Pumpkin Spice

I just wanted to stop in and tell you about some yummy pumpkin treats I've been enjoying.

If there's a Trader Joe's near you, I recommend the pumpkin butter. It's yummy and I love the label on the jar. So cute!


I enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning and it's even better with a little International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer (Christina likes it too). I have always hated the bottles that this creamer comes in (terrible sticky poring mess) so I got a pretty bottle for mine yesterday at The Container Store. Thanks for the gift card, Nick!


I accidentally had another one of those yummy pumpkin cupcakes from the Teacake Bakeshop too. I'm up to 4! ouch What delicious pumpkin treats are you enjoying these days? I'd love to hear about your favorites. :P

Goings On

Last night I made my fist ever roast chicken, this is a big deal. Why? Because I have an unnatural aversion to meat. I do not like touching raw meat (Nick had to tie the legs together for me, I just couldn't do it - even with gloves!), I don't even like to eat cooked meat very much. I'm weird, okay? Anyway, I did it and it was good. I think Nick was very pleased and his Mum is probably shocked reading this (Hi Maddy). haha

The picture is a little weird because it was night time, but I had to take one.

I picked up a great magazine yesterday . It's from Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion. There are pages & pages of resources in there. It's really cool, check it out at your local book shop...



This week I found some great fabrics for a Christmas present I have planned. I'm not saying what it is, just showing you the fabric. Cute, no?

More Mary Engelbreit. I guess I'm on an ME kick right now. Usually her stuff is too "cute" for me.


And, I finished a new quilt! Yay!!! I've already listed it in my shop and have it ready for a market debut next week.

I hope to get another one made before Thursday, I think I can, I think I can. Here's to a productive and fun weekend for all.

Impromptu

On Saturday, Nick and I headed south toward San Jose, there's a nice Tech Museum there that Nick wanted to see. I thought since we were going all that way, I might as well stop in at the Pacific International Quilt Festival. I mean, we're already so close, it'd be silly not to go...right?

I sort of went a bit nuts. I don't buy fat quarter bundles very often, so you know it's a good one if I do. This is the new Recipe for Friendship collection from Mary Engelbreit.

This collection is adorable, look at those cherries. I love this and this too. I can't wait to break into this bundle. You can get your own here.

I also got a nice stack of what I consider my "neutrals", like these two polka dot prints. I like to keep fabrics like this on hand to line handbags & zipper pouches, sometimes they're great for the revers side of a bib too.

I'm back at the farmer's market on Thursday & stocking up for the holidays too. I'm going to be so busy at the sewing machine for the rest of the year, it's a good thing I've got all this new fabric. Oh! I forgot I wasn't going to buy any new fabric for a while. oops ;)

Just Sharing

Last night I spent the evening in San Francisco while Nick was in a staff meeting. I thought it'd be nice to go into town with him and get myself out of the house. I suffer from cabin fever almost every week. I had a nice time walking around, just taking my time. I saw some things I want. Like some of this and maybe one of these.

I didn't really buy anything except this very cool fabric. It reminds me of England for some reason. Maybe it's the color? Or the retro-ness of it. I don't know, but I like it. Hopefully next week my shop we'll see some of it in the form of totes and zipper pouches.


Oh! And I have to mention another recent purchase. I popped by Jenn's shop to see the new bookmarks and couldn't stop myself from finally getting myself one of her Sew Sew Monkey totes and a couple bookmarks too. (The bookmarks are supposed to be gifts but we'll have to see about that. )

Jenn does such a great job with everything, I'm so excited when I get a package from her. Thanks Jenn, I'm so pleased with everything.

400 and Counting

I can't believe it myself. I have now officially passed the 400 mark on my list of monkeys. Crazy, eh? I'm so excited that they've done so well. Thanks so much to those of you've who've adopted one of my kooky little monkeys.

To celebrate this milestone I'm going to be having a little giveaway. Don't get too excited though, I'm not making it as easy as leaving a comment. Being the proper businesswoman I am, I'm going to make you buy lucky monkey #400 in order to win. Here's how it will work...

