chicken tortilla soup

things are starting to come back together around here!  sawyer ended up with a fever and cough, so we went to the clinic yesterday and got him started on tamiflu as well.  it definitely helped him faster than me, then again - i did wait 3 days before i saw the doc.

today is the 1st day i've had the energy to actually move around the house, and so - laundry is almost caught up, vacuuming is done, sheets are being washed, bathrooms are clean.  the kids are *supposedly* working on their rooms right now.  i kept them home from school today, just to be safe.  i don't want to spread this flu any farther.

the funny thing about this flu bug - no stomach issues.  at all.  no nausea, no vomiting, no other stuff.  i didn't realize it was the flu, i figured a respiratory thing, but the flu test probably doesn't lie, right?  my appetite remained strong through the whole ordeal.  luckily i had made potato soup right before i got sick, so i lived on that.  the kids kind of fended for themselves, eating cereal, yogurt, pizza, and take out chinese. which means today there is nothing left in the house.  i scavenged in the pantry to come up with enough food to make this soup.

really, is there anything the pioneer woman can't do?  i had to make a few changes - only one can of beans, one can of broth, added in 1 c. corn, i didn't have cornmeal.  i fried up some corn tortilla chips too.  mmm.

sew full of love, the sequel

some of you might remember last year, when i did a "sew full of love" event to celebrate all the things i love about my life, this blog, and some of my favorite people?!  if not, you can go meet candice, lauranie, ginger, and stephanie (just click on their names) and you'll see why those girls make my life a better place.

and i had so much fun, i am doing it again this year!

i am looking for a few more guest posters - but i am super excited about the ones lined up already :)  just like last year, there will be some giveaways too - so i hope you'll stop by!  and if you're interested in guest posting or sponsoring a giveaway, let's talk.

now, i'm going to fall into bed.  i've got the flu, and i'm waiting for tamiflu to work it's magic but have been dead on the couch for three days now.  ugh.  i so hate being sick.

judge me if you want

quokka quilts has a fun survey going on - you can vote for your three favorite blogger's choice bundles!  what a tough job those judges have.  by the way - it's just for fun!  but if you want to toss a vote or two my way, i won't complain (i'm entry #200)

curse you universe!

so absolutely no progress is being made on any quilts this week.  i'll go ahead and lay the blame on the rural electric cooperative and the mighty kansas winds.  wednesday afternoon, i was stitching along, and was within 2 feet of completing attaching the binding on emma's quilt.  because i was going to watch tv and stitch binding that night, relaxing with my family.  
then, the power began to flicker.  off and on.  off and on.  every time it came back on, the kids would cheer and i'd put the pedal to the metal.   i tried so hard to stitch it out.  but the final time the lights went out, and didn't come back on?  i hung my head and smiled.  of course. 

I Had Plans. 
and the universe, well, she can't help but mess with you when you think you can Make Plans.

kind of like this weekend.  I Had Plans to knock out a lot of sewing- i am testing a pattern for someone - it's super cute and top secret but i can't wait to show you the whole thing!!

and i was going to bake cookies at a friend's house, had a 1st birthday party to attend,  plus a wrestling tournament for the kids.  anyways, friday afternoon, the dreaded phone call.  the nuke power plant troy works at was offline.  he would be working fri.sat.sun. evening.  sigh. 

anyways, not to complain (even though i do it so well!)  i have gotten a little bit done.  emma's getting taller but not growing anywhere else, so a lot of her jeans are too short.  the next size up is baggy around the waist, and she does not like any "poofiness" there.  belts are a pain.  so i decided to quickly lengthen a pair of her shortest jeans with a ruffle.  easy peasy.

i'm still hopeful that i can get that binding done this weekend - even though it's slow going, due to this.

i really wish i knew how to prevent those cracks!  they take forever to heal!  anyone have any tried and true remedies?  i've tried the liquid skin stuff, and bandaging with neosporin.  it's frustrating, because this winter has been super mild, so i'd hoped i wouldn't get them.  ah well.  there i go planning again...

kcmqg challenges

SHOPPER ALERT! if you were thinking of going into aunt jenny's stitch & stuff in ottawa, i hear that *someone* cleaned them out already!  and no, it wasn't me.  honest.  :D

last night's guild meeting was a lot of fun, i am so glad to be making friends and not feeling so nervous when i go.  i signed up to take an applique class in march from jenifer, which i'm looking forward to!  and i also picked up several more people's shades of gray charms!  hooray!  i didn't get emma's quilt binding finished for show & share, but i've shown her quilt top before, so no biggie. 

