Is three months too long...

Is three months too long to wait to write another blog? Probably so, but amazingly nobody really gave me a bad time. Not like we did to poor Sue. So thanks for being understanding and letting me have a short vacation. OK, a long vacation...... I hope this is worth the wait.

My daughter was sarcastic and implied I threw the pumpkin vine lady together in one afternoon. Actually I did put her together in about three hours, and Kade and I did not realize the contest was to be held until about two PM on the day before the contest was to be held. But here is what was involved in the construction of this fine little artistic endeavor:

#1. The doll head is 100% cotton stuffed with quilt batting which took me about 20 hours to read the book [over and over], experiment with the paints for eyes and mouth, figure out what I could do for hair, draw and redraw the features on the face, read the book AGAIN, and review her features to see if I was happy with the final product. The hair is yellow tie dyed cotton fabric which is strip torn and sewed to a band of cotton which matches the face fabric. It is braided and the bangs are in place with beaded pins. Her crown is a set of "pirate" wooden beads from Yuba Lake.

#2. The main part of the body is a fabric sack with an elongated peninsula for the neck. It is stuffed with an old sleeping bag. Or at least the batting out of an old sleeping bag.

#3. The arms are tie dyed green /blue fabric which are stuffed with batting and pipe cleaners. Each arm has two elbows because you can do that when you live in fantasy world. One hand has four very long fingers with blue finger nails and the other hand is a leaf with three round portions. Beaded bracelets hide the seams where the hands are sown to the arms. Yes I made those also. The arms are actually pinned to the torso with great big quilt pins. This makes it possible to turn the arms to what ever position is best for the princess to sit on her thrown and hold her corn cob sepulcher. Her left hand is made so she can hold the piece of corn.

#4. Five unique leaf bodies were made to fill in the top of the bodice so she looks like she has an entire body of vine. Each leaf is sewn right sides together, turned, stuffed with batting, colored for shading, quilted, and embellished with beads.

#5. The bodice is white bridal satin lined with silk-crepe. Each seam has a stay sewn into it for shape and long line smoothness. The midriff jacket is crystal encrusted silk lined in 100% cotton. The zipper in the back of the bodice was sewn in by hand. The sleeves are pushed up so the arms are more visible and pinned above the first elbow. The model did not cry when the sleeves were pinned in place. No animals were harmed in the making of the project.

#6. The belt is red dupioni silk, sewn with open ends and pinned with a pearl straight pin.

#7. The skirt is 148 inches wide of 100% cotton muslin which was tub tied in Southern Utah. It was then left to dry in the wind which accounts for its unique color. It was sewn with a curvature stitch and gathered on a length of cotton tape. It has no hem, as the bottom edge is on the woven edge just like a kilt.

#8. The bench she sits on is a wooden creation of Josh's , painted green and antiqued to look like it has been outside for a couple of years. Her bodice sits inside a small oval tub which in turn sit on the bench the bench is sitting up on a ale of hay so the gown has plenty of room to flow. The entire skirt is stuffed with straw to make it full and to fill the requirements of the contest.

#9. It rained for at least 8 hours prior to the judging so she was soaked by the time the judges saw her. Therefor the face color was running but the rest of the outfit withstood the test. The skirt was soaked but looked great due to the heaviness and fabulous draping.

The Queen of Craft!

The Queen Has spoken....

The judges have made their decision.... The Grand Prize winner is ... Princess Pumpkin Vine.

Now the question is.... what do I do with 250.00 dollars...? More crafts, more Scrapbook supplies, I do know a great scrapbooking store in Orem!

10 Things that you don't know about me.

1. I like Sheep

2. Old Spice is still the best smell on a man

3. I am terrified of snakes

4. I would like to be able to speak Spanish like Josh

5. My favorite men, includes a Brit, an Aussie, a redneck, and a Scot... want to take a guess at who they are?

6. My Favorite house no longer exists, it was completely demolished to mine coal. This house was at Decker Montana.

7. I have a scar on my right hand from cooking at age 11

8. I have been in a tornado

9. I have a normal heart rate of under 55

10. Now for the men that I referred to in question 5; Hugh Grant, Heath Ledger, Toby Keith, and Sean Connery

I've been tagged

Hi Jenn I am always checking your blog to see what is new. I especially love "Meet the Pilch's". I think Daisy takes after her father.......

So here are the answers to your questions...

Jobs I have had:

1. Nurse (34 years this August)

2. Ranch Cook

3. Nurse

4. Nurse

4 movies I could watch over and over:

1. Notting Hill

2. Four weddings and a funeral

3. Twister

4. The Big Chill

4 favorite TV shows:

1.Medium

2. Jeopardy

3. Wheel of Fortune

4. Dr. Phil

5. American Idol when its in season

4 favorite places to which I have traveled.

