Crab Dip

I always make cheese balls this time of year for ourselves at home and to share at work. But when I saw these ready peeled lump crabs at Sam's over the weekend, I couldn't resist buying one and making a crab dip for ourselves. I seldom or rarely buy mayo but I had to for this recipe which I adapted from watching Kathy Brown. Below as you can see are the simple ingredients....... ...green onions & bell pepper (chopped finely), mayo (I used about 3/4cup for 1 lb peeled crab), dry seasoning - sea salt, black pepper, lots of cayenne pepper (season as desired) ...add all ingredients to mayo and mix well......then gently fold in crabs trying not to break them....and tada......serve with low salt ritz crackers and you have yourself a merry hors doeuvr..........hmmm hmmm good....right Jolly Old St.Nick..........???

Auld Lang Syne

After a long holiday, its usually hard to get back to my old scheduled routine of eating good and exercise. I have been bad last week for not hitting the gym but the shops instead ........hmmmm ...... anyway, here's Auld Lang Syne.

Deck the Halls

Well........all the eating & shopping are finally coming to an end.......for a while anyway..........till maybe a week before Christmas .....:):):)

Fum Fum Fum

After having emigrated here for over 20 yrs, I have never ever done a Black Friday or wasn't aware of its meaning till recently. I was kinda shocked of the horror stories on the news about people stampeded to death for a 'toy' they evetually have to pay for anyway just for a good deal. I never knew who had the good deals and what deals really are good as I hate shopping unless it is fabrics or crafts related......:):):)

Imagine my surprise when Joann notified me of their black friday deals with an extra 20% off everything.....ho ho ho.....and they open at 6am this morning....ho ho ho somemore.................
Scanning thru the sales flyer, I kept reminding myself and chanting, 'I don't need anymore fabrics'.......but.......they had threads and blades on sale too and I do need more threads and can always use more blades for later...............oh...what to do, what to do, they are 50% off plus additional 20%........a voice somewhere between my ears kept buzzing out to me............so........yes, this morning at the crack of dawn and in the cold showers of rain, we hit the store............and....I am very proud of myself that I didn't buy any fabric........yeah...........I now should have enough thread for a while till I need other colors which I didn't get today which will probably be soon.......... :):):)
.......ok enough of shopping........this song caught my attention while at a store some years ago. It's actually call 'Fum Fum Fum'.

Joy to the World

We didn't do the traditional Thanksgiving dinner again this year. Why?......well.....I grew up(until 16) in another part of the world where we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving, I eat turkey (deli meat) for lunch almost everyday at work, and theres only two of us,... so cooking a whole turkey(which I have done before when we have company) is not really practical.

So on Thanksgiving eve, we headed out north and had Japanese & Chinese instead. I don't particularly fancy buffet but this place only do buffet style and they gave lots of options which is good. First, I had the sushi & tempura, then we did the hot pot (where you cook the meat/veg yourself on a small stove at your table (almost like fondue except it is clear soup broth instead of cheese & chocolate), while waiting for the soup to cook, we helped ourselves to the Alaskan crab legs....yummmy, and then we finished of with dessert.......we had a really good dinner....I am so grateful this restaurant is not nearby ... :)

I always enjoy playing christmas songs at the piano. It is very relaxing and lively. Here's my rendition of Joy to the World.

I hope to download one christmas song everyday till 12/25....

Ist year of 1st *UPDATED*

This year has been my year of '1st' for many things........from 1st art quilt, 1st quilt show, 1st online sew-in, 1st prayer quilt, .....of which I can remember and now my '1st quilted postcard' & '1st postcard exchange'....
I am not sure why I did it except I was curious how to make one and also the excitement to receive a surprise in the mail. I have signed up to exchange three postcards and was frantically over the last couple of days reading up and learning how to make one.

The theme is of course christmas related 'Tree"........so this is what I came up with. I am not sure whether they would like it. I have not finished all three of them and since I have not share my blog with them(just did), it is quite safe for me to post here. (** Update : Just finished three of them)

I have to say I quite enjoy making these as they are small and quick projects and I can dive into my stash and not have to go out shopping. I even made the envelopes......yeah......




