Goofin' Off Around the Block

Goofin Off Into the Year 2023

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Sat, 21 Jan 2023 23:01:00 +0000

Time sure does seem to fly...or the months seem to fly by. I took some time to try to get clear on my goals this year and hope the way I have rearranged my days will allow for a bit more time to finish some projects. My goal for the year is to complete 23 (for '23) charity quilts for Project Linus and/or cross stitch blocks for Love Quilts USA.

My creativity really seems to have been blossoming over the last few months. I've updated some old software and learned some new. I have been creating so many patterns for myself. It's not like I didn't already have enough stash of patterns to last me three lifetimes...but now I have even more. Can I be like a cat? Can I have nine lifetimes to finish all my projects?

We've got a trip to Florida coming up here. We really enjoyed our last trip, and I am really looking forward to getting some sun for a few weeks when it usually cold, gray, and rainy here in the Pacific Northwest.

We're lucky enough to have annual passes to the theme parks, so we can slip into a park for a couple of hours and enjoy fireworks or a snack or ride on one of our favorites. On our last trip in November after our cruise, the boys and I were able to try out Disney's latest ride. It's a one and done for me. It went a little bit out of my comfort zone for sure. Here is a picture of me and the boys a few months ago on the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster. In case you can't tell, I have a look of sheer terror on my face. LOL

The Goofin' Offs ride Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind November 3, 2022

Now for a few updates...

Jazzy Blues Quilt

My first quilt of 2023 waiting to be finished is my Jazzy Blues Quilt. Here I have cut the strips from the fabric yardage. This simple pattern uses strip sets for a quicker assembly.

Jazzy Blues Focus Fabric

Jazzy Blues Blue Strips Fabric (the picture does not do this fabric justice)

Jazzy Blues Black Strips

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch Project

And here is a quick update on my Mickey and Friends cross stitch piece. I continue to make slow and steady progress.

Here is up close the area that I have been stitching on.

Up Close of Area Stitched Mickey and Pirate Friends

Total Progress as of January 21, 2023

Time to get myself in gear and get back to some quilting and cross stitching. Headed out to enjoy some karaoke tonight with Mr. Goofin' Off and the kiddos (are they still kiddos when they're in their 30s?).

Hope you're enjoying your new year. I can't wait to catch up and see what all my blogging friends have planned for the coming year.

Have a magical day!

Andrea

LINKING UP WITH:

Scrap Happy Saturday

Midweek Makers

Goofin Off With a Kindred Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Sat, 26 Nov 2022 16:50:00 +0000

(If you're here for the project updates, just skip on down. I promise they're there.)

Anne of Green Gables and My Kindred Spirit

Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote in her book Anne of Green Gables:

"An intimate, you know - a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul. I've dreamed of meeting her all my life."

I have always felt a kindred spirit in my mother-in-law. From the day we met, we shared a love of quilting, cross stitching, Anne of Green Gables, and...Mr. Goofin' Off, of course! The one bucket list item she had mentioned over and over (and made several attempts but never made it, which is a story for another day) was to get to go visit the home that inspired the stories of the Anne of Green Gables book series. Well...

I was determined to make it happen for her. This trip was in the making for years...originally book for 2020, and then COVID hit. Last May, as my father-in-law was in hospice, in our final conversation he told me, "You make sure she gets to see the Anne of Green Gables house." Well, we finally made it happen.

Anne of Green Gables House - Prince Edward Island - Myself and My Mother-in-Law

As we stepped up to the green-gabled home owned by LM Montgomery's cousins, my dear mother-in-law became very emotional...as did I. We hugged, we cried, and I opened up to her why the Anne of Green Gables books were so important to me. It is deeply personal, and I rarely share. I cannot tell you how much of a "kindred spirit" she is to me. I get choked up just thinking about it.

There were six of us girls from the family on the tour, and we opted for a private tour. It was actually cheaper than if we had purchased the big group tour offered by the cruise line we were on. Our tour guide, Margaret, did not disappoint and timed things perfectly. We made a few stops along the way and arrived just as the big tour busses were pulling away. We had the place nearly to ourselves. It was amazing!

If you're an Anne of Green Gables fan, you may recognize some of these places LM Montgomery wrote about in her books:

Cavendish Beach

Path Down to Cavendish Beach

The Green Gables House

The Path Leading from the Green Gables House to the Haunted Woods of Avonlea

As we sat around our Thanksgiving table this past week, we were reminded of what a fantastic year it's been for Mr. Goofin' Off and I. We were able to cross off so many items from our bucket list. We are truly blessed and have so much to be thankful for.

While Mr. Goofin' Off and I ticked many items off our bucket lists in 2022, I know that 2023 we be much quieter. I hope to have a lot more time for quilting and stitching (and blogging, of course). Now about quilting and stitching...

Jazzy Blues Quilt

I came across this fabric last year...I think it was a last year's Black Friday deal. I just KNEW I had to have this fabric. I like to make quilts for Project Linus, and so many of them tend to be "girly." It was nice to find a fabric combo that could be used for any music lover. While I have started cutting out the quilt, I'll save that for my next post. The pattern is "Checkmate" by Fabric Cafe. Here is a picture of the fabrics.

Fabric for Jazzy Blues - Pattern is "Checkmate" by Fabric Cafe

In addition, here is a close up of the jazz-inspired fabric. I fell in love with this fabric as I love jazz. I had recently seen the Disney movie Soul when I purchased the fabric...I'm pretty sure that played a part in my fabric pick. Have you seen Soul?

Jazz-Inspired Focus Fabric for Jazzy Blues Quilt

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch Update

And since I do have a small update for Mickey and Pirate Friends, let's get you up to speed. Here is where I left off last time...

Progress on October 18, 2022

Progress on November 26, 2022

More of Mickey's pirate hat is showing. It's coming along nicely albeit slowly. I am hoping to get progress much quicker now that we are finally home for a bit.

My Final Thoughts on Kindred Spirits

One thing I've realized over the years, is how important it is to find "friends" with similar interests...kindred spirits, if you will. People we can share both our projects and our personal lives. People we can laugh with, cry with, and offer our prayers or positive thoughts to. And I truly think of my blogging friends as "kindred spirits."

During this season of gratitude, I want to thank all of my blogging friends for their inspiration, kindness, and willingness to share of themselves. The internet is an amazing thing. Without it, I would be missing my blogging kindred spirits.

Thank you!

Linking up with:

Slow Sunday Stitching

Goofin' Off With a Whale of a Tail

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:19:00 +0000

Can it really have been two months since my last post? Time does fly...or swim...or splash...

Have you ever heard a whale of a tale? I've got one for you...but it's more of a whale of a tail. However, if you're not interested in my Whale of a Tail, feel free to scroll on down to see the pictures of my updates.

Whale of a Tail

In August, my sister and I were talking on the phone about bucket lists. She's always wanted to see whales in the wild, and it had been pre-COVID since we've taken a sisters' trip. She had planned on coming up to Seattle for a visit, and I was just going to book a whale watching excursion out of our hometown of Edmonds.

Then...I received an email from Royal Caribbean about huge discounts on end-of-season cruises to Alaska. They had been marked down more than usual this year. I checked out the rates and couldn't believe what I saw. Well, we could take a 4-hour whale watching tour for around $150...or we could take a 7-night cruise to Alaska for about $349. I called my sister and asked her what she wanted to do. I think it was pretty much a no-brainer decision for both of us. And while I've seen whales a few times, what we experienced was like nothing I've ever seen before.

We boarded the boat and had a fabulous time. We booked three excursions, and I actually checked two things off my bucket list. The food on board the ship was great as always, and our waitress was nothing less than amazing. We managed to get a window table every evening. I think my sister thought I had some sort of special "in" with the wait staff. Nope. Just good luck or good karma, I'm guessing. It never hurts to treat staff well.

Did I mention we crossed off TWO bucket list items? One of the items was dog sledding with a professional Iditarod team. I have to admit, I was hesitant on this one. I was so worried about the treatment of the dogs. I much prefer to see my animals in their natural habitat...except, let me tell you, these dogs were in their natural habitat. From the moment they could hear our vehicle approaching, they got so excited! We could hear them so excited in the distance, and they were literally jumping with excitement as we pulled up...I mean jumping with tails wagging excitedly.

Once we got buckled in, the dogs were so ready to take us for a ride. It was so much fun! Once it was over, we got to give them lots of pets, hugs and snuggles. I am not a "dog person," but these ones were just so happy to be with us. As a bonus, ALL of the dogs on our team had Disney names! I believe this guy's name was Baloo.

Cruising to Alaska is very scenic! The weather cooperated, and so we were able to spend a lot of time out on our balcony listening to music and/or reading books. This was a typical evening view from our balcony.

My sister was so excited to finally see some whales. She'd look out over the balcony and see a wave breaking and think it was a whale. Having seen a few whales before, I assured her it wasn't. She didn't believe me until...our first encounter with whales. We spotted them off of Beluga Point...they were skimming the surface occasionally. Can you guess what kind of whales we saw? Belugas, of course. LOL But she really had no idea what was coming in the next few days.

We had booked a whale watching excursion out of Ketchikan, I think it was. (You can book whale watching excursions from pretty much any port in Alaska.) The first hour went by, and the only thing we really saw was a whale spout water from a distance. I was getting nervous that she wouldn't get to see any whales...but I worried for no reason. The captain spotted some action in the distance. We slowly made our way over there. There were three whales over there, most likely feeding...a mama and her baby and a third whale...all humpbacks. Within about 10 minutes, the word must have gotten out to the other whales, because all of a sudden there were about 13 whales around us. At times, they got pretty close. My sister learned the signs of how to spot when a whale was about to surface, and now I'm pretty sure she'll never mistake a wave breaking for a whale. We had about 45 minutes with these whales before we had to head back in.

And then...as our ship was making its way back south to Seattle, we had some gorgeous weather. We were again outside on our balcony just enjoying the sounds of the water and the scenery. I look out and see some spouts, so we stand up and get over to the balcony and watch whales in the distance...and then they got closer. They'd pass us by, we'd sit down, and about 5 minutes later, there would be another small group. The running joke was that if we wanted to see more whales, we just had to sit down. But...on one particular trip out to the balcony...we can see we are getting closer to a whale...

But unlike the other whales, this one came right up near the ship. If you don't know, the tail of a whale goes up in the air when it's about ready to go back under the water for a few minutes (they can stay under for up 10 minutes). Now, this particular whale apparently wanted to be sure we got our pictures because before he went under he put his tail in the air and literally waved it back and forth about 10 times (like you'd see at a Sea World show). It's like he was telling us he hoped we'd had a good trip. Here's the best pic we got of it! It was soooo close! It's our "whale of a tail".

Now...let's see how all my projects are coming along.

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch

Where I Left Off on Last Post

Above is my last update...and below is my current progress! I've got another page finish...and Mickey's pirate hat is beginning to come into view in the lower right corner of the last page finish. Goofy's finally getting a friend to join him!

Whale of a Quilt Finish...or make that fish...

