Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Certifiably Crazy!

Well, my vacation has come to an end, I'm sad to say, and it's back to work in the morning. I DO enjoy my job, but I enjoy being home and "playing" more! But I have another vacation coming up before too long--Thanksgiving week--so I'll just tough it out between now and then. And that reminds me: I hope all my friends in Canada had a happy Thanksgiving! I know you celebrate your holiday on the same day we celebrate Columbus Day.

And it having been Columbus Day today (Monday), guess what? Goodwill had another 50% off sale! Woo-hoo! I didn't really MEAN to go thrifting today for the sale, but I had my Christmas List class at the quilt shop and since I had to go out anyway, I thought about stopping at a Goodwill store on the way. THEN I remembered the sale, so Hubby and I hopped into his van and went to visit a couple stores.

I'll share a couple photos with you of my "finds." This one probably got me most excited--


This HUGE pot has a lift out rack for canning jars. I used to borrow a friend's canning pot, but she moved away some years back, so I've just made do with what I had on hand. Since I have a freaking BUSHEL of apples to do something with--a large part of which will probably involve canning applesauce--I couldn't have found this at a better time! The $5 price wasn't bad either! It still has part of the label on the side--I'm not sure it's ever even been used!

I found this crocheted lace something or other. I'm not sure what it was originally--maybe a tablecloth--but it appears to have been cut on one side. Still, I think it will make a nice lacy table covering or even a bed covering or throw.


And although I'm not really looking for any more Halloween stuff, I couldn't resist adding these somewhat fierce-looking owls to my collection.


Finally, I bought another candle stand. I lied when I just said I wasn't looking for any Halloween stuff, because I guess this qualifies. I WAS looking for something to hold some pumpkins, and this seemed perfect. These are on our patio table, which is visible from the sliding glass door leading into the kitchen/dining area.


Also decorating our patio pumpkin-wise are these two: A pot man Hubby made--


and a large pumpkin atop a small chair I found at the thrift store some time ago.


And, yes, I'm still obsessed by chickens! First thing when I got up this morning, I stumbled into the kitchen and microwaved a cup of coffee and then headed into the Sweat Shop where I picked out five more fat quarters. I traced another chicken template onto freezer paper and cut five more chicken blocks. The only problem was that once I got them all cut, I realized I had cut the wrong pattern. What I had were chickens with hearts in the centers. ARGH! See, I'm really not at my best in the morning!

So, I pieced one block and decided it would bug me forever if I added "heart chickens" in with my "star chickens," so I started over again but with the RIGHT pattern this time. By the end of the day, I had five more chickens in my "coop"--


(. . . and a Ziploc bag with heart chicken parts--maybe another small quilt one of these days!) I really only needed four blocks, but there was one block I made the first day that I don't think has enough contrast, so I made an extra block today to replace that one.

Some of you asked about the pattern. It's called Barn Chicks and it's in the Buggy Barn book Certifiably Crazy. Their pattern uses country tones of red, blue, brown, and yellow, but I wanted to get a little crazy with mine so I used the black, white, red, and yellow. A couple of you also asked whether the stars are appliqued on. No, they're all part of the piecing. Pretty cool, huh?!


Time for me to go to bed--after all, I have to set my alarm to get up for work in the morning. Oh, and if you didn't stop in yesterday, check out that post and leave me a comment there if you want to be entered into my little giveaway. Thanks for visiting!

14 comments:

Pat said...

Great buys! Love the candle stand!!!

At least it will be a short work week. Gotta love 'em.
Patty

Unknown said...

Glad you have your flock done but they really need a coupe.

Neat candle stand. Cute display for the patio.

Now to get busy making apple sauce.

PunkiePie (Jen) said...

Thank you for the pattern name. I forgot to ask that question yesterday. Now I'm on the hunt. Chickens aren't my style but I think they would make a cute throw for my in-laws house in New Hampshire. AND I need to start shopping at my local Goodwill store. Great buys to be had, I see.

Jen :)

DPUTiger said...

Your star-bellied and heart-bellied chickens are giving me flashbacks to my very most favorite Dr. Seuss story: The Sneeches! Glad you had a great vacation. i'm really looking forward to my 2-week break coming up around the holidays.

Julia said...

I've been making applesauce in my crockpot and then freezing it. It is working our wonderfully and so easy!

pam said...

I can't wait for my pattern book to get here. I also ordered a kit from Buggy Barn too. This will be a great winter project!!! Thanks,

MichelleB said...

Nice thrifting finds! I still love your chickens.

Sinta Renee said...

Hi... I did read your post from yesterday, but forgot to leave a note:) I would love to be entered into your drawing. I had made the same pattern (Chicken Coop) out of BB fabrics. It was fun to see yours in a different colorway.

Candace said...

Kim - thanks so much for taking us all on vacation with you! We had a lovely time and definitely enjoyed the rest and all the projects that were accomplished! Thanksgiving vacation will be just around the corner - can't wait! Cheers!

Anonymous said...

great chickens enter me in giveaway.
i love the buggy barn way but alot of work. i made the flowers & birdhouses.
kim
knaylor@san.rr.com

Penni Domikis said...

Wow...I feel like I am going back to work too. I might be as bummed as you. OK... I am sure you are more bummed. Are all the patterns in the buggy barn book pieced like the chickens? I might just have to get that book. I will be out doing tons of things for scouts tomorrow but will try to stop by the local shop and take a photo of my trees for you. It should be hanging next to my friends trees and the fabrics are quite different so you should get two quilt photos for the price of one. I will be going on the Virginia Tour de Quilt this weekend with a girlfriend in celebration of my birthday and we might have to take a few vacation shots for you just so you can come with us. I think it's 11 shops all together. Have fun and don't work too hard this week. You have to ease back into it.

quiltmom anna said...

Hi Kim,
I love your chickens; especially the very cool star bellies- I have a heart buggy barn pattern that I have been meaning to make for ages but somehow never get to it. Maybe sometime this year.

You do find great buys at the thrift store- the lace tablecloth is beautiful and your husband's pumpkin man is too cool. Your chair was a great find.

Hope you enjoyed your time off-
it was fun to see what was new in your neck of the woods.

Regards,
Anna

Nan said...

I saw the name of your post and thought you were talking about ME! My hubby always tells me I'm 'certifiable' - LOL! That pot was such a great find, especially for 5 bucks! Good for you! The other goodies you found are wonderful, too! Thanks for sharing the apple cake recipe, and the chicken pattern book!

Recording the trip said...

OMG! I read several years of your blog while looking for the source of that Chicken pattern. I AM certifiably crazy now. I googled chicken pattern and was sent to you. I love your crazy style. I used to live in Northern Cal (30 years worth) now we are retired and spend winter in FL but RV the rest of the year. I'd love to have a coffee with you and cut because you are very interesting and have a lot of the same interests I enjoy. Sadly, that's not very likely so I'll just have to pop by regularly and see what you're up to. Thanks again! Susan g (sewsontheroad)