....so how did I make this.......well, I cut out the tree shape, sandwiched and quilted them, binded them, and painted with gold and glitter. I was going to bead them.....yes, I found beads in my 'hunt'.......but decided to play with my paintbrush and glitter instead..... :)

Grand Opening

Ahem.......I just want to announce that I have enough inventory to open my very own mini 'Arts & Craft' shop. Why not a 'quilt shop' you ask?.....well.......I also have supplies for making.....

1. origami
2. greeting cards
3. watercolor painting and drawing
4. knitting
5. cake baking & decorating
6. sewing for adults & children & bags
7. pottery making and painting
8. quilting

......oh and a small book shop too.......ok......so far these are what I have found on my discovery hunt...........in my own house.......

I hope this therapy session will help remind me of what I already have and truly do not need anymore of anything for the next couple years at least.

To buy or not to buy

After taking an inventory of my pottery and quilting UFO's, I feel kinda overwhelmed and exhausted in a way that I am not sure how to explain. My feelings linger on a spectrum from guilt to greed (or to put it more gently 'must have').

I have been doing some soul searching and inventory reduction but unfortunately the three bags full I have managed to collect are made up of gently used clothes, one for the women's shelter, one for Goodwill, and one for the animal shelter......hmmm sounds like 'Baa Baa Black Sheep'
.....
During one of the quilt guild meetings last year, a speaker said something that stuck with me. She willingly admitted she was a fabric-addict and one day she came upon a garage sale and found some really nice fabrics that was selling for pennies. She was overjoyed with her treasure hunt but as she was heading home, it hit her that her own family might do the same to her beloved fabrics when she hit the bucket one day. Of course the audience had a jolly good laugh but as I was driving home that evening, that same thought hit me too.

Maybe that explains the 'guilt' part but I have to admit, sometimes I get caught up with either a good sale or a special project and thats how my stash grew. I do ask myself when I will ever get to use some of the tools, notions, fabrics, books, etc, ..... but I never really gave myself a good concrete answer besides the fact that it is either on a very good sale or they may never make these anymore.

But the good thing is .....and I hope this feeling last, that my 'energy' to acquire 'stuff' have dwindle this last week. I actually walked away from some serious good fabric sale like 60% off really nice beautiful fabrics. As I am writting this entry, my heart is still firm and good about my decision and I have not kick myself yet............. :)

Flower pot

This piece was also made years ago and is at the 'bisque' stage (needs glazing to complete it). I remember playing with my cake decorating tools and decided to make clay flowers and leaves with them instead of fondant and see what happens.....whether it will hold in the firing....

This whole piece was truly unintentional, it was really just playing with new tools and killing timing in the studio...........but I was very happy when they survived the firing........

........now when and how am I going to glaze them ??????? ........

Ceramic Box

I made these ceramic box quite sometime ago.....well,to be honest...years ago...... Anyway, I have not had the time to play with my clay much these days since picking up quilting but as I was going thru my old ceramic pieces, I decided to take some pictures and post them for my own keepsake.

It seems these days, I actually enjoy previewing pictures on my own blog rather than having to search my hard drive for the pictures cos sometimes, I have forgotten where I have downloaded them.

So from now on, I am going to post more pictures for my own viewing later.

I got inspired to make this ceramic box from watching a tv arts & craft show years ago. I usually get very inspired visually. So off I went and tried to make my own box. With some new tools, glazes and books I had acquired, I am quite pleased with the shape, color and handle. But, I still have not decide what to do with it......I was thinking candy and then decided on cotton ball and then I thought maybe just use it for decoration. So anyway, it is still sitting on the shelve in my studio.

As for the unfinished pieces in the background, they are still unfinish.....maybe one day when I take a break from quilting.....

Quilt Show cont...

Besides Quilts at the Show

Besides quilts and vendors at the show, you will also see booths that teaches you how to quilt,.......(I actually volunteered here for three days)..........

And there were charity booths making quilts for children and veterans and charity pillowcases ............ I made 4 but only remembered to take pictures of the last two.............. ...........and here you can see the finished pillowcases hanged on the wall.........I think their goal was 1 million.......... ............oh....and unique bras were on display too this year..........

.............lots of very pretty, creative dolls..................

............more quilts photos to be cont.............

2010 Quilt Show Vendors/Quilts Cont...

For those of you who have not been to the Houston Quilt Show and wondered about the vendors .........here are just some snap shots of them........enjoy.......

......here are a few shots of the quilt exhibit area.............

...........more quilt shots to come..............