I had been working on a quilt in my last blog post that had fish in the blocks...kind of fitting given my whale of a tail story. Here is what the finished blocks looked like.

Well, I was lucky enough to find a little time to finish off this quilt top before I went on the cruise. I haven't been able to get my sewing machine out yet since then, but I hope to in the next few weeks. I have been cutting up scraps into "pre-cut" sizes like 5" squares and 10" squares, etc. Trying to clean up a few things before I start a new project.

I like the way it turned out all assembled and with the border. I think I might have changed the borders if I had done a little more planning rather than following the pattern. I would have made the inner border yellow and the outer border green. But since this one is headed to Project Linus at the next drop-off, I'm more than happy with it and to have another finish.

So that's what Mrs. Goofin' Off has been up to. Can't wait to catch up with all you awesome stitching and quilting buddies!

Linking Up with:

Needle and Thread Thursday

Goofin' Off and Cruising Thru 2022

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 23:10:00 +0000

I am always surprised how long it's been between blog posts...but I really enjoy being here and sharing with my blogging friends that I always come back!

It's been a great year so far with little complaints. And can I just say that this year has become the year of cruising for the Goofin' Off family. It was totally unplanned, with some cruises come in at a very inexpensive price...including one completely free courtesy of Royal Caribbean which even included gratuities and taxes and port fees and well, pretty much everything! Let's just say that even though I am officially no longer selling travel, somehow I ended up on their short list for a return to service cruise for their cruise ship Ovation of the Seas. It was only at 13 percent capacity, and we felt we had the ship to ourselves.

We're two cruises down and have two more to go this year.

Mr. Goofin' Off Getting Ready to Board Our Free Cruise in February

Mr. Goofin' Off With Our Caribbean Cruise in May

We feel so lucky and blessed to be able to do this. I got a great deal on a cruise to Alaska in the off-season for a trip with my little sister...and then in October we're cruising to Prince Edward Island to take my mother-in-law to the only bucket list item she has ever shared with us...to visit the home of Anne of Green Gables.

I'll let you in on a secret here: It's been on my bucket list too, but I don't think I could have ever talked Mr. Goofin' Off into going with me. But since this is the trip of a lifetime for my mother-in-law, he agreed. Actually, all of his siblings are coming, too! We're looking forward to making memories of a lifetime with the family.

There is so much to share, but I know what you all really came for are the updates to the projects I've been working on. I started a new job in October and have been busy getting settled in and learning so much. It hasn't left me with a lot of time to work on projects, but I do have some updates for you.

Mickey and Pirate Friends Update 08/12/2022

Mickey and Pirate Friends Latest Picture 08/12/2022

This is the most recent picture I have of Mickey and Pirate Friends. I have actually done quite a bit more, but I'll save that picture for another post...because progress just doesn't seem to come as quickly as I'd like with my new job taking up so much time.

But I am working on cutting out some things (like news, TV and social media) to give myself more stitching and sewing time. It seems to be working...which is why I'm back. I'm finding with cutting out news, social media, and down to 1 hour max of TV time a day (although some days it's none at all), I am so much more relaxed and happier now...but I have missed my blogging friends.

Latest Quilt - Fishing Blocks

Fish Quilt - Assembled Blocks

This spring I have been doing some volunteering with Make a Wish Foundation. When the gal I've been working with dropped by my house one afternoon, she saw some of my quilts and fell in love with them. I figured it was time to get the sewing machine back out again and use up some of these fabrics I've been stashing and use them up. So here is my latest...

She also asked about possibly making some quilts for Make a Wish kids that are themed to their wishes. I am so slow at getting projects finished. She said not to worry because 80 percent of the kids want Disney-related wishes...so pretty much anything I do that uses Disney fabrics would easily find a home. What do you think? Does this sound like me? LOL

Well, I hope you all are having a great summer. I know the Goofin' Off family is, and we're not taking it for granted either as we know that life can throw you a curve ball at any time.

Have a magical day!

Andrea

Goofin' Off Into 2022

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 20:38:00 +0000

I can't believe how the months have flown by. As always, I regret not keeping up with my blog, as it has become a journal of sorts...and I miss the friends that I have made through blogging. So here are a few quick updates.

Last fall I got a new job. It was for a company that I had wanted to work with for a long time. I didn't have the skill set they needed. They contacted me, asked me to take a test, and have been paying for me to take the classes to get the skills that I am missing. It allows me to work from home and set my own schedule. I started onboarding in October (while I was at Disney World for two weeks). It was a balancing act, for sure, but I was glad I was able to make it work. I got to begin doing actual work for them in November.

Princess Day at Magic Kingdom

Did I mention that part of our time in Disney World was spent with my brother's family? While all the "guys" went to Universal Studios one day, us "girls" held a "Princess Day". These girls were so excited. The minute we walked through the gates at the Magic Kingdom, all their favorite princesses appeared on the train station platform above. The girls seemed to think that the princesses came out just for them. The princesses spent time engaging and talking with these little girls. I think we could have left after that, and they would have been just as happy and none the wiser about rides, etc. It was a magical day for all of us. While Mr. Goofin' Off was off with the guys, I gained a new ride buddy for the day. I don't get to see these great-nieces very often, so I reveled in the opportunity to get to know them better.

Then, at the beginning of November, I had oral surgery for a triple bone graft in my jaw for a future dental implant. It had a three-day expected recovery. Let me tell you, I got a recurring infection that lasted for five weeks...yes, that's five weeks. I was so sick from both the infection and the antibiotics, it was miserable. I had to start working in November, so I pretty much just worked and rested those five weeks. Eventually, they reopened the surgical site and cleaned it out thoroughly. That seemed to do the trick. Things have been fine ever since (knocking on wood).

Seattle Symphony Holiday Pops Concert

Fortunately, December was pretty uneventful, and we just sat back and enjoyed the holiday season. Mr. Goofin' Off got us balcony box seats at the Seattle Symphony for their Holiday Pops Concert. The box seats allowed us to keep a decent distance from other concertgoers and feel safe. It really set off the holiday spirit for us.

Project Updates as of January 9, 2022

I know it's been so long, so of course I've got a few updates. I actually won't post them all quite yet. Although I have finished the flamingo quilt, I know I won't be working on any more quilts until I finish my courses for my new job...which probably won't be until about April. So here is the next step all finished. It is the set of flamingo blocks with a black fabric border. I loved how the black helped the flamingos pop.

Block Set 2 from Flamingo Crossings Quilt

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch

Thankfully, I have still been able to find time to cross stitch. This piece has been a sanity saver during the crazy fall I had. I never, ever, ever get tired of stitching on it. I especially enjoy taking it out of the hoops and seeing how what I just stitched fits into the whole picture. I wish I had more stitching time. I apologize in advance for not pressing it before taking the pictures. I promise to give it a press before I post another update.

Progress of Mickey and Pirate Friends as of 1/9/2022

Full Picture of Progress as of 1/9/2022

Woo hoo! I finally have all of Goofy's distinctive nose and mouth complete!

Wishing all of my blogging friends the best in the coming year. I am looking forward to connecting up and seeing all that you have been working on.

Happy stitching!

Goofin' Off and Cruisin' Through the Jungle (with Project Updates)

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 14:49:00 +0000

Do you like puns? Mr. Goofin' Off really enjoys a good pun. He's a really punny guy!

If you've ever been to a Disney theme park and experienced the Jungle Cruise, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say it's a very pun-filled attraction. For that reason, we were pretty excited to get to go see the Jungle Cruise movie this weekend.

Jungle Cruise Attraction
Photo Credit: Disney Destinations

It (and the puns) did not disappoint. We thoroughly enjoyed it. It was like a mix between Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean--but with a Jungle Cruise storyline. It was full of puns--some of which were taken from the attraction while others were new to us.

In a nutshell, the film's storyline follows the captain of a small riverboat who takes a scientist and her brother through the jungle in search of the Tree of Life. The scientist wishes to use the petals that on the bloom of the tree to heal the sick of the world...a very noble motive. But not everyone is quite as noble as her.

It had some good twists and turns. And there was definitely a good chemistry with the cast of the movie. But I'm a huge Emily Blunt fan, so I may be a little biased. (I thought she was practically perfect in every way as Mary Poppins.)

The film got two thumbs up from the Goofin' Off family.

Project Updates for Week as of 8/9/2021

Time seems to keep slipping away. But progress is progress, right? I got a little bit of sewing time in last Friday. I was able to take the strip cut pink flamingo units and add strips of 2" pink fabric to finish the units into blocks. We now have pink, pink flamingo quilting blocks! Yay! At this point, I'm just hoping I get the quilt top before the end of summer.

Pink, Pink Flamingo Quilt Blocks Finished

I also managed to get another approximately 800 stitches in on my Mickey and Pirate Friends full coverage piece.

And when you pull away to look at the whole picture, you can see how the details and confetti really pull the piece together. I apologize that something was wrong with the lighting, so it appears darker than it really is.

Thank you so much for all of you who patiently put up with all my Disney projects and posts. It continues to be so much fun keeping up with all my fellow blogging friends. I really appreciate your comments and email messages. They mean the world to me.

Have a magical day!

Andrea

P.S. If you're a Disney fan, here are the top three posts from my "other" Disney blog from last week!

Blog Post: Cheshire Cat Tails Copycat Recipe

Blog Post: What are the Current Height Restrictions at Disney's Animal Kingdom?

Blog Post: Disney Banana Bread Recipe Copycat from Riviera Resort

Stitching Friends Blog Hop 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 14:37:00 +0000

Stitching Friends Blog Hop

I have been slowly returning to my hobby blog of cross stitch and quilting projects the past few months. It has been great to see so many of my old blogging friends still around...and been making some new blogging friends.

When I saw Jo at Serendipitous Stitching ask for people to participate in the Stitching Friends Blog Hop, I knew I wanted to participate. I really enjoy getting to know my fellow bloggers.

The assignment was to introduce the blogger that I was given. And then choose a cross stitch design I thought they might enjoy.

Here are a few fun clues about my blogger:

She is from Germany.
The name of her blog is an indication of things that she enjoys doing which include needlework, books and video games (to name a few).
She recently knit a pair of Hufflepuff socks for a friends she met in a Facebook group. As someone who likes to think of herself as a Hufflepuff herself, I thought these were awesome!
She likes to cross stitch pieces of different sizes, but as someone who enjoys full-coverage stitching, I think my favorites are her full-coverage pieces (especially the Darth Vader piece)
She began her blog back in December of 2013 while working on her Master's degree.
In June of this year she finished a piece called "Age is Irrelevant" which I totally fell in love with.

Here are a few pictures I took from her site:

Hufflepuff Knit Socks

Age is Irrelevant

The designs that my blogger chooses to cross stitch are quite varied. That made it difficult to choose just one piece I thought she would enjoy. I finally chose "The Child" by Tilton Crafts. It goes along with her Darth Vader stitching...and, of course, it does have a Disney connection. LOL

Have you guessed yet who my stitching friend is? You can visit her blog and see all her fun projects over at Needle, Pen & Sword!