1. Brussels, Belgium in the Rain
2. North Shore of Kauai

3. Monterrey California

4. Cape Cod, Massachusetts

4 Favorite foods:

1. Rice Pudding made the Spanish method with cinnamon and cream

2. Good old Angus Beef ( on the grill, in the pot, out of the oven)

3. cookie dough (Forget the chips, why waste time eating hard chocolate)

4. Mom's Homemade Chille

4 Websites I frequent daily:

1. Groupwise

2. Spider Solitaire

3. Cox family Blog

4. Any associated blogs from family.

Jenn I love yours!!!!

4 favorite hobbies:

1. Color arrangements on paper

2. Color arrangements on fabric

3. Color arrangements on paper and fabric

4. Color arrangements on my walls

4 places I would rather be right now:

1. Santa Cruz in the summer

2. Central Valley of California in September

3. Provo, Utah for the 4Th of July ( oops, I am already there)

4. Fishing on a Mountain Lake in a row boat

4 places where I could blow your paycheck:

1. Mormon Handicraft, I would buy Quilts

2. Corn wagon quilt company

3. A shoe store for fat feet, if they had red shoes.

4. Pebbles in my Pocket ( of course ). Jenn, we agree on that one!

4Indulgences to which I would love to treat myself:

1. A family reunion in Hawaii. I would take ALL 33 of you with me and we would go for 10 days with all meals catered. {By Polynesians in grass skirts} We would have a limo to drive us around the islands. Josh, I would rent you the vehicle of your dreams and hand you a credit card for any amount of gas. That includes a helicopter. I would buy you all appropriate shirts and not from DI this time.

2. A Cadillac to drive to work.

3. A big water feature in my house.

4. A big cabin at Sundance.

4 friends to which I say "Tag"......

1. Jane Montmeny

2. Lois Garlitz

3. Josh Pilch

4. Rachel Garlitz {and then we will do it again in 10 years}

Best of the Summer

Here are my thoughts on the "Best of the summer".



Best use of Solar Energy: Shad Donnell: "Sun's out, Gun's out."



Best summer Aroma therapy: Smelling the hay in Grandad's barn/garage in Sheridan. We



found that smell the other day in Aunt Lois's shed thanks to Sue Richardson.



Best summer shoe song: "It's going to be another flip-flop summer, Kick off your shoes and call



up your lover." Kenny Chesney.



Best summer time communicable disease prevention: "I'd like to check you for ticks."
Brad Paisley.



Best use of summer sun protection: Avey Larsen. See Katy's Blog2. Dated 6/13/07.



Best summer birthday: #1. Shad Donnell-June 21. The summer solcice.

#2. Elizabeth/Aunt Helen-June 2-3

#3. Rachel/Faith-June 1 and May 31

#4. Gil-July 5

#5. Grandmother Sneath-July 8



Best summer lip protection: Lizard Lips X-treme SpF 22 {.15 oz} Made by BearDog Product

Incorporated, Scotsdale Arizona 85262



Worst summer Aroma therapy: The motels of Mexico as noted in The Amazing Race-Temple

Edition by Josh and Jenn Pilch. June 07



Best summer time road trip quote: "Not all who wander are lost." J.R.R. Tolkein.

It has to be true.

Here is a map of the location of The family Reunion and the Monestary.

First Note: The bull snake heard it was a roundup and thought he was invited. He was confused and is apologetic for the confusion.

The following narrative has to be true, because I am not smart enough to make up this story...

Huntsville is somewhat famous for its Monastery. It has been there for a long time and is known for its wonderful honey and bread. As we were driving home, Katy was curious about the operation as we saw several signs pointing to the Monastery

Katy: "Mom, what is a Monastery?

Eliz: "It is a religious place where monks go to be of service and live their religious beliefs. They contemplate God and their relationship with the universe.

Katy: "So is it like our temples?'

Eliz: "No, not really. A monastery is where the priests live full time. They all live there together without any family and have a specific job to complete. It is a place of study and solitude where they can study the scriptures. They pledge to be celibate and dedicate their lives to Christ. They all wear the same plain clothes and have a life of service. It is sort of a separate area away from the world.

Katy: "Oh, you mean like the MTC"

My Party at Pebbles

The scrapbooking that wanted to get done...

This is Chris taking a picture of Katy , who is taking a picture of Chris... uh

Caught gabbing and eating...

I just wanted to thank Chris and Katy for such a fun party the other night at Pebbles in my Pocket. We played games and had alot of great food... (mmmm, Root beer) I think that Jenn actually got a couple of pages done but as for the rest of us, that is questionable. I think that we need to get together more often at pebbles and eventually we might get some scrapbooking done.