I do this to myself?!

...hope for haiti now...

I found a channel on TV after school that was showing the Hope for Haiti Now telathon...and now am rewatching it on primetime.

It's always amazing to me how the community of celebrities & entertainers can come together for good and become a powerful force in bringing together support for causes like this one.

Way to go George Clooney for organizing this....I always liked you. :)

Wyclef Jean spoke about his homeland...heart-wrenching.

This image of the boy being rescued from the rubble after, I think, 8 days of being trapped is amazing. Imagine how weak he was and he reached out his arms in joy.

www.hopeforhaitinow.org

The music from the telathon is available for pre-order on iTunes. So worth it.

...a quick quilt top...

Last spring, Jessica & I saw this quilt in one of our quilting magazines. We both fell in love and I've been patiently waiting to make it myself. I love the fabrics (primary colors) used in the example - I wish they came in a kit cause I'd buy it!

I decided I need to attack my scraps and do SOMETHING with them. This quilt was the perfect answer. I dug through my boxes of scraps (only two boxes, thank you) and surprisingly, found quite a bit of pink and green fabric. I wonder how that got there?! I really need to branch out. (and it seems everyone I know is having a baby boy lately!)

Here's the finished project. It came together very quickly - it took 30 minutes to cut all the fabric and about an hour to sew it all together. Quick and easy. :)
I didn't mean for it to be color blocked like that, but I like it!
It's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be.
So fun!

...family...crafting...cake plates...

Today was my Grandma's brother Melvin's funeral. He passed away on Saturday after a 13-month long battle with brain cancer. It was a very nice tribute to him and the life that he led. It was nice to see and spend time with extended family as well.

Here's my Mom with her brothers Mark and Doug.

We gave Mark a bad time all day long for his nice new suit. If you know Mark, you know that the last time he wore a tie was probably in the 1990s. :) Just joking...sorta...

Came home tonight and got to work in the craft room. So many ideas and so little time. :0

I'm working on the "Wild Thing" pattern using Simple Abundance by Bonnie & Camille.

I have half of the blocks done. I am loving them. :) I can't wait to put them all together!

I was trying to decide who to give this to - not that I don't want it (I DO!), but when do you have enough quilts? I figured I couldn't keep ALL of them, even though I really want to!

Then - thank you AMY! - she wondered how I could give any of them away! After you lovingly choose the fabric, cut it, piece it back together (seam rip it), baste it (my LEAST favorite part), quilt it, bind it, wash it, snuggle with it - then expect to give it away? I told her I have to know from the get go that it's going to another home so I don't become attached. :)

So - sorry guys - I'm keeping it.

Thanks for validating me Amy!

I got these two cake plates in Chelan - I finally put them in the craft room tonight.

I think they make pretty cute pre-cut fabric holders!

Back to work tomorrow. I made the mistake of checking my email tonight. 40+ emails waiting for me to respond to tomorrow. Gotta love the end of the semester!

...football banquet...

Last night was the 2009 Football Banquet...

for the

14-0

State Champions!

I had Junior Miss practice, so I just went for a few minutes with Jessica to present our gifts and awards to our cheerleaders. Oh, I miss those girls! I forgot to ask someone to take a picture of the girls with Jess & I. Bummer.

Jessica made these really cute pillowcases for the girls - they felt so cozy!

I put together this photo collage for the girls. Looking back on the season through pictures reminds me of how much the girls accomplished over the season. Makes me proud of them all over again!

I took these two pictures from Jennifer's blog.

This is the banner that will hang in the gym next to the 2002 Football State Champions banner. Only this one will be better because the 2009 record was 14-0 and the 2002 record was 12-1 (I think) or 13-1. Hm. Plus Jess & my cheerleaders are on there! :)

Oh - and there's the trophy too. :) Just kidding. It's pretty stinkin' awesome.

Jennifer said one of the pictures is of the championship Grid Kids team that many of this year's team was on. Pretty cool.

This is many of the seniors - great group of guys! Pretty amazing legacy they've left on the Connell Football program! A lot to live up to from the younger guys!

Great way to end a spectacular season!

