The End of February....

I’m so ready for spring…..But living in the U.P. I know I have six to eight weeks left despite what the Groundhog said about four weeks ago.

Here’s my Applejack Quilt ready for quilting. I really like it, but for my home--- it’s going to be lightly tea dyed in just a little while. Country Threads calls the border-- a ‘lipstick‘ border. To me, I love it because it looks like a picket fence.

Chelsey and I picked up the spring time bunny sign yesterday in Green Bay. The most fun part of shopping with Chelsey yesterday is that we had so much fun and never entered a shopping mall. We stopped at stores tucked away that we normally over look. We were definitely looking for the deals and bargains.

The stars, our jobs, the dog kennel lined up and we went home for a week to see my folks. It was good to have my mom’s cooking, and family all around. We even put a new wood floor down in My mother-in-law’s home. The weather was 71 degrees when we landed, but when we travelled home we got caught in the Southern Ice storm. I think people in Louisiana have had more snow days than we have. It’s good to be back home, but I wish we could visit more often.

I sewed up osnaburg fabric for dish towels for my sunday school kids to stamp on for Valentines Day.  We had a lot of fun.

Valentine’s Day was special. We went to a church Valentine’s Day banquet and Don was held hostage as he had to watch Janette Oke’s ‘Love Comes Softly.’ Just goes to show, it doesn’t matter what you do if you’re together.

My Candle on my table is filled with Red Hots – one of my favorite candies.

My February dishes are out.

I finished my last three blocks of My Garden. I just have the border left. I’m already planning my next project with friends.

I found these while I was away --- Wonky Hearts. To some they’re cookie cutters. But the trained eye realizes they are quilting stencils, Sunday school play dough tools, Christmas ornament patterns, oh and ….. cookie cutters.

Life is good. Our company just landed another 8 million $$ contract. The kids are getting over bronchitis stuff. It’s tough when they’re away at school… at least on mommas.

We’re expecting 3 to 5 inches of snow tonight…. Yep, spring is still a ways away.

My Own Room...

So this is the view from the new doorway Don built. 

I'm never alone because of the bunnies on top of the chest.  The chests are matching, One without doors and one with doors that never close.

The doors that should be on the cabinet kind of lean against the wall and hold the project in progress.

While it may look like junk to some, they're treasures to me.  Boxes of thread, fabric that was a gift last Christmas, Cloth napkins, placemats, napkin rings, and quilts.

Spool racks from my son.  I'd like to tell you I only use the best of thread.  But truthfully, I use what is available in town. Bobbins, Spools, Trinkets on the bottom row. A gingham paper napkin, gift tags from friends, a patchwork heart., a necklace Don gave me in High School, a card of buttons all have their spot. 

Here's where I cut fabric.  It's a second hand kitchen counter top.  Behind the curtains are shelves for storage.

At the other end of the counter, are pictures from Chelsey's baby's room that I couldn't pack away.  A cross-stitched birth sampler and a framed birthday card from my mom.  If you drew a caricature of Chelsey-- that would be the picture.  The gray bunny is a project Chelsey and I  did together.  It's filled with rice.  Chelsey made a brown one.  The only way she would learn is to do it herself. I'd so a piece of mine, and she'd copy it making her own.

Proof that this is still Chelsey's room.  This is her Bulletin Board-- With Quilt blocks she's made and a blue jean pocket from her dad's jeans.

I have a bulletin board-- Gifts, patterns, empty flower seeds packets and special birthday cards...

There you have it.

Gratitudes:

Bulletin Boards

snow boots

macaroni & cheese

Works in Progress...

Life continues to be a Juggling act...but that's what life is and there was a time in my life when it would have meant complaining... but age and hopefully wisdom now tells me it's just life.  Life is busy --- no more--- no less.

I wanted to post. This started out as a journal of quilting projects, but it's also a "catch up" with friends.  I miss it when I can't log in and see the works of others.

This first photo is my latest block in the My Garden Quilt wool BOM project. I love the purple. 

