On the road again...

Ah yes, middle of the week holidays throw one off from the normal routine... Or at least it did to me. Just one week later and I am all ready behind.

Well I am just stopping by as I am off to visit my sister and her family in the Catskills of NY.

I hope I have pictures to share on Sunday :) Till then have a great weekend.

Thanks for stopping by, Ciao for now :)

J :)

More than half way...

Is it me? Or does it seem that time is flying by? I am looking at the calendar and it is saying June 27th!!! The month has flown by! I have so many projects that I need to finish that I will be missing once again... I am aiming to post at the very least once a week... or on Wednesday to catch up... :)


So last weekend hubby and I spent some time in NJ visiting my aunt. She has a show at the local library of photographs she took during her time in China, as a volunteer English teacher, some twenty five years ago or more. The photos she took where amazing. I think that the fact that some visitors to the show where from the very province that my aunt had taken the pictures, was even more amazing. They where very interested in the fact that my aunt took some pictures of places that most visitors have no knowledge whatsoever about. There was a picture of a building that was the dorms for those who are not going on to further education. Pictures of the Terracotta Army (the army was discovered in the spring of 1974 to the east of Xi'an in Shaanxi province). In addition to the warriors, an entire man-made necropolis for the Emperor has also been found around the first Emperor's tomb mound. So seeing a picture similar to this one, done by my aunt was very interesting to think how close she was to viewing these.  

There where more pictures that showed people and places that the young men who spoke to my aunt, said that they are no longer there. I am glad that we got a chance to see the show. I remember the book that she had put together after she came back from this trip. So seeing them hung up was wonderful. 

The other place we went to in NJ was a park called Luna Parc.To quote the web page:

 "Luna Parc is situated on 5 acres in the lush northwestern woods of New Jersey, Luna Parc is a perpetual work-in-progress. Since 1989 the house and grounds have become an environmental sculpture park by artist, designer and King-o-Luna, Ricky Boscarino." 

It was a lot of fun... I took a few pictures that I am still sorting out. Go check out Luna Parc and you will be amazed at the collection of art and what Ricky Boscarino has done to the place... there are pictures of what it looked like before the add-on's, changes of windows, and sculptures where all added.  

I want to thank you for stopping by :) Hope you have had a great day! Ciao for now :)

J

Yes, I am still among you all...

My Finish-Up-Friday Ladies have been making fun of me of late... They are saying that I have forgotten my Blog... Sad to say that Life is really getting in the way of writing...

Today I grabbed sometime to stop by and say hi :)  I am still temping... but now I am also looking outside to find a permanent position, as the temp position is dragging their collective feet.

I am also teaching a private class ... to make a simple wall hanging... need to find good time to get together and start.

I have a wedding quilt that I'm also working on, a baby (due July 1st or so) quilt, two graduation T-shirt quilts, and my aunt's quilt. I need to check in with my aunt next weekend to find out if this is going to Texas or staying in New Jersey.

So, while I have been away, I have not forgotten you all :)  Nor have my friends forgotten me... did you see the new button to the right? Yea, it is another quilt-along, this time for a Mario Brother's quilt. That would be perfect for the oldest grandson for Hanukkah. I would need to make a Princess Mario Brother's quilt for our granddaughter... That would work... now to think of something for the baby and their parents for Hanukkah. We only give one gift for each, not one for each night. I don't need to encourage them with more stuff that they all will not use.

In the meantime, I also have a signature quilt that I need to whip up in the next four weeks... I will post how that is going... thinking how I am going to incorporate the colors for the wedding into the quilt. It will be over two hundred signatures... I'm nuts!

Thanks for stopping by :) Ciao for now!

J :)

Monday...

It really seems like time is flying... I have already been a temp for 12 weeks!

I am still hearing interesting stories from the people I work with regarding the women who's position I am filling in for... The latest is that she was out shopping with her husband and just about ran into my manager... I say just about, because when he saw her, I gather he went off in another direction. He left his wife to pay the bill and say hello to the women.

I did say I am still hearing stories... I think if I was in her position I would have been looking elsewhere for work while being paid for sick leave.

 In the meantime I have gotten a quilt done! Yea!!!
This is the front...

This is the back...

Back in February I found out a friend was moving to Florida and giving away a very nice crib. I have the crib here for our grandson. This quilt is the thank you quilt I mentioned on Facebook, and is for the little girl who is now into a big girls bed.

The quilt will be on it's way tomorrow!!! Sweet

Thank you for stopping by, Ciao for now :)

J :)

Quote for the day...

QUOTE OF THE DAY: There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age. ~Sophia Loren~ I'm still on vacation in Las Vegas... Having a great time with hubby. Thanks for stopping by :) Ciao for now. J :)

And we are off!

Hubby and I have been together for over ten years now... but this weekend we celebrate our 10th Anniversary! So we are off to Las Vegas! How sweet is this :)

In the meantime, I found this fantastic blog with links to different sites with a little bit of this and a little bit of that... from February 2010!

So this is what I found...from http://jojoebi.blogspot.com/2010/02/fabric-swap-100-fat-quarter-tutorials.html

Fabric Swap - 100+ fat quarter tutorials....

