and now,

top five things warming my heart these days:

homemade punkin' art

our daughter laying her outfit out the night before for picture day.  it included a necklace we made together.  awwww.

last night's chili.  i wish that was a joke.

these fun fabrics in my snail mail.  thanks so much to my new friend karin, who answered my SOS on twitter and helped me finish my halloween quilt top.  she also sent me enough of them that i have the back planned as well!  check out her adorable bottle wraps.  and i love this bird embroidered towel.  that could be a good hostess gift, note to self...

this box of photos.

imagine of you had taken one snapshot for each meaningful moment of your life, and put them all in a box.

our 1st couples costume

and you happened to come across that box on a rainy, quiet morning where the 4 year old sleeps in, (hallelujah!)

leaving the church in a wheelbarrow!

 and then, realize that every step you've taken has led you right where you were supposed to be.   that's a really awesome feeling.

have a great day everyone!

as promised...

oops!  forgot his eyebrows!

what a lot of fun!  there were some other great costumes - my sis-in-law was peter pan, her husband was tinkerbelly!

some other great costumes, which were very adult, so if you're easily offended, look away now!



i mean it!




may i present sherlock bones?

isn't that completely obscene and hilarious?  my husband's brother and his wife were a plug and socket.

lots of fun as always, and can't wait for next year!  any suggestions for good couples costumes?  this is an adults only event, so risque is okay.  i'd love to go as peg and al bundy sometime!

bucket of brains, anyone?

the halloween carnival was a huge success!  i think everyone had a great time, and my fave event, the cake walk, was a hit too!  emma must have spent an hour, walking around the chairs, trying to win a cake.  it was always the chair right next to her that won.  she finally won some cookies though.  and now, we have two sheet cakes, two boxes of cookies, as well as the leftover cupcakes from making the brains.   can you say cake overload?

the brains in a jar were fun, and i didn't see who won the buckets, but i hope they loved them!  i also did cookie boxes with my husband's fave, marshmallow topped chocolate cookies.

our motley crew

the 25 cent raffle was awesome too, we all won stuff!  a huge bag of cat food (we have three cats - that's awesome!)  and a fun box of bath fizzies and jewelry, especially this gorgeous cuff bracelet.   have you ever tried to take a picture of yourself wearing a bracelet?  harder than you'd think.

 

for now, i'm sitting here, watching youtube videos of dolly & kenny, trying to get in character for tonight.  the kids don't get to have a sleepover after all, so the night will be a little tamer than planned.  but it will still be a blast - who are you dressing up as this year?  any great couple ideas for me - next year's party is only 365 days away! :)

taking a bow

i have to pat myself on the back a little this morning.  i have been very productive lately!  i have my work for the halloween carnival done and i'm waiting for the final donations list to complete.  that is very unlike me.  i usually push deadlines to their limits.

i finished a quick little rag quilt for sawyer and have made huge progress on my halloween I-Spy.

i cut and bundled my fabrics for the christmas charm swap.

i finished my do. good stitches blocks before the end of the month!  woo hoo!

 i also had a few sales on etsy, and got them mailed off too.  i have some new items to list.  whew.  i need a nap.

http://www.livinglocurto.com/2011/10/halloween-recipe-brains/

 oh, but no naps for momma this week.  i still need to bake cupcakes for the cake walk at the carnival. i am going to make these awesome brains in a jar, if i can figure out a safe way for grade schoolers to carry around glass mason jars.  i'm thinking halloween buckets, so they'd be getting a bucket of brains!  so much fun, i can't wait.   i also need to make a birthday cake for emma.

then this weekend, troy and i have a night to ourselves.  my folks are keeping the kids for a sleepover!  we have a costume party to attend, we're going as dolly parton and kenny rogers.  remember all those jumbo pom-poms i made?  let's just say they are proving more useful than i thought.  pics to come, promise.

a winner!

time for a winner!  random number goddess chose for me last friday,

#128 which is deb!  her book is on the way!   thanks to everyone who stopped by, reading your comments was a lot of fun!  i've got a super busy week ahead, with parent teacher conferences, the school carnival, annual costume party, and emma's 7th birthday - so if i'm MIA don't worry,

i'll be back.  she says in her best arnie impersonation, which by the way is terrible.

