Chat – Page 32 – Thimbleanna

Just Playin’ Around

44 Comments / November 6, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Chat, Knitting

A few weeks ago, I won an adorable brooch kit from Dear Fii. It arrived a few days ago and I couldn’t wait to sew all the buttons on my little kit.

Looking at the picture of my brooch, I realize that a) I need more practice to become as good as Dear Fii, and b) my brooch needs one more button there in the middle, to cover up that little gap.

It was super fun to sew this little brooch together. Thanks Fiona — I just love it and it will look so pretty on my winter coat!

Speaking of winter (oh, wasn’t that a sad segue?), I always want to knit more in winter. No time lately to drag out the needles, so I’ve amused myself with a few games. I saw this meme on One Dropped Stitch awhile ago, and had fun filling it out. Bold for things you have done, italics for those you want to do, and normal for ones you don’t plan on doing. There aren’t many italics – guess I’m not very adventurous.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting: knitting items on, or to be left on the street
Continental knitting (I’ve done it — didn’t say it worked!)
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Household items: dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…
knitting socks- or other small tubular items- on two circulars
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Let me know if you do the knitting meme — I’d love to read what you’ve done/not done!
And from Daily Yarns ‘n More, you can go find out what kind of Ewe you are — here I am:

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’d love to finish my nine-patch this weekend, but we’re expecting beautiful weather, so I’ll be outside wrangling leaves!

XOXO,
Anna

A Late Night Post

51 Comments / October 27, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Chat

Hello. Did ya miss me? Shhhh. I’m whispering, ’cause it’s really late here, and I’m sneaking my sins from the day into the house.

I’ve been off for an overnight visit to TheFirstChild and SweetiePie. I barely saw TheFirstChild — he’s been working so hard studying and it’s a big test week, so he was very busy. SweetiePie and I, on the other hand, got into a bit of trouble.

We had a great time shopping — a few quilt shops, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, etc — all the fun shops we don’t have here. We were well behaved except for the quilt shops. Well, SweetiePie was well behaved everywhere, but I behaved shamelessly. You can see, I had to have a bit of Authentic and Amy Butler’s Love. And SweetiePie’s probably laughing as she reads this ’cause she knows that’s not all. The rest is in the witness protection program for a little while longer.

After all of our shopping, we had to try out a little cupcake shop. Mmmmmm – Mmmm. The cupcakes were yummy. We each had a “Bridal Cupcake” (almond flavored) and sat out in the glorious sun for awhile and played with the camera. The weather was purrrrr-fect. SweetiePie helped me out with a Wilson pose.

It was a super fun day and I miss my little angels already. I can’t wait until we can do it again!

Did you notice the hint of golden leaves in that first dark picture? I honestly can’t remember when we’ve had a more beautiful autumn. In our yard, we’re usually lucky to have one or two really pretty trees, but this year, half of them are this beautiful shade of yellow.

The annual leaf pick-up war started this past weekend, but this year’s show almost makes it all worth it. (I say almost, ’cause I’m sure there will be grumbling when those trees are naked.) I’ll be so sorry when all the leaves are gone.

Oooh, and look at these funny maple leaves. I’m thinking maybe we have a fungus of some sort? They seem to be confined to just one tree. I just checked — according to google (don’t you LOVE the internet?), they’re called galls and shouldn’t result in any harm to the tree.

Here’s the view out our back windows. When the sun is out, the inside of the house is just luminous. It’s soooo pretty – I can’t wait to see it again tomorrow! We’re so lucky this year — it’s just amazing!

Ok — off to bed now. For those of you in the northern hemisphere, I hope your leaves are just as beautiful as ours are this year. And remember…what happens in Indy, stays in Indy!

XOXO,
Anna

Candy Corn, Pranks, and a Quilt Frame

65 Comments / October 22, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Chat, Quilting

Otherwise titled, three random items:

One.

