Almost a Finish...

The days tick by faster than I would like…My Google Reader has 900 entries to catch up on. I’m afraid it may not happen. I’m working hard during the day, but I really love it. I’ve decided I’ve got the same 24 hours that everyone else has. It’s my choice how I carve it up and use the time. I pieces just vary day to day.

I finally got that quilt of Eric’s machine quilted. Oh, it was tough. The layers with all of the half square triangles had thread breaking right and left. If the quilt had been for anyone but Eric, I would have drop-kicked it in the yard. I made the binding this afternoon. I feel the need for an evening of “chick flicks” and needle and thread to get the binding finished.

I came home exhausted Wednesday, but rallied early Thursday morning and played in my sewing room an hour before I went to work.

I completed my BOM projects out of wool. I love the pink on the bunny block. Again, I’m a season behind as this is not gardening season. But with life really being a perspective, I keep telling myself I’m ahead of the game and will love this piece come spring.

If I can get this binding done, I’m starting on Christmas projects. I kicked around a shopping trip, but decided I could either shop for quilting or ACTUALLY do some quilting. I’ve really enjoyed my Saturday.

No snow yet, but the leaves are down and the trees are bare. The temps are steady in the forties. Hunting season is almost upon us so the pups and I have to stay out of the woods for safety reasons. The porch has the hammock packed away along with the porch stools.

Something to think about… I read this week that fear –worrying over things you can’t help or control---is a lack of faith. You never need to lose faith…. You may miss out on things because you worry over situations that may or may not happen-- those things you have no control over.  You have to trust that when the time comes you can handle it and dread will not make it any easier. And you just might miss out on something incredible if you sit around contemplating scenarios that probably won't happen.  I think as women and mothers we always just seem to always exercise so much caution....
I'm working on letting go....


Gratitudes:
Phone calls from my kids
Pumpkin Candles
Saturday Afternoons….

October Sewing...

I guess for a little while my sewing will be measured by the moments versus the minutes. It’s Friday night and Chelsey came home from school for the weekend. The sewing machine is humming because she’s making a baby quilt for a donation project… Funny, huh?!?!

I told her to be careful, she could be turning into her mom....Home on a friday night quilting... I'm pretty smug about it....

Work is going so well. I’m learning so much.  A totally different environment than I'm used to.  I know I'm still honeymooning at the office and sooner or later it will turn into "work" but I am really liking ti so far.

I have been sewing. I don’t have a lot of time for writing in my journal. I just seem to have so many things I want to do in a day. I DVR shows but TV is really off the list except for Sunday football (does that count???) . I’ve been reading, running the pups in the woods, because the Fall has been gorgeous. I’ve been staying on top of the housework and working through a couple of devotions-Simple Abundance and Mothers of the Bible.

I made postcards to send Chelsey. To fit her college apartment, I made the colors match. I completely forgot to photograph them so the photo is from her.

Again I completely forgot to photograph the journal I made for a bridal shower gift. I grab a quick snapshot right before putting it on the gift table.

Lastly Chelsey went to an A-B-C party last weekend….Anything but cloth. People made clothes out of garbage bags, wrapping paper, duct tape.

Chelsey found play money at the dollar store and I made a
paper sheath and we attached the dollar bills to it. She made jewelry from play coins. It turned out real cute.

I've been keeping up with my block of the month project. I'll photograph it maybe tomorrow.

Gratitudes:
Chick Flicks with Chelsey
Flying Geese-- the real ones heading South for the winter
Vanilla Creme for my coffee

Nine Patches

It’s Sunday evening. It’s been one of those weekends where you think Monday has got to get here where you can rest. It’s fun every once and a while.


I pulled four fat quarters and began cutting them up.

Next weekend I have a wedding shower. It’s another gift card shower. The third one I have been to recently. I’ll be the first to admit that the idea of gift cards is practical for these young couples. They are leaving the area… not many of these young adults stay in our hometown--- there’s nothing to keep them there. They can get to their new homes, no unpacking, and purchase needed items--- all perfectly matching to their own personal tastes. But there is that sentimental side of that still has the rolling pin my mother in law gave me..( It’s marble and we passed it around a wedding shower laughing about how good it would be for keeping Don in line!!!). I have the pewter bread plate from Nina O’Quin with all the memories attached.

So I have this young girl a gift card and I’m making a quilted journal for a keepsake for recipes, bible verses, lists, and memories.

Those fat quarters have turned into nine patches on the way to this project found in the December Issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.

I’ve been slicing and drying the apples from yesterday’s post. The house smells so good.

It was 28 degrees this morning.

Last night we went to a party with 8 other couples. We had an adult “Scavenger Hunt”. We dvided up into teams of four and scoured the town for two hours with our lists of tasks. Examples were getting a photograph of a team member pumping a stranger’s gasoline. Get a doctor’s signature. Find a coaster with a beer logo on it. There were 41 items. My team lost despite getting a photo of a policeman in uniform, and someone in a concert tee shirt. Don’s team won and received this bottle of holiday wine from Door County. The bottle will probably never be opened but it looks like Halloween.

Gratitudes:

My Sunday School Class

York Peppermint Patties

My favorite Pair of Levis

Fall Blessings...

Hey—I’m still here. Thanks for emails, thanks for caring. I hope everyone guessed it--- I got a job. We could spend paragraph after paragraph bad mouthing old jobs but it would be a waste of time and typing. Business Models change. The economy changes. It’s as simple as that. My old job gave me the gift of a paid summer off and the tenacity to look for a new job. Now my family has paid medical & dental insurance, a 401K with a match, a raise, and a bright future. I’m living proof that life goes on. It turns on a dime…. Never take it for granted.


I think I’ve got the “groove thing” worked out. I have different hours than before, plus I’ve cut wayyyy back on television so my attitude feels good.

I friend brought over apples for my Sunday school class. I love the bright colors. You can see it’s raining leaves here today. While everyone in the U.P. loves the colors --- it’s a healthy reminder for the winter ahead. The old people look at the squirrels, deer, and mice and predict a rough winter ahead. Me….they’re all kind of rough. Quilting weather I say.

I get a break daily at work and have decided to take it. I never did before. Wandering through a second- hand shop I found an old wooden box and some scraps of wool. Looks like perfect Christmas stockings. What is it about wooden boxes? Chelsey and I both gravitate to them.

I’ve made a lot of changes. My old job was a chore. This job is a challenge and a gift. Sunday evenings I spend getting my clothes ready for the week. I round up sewing for the week. I get my kids Sunday school letters made. The coffee pot is made the night before. It sounds like I’m overcompensating for something. But truth be told--- the less I have to think about first thing in the morning the better. And walking away from the television (I still DVR shows in case I need them!) all the things I thought I missed sitting behind a desk seem to be getting done.

Yeah, I know. I’m still “honeymooning” on this adventure. Sooner or later it will turn into work. But sometimes you have to lose something to appreciate it when you get it back.

Gratitudes:

A Pot of soup on the stove

Yankee Harvest Candles

Crunching leaves in the Woods