If you make a scarf ..... you need a brooch to go with it .....

Well, here we are, trying to play catch up as per usual at MBIAJ Headquarters ! A couple of weeks (yes only a couple of weeks) before Christmas, the MBIAJ Sewing and Quilting Dept had another "delusions of grandeur" moment when they decided it would be oh so cool to whip up a polar fleece scarf with fabric trim Fig Tree Quilts Style (Fig Tree Quilts Fresh Vintage Issue #18 ) for my sister for Christmas. BUT, the scarf looked bare ..... so how about a fabric brooch (ala Sew Ritzy Titzy) to go with it? (Kind of like that kids' book "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" ..... he'll want some jam to go with it). Of course we didn't have quite enough "winter white" fleece to make the scarf (because now we've decided matching mittens would just complete this ensemble) so we had to make a trip to buy more fabric during the extreme Christmas shopping rush ......so, since we were making that trip anyway, and at that point Christmas shopping was not yet completed/started, we decided to make an after work evening of it. Well, one thing led to another, and Christmas was fast approaching and NONE of the wonderfully imagined handmade gifts were more than 1/4 finished, so we had to (again) ditch and go with Plan B ..... (i.e. last minute shopping for ready made gifts ..... sigh)

SO .... fast forward to 4 weeks AFTER Christmas and ta daaaaaaaaa ....... one completed scarf WITH fabric brooch to go with it !!! WOW ! if I wrap this up and put it away until NEXT Christmas, I'll actually have a handmade gift already to go! ...... OR, I could give it to ME !!!!



















......and here's a close up of that very fun fabric brooch








...AND of course you - know - who had to have a scarf and brooch too ....


P.S. ......never did make the matching mittens ..... well maybe next year !


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

Rest in Peace Joe Pa

"Believe , deep down inside, that you are destined to do great things." Coach Joe Paterno

Rest in Peace Joe Pa. Happy Valley will never be the same without you ...... :(

Be back soon,
Mary Anne

Some MBIAJ New Year's Resolutions .........Naaa ..... Goals ........ Naaaaa ...... Suggestions

OK ..... so here we are half way through January and the MBIAJ New Year's Resolutions have gone to pot ..... such as exercising everyday ..... (sigh)







.....trying to remember to take those nasty vitamins everyday ..... think we'll stick with Flintstone's ....(all the grown up ones make me gag!)







..... oh, and here's a good one ..... stick to a schedule ........ HA !


So, since "resolution" is a dirty word here in MBIAJ Land .... we thought we'd call them "goals" ...... but then that made us feel like instant failures ..... so we're going with "suggestions" ! :)

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

New Year ..... time to learn something !

Well, it's a brand new year (well minus 8 days) ....time to take down the droopy, dried out Christmas tree (and for the MBIAJ Undecorating Dept this is an all time record for putting Christmas away .... we usually wait until the tree disintegrates on it's own)....and time for our Moonbeams Boys to head back to their college classrooms (Penn State classes resume tomorrow). SO, inspired by the new year and the new college semester beginning, the MBIAJ Continuing Education Dept has decided it's time for us dust out those cobwebs in our middle aged burned out brain and to LEARN SOMETHING too !!! So, we hauled our butt over to Craftsy and signed up for their FREE Block of the Month class taught by Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock. AND, we didn't stop there ..... nope not us ! We also signed up for Wendy Butler Bern's Craftsy class Machine Quilting: Free Motion and More (this class was not free, but we did manage to snag it while it was offered at 50% off !)

So, we'll see how this goes ..... our Block of the Month may turn into the dragged out Block of every few Months .... but that's OK ... because the Craftsy online courses are available anytime and for as long as you want .... good thing !

Anyhow ..... here's to a new year and learning something new !!!

Be back soon!
Toodles
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

New York City field trip part 2

Well here we are 5 days into the new year and I'm finally recovered from our whirlwind day in New York City on the eve of New Year's Eve ! As you may recall, the main reason for our trip to New York City was .....











..a surprise Christmas gift for the Moonbeams Matriarch to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.





.....and there it is ! Radio City Music Hall .... complete with New York City cop directing traffic (cars and people !)



.....this is what greets you when you first walk into the lobby of Radio City Music Hall ..... this SPECTACULAR chandelier !!!! It was GORGEOUS .... and HUGE !!!! made up of many many many crystal snowflakes !



.... and here's our guest of honor (Mom) standing on one of the balconies in front of that amazing chandelier.
















....and here's Mom after the show (which she enjoyed very much) proudly holding her souvenirs....









...... the ever so tacky Leg Martini Glass ! (a cousin to the Leg Lamp from Ralphie's Christmas Story !)







.......after the show we took a stroll to Rockefeller Center where there were a few of these guys keeping watch over ....












....the ice skaters .













....and just look at that HUGE , BEAUTIFUL Christmas tree !!! Cut down from somebody's yard in State College, Pa !











....next stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral to see ....









....the Creche







.....and here's that Nancy (aka Mom) happily trying on hats at Saks 5th Avenue that cost more than my car ! (we also fingered up some scarves that we found out cost $1150 ....ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS .... after the salesman politely cleared his throat and asked if he could be of some assistance .... YIKES ..... NO !!!)
















....anyhow, look how pretty Saks 5th Ave was decorated in all white lights and white decorations ..... very Winter Wonderland-ish!



.....and, no trip to New York is complete without a stop in at Magnolia Bakery for.....













.... CUPCAKES !!!! .... and look !!! Rockette's Cupcakes and New Year's Eve Cupcakes !!! PERFECT !!!











......more pretty NYC Christmas decorations with Radio City Music Hall off in the distance.....




......and finally, here's Macy's (as in the movie "Miracle on 34th Street") all decorated for the holidays.

......and this is where we pooped out .... after Macy's, we dragged our aching feet back to the Path Train that took us back to where we parked our car.


We had a GREAT time, but now I'm tired all over again !!!

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