Thanks again to Jo for such a fun blog hop!

Have a magical day!

Andrea

Goofin' Off with a "Silenzio, Bruno!" and Project Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 22:00:00 +0000

Have you heard me shouting "Silenzio, Bruno?" lately. I've certainly been guilty of saying it a lot.

Photo Credit: Disney Destinations

I just might be guilty of shouting this endlessly ever since I saw Luca. Mr. Goofin' Off and I recently watched the Disney/Pixar movie Luca on Disney+. I adored this movie. It took me right back to our trip to Italy back in 2018. Maybe one day I'll get to return? Maybe. Gotta save up that money first.

So where does "Silenzio, Bruno" come from and what does it mean? In a nutshell, it's all about learning to believe in yourself.

Who is Bruno? Well, he's that voice in your head that's always telling you things like: "You can't do that." "You'll never be able to make it work." Bruno is annoying, sneaky, and outright rude. But don't fear! When you shout "Silzenio, Bruno!", you're chasing away all those doubts and giving yourself permission to just try.

As a quilter and cross stitcher, I'm constantly having to remind myself that it's okay to try new things and be okay with it whether they work out or not. Things do NOT have to be perfect. There is joy in making the effort whether or not it is successful.

Honestly, many of blogging friends encourage me just this same way. And for that, I thank you!

Update: Flamingo Crossing Quilt

Although progress is much slower than I would like, I continue to make progress on this whimsical quilt. I was able to complete strip sets for the next set of blocks for my Flamingo Crossing quilt.

I then sub-cut the strip sets into smaller units.

Woo hoo! These aren't quite as "pink" as the last set of units I cut. Looking forward to finishing the blocks and getting them assembled.

Update: Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch

This past weekend, I finished an additional 800+ stitches on Mickey and Pirate Friends. I believe we're starting to work on Goofy again.

I am pretty sure the next update will include a more definitive picture of Goofy popping up...and then maybe...just maybe...we'll see Mickey begin to appear. In the meantime, here is the piece as a whole. (Sorry for the wrinkles in the fabric, but I hesitate to press it too often.)

Thank you so much for popping in and visiting. I always enjoy hearing from you and enjoy making new blogging friends!

Link Parties I'm Participating In:

Slow Sunday Stitching

Happy stitching and have a magical day!

Goofin' Off with Heroes and Villains...and a Few Project Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 21:35:00 +0000

Have you ever watched a movie and wished you could see the clothes the actors are wearing up close and personal? Yep, this girl most definitely has! And let me tell you, when I got the chance, it did not disappoint!

Mr. Goofin' Off and I recently got to attend the "Heroes and Villains: The Art of Disney Costume" exhibit at the MoPOP (Museum of Pop Culture) in Seattle. It was absolutely fascinating. There were so many of the original costumes warn in Disney live-action films, we stayed until we literally had to leave because our time was up.

The four costumes above were all worn by Cinderella in live-action movies and TV by Disney. Can you guess where they came from?

Top Left: Warn by Lily James in the 2017 movie "Cinderella" The details on this were stunning with hundreds of beautiful little butterflies sewn onto the dress.
Top Right: Dania Ramirez in the seventh season of the TV Show "Once Upon a Time"
Bottom Left: Warn by pop singer Brandy in the 1997 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical film "Cinderella" made for ABC.
Bottom Right: Warn by Anna Kendrick in the 2014 movie "Into the Woods."

Each interpretation done of Cinderella's ball dress fits perfectly within the production. I have a whole new appreciation for the designers.

While my projects are not nearly as stunning as these dresses were, I do have a few updates.

Flamingo Crossings Quilt

I've decided to name this quilt "Flamingo Crossings" after the Flamingo Crossings Village just outside of Walt Disney World. (I have to get in that Disney reference somewhere. LOL) It's where the Disney College Program students are housed during their tenure working at the most magical place on earth.

The first thing I did was sew some of these strip sets together. I love the pretty pinks...and know they are bright. But it will all be toned down when I add some the black fabric further down the road.

Next, I sub-cut these strip sets down to get started on the blocks. Not a whole lot of progress, but it's better than nothing.

On my cross stitch project of "Mickey and Pirate Friends," I started a new row of pattern pages. I got through approximately 800 stitches since the last update. I know some people can do that in a day, but this baby has tons of confetti. And, quite honestly, finding time to work on projects can be difficult to fit in.

And this is how the entire piece looks right now. Hoping to get more stitching done this week. But Mr. Goofin' Off has a bit of time off, so that often eats into my stitching time. I'm not complaining, though. I love to spend time with Mr. Goofin' Off. He is my personal Goofy!

Link Parties:

Have a magical day!

Other Disney Things I've Been Up To

Over on my "other" Disney blog, I've put together the following articles and resources. If there is something you're interested in, feel free to check it out.

Tutto Italia Ristorante's (at EPCOT) Rigatoni Bolognese Copycat Recipe

How to Set a Fitness Goal for a Disney Theme Park Vacation (or Really Any Fitness Goal)

Free Fairy Tale Themed Quilt Planner and Journal

Goofin' Off With a Fairy Tale Blog Hop - June 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 03:30:00 +0000

What is a fairy tale?

Photo Credit: Disney Destinations

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary the definition of a fairy tale is:

"A story in which improbable events lead to a happy ending."

Thanks to Joan at MooseStash Quilting for organizing this Fairy Tale Blog Hop. I have been inspired by seeing all my quilting friends' fairy tale projects.

As a special thank you for those who visit, I am offering a free downloadable and printable fairy tales themed quilt planner and journal in PDF format. It will be available for free all summer long...if you know where to find it. You can find the link to it here hosted on my other blog about adding Disney magic to everyday life. This quilt planner and journal was created specially for this blog hop!

Me, Disney and Fairy Tales

One thing you need to know about me is that I am a huge Disney fan! If you have followed me for very long, this is not a surprise.

I am a huge Disney fan because I realize that sometimes we have to go through difficult times before we reach our happy ending. And Disney inspires me to keep moving forward through the tough times because the reward is coming. And once I've got that reward, more adventures come along to challenge me...leading to another magical ending.

Life seems to be one fairy tale after another after another after another. And I keep moving forward so I can see what's waiting for me at the end of each chapter. Life is not perfect...and that's okay because there are always good things to balance the difficult.

Quilting Fairy Tales

I realize that many of my quilting and other projects also mirror the definition of a fairy tale. So many times am I working on a project and something doesn't go quite right. I cut some fabric incorrectly and need to rethink the design. Or maybe the colors I chose don't quite work together, so I need to make some substitutions. But once the process is finished, the final project is just what was needed for someone at just the right time.

I've pulled together some pictures of my Disney projects for the Fairy Tale Blog Hop.

I fell in love with this adorable Tinkerbell fabric.

As with many of my quilts, I wanted to create something quickly. I used up some scraps of blues, purples, and greens to create this lap quilt for a friend who loves all things Tinkerbell.

My hubby (aka Mr. Goofin' Off) wanted a quilt for his newly remodeled TV room. Captain America is his favorite Avenger and this is the fabric he picked out.

Here is the lap-sized quilt. But then he changed his mind and wanted it for our bed. (Apparently, he was tired of all the "floral" patterns on our bed.)

So I added borders...and...voila! A queen-sized quilt perfect for a superhero's (or a goofy man's) bedroom.

When I came across this fun Woody fabric, I knew EXACTLY what I was going to use it for.

My nephew was getting married and had asked Mr. Goofin' Off to perform the ceremony. It was a Toy Story themed wedding.

They were married "to infinity and beyond."

Believe it or not, I actually do quilt projects that aren't so obviously Disney. But the reality is, when I pick a focus fabric, it almost always reminds me of something Disney. It's just the way my brain works.

I make no apologies for it because it helps me stay sane in the crazy times of life. It is a constant reminder of the many fairy tales (big and little) that have occurred in my lifetime.

A Few Other Fairy Tale Projects

My other favorite hobby is counted cross stitch. I have been especially drawn to full-coverage projects. And, of course, can I help it if most of the patterns I choose are Disney (and fairy tale) themed?

One of my favorite stitching projects ever was this Tinkerbell pattern I purchased off of eBay. I smiled every time I worked on it.

This Snow White piece was stitched for Love Quilts USA. They make themed quilts with cross stitched blocks for children with life-threatening or life-altering illnesses.

I found this pattern on Etsy. I loved all the purples and pinks and the picture within the silhouette of good ol' Eeyore.

My current WIP. This piece is titled "Mickey and Pirate Friends." I am approximately 25% finished with this one. It will be about the size of a movie poster when I am finished. This was a special request by Mr. Goofin' Off and will be framed and hung in our family room.

Fairy Tale Blog Hop Blogs

Below you can find all the other blogs participating in the Fairy Tale Blog Hop this week. If you're like me, visiting other blogs can be a nice way to settle down at the end of the day...or a way to get the creative juices and be inspired by other people's projects.

Each blog has been assigned a day of the week to post to spread all the fun out over the week. So take a few minutes to visit these other great blogs and see what they have to offer:

Monday (June 21st):

Tuesday (June 22nd):

Wednesday (June 23rd):

Thursday (June 24th):

Scrapdash
That Fabric Feeling
Ms P Designs USA
Quilt Schmilt
Patchouli Moon Studio
Days Filled With Joy
Goofin' Off Around the Block (YOU'RE HERE)

Friday (June 25th):

As I mentioned before, I truly think that this journey of life is like a series of fairy tales. For each chapter of difficulties and challenge, we often get rewarded by our next happy ending. Then we are hit again with more challenges and adventures...and then hopefully another happy ending (no matter how brief it may be). I live for those happy times and fairy tales.

Each quilt finish, to me, is like a mini fairy tale ending. I enjoy seeing how fabrics and shapes have come together to create something that will give comfort to someone...and hopefully make them smile each time they use it.

May life be a never-ending fairy tale to all my quilting and stitching friends! Thanks for joining me!

Have a magical day!

P.S. Don't forget to download the free printable PDF fairy tales themed quilt journal and planner! Just click on the picture below for more information.

I Want to Make Art...and I Want to Make Trouble

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 21:47:00 +0000

Do you think of your projects of making art? Sometimes, I do. I love to create new things through my quilts and embroidery work. Shhh...can I tell you a secret? I also like to be a little mischievous at times, too. Do you like to be a little mischievous at times?

Photo Credit: Disney Destinations

Last weekend Mr. Goofin' Off and I went to see Cruella at the movie theater. The theater only had 10 people in it...and it just felt so spacious. So happy to be back in an actual theater. And, for the record, we LOVED Cruella. I had suspected that I would...but was surprised at how much Mr. Goofin' Off enjoyed it.

One of the things I enjoyed was how much of the emphasis on Cruella's backstory was on how much she enjoyed designing and creating. She was extremely talented and creative...always keeping her eyes out and mind thinking of her next creative endeavor.

