Happy Father's Day !!!!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad (aka George). This is one of my favorite pictures of him .... this was taken in the early 1950's when he was home for a visit during his medical school years. (just in case you can't tell by looking at it, this picture is one of those photo transfer pictures on fabric.) My Dad is not only a doctor, he also has LOTS of hobbies .... he likes photography and has always been the photographer at all family events and kids' sports stuff, etc (maybe I should hire him and get rid of that lousy photographer we have here at MBIAJ !). He loves classical music and is one of the best "Air Conductors" you have ever seen!!!!(we should get him a real conductor's baton one of these days.....). He is a Penn Stater through and through (do NOT bother him during Penn State football season ..... he's watching the game and "helping" Joe Paterno coach!). He was in the Airforce (as a doctor, not a pilot) .... but later on he did get his small plane pilot's license and spent many happy years flying in the great blue yonder. He LOVES to garden ..... flowers, veggies , herbs..... you name it, he can grow it!! .....and FISHING .... another one of his hobbies that he has tried to "share" with all of us .... so much so, that I had enough pictures of almost everybody in the family with a fishing pole in their hands to make a photo tranfer quilt for my Dad's birthday a few years ago...well, it was mostly fishing pictures .... I also put in pictures of my Dad as a little kid, and then as a young man (like that medical school picture I just showed you.) Anyway, here's the quilt ....


......well, that's pretty darn blurry..... shoulda had George take the picture!
Anyhow, in the center are pictures of George's parents as newlyweds, and with George when he was "little Georgie"; surrounding the center are signature blocks signed by kids, and grandkids, etc..... then above and below are pictures of George and various family members (many of which he is sharing his love of fishing with.....)


OK, so here's the center panel....

....SHEESH !....another blurry picture! (anyhow, you can click on it to make it bigger and see the pictures better .... but don't look at my lousy quilting .....)..make sure you look at the picture on the bottom in the middle .... don't ya love how George's striped socks blend in with the bricks on the house!!!!

OK, now for the fishing pictures .....


.....he didn't waste any time trying to convert us all to be fishermen .... this is my Mom (aka Nancy) when they were newlyweds ... actually, I think this was taken on their HONEYMOON ..... doesn't she look HAPPY ?!?!?!!!! HA !


.....Ok, so things were looking up for George in the fishing dept when kid #1 was A BOY !!!!! My brother John tolerated fishing .... but his interests leaned more toward AIRPLANES (PHEW ... another one of George's loves!!) ... so brother dear was excused from fishing to get his pilot's license and become an aeronautical engineer (I have no idea how to spell that!)

Next we have .....

......Yours Truly (aka me) ..... lookin' real thrilled to be fishing ....








So.....by the time he got to my sister, Boop......

....he just gave up and bought her an ice cream cone .... (BIG SIGH from George....)







Well, fast forward a few years and things were looking up again for George with the arrival of ........

....GRAND-KIDS !!! (this is my kid, Matt with Pap .... (aka George)....when he caught his first fish .... with cousin Danny helping)
Here's grandson Connor...
....and his brother Danny ...
....and Evan, all proud fishermen!!!












....and... here's an idea for my next "Fisherman's Quilt" ....or maybe a stitchery of some sort ....

...but don't hold your breath to see the finished product anytime soon ..... it took WAY too long to make the first one!!! (just ask anybody in my family!!!)














ANYWAY ...... HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD !! Thanks for taking us fishing !!!!

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

Baking a blueberry birthday cake ....

Tuesday was my Dad (George's) birthday .... which we finally celebrated today, Thursday. So earlier today I decided to make a cake for him. As I was going through different magazines looking for a cake recipe with blueberries (George's fav) in comes Kitty telling me she's bored and what was I doing. When I told her I was going to bake a cake as soon as I found a recipe, she hurried on home and came back wearing .....

.....her Chef hat! She said this was the perfect opportunity for her to break it in! ......OK.... whatever ..... So, after we admired Kitty in her Chef hat, we finally found a recipe in the May 2008 "Cooking Light" magazine. We decided on....

....this Blueberry Coffee Cake.
.....we gathered up our ingredients ....
....and got started.















Kitty was mostly interested in .....

