Friday Night Sew In ....

Dang ! Missed it(Friday) by 32 minutes ! Well, so much for the MBIAJ Sewing Dept participating in this month's Friday Night Sew In on Friday night! Got in from work after 7pm, made dinner (well, actually stopped at the market and bought dinner), cleaned up dinner , sat down at the computer to check emails and do some paperwork and got sidetracked on facebook , as usual...... but it was there that I got the message from pal Amanda that tonight (well, yesterday now) is/was the Friday Night Sew In for April.) So, by that time it was 11 pm and the news was on (had to check the weather) .... BIG mistake ! Fell asleep on the sofa .... woke up to go tinkle ... and well, there you have it .... you're all caught up and up to date ..... so, the MBIAJ Sewing Dept will have to try and reschedule their participation in the Friday Night Sew In until sometime on Saturday ....hopefully!

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

Trying on a new blog background .....

Happy Saturday Blogland Neighborhood! Well today we here at MBIAJ Headquarters have piddled away a good part of the day trying to figure out how to change our blog background ..... and now that we know it's not rocket science (although you' think it was since, as we said, it took us the better part of the afternoon to figure it out ... ) we are going back and forth between 3 different backgrounds ..... trying one on after the other .... (like trying to decide what to wear) .... we're looking for something fresh looking and not too fussy .... found a pretty grey with white flowers, but when we tried it on it looked kind of blah and bleak (like the gray sky outside .... AGAIN!). So, for the time being, we've kind of settled on the one you see right now .... it's definately BRIGHT !!! Kind of refreshing .... like a strawberry and tangerine fruit salad ! Who knows, maybe we'll be changing it again soon (now that we know how to do it) .... but first we want to figure out how the heck to change our header ! (anybody have any simple tips for the computer challenged?)

Anyhow, can't have a blog post without a fun picture (I think it's in the imaginary rules .... ) so here's a picture of some of the fun fabric deliciousness we recently ordered from
The Fat Quarter Shop





YUM !!!









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

Muffintops....

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood! At the end of a long day of work, it's nice to sit and relax (or procrastinate) in front of the computer and catch up on some blog reading.




Look what Daisy and I found on Clothworks Textiles Blog....




.....some fun fabric called "Muffintops" by Barb Tourtillotte . Oh Barb, Barb, Barb !!!! ..... we here at MBIAJ Headquarters can SO relate to this fabric !!!! Anyhow, they are having a giveaway over there at the Clothworks blog for a shower curtain and towel set featuring this fun fabric .... so all you gals (and guys) of a "certain age" should zip on over there and sign up . We here at MBIAJ headquarters are thinking of making a beach bag out of this stuff .... and how about a matching beach quilt and a cover up to , well you know .... COVER UP the real muffintop? What the heck and why not .... after you hit that "certain age" you might as well just go with the flow !!!!

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

The Balancing Act .....

Well Happy April Blogland Neighorhood !! Can't believe another month has flown by (but happy it's trying to be spring time !) The next few months will be crazier than usual here at MBIAJ Headquarters (if that's possible!) ....with proms, graduations, milestone birthdays and anniversaries, a wedding quite a few states away, etc, etc, etc ....and trying to balance preparations for all of those very happy events with the heavy day job schedule, the laundry, the house etc, etc, etc ..... so here's our big 20 cent question of the week ....any bright ideas or tips for perfecting "The Balancing Act"? (cause we've been trying to perfect "it" for way too many years than we care to count and it isn't improving that's for sure !!!) Oh well !!!

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

WHAT to do with BIG print fabrics ??? (and some cool doodling!)

Happy weekend Blogland Neighborhood! Hope spring is springing where you are. Unfortunately it's not here at MBIAJ Headquarters. We've had a couple of teaser days, but it seems winter is being a great big bully and keeps pushing spring around.








Anyway, the MBIAJ Design and Doodling Dept has Spring Fever in a big way and have been playing around with some new (and not so new) fabrics with some HUGE flowers on them. So, they are trying to figure out just what to do with HUGE print fabrics. They're really pretty and you just can't cut them up into little pieces , so what do you use them for ..... well you could make curtains ..... nah...... or an apron or tote bag .... maybe ..... or a dress .....(yikes !! DEFINATELY NOT (I'm pretty sure with those big prints and our big caboose, it would look more like a circus tent or a muu muu ... or more accurately a mooooo moooooo....)



.....and here's another pretty print (not as huge as that first one, but still something we'd hate to cut up into little pieces). The Design Dept had fun picking out those companion fabrics and the Doodling Dept is busy doodling up some ideas .... maybe they should consult Moonbeams Boy Evan .....



......he is a "Master Doodler" !!!!! Just LOOK at these doodles !!!! .....












......and these !!!










These doodles cover every square inch of his political science notebook. Obviously he is totally and completely BORED by political science and should NOT pursue it as his college major ..... but how about graphic design!?!?!?!!!

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

National Quilting Day

Well hello there Blogland Neighborhood .... has it been 2 weeks since our last blabfest? YIKES! Well....



we've been feeling a little glum and not much in the mood for blogging over the past week or so (kind of puts all things in perspective when you watch the news about Japan etc.) And, as usual this weekend the MBIAJ Paperwork Dept has ....



...their usual BORING, TEDIOUS pile of paperwork to get caught up on before Monday rolls around again (oh yes, and that's our latest coping strategy ..Pillsbury chocolate fudge Sweet Moments) .... and today being National Quilting Day the MBIAJ Sewing and Quilting Dept was moping around because they (again) don't have time to play with fabric this weekend .... that is until the mailman brought .....




..... a little fabric and thread gifty gift from blogger pal Linda Lum DeBono (we were the randomly picked winner from her Yo Yo Challenge she hosted a couple of weeks ago). THANKS LINDA !!! This was the perfect pick me up for the MBIAJ Sewing and Quilting Dept (especially since it's National Quilting Day !)



....and speaking of cuter than cute things .... look at this fun pattern we sent for from The Quilted Fish !!! Party crowns and party hats !!! PERFECT for many happy milestone birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and a wedding we have coming up in the next few months !!! (and all of these upcoming events deserve some snazzy headgear to properly commemorate the occasion !)

... and one more important thing .... in the spirit of National Quilting Day here is a way for all of you generous and caring quilters to help the people of Japan in the best way you know how .... and that is to make a comfort quilt. This is being organized by Quilters Newsletter (just click on this link for all of the info). OK gang, lets fire up those sewing machines !!!

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

Yo (yo) Adrian ......

.......can you put some yo yo's on this here championship belt thing ???

Sorry .... couldn't resist .... anyhow, good morning Blogland Neighborhood and welcome to today's topic of: "What can you put a yo yo on?". Well, what can't you put a yo yo on? Well, guess there are some things you wouldn't want to put a yo yo on .... but here are some examples of what you CAN put a yo yo on .....



.....how about a lampshade? (this is a work in progress ... more yo yo's are planned to gussy this plain lampshade up a bit)









...how about Kitty? (her St Patrick's Day tam is an upside down yo yo)






.....then there's our Flower Pot Cozy made with a giant yo yo pulled up around a plastic flower pot and decorated with more yo yo's ....




.......and you can make lots and lots of yo yo's with covered button centers and combine them with some glass beads to make a garland to .......



......hang across a window to brighten up that drab winter scene outside.



For more fun and creative ideas for yo yo embelishing, you should check out Linda Lum Debono's Yo Yo Challenge Flickr page .

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