And while I won't spoil the movie if you haven't seen it, I can say I did relate to this quote from Cruella herself:

"I want to make art. And I want to make trouble." -Cruella

I can totally relate to this. I love to create and am so glad to be getting back into the game with new and ongoing quilting and cross stitch projects. But I do always feel like I've got a bit of a mischievous side to me. I don't let it out very often, but when I do...it's usually followed by a lot of laughter by whomever I'm with.

But the reality is, you're probably here to check out what I've been working on. I don't blame you. It's why I love to participate in link parties and blog hops. So glad to be back!

Current Quilt Project

My newest start of a project is inspired by my desire to spend my winters in Florida one day...you know, to be closer to Disney World. Technically, I love the Pacific Northwest and can't imagine ever leaving here. But the dark and gray winters really get to me. So this project embodies my desire to move...

The focus fabric for this one is flamingoes. I was enamored by the pinks and whimsical flamingoes in the fabric. The light pink and black fabric make for the perfect accent fabrics.

Selection of Flamingo Fabrics

I actually got all the initial cutting done this past week. It is mostly strip piecing, so it went fairly quickly. I did notice that it was time to replace my blade in my rotary cutter. So after I replaced the blade, things went so much more quickly.

The flamingo quilt strips are all cut.

My goal for next week is to get all of the strips pieced together. Fingers crossed I can find a few moments to get my machine out and working!

Current Cross Stitch Project

If you've followed my blog and have a great memory, you may recognize my current cross stitch project. It's titled Mickey and Pirate Friends. It makes me smile soooo much every time I work on it.

Mickey and Pirate Friends - Update as of 6/10/2021

I have completed the first row of pages...five pages in all. This is a huge project, and I'm pretty sure I'll do some rotating at some point. But, for now, I'm really enjoying it.

And because I've been enjoying catching up through link parties, I'm going to posting in a few myself this week.

Link Parties:

Needle and Thread Thursday

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!

Have a magical day!

For those who expressed interest in my other non-project blog, I've linked some of my new content from there below. If you're interested in the read (or freebie) just click on through!

Create Your Summer Bucket List (free printable PDF to create yours)

See what's on my bucket list for this summer.

How Do You Define Fitness...as a Disney Fan?

Goofin' Off First Project and News Updates of 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Wed, 26 May 2021 21:42:00 +0000

It's been a long time since I updated...way too long! I want to give a very quick personal update...then on to a few projects...and lastly all the upcoming fun for the Goofin' Off family.

I am happy to report that Mr. Goofin' Off and I are both healthy and strong.

Mr. Goofin' Off has been working from home since the first of March 2020. At the start of the pandemic, he thought he would be only working from home for a couple of weeks. His company announced that they would having their employees work from home through June of 2021. Thank goodness we quickly figured out we actually enjoy being home together 24/7...and he loves the 5-second commute down the hall every morning.

We were able to do a lot of travel during the first two months of 2020. We managed a trip to Disneyland and were honored to be a guest of a member of Club 33 (only you real Disney fans will understand what a bucket list item this was).

Here is a picture of Mr. Goofin' Off ringing the secret doorbell to get into the club.

And if you look closely at the picture below, you can see this is where I signed the Club 33 guest book. Other guests that night were Demi Lovato, Andie MacDowell, and Stanley Tucci. As guests, we were not allowed to take pictures or approach any other guests in the club. When these books are filled, they are placed in the official Disney Archives. I guess you could say I am going to be a part of Disney history forever...or at least as long as the company is still around.

We arrived home to a snow storm...and a dreaded phone call the next morning. I received a phone call from my brother that my dad had been taken to the hospital and was in and out of consciousness. When I arrived at the hospital, they said my dad had a bowel blockage and that my dad had opted not to have surgery. He was missing my mom and was ready to be with her again. The hospital gave him two to five days...but I knew he was not going to make it that long.

I decided to stay with him at the hospital that night. They moved him to the hospice wing where he was just one floor below the room where my mother had passed away. After everyone else had left for the night, I sat next to him and said my goodbyes and held his hand. He passed away very peacefully just minutes later. It was a very beautiful and sorrowful moment for me. But I am so grateful to have been there with him.

My Disney travel agent business was thrown into a huge disarray when everything shut down for Covid-19. I spent weeks on the phone on hold cancelling vacations...knowing that for all the hours I spent on the phone, I wouldn't be paid a penny. Luckily, business has begun picking up again and I currently have seven groups on the books to travel to Disney in the next few months.

If you want to know what I did to stay busy while there wasn't travel, you can find it at the bottom of the post. I am not one to just sit around and do nothing.

Now for the project updates:

Cross Stitch Projects

In my last update, I was working on this mystery project.

I have now completed this piece and it's headed to a charity stitching group to be used as a block on a child's quilt. I'm so happy with the way it turned out.

In case you hadn't guessed, it's the outline of Eeyore with a picture of Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet inside. The colors were so cheery to be working with...especially during the beginning of the pandemic when there were so many unknowns.

The Quilt Finish

Although I've had several quilt finishes, here is a close-up of the most recently finished quilt top. It's themed with World War II aircraft. This has been gifted to a charity who makes quilts for those going on into the same hospice program both my parents wound up going into. Did you know Walt Disney created artwork and films to inspire patriotism during World War II? Just a fun little side note.

Link Parties:

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!

Other Updates on Me

When the pandemic hit and my business went quiet, I began to pivot and actually created a new Disney-inspired blog. I had been sending my Disney clients games and puzzles I had created so that they could still get a little "Disney" in while the parks and theaters were closed.

It was recommended I begin a blog on adding Disney magic into everyday life...so a new blog was formed! If you're interested, you can find it at www.livelaughdis.com. Currently, all content, printables, and downloadables are free. I hope to keep it that way until I run out of space.

Here is just one example of some of free puzzle books I offer:

Feel free to click through and check it out if you enjoy brain puzzles like sudoku. I need to reorganize the site so the puzzles are easier to find.

I am hoping to get back into quilts and cross stitch blogging. My goal is to post here on Goofin' Off Around the Block a couple of times a month. I've missed you all sooooo much!

Have a magical day!

Andrea

Goofin' Off and Getting in the Zone

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 21:26:00 +0000

Have you ever heard anyone talk about being "in the zone"? I feel like the past few weeks, as I have been focusing more on my personal goals and projects, I have been able to get "in the zone" more often. For me, getting in the zone means a nice focus on the project at hand--everything else around me seems to disappear. I set my timer and get to work...or maybe it's get to relaxing. When the timer goes off, I can look at what I have been working on and smile at where I have finished my session of stitching for the day.

Getting in the Stitching Zone with Music

I know everyone gets "in the zone" differently. What helps me get "in the zone" is listening to music. I enjoy most types of music, but when I am working on a project, I enjoy listening to movie soundtracks and movie scores. Can you guess what type of movie scores I like? Ten guesses...anyone, anyone?

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you can probably guess that I love to listen to soundtracks and movie scores from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, etc. I even got a few new ones for Christmas this year. My family knows me so well. I got the music from the new Lion King movie that was released...as well as Jumanji.

I am sooooo excited I got these. I have already ripped them onto my laptop and added them to my MP3 player. They are now mixed in with my playlists and I am excited to have these added to my collection. More music means more stitching...right?

My question to you is...

HOW DO YOU GET "IN THE ZONE"?

Let me know below in the comments, if you like. I'm always looking for new ideas and ways to be more productive and get in the zone. I love it when my friends share their ideas.

Christmas Fun

I had a really nice Christmas this year. The gatherings were a bit small, but the time spent with family was priceless. I spent Christmas Eve with me and my boys. Two days before Christmas Eve, Mr. Goofin' Off decided he wanted to prepare Christmas Eve dinner. My plans for dinner went out the window, but I was more than happy to let him do all the work. He was in the kitchen all day long preparing food and washing dishes. What a Christmas treat. You know what I did while he was doing all the hard work? I was upstairs in my office/craft room doing some stitching. Yay for me!!!

Christmas morning we had my son over and opened up stockings. Santa still delivers Goofin' Off Jr.'s stocking gifts to our house. Maybe he hasn't received a change of address yet? Not a problem. We love having him over. About noon the boys headed out to pick up my dad. It was his second Christmas without my mom, and it seemed to go a little better than last year. He told me he didn't want a Christmas dinner; he wanted a Christmas brunch...so Christmas brunch it was. We opened gifts with him and he and Mr. Goofin' Off watched some TV shows about cars while Goofin' Off Jr. and I took a little nap in the chairs next to them. It was absolutely perfect.

This Christmas was packed with lots of stitching and quilting gifts...all the more reason for me to get my act together so I can have more time for relaxing with my projects. I received five 3-yard quilt kits from Fabric Cafe. Their quilt kits go together really quickly and are the perfect size for Project Linus quilts...and each kit comes with their own pattern. These was a fantastic sale for Black Friday, so I think Santa did a great job picking these out for me.

Star Trek 3-Yard Quilt Kit

Fishes 3-Yard Quilt Kit

Forest Animals 3-Yard Quilt Kit

Vintage Aircraft 3-Yard Quilt Kit

Floral 3-Yard Quilt Kit

Santa brought me this Ott light...well, technically this was my mother's Ott light that she had in her sewing room. The lights had been broken out at some point while it was at my dad's assisted living facility. Santa's elves got new light bulbs for it and got it working for me. It will be an eye saver for me because the days are so dark here in the Pacific Northwest during the winter.

Standing Ott Light

My last gift was from my dad. He gave me money to purchase gifts for my family and wrap them up. I chose for my dad to buy me the fabric and about one-third of the thread needed to get started on my Randal Spangler Sundae Delight pattern that I purchased from Heaven and Earth Designs several years ago. My dad was tickled that he got to watch us open the gifts he gave us rather than just giving us money. I hope to get started on this piece in the very near future.

Fabric and About 1/3 of Threads Needed for Sundae Delight by Randal Spangler

Sundae Delight by Randal Spangler - Charted by Heaven and Earth Designs

The past few weeks, I was actually able to get a jump start on 2020 and do some tweaking to my schedule. I found a bit more stitching time and was able to make some progress on my newest stitching project. Here it is:

Last Update on Mystery Project - December 16, 2019

Current Progress on Mystery Project - December 30, 2019

Any guesses on this one? I really am enjoying all the pretty colors of this piece after working so long on my Mickey and Pirate Friends piece that is full of browns, dark grays, and oranges. These purple, pinks, and greens are just what the doctor ordered for me. This pattern is four pages, and I will rotate after I complete a page finish.

Now it's time to step away from the blog and prepare for our annual New Year's Eve party. Thank you all for being such a big part of my stitching world. You all make the world a better place for me.

I hope you all have a fun and safe New Year's Eve!

Goofin' Off and Tapping Into My Strengths

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 21:14:00 +0000

I apologize for a partial hijacking of my normal stitching and quilting blog to mix in some time management stuff. I am working through time management on my own so that I can get back to the activities that give me the sanity I need to get through the other "stuff" that goes on in my day-to-day life. I have a great life and am not complaining--I just feel like the past year has gotten away from me. Feel free to read through if you think you're interested or just scroll on down to the day-to-day fun stuff with quilting and stitching pictures.

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come.

