Sugar plum Girl

THis is brilliant

"I love fairy tales, but I think that the idea of "beautiful = good" is one of the most insidiously damaging messages in fairy tales, even worse than "if you dress your rodents in cute little outfits and believe they sing in lisping English for your amusement, you'll marry a prince instead of being hauled off to the loony bin."

Writer Sarah Beth Durst

 That being said I am having too much fun making Tilda's and coming up with dresses for them.

Girls goota have the right hair

They remind me of boudoir dolls from the 20s-50's that would sit on grandma's  dresser. Or the Dollies my Auntie had on her guest bed. 

Her pantaloons

It all started with the Witchy-poo doll and is currently extended to 2 others

A frock must be coordinated

Sugar Plum has come home from her Christmas display and Spring Flowers has replaced her

The right hat to top it off

I want to make another

and another

They really are addictive


And so easy to make. I should do a tutorial 

I don't know, You tell me.

The Vaca

 So We went to Kona on the Big Island in Hawaii for a couple of weeks again this year, Yayas! 

Kona Bay

  It's awesome to go in the first place,

Kona sunset

 made even more so by my wonderful husband, who spoils me rotten!

Banyan tree

This year we planned it around not only BI's shop-hop,

which goes for the full month of February, if any one is interested.

A lovely walk along Ali'i st

But for Quilt passions (QP) Quilting on the beach event, where they sponsor 20 or so classes for a week at the King Kamehameha hotel.



They have been doing them for about 10 years and If you can there is another quilting on the beach in june, I highly recommend going.

My filthy lucker from QP

 + the packet for quilting on the beach

The fabric Oh the fabric! Every shop has some of the most wonderful balli prints I have ever seen in every color imaginable!







I went a little nutz,

to be fair I had encouragement!





Hubs was egging me on, go ahead we can mail it all home!

RxR in progress for 2015 picked up at QP

whee!

The first pattern that I finished was th shop-hop row by row from 2015 QP has a back log of them for the years between.
Not that I'm trying to tempt you or anything!

Shop-Hop pattern for the 5 BI shops!

when it all arrived at home the first pattern I started was the whale Row by row

Whales

More patterns from other shops

So much fun and so quick!

the whales came in the package already to iron on

so as soon as you sewed up the background you slapped them on and voila!


Then there was the finishing of my own shops Row by row

Pineapple pattern #1

and the completion of the first shop-hop kit.

as it's the corner 

there are only 3 parts to it

this one went together quickly also

all my row x rows compleate

I can see Ima be busy for the foreseeable future!




There are also the charity quilts I didn't finish before we left

Husband who spoils me rotten!

and all the life stuff you need do when you get home.

Vaca may be over but I have a lot of lovely reminders to keep me going back as I sew!

A tale of woe

Juncos drinking from runoff

From a balmy 65* Hawaiian night to slippy snowing streets at 28*, nahugngh.
Off the plane, I was wearing what I left home in, socks, ballet shoes, clam digger jeans, a tank, a t-shirt, 2 sweaters and a scarf, mind when we left, it was 55* and raining.
You know normal Seattle weather.

What we came home to

Seatac IS NOT heated, we were on the red eye, (11pm to 7am, I am NOT doing that again) so we got  next to no sleep, and to complete my personal misery, I got my period. (Fme)
Apparently I was being punished for something I did earlier, I don't know what that could be but something I've done pissed off Karma.

Driveway after new snow

To top off the hilarity our ride was 1.5 hours late to pick us up at the airport, they overslept! -.- 
We came home to snow, lots of snow, 2 whole storms worth, which was fun getting through as no, they don't use salt on the roads, they use sand (because environment!). 

Seattle really doesn't have the equipment to deal with this white stuff and as they get a snow storm like this maybe once every 3-5 years it's understandable. 

Mostly it rains. When we do get snow, it rains and melts away by the next day, no worries.

After the new snow

It doesn't linger or get colder, get mashed down into grey slush at the side of the road and freeze into a sheet of ice like its doing now. 


That's for you flat lander, midwest folks.

From the neighbors yard

  went to check something in the garage and tried to open the car door, it was locked so had to trudge back to the house (omg) find the keys, trudge back, woop the car open, no.

 Battery is dead. 

Not your click, click I'm unhappy dead either, dead, dead nothin' dead.

well heck (and other words best left floating in the friged air)

Neighbors tree from our yard

Even if we could have gotten out of our garage, the day we got home, we'd at that point gotten 9" of snow. 

We couldn't have even gotten out of the driveway as there is this Enormous hedge that runs about 30' alonside it and It decided to fall over as well.
There is also a little dip and a rise at the end

where they have over-paved the road so many times, its about a foot higher than the driveway.
If there is even a hint of ice and you stop for cross traffic, you're stuck.

sacrificial tree

The next day, as Adam was taking snaps of all the picturesque scenery in the backyard after yet another snow storm that gave us almost 20" of snow, 
there was a loud pop, rip and a bang of the tree next door 
taking out one of our trees across from it, the power lines to the garage and two of our neighbors behind us. *sigh*

 Then joy of joys, another of our trees decided to give up its burden of snow and ice build up, fell over and was only stopped from falling into the driveway by yet another tree, which will now have to be sacrificed this spring.

 On the bright side the overly engineered birdbath survived! 

driveway and the Hungry hedge

We spent all day yesterday chainsawing the danger tree so it wouldn't cause any further damage and destruction.
Today we woke up to a sloppy wet mess of melting everything. 

 If were lucky it will all melt before the next storm comes in and turns us into a ice rink, then dumps snow on top, just to make it more fun.


 On the plus side the sun is out and the willow tree is sparkling at me from all the prismatic ice chips in its branches, very pretty.

There is a family of at least 25 Juncos in the backyard. Where they came from and what they are after is beyond me but I've never seen so many at once.
So many in fact, they are chasing off the stellars jays and the squirrels, so lots of noise as they all duke it out.

Not ready to give up yet!

So as we can't get out of our garage to shop I have appealed to a very kind neighbor with 4 wheel drive who has very nicely volunteered to take us to the cosco to stock up next time they go, blessings be upon them!
Last night I was able to bum a ride from DD#2's boyfriend, who's mom has a jeep. Who got me to the grocery and back, for fresh veg and eggs so we we're not living off meat with a side of meat.
other than that everything good!

If you are wondering why we shut down for 7"of snow imagine San Fransisco, all those lovely big rolling hills, now imagine it with snow. Yes, we have LA worthy hills! 
Fun for driving sideways on ice, so mostly we stay home.  
No point in giving emergency services more to do.