Cut Up

Well it's finally Friday peeps, any big weekend plans? Not much happening here, hopefully it will be dry enough to do some work outside. The rain has brought us a ton of weeds. A TON. And I don't appreciate it at all. I have some sewing days with friends coming up, and need to have some projects on hand to work on. This is the first little kit I cut myself. It's for this fun pattern that I have been coveting for some time. I'm making the small version, but it's so cute I could go bigger.

I need to get on some more precut kits for myself, I want to be ready for the sewing opportunities I have. Plus I need to shake myself out of my funk. Have you seen the wonderful things people are making these days? It's downright intimidating.

So peeps, have a great weekend ok?

Clip ons!

What do you do when you don't have pierced ears and you have a love of 60's style earrings? Make your own! Frankie doesn't have pierced ears, which is practically unheard of right? She loves the big colorful vintage clip-ons but they're few and far between and the really good ones are a mint!

Picked these two rings up at Forever 21, big, fun and colorful! All I did was pluck off the ring and glue on the earring backs! Won't that be a fun surprise in the Easter Basket?

So that's not completely all I did yesterday but it was the highlight? What about you?

Milking it.

I know.. trying to stretch out the weekend events into a multi-day blogfest really isn't cool. But seriously people, it's dudsville around here otherwise. Buying some rabbit cage litter and waiting in line at Borders doesn't make for great blogging.

I felt quite thrilled with my finds this weekend. As you know, I'm a hardcore copy cat, and I'm not going to lie and say I didn't covet the little planter Elizabeth had scored on ebay for a song. When she pointed to this one with the blue flower, hers is yellow, I died and then snatched it up, because I COULD STOP LOOKING.

I don' t have the patience for ebay searching.

Next up is Skunkie. I picked him up at the farmstand sale from Stephanie of Ruby Rose. When she saw me showing it off she said "Oh you got Skunkie! He was in my yard for years." Then she had her friend snap the picture of me holding Skunkie. I love vintage yard art. (Ann that frog is not safe.)
And because I love this particular type of begonia, I was very thrilled to find this lovely specimen in Cambria at the Garden Shed. You rarely see them and believe me the next day almost all were gone.. thank goodness I picked this one up. It did quite well in my trunk even though it got a tad sunny.

Sadly I squandered my sunny day not taking a picture outside, so back to the bathroom studio. We are back to rain again, which on the one hand is wonderful because California always needs water, but on the other, the gloom really gets to me. Gotta shake it though, we're getting into sewing season!!!

Ok peeps, just so you know, you're the greatest. xo

Natural Habitat

Lately, well longer than lately, I've really fallen down on the picture taking thing. I don't know what's with that. The quantity and quality are really lacking, so I apologize. You'd think I'd have a ton. I did some phone photos that I uploaded to Twitpic but lets face it, phone photos..well my phone photos, aren't that great either.

So anyway, back to the weekend, it was so fun. I picked up Elizabeth at 7am which is probably the latest we've left on any big trip. It was actually light out. We got to Paso Robles right on time, and visited The Cottage. I love their sign, I just want fancy chalkboard signs everywhere I go now. And maybe one at home like the one Lucy had. PKM is IN.

After the Cottage we headed over to Atascadero to visit the famous KathiD!! I thought I took a thousand pictures there, but sadly I didn't. I snapped this chicken photo just a few minutes before I tracked chicken poop through her house. How's that for being a great guest? She left that out of her blog post about us trying to make me seem more cool. Anyway it was a mortifying moment.


Got a picture of this .. an armadillo with a dog, but not a picture of her actual dogs, which were lovely and well trained.

I wish I'd really taken some great shots of her studio. I love this design wall that can slide back and forth across the room. I think it's such a genius idea.

Here's Kathi in her natural habitiat.

We had a lovely lunch out and then went shopping.. first at the Cotton Ball and then at Birds of a Feather in Cambria. I love that little shop.

Then we dropped KathiD off and headed to the Apple Farm. And no trip to the Apple Farm is complete without the requisite photos of the amazing plants. I would love to have nice lush plantings like this.. past June! It's just too darn hot here.

So that was our lovely weekend. We had such a nice time with everyone. Thanks again to Susan Branch for luring us out with her farmstand sale and to KathiD for meeting up with us. And thanks for coming along with us peeps. xo

p.s. check out Ruby Rose's post showing pictures from the Farmstand sale.. you'll see me and my treasure about halfway down.

OH. MY. GOSH.

Holy cow people!!!! What a weekend. First things first though. I want to say HI to anyone new coming to visit today! We All Sew has me on their list of favorite blogs this week and I'm completely thrilled! They've got all kinds of great information there so check it out!

So first off GET A LOAD OF THIS.. me and Susan Branch! This weekend was the Farmstand Show and it was a blast. She recognized me right off, which was a super thrill, like wow, famous Susan Branch recognizes totally-not-famous me! She's a completely nice person and I was so thrilled to chat with her. Especially when she was super busy! What a lovely hostess.

You can see some cute little videos (including one of me and Elizabeth) here on Susan Branch's you tube channel.