we got our newest quilt challenge, and it's a doozy.  here's what i have to use for my inspiration:

landscape with red dots II by wassily kandinsky.  i'm probably the only person who sees this, but if you turn it counter clockwise, it sort of looks like a head with an explosion coming out of it.  that's all i got so far, peeps.  it's gonna be an ugly challenge.  but i keep looking at it, trying to decide what i want to draw from it, whether it will be just the colors or the shapes or what.  we shall see.

chicken pot pie

now, on to an actual craftyish post.  one of my favorite things to make (and eat) is chicken pot pie.  i use a recipe from a favorite cookbook, the big book of casseroles by maryana vollstedt. 



when i was learning to cook, i tried a lot of recipes in this book.  the chicken and black beans is great.  but the pot pie is my hands down favorite.

i make my own pie crust using this recipe:

2 cups flour
1 stick crisco (butter or reg)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup water

i'm sure there are other recipes that work great too - this one works pretty consistently for me, although it doesn't brown as nicely as i'd like.  i use a pampered chef pastry blender and a fork.

and i also use a bottom crust, which the recipe doesn't call for.  for chicken, i usually cook 6-8 chicken breast at a time in the crock pot with a can of tomatoes, then shred and freeze it for use in future meals.  and someday, i will learn how to make my crusts look like they do in magazines, all perfectly crimped, but i'm usually to excited to get to eating it to worry much about it.

the recipe is loaded up with veggies like corn, carrots, onions, and celery, but i also add in a can of diced potatoes as well as frozen peas.  i love that our kids eat this so well, but if i were to pile all those veggies on a plate, they'd whine and moan and have to be bribed to eat them.  kids, sheesh.

it goes fast, there's usually only one piece left after dinner for me to eat the next day.  i'm a big fan of any kind of pie for breakfast.  especially pecan and pumpkin.  hmm, i may have just added something to my to-do list today...

charm pack winners

i'm a little late getting this posted - last night got away from me, and so without further ado - the winners of the silent film charm packs are:

comment 69 - Brandie

comment 38 - Robin

comment 53 - Giles (a guy!  see, guys do notice me! ha!)

i have sent emails to each of the winners, and if by some chance i haven't heard from them in say, 48 hours, i will draw another winner.  thanks so much to fat quarter shop for sponsoring the giveaway, and to all of you who took the time to enter!  i'm hoping to have lots of fun stuff to give away this year! 

store closing sale

hey local friends!

i stopped in aunt jenny's stich & stuff in downtown ottawa this morning - did you know they are closing shop?  everything is 70% off - and they were pretty reasonably priced already.  i'm sad to see them go.  it's a great space that's for rent too - in anyone wants to open a craft store i'd be happy to run it for you! 

anyways - 70% off, i couldn't resist.  don't tell my husband.  but check out my haul!

do you see that total?  $29.01.  i got *almost* 4 yards of katie jump rope, 3 yards of heather ross, and 3 yards of that fun tina givens floral dot print, along with a bunch of fat quarters, three packs of schmetz needles, and 6 spools of thread.  pretty sweet, huh?

anyways - kc friends, want me to pick up any FQ for you before the meeting thursday?  they are cheap cheap cheap!!  now - what to make with all that fabric...

good times are exhausting

what a great weekend!  friday was alex's 6th birthday, so we had cake.  a quickly done mario themed mess of a cake.  my cake supplies are seriously low - no red food coloring, only one bag of p.sugar, so i used (gasp!) canned frosting! bleah.  and i cut out a coloring picture for mario, taped it to a popsicle stick, and voila!  mario cake.  he liked it, that's all that matters, right?

but my fondant was awesome, have you ever made your own fondant?  this is a great recipe, and i used my kitchenaid dough hook to do the kneading for me.  pretty tasty stuff.  i did coat the counter with crisco to keep it from sticking, and it made it nice and pliable. 

then their favorite babysitter kirby came over to stay with them, while we went to a surprise 40th for his brother jeff.  it was at the beer joint in town and was a blast.  the hangover, not so much. ugh. why? why do i take shots when i know i'm way too old for it?

my partner in crime kelly

so we recuperated on the couch most of the morning, and later i took the three older kids(and froggy!) to see chipwrecked.  they had gotten movie passes for christmas.  i love going to the movies - anyone seen sherlock holmes yet?  i'm dying to go!  the movie was cute, the kids liked it.

today troy took emma and alex to a wrestling tournament - aj's first!  we are planning a quiet day sewing, just dance 3 on wii, and doing nothing much else.  the first of the charm squares has arrived, so i'm planning to get mine cut too.  i am very behind on a bunch of stuff, so cross your fingers for a productive day!