In cleaning out the fabric cabinet I found piece of old blocks from a quilt I made about three years ago.  I want to make a sewing machine cover, so I cut more fabric squares and stitched all the scattered patchwork together as one.  I'm going to quilt it and sew it to fit my sewing machine similar to this pattern on Moda Bake shop.

I have a Pfaff sewing machine that just does straight stitches for machine quilting and I want to make a cover for it as well. I received ScrapBasket Surprises for Christmas.  So, as a compromise I stitched these blocks together from my scrap box fabrics (tons of old Thimbleberries) and I'm going to quilt it and turn it into a cover as well.  I recommend the book to everyone... Really easy to read.

Last of all -- Personal shopping.  My daughter rounded up embroidery threads for me since there is no where to purchase them in our town.  College daughters do come in handy.

Gratitudes--It's not what you don't have... it's what you do....
Football Sass from Email Friends
French Toast
Ransom and Bruno

Early Birthday Gifts

How do you know you are a quilter? You find sign of fabric in everyday life. I received an early birthday day gift yesterday. My mother-in-law hooked me up. It was an after Christmas sale that I just couldn’t really justify purchasing just because….

I wanted the boxes as much as the fabric. Plaid --- no labels, no logos. Inside the boxes were these mugs. Lang Christmas mugs and I now own a set of 8.

I told my husband that starting next November – He’ll drink out of nothing else. I’m completed charmed with these mugs. Flash forward about ten years… I’ll be the most awesome Gramma with these great mugs…. I remember special cups, special plates, and special bowls that I ate out of every time I went to my Grandparents as a kid. Good Memories.

The posts haven’t been as frequent as I like---work is about work. I have had quilting time. Pictures will soon come—promise. Don's helped out a lot around the house, so I have time for the fun stuff.

Last weekend my sewing room went under construction. I have a cubby hole corner for my sewing area in our basement. It was carpeted and really nice – I’m not complaining, there’s many out there that don’t have a place to keep their sewing machine up all the time. Then there’s a small room with a door next to it with a kitchen counter top and my ironing board. There’s a table it in too. We call it the scrap book room because Chelsey has her bulletin board stuff and all her scrapbook stuff in it. I sew a seam in one room and cut out and iron it the other—in and out in and out. You get the idea. Well, this weekend Don cut a hole in the wall and opened it up and framed it in oak and added some electrical outlets and now I have—are you ready—my own studio…. Chelsey’s craft stuff is still all over the walls, but it would break her heart --- and mine---to take it down. I figure when she graduates from college would be a good time. But I feel pretty special. I’ve been re-organizing fabric. I found Ziploc bags of orphan blocks that I’m reworking into a sewing machine cover. I feel just like a kid. Pictures will be taken this weekend.

Gratitudes:
Mother-in-laws that understand wants/needs
Cinnamon rolls
Quilt friends that email
An organized quilt cabinet

Choices -- A New Year 2011

It’s A New Year- 2011. No great resolutions. Maybe just making more of time. Everyone is granted the same twenty four hours. Though we wish it were more, we’re blessed to have that. Someone asked me to choose one word to symbolize this year. There were a lot of words out there. After a lot of thought --- I chose the word “Choices”. I make choices every day. I just want to make the right ones. I’ve heard it over and over again….Integrity is what you do when no one is looking. Again I want to make the right choices. Someone once told me, “It’s OK to waste a day if you CHOOSE to waste it. Just be aware you made that choice to do so…” Again I want to make the right choice. Eating or not to, Exercise or not to, Studying my Bible…My focus on Prayer… a lot choices I want to have control over. I want to make the most of them… So 2011 – what’s your word going to be???????


Quilting Progress --- My Garden Block of the Month is coming along. I have four blocks left and the borders. It’s wool on cotton and came from Primitive Gatherings. I’ve loved every block of it.

