Busy, but Embroidering!

We have had a busy week! We went camping last weekend, and it was a beautiful weekend for it. We also went to the Iowa game. Go Hawks! We made a quick trip to IC to buy a couple of quilts one night this week, a soccer game another night and Bud has been working on odds and ends on the porch, and he had to put in a new hot water heater last night.

I have been busy embroidering. I stayed up late last night to finish the embroidery on this:

I will add fabric to the sides tonight and then frame it.

It was interesting to do. First of course, I had to trace the pattern onto the fabric. Then I had to color, with crayons, some of the objects and shadings. Finally I did the stitching with a piece of batting on the back so it looks more quilted.

It came from this pattern that I have been eyeing for a while. I finally broke down and purchased it last week.

I will share a photo when it is framed. Now, I just need to finish my fall decorating!

Fun for Me!

I have my swap packaged and ready to mail tomorrow. This is only the second swap I've done, and I've been very nervous about it. I want my partner to like the things I made and/or purchased, but how do you really know if they do? Since she may take a peek at my blog I won't show what I sent until I know she has received them. They are going to Canada!

I made all things I would like, in fact a couple of the things I made I did make for myself, or I will be making for myself. I am sure I'm not the only one who makes things for gifts or craft shows, but never gets to keep one for herself. Well, next week I am going to remedy that situation. Since I am sending some things in the swap that I really wanted to keep, I am going to be crafting for myself next week. In fact I started tonight with this little cutie!

I bought this pattern, and I plan on making one of each for myself. Is there anyone who would like this as a gift? I think I know a few who might!

I am still working on the Gail Pan BOMs. I started a little late, so I need to catch up. I finally purchased the fabric for the quilt, and I decided that this one will be mine too.

So, I'm wondering......Do you craft/sew for yourself, or do you give it all away or sell it?

Another Table Runner

I STILL want a fall table runner for myself and one for a gift. You may remember this table runner that I made a while back.

I wasn't sure I liked it, and I was asking for opinions. Well, that wasn't very helpful as Tanner was the only one who commented. (Thanks, Tanner) And admittedly, he doesn't know much about quilting. Although he did a great job choosing colors for his house, so I think he knows something about color. Anyway, I took it to school and got a variety of opinions. Then Mom saw it and liked it, so it found a home in Texas.

I went back to the drawing board. I still liked the browns that were in the first quilt, and I had some left, so I started with that. I added a vintage fabric with a brown background and a little orange in it.

Again I machine quilted it in straight lines. I think I can use this one as a gift, although it does look nice on my table with the fall centerpiece.

I'd sure like honest opinions from some of you. What do you think?

Monster Cookie Bars

At our house everyone LOVES monster cookies, especially Bud. I however, do not like to make cookies. Oh, I like to make them at Christmas since it is tradition, but I just am not patient enough to stand around and keep track of tray after tray. It seems like I burn at least one pan as I forget they are in the oven. And I never quite know when to take them out.

Anyway, one day last week my colleague, Frank, brought some wonderful Monster Cookie Bars to the lounge to share. Now Frank is a single guy and he said they were very easy, so I thought, "Hmmm, easy for me to bake, and my family will love them!" Frank shared the recipe which I promptly lost. After a google search I found one that seemed pretty similar, so I tried them. I took them with us this weekend and everyone loved them. They looked like this:

And the recipe is soooo easy, even Frank can make them! Thanks, Frank!

Ingredients:	1/2 C Butter 1 C Sugar 1 C Brown Sugar 1 1/2 C Peanut butter 3 Eggs 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp baking soda 4 1/2 C Oatmeal 1C M&M 3/4 C Choc Chips
Directions:	Mix first 7 ingredients together then add oatmeal, m&m's and chips. Put into greased jelly roll pan and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

(You may notice some white chocolate chips in mine that I just threw in. I love white chocolate chips and the girls noticed their addition to the recipe too.)

Shopping!

Now, I'm not really one to shop. I think I've mentioned that before. But I do on occasion like to shop, especially if a craft or fabric store is on the list to visit. Soooo, we were driving through Des Moines Friday night on our way to NW Iowa and a family event. Where would you stop to shop????

Michael's??

Hobby Lobby??

Joanne's??

A quilt store??

Well, we stopped here:

This store, mind you opened in August and this was my SECOND time in the store! Trilby, Mike, and boys were close behind us on I-80, and they hadn't been there before, so they stopped too. The boys were in awe! They were impressed by all of the animals on display--fish, buffalo, bear, wolves, ducks--you name it and it is there! The tall black bear was a favorite, although Nate was too scared to get close.

The giant aquarium with the scene above it was also a hit.

But the favorite spot was the shooting gallery.

So, a good time was had by all. But, I think I've had enough of the Bass Pro Shop for now! (Sorry, Bud)