***update!  alex has lost one match, and won one - if he loses the next he's out, but troy said he's doing awesome!!

TO DO:
do. good stitches blocks for december and january

quilted notebook for cricket
cut charms for swap
package purple outfoxed FQ for swap
package etsy orders to ship monday
finish cleaning sewing nook

blogger's choice fat quarter bundle

introducing - modern spring fling! 

i've been wanting to make a quilt with these colors forever now.  lots of white sashing, that luscious joel dewberry heirloom print - i could live in these colors!  unfortunately the mister can't.  and it's a bit too grown up for my little girl.  so, someday...

1. children at play by sarah jane
2. ruby by bonnie & camille
3. american banner rose by minick & simpson
4. aqua red by michael miller
5. lanikai by dear stella
6. heart garden by robin zingone
7. lanikai by dear stella
8. heirloom by joel dewberry
9. weekend clubhouse 2012
10. heart garden by robin zingone
11. weekend clubhouse 2012
12. stitch organic by betz white
13. bella solids navy
14. bella solids teal
15. michael miller fuchsia cotton couture

go to quokka quilts to link up your own fat quarter shop blogger's choice bundle!  someone's going to win yardage of their choices!  all of these fabrics are available at fat quarter shop!

hey swappers!

i've sent an email with shipping info to everyone in the swap - except for MELISSA - yeah you!  i need you to get in touch with me, you are a no-reply blogger :) if i don't hear from you tonight, i will give your spot away, sorry but the deadline is approaching!  if i have missed you or you have questions, you can leave me a comment on this post.

or get ahold of me through the flickr group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/shadesofgray/

meanwhile, here's what my darling husband did for me last weekend.  he was on call all weekend, so he couldn't go anywhere!  he hung a bunch of trim in a couple rooms and finally put up my shelves!  i got them at the goodwill, painted them white, and i just love it!  they hold fat quarters perfectly.

hello 2012! come on in!

sign ups are still open for the shades of gray charm swap!  we only have 11  3 spaces to fill, the sooner the better, so if you're interested, go here to sign up!  and if you'd like to take a double spot - let me know.  i'm filling two spots myself, using alexander henry diamond eye for one of my fabrics.  

i am so far behind on everything.  the house is starting to recover from the mess of the holidays.  so much trash!  next this year - cloth gift bags.

the view from here

we stretched our holiday out - starting at his mom's with all his sibs, then our home for two days, then at my folks' with my brothers for the last couple days.  sawyer's cutting bottom molars, and he's not happy about it.  he doesn't sleep well when teething, and wants to be held a lot.  it's been an exhausting week, waaay too much coffee has been drunk, and i am not ready for vacation to be over.  i still need one!

anyways. one great thing about this weekend was that my husband was on call all weekend, so he had to stay at home.  and he cut trim for a bathroom, crown moulding for the mudroom, moved furniture around for me, and hung several shelves.  things are looking much better now.  i'll be taking lots of pictures later this morning to share with you!

i tried to tackle a few smallish things before the new year began.  i didn't get far though.  just finished trimming this dish towel - using vintage linens and grosgrain ribbon.  i did a little hand stitching with some perle cotton. 

working on my blocks for do. good stitches.  gray with a pop of green.

binding emma's quilt.

making a quilted notebook for my new friend cricket - who is very patient. 

hope you all had a great christmas, and be sure to enter the fat quarter shop giveaway!

silent film charm pack giveaway!

thanks to the fabulous fat quarter shop for sponsoring this giveaway!

three silent film kona cotton charm packs, three winners!

all you need to do to enter is leave me a comment, and tell me what your favorite color is to pair with grey (gray?)

bonus entries:
1. like craftytammie on facebook  or tell me you already do
2. like Fat Quarter Shop on facebook or tell me you already do
3. follow craftytammie on twitter
4. follow Fat Quarter Shop on twitter

giveaway ends january 10th, and winners will be drawn randomly from all comments received!  open to anyone, anywhere in the world!

while you're here, don't forget, signups are open for the shades of gray charm swap!  here's the info, hope you'll join in the fun!

shades of gray fabric linky list!

ok, time to start showing us those shades of gray fabrics!

right now, lots of shops have fabric marked down for the year's end.  like these dots from circa1934 at sewmamasew.  so take a look around, you're sure to find a bargain!  (some sites require a minimum purchase on sale fabrics)

once you've decided which two fabrics you're buying/using, just add them to the list so nobody else buys the same one!  easy peasy.  do keep in mind that the print should be contained within a 5 inch charm, so some large prints won't work well here.