Eric and I snow-shoed daily when he was home. How do you know you’re a quilter? You find quilting and fabric in everything. Here’s a snapshot I made Eric take of the snow looking like ribbon wrapped around a branch.

My Sunday School class loaded pinecones with suet and bird seed and made feeders for the birds for Christmas. A Friend gave me the recipe.

I’m normally at work when the birds feed, but over the holidays I had four days off (With pay for a change) and watched chickadees, sparrows and even a woodpecker feast on the seeds. My Mom is sending huge Louisiana Pinecones and I plan on doing this again….

Gratitudes:
New socks
Popcorn
New Coffee Mug.

Scraps

Remember these blocks?

Well I made the half square triangles by drawing a diagonal line halfing the square.  I stitched on the line.  then cut away the excess and pressed. I tossed the scraps in the trash.

I got this magazine for Christmas.  It goes with me just about everywhere these days-- memorizing the pages.  I kept thinking about the pieces I threw in the trash. I couldn't deal with it.  With the price of fabric these days, I dug them out of the trash.



then I stitched them up.  It literally took five minutes to do the chain piecing.  It took more time to dig them out of the trash, honestly.

After pressing I have an entire set of baby half-square triangle blocks.

I don't know what they'll turn into ...But I can tell you it'll be better than just trash in a basket.



Hearts are Always in Season....

Chelsey was practical this holiday.  She asked for a vacuum, pots and pans, and corningware. I still wanted her to have the special stuff "just because" that's what Moms do.  This is a pattern from Stina and I turned it to a Candle Cozy for her patchwork apartment up North.

The kids are all tucked back in their Homes away from Home and I went back to work today.  It was quiet-- an easy way to get back focused on work.

We've been snowshoeing--- pictures to follow soon.

Football is about to come on so I better go down into the sewing room for a bit.  Just trying to cram a 36 hour day into 24---

Gratitudes:
My Kids' safe travel
A new Quilt Book for Christmas
Brand New Gloves

Merry Christmas....

Here's hoping your Christmas is all you wish it to be.... Keep your Family Close and your Faith even closer to your heart....

Photo:  Ransom's Paw Print Stocking... Don and My Mouse Stockings--- made in 1982 from a college dorm room. Bruno's Bone Stocking and the Kid's Cross-stitch ones.... Matching stockings are really great, but I just couldn't part with these......

Random Thoughts...

We’ re enjoying the holidays. Eric and I went for eye appointments this morning….I’m getting older—so are my eyes. But thanks to Rene Descartes I just upgrade the contact lenses.


I haven’t updated lately. Here is my ironing board cover I made. I returned about three different ones. I never found one that fit my ironing board, so I made it myself. The blue and white checks go great with my yellow and blue sewing room.

I wanted to sew last night. I didn’t want to spend hours picking out the fabric or days studying the pattern. I had a ribbon-tied kit from about a year ago. I just wanted to cut and sew.

Chelsey asked, “Who’s this for?”

My response,” Me… just me…”

“It’s not your colors..”

“So, I’ll tea-dye it…”

Sometimes you just need to treat yourself. When I bought it, the colors looked like ice cream, or jelly beans… I’m showing off the back—because I’m bragging, plain and simple. Truthfully the backs of my quilt Very seldom look like this so ‘one has to bask in the moments’.

When my folks came for a visit this summer, my Mom brought me a grocery bag full of bird’s nests.

I save them—poor birds hide their homes from me. I’ve decorated my tree with them, raffia and pinecones.

A bird’s nest is one of the purest forms of art. Made by a creature without hands--- Silly to some… but I marvel at them.

Both kids are home—as a Mom, I’m in heaven.

Gratitudes:
Homemade Fried Chicken—Family kitchen cooking
Ribbons
Snowmen CoffeeMugs

Christmas Gifts.....

I realized it still has the chalk marks but I wanted to share a Christmas gift for my Mom.  It was super easy.  We're tucked in for the weekend.  A snowstorm is brewing outside with possibilities of fifteen inches of snow. Feels good.  The Christmas lights a twinkling and there's coffee in the cups.