It was a darling venue, lots of cute things. Elizabeth and I each found a treasure to take home. And OHMYGOSH I had the best cupcake I ever ate there. Amy Bakes Cupcakes was there in her adorable little trailer. Seriously heavenly.

Gosh everyone was so cute I can hardly stand it. I had such a great time! Susan's friend Judy was there taking a bunch of photos so there should be some photos on her blog soon. I had such a great weekend. But enough gab for one day. I'll be back with more tomorrow!!! xo peeps!

Our Big Adventure

Elizabeth and I are off this morning on a wonderful adventure! We're heading to the Susan Branch Antique Show and Sale in Arroyo Grande!
We're very excited as along the way we're meeting up with KathiD! You can follow us this weekend on Twitter here and here. I'm excited to be meeting Sharon Lovejoy as well. Her book Sunflower Houses brought Frankie and I many happy hours out back in the garden.

So peeps I'll be back Monday with the scoop and hopefully a ton of pictures! Have a great weekend! xo

The Winners!

Good morning peeps! How has the week been going? The usual around here. Well not quite the usual, its not every week you're in a magazine. But aside from that, regular stuff. The weather is messing with me, pretending it's spring when its not. Not yet anyway.

But you're waiting for the winner's right? Well I used the random generator and ended up with Jen in NY who says "Hi Pam! I'm sitting here with the kiddos looking at your pictures of Binnie. My son would love for me to make him the honey bears quilt--please enter me in your drawing!! Thanks!! Jen" (good thing Binnie didn't pick the winners, I'd say this was rigged!) and Cathy who says " have heard that the 4 in 1 tool is really useful. Enter me in the drawing please.I don't mind the word verification. The "words" are so curious."

So Jen and Cathy, please email me your mailing information!

Since today I have no fun pictures to share, I'm going to send you over to The Quilt Show to watch a great beginning free motion machine quilting video by Patsy Thompson. I first heard about Patsy from Amy's blog, I love Amy's quilting, and just about everything else she does. So watch and enjoy.

Happy News!

Yesterday Alex asked me if I wanted to drop over for a cup of coffee. Check out what I found, Alex, sitting around reading her magazine. You know, HER OWN MAGAZINE!!!

I love how she's just so excited, and really, can you imagine, OMG ALEX YOU HAVE A MAGAZINE!!! I'm not going to lie, I did take a quick peek, because check it out.... my pictures and Elizabeth's quilt! I love how the article turned out. My copy should be coming in the mail any day now.

I hope you'll check it out!! Not just because it's a fun article about Elizabeth and I, but because it looks like a great magazine.

You can even subscribe!

p.s. I see The Quilt Life has a blog!

Good Morning!

So how was the weekend peoples? We had an impromptu visit from Frankie at the end of last week which was a lovely treat.

It was nice and sunny yesterday, so we did some miscellaneous stuff in the yard. Nothing exciting, just basic yard cleanup. It was a very relaxing day. Honestly we could be professional relaxers.. its a gift people.

In other news, Alex gave me a couple of Honey Bear patterns and 4-in-1 tools to share with you... so as usual leave a comment and I'll draw some names later in the week, lets say Thursday?

I'm going to have to turn word verification back on for a while, the spam comments are driving me nuts. I hate to do it as I know it's a hassle for you guys. If it doesn't slow down the weirdos then I'll turn it back off.

So that's it people. What's new with you?

Ballot Box!

Have a great day Special Valentine's Peeps!

The meet up.

Yesterday Elizabeth and I went over to have lunch with Holly. It was a lot of fun, just an easy lunch at Chipotle, it's Elizabeth's favorite! Then we headed over to San Anselmo for a little shopping. Our button shop was gone, but Holly pulled this one out of the hat! It's The French Nest and its absolutely charming.

I didn't take photos inside, seemed rude to ask when the owner had her own blog. So hop over and check it out, she's got some lovely photos there. Later we headed back to Panera (because I love it) and we had a coffee and a cookie (well I had coffee) and we were able to see Holly's latest, Fun Flowers.

Here's Elizabeth's Big Sister Little Sister in Fun flowers.. so cute. It's just a darling quilt in any fabric. You saw it here in pieces but I don't know that she's shown the whole thing.. I can't find an entry but let me tell you. DARLING.

Fun flowers also comes in a soft brown colorway, very fun. I think you're going to love it.

The black is wonderful!! It's fabric to be happy about that's sure. Hope you enjoy your sneak peek peeps!

So that was it. The traffic was non-existant which was SHOCKING and AMAZING. Just a nice day all around. Hope you guys had a nice day too. xop

Super Sweet

Busy week for me this week, things to do almost every day! Shockeroo to the system people, mostly I'm lucky to have one planned outing! I had a great time yesterday with Frankie, we did some lunching and shopping and mostly yakking and catching up. And I don' t have a photo to show for it.

Anyway you know, not that I want to go all soft on you, but gosh blogging has brought me together with a lot of really great people. The other day I was reading Sharon's blog, she was sending a sweet treat to someone and I was thinking just what a generous thoughtful person she is..

and then look what shows up in the mail! She was thinking of me and she totally made my day. I'm so happy that she's there close to her kids and family. I'm thinking of you too Sharon, and feeling lucky to have your friendship!