ALSO - if you'd like to fill two spots, sending in 96 charms, fantastic!  i'm doing that myself!  just let me know so i get you counted!

well, what are you waiting for?!  let's see those fabrics!

i'm trying to figure out why images aren't able to be taken right from the web site. i added my images by saving them to my desktop and selecting that option. hopefully this can be resolved quickly!

I GIVE UP.  so i started a flickr group for us - which i invite you all to join!  we can link up our fabrics, projects we make with the charms, and more!  here's the link!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/shadesofgray/

shades of gray charm swap

sign ups are now open CLOSED for the shades of gray charm swap!  please be sure to read the rules and if you agree to play by them, leave me a comment, and you're in!  i'll take the first twenty three (plus me)- but if there's more interest, we can do more groups, or have an alternate or two.

the fine print:

we're swapping 5 inch charm squares in shades of gray.  so any grey, black & white are acceptable.  grey with black, black on white, black with gray dots - but no other colors please!  rotary cut only.  each swapper will cut 2 different half yard cuts,  into 24, 5 inch charms each.  each swapper agrees to use only top quilt shop quality, new cotton quilting fabric from a smoke free home.  (no fabric from walmart or joann's or granny's stash)  please don't prewash your fabrics.  and finally, no flannel.

fat quarter shop is sponsoring an amazing giveaway for our shades of gray swap - more details to come soon!  be sure to stop by their shop and see all the fabulous gray fabrics they have!

puttin' on the ritz

citron gray

tuxedo collection

or if you choose to go black and white, they have lots to pick from too!

annie's farm stand

black tuxedo batiks

black & white

to ensure no duplicates, i'll ask that you add your chosen fabrics to a linky list (i'll add in another post, once signups are completed)  plus, then we can all ooh and ahh over the fabrics we'll be getting! 

here's one last example, this has white, grey, and black, all in one!

oval elements, cookies 'n cream

once again, each swapper will cut 2 different half yards of fabric into 5 inch charms, 24 of each fabric.  48 charms total.  then, mail all those to me along with a self addressed, prepaid envelope, and i will mail them back an assortment of 48 different charms!  i'd like to have them all sent back out by january 31st if not sooner, so please plan to have them mailed to me by january 15th.

just think of the possibilities!  make a dramatic shades of gray quilt.  or add in a single color for a dramatic pop! 

questions?  concerns?  am i way off on my math?  it's been known to happen!  email me  and i'll try to answer them asap.   otherwise, leave me a comment telling me you'd like to join, and when we reach 23 people it's closed!  if there's enough interest, i may be able to do two groups.  so spread the word, feel free to steal the graphic and use it on your own blog!

BFF

i know you guys are probably waiting for me to share all the loot i won in sewmamasew's giveaway day - but i didn't. win. anything.  i'm not sure that's ever happened!  but hopefully that means some of you were super lucky and have some great mail coming to you!

the cookie exchange was awesome - lots (and lots) of yummy cookies! 18 x 9 dozen = a boatload.

joy is a great hostess - she got us all insulated coffee cups and had a hot chocolate bar (with marshmallow vodka to spike it with!)  she rented out a room at the visitor's center so there was plenty of parking and enough room for everyone.  there were 18 participants this year - the most ever!

i met joy about 11 years ago, and we love to tell our story, so i'm going to share it with you!  troy and i had gotten engaged and i was planning our wedding.  we lived almost 4 hours from the church, so everything was long distance - we still had dial up internet, and no facebook or pinterest to help us back then!  heck, i didn't even have a cell phone yet.  when the lady i wanted to make my cake wasn't available, i decided to take a class at hobby lobby and make our cake myself.  a gal i worked with signed up too, and brought her sister.

and there was one more girl in the class.  her name was joy.  and i was envious right off the bat, because her husband, rebel, (coolest name ever) had made her a cake board out of wood and i was all "man, i wish troy would do that for me..."  she and i sat next to each other, and while we were trying to make roses out of peach frosting, she leaned over and whispered "mine looks like a little penis!"  and a friendship was born.