My Office Girls Christmas party was so much fun.  I really nice girl got my gift. Good friends, Good Food, Good Company.... Chelsey is through with finals and Eric is gearing up for them.

We've invited friends over for supper tonight.  Snow is a fact of life in the U.P., so barring electrical outages, I'm hoping we still get together.  Plans for today--- a date with the treadmill...I have this bucket list thing about running in ONE 5k run in my lifetime... So Don has me in training.  Wrapping presents and cleaning my sewing room.  Oh -- and I'm kicking around making an ironing board cover.  I'll take before and after photos.......

Free "XM" radio sort of... go to http://www.klove.com/ and click on the Christmas link.... It's echos through our house pretty much the entire time we're home.  I just love the sounds of this season.

Chelsey goes to school right on Lake Superior so is Incredibly snowed in with lake effect snow...

But it does feel like Christmas......

Gratitudes:
Christmas Candles
Mittens
Plaid Napkins ... the little things....

Always have ... Hope

Here’s my project for the weekend. I have a Ladies Christmas Party Thursday night. All of the girls in the office are getting together for a meal and a $10.00 gift exchange. I went to the scrap box and found this drawn out on fabric. I just had to stitch. Scraps from the box made up the rest of the bag.

It is going to hold Chocolate mints and this dessert plate and cup I found for $3.00 each. With my thing for dishes, I really fell for the cup.

I’m making gift tags this year. Don has learned to never throw out the tea or coffee. I’m dying these manilla tags.

We had my office Christmas dinner in town this Friday night. I won a blue-ray dvd player. I was pretty surprised. Saturday night we had the church Christmas dinner. Lots of music and delicious food. It felt like a holiday.

I’ve been dreaming about work, so I guess I’m getting into the routine. I’m almost finished with my Christmas sewing. It’s nice not having to rush.

We’re still low on snow--- no complaints. We’ve had daily flurries for about a week, but still very little accumulations. It’ll happen anyday….I’m not worried.

Gratitudes:

Eggnog Quick Bread (Pretty much all of my holiday baking)
Phone calls with my Mom
Plaid ribbons for package wrapping

The End of November

One last photo of this project. It’s at its new home with Eric. Definitely the hardest piece I ever completed. Eric loved it so he’ll have it for years to come. I sent a care package back with him to bring the holidays to him and his two roommates.

 They are all pharmacy students living far away from families. He called and they bought a Christmas tree. He called it a Charlie Brown tree, but he said it had “a lot of potential”.


It was his first trip home in almost 6 months. Study loads and distance combine with jobs and no holiday time off kept him from coming home sooner. He must have commented on quilts and “pumpkin stuff” ten times. He said it felt like home. He said –“ You don’t realize what a difference it makes”. I guess I type this out because I wanted to remember it……..

Here are my stockings finished. We got our Christmas tree put up – all ten foot of it, a Frazier fir and it’s gorgeous. So much different than the chaos of last year. Contentment is the word of the season.

If you didn’t live where you do now--- where would you live?…I always pretend it would be on the east coast somewhere….definitely close to water. I wish over cottages like the ones Jane Coslick talks about.

I won a copy of Cottages in a drawing she had. I curled up on the couch the day it came and got lost in the pages. What a treat. Coupled with a pot of coffee, warm socks, and quilt--I'm good.

The kids will both be home in three weeks for the holiday.  We've had two days of rain so our snow is gone, but there's a chance for more the remainder of the week. Most of my christmas shopping is done.  I did it on-line this year.  I knew what I wanted to purchase and took advantage of the free shipping deals out there.  I've been making a couple of gifts, but if they don't get finished it will be alright. Some times the best gifts are gifts given "Just because...". I'm ready to kick back and enjoy the season-- the colors, the music, and all its meaning....

Gratitudes:
My laptop
Breakfast for supper tonight
An envelope of DMC Thread

In Every Thing Give Thanks....