We only have today. Let us begin." --Mother Teresa

There is so much truth to this. I can't worry about what time is past. I can't recoup the time I've lost. I just need to reorganize myself and my time so that I can just begin with today.

Tapping into my time-management strengths

This past year has come and gone. I wasn’t able to accomplish many of the things I would have liked to. Recognizing I want to get more done in 2020, I’ve realized that I’ve got to treat my time like an investment. If I want to make 20 charity quilt tops in 2020, that means I’ve got to invest my time in gathering fabrics, rulers, rotary cutters, and other quilting supplies; cutting out shapes; and sewing these precious squares and triangles to create completed tops. That precious quilt top is the return on my investment…and the interest on that return is knowing that children, families and seniors will be able to enjoy a warm quilt that was made with my time, sewing machine and love. (Isn’t love the most important investment to include in a quilt?)

That’s what my 2020 is going to be about…taking back control of my time so that I know that I’m spending it the way I need to so that I can feel fulfilled and still be of service to others. I’ve come to realize that even though I don’t always feel in control of my time—like when a Disney comes out with a new discount promotion and I have loads of vacation requests coming from clients unexpectedly OR the dishwasher breaks two months after the warranty runs out and all dishes need to be washed by hand during the holidays OR a family member is having an emergency and I need to go spend a large chunk of time at the hospital—despite all of that, I really am in control of many aspects of my time.

In order to take back control of my time, I need to take a deep dive into my life and look at my tasks and see how I can restructure them and put a new schedule in place. I know this will me to take a self-examination and be honest with myself about some things. In addition, I’ll need to some tools to help me along. I have read more than my fair share of self-help books, so I need to go back over my notes and thoughts that stood out to me and see if I can recognize what has helped me in the past.

Assessing my strengths (and weaknesses)

I have reached a point in my life where I have begun to discover my strengths and appreciate them for what they are.

I am a great listener.
I accomplish the most when I am using a checklist. Some self-help gurus say not to make checklists. Without my checklists I would not get much accomplished.
I am organized (although that organization may occasionally look chaotic at times to an outsider). There is a method to my madness.
I have a love and compassion for people and a desire to help them.
I am good with numbers and enjoy looking for a good bargain without sacrificing value.
I believe in quality over quantity—once I have mastered something to the point I can produce great quality, the ability to produce more quantity follows suit.

Like any investment, I need to figure out which of these brings the greatest returns towards my end goals for the coming year. I really missed the mark for my goals in 2019, and looking at the list I can see how not leveraging those strengths changed things. I need to remember that I can’t try to do everything…or I’ll have time for nothing.

Now that I’ve talked about some of my strengths, I guess I should admit to and come to terms with my weaknesses.

I try to do too many things.
I try to please too many people and often don’t leave enough time to do things for myself.
I sometimes suffer a little too much FOMO (fear of missing out). For example, I want to join a quilt-a-long because I see so many of my friends doing them…except the projects that I really want to work on like a charity quilt don’t fit the guidelines of said stitch-a-long.

It's time for me to set some guidelines for meeting my goals in 2020 and recognizing and embracing which of my strengths will help me accomplish these goals. It's also time for me to diagnose which of my weaknesses are hindering me the most so that I can work towards eliminating them or improving them.

What are your strengths? I am glad we don't all have the same strengths. The world needs a variety of talents and strengths to create balance that helps us function as a whole. Thank you to all my fellow bloggers who share their strengths, tips, and talents. I have grown so much because of you and all that you so willingly give impart!

Elf-ing Around Last Week

I was able to attend a work conference last week for my travel business. It was held at the Sheraton Grand Seattle. Since the conference included complimentary valet parking, Mr. Goofin' Off and I decided to carpool in together for the day. He starts work at 7:00 a.m. and the conference didn't start until 10:00 a.m., so that gave me about three hours to do some reading, catch up on emails, and visit the gingerbread display at the hotel. You could actually see his building from the room where the conference took place.

Mr. Goofin' Off's Building is the One With the Large Diagonal Beam

The theme for the gingerbread display this year was "ElfLife". Often, the lines for the displays can get very long. Fortunately for me, when it opened at 9:00 a.m. in the middle of the week, I was the only person there. I got to spend quite a bit of time enjoying the gingerbread displays. Here are a few shots of my favorites:

Gingerbread Display Inspired by the Movie "Elf" - (Santa, I know him!!!)

Inspired by the Keebler Elves

Santa's Workshop and Elves--Wait, Is That Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks as an Elf?

Aren't they just so delightful!

Goofin' Off With Update from the Week of 12/08/2019

Okay, so it wasn't much...but it was something. As the winter begins to wear on, I needed to work on something with color. I went to Etsy and found a design I fell in love with. I made a new start and will be rotating this with my Mickey and Pirate Friends piece. This new project's pattern is only four pages...and three of those pages are partial pages. I'm not telling you what it is just yet. But here is my start.

Progress on New Project as of 12/16/2019

This may not look like much stitching to you, but for me this was a real win to sit down and work on this. I am so excited to see how it will turn out. This will be a block that I will be sending and donating to Love Quilts.

Any guesses yet? It's hard to tell from this picture, but this is going to be loaded with lots of purples and pinks...just what I need to beat the winter blahs.

Goofin' Off With a Little Bit of Time

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 22:10:00 +0000

The year is coming to a close real soon here. I can't believe how long it's been since I posted. The past year has been pretty good with my travel advisor job really taking off last summer. I feel lucky and grateful for that and have been able to check a couple of items off my bucket list this past year in addition to planning vacations for clients.

We had a new addition to the family in 2019..thanks to Mr. Goofin' Off. Hubby knew the minute he saw it that he wanted it and what he wanted to name it (yes hubby likes to name his cars). It has been named Nemo. Although we've had Nemo for a number of months now, he's actually only been driven a few times. Nemo has needed a lot of tinkering and Mr. Goofin' Off loves to tinker with cars. It's a win-win!

Welcome to the family, Nemo!

As I write this post and reflect back on this past year, I am reminded of a little whimsical prose written by Dr. Seuss:

How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon.

December is here before it's June.

My goodness how the time has flewn.

How did it get so late so soon?
--Dr. Seuss

The year has flown by. The holidays are upon us. As I have pondered the past 11 months, I am grateful for all the wonderful things that have happened. But I have also felt a large hole in my life where my quilting, stitching, charity work and blogging were. My time has been limited by my new career as well as helping in taking care of my dad.

Since my mother passed away last year, my dad has needed a lot of extra time. Early in the year we moved him into assisted living. Then we began the task of getting his home ready for sale. This was a monumental job because my parents had lived there for over 50 years and raised five kids there. I like to tell people my mother was an organized hoarder. It was unbelievable how much stuff she had managed to tuck away under beds and oozing out the dozens of closets throughout the 2700 sq. ft. house. It was all good stuff and in brand new condition. She liked to purchase clothing and knitting and sewing projects through catalogs. It would have taken her several lifetimes to complete all the projects that she had bought. I guess a lot of us quilters, cross stitchers, or whatever type of crafter you are, can relate to this (I write as I stare into my closet overstuffed with fabric). It literally took us weeks of working 20 to 40 hours a week to go through everything and get all the items that were donate-able donated.

Then this fall my father fell in his assisted living apartment and broke a hip. He spent time at the hospital, then three weeks at a rehab center. This time, he really needed more help when he left, so we found a fantastic group home for him. My brother and I had toured a number of homes and this was the only one we felt good about. We were so grateful that they were able to take my dad on and for the care and compassion he receives there.

Professionally, this year has been great, too. The month of July I booked more travel for people than I had the entire year before. I now have money coming in each month. I have met people at conferences and through my travels that have become great new friends.

I've even checked some things off my bucket list. For Halloween, I went to Disneyland with my two sisters. I dressed up as Edna Mode to go trick-or-treating at Disneyland. What a fun experience!

BUT...

...there has been next to no time to quilt or cross stitch or work on charity projects. I just don't feel complete at the moment. I am committed to doing better in the coming year. I'm coming at 2020 with full steam ahead. I'm so excited to see what I can accomplish this coming year.

All About My Time and Priorities

I know that in order to give myself more time for things that are important to me--and absolutely necessary for me to keep my sanity when things get insane--I must start making some time for myself to do the things that I enjoy.

I've already gone and purchased my planner for next year. I understand that everyone's day has 24 hours...that's 1,440 minutes...which is 86,400 second. Once a day is gone, we can't borrow against yesterday's hours...or trade for tomorrow's minutes. I need to make be sure to prioritize my days to get the most out of my time for them. I've got to plan better to be sure that the things I want to get done have the time allotted for them and not just wait for "spare time" to magically appear.

My 2020 Planner and Pretty Pens to Get Me Started

In the past, I've been able to reshuffle priorities to be able to accomplish what I want to...like charity quilts and cross stitch projects...especially Disney projects. It's time to get back to that. I know if I'm willing to invest more to quilting and stitching that I'll be able to get some sanity back in my life.

In order to feel like I've had a successful 2020, I know I'll need to find a better balance that will keep me on track to finish some projects and start some new ones. I'll try to keep you updated on this journey (although blog posts will probably be the best indicator). I look forward to jumping back into the swing of things. Now for a pictorial show of how much I have (or maybe "haven't" is a better word) accomplished this year.

Time for Quilting in 2019?

This is where I left off at the beginning of the year. I had picked out these fabrics for my first (and apparently only) quilt of 2019. I had cut out all 624 pieces and...that's where I stopped until about June when we finished getting my Dad's house ready for sale.

By the end of June I had managed to sew a few pieces together:

Where I left off last summer.

It felt great to sit behind the sewing machine and piece together these triangles. But that was the last time I sat behind my sewing machine. Because in mid-July, my business really took off. I'm not complaining about my business. I have lots of fun helping people plan their vacations. It's a real win-win for both my clients and myself.

As things quieted down a little at the beginning of Fall, I had my first conference to attend (in Florida, of course), a wedding to attend in Portland, Oregon, my dad took a tumble and broke his hip, we had to find a new place for my dad and get him moved in, and then hubby had a conference (back to Florida). I just haven't managed to get my sewing machine back out. It's time to take back control of my life and get back in the sewing room.

Stitching Time...

Now I have managed to get a little stitching in. And this is where I am now with my Mickey and Pirate friends cross stitch piece. Hey, any progress is still progress in my book. Right?

So thanks a million for following me through this journey of my 2019. Now it's time for me to put some time management skills to work and find more hours for the activities that will bring me some sanity.

I look forward to reconnecting and keeping up with all of you, my friends. Wishing you all a Happy Holidays for all of the great things that you are celebrating this coming month and into 2020.

Goofin' Off into 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 21:48:00 +0000

I was just looking back at my last post way back in August, and I once again realize how precious my blogging family is to me. It's been a surreal few months since I last posted, but the Goofin' Offs are back in business and ready to reconnect.

Quick update on my projects for those that come here just for the cross stitching and quilting eye candy. I am looking forward to having more time this coming year to work on my projects. I really, really missed having a lack of time last year.

