Open Road

Annie and I paid Grandma and Grandpa Gillins a visit this week. I'll let the photos do the talking.
Pickles for sale at the gas station in Scipio, Utah. We didn't buy one. But it's an excellent specimen of a linguistic aberration.
Annie worked on some origami. Of course.
And she picked out some gems from the swanky rock pile.
Which one, which one...
Some cool stuff.

These are "The Girls." Misty, arthritic old girl. I knew her in her more nimble days. Grayboy, who is neither gray nor a boy. She's a recent addition, just showed up and never left again. And then Daisy. Oh Daisy. The least hygenic feline on the planet. She craves affection, but no will touch her because she is dandruffy and her hair sheds like it's her job to shed. And she has a snaggle tooth. And she drools. Love you, Daisy.

Springy Yumminess

Because you're all so wonderful, here's a scrumptious picture, inspired by Rachel's scone picture that looked so indulgent.

I give you my masterpiece, Lemon Poppyseed Bread with a Lemon Glaze Drizzle:
This will be my contribution to the singles ward BBQ tonight. Now, unlike Rachel, I cannot claim domestic goddess-hood because... Betty Crocker made this bread for me. Two boxes of mix, some oil, flour, water, eggs, and there it is. So, I admit sneakery. But isn't it pretty? Mom's platter. I can't call it antique because I don't think it's even as old as she is... Hehe. But it's cool underneath. And some clippings from the yard. Spring has sprung!

MonaLisa's Makes Me Smile.

Some stuff that's going on with me lately (aka, how I've been wasting my time):
Le baby quilt. Le finished. Ended up just binding it with its own backing. Luckily I still had an inch of fraying flannel backing left. Turned out cute.
Rolling yarn. OMG. So addicting. So great. Anyone have some skeins, or better yet, some tangled masses of yarn that I can sort out and roll? I'm thinking about experimenting with some different stitches with that multi-colored yarn. Doll scarves? Probably.

Okay, so on to the big news. Mom and I went to MonaLisa's Consignment in American Fork. Wow, I had way more fun than should be allowed. I need to take pictures of Mom's buys still, but look what I got:
Volume 2 of some obscure children's story book line. Published 1953. Don't think it has any real value. But it's funky. See?
A nice spread of fairy tales and children's classics.
That's one mean Rumpelstiltskin. Book was $6.99.

And then this awesomeness:
This is a hand-crocheted/tatted European lace pillow case. $9.99. Plans? Split open the pillow case and sew each square of lace onto some bold fabric, either a dark blue or brown or a mustard yellow. Sew that piece of fabric with the lace on it to a white backing, and stuff. Voila, two sweet pillows. Sort of this effect. And this. Oo, and this too. Okay, last one. We shall see.

So yep, that's it. School starts next week. Gotta pack in the slackerage while I still can...

Crisis Averted

So today, after a few hours of panic over a bobbin case, I started and finished my first sewing project on the machine since returning from my mission. And it turned out pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself!

The Diaper Clutch:
Amy at "Diary of a Quilter" came up with this tutorial, it was so easy and way cute!
Love this fabric, from Just Sew here in Highland. Also love the contrast top stitching:
It's lime green stitching in case you can't see.

Okay, some I'm obviously really proud of myself. It took a lot of fiddling with the upper thread tension dial just to get my machine to sew, but once I struck a good balance, it was smooth sailing. Fun easy project. Just need to buy a slim pack of baby wipes and stick in a few diapers, and voila!

Bonus picture: doggy love.

Tedium, and what I'd rather be doing.

A little picture that reflects the chaos that is my brain:

My desk. My laptop, watching The Biggest Loser. My sewing machine, the alluring siren enticing me to quit working and sew sew sew. (Newest endeavor: Diaper clutch. We have some baby showers coming up. Shout-out to Rachel Watkins Allen, another extraordinary cousin, who inadvertently got me addicted to quilting/sewing blogs.) My cell phone. Some Mod Podge and tissue paper, a failed Easter egg project. Not so much failed as never-commenced. My religious library, with Ecuadorian jade bookends. Old photos and a jewelry box. My iPod. Two lamps, neither of which I use. Tedium, aka placing 1000 labels on 1000 CD envelopes, soon to be stuffed with 1000 CDs of music from Liahona.net and subsequently shipped to Tonga, where Annie (artsy sista) and her art major cronies shall distribute them this summer. It ain't glamorous work, but it pays the bills. Or rather, it earns my keep in my parents' house (thanks, yous guys!).

PS - I finished the hand-quilting on that baby blanket. Still on a quest for a good binding material. Lemme know if anyone has suggestions. I've looked at just binding with the excess backing (flannel) or doing a ribbon blanket binding.

I'm a fan!

Okay, so I've known Christopher Woodhouse all of my life, seeing as he is my cousin and only 3 months older than me. We were in diapers and preschool together, so it is very interesting to observe Christopher as an adult. He is even more charming, more creative, and more hilarious than ever before.

People, I give you Man vs. Burly.



Pee-your-pants funny. What a champ.

Love you, Chris!