....licking the beaters .... and....

.....wearing cake batter ....













ANYWAY ..... here's George, the birthday boy, modeling one of his presents....

...a "Penn State Grandpa" t-shirt... George is a HUGE Penn State fan, and proud alumus (is that how you spell that?) , father of a Penn State grad (my sister, Boop) and now grandfather to a new Penn State student (my kid, Matt ... who will be a freshman at Penn State as soon as we pay for it ....I think that lemonade stand I set up out front should pull in enough cash to get him started for the upcoming fall semester......)
Now, it's just not a birthday at our house without .......

...THE BIRTHDAY HAT!!! (handmade by Matt for my mother's birthday back when he was about 6 years old) ...... oooohhhhhh ..... and look! there's THE BLUEBERRY BIRTHDAY CAKE !!!!!

OK George.... time to blow out the candles!!

.....OOPS! that hat's a little big ..... now George looks like the Unknown Comic from The Gong Show!!!!



THERE! that's better!


LOOK! the Three Stooges .... I mean The Birthday Boy and Evan and Matt!!(George gets to wear the cool sunglasses because, after all, he IS the Birthday Boy!)


(shhhhhh......I managed to save you a piece of cake ..... but ya better eat it FAST before the above group sees it .... they're like a bunch of vacuum cleaners!!!)

Be back soon!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

It was a real SCORCHER today ... and yesterday and the day before....

HooooooWEEE it's been a 96degree very humid SCORCHER out there !!!! (and will be again tomorrow according to the weather guy)......so, after work, and after working on .....

...THE GRAD-UATION QUILT !!!!!(cutting lots and lots and lots and lots of fabric strips....) I decided to pack it in for the day and head out to....

...the lake (Mauch Chunk Lake Park) which is just a few miles from where I live.






It was 7:00 PM ....

......and, as you can see, the beach was closed (well, the lifeguards go off duty and you aren't allowed to swim, but you can still be on the beach) ....anyhow, even though I got there too late to swim, I didn't really care because this is my favorite time of the day at the beach .... the crowds are gone, it's peaceful, and I DON'T HAVE TO PUT SUNSCREEN ON!!!!!(I HATE putting sunscreen on ..... it's all sticky and greasy and it burns your eyes and then the sand sticks to ya like the coating on fried chicken!!! ) Anyhow, it was still hot and I just wanted to cool off a teeny bit, so I waited until the park ranger was finished picking up trash on the beach and left the area, then ......

.... I tippy toed down to the water and stuck one foot in ......









......and it felt so good that I just couldn't resist .....


.......AHHHHHHHhhhhhh......that's better!!!










Hope you're staying cool!!! I'll be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Mission Accomplished !!! Matt GRADUATES !!!!!!

All those years of nagging ..."Matt, did you study??? .... Matt did you finish that project yet????......Matt, did you START that project yet?????" have paid off !!!! Tonight, Matt graduated from high school ...... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED !!!! GOOD JOB Matt !!!!!!
..... and to think just a few short years ago he was only graduating from preschool ... with all those years of homework nagging ahead of him ! Where did the time go?!?!

......and here's the new grad with his grandparents .....


.....Matt modeling one of his graduation presents... "Seriously, can you believe I graduated?" .....hmmmmm, well, I'll tell ya, it was a little touch and go a few times, but overall ...... YEP!! we are HAPPY, we are PROUD, and we are RELIEVED !!!
..... oh, and here's another graduation present ....

....the FINISHED dirtbike fabric pillow case .... just waiting for Matt to hit the hay .....






......speaking of hitting the hay .... I think I will .... it's been a long day and I'm pooped !!! (and I've got a graduation quilt to START tomorrow ......or maybe the next day!)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Only 2 days until ....... GRADUATION !!!!!

Only 2 more days until the big day !!! This morning the senior class had graduation practice and they were also given their caps and gowns .......

.......here's Matt (well, the top of his head, anyway) modeling his cap and new cool sunglasses (AND new short haircut that was his own idea !!!!! Will wonders ever cease?!?!)

......and Kitty modeling her cap while parked on top of the high school year book .....





....and here's what I started just a half an hour ago .....


