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)

"What I did on my summer vacation"

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood ! Well, the Moonbeams family returned from the Jersy Shore full of sand, sun and , of course, dirty laundry ....

.....the weather was very cooperative (even though the weather guy kept telling us about scattered thunderstorms .... they seemed to scatter somewhere else!)

.....there was plenty of beach time for ....



Moonbeams Boys Evan (green bathing suit) and Matt ...








....there was plenty of boardwalk walking .....


....at night .....in search of ....


.....board-walk food here and ....


...here and ...


.....here (how about that goofy sombrero on cheesy smiling Evan hanging onto that Johnson's caramel popcorn with a death grip?!?!?) ..... and all that "health food" then led to the necessity for .....



....even more boardwalk walking .... or bike riding ....(a vicious cycle that's what it is .... a vicious cycle !)




.....there was lots of .....




....studying by Moonbeams college boy Matt (who is taking an online class over the summer and had a test to take while we were on vacation .....) so the Sewing Dept kept him company and ......


....set up Betty to work on .....




....the Banana Split project (decided on applique instead of stitchery ) and....



..... an apron .....












.....and there was some hand piecing done on ....




....this long suffering project !











....there was also ...



.....quilt shop shopping at Calico N' Cotton on Asbury Ave in Ocean City, NJ. followed up by more .....




.....sun, sand , and sea AND......



......lolling around in a beach chair with some serious reading ..... aahhhhhhh.............







......huh?!?!? what ?!?!??..... oh..... we're not on vacation anymore .... rats .... back to work .......

Be back soon!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)