wow wow wow!

i love reading all the comments for the quilt retro giveaway!!  i probably won't be able to reply to everyone - i can barely dress my kids before the bus gets here!!  but thank you everyone, i hope you enjoyed stopping by to visit! 

i have another great giveaway to tell you about, my friend lauraine over at this is sew my life is giving away a my memories digital scrapbook program!  lauranie had the brilliant idea of using it to create business cards and fliers.  you can read her review of the program and enter to win right here.  so what are you waiting for? ;)

and introducing our new kitty cat indiana jones.  we're calling him indie.
 xo tammie

Quilt Retro Launch Party day 3

******the giveaway has ended******

i am so excited to be a part of the Quilt Retro launch party!  like jenifer said, we met at a guild meeting, and you know how it can be awkward making small talk?  not us, we were chatting away about everything!  but i was so surprised when jenifer asked me to be a part of her blog tour!  this book is fantastic - she sent me a copy and i want to make everything in it.   (she also sent me a copy, to give away to one of you!)

this book has eleven projects, including lots of clear complete directions and full sized patterns.  she even gives tips on invisible zigzag applique.

First Aid by Jenifer Dick

this quilt is my favorite project!  look how gorgeous the color gradations are!  she couldn't find the color gradations she wanted, so she dyed her own.  brilliant!  the name of the block is greek cross.   i love the pop of red in the center, and the flange on the binding, and the perfect amount of white space for the eye to rest on.  such a modern quilt from a traditional block!  the quilting is gorgeous too, done by sheryl schleicher of osage river quilt company.

i wanted to try this project, but using print fabrics.  coordinating different fabric lines can be a challenge for me,  but i love it when it all comes together.

here's the lineup in progress:

amy butler midwest modern 2
heather ross tadpoles
ds quilts fairgrounds
gingham from stash
vintage sheets
whimsy by moda

i used whatever white scraps were laying about including ones cut from this bag of scraps from grandma marie.  so far i can't tell there's different whites in there.  it makes me happy to use up some of those bits.

i'm very happy with how it's coming along.  the top will be completed this morning!  now to get it quilted.   and i will be listing a fat quarter bundle of these vintage sheets in my etsy - give me til this afternoon though :)

10:27 am:  the top is finished!  although once i got it outside in the light, i may have to take the top two rows apart.  the tadpoles should be down one i think.  glad i haven't decided on a border yet!  i know i will frame it in white, but probably do a second border in one of the prints.  ooh - or finish out the edge diamond shapes with the hst set into white...  i have to think a bit...

now, if you'd like to win your very own copy of quilt retro, just leave me a comment! 

for extra chances, you can:
follow me with gfc
follow me on facebook
follow jenifer with gfc
follow 42 quilts on facebook!

that's five chances in all!   leave me a comment for each one you do please!  i will draw a winner randomly on october 14th, the last day of the blog tour!  if you're super unlucky and never win anything, you can order your own copy of Quilt Retro, just follow one of these links:

Pickledish

OR

Amazon

and be sure to visit all the other stops on the book tour:

Day 1 – Oct. 3

Alissa Haight Carlton

http://www.handmadebyalissa.com/

Day 2 – Oct. 4

Bonnie Hunter           

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/

Day 3 – Oct. 5

Me!      

http://www.craftytammie.com/

Day 4 –Oct. 6

Jenifer Dick                            

http://milo-designs.blogspot.com/

Day 5 – Oct. 7

Angela Walters          

http://quiltingismytherapy.com/

Day 6 – Oct. 10

Jacquie Gering           

http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/

Day 7 – Oct. 11

Deb Rowden              

http://debrowden.blogspot.com/

Day 8 – Oct. 12

Kathy Mack               

http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/

Day 9 – Oct. 13

pickledish

http://www.pickledish.com/

Day 10 – Oct. 14

Jenifer Dick                            

http://milo-designs.blogspot.com/                  

thanks again to jenifer for having me!