Taking advantage of a (hopefully ) temporary lull......

Good morning Blogland Neighbor-hood ! Well, here it is the last day of August ALREADY !!! .....and, as usual, we're behind schedule with just about everything (EXCEPT for work related paperwork ... for a change !!!) ..... and the ONLY reason that the #!$&*@ paperwork for the day job is caught up for the moment is because work is, again, a little slow ..... good for all departments, except of course the Bill Paying Dept ....

ANYHOW, the Sewing Dept is determined to take advantage of this lull and attempt to make a dent in the "summer sewing" they had planned to get done , but didn't due to above mentioned day job busy-ness. One of the LONG OVERDUE projects that has been burning a guilty hole in our aunt/godmother suits is .....



...this graduation signature quilt for my niece Steph .... now you're probably thinking graduation....that was just few months ago in the spring, right? .... well, not exactly..... this is Steph's high school graduation quilt and she's now in nursing school earning her bachelor's degree after earning an associate's degree from University of South Florida ..... so, hang on Steph .... this just may be finished by the time you earn that BSN !!!

So, that quilt along with Moonbeam Boy Matt's HS Grad Quilt from 2008, and Beth's Belated Birthday Quilt from last Sept, and uhhhhh...let's see .... oh yea .... nephew Connor's HS Grad quilt from this year (and I can't believe I forgot to take pictures of at least the top ... which by the way is the only part finished .....) are what we'd like to finish up as our "Summer Sewing" before diving headfirst into ......




.....Fall and ....



.....winter ideas .....











SHEESH !!! Our own worst enemy, that's what we are !!! Maybe we need a strategy to stay on track .... for example eliminating all outside distractions .... like work, laundry, gross bathrooms, grocery shopping, and cooking and cleaning up all those gourmet dinners ....OH!! Speaking of gourmet dinners .... MAYBE we should follow in the footsteps of Julie of Julie and Julia fame and , instead of cooking a new recipe everyday and blogging about it (seriously , there's only so many varieties of Hamburger Helper out there), we should commit to sewing a little bit everyday and blogging about it !! Just think.....our movie career could be just around the corner !!! Why NOT ???? after all, Julia Child didn't write that cook book until she was 50 !! and the TV shows followed after that !!! So........there's a glimmer of hope ..... maybe .....BUT ....commiting to sewing EVERYDAY and then blogging about it EVERYDAY would definately put an extra LOAD on the ol' "To Do List" ......hmmmmmm.....maybe we'll have to put that idea on the back burner .....along with those unfinished sewing projects ...... (sigh).....

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Back to school !!!!!

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood ! Here at MBIAJ Headquarters it's back to school time . Matt, the Moonbeams college boy started his second year at Penn State 2 days ago and Evan moped out the door this morning on his second to last first day of school (junior year, here he comes ..... sob .... the Moonbeams Mama is wondering how her boys have gone from the first day of preschool to almost finished with school SO FAST when she hasn't aged a bit in the process !! ....it was all a blur .... a sleep deprived , hectic blur that's how !! )

ANYWAY ..... as you can see, Kitty has proclaimed herself the math expert and states she , being the high school graduate that she is ..... (actually I think they let her graduate just to get rid of her ....) is ready to step in and take over the "Homework Help Dept" ..... (sigh) this should be interesting .....

Happy first day of school everybody!!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Fungus Among Us ......

Happy Friday Blogland Neighbor-hood ! Today we have our Cub Reporter Kitty stationed out in the soggy, muggy, buggy MBIAJ yard (where we can't hear her whining). She's been investigating the rather HUGE mushrooms that have grown (as a result of TONS of rain this summer .... we're guessing that's why they're so huge, but not being experts on fungus we can't say for sure .... )

Anyhow, here's Kitty to show you just how big these things really are .....



....she can park her car under one and use it as an umbrella .....



.....or she can park her car on top of one .... and we can let her figure out how to get down from there by herself .....WHAT? What did you say Kitty? oh, you've just inhaled a few gnats and your hair is starting to frizz ? .....(sigh) .... OK, guess we better get her down from there ..... we certainly can't have a frizzy, buggy, soggy Kitty ......



Be back soon !