Here is where I left off my last post with Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch:

Mickey & Pirate Friends CS 08/02/2018

and here is where I am today:

Mickey & Pirate Friends CS 01/08/2018

Yay! We have a skull and crossbones.

I'm afraid to say I didn't take pictures of my last quilt finish. I have begun being better about taking pictures again. So here are the fabrics I picked out for my current project. Sorry, there aren't any Disney fabrics in this one. All but one of the fabrics were graciously gifted to me by my mother-in-law.

Fabrics for Quilt #1 of 2019

I spent some time during the holidays cutting out all of these pieces for the quilt center--all 624 of them. I'm not sure if this will be a record for me or not. I know many of you do centers with thousands of pieces, but I am just not there yet. It's not a competition, right? It's about the journey.

Quilt #1 of 2019 - 624 Pieces Cut for Center of Quilt

Now for a quick update on the happenings of the Goofin' Offs. My last post found me spending time with my mother who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. At that time, she had been given about another month and a half. Mr. Goofin' Off had a conference being held at the Disneyland Hotel, so of course I decided to join him. My mother insisted that I not miss the trip. She loved to travel and made it clear that no matter what happened, no one was to cancel a trip during her illness.

While Mr. Goofin' Off was in classes the first morning, I headed off to check out the Pixar Fest goings on. Here is the entrance to the newly themed Pixar Pier.

New Entrance to Pixar Pier

It was really well done. I spent the morning there taking pictures and journaling. I found a nice quiet corner and enjoyed the Pixar music in the background and watching the families spending time playing together. It was a beautiful morning. Here is a video I put together with the pictures that I took that morning of the new Pixar Pier area.

When I got back to the hotel later that morning, I received a call from my younger sister who was up staying with my parents for a long weekend to help my mom. My mom had taken a turn for the worse that morning. They were taking her up to the hospice center to see if they could stabilize her. From that moment on during the trip, things were pretty somber for us Goofin' Offs. I debated whether or not to fly back to Seattle to be with my parents and siblings, but whenever I talked to my mother on the phone she insisted I not come home early.

Lone Bird of Paradise Flower at Disneyland Hotel

Back at The Disneyland Hotel, I found this lone Bird of Paradise flower blooming. My mother loved this type of flower as it reminded her of some our happiest family vacations to Hawaii. In some odd way, it provided me comfort throughout the week.

When we flew home at the end of the week, I went to visit my mother at the hospice center. She looked extremely weak but wanted to know what new things we had seen. When we came back the next day, she had lost consciousness. I am grateful I had that one last conversation with her in person. The next week was spent waiting with various family members in her hospital room at the hospice center. They moved her to a nice large room to accommodate our large family. It had a beautiful view of the the Puget Sound. My mom always liked a good upgrade, so we embraced this room change as her final upgrade. She passed away on August 18th.

My father has Parkinson's and is legally blind. As you can imagine, we have been spending a lot of time helping with things around his house and making sure he gets dinner every day. He has finally agreed to get an apartment in an assisted living building. I am glad he came to this conclusion on his own. We have to wait for an opening which may take a few months. However, this gives us a chance to start helping him clean and prepare for the move. We are hoping his move will help take some of the pressure off of the family and help things get back to a normal state of being.

So now you have all the updates. I am excited be back and am glad that things are getting back to a new "normal." I can't wait to re-engage with all of you.

Love, Mrs. Goofin' Off

Linking Up With:

To Do Tuesday

Goofin' Off During a Crazy Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 22:44:00 +0000

I can't believe how fast this year has been going by. I have so many things on my plate and am always missing my blogging friends. I know at some point things will calm down, but it will be bittersweet. As always, working on my quilting and cross stitching is my sanity saver.

I'll give a few updates on my projects before I let you in on what's been going on with the Goofin' Offs.

First up is updates on my large Disney Cross Stitch project:

Mickey and Pirate Friends as of 02/23/2018

Mickey and Pirate Friends as of 08/02/2018

Back in May I started a new quilting project for Project Linus. Although it doesn't use any Disney fabrics, I have changed the original pattern to use up some blue scraps. I honestly thought I had taken more photos of this project, but I guess I was mistaken. It's assembled with black, white, and assorted blue scraps.

To start with, here is a picture of all the black fabric cut out.

Black Fabric Pieces All Cut Out

Below are the first sub-units starting to be assembled. Notice the beautiful glass rose from Beauty and the Best in the background? My nephews gave it to me for Mother's Day this year. We just so happened to be at Disneyland at the time, so it has a lot of extra special meaning for me.

48 Sub-Units: A+E (and a beautiful glass rose)

48 Sub-Units: B+A+E

24 Sub-Units: (G+D+D+F) combined with 24-Sub-units (B+A+E)

To do a quick catch-up on what's been going on the past six months with the Goofin' Offs:

I have been busy working my transcription job and starting work as a travel consultant. As I continue to find what I enjoy and don't enjoy about being a travel consultant, I think I may at some point change from a travel consultant to a travel planning blogger. I do finally have a website up and running. So far the most-visited page is the page where I keep a list of major sweepstakes that are free to enter and offer grand prizes of travel. You can find it here. After all, who wouldn't want to win a free vacation from likes of Disney or Coca Cola.

In March the Goofin' Off family used our cruise credit from our cruise that was canceled last fall. It was a 7-day Caribbean cruise aboard the Oasis of the Seas ship. We enjoyed all the activities this ship has to offer. You can see Mr. Goofin' Off certainly took time to enjoy them all.

Mr. Goofin' Off on the Zip Line on the Oasis of the Seas

Mr. Goofin' Off Climbing One of the Rock Climbing Walls on the Back of the Ship

Mr. Goofin' Off Taking a Nap on the Balcony

We purposely chose a cruise leaving from Port Canaveral so that we could sneak in a few days at Disney World. We had a few days left on our annual passes and really wanted to show Goofin' Off Jr. the new Pandora area. It was a whirlwind few days.

Goofin' Off Jr. and Mr. Goofin' Off Waiting for the Bus at the Resort
To Take Us to Disney's Animal Kingdom - Pandora, World of Avatar

Disney's Animal Kingdom: Pandora, World of Avatar

April came and went and was uneventful but extremely busy. I was working and putting together the basics of my website. I'm not sure on some things, but I'm definitely getting better at web design.

May came with a trip to Disneyland. Mr. Goofin' Off, myself, and my two nephews went for a quick trip. For the record, my nephews are in their mid- to late-20's, so no little ones on this trip. We had a great time and indulged ourselves in a few dozen (yes, that really is dozen) Mickey Mouse beignets and a number of churros. It was actually a bit chilly for the time of year in Southern California. We didn't mind because it made waiting in lines much more bearable.

Churro at Disneyland with Cocoa Powder and Chocolate-Spiced Dipping Sauce

May came and my dad had to have a hernia operation. My mother had been having stomach problems and the test results came back while my dad was still in the hospital. It was stage IV pancreatic cancer. She has chosen not to do chemo because of the side effects and the fact that it would only prolong her life a few months.

June was a month of adjusting to a new normal. Mr. Goofin' Off and I go over to my parents' house every Tuesday for dinner time with them. We let my parents choose what they want to do. The first month, my mother wanted to go out to eat. At this point, we are bringing dinner over to them every Tuesday and just enjoying time with them.

July started out with Mr. Goofin' Off coming down with pneumonia...just three days before he was to leave for India. His company has him helping set up a new office in India. The doctor put him on some strong antibiotics and gave him the clearance to travel, so he was off to India for a week. As you can imagine, I was really worried about him while he was gone. Luckily, he came home much healthier than he left. The end of June had lots of extended family come up and spend time with my parents. We had a great time catching up. I had two nephews stay with us during that time and really enjoyed having teenage boys around the house again. I have some pretty awesome family!

August is here and so much going on. I try to attend at least one appointment every week with my mother's hospice workers. She is really slowing down and sleeping a lot. It's hard to leave my parents sometimes when it's time to go. Mr. Goofin' Off and I are headed out to a conference next week. It was all scheduled before we got the news of the cancer. I am grateful that I have a sister coming up from Salt Lake City for a few days followed by my brother coming up to help at the end of the week. I can rest a little more easily while I'll be gone.

Enough of my ramblings. You are now caught up. Even though things are crazy busy at times, I am grateful for each and every moment of it. I'm looking forward to catching up with all my blogging friends. You all bring such a positive energy into my life.

Linking Up With:

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Goofin' Off With a Return in 2018

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 16:23:00 +0000

Well, it’s been months…four months to be exact since my last post. The time has just flown by. Thank you to those who have contacted me to see how things are going. I appreciate your care and concern. Everything has been just great the past four months in the Goofin’ Off household. There have been a lot of great things happening here, but I’ll get to that in a little further down in the post. I know a lot of you are just here for the project updates, so let’s get started there.

I did manage to finish the quilt top for the Toy Story Woody quilt. It’s a happy little quilt. Now all I need to do get it all finished and sent off to the recipients.

Woody/Toy Story Quilt Top Finish

Mickey and Minnie "Love" This Finish

Mickey says it’s a happy little quilt. He is very pleased with how it turned out. Now all I need to do get it all finished and sent off to the recipients. I had hoped to get this done months ago...but...well, life gets in the ways sometimes.

In my spare moments the past few months, it has been easiest to work on my cross stitch project, so this is where I have made the most progress. Mickey and Pirate Friends is coming along quite nicely. I didn’t always take pictures as I finished each section, but here are the latest sections I completed. I am excited because the corner of the pirate flag is beginning to show in the bottom right corner.

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch - 01/26/2018

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch 02/14/2018

In my last blog post, I had mentioned that I was excited about landing my dream job as a travel agent/travel consultant with a company that specialized in Disney travel. I was supposed to begin training the first part of November…then it was middle of November...but it was really the end of November before training began. It was a bit disappointing that training took so long to get started...one of many red flags I should have seen...but the bright side of that was a trip Mr. Goofin’ Off and I were able to take to Disney World in mid-November…at least I didn’t have to do training while I was in the happiest place on earth.

Our visit to Disney World just happened to coincide with the transition of decorations into the holiday season. As you can see from a few of the pictures I took, when Disney does decorations, they do them big…quite literally.

Life-Sized Gingerbread at Disney's Grand Floridian Hotel

The Detail of the Gingerbread House - The "Frozen" Window

Giant Christmas Teapot

We had a great time and enjoyed the warm weather while it rained and poured back home in Seattle. A week after I got home, the training for the dream job began…but would it really be my job?

The first week I became certified to sell Disney travel. I was in heaven. I was an official graduate of the “Disney College of Knowledge.” Certifications to sell vacations to Universal Studios (and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter) came next. Then certifications to sell Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines…all in all, I was spending 40 to 60 hours a week doing training and became certified to sell all of the major cruise lines, all-inclusive resorts, and tour companies.

