The Hooligans Make the Paper

We were in the right place at the right time and made some photographer's day. Boy was that lady lucky that we missed our ferry to Seattle! :) ...I think Annika is famous now.

Sushi Fun-d - Christmas Projects Part 3

I just hope he wasn't offended by this Japanesey fabric. They were all out of Korean-themed fabric...and sushi fabric. ...I thought it would be a more thoughtful way to give cash/gift certificates.
-of course, my own hubby, I printed him up a gift certificate to Ipanema's the day before Christmas Eve.

Picnic in Style - Christmas Project #2

As someone who likes to lay around next to lakes, this picnic blanket had some instant appeal for me. I knew the little Kanglings would enjoy it too. (I had their family for Christmas this year.)

So....this is what my dining room table looked like for about a month, as I kept finding more ways to extend what was supposed to be a quick project. My husband is such a patient man.


I went through several phases with this project.

Idealism: I'm going to make one of these for each of my siblings, and we'll all be picnicking together all year long.

Procrastination: I think I need to embroider eveyone's names on this quilt before I can baste it.


Frustration: All of those mistakes are staying there! Sarah will appreciate them -they'll reaffirm her superior craftiness.


Finished: I just put myself at the top of the list of people I want to make these for.





One very fun new thing about this project is that I actually followed the directions in the book for how to put on the binding. It seemed like a very cheaterish method, but I was desperate to get finished and mail off my present.

...loved it. Blind-stitching the binding usually takes me forever, so it was super-fun to see this binding finished so quickly. The secret? Double-fold bias tape.

Sew/serge it on.


Fold it over. Zig-zag it together.


Easy peasy.



..and gray quilting thread and binding...my new personal favorite!

Sister Quilts...Christmas Gifts in Review

I can finally share some of my favorite Christmas presents, now that they've been opened by my loved ones and there's no surprise to ruin.

The first is a direct relative of the quilt on my couch - made from her scraps no less, and isn't she adorable. I was so tempted to keep her.


For the backing, I used some brown polka dots on a cream field. It's a fabric I had bought to do the sashing on my alpha quilt....but then changed my mind. That's how a stash is born.


Once everything was put together, I noticed this lovely humility square. You know... the square you sewed together sideways...the one that humbles you by messing up the whole pattern?


Honestly, it just made me like this quilt more, because who really likes perfect things? - boring. Hope you like it, Grandma!

According to You....

...I should have given up and read a book....

I started Gone to Earth, by Mary Webb, but it's obvious from the first chapter that the main character is going to die. Not much incentive to continue.

...I ought have made my kids their annual pjs....

I got through two nightgowns and three pairs of pj bottoms before I had to raise the white flag. I'm saving the rest for another day (putting off collars and buttonholes as usual). We have one more week of vacation, right?

...some lone soul thought I should clean and beautify the home front....

(I'm guessing Erin - just because she has seen the squalor...and her own home is lovely.) Well...I got through the living room. It lasted until Christmas morning - which is really all one could hope for.

The real question is.....who is the brilliant mind-reader who had me doing "all of the above"? - because that's what I at least tried to do. One of the quilts is still a pile of scraps, but it's started nonetheless. Leave me a comment with your name and address, and I'll send you a prize.

Fine print: You may or may not like your prize. It will be something that I like, have made, consider to be yummy (either visually or the edible sort of yums), and it may or may not be delivered in a timely fashion. Consider yourself warned.

...and from the rest of us less cute people...

...Merry Christmas from us too!

The kids gave Tony and I a lovely Christmas present and didn't make us get out of bed until 9! I think they were too busy playing with their Santa loot...how they manage to get past the guard-Pokemon - I have no idea.



Last night, when we were hanging the stockings with care, I realized we were short one. So, being the sewing genius that I am, I whipped one up. Just kidding. I made the oldest kid use an old tube sock. He didn't care - as long as Santa still managed to squeeze in the goods!



I love my kids. Most of them managed to get super excited about the used books and pjs I got them for Christmas. (Only Santa and grandparents give toys at our house! We're SO mean.)

It was a close call with Sofia. She tore off the wrapping paper, deflatedly said, "it's books :( ...", and then, excitedly, "about wolves!" (The "Julie of the Wolves" series, that I predict she will love.)

Anthony has actually spent more time with his book than with his legos...and I think we're all in danger of being hit in the rear with homemade darts!



Ok, I lied. We gave Annika a refill for her gumball machine (in addition to Heidi, Peter Pan, and Pippi does something (I don't remember which Pippi)...gum is kind of a toy - not remotely educational at any rate.



My more industrious children (aka, Annika) bought presents for their siblings, but most of them gifted toys out of their stashes. Jonny passed his Zubat on to Sofia, Anthony gave Jon his lucky horseshoe necklace (with a REAL, albeit tiny, horseshoe), and Sofia scraped enough money together to purchase some excellent Goodwill finds.



...and I have plans to steal the flower barrettes Aunt Sarah made the girls...in the spirit of Christmas and all that jazz...
.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! -Love, the cutest baby ever - EVER!

Once There Was a Snow Jon...

...small, small, small...and silly.


Jonny! Stop eating your nose! You may be the only snowman we get this year!

Eggplant Parmesan

Yes, I cook so rarely, that when I do, I feel the need to blog about it. The other day, Tony and I watched Bobby Flay throwdown over some eggplant parmesan. Cruel. I've been craving it ever since. ...so, tonight I had to make it happen.

We did a less traditional dish, layering fried, breaded eggplant with roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil leaves - putting it in the oven just long enough to melt the mozzarella. SO, so, so good! ...and no, Mom, the eggplant wasn't remotely slimy. Even Sofia (my picky eater) will attest to that (although she did complain that they tasted like fried zucchini).