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

It's Tutorial Time (of the wash cloth Hot/Cold Pack persuasion)

Good afternoon Blogland Neighbor-hood ! We're interrupting Kitty's spa day to take the last couple of wash cloths from that pile she's hogging to bring you (finally) the instructions for making a ......






......Hot/Cold Pack cover (click on any of the pictures to make them bigger)
















So ...... here's what you'll need ...





a wash cloth,
1/2 yd of fabric,
Heat & Bond Lite (oops ...not pictured), &
Re usable cold/hot pack




First draw 2 simple shapes for your appliques (one bigger and one smaller) ... something simple like a heart or flower........follow the instructions on the Heat & Bond and make 2 fabric appliques ....


.....fold the wash cloth in half to determine your applique placement then fuse in place .....



......now unfold the wash cloth and using a zig zag stitch, sew the appliques onto the wash cloth




Next is the binding :

cut 2 strips 3" wide x length of top & bottom edges of the wash cloth + 2"
cut 2 strips 3" wide x length of the left & right edges of the wash cloth + 2"




Place the right side of one of the binding strips along one side of right side of the wash cloth, matching raw edges (the binding will extend 1" on either end)


....now stitch the binding to the wash cloth 1/2" from raw edges....



..Open out and press....



...press under 3/4" along opposite long edge of binding ....(and get some hand lotion for those DISHPAN HANDS !!!)




....Wrap the binding around edge of wash cloth, covering the stitching line on the back of the wash cloth. Pin in place.



...stitch in the ditch on right side of the wash cloth, catching binding on the back. Trim ends of binding even with edges of wash cloth.

Next repeat all of the above steps for the opposite side of the wash cloth.

OK so now you've got binding on sides #1 and #2.
On to sides #3 and #4 ( HEY !!! YooHoo !!! No staring into space .... we're almost finished here !!)


....Place binding (right side ) along right side #3 of wash cloth (raw edges even). Binding wiil extend 1" beyond either end of wash cloth. Stitch binding to wash cloth 1/2" from raw edges .... Open out and press... now press under 3/4" along opposite long edge of binding ....


...press short ends of binding even with edges of wash cloth...



....Wrap folded long binding edge around to the back of the wash cloth , covering stitching line on the back of wash cloth . Pin. Stitch in the ditch on right side of wash cloth, catching binding on back. Slip stitch ends by hand.

Repeat all of the above steps for side #4.

Ties: Cut 4 strips of fabric 2" x 8"




...fold short ends to wrong side 1/4" and press....



.....Fold tie in half lengthwise (wrong sides together) . Press.



...Open out and press long edges to center fold line ...


...then fold again lengthwise on center fold line....


....top stitich 1/8" from folded edges.


...pin each tie about 3 1/2" from sides on inside of top and bottom of wash cloth (if your hot/cold pack is on the smaller side, you might want to move the ties closer together so the hot/cold pack doesn't fall out)



...on right side, stitch in the ditch to secure all 4 ties.


....fold hot/cold pack cover in half, wrong sides together...


...stitch in the ditch along left and right sides through all thicknesses (sewing front to back along short sides (do not sew across bottom binding )







Place the hot/cold pack inside the "pocket" and you're ready to ice down or warm up whatever you might need to ice down or warm up !!


....and so gang, this concludes yet another MBIAJ Sewing Dept Presentation . We hope you enjoyed it ! And now we must definately run along and get a giant vat of some heavy duty hand lotion for those disgraceful dishpan hands !!!

Be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

What to do with all of those clean wash cloths ......

Good afternoon Blogland Neighborhood ! Clean wash cloths ??? What clean wash cloths ?!?!??? Anyhow, isn't this hysterical ! This is a card by Tina Neidlein we found recently and it got us thinking about all those clean and fluffy towels and wash cloths (that don't stay clean and fluffy for very long...) and we remembered the MBIAJ Sewing Dept came up with a little project last winter , made from a wash cloth (rescued from the filthy clutches of the Moonbeams Boys and their cruddy cronies BEFORE they messed them up) and some fabric , that I don't think we ever showed you .....so now you have to .....well, not HAVE TO .... get to see the wash cloth project(s) (the Sewing Dept got carried away and made two...)



....here's the blue one and ....



.....this is the green version (just click on the pictures to make them bigger ).....