The paperwork I signed had indicated we (myself and the other three trainees) would be allowed to actually sell with the company about three weeks into the training. More than three months later, I was getting excuses from the back office as to why I wasn’t able to sell despite the fact that I had clients waiting to book and was OK to sell according to Disney and the cruise lines. They suggested I send my clients to one of their other travel agents. I asked if I would get to split the commission since I brought the client. Nope. I had enough, and they had breached our contract already several times, I had lost confidence in the company, so I said a goodbye to the them. This was mid-January.

So what have I been doing the past month, you ask? I have been working on projects which gave me some time to think about what I wanted to do. It’s amazing how much I can focus and think things through when I am working on a project.

Even though I hadn’t personally booked my clients, I went ahead and worked with them to book their trips on their own. I saved several of them from $500 to $800 from what they had been able to put together on their own. I was hooked. This is what I had always intended to do…provide people with the vacation they want at the best price I could find. So…after interviewing several new travel agencies, I signed on with a new one on Monday and should be able to start booking my clients within two business days. Yippee!!!

Rest assured, this blog will be all about my stitching, quilting, and love of Disney…not selling (although I will always be happy to help my blogging friends book their trips – fee free).

Thanks for allowing me to ramble today and catch you up on what has been going on. My life is returning to a semi-routine normal again, so I should have blog updates more often and hopefully will be able to join some stitch-a-longs and quilt-a-longs. I have missed you all more than you can know.

Goofin' Off and Wondering Where Did October Go?

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 02:16:00 +0000

I can't believe we're closing in on the end of October already. The Goofin' Offs have been having a great month and staying busy. It has definitely cut into my project time, but that's life I suppose.

Thanks to all of those who wished me well on my last post about an exciting possibility for me. I have had several magical opportunities present themselves lately. But the one I am most excited about...well, I got a call and have made it to the next level of interview. I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that it all goes well.

I have not had as much time to sew lately, but I have managed to get the first two sets of borders on the Woody/Toy Story Quilt.

Woody/Toy Story Quilt With First Set of Borders

Woody/Toy Story Quilt With Second Set of Borders

The colors are coming together so well. It's such fun fabric to be working with. I love all the new Disney fabric lines that Camelot Fabrics has been coming out with lately...so many fabrics, so little time.

I managed to get another section completed on the Mickey and Pirate friends cross stitch.

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch as of 10/25/2017

Looking at Goofy's bright eyes never, ever, ever gets old.

Mr. Goofin' Off and I haven't had a chance to carve pumpkins yet. I was thinking about this the other day and looking up some fun designs on Pinterest. There are so many cool designs. But I found some really fantastic Disney designs with carving templates right on Disney's family.disney.com website.

Check out this Goofy pumpkin!

Image Credit: Family.Disney.Com

Hope I can talk Mr. Goofin' off into carving this one.

It reminds me of the pumpkins we saw at Disneyland a few weeks ago. Oh, how I miss my Disney right now. So let me share a few more pictures of the Disneyland pumpkins.

Donald Pumpkin Greeting Guests at Disneyland

Minnie and Pluto Pumpkins Greeting Guests at Disneyland

Mickey Pumpkin Greeting Guests at Disneyland

Thanks again for letting me indulge myself with my Disney goofiness. Are you carving pumpkins this year? If so, what will your pumpkin look like? I'd love to know in the comments. I'd enjoy some pumpkin-carving inspiration.

Have a magical day, my friends!

For more stitching, quilting, and crafting inspiration, I'm linking up to:
Needle and Thread Thursday

Goofin' Off With an Exciting Possibility and a Disney Animator, Director, and Producer

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 18:52:00 +0000

Last weekend, Mr. Goofin' Off and I had the opportunity to hear a 32-year Disney veteran speak here at a local community college. It was so much fun and fascinating to hear his stories of his years working on movies, books, and Disney theme park projects. I'll save that for later since so many of you are here for the updates on my projects.

I have finished assembling the center of the first Toy Story quilt for my nephew and his adorable wife. I am pleased with how it's turning out. Just need to get those borders on now and then go ahead and sandwich, quilt or tie, and bind it.

First Toy Story Quilt - Center Assembly

Here is a close up of the design and fabric. It like it so much, I may have to make another one at some point...maybe for charity.

Woody is Adorable Smiling and Tipping His Hat

Just a reminder that the pattern comes from the book Modern Views With 3-Yard Quilts. The fabric of Woody from Toy Story comes from Camelot Fabrics.

I managed to get some stitching in over the past week and you can find the top of Goofy's head getting closer to completion. I still can't wait for more of his friends to appear in their pirate attire.

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch as of 10/13/2017

I like to post a picture about once a month of what the piece should look like once it is finished. It also helps to keep me motivated to see where I am headed with it.

Mickey and Pirate Friends - End Goal for Me

Towards the end of last week, I received an unexpected e-mail about an opportunity that I had applied for months ago. I had honestly assumed they weren't interested and had forgotten about it until I received the e-mail. I had a phone interview earlier this week and have my fingers crossed I will hear something back sooner rather than later. Who wouldn't want to have their dream job? If you think about it send positive thoughts, cross your fingers and toes, say a little prayer, etc., for me. I appreciate all you!

Last Saturday, our local group of Disney enthusiasts got to a meet-up at the local community college and hear Dave Bossert speak. I love this group. If you live in the Pacific Northwest area and are a Disney enthusiast you can find the group and all of their activities here at www.pnwmousemeet.com. They even handed out a little swag which included an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit frisbee.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Frisbee

Dave worked with Disney for 32 years as an animator, producer, director, and as well as on special theme park projects. He worked on movies such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, to name a few.

One of his more recent projects actually has been to hunt down, save, and resort Walt Disney's first series of cartoon shorts...the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series. Can you see the resemblance in the picture of the rabbit to a certain mouse? Throughout his presentation, he showed us three different shorts. It was fascinating and fun to watch them.

He talked a little about his work that he did on movies and some stories about some antics that happened behind the scenes at the studio...including a flying nun habit that apparently wasn't as funny to a newly-hired Michael Eisner and his group as it was to the animators who were horsing around with it.

His speaking about the movies he worked on...namely The Nightmare Before Christmas...reminded me of this fun new Halloween display greeting us outside of Disney's California Adventure last month.

Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas Greeting Guests at Night

Sorry for more Disney pictures...well, sort of... I have a few more to share with you before Halloween.

This got me thinking...about Halloween...about movies and cartoons...and I must ask...do you have a favorite Halloween movie or cartoon? I'm kind of partial to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It's very nostalgic to me. I'd love to hear in the comments if you have a favorite or favorites. Maybe there will be something new for me to check out this year.

Have a magical day, my friends!

Linking to More Funtastic Quilting/Stitching Blogs:
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop
Finished or Not Friday
Friday Foto Fun
Show Off Saturday

Goofin' Off With a Splash of Color and Some Disneyland Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 18:08:00 +0000

October has begun. This year, I feel it's kicking off the holiday season...beginning with Halloween. When we got to play at Disneyland a few weeks ago, they were beginning to decorate for Halloween. I've been going through my pictures and decided to share a few at the end to kick off the Halloween season here in the Goofin' Off house.

But I know many of you just come for all the quilting and stitching goodies, so I'll get started there first. A few weeks ago I decided to participate in my first quilt along. This quilt along is being hosted by Myra at Busy Hands Quilts. The name of this quilt along is Black and White with a Splash of Color. I chose to participate because the rules were pretty easy and progress is only posted every two weeks. It has just begun, so if you want to join in, it's not too late.

My Splash of Color Fabrics

The only rule is that: "Your quilt must be black and white with a splash of color, any color." You can see the fabrics I have chosen to use. As you can see, I've chosen blue as my splash of color. The picture is a bit misleading as I will just be using just some scraps and leftovers of blues from previous quilts. However, I will be using almost 3 yards each of the white and black fabrics that I pulled from my stash. This project should be a good stash and scrap buster.

If you're just now finding my blog through the quilt along, please feel free to follow me. I love meeting new people and making new friends.

Mickey Mug Inspiration

This Mickey mug became the inspiration for the fabrics I chose and the pattern I'll be using for the quilt top. The pattern is called "Wine Country" and comes from the December/January 2017 edition of McCall's Quick Quilts.

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch as of 10/06/2017

I got another small section finished on Mickey and Pirate Friends. I am beginning to see Goofy's pirate beard begin to take shape. I am still anxiously awaiting to see some of his pirate friends appear. This continues to be a lot of fun to work on despite all the constant changing of thread colors.

Disneyland Halloween Pictures Ahead

This is the first year in a while that I have actually been excited for Halloween. I am guessing it has something to do with the fact that when we were at Disneyland a few weeks ago, they were getting things all gussied up for this fun holiday. I snapped some pictures. Here are some pictures from the Cars Land area at Disney's California Adventure.

Giant Spider Hung Between Power Poles

A Spooky Face Hung Between Power Poles

I love the Cars Land area of the parks. If you have seen the movies, as you walk through this area, it feels as if you are actually walking through the movie itself. It is fantastic.

Baby Tractor Dressed as Mummy

This adorable baby tractor was all dressed up as a mummy at Mater's Petting Zoo.

Movie Posters That Have Been Re-Done With a Cars Theme

These Were So Much Fun to Read

Even the characters from the Cars movie were all dressed up for Halloween.

Mater All Dressed Up as Dracula

The small details of the Halloween theme were everywhere. Take a look at this adorable pumpkin patch...all made from gasoline cans.

Pumpkin Patch of Gasoline Cans

It's given me a few ideas for Halloween decorations at the Goofin' Off house. I have a feeling I will be checking out Pinterest this weekend for a few more ideas.

Do you do anything special for Halloween? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

For More Stitching, Quilting, and Other Crafting Goodness, Follow the Links Below to Some of My Favorite Link Parties:

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!
Finished or Not Friday
Scrap Happy Saturday

Goofin' Off With Some Sweet Ghirardelli Goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 18:47:00 +0000

I was doing some picking up the other day and finally finished unpacking my carry-on bag that I take when we travel. In the front zipper pouch I found I had tucked away a little sample that had been passed out to us at Disney's California Adventure. Did you know that there are a few places at Disneyland that give out free samples? Yep! And after we've shelled out so much money to go there, we never hesitate to partake of the free samples.

Ghirardelli Pumpkin Spice Caramel

I decided to have a little fun with this sample, but I'll get to that in a minute. First, let's get to what many of you are here for...updates to the projects.

I've had my sewing machine pumping out these these sweet blocks the past few days. I continue to be smitten with this Woody fabric and can't wait to see these block sets assembled into a quilt.

Block Set C

Block Set D

My Mickey and Pirate Friends cross stitch piece continues to come along nicely. At this point, I am anxious to see some of Goofy's friends start appearing with him. I know I've got a ways to go, so I'll just enjoy Goofy's big eyes staring at me for now.

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch as of 10/04/2017

Back to my current appetite for Ghirardelli. As I mentioned before, we got a sample at the Ghirardelli shop at Disney's California Adventure on our last trip. They were handing out samples of their fall flavor of Pumpkin Spice Caramel. It was a tasty combination...pumpkin + chocolate + caramel = yummy.