I took a picture of the finished product to make everyone drool, but it disappeared between my camera and the computer. Close your eyes, and use your imagination.

Matchies

Not all of my girls are into being "matchies", but I talked/coerced Annika and Cozette into wearing coordinating dresses last Sunday. Even their bows matched!
...and here I am, still geeking out about it! Aren't Mom's weird?

Knitters in a Row

Actually, Annika set her knitting down to read a little HP. Once you start a series, it's hard to stop. We've been making a lot of "emergency library runs" lately, and (Thank Goodness!) all of their reading helps me feel less guilty about my Christmas crafting. (Since my projects haven't exactly been kid-involved.)

Knitting, believe it or not, was little Anthony's idea. My Dad has set a good example of masculine knitters, and Anthony was eager to follow in his footsteps. ...and since it's just as easy for me to take three kids to a lesson as it is to take one, we now have three little knitters in the family.

Think I can get one of them to teach me?

Scrap-Happy Bows

I found a good use for my non-precious scraps (in other words, not $$ quilting fabric)! Aren't they cute!

Eclipse

Sofia heard a rumor that the movie version of "Eclipse" was coming out this summer, so she thought she'd better hurry up and read the book. Should I tell her?

Just kidding! ...I'm pretty sure she already knows. Erin Hunter also has a book entitled "Twilight" - and it isn't about teenage vampires at all.

Unkept Promises

I know I promised a peak into my projects, but Annalia craziness took over for a while. So, for now, you mostly get a peak at UNfinished projects. If you don't get the vision, just trust me - they're going to be adorable!

I found a cute, rustic cradle at Goodwill the other day (for a slightly more than a quarter), and I can just picture Cozette tucking her stuffies in it not too long from now. ...and to do that, she NEEDS some doll quilts, right?

Since then, I've been moderately obsessed with doll quilts...planning them as I go to sleep at night...forcing my super-indulgent friends to make them with me...and I've still only finished one? Really?



The older girls have already used it to tuck their stuffies into Cozy's cradle.


This was my first applique attempt; the embroidery says, "rest in your nest".

The next most-likely-to-be-finished doll quilts are:
...this rosy idea of mine. Tiny "sweet" (from Moda) roses and giant pop garden roses (from Heather Bailey).



...and this bright, scrappy creation.


I can't wait to finish them - just as soon as Cozette's teething angst subsides.

Krispy Cousins

We intercepted Sarah on her way back home. I think the Krispy Kremes is our official favorite place to meet. We tried Joann's once, but the kids need a little more space to play and talk (in other words, they were very naughty!)

Everyone ate their doughnuts and watched patiently to see some hot and fresh ones cooked before their very eyes!


Even Tony was on his best behavior. :)


Too...many...donuts....

Oh, the Festiveness...of Laundry!

I just saw my friend's lovely Christmas decorations on her blog, and now I'm feeling a tad bit inadequate. All of the decorations I have up were dug out by my children (Sofia was the ringleader) before I woke up one morning. They even put lights on the porch (in a very tripping-hazardy way).
Maybe I'll get to it tomorrow, but, in the mean time, our house is decorated with Christmas projects and laundry. Of the two, I'd rather work on the projects (which is why the laundry is an issue.) I have grand plans to post a peek at some of the Romero goings-on tomorrow....only time will tell.

Hints: cradles and cuteness (and - no - I'm NOT pregnant! :)

Gettin' My Wassail On

I bought a new crock pot at Goodwill especially for the mulling of Christmas beverages. Tony looked into my wassail pot the other evening and said...

Tony: Why are you stewing old underwear?
Lia: That's wassail.
Tony: Whatsail?
Lia: Wassail! As in - "here we go a-wassailing among the leaves so green..."
Tony: Well, why is underwear the main ingredient?
Lia: It's not underwear. It's a cheeseclothe bag full of spices....Christmasy spices!



Tony turned out to be the biggest fan of my wassail - even after it cooked a little too long and became super-potent, ultra-spicy wassail.

Tony: I got a laddle-full from the bottom of the pot, and now my lips are tingling. I think they're going numb...

I'm going to try hot, buttered milk next (since we don't really do the rum thing).

Chimes, Lights, and What All Else!

We went to the Festival of Chimes and Lights again this year. Before we left, I told Tony, "You're going to go...and you're going to like it...or else!" I didn't ask if he liked it, because I didn't actually have an "or esle" ready. My family knows I'm all about empty threats.


Doesn't Port Orchard look adorable, all decked out for the holidays?

I, on the other hand, had a grand ol' time freezing my hind end off with a bunch of other people, too crazed with Christmas spirit to pay any attention to the weather. Do we look cold? We were. Sofia actually tried to wear a dress to this event - a short one. She cried about the jeans, but I think she was thanking us on the inside!


We did everything backwards this year. We did the hay ride first, to minimize the crying. Three-year-olds just don't understand the whole line-waiting thing. James was thrilled.


Cozy and me, being pulled around by a tractor.

We missed the tree lighting (boo-hoo), so that we could be the 3rd family in line to sit on Santa's lap. It's all about efficiency, people! A little cotton candy and we were out of there, back home - to defrost.

Christmas - Woo-hoo!

Want to do something super fun and small-town Christmasy? Come to the FESTIVAL OF CHIMES AND LIGHTS in Port Orchard. We went last year, and it was awesome. Honestly, every time I go downtown (to pay my weekly book-ransoms to the library), I just revel in the cuteness of all the Christmas lights, complete with red bows.

The festival was great last year, and that was with me being pregnant and husbandless (doesn't that sound scandalous?) It HAS to be even better with him. Right? :)