Fall is definitely here in ThimbleannaLand. Although we didn’t really have much of a summer this year, it seems as though we’ve jumped from warm weather, right into the chilly stuff. We’re in for several days of drizzly, rainy days. That means the start of yummy oatmeal breakfasts. And it’s October, so forget the raisins and bring on the candy corn!

Two.

If you’ve been a reader very long, you know how much I love a good prank. I love to laugh and make merry — I feel that Laughter truly IS the best medicine. Are you all familiar with Improv Everywhere? These are the people who were responsible for the prank in Grand Central Station where a bunch of people just froze in place. And the prank that I recently referred to, where they took subway yearbook photos on a NYC Subway train. They have a new prank that I watched, grinning from ear to ear, wishing it would happen in my local grocery store. And a really fun video on their website is a Today Show Interview that occurred this summer. I love this stuff (and there’s tons more on their website) — everyone needs a good pick me up now and then!

Three.

When I showed you my Jumbo Applecore Quilt, I meant to show you my quilt frame, but after three applecore posts, I decided to take a little quilty break.

I love my quilt frame. It’s not the new sexy kind that tilts and has three rods, but it’s great for setting up a quilt for hand quilting. Several years ago, MeMum, BigDaddy, TheManoftheHouse and I went to an auction. I could only go to the preview, and I was so surprised to see this quilt frame among the household goods. After close inspection, I had to leave for an appointment and I left TheManoftheHouse with instructions to bid on it. “But don’t pay more than $40 or $50.”

Knowing what auction items will sell for is always tricky business. I was just sure someone else would walk off with this frame and the bidding would be fierce. It’s solid oak (it’s very heavy) and is beautifully handcrafted. I could just imagine some woodworking husband lovingly making this for his quilting wife.

Look at the pretty details! All the pieces are held together with pegs and it’s really sturdy. Imagine my surprise when I arrived home at the end of the day to find TheManoftheHouse waiting with the quilt frame. I was beside myself with excitement and afraid to ask how much it cost! The auctioneer tried to start bidding in the hundreds of dollars and he slowly came down to $20, where TheManoftheHouse decided to jump in. “Twentygimmetwentyfivegarbledstuffnoonecanunderstandtwentyfivewhatsmybidmoregarbled
stufftwentytwentyfivec’monwhat’swrongwithyoupeopleTwentygimmetwentyfive”. Silence. No. Other. Bidders. So, TheManoftheHouse scored this beautiful quilt frame for the paltry sum of $20. The oak alone is worth so much more than $20. Auctions always make me a little sad for the families that must sell the goods, but I was so happy to give this quilt frame a good home!

The only down side to the quilt frame is this:

It doesn’t fall over on its own. When I’m not quilting on it, I have to tip it on its side — the resident felines seem to think it’s a giant kitty hammock. Bad Kitties!

If you’re still here, thanks for sticking with this week’s random. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

A Post For Isabelle

49 Comments / October 15, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Chat, Travel

Many of you know my good blog friend Isabelle is a college English teacher in Scotland and she’s always posting something clever, witty or funny. A few days ago, Isabelle had a post for me and you must go read it. Run over there … it’s a short post and you won’t understand this next part unless you do … I’ll wait.

Tap…

Tap….

Funny, no? Very Funny! But, dear Isabelle, I’m afraid your vision of me doesn’t match reality. This is more along the lines of my fantasy:

And look! He’s wearing your quilt, standing in the road just down the hill from Edinburgh Castle. You girls in Scotland see all the best Man Candy!!!

Funny that Isabelle’s student should prompt that post just now. Exactly one year ago today, TheManoftheHouse and I were packing our bags to get on the plane the next day for our little adventure to Scotland to visit with Isabelle and Mr. Life.

To celebrate, I made Shepherd’s Pie for dinner tonight (so perfect for our cold rainy weather) and I’ve been looking through the pictures I took last year.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year already! We had such a great time and saw so many beautiful things.

I love the thatched roof in the above picture. If only we could have a roof like that on our house. Those rocks crack me up but with the high winds we experienced just on our trip, I’m sure they’re a necessity.