"Let me tell you, there are a squillion or more tutorials out there and I could have spent months finding even more for you! I admit I didn't check exactly how much fabric you needed for all these projects but I am pretty sure that you can make them all with one or two fat quarters, less for a lot of them. And don't be blaming me if you spend hours sucked into lots of 'new to you' blogs - some of them are hard to escape from, you have been warned! Many of these blogs have lots of other tutorials to offer so take a look around.

If you have any tutorials of your own that you would like to add to the list, add a comment with a link to it, cheers, I'll add this list to the tutorials page so you can easily find it again, there are a number of these tutorials I have already tried and now there are quite a number on my to do list..." :o)

***jojoebi's edit - I made this list over two years ago, some of the links may not be still active or the owners have changed the permissions on their site, if and when i have some free time I will try and go through and update it***

Various book covers

reversible notebook Kirin notebook

moleskin cover at Keyka Lou Patterns

paperback cover by mairuru

passport cover at zakka zakka

journal cover from Bloom simple book cover by craftzine

For The Kids

baby soft book of colours at homegrown happy

fabric mobile at Sew Mama Sew

kids apron by Montessori by hand (sew liberated)

bunny pillow by missy ballance

basic bib at Nested

burp clothes at A Chelsea Morning

vintage skittles by London Mummy

travelling art kit at by little hands

bib at homemade with Jill

robot tooth pillow by goody goody

crinkle square toy by joy shope

counting bean bags by chez beeper babe

petite back pack by sew to speak

super hero head band by curly pops

kids travel pillow by maya*made

Softies

Molly monkey by mmmcrafts

lucy goosey by the long thread

alpaca by shishigirl

duck billed platypus at craftbits

scottie dog by allsorts

fabric lamb by patternbee

plush hedgehog at threadbanger

patchwork scottie dog by Denyse Schmit

bunny plush doll by a beautiful mess

kokeshi stuffie by Melly and Me

whale softie by small dream factory

RevoluzZzionary monster at revoluzZza

pointy kitty by wee wonderfuls

For The Home

Oven mitt by Design Sponge

napkins by windy hill designs

criss cross coasters by allsorts

napkins and pouch set by angharad

quilted tea cosy at messy jesse crafts

Trim Box by All Buttoned Up

patchwork floor mat by sew mama sew

peek-a-boo lampshade by pretty ditty

9 patch door stop by Oh franson

quilted hot pad at Sew Mama Sew

embroidery hoop ceiling art at tiny decor

mail sorter at bright and blithe

scappy hot pad at My Byrd House

appliqued coaster at fat orange cat

reversible rik-rak napkin at film in the fridge

Snap box by my little mochi

table runner by Crafts By Abby

sewing supply case at craftster

simple table runner by Fabric, Paper Thread

reversible appliance cover at sew mama sew

collapsible storage basket at sew 4 home

cushion cover with invisable zipper by kirin notebook

cozy bed warmers by make it do

place mats by reprodepot

Wearables

Eddie Cap by Mushroom Villages

summer slippers by lady harvatine

fat quarter baby skirt by wink designs

baby shoes by stardust shoes

kids belt at elsie marley

ellie tie on slippers at cut out and keep

Japanese owl brooch by jojoebi

winter muff at burda style

DIY nursing cover at prudentbaby

kids sized chef hat at curlypops

revisable sun hat at craftzine

Bags, Purses and Pouches

little boxy pouch by three bears

envelope purse by maya*made

tote bag by cicada daydream

dresden petal handbag by jemima bean

boxy pouch with strap at Dragoknit

wallet by confessions of a fabricaholic

Pouch with centre zip at London Mummy

pen pouch by never enough hours

fat quarter purse by we wilsons

string quilt pouch by mairuru

poochie bag by happy zombie

zippered pouch by twelve 22

fat quarter purse by goody-goody

draw string bag by skip to my lou

heart shaped pouch by purlbee

flat bottomed zipped pouch by pin and paper

flat and puffy coin purse by cotton and cloud

Everyday glam bag by u-handblog

Cases

eye glasses case by cottage industires

car CD holder at puking pastilles

fabric envelopes at design*sponge

knitting needle roll by grumperian

other cute zakka tutorials

tissue cover by stardust shoes

festive bunting by stitch.rip.repeat

fabric tomatoes at moda bakeshop

teacup pin cushion by mmmcrafts

camera strap cover by tidy mom

pinwheel pin cushion by pompom rouge

teacup flowers by the object project

fabric luggage tags at skip to my lou

hot frog by myrtle and eunice

tea wallet at is it nap time yet?

neck cooler from the small object

For The Pets

doggy poop bag holder by the b-line

doggy/kitty bed by pretty little things

Hope you find a  project or two to do... I'll be in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon, so I'll catch up with you after the weekend. 