- I will be listing several new monkeys in my shop between now and Friday. One of these will be #400.

-Whoever happens to purchase this lucky monkey will also receive a custom monkey of their choice (Gadget Monkey, Nano Monkey, Monkey Pencil Cup or Monkey Cup Cozy)

-The winner will also get their monkey for free! Yep, not only will you win a free custom monkey, but I will refund the purchase price of lucky #400 (shipping too). If you're the winner and you've purchased more than one monkey, I'll just refund the price of the winning monkey. Sorry, I'm not that generous.

- I'm not going to give any hints as to which monkey it is, only that it will be listed some time between the time of this post and Friday, October 17th at 10:00pm PST. I will say that custom monkeys don't count. #400 is a finished monkey.

-Once the lucky monkey is purchased, the contest is over and I will make the announcement here.

Get out your Christmas list and decide who's gettin' a monkey this year, and Good Luck!

UPDATE: Great news! Mabel, monkey #400, has been adopted. Hooray! Congratulations to the winner.

Fall In

It's time for Fall, hooray! This is definitely my favorite time of year. I changed my computer wallpaper over yesterday (check this out if you're a Peanuts fan like me) and thought I'd better get going on the Fall festivities around the house.

I dug through some boxes in the garage for some Halloween decorations. My friend Sue makes these Halloween snowmen. Isn't it great? She made my wedding cake topper too.

I'm all set to watch some holiday films while sewing. I love The Nightmare Before Christmas! I was in art school when that movie came out. I still remember how excited we all were to make our own stop motion animation films when we saw it. ha!

I've got my bag of candy corns and the Fall place mats are on the table.

And of course, I'm ready to use some of those earthy, warm colored fabrics again. I made a new handbag the other day with one of my earth toned fabrics and the Halloween bibs are a hit again this year at the market.

Are you getting ready?

Chicken Feed

Check out the cool stuff I got from the amazing Chickengirl this week! She's an incredible illustrator in children's publishing. I placed an order from her Etsy shop and she was kind enough to include a couple of really cool postcards (they're already on my sewing room wall). I love the chicken sticker on the package!

Don't you just love her silly style? Take a look at her blog too, she reveals all kinds of her design secrets there, haha.


Here are the cards I bought. I love the little drawing she did. Monkeys and chickens! Perfect. Jannie is super talented, you must stop by her Flickr, Etsy shop or blog & see her art. It'll definitely make you smile.


{Beware of shameless plug} Here's my little tribute to Jannie. I recently made 54 new tissue cozies and I couldn't help but think of her when I made this one, tee hee. :) So, now you know, it's not just monkeys for me, I dig chickens too.

Totelicious Pattern

Last night I finally listed a new sewing pattern in my Etsy shop, yay! The shopper tote has been a good seller for me so why not share my innermost secrets with the world? Uh, yeah. Anyhoo, now you can make one for yourself, or your grandma! You'll learn to sew French Seams in this one and I've included some options for different pockets & such. I'm pretty happy with it and very relieved to have it done. On to the next one...mini wallet or tissue cozy, I think.

Back in the Saddle

I'm baaack! Yep, we got home on Monday afternoon and I'm ready to sew. I spent the majority of yesterday getting caught up on work emails and packing orders. Today I might get to make something!! That'd be fun.

I picked up lots of great goodies on the trip. I wanted everything at Cath Kidston but went for this cool rolly suitcase. I'd just been saying I needed a carry-on bag with wheels. Happy Birthday to me! (Thanks Nick for making me get this) I also got this. If Mrs. Kwitty ever comes over I better lock it away, I know she'd try to steal it. hehe

Nick also got me this gorgeous navy blue trench coat from Laura Ashley. This is probably the nicest item of clothing I own now & I love it! I have such a nice husband.

I must say, these two were happy to see us return. They've been very nearby since we got home. I think the live-in cat sitter was a great idea.


And now I can get to this lovliness that arrived right before we went away. Can you believe that? A whole pile of Heather Bailey goodness has been waiting for my return the sewing room. What shall I make first?