misnomer

When we found out we were having a baby, the only girl name we could agree upon was Amanda. I had always had my heart set on the name Madelyn, but Ken didn't really like it. I needed something to occupy my mind while we waited for the baby so bought this book and I decided to knit this panda, thinking it would be cute for our daughter Amanda. It knitted up pretty quickly and I was pretty proud of myself for actually finishing a project before starting another one (as I always seem to do!). The joke was on me because when we first saw our daughter she didn't look like an Amanda at all...she looked like a Madelyn. Even Ken thought so. Oh well. At least I finished a project!

taa daa!

I'll admit it. I'm an amateur seamstress at best. I can do just about any kind of craft but when it comes to following a sewing pattern, I usually end up covered in threads and leaving the room with a pounding headache. But Joann's was having a sale last week and their McCall's patterns were only 99 cents. I decided to check out what they had. I found this pattern, and since Joann's was also having a big sale on their polar fleece, I decided to suffer through it in the hopes I'd come out alive. Not only did I come out alive, but Madelyn now has a way too cute winter hat! It's a little big yet but that means she should be able to wear it for awhile, and since we live in Michigan, she might need it until May. Pretty cute, huh?

Mini Pincushion

I am beginning to need more and more pincushions. It must be because of all the little sewing projects I have lying around. I found this cute idea while shopping in a little town near where I grew up. Instead of taking the easy route and just buying one, I took the harder route and came home and tried to make one. Luckily for me, it looks like it turned out pretty well. Since it uses a golf tee, it fits perfectly into a spool of thread. I think I need to make some more!

Candy Corn dress

I joined the candy corn contest a little while ago and I was inspired by one of the entries by ella bella baby. She made the most adorable candy corn dress and I just knew that Madelyn needed one too! Here is my attempt:


I think Madelyn makes a fantastic model! :o)

ribbon tag blanket

Even though my daughter Madelyn is still young (she just turned 3 months last Friday), she knows a good craft project when she sees one. Case in point: the ribbon tag blanket. She just LOVES this thing! I made it after seeing similar ones in the stores. I made it using minky-like fabric that I got at Joann's. I made a triangle patch using 3 different kinds of fabric...a white striped fabric for two of the triangles, a pink fabric with a star design for one triangle, and a pink fabric with a raised heart design for the other triangle. I found 3 different ribbons that were sold by the spool...I know I could have used a bigger variety there. Believe me, I wanted to. But I had little Madelyn with me when I was buying the supplies and she was getting fussy so I just got the three ribbons. It still turned out pretty cute. I backed it with a pink and white striped minky fabric. I also used a low loft batting, but I don't think it really needed it. It is the perfect size for her carseat. I have to be sure to tuck it in whenever we leave the house.

Pumpkin Squares

I love to bake. A few years ago, I found a recipe for pumpkin squares and I made them probably twice a week for all of my college roommates. Everyone loved them. But then I moved a few times and, of course, a few things got misplaced, including my recipe for pumpkin squares. Last week during one of Madelyn's naps I was searching online for another pumpkin square recipe. Luckily I was able to find one that was pretty much the same one that I used to use. I made them yesterday and my whole house filled with a yummy scent. When my husband Ken came home from work he made a beeline for the kitchen. Needless to say, he gobbled one up. Did I get a kiss hello first? No way! But that's okay. Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Squares

***Crust:***

1 (2 layer) yellow cake mix

1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)

1 egg lightly beaten

***Filling:***

1 can (29 oz.) pumpkin

3 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon ginger, ground

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

***Topping:***

1 cup reserved cake mix

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional...I didn't use it as I don't like anything nutty...I'm nutty enough!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Remove 1 cup of the cake mix and reserve for the topping. In mixer bowl beat together the remaining cake mix, butter and egg until it is evenly mixed. Press into the bottom of a greased and floured 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Combine pumpkin, eggs, both sugars, milk, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon; pour over crust.

To make topping, combine reserved 1 cup cake mix, sugar, nuts and butter by crumbling them together with a fork. Sprinkle over pumpkin filling.

Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven for 1 hour or until set and lightly browned.

Candy Corn Contest

I love fall. I love the crisp in the air. I love the sound of leaves crunching under my feet. I love fresh apple cider and other yummy fall goodies. So it comes as no surprise that as soon as it was cool enough to wear jeans, I started thinking about decorating my house for fall. Last year was our first year in our home. I guess you can say I went a little crazy buying fall decorations for our new house. When I got out the decorations this year, I was so excited! I forgot about some items that I purchased last year on clearance. It was so much fun putting all of my little pumpkins and acorns out! But I was missing something...something fun to put on our new coffee table. Hmmmm....then I came up with a fun applique idea. I started working on my candy corn table runner right away. But I can't work on any project for too long before I get antsy to start another project. So I put my runner away to work on other stuff. Then not too long ago, Amanda Jean from crazymomquilts posted this entry about a candy corn contest. Now I had no excuse to not finish my table runner. I just completed it last night. I love how it turned out!

Can you say excited???

I just got the mail and I found my order from http://www.quiltsomething.com/. I have been looking and looking for the Moda Daydreams charm pack and they had it! I was so excited! I was even more excited to get it in the mail! Woo hoo! I plan on making a quilted jumper for Madelyn that I found in this entry from crazymomquilts. I'll keep ya posted!

WIP

I haven't blogged this week because I have been working on a candy corn table runner that I actually started a month ago. I really wasn't working all that hard on it because I've been busy with Madelyn and other boring household stuff. But then I stumbled across a contest mentioned here. They are having a contest for all candy corn related items! Woo hoo! Now I have to get in gear and finish the table runner before the October 31 deadline. I should probably go work on that now while Madelyn is sleeping! I'll post pictures of it once it's all done......