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Ciao for now :)

J :)

Creativeness

Work gets in the way of Bogging... It sure does! I have been among the missing and have been teased for my lack of posts of late... So to that end I am going to work at posting at least once a week. I'm also going to try to find fellow bloggers with inspirational creative thoughts to share with you. If you see one, please feel free to shot me an email about it. To this end I saw the great post today that I had to share... 7 WAYS TO BE MORE CREATIVE IN 7 DAYS. Posted May 21st, 2012 As a creative professional, people often ask me how they can be more creative. I even regularly find myself wondering the same thing, because even creativity experts can grow and improve. So how do you become more creative? Here are seven ways you can start today and see results within seven days. 1. Be curious When he was alive, Albert Einstein proclaimed that he had no special talents, that he was “only passionately curious.” Curiosity is by far one of the most important aspects of growing creatively. If you aren’t curious, you’re missing opportunities to fix what’s not broken, to see what others are overlooking, and to see connections that nobody else has made. 2. Watch your time We all have certain times of the day when we’re most productive. For some, early morning is when they feel energized and ready to dive into work, for other people it’s late at night. Whenever you are most productive is the ideal time to work on solving problems or working on projects, so start to track when you’re feeling most productive. Doing so allows you to hold off on ideation until your perfect time. 3. Challenge yourself daily It’s easy to get into a routine these days. Many of us wake up, head to school or work, do what we’re told to do, then end up watching TV or some other menial task. If you haven’t heard: your brain is a muscle. The more you challenge your thinking daily, the more creative connections will build in your brain. Michael Michalko has a great list of creative experiments you can use to challenge yourself daily. 4. Be adventurous Your experiences every day impact how your brain formulates ideas. Give yourself new experiences – ones that scare and challenge you at least a little – and you’re essentially giving yourself fuel for creativity. When you experience something new, your brain stores everything from the experience for connecting later on. As Steve Jobs once explained: “creativity is just connecting things.” 5. Give up on perfection Many of us are taught to pursue perfection, but that’s a wall for creativity. If you’re always seeking out one specific outcome to a problem or situation, you’re likely to overlook the millions of other functional solutions. It’s a hard habit to break, but giving up perfection is a great way to open yourself up to new ideas. 6. Listen to other’s ideas If you make an effort to hear somebody else’s thoughts or ideas at least once a day, you’re guaranteed to find some insight. This goes back to point 4 above: by exposing yourself to ideas that you otherwise may not have, you’re giving your brain fuel for connecting ideas down the road. Who knows, maybe you’ll hear something one day that changes your entire future. 7. Find time to relax Hustling is important if you want to be a creative success. You have to work hard and be diligent in coming up with ideas. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take a break at least once in a while. The important thing is to identify when and how much of a break to take. This is a personal preference that you’ll have to spend a few days getting right, but once you find the right mix of working hard and giving your brain a break, you’re bound for creative greatness. Thanks for stopping by! Ciao for now! J :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day... I hope you are having a wonderful day today :) A Facebook friend said it very well... To all the Mother's, Step-Mother's, and Stand-in Mother's... Happy Mother's Day! So it is off to my mom's for brunch and back home to try to finish a gift quilt for a special little girl... Thank you for stopping by :) Ciao for now! J :)

Lindsay & Drew: A-Frame Pup Tents

Lindsay & Drew: A-Frame Pup Tents I saw these pup tents over on Pinterest the other day and fell in love. Now if I can only get hubby to make a few... They would be great for the grandkids to camp out in the living room when they visit or even in their room.

Yes, they do have a bedroom of their own here. It is called the "Kids" room as the parents (our kids) have used it, my daughter has used it for a while, and the grand kids always sleep in there. We got a bunk bed from Ikea a year ago. I figured that the older one had reached the age of sleeping in his own space and could sleep on the top bunk. It has worked out like a charm.

Tonight I was at Finish Up Friday and we where missing some of our friends... I do hope that Ms G, Ms T, and Dr. M are all doing well. You where missed.

Off to bed as I am tired from a long week.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go check out the Pup Tents, they are adorable!

Ciao for now!

J :)

Little Bird School of Stitchcraft: Finger Knitting

Yes, I have been among the missing once again. I am still working, that takes up about 40 plus hours of the week, I am also driving back and forth, so add another 5 - 6 hours a week. I am missing out on a lot of what I did while I was looking for work. Blogging being one of them. But I have not forgotten you all!!!


I have been online looking for inspiration for some challenges that I have coming up in the very near future. Been working very hard a few other quilts. And been checking out other bloggers...


But while being among the missing I have found some fantastic crafts to do with the little ones when they come to visit. One of them is from Niddy Noddy at the Little Bird School of Stitchcraft blog and her Finger Knitting tutorial. 

As she says "Finger knitting is a really good way of getting children interested in wool crafts, and it is very easy to learn.  It also helps to improve a child’s dexterity and ability to concentrate.  No extra implements are required,  just fingers, the best tools in the world!  I often carry balls of yarn in my bag to pass the time in the doctors surgery or similar.Finger knitting produces a long thin strip of stocking stitch and there are many things you can do with these strips.  In this tutorial, which is suitable for children, I will show you how to finger knit.  You can use any weight of yarn for finger knitting but for this tutorial I used chunky which produces a nice stocking stitch."

I think I will have to try this with Miss E and Master M next time they come to visit.

Thanks for stopping by to say hi :) and check on me :) Ciao for now!

J :)