BUT WHAT ARE THEY ???? you ask .... well, these are ... (hold your horses Jan .... I'm gettin' to it!) .....








.......hot pack / cold pack covers !!!!

The Moonbeams Boys (and their mama) use cold packs and hot packs ALOT ..... this summer we've had sinus infections, earaches , bumps and boo boos from racing dirtbikes (them, not mama) , and now high school soccer practice is starting on Monday so we're prepared for the whining and complaining re: sore shins and ankles that are par for the course from Kid #2. So, not able to leave well enough alone, and being irked by the cold/ hot pack always falling out of the just folded wash cloth around the cold/ hot pack, the MBIAJ Sewing Dept put on their thinking caps and had to come up with a practical, yet decorated (which the Moonbeams Boys could really not give a _______ about) cover for the well used cold/ hot packs at MBIAJ Headquarters .......and , so there you have it ! Instructions soon to follow .... so gang .... rescue a wash cloth while it's still clean and dry and we'll put one of these babies together next blog post ..... (hopefully sooner rather than later!)

Stay tuned !!!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Flowers, one GIANT bug ....... and a hydrangea with a case of the "droops" ....

Happy weekend Blogland Neighborhood ! It's a BEAUTIFUL day here in Pa ...... low humidity and comfy temperatures (which isn't going to last according to the weather guy) ..... Anyhow, the MBIAJ Paperwork Dept, who , as usual has piles of work to get done this weekend and , who, as usual is always looking for yet another distraction /procrastination excuse, felt they could no longer ignore the dry as dust, sad looking plants on the front and side porches so they forced themselves to grab the watering can and head out to the great outdoors......



.....to take care of the potted herbs that the MBIAJ Patriarch so meticulously cultivates every year .... and trusts the MBIAJ Gardening Dept to take proper care of every year (isn't it amazing that he hasn't given up hope and every year brings us his beautiful potted herbs ...... he's "George the Herb Guy" ..... wouldn't it be funny if his name was Herb ..... "Herb the Herb Guy" !) Anywho .... that big one up there on the left is basil (of some sort) and the smaller one is oregano....






....and this is lemon basil...




.....and here we have some sage




.......and here we have the mother of all moths !!!! Look at the SIZE of that sucker !!! (that's a quarter next to it) .... Evan found it on the window sill in the garage .... dead .... probably overcome by the dirtbike fumes in there (just kidding ..... we keep it well ventilated in the garage ....the MBIAJ Safety Dept is pretty paranoid about these things ....)

....OK .... lets head around to the front yard .....






......not bad .... this is a favorite LITTLE section of the front yard ..... and by LITTLE we mean we only took a picture of the part that looks good ......



.....and here's a closer look .....


....and another even closer look .....











.....however .... if we take a step back , you'll get the REAL picture of .....





.....the VERY DROOPY hydrangea !!!!







......any ideas how to un droop it? (we were thinking maybe an underwire bra ....)


Be back soon !

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Blissfully blogging about "Blogging for Bliss"

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood !!! We here at MBIAJ Headquarters pride ourselves in keeping our finger on the pulse of Blogland ......yep......not much gets past us!!! ......uhhhhhh.....well, let's rephrase that ..... we here at MBIAJ pride ourselves in zooming in at the last minute ..... just under the wire as they say ....(at least this time we feel we have a valid excuse for not finding out about this
book release party since we were away on vacation)

ANYHOW ......what's all the hub bub about? Well it's about .....




....this new book by Tara Frey ....this book is GREAT !!! Has lot's of good "How To" info for starting a blog and /or spiffing up the one you've already got. She also features lots of our fun Blogland neighbors such as
Miss Pam Kitty Morning and Miss Happy Zombie and her platter of deviled eggs ....

......so, off we go over to Artsy Mama's blog where Kari is hosting this shin dig ......oh wait ..... I guess we shouldn't go empty handed ..... hmmmmm.... what can I take ..... oh! how about .....





.......these Mallon's sticky buns we brought back from the shore .....





.......WAIT A MINUTE !!!! WHO ATE THEM ?!?!?!?!!! (guilty) .....guess we should stop at the store on our way to the party and get something that isn't already sampled ......

Be back soon !

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)