strangely enough, it turned out that we already knew "of" each other - we had mutual friends, went to the same university and she had even met troy before!  then we both moved away, still within an hour of each other.  a few years later, we both moved again - still within 20 minutes though.  she is always planning fun events for all us girls - she started a monthly bunco club, and the cookie exchange.

joy is also the one who talked me into taking a knitting class with her - even though i'd tried to learn several times and was convinced i couldn't do it.  so we met in lawrence every week and knitted washcloths.  and then she talked me into taking the next class, where we tried to make socks - my one sock is still half done, still on the needles!  someday, right?  and i'm so glad she made me go - i love to knit now!

she is one of my only crafty friends, and even though we both have kids now and not much time to get together, i can always count on her for a good phone convo, and a great cookie exchange. she also has two of the prettiest little girls and is my own fashion stylist- she dressed me for my 20 year reunion last summer, sharing her cutest clothes and jewelry.

i love you JOY!!  thanks for being a great friend!

we have a winner!

i just finished making 9 dozen cuckoo cookies for my friend joy's annual cookie exchange tomorrow.  phew. 

this is the most we've ever made, every year more people want to join in, and i am excited to see what everyone else is bringing!  plus she's having a hot chocolate bar, mmm!

i also picked up emma's quilt from the quilter this morning.  i need to bind it, and i'll post some more about it later, but here's a sneak peek of the back!   (she used a poly batting, i'm hoping once it's washed and dried it won't be so poofy...)

anyways, on to the winner.  random number goddess - who do you choose?

#27!  cricket!  yay!  i will contact her asap, and many many thanks to my followers, new and old!  you guys are the best!  i am hoping to try out some of your bread tips this week!

on a roll

i'm having so much fun reading everyone's comments! i love giveaway day, i have found a bunch of new to me blogs that rock, and i hope you've been having fun too! and seriously - my sample tweet? so funny! only two people tweeted it but it totally made me crack up to see it! so thanks to everyone again for entering - only one day left!

i'm trying to get my do. good stitches blocks done - i made one this afternoon but realized it's way too big. i love it though!  i will remake it, only smaller.

yesterday was rainy, gloomy and unseasonably warm - and i used it to finish piecing this top! it's made using the tutorial from the across the sea quiltalong and it's a super easy and fast quilt.

i decided to use grandma marie's gingham, and in the save the supplies spirit, i used a bunch of her scraps of white as well.  can you tell?

some of the gingham was obviously left over scraps from cutting out clothing, so i made do with what i had. one block i only had enough blue for three sides, but i found a similar blue in some of my nana's fabrics.

now i need to piece a back and get it quilted.  i got an email that emma's quilt is finished, yay!  i am picking it up tomorrow, i can't wait to see it!  maybe i can get it bound this weekend, if not, surely in time to wrap it and put it under the tree.  all right, i'm going to bed.  i'll be back to announce the giveaway winner this weekend! 

somebody's gonna get lucky...

it's giveaway day!!  i love this day so much, i feel like that lady in the target black friday ads, i've got my calendar cleared, my coffee cup sitting on a sweet little mug rug and i say, bring it on! 

since some of you are probably new here, i'd like to introduce myself!

i'm tammie, stay at home momma of four kiddos, and i try to make something every day.  sometimes it's just the bed.
but usually i bake, craft, or stitch something.
and every day, things that seemed so unapproachable before,
like canning, or quilting,
well, they get a little easier.

not yeast bread though.  i cannot get yeast bread to rise.  it hates me.

anyways, for the giveaway today, i would like to offer up a custom quilted notebook!  i use jcasa's quilted list taker pattern, and i love making these notebooks!  they hold a 5"x7" notepad and pen.  i keep one in my bag for shopping lists and coupons, and for impromptu drawing when i need a quick distraction for my kids. 

the winner will get to choose from two fabric palettes.

sugar pop by moda:

or scrappy vintage fabric:

the notebooks pictured are examples only - i will make a new one for the winner!

to enter, i'm using rafflecopter, so hopefully that goes well.  it's my first time, be gentle. (i can't seem to change the contest end time to be 5pm PST on there, but that's when it's over, on dec. 16th)  USA only, please, sorry to my int'l peeps.  hmm, any other fine print i'm missing?  probably.   it will ship by dec. 24th.

EDITED - i'm getting some feedback that rafflecopter isn't cutting it - so i'm going to cut my losses now and go back to the "old fashioned" way of doing this.

to enter, please leave a comment for each thing you do!