...a crafty kind of weekend...

No school today! I could really use one of these at LEAST every other week. Just that one extra day makes a ton of difference, it feels like!

I have no pictures, so bear with me!

I feel like I had a preview of the upcoming craft retreat weekend.

Friday: Finished a quilt top (I had the blocks done, but I sewed them together with the sashing)

Saturday: Kate came over to play :) - she made her ornament wreath. I traced, cut, ironed on applique onto the quilt top I finished on Friday. I started sewing some pinwheel blocks together for a new quilt I'm starting.

Sunday: I spent ALL DAY working on my Disappearing Nine Patch quilt. I was so frustrated with it over and over, but I had to keep working through my frustration otherwise I would've thrown it into a basket and ignored it for months. I became *thisclose* with my seam ripper - over and over. I've never had to seam rip that much! ARG! I did get it finished, which I'm ecstatic about, because I really wanted to quilt it at the upcoming craft retreat. A big WOO HOO and Melissa rewarded me with a delicious banana milkshake from Burger Factory.

Monday: I hung out with Jessica and Amy at Jessica's. We did a lot of talking and talking and talking and looking at patterns and talking and just a little bit of actual sewing. All three of us have committed (as much as you can before it actually starts) to an online pinwheel quilt along, so we spent much of the morning discussing the fabric that we've chosen or what we should choose. We did a little sew and tell with what we've been working on. So fun to see the variety of projects. These girls speak my language and I love it. I worked on the pinwheel blocks until I was a big retard and screwed one of them up. It was a good stopping point.

Oh - I REALLY must of over used my seam ripper on Sunday because when Jessica asked to borrow it...she was picking along and all of a sudden had a panicked look on her face. The seam ripper had broke in two. Definitely over used. How embarassing!

This week doesn't look promising for much sewing, so I'm glad I was able to get a lot of time in over the weekend. Can you say addicted?!

...new quilt kit...

I requested a kit from Quilts for Kids last week after reading about it on Two Peas in a Bucket.

I received my kit yesterday. Can't wait to get started on it!

...deer valley table runner...

From the moment I saw this fabric on the cover of a quilting magazine, I was in.love.

I had to have it.

I am making myself a Disappearing Nine Patch quilt like the one I made for our family Christmas exchange. Hopefully, I'll get the top done this weekend (3 day weekend!!).

From the left over squares, I made this Disappearing Nine Patch Table Runner.

I'm sending it out of the state to a friend who's celebrating her birthday on Tuesday. :)

...prayers for Haiti...

The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.

And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 9:9

The devastation to Haiti following the earthquake on 1/12/10 is overwhelming. I haven't had much of a chance to watch the news, but I've listened to the radio and seen pictures online. Haiti already had such huge needs and now this....hard to comprehend.

We discussed it a bit at Youth Group tonight - and talked about how if everyone does a little bit, it makes a big difference. Right now the main thing we can do is lift them up in prayer.

This is a state from the United Methodist Committee on Relief that I read at Youth Group:

January 13, 2010 — A major earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti yesterday, causing widespread destruction. Millions of people are affected and thousands are feared dead. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has close ties with the Methodist Church in Haiti and is responding to the devastating earthquake with funding, material resources and prayers.

UMCOR executive, Melissa Crutchfield says, “We are working with our partners on the ground to provide immediate relief to the people in Haiti. UMCOR has worked in Haiti for many years. We anticipate that there will be years of rebuilding needed and are prepared to work with the people to help them through that process.”

Working with partners, Action by Churches Together, Church World Service, Global Medic and the Methodist Church, UMCOR is channeling its resources to respond effectively to the people most in need.In a statement to Global Ministries staff, the General Secretary said, “Events such as these can challenge both our faith and sense of security. As a church we know that the heart of our ministry is continuing and extending Jesus Christ’s ministry of outreaching love.”

...giveaway plug...

I'm in love with this giveaway. I would love love love to win.

I mean, who wouldn't?!

This giveaway is sponsored by Rachel over at {Made With Love and Glue}.
Now, I've never met Rachel, but I know many members of her family, which makes me feel like I know her too. :)

Anyhow, this giveaway ends on January 19th. Head on over for a chance to win.