And lucky to have met all you peeps! You guys make my day with your thoughtful comments all the time. Now I better kick it in gear, Elizabeth and I are off to see our friend Holly. Another lucky find via the blog. Life is good isn't it?

Pina Colada Dip

Here's the recipe for the Pina Colada dip. I'm off to spend the day with Frankie! 1 tub (8 oz) of Cool Whip lite
12 oz of plain low/no fat yogurt
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple (including juice)
small box of nonfat sugar free instant vanilla pudding (or coconut.. I couldn't find it around here)
1 tsp Coconut extract

Whip it all together and serve!

I think that with the coconut pudding you wouldn't need to add the extract. Sadly, no coconut pudding in Pamkittyville. Its super sweet people, so watch out! Plus you'll never guess in a million years that its using reduced calorie products.

Recap

So how was the weekend peeps? Sew day Friday with Debbie was great. Deb couldn't make it but she phoned in for some chit chat and that was fun. The food as usual was delish! Debbie made a wonderful Chicken Caesar Salad for lunch. I love salad especially when someone else makes it, you know?
I brought the dip and fruit.. and cake. Yum. I'm pretty sure there was no cake when I left. The dip however was way too sweet for me.

Debbie worked on her wonderful Dresden plate quilt.. she was just starting it when I was there last time. I worked on some button sewing. This is one of Alex's quilts. We did button eyes, but later she decided she wanted noses as well.



The picture doesn't do the colors justice, it's so bright and cheery. I put the buttons on by machine, it goes so very fast! (if you can stop talking and start sewing that is)

Anyway, recipe tomorrow.. I need to get a move on here! xo

Hey Holly!

When I opened up my new McCall's Quilting this month (March April) I caught sight of this cute quilt by Holly.

Just in case you don't remember back from this... or maybe even this..I LOVE THIS FABRIC SO MUCH. (and yes Elizabeth, If it wasn't for bigamy I would marry it)(still)

I can't wait for it to be available! The kit in the magazine will be available from the Fat Quarter Shop!

Ok, now I have to pull myself together. Sewing day with Debbie, and I need to pack up my projects and the healthy snacks I'm supposed to bring. (Angel Food Cake, fruit and Pina Colada dip sounds healthy, right?) Have a good weekend peeps! xo

I love sewing!

So how was Wednesday? I had a nice day, did some sewing in the morning, then headed out lunching and shopping with Elizabeth.

I just got some exciting news from my friend Kathy. Her new book is just about out! I'm very excited for her! I did a little stunt sewing for her last year and now I'll get to see it in the book! I have so many sweet celebrity friends! I'm one lucky person!

Ok all my sweet friends, you have a wonderful day! xo

Stuff

So the other day I was reading over at Laurie and Polly's blog that Polly has a rug hooking pattern and kit out. Which brings to mind my love of rug hooking. But my love for rug hooking is chock full of rules... like only one project at a time. Sounds pretty stupid when you say it out loud. I never really got serious about rug hooking because it isn't that easy to get supplies around here. But I made quite a few rugs over the years, enough to justify buying a nice frame. Turns out I have a bad habit though. I never finish stuff. Like really finish it. The hooking gets done, but I rarely bind any of them. I think I have two Halloween rugs complete, and tucked in boxes or bags are a couple of Eastery items, maybe two Christmas rugs, I know I have a bee pillow somewhere, I gave some away.. weird huh?

But I decided that this year I'm back on track. This ugly little thing is going to get done so I can get on track with something pretty with nice wool strips. So in the meantime, anyone try that Oxford punch for wool yarn hooking??

More Sunshiney talk

One of the things I decided about this year was that I wanted to get back to doing some of the things I used to love doing. Some how I got away from doing them and never went back. Like gardening. So back to Alden Lane on Sunday. The new primroses were in and I love these pretty crepe paper looking pinks. They're not in a pot yet, I got sidetracked.
I also decided that I needed to get on my little raised bed. Binnie really loved the fresh lettuce and parsley, so I planted some starts for her, plus some seeds for Old Spice Sweet Peas. You can see there's rose clippings and weeds galore, not to mention the wood for the would-be bench behind the raised bed.

When Frankie was little we always had fresh flowers and some how I just got away from doing that. I just want to get back to the things that make me happy, like flowers and birds and books. So its small but its a start.

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY! Let's hope Phil has good news.. here we're back to rain but with the break, I feel good about it. My lettuce is going to love it. xo

Blue skies

Gosh people, how was the weekend? It was great here, lots of puffy clouds and blue skies. Seriously, this picture is doesn't begin to show off how wonderful the weather was here. Nice weather brings out all kinds of wildlife. Creepy or not.
This weekend I read two books!! TWO BOOKS PEOPLE. And like the weather they were wonderful. I love a good village cozy and this Agatha Raisin really delivered. I have been reading Agatha for probably 15 or so years, and each one is better and better. This one was super.

The other book I read last night, I couldn't put it down either. I love keeping up with a good series, you come to love the characters and I'd forgotten how much I love the Judge.

Anyway, it was a great weekend! How about you guys?