Last Friday night we had 14 people over for a casual Thanksgiving dinner.  I found these paper plates and Chelsey stamped up the napkin rings.  The dinner just kept growing so I decided friendships meant more than China and "the more the Merrier".  We had so much fun. On top of it, I worked until after 4 pm.  with everyone coming over at 6.---- In other words--"I am woman, here me roar.." Truthfully Don and Chelsey rocked and we were a machine getting last minute details done. Completely fun.

I've been stitching away on my stockings.  I'm realistic enough to know I won't feel like much sewing during the week so on weekends I get projects ready.

I made this stitchery a couple of years ago.  I made a patchwork heart for the center piece.  I took the patchwork off, because I now can needlepunch so last night I finished the heart. You'll get one more look at it-- hopefully it will be framed tonight.

I wanted to document this pumpkin.  About 10 days ago I finally cleaned the garden signs out of the garden.  I noticed a pile of leaves with shadows of oranges.  Brushing things away this pumpkin sat there waiting for me... I don't believe in coincidences it was definitely a good sign.

I'm sitting on the couch with my laptop -- listening to sounds around the house.  Don and Eric are laughing downstairs, the pups are playing toys, the football team I picked just scored.  I couldn't wipe the smile off my face if I tried.  All four of us have jobs we love, a warm house, all the contentment in the world. Contentment - that's the word in our house.  We've really been working at recognizing our blessings and being grateful.  It's always fun reaching for the stars.  But sometimes it's fun not feeling the pressure to have to.  Oh sure-- I could make a list of everything  I don't have that I'd like to...but I can always hold a matching list of all the things I do have.

A prayer request-- my daughter's best friend is stationed with her husband in South Korea.  Communication is tough, and her safety is a concern.  Remember them and our service people away in foreign places today.

Tomorrow - I'm off too-- a paid holiday- go figure - The pumpkins will be replaced with holly, maybe a little shopping, and the Christmas music will be dusted off.  The last three months are positively my favorite times of the year.

Gratitudes:
Quilting Friends throughout the world
Cornbread Dressing
Louisiana Phone Calls

For Lillian Hope....

I got a layer cake of Lily and Will by Bunny Hill Designs and used half to make a baby gift for a friend.  I had plans for a really detailed, complicated pattern, but Chelsey showed me this Patchwork Pottery Design and we each made one.  It was easy and fun--- and sometimes easy and fun is good.  It's even great.

We had our first official snow on Sunday evening. We took the pups running in the woods.  The flakes were the size of quarters.  It was way too pretty to stay inside. This snapshot was taken as I pulled out of the driveway on Money morning about 7am. I wanted to remember that sight.

That photo reminds me why I work....and what I have to come home to.....

Gratitudes:

Eric coming home this weekend
Chelsey feeling better from the flu
Our icemaker---remember those old metal ice trays?!?!?

The Stockings were....

Well, the stockings aren’t hung, but they are cut out anyway. These are little Primitive Gatherings Patterns. I end up shipping most family gifts south, so this year I’m tying these to packages with the gift tags inside the stockings. Words like Joy, Believe, All Hearts Come Home At Christmas, and Love will be embroidered on each.

I knew I’d be tired at the end of the day this week. When I sew on my machine like that, the mistakes seem to snowball. But this will be relaxing at night. I won’t be using Valdani threads, I have a plastic tote of DMC floss. Sunday evening I piled my wool pieces around me—I keep them in a wicker basket instead of my sewing cabinet—and cut away. In the Wool class I took from Lisa Bongean, she taught us to save all scraps because you never know when you’ll need a toe for a stocking or a flower center or a heart for a crow to hold onto.

We have a chance of snow Thursday and Friday. It’s that time of Year. I need to get my Pilgrim stuff out and tuck away the black cats.

Gratitudes:

My Pellet Stove purring in the background.

Chelsey forgetting her laptop this weekend(It gave her a chance to pop in for an unexpected visit)

Leftovers for supper(less cooking)