We saw moss everywhere. Beautiful, soft, plush, green moss. I have a whole folder of moss pictures on my hard drive.

Looking back in my archives, I didn’t really blog very much about the trip, except for the visit with Mr. and Mrs. Life, meeting Ms. Locket, and our fun little highland encounter with Bin Laden. And by then, I figured you were sick of hearing about the trip.

So, thank you for indulging me while I wistfully look back — hoping to return to Scotland soon.
Oh wait– here’s a picture just in time for Halloween.

Ok, one more parting shot — black kitties for Halloween. They’re the Life kitties, Sirius and Cassie. Very sweet — and I miss them. I hope you’re giving them a steady diet of prawns and yarn, Isabelle!

And thanks for your funny post and reminding me of our wonderful trip. As for the rest of you, I hope you have a great weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

A Chili Cook-off

48 Comments / October 6, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Chat, Recipes

Well, how’s the week going so far? Are you all busy? I hope those of you going to the fall quilt market have a super time. When you’re in the middle of all that frenzy, try to think of the rest of us back here in blogland, just sitting around, twiddling our thumbs waiting for your reports!

We had a good weekend here in ThimbleannaLand. I cleaned and scrubbed and cleaned some more, for two days in the kitchen. Even the dome had a bath in a towel covered sink to protect it from breaking. Now everything is all sparkly clean, including uglygreentile.

On Saturday night, I took a break from the cleaning. I’ve been wanting to find a good white chili recipe, so MeMum, MyDadLovesMeBestSister, and I decided we’d each try a new recipe and test them all together. MyDadLovesMeBestSister lives in a 90+ year old house and they’ve recently added an addition that includes a beautiful new kitchen, so, what better way to break it in than with a chili cook-off?

My favorite part of the kitchen is the beautiful new stove. The middle section of the stove contains a grill and a griddle. Be still my heart. It’s so brand spankin’ new, they haven’t even had time to install the tile on the back wall yet. That didn’t stop us though, we got right down to mixing and cooking.

Of course, there was a funny wine bottle involved. Don’t worry though, no chili was harmed during the event.

Skinnyb*tch MyDadLovesMeBestSister even wore her birthday apron — notice how it matches the wine bottle?

We cooked and stirred and laughed and had a good time. After the cooking, we passed out a ballot to everyone and we put the chili in little numbered sample cups for everyone’s tasting.

Did I get any pictures? No, we were too busy. That would have been a good picture though — just imagine all those little sample cups all lined up and ready to taste. We even dragged the drywall guy (who was working in another area of the new addition) into the kitchen and made him taste and vote. This chili (recipe brought by MeMum) was the prettiest.

But, this chili (recipe brought by me) won, hands down. Everyone loved it. That’s because it’s the only one that has cream and cheese in it and it will probably cause your heart to sieze up. It’s soooo worth it though. I found this recipe courtesy of Ms. Farmhouse. She always has wonderful recipes – her oatmeal cranberry cookies are one of my all time favorite cookies!

Anyway, we did change this recipe just a teeny, tiny bit. The other two recipes had shredded chicken and we decided that we liked that better than chicken cut into chunks. We also like the addition of cilantro.

Creamy White Chili

2 – 3 baked chicken breasts, shredded
1 Tbsp oil
1 onion chopped
14 oz. can chicken broth
2 – 15 1/2 oz. cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
2 – 4 oz. cans chopped green chiles
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
8 oz. container sour cream
1/2 pint whipping cream
8 oz. bag shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 package Fritos corn chips
Chopped, fresh cilantro

Heat oil in large pot or dutch oven. Saute onions until tender. Add broth, beans, chiles and seasonings and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add shredded chicken, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add sour cream, whipping cream and cheese and mix well. Pour into soup bowls and top with partially crushed Fritos and cilantro and enjoy!

Thank you SO much Ms. Farmhouse for posting this delicious recipe — it’s sure to be a new family favorite here in ThimbleannaLand!

XOXO,
Anna