Some people in our group...okay, all of us in the group...decided we wanted more than a Ghirardelli sample, so we went ahead and treated ourselves to some ice cream sundaes. I'm not sure what the boys ordered, but I know I got the Mint Bliss Sundae (on the far right). I have to get one at least once on every Disney trip.

Sundaes from Ghirardelli Soda Fountain at Disney's California Adventure

I can report back that there was not anything left of these when we left...nope...not a drop...spoons licked clean.

Finding the little sample when I unpacked made me think of the ads Ghirardelli had kept sending to my Facebook feed. Basically, it's an oven-baked s'more using a Ghirardelli chocolate square instead of the traditional Hershey bar. Ghirardelli Facebook ads for the win!

Ghirardelli Oven-Baked S'Mores

It's really quite simple...and tasty. I layered one half of a graham cracker with a marshmallow and placed it on the rack in the middle of my oven. I turned the broiler on. It took me a little over 60 seconds for the marshmallow to toast. I would keep a close eye on it because it would probably start to burn quite quickly. After I took it out of the oven, I placed a Ghirardelli chocolate square on top followed by another square of the graham cracker. Take a bite...or two...

I enjoyed my first s'more with the pumpkin, so I thought in order to give my readers a more rounded review, I would try it with another flavor of the Ghirardelli squares. That's right, I did for you...really, I did. I settled on the Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel that I had. Yep. It was just as sweet and just as delicious.

Thanks for dropping by and giving me an excuse to indulge in my chocolate treats. I hope you enjoyed your stay and will come by again really soon.

Links to Where You Can Find Some of My Favorite Things from Today's Post

Modern View 3-Yard Quilts by Donna Robertson

Disney Toy Story Woody Fabric

Ghirardelli Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Caramel Squares

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Squares

For more crafting eye candy and inspiration, I am linking up with:

Mid-Week Makers
Let's Bee Social
WIP Wednesday

Goofin' Off With Friends and Toy Story

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 16:29:00 +0000

I had a fantastic weekend this past weekend. As I have been working on my newest project of three Toy Story-themed quilts, I have been pondering a lot the theme of the Toy Story movies...which is one of friendship. Blogging has brought so many new and wonderful friends into my life and enriched it. As we share tips, tutorials, recipes, patterns, and stories about our families with each other I find myself among a very supportive group. Thank you for that, my friends!

Block A Finishes

On Saturday, I finished the first set of blocks for the first Toy Story quilt. How can you not smile seeing Woody's happy face smiling up at you?

Block B Finishes

Sunday afternoon I finished up the second set of blocks. I hadn't expected to get them all done, so I was happily surprised when I put those last triangles on the corners. Now I just need to trim them all up. The pattern I am using for this quilt comes from the book Modern View 3-Yard Quilts by Donna Robertson. The Woody Toy Story fabric is from Camelot Fabrics.

I got a small section started on my page 2 of Mickey and Pirate Friends cross stitch picture. It felt quite good to actually be starting a new page on this piece...even if it will take years to complete it.

Mickey and Pirate Friends as of 09/26/2017

Sunday morning, I woke up to an email from Chooky over at chookyblue.blogspot.com. When I opened it, she had said she had seen something in a window display, thought of me, and took a picture of it. Here is the picture she shared with me.

Chooky Thought of Me When She Saw This! Happy me!

I am so tickled that she saw Disney and thought of me. We are on opposite sides of the world. It is only through the blogging world that we have even met. It was one of several reminders this past week of how much my blogging friends have become a part of my life. I wonder how they are doing if they are feeling ill. I wonder if that granddaughter they've been waiting for has been born yet. I look forward to seeing their vacation pictures and project updates. Online friends are every bit as special as any other friends I have.

Mr. Goofin' Off and I decided to head out to brunch later on Sunday morning. It was a gorgeous morning, so we chose a place right on the water. Mr. Goofin' Off encouraged me to have a hot chocolate with my brunch. It was perfect for a fall morning. Mmm...rich, chocolatey goodness.

Rich, Delicious Hot Chocolate with Brunch

After we stuffed ourselves with brunch, we headed out for a nice walk along the beach. The sun was out shining, boats were out fishing, families were out walking and playing together. I didn't want to leave and came home the most relaxed I've been in a while.

Walking Down at Edmonds Beach

A quote about friendship:

"Friendship...is born at the moment when one man says to another, 'What! You too? I thought that no one but myself...'"
--C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Have your online friends left an impact on your life? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Linking Up With - Take a Peek at These Linky Parties for More Crafting Eye Candy:
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Goofin' Off With the Start of Fall 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 14:06:00 +0000

Mr. Goofin' Off kept telling me earlier this week that he felt like someone had flipped a switch and it had gone from summer to fall in a snap. The weather is cooler, the skies are gray, and the days are definitely getting shorter. Well, I guess officially it is fall now.

With the first days of fall, I am brought back to my days as a little girl. My father worked a late shift, so often my mother would often bake at night after we went to bed while she waited for my dad to get home from work. In the fall, I would sometimes wake up to the smell of pumpkin bread...mmm...pumpkin bread. That memory inspired me to make some of my favorite pumpkin muffins this week.

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin

2 cups sugar

1-1/4 cups vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.

2. In a second bowl, beat the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, and vegetable oil.

3. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients just until moistened.

4. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Fill muffin cups approximately 2/3 full.

Bake approximately 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes approximately 20 to 24 muffins.

There is just something that smells so good about pumpkin muffins fresh out of the oven. I found a recipe a few years back that tasted very similar to my mother's recipe. I tweaked it a little so that I could add chocolate chips to the recipe. My family loves them, so they don't last very long around here.

Pumpkin Goofy!

I have added a gratuitous Goofy jack-o-lantern picture here from our trip to Disneyland because well...it's Goofy...and it's a pumpkin.

I found myself with some time yesterday and got my next quilt all cut out. Here are the pieces for the blocks.

Pieces for Block A

Pieces for Block B

Pieces for Block C

Pieces for Block D

I love this fabric of Woody from Toy Story. This will be one of at least three Toy Story quilts that I'll be making from the Toy Story fabric that I've purchased. The pattern I am using is from the book Modern View 3 Yard Quilts by Donna Robertson of Fabric Cafe. I ordered it Monday from Amazon, and it arrived on Wednesday. Gotta love Amazon Prime.

Modern Views with 3-Yard Quilts by Donna Robertson

Modern Views with 3-Yard Quilts

I already have about half a dozen of Donna's quilt patterns but none of the patterns in this book. Each pattern uses 1 yard each of three different fabrics. These are the perfect size for the charity quilts I make. The bonus of this book that I hadn't expected was that the book gave instructions on enlarging the quilts to twin and queen/king toppers.

Well, it's time to get in gear and work on the fall cleaning, baking, and getting those Christmas checklists started. Yes, I said it. I said "Christmas". It's going to be here before I know it, and I need to be prepared.

Let me know below. Are there any foods that remind you of the fall months? What are your favorites? I'd love to hear about them...and maybe drool a little bit over them.

Link Parties I've Joined - Just Click the Link to See More Crafting Eye Candy

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Goofin' Off With the Winds of Change

noreply@blogger.com (Goofin' Off Around the Block) — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 18:36:00 +0000

I can't believe it has been almost three weeks since my last post. The past three weeks have been crazy, but it all came out great in the end. If you have been following me for some time, you'll know that we have had five weddings of nieces and nephews this summer. Well, the final wedding was a destination wedding...to the Caribbean...on a cruise ship. Well, Hurricane Irma changed those plans a few days before we were to leave. But more about that later...

Because things have been so crazy, I haven't been at my sewing machine much the past few weeks. I did manage, however, to put those last borders on my Gingerbread Square Dance quilt. You can see the finish below.

Gingerbread Square Dance Completed Top

Now it's time to work on the Toy Story quilts for the happy couple that got married in July with the Toy Story themed wedding. They will be two lap size quilts to keep them warm while studying (or watching TV or playing video games) this winter.

Here is the first set of fabrics that I've put together. I hope to be cutting into them in the next 24 hours. My rotary cutter is just itching to get picked up and slice through some fabrics.

Fabrics for Woody/Toy Story Quilt

I did manage to get a bit of stitching on Mickey and Pirate Friends. It seemed an easier project to pick up and put down while all the travel changes were going down. Page 1 of ??? has been completed. I can see all of Goofy's eyes now.

Mickey and Pirate Friends Cross Stitch as of 09/20/2017

As I mentioned above, Hurricane Irma decided to make herself known a few days before we were to leave for our Caribbean cruise. We were given the choice of taking a shortened cruise leaving four days late or canceling and getting our money back in the form of a cruise credit. The entire group that was going on the cruise decided to just cancel as there was no way we would be able to make it into Fort Lauderdale to catch our cruise ship. The flights were all booked up.

That gave us just a few days to make alternative plans. The wedding party was able to come up with an entire new plan in less than 48 hours. We would still be "cruising", only it wouldn't be on a cruise ship, and it wouldn't be to the Caribbean. It was decided that the wedding would be held in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia.

Victoria from the Front of the Fairmont Empress Hotel

We all boarded the Victoria Clipper in Seattle on Monday, September 11th, at way too early of a time in the morning. It was a beautiful three-hour trip up to Victoria and a sunny day with temperatures in the mid-70s.

Let me just say here that when the Fairmont Empress in Victoria heard the story of the wedding plans being spoiled by Hurricane Irma, they were extremely accommodating. They allowed the wedding to take place in one of their flower gardens for no charge. They upgraded the room of the happy couple and made room for our large group to enjoy lunch together after the wedding.

The Fairmont Empress is extremely beautiful and exquisite. Here are a couple of pictures I took of the lobby area.

Mr. Goofin' Off on the Lobby Balcony in His Caribbean Wedding Atire

Lobby of the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, BC

The picture doesn't do this chandelier justice. It had to have been one of the most elegant chandeliers I've ever seen. And those fresh flowers just smelled so wonderful.

After the wedding and lunch, Mr. Goofin' Off wanted to check out the miniature museum which was behind the hotel. We spent about an hour there. I think Mr. Goofin' Off probably could have spent another two hours there, but we had my mom with us, and I don't think her feet and legs would have held out as there was nowhere to sit down. We walked the waterfront for a while, and then went to catch the Victoria Clipper back to Seattle.

After we got back home, we now had some airline miles that had been refunded back into our account and five days left of vacation that Mr. Goofin' Off had taken off of work. So what do you think the Goofin' Offs did? I'll give you a hint...

Our Change in Vacation Plans Thanks to Hurricane Irma

You can look forward to a few pictures from our trip over the next couple of posts. As always, thanks for stopping by. I love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave a comment or question below.

*As a side note here, I just want to mention how much my heart hurts for those recovering from all the hurricanes, fires, and earthquakes. The Goofin' Offs send our prayers and good thoughts to anyone suffering from the devastation.*

Linking Up With:
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Happy stitching and have a magical day!

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Wednesday (June 23rd):

Thursday (June 24th):

Friday (June 25th):

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Goofin' Off With Friends and Toy Story

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Goofin' Off With the Winds of Change