.......Nope ....no, not the Graduation Quilt ..... this is the Graduation Pillow Case......I figure there's the slimmest of chances that I'll finish this by Friday ..... but the quilt ..... not a chance in h*#$...... that's what the "Back up Date" is for!!! .... oh! and the "Back up Date" now has a "Back up Date"!!! ...that's because we changed the date of Matt's graduatio party from June 28, to July 4th !!!!! ..... giving me 7 more days to finish/start the Graduation Quilt!!! I just LOVE back up dates for back up dates !!!

OK, gotta zoom! I've got a pillow case to sew! Be back after graduation with pictures !!!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Chef Hats.... functional AND FASHIONABLE !!!

Yes sir! Chef hats are not only functional, they can also be a fashion statement!!! Just look at Lucy and Ethel ! (I know this picture is in black and white, but I've seen this picture in color, and Lucy and Ethel are wearing PINK chef hats to match their PINK uniforms !!!VERY chic!!!) ...... and look how functional those chef hats are !!!!They hold tons of candy in a pinch!

Anyhow, the MBIAJ (Moonbeams in a Jar) Sewing Dept has been busily taking chef hats to the next level (while being in complete denial that Matt's high school graduation is this Friday and his graduation quilt isn't finished/started ...... yet another example of procrastination at it's best!) OK, so here's what the Sewing Dept has come up with ....
....a chef hat in a cute patterned fabric with a big goofy bow on the side for me .....AND a red and white checkered chef hat with turquoise ric rac trim for Kitty ...... no boring white chef hats for us !!! (How 'bout those matching red glasses .... hmmmmmm? ...and that scummy shower in the background .... we're in the process of firing our current Shower Scum Removal Dept ) Now that I look at it, my chef hat looks like it could also double as a sleeping cap ..... I wonder if it would prevent bed head.) Anyhow, here's a closer look at Kitty in her chef hat .....


....Kitty prefers her hat to stand up straight just like ......


......Curly's ...
















OK .... so here's the pattern I used ....

...it's an older McCall's pattern...... and for Kitty's hat, I just made it by downsizing the pattern pieces .....


.....there are only 2 pattern pieces ..... a rectangle for the hat band, and a big circle for the poofy part .



First you have to measure your head to figure out how long the hat band piece has to be ....

....and don't forget to add the seam allowance (eg. if your head is 22" around you would cut your fabric 22" + 5/8"+ 5/8" = 23 1/4 " ..... 5/8" is the seam allowance on either end ) ... and you would cut the width double the finished size width you want because it gets folded in half .... plus 5/8" seam allowance on both sides ... so if you want the finsihed width of the band to be 4", you would cut it 8" + 5/8" + 5/8" = 9 1/4" wide).....so, you would cut the hat band piece 23 1/4" long by 9 1/4" wide .......AAAAAcccck!!! that's enough math!!! ... oh , and for the round part, it's a pretty big circle because you gather it to fit the hat band ... the one in the pattern is 24 1/2" in diameter (that includes the seam allowance)


...so, pick out some jazzy fabric and cut out the pattern pieces....(Kitty wanted hers to match her car)

..next you machine baste around the edges to gather the hat to fit the hat band...(on the pattern for the human size chef hat, they have you machine baste 5/8" and again 1/2" from the raw edge)

....now press under one long side of the hat band (on the pattern, they have you press under 5/8")


...next , with right sides together, fold the band in half and stitch the seam ...

...next pull up the bobbin threads to gather the hat ...

.....now with right sides together, you pin the band to the hat , adjust the gathers to fit the hat band, and stitch.

...to finish , turn the hat band to the inside and stitch the edge over the seam .

....now turn right side out and decorate !!!








OK, back to graduation week activities .... like for example what I'm going to wear and what the graduate is going to wear ..... a note was sent home from school about no shorts or flip flops .... RATS..... I guess I shouldn't wear that either !!!! Well, gotta ZOOM !!! Be back soon!

OH!!! WAIT !!! I just want to thank you all for your sweet comments about my apron (and matching fire extinguisher and bathroom towels) in my last post !!!! I'm BLUSHING !!! I'm so glad you liked it !!!! ..... OK, now I've REALLY gotta zoom !!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)