Just click on the first picture for a link.

She's got some major inspiring pictures and ideas on there. I warned you.

...pinwheel sampler quilt along...

Last spring, when I was teaching myself to quilt, I couldn't get enough of blogs and quilt-y inspiration online.

I found this my travels and

fell. in. love.

{Click on the picture for the link to more pictures. Totally worth it. Go now!}

So, you can understand just how excited I was to wake up this morning and find this on www.psiquilt.com:

Ummm...hello! I'm so totally in!!!

{Click on picture for link to informational post.}

Let me let you in on a little secret. I've tried pinwheels. Once. As in...one square. It was awful.

This is a great opportunity for me to gain a new skill, yes?

I'm so excited. Who else is in? Kersten? Melissa?

Let's go friends!

...superheros...

I saw these online last night and I know two little boys that are turning 4 in 2010 who I think could each rock a superhero cape.

I bought red shiny fabric and black flannel tonight at JoAnns.

Wish me luck!!

...Rouenneries Top This...

Top This Pattern.

Take 2.

As my very first quilting project, I made this table runner. {Seen here.}

I decided that I MUST try it again now that my skills have improved a bit.

I had some fat quarters of Rouenneries and wha la!

I do like it better in person, but I'm happy with the end result.

It's going to one of my dearest friends for her birthday in a few weeks. :)

...Flirtations...

I'm really happy with how this turned out -

I made up the pattern myself!

(haha - big deal, right?! It's not that complicated...but I did it myself!!)

In case you'd like to recreate it - it's a charm pack, sewn into three rows of 7. I made the quilt sandwhich and quilted it by stitching in the ditch. I made up my own heart pattern and cut out 6 hearts and hand appliqued them randomly. (after quilting)

Super easy and I love the finished project! Too bad it's a little early for Valentine-y stuff.

Soon enough....soon enough.

Flirtations by Sandy Gervais for Moda

...101 siggy swap blocks...

I was one of the lucky ones to get in on Rachel's Siggy Block Swap on p.s. i quilt.

She had 100 spots open and they filled up in about 5 hours. I know a lot of people were disappointed they didn't get in and I feel a little guilty because I don't really know what I'm going to do with all these blocks!!

One of the rules of the swap is that you have to use "modern" fabrics - that is, from designers like Amy Butler, Joel Dewberry, Lila Tueller, etc. I gathered scraps of fabric that I hope fall into the "modern" category. I know some of them are Amy Butler and some are Lila Tueller - there are a few that I think are modern, but I don't know who the designers are. Crossing my fingers.

I cut my fabrics (and counted to 101), drew the diagonal lines on the patterned fabric, chain-sewed the patterned fabric to the white fabric (and counted to 101), cut the excess fabric off, pressed (and counted to 101), then signed my name 101 times.

Here's the finished product:

Whoo Hoo!

Today, I also worked on a baby quilt for some friends' baby (hehe - there are so many of you, you'll never guess who!) and completed the top for my friend Jen's birthday Table Runner.

I'm exhausted!

.january 7.

Just sharing some Thursday love...

I got some new binder clips for Christmas and put them in my basket at work today. Apparently, I have a thing for binder clips?! Ya think?!

I have this tray on my bathroom counter where I keep my assorted makeup pots. I got home from Chelan on Saturday and Grandma (who'd been staying at the house to take care of the dogs) had organized by makeup into straight lines by size. OCD much?!
Samson - destroying one of his new Christmas toys. Apparently, it's only fun if you can see all the stuffing all over the floor instead of inside the toy. Go figure.

We started a puzzle the week before Christmas and Mom & I finally finished last night!! We're missing 1 piece! Dave & Angie Visser were here when we first started it (they're major game/puzzle aficianados) and Dave threatened that he took a few pieces with him back to Sammamish. Well, as you can see, there is one piece missing. He says he doesn't have it, but I wouldn't put it past him. :)

We thought a puzzle would be fun as we hadn't done one in a while - but it was a lot harder than we remembered. No puzzles at the Koch house for a while.