Shopkins Carry-All

I finally got some inspiration to use the Shopkins fabric I bought for my granddaughter.

We were at the store last week and she had some of her Shopkins with her. They are so tiny that she dropped them throughout the store. We had to back-track through the store to find them like tiny little breadcrumbs along our path.

Yes, they are very tiny. And today I found one in my sewing room. I'm certain she thinks she lost it. So I decided that she needed something to carry them in. Something that had a zipper closure so she would stop losing them. So I whipped up this bag for her to carry them in. They aren't cheap so I think her mother will approve.

Raspberry Margaritas

My garden has been producing raspberries non-stop for two weeks now. Every day I pick a zip-lock bag full of berries. So today my husband was making poblano-chicken tacos (with home-grown poblanos, I might add).

He suggested that I take some of those fresh raspberries out of the freezer for margaritas. What a great idea! So we enjoyed these delicious margaritas with our tacos today. Yum!

Legion Post Craft Fair

This weekend I participated in the Oak Creek Legion Post 434 Arts and Crafts Fair. I had a nice-sized booth tucked away in a corner but it still made everyone who came in have to pass by my booth to get anywhere else within the room. I think the location brought me more business than I anticipated.

This craft fair is relatively small and the advertising budget is limited so I knew we might not get much traffic. I lowered my expectations. Amazingly, I did pretty well. I sold some tote bags, aprons, and table runners. I usually sell burp cloths and flannel baby blankets but not this time. You just never can predict.

I was happy that I could help out our legion auxiliary by participating even though I am not all that fond of working shows anymore. I love making crafts and I do enjoy meeting people and talking with them at the fairs but I rack up a lot of pain from being there. Since my spine surgeries, I'm just not capable of sitting/standing for the 6 hours required to be there. Luckily my daughter comes to give me a break.

I am so happy that my inventory is getting lower and lower!

Avery's Birthday Cake - with Disgust and Anger!

Today is my granddaughter's 4th birthday. When I asked her if I could bake her a birthday cake she said, "Yes. It needs to be a pink cake with pink frosting and it has to have Disgust and Anger on it."

I had no idea what that meant. Her mother had to explain that Disgust was a character in the movie, Inside-Out. Ah, I remember that movie! There was Disgust and Joy and Anger and Sadness...and a few others I couldn't remember.

My daughter said it would be tough to do anything with those characters but she knew she could get a toy set at the Disney Store that might help. So she bought the toy set and brought it over last week. So I went about making a pink cake with pink frosting. It was really a yellow cake and white-marshmallow frosting with pink food coloring thrown in. I decided that the easiest thing to do was to make a sheet cake, cut a third of it off and stack it on top like a step. That way I could add the characters.

Now I never profess to being any sort of baker or cake decorator so the end results were not that pretty. However, Avery did not notice, she just saw her cake with those characters and she was delighted. 4-year olds can be easy to please (sometimes).

Madison Quilt Expo

My friend Sue and I absolutely love the Madison Quilt Expo. Every September we keep our calendars open to plan our 90-mile trek to spend the day there. This expo is sponsored by Wisconsin Public Television and Nancy Zieman, Wisconsin's quilting sweetheart. We both look forward to seeing Nancy in person and she is just as beautiful as always. She is approachable and friendly and always has time to say hello. In the course of the 3-day event over 20,000 people will attend so planning the best day to be there is always a challenge.


We perused the quilt competitions stopping to take photos for inspiration for our next projects or just because of the sheer stunning capabilities within the quilter's work. And of course there was shopping. There are so many vendors that we knew we had to have a plan of action. This year we were both headed in the same direction: Nancy's Notions. The store offers amazing discounts of fabrics and notions that you cannot get anywhere else. So we went there first. We were amazed to discover that the Missouri Star Quilt Company also had a booth this year. What a wonderful surprise!


Sue and I also had intentions to purchase some free-motion quilting templates. There were two vendors that has so much variety we spent lots of time deciding which ones to buy. Between the templates and searching for the best prices on fabrics, it was a fun-filled day packed with shopping and inspiration.

What's on the design board?

My husband and I took a road trip along the Mississippi River earlier this summer. We stopped at a quilt shop in Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin called The Pickett Fence. I purchased this cute fabric with the campers on it.

I decided it was perfect for my girlfriend who just bought a new house. She and her husband bought their house out in the country on a few acres of land and it has a huge outbuilding. (My husband is so jealous!) She was definitely trading her city girl life for the country. The funny thing is that they just bought a brand new fancy camper two summers ago. When she bought this new house she stated that she was selling her camper because now she lives where she wants to vacation. In fact, she invited her fellow camping friends to feel free to "pitch their tents" right on her property. So it seems that making her a housewarming gift from this cute camper fabric is the right thing to do. She is having a party in October so I have a little time to finish the table topper I am planning to make for her.

On another note, I found these adorable Shopkins and Peppa Pig fabrics at the local Jo-Ann's. My granddaughter, Avery loves these characters so I plan on making her something with them but I'm not sure just what. Maybe if they hang out on the design board for a while inspiration will hit.