Some new woolies ... fresh from the dye pots ...

Early Saturday morning ... I could have slept in, but didn't ... I could have turned on HGTV and sipped my coffee in full throttle recliner mode, but didn't ... I could have been outside on a GORGEOUS autumn day, but I wasn't ... instead, I set up the dye pots. It's been in my mind for weeks ... how desperately low I'm running on browns and greens ... blanket weight wools for some autumn penny rugs that are rolling around in my head ... yummy chocolates ... soft khakis ... winter sky blue/grays ... antique green/black ... and of course, that danged elusive "perfect" red ... I don't think I'll ever accomplish that "perfect" red, try as I might ...

A sweet lil' punkin mat measuring 6" x 8-1/2" ... made from a vintage brown heavyweight army blanket appliqued with Aunt Polly's hand dyed wools and a vintage green army blanket. The mat has been bound using heavy cotton floss. Perfect lil autumn tuckaway ... postage paid ... $22.95 ...


Created one at a time ... no pattern used ... just me and the scissors ... extra sweet lil autumn flower pinny made from a vintage army blanket and appliqued with Aunt Polly's hand dyed wools and embellished with some fancy stitchin' and glass seed beads. The stem is hand dyed, hand spun wool yarn that has been couch stitched. Pinny comes with a couple of Aunt Polly's make do pins, some shell buttons, and rusty safety pins. Pinny measures 2-1/1" x 7" and has been stuffed FULL of crushed walnut shells to keep your pins and needles extra sharp. Postage paid ... $21.95 ... I sure wish my picture taking skills would have captured how sweet, sweet, sweet this lil' pinny really is ...

Ahhhhhhhhhh, the CHUBBY one! LOL! I love how this pinny turned out! No pattern used ... just the scissors and me ... It's been stuffed wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy full with crushed walnut shells and she's a chubby one ... lol. Made from blanket weight antique white wool with some fancy 'broidery stitchin', glass beads, and hand dyed wools ... This one will hold TONS of needles and pins! Postage paid ... $24.95 ...

A quick update to let you know that ol' chubby has been purchased.

Banana Bars Recipe ...

I was asked to post the recipe I used for making my banana bars recently. Here you go, Kim ... straight off my favorite recipe site, http://www.tasteofhome.com/ ... YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! I have three bananas sitting in a bowl getting riper by the minute ... I think it's time to bake up another batch!! Except that my hubby has gone on a three week fishing trip ... and I sure don't need to be gobbling up a whole pan of these! Maybe I'll be a nice gal and bake them up and take them to work tomorrow. Hmmmmmmmmmm ... or maybe I'll bake up a batch and eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next week!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Dash salt
FROSTING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions: In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, bananas and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into creamed mixture just until blended. Transfer to a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. For frosting, in a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth. Frost bars. Yield: 3 dozen.

Sweet little wooly pincushions ...

Some new wooly pincushions on the website this week ...

Sorry, the From Me to Thee pincushion has sold ...

Sorry, the sweet little flower cushion has sold ...

And a new little penny mat ...

The king sized quilt top is finished! Whew!!!! This baby is 108" square(!!!) and is by far my biggest quilting adventure yet. I literally had to have help getting it to and from the floor where it was laid out to the sewing machine and then over to the ironing board! Thanks, Lorri!!! Couldn't have done it without ya!!! So now I'm on a mission to find 118" wide backing. I really didn't think it would be as hard as it has turned out to be. I feel a quilting "road trip" coming up very soon as I've scoured all my local shops and haven't found what I'm looking for online yet either. (Are ya ready, Lor????)

Happy Sunday ...

AREN'T THEY GORGEOUS????? I'm soooooooooooo proud of myself! Harvested today from the Attic gardens. And oh my gosh, they were so FUN to pick! Hidden little treasures on vines that had pretty much consumed the back half of the vegetable garden this year. In my defense, I thought they would stay on the fence. NOT!!!! I had lil punkins growing in the lilac tree on the other side of the fence, hanging inside the tomato cages, and under the marigolds. Pulling the vines today, each little treasure more delightful than the last.

Oh my gosh, I'm in a fall mood!!! And fall means wool!!! Yep, it's time to get the woolies out. Just for fun, I stitched up some wooly white heirloom punkins ... so uneven and lopsided ... perfect to display in large wooden bowls filled with harvest pickings ... or sitting on a shelf in the stepback cupboard ... you can find them on the website ...

Happy Fall!!!!

My FAVORITE time of the year ... when I'm inspired to cook -- made homemade chili yesterday with my freshly canned chili mix and spicy juice (YUMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!) from the Attic gardens, to bake -- made banana bars with homemade frosting yesterday too (sooooooooooooooooo good and calories I definitely didn't need), to create -- new to the website this week ... an original, one of a kind punched punkin fresh off the punchin' frame ...

Something new that I'm playing with ... vintage dominoes ... they're ADDICTING!!!!!

It's hard to see the soft, ink stained colors of the dominoes. Hand stamped with permanent ink, little "alters" here and there, wired beads or abalone shells, hanging from cotton hand twisted cordings or ball chain. $15 each ... drop me an e-mail if you'd like to see a closeup picture.

UPDATE 9/22/08 ... all of my altered necklaces have been spoken for. Yippee!!!!

My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by Hurricane Ike. Living in northern Illinois and never having encountered a hurricane, it's hard to comprehend the pictures we're now seeing of the devastation. My heart goes out to those affected.

The Olde Prairie Register ...

The September issue of the Olde Prairie Register is now available ...

and we've been selected as the Featured Website!!!!

You HAVE to check it out ... this issue is packed with autumn goodies ...

http://oldeprairieregister.blogspot.com/