1. tell me your best yeast bread tips, or which notebook you'd choose.  
2. tweet the giveaway!  sample tweet:
did you see the amazing notebooks @craftytammie is giving away?!   she rocks!! http://craftytammie.com
3.  like me on facebook or tell me you already do
4. follow me with google friend connect, or tell me you already do!

if you already entered on rafflecopter, no worries, i am going to manually enter you in my comments.  thanks for the quick feedback, maybe i'll try rafflecopter again sometime.

thanks so much for stopping by today!  i am hosting a fabric swap after the holidays, so be sure to follow me in some fashion so you don't miss out on sign-ups!  happy giveaway day!

guild night!

whew!  the flu sidelined me for an entire day, but i'm back and feeling better than ever!  maybe that's what those detox cleanse things are all about.  either that, or it's because i didn't have any coffee for almost 40 hours, and now i'm flying!  whee!

anyways, i have gotten a lot done today, including packaging up my 2 1/2 inch charms for the swap at kcmqg tonight.  fun fun!  i included some katie jump rope, terrain, midwest modern, and other bits from my scrap bins.  i kept at least one square of each that i cut, and i am excited to make some stuff!  first up will be this scotty dog from denyse schmidt- he's been on my list for awhile, and won't he be adorable in a scrappy mish-mosh of modern fabrics!? (her pattern is for 2 1/4" squares, so i'll have to do a wee bit of trimming)  also - no pics, because my camera is MIA.  sigh.

i'm also thinking i need to include some other fabrics in my terrain-ish project.  i have made several blocks now, but i want to offset them with some scrappy 16 patches, like the ones i made for do. good stitches two months ago.  the pattern called for appliqued blocks, but i prefer pieced, and i think this will be fab!

on my design wall is another long lost project - the across the sea quilt along.  i am making mine out of gingham in boyish colors.  i love how they all look together!  it's close to finished, hopefully this weekend the top will be done.

i was thisclose to being finished with my bee vintage quilt top.  but i realized as i was sewing the rows together that one of my blocks is on the small side.  i need to do some ripping and make a block to fit.  then i can use the smallish one on the back!  but for now, it's been set aside so i can finish other stuff.  it's looking lovely though.

this next week is another full one, with the kids' school christmas store, wrestling practices, ccd class, our town christmas dinner, making gingerbread houses at school, and a uterine ultrasound/biopsy, great times.  just crossing my fingers that nothing scary is going on in there.  i keep having pregnancy dreams(it's a girl!), which is ridiculous and not even possible, but dreams do what they want, don't they.  everyone have a great weekend, and don't forget about sewmamasew's giveaway day!  dec. 12th, clear your calendars!

bake, eat, repeat

i'm making those mushrooms again (recipe here), as i type, and taking them to a birthday party later for our son and his two cousins.  i also made a german chocolate cake with coconut/pecan frosting, and a quick dinosaur cake for the boys. 

alex gets to celebrate early with troy's side of the family, his actual birthday isn't until january.  but we like to group them together whenever possible, and he's not complaining!  we had a hayrack ride planned for tonight, but it's raining and cold here, so soup buffet instead.

i tried making sugared walnuts in the crockpot last night!  they are good but not evenly coated, and i'm sure it's my fault.  i forgot to set the timer and also doubled the recipe.  i will try it again, by the book this time, because next i am doing pecans.  $$$ cha-ching!  i need to plant some nut trees, i think!  i haven't had to buy them for awhile, my brother had a tree and gave me a ton last year(or maybe the year before?) but they moved and somehow the pecan fairy forgot to visit this year.  anyways, i will be giving these out with my gifts to friends and neighbors this year, so i don't want to mess them up.

last to make on the gift list is peanut butter fudge!  i made it last year and it was so good!  i think i ate more than i gave away, but i'm sure i will have more self control this time around.  right?? 

still playing around with terrain

i am super excited for our december kc modern guild meeting thursday.  we are having a square swap - 2 1/2 inch modern fabrics, 25 in a baggie, as many as you want!  i am thinking this is a good time to cut jelly roll strips from all my yardage, and take a single square from each.   i have a cute idea for the packaging, can't wait for monday so i can play.  tell me, would you rather have 25 squares from a single line, or a variety?  i am also hoping that emma's quilt will be finished and i can get it bound before the meeting, and finally get to show and tell a finished quilt!  probably wishful thinking, but i can dream, right?

anyways, hope you're having a great weekend, and if you're making something yummy for gifts, please leave me a comment and a link if you have one!  i'd love some new ideas!