Bits and Pieces

You Can Call Me Grandma

2011-02-17T20:54:00.003-05:00

The Big Guy and KT recently informed us that we're going to be grandparents!! We're thrilled!! We've actually known since shortly before Christmas, but the kids didn't want it made public until after the first trimester, after suffering a pregnancy loss last year. She's into her second trimester now and things seem to be just fine, so we're saying our prayers that things continue that way, and that we'll be welcoming a little one into our lives come summertime.

And yes, I'm already knitting booties. We won't know for a while if it's a boy or a girl, so my color choices are limited!! Yellow is pretty safe, I think.

I finally got around to hanging my mini quilts in the stairwell. As soon as I saw that stairs before we moved in here I thought it would be a great place to display these. Some I made myself, some were received in swaps. There's room to add a few more down the road too.

I haven't been sewing a whole lot, but I did finish a baby blanket I was knitting. I actually started this several months ago. I told the kids I was knitting in "on spec" since I figured someone would be having a baby one of these days!! Little did I know ....
It looks like 2011 is off to a great start for us. It's about time!! Life is good again.

Until next time.

Terri

I've Been a Busy Girl...

2011-01-08T20:40:00.004-05:00

I have been a busy girl the last couple of days. I promised myself once I finished the gifts I made for Christmas, I would work on some of my UFOs before I started anything new.

The first project was to finish up some mug rugs I pieced before Christmas. I put them aside so I could finish gifts. I just kind of made them up as I went along. Now that I know what I'm doing, I think I'd like to make some more of these. They were fun and quick, and useful.

The next finish, is a baby quilt I started in 2008. A relative was expecting a baby, and I made a baby boy quilt and a baby girl quilt, since they didn't know ahead of time what they were having. This was one of my first attempts at free motion quilting. I had some problems with the tension on my sewing machine and while the top looked fine, the back was a gnarled mess of thread. I spent hours taking out the quilting I had done and by then was tired of looking at it, so I put it away. (The relative had a baby boy ... lucky for me!! I sent the baby boy quilt. He's 2 now!!)
I've done a lot more free motion quilting since then, mostly on small projects, but I seem to be getting the hang of it, so I thought I'd finish this up. I don't have anyone to give it to, but my boys are at that age where their friends are starting families, so somebody will have a baby girl one of these days!!

Next is a table runner I made for a fall giveaway in blog land in the fall of 2009. As I was quilting it, somehow I got a big wrinkle in the back, so once again, I put it away to be finished another time. Fortunately, I had made two of them, because I wanted one to keep. That one turned out fine and now resides in a home in New Zealand. (That still amazes me that something I made belongs to someone halfway around the world!!)
Anyhow, I finished it up and got the binding on and it's now at home on my coffee table. It's just what was needed there.

My last finish, isn't really a finish ... it's just progress, but I'm happy with it, so including it here. Last year sometime I bought a couple of charm packs of Cotton Blossom by Moda. I didn't have a plan for it, just wanted something new to sew on. I decided to do a disappearing 9 patch. I got the 9 patches made, and that is as far as I got. This week, I cut the blocks up and pieced it. This is a picture of the blocks laid out on my living room floor. I'd like to add a border or two and use it for a wall hanging or a lap quilt in my living room. I don't really have anything in my stash that will work, so I'm going to have to find some fabric to finish it.
While I had the camera out today, my baby girl, Peanut wanted to have her picture taken too.
Doesn't she look just like one of those Ewoks from the Star Wars movie? She's like having a live teddy bear!! Scooter wouldn't let me take his picture today. He's kind of camera shy, but Peanut is a ham ... always has been.

Until next time...

Terri

A New Year ... Looking Forward

2011-01-05T21:36:00.002-05:00

There's something about starting a new year. A feeling of new beginnings, endless possibilities, washing away the old and embracing the new. 2010 wasn't one of our best years. In fact, the whole decade kind of stunk!! Beginning 2011 is like taking a breath of fresh air.

I have high hopes for 2011. I won't call them resolutions ... I'll call them goals, but I have big plans for this year!!

In September, I joined Weight Watchers. By Christmas, I'd lost 30 pounds. I still have a long way to go. I don't think of it as a diet, more as a change in lifestyle, a way of eating that is healthier. This time around, I'm learning to understand that I can lose weight and still eat the foods that I love, just in moderation. I'm learning to forgive myself when I slip up, and move on, and the weight will come off. I want to keep up the momentum!!

I'm trying to be more active, which is saying a lot since it seems that the last few years, I've been so out of shape that getting dressed was a workout!! When we moved here, I couldn't stand long enough to prepare a meal without getting back pain. I had a hard time walking to our parking spot. The first few weeks after we moved, my knees hurt so bad, I was afraid I'd made a terrible mistake moving into a townhouse with three levels. But I got used to it. It's been slow progress, but I am making progress. The stairs don't bother me any more, I'm up and down them a dozen times a day. I walk my dogs every night after supper. Not real far yet, only about 10 to 15 minutes. And for the first time in 5 years, I did my grocery shopping without using an Amigo scooter. It doesn't seem like much, but it's a lot for me.

I finally got my sewing studio set up, just in time to make some Christmas gifts. I still need to do some organizing, but it's usable. I've been working on UFOs and I'll have some pictures to post of those, and some of the Christmas gifts I made tomorrow.

Living in less clutter means housekeeping is easier, and I'm finding some balance in my life again, with time to enjoy leisure activities. That had been sorely missing from my life for a long time. Now I have time to sew, to knit, to read. I'm baking our own bread again, and cooking fresh foods.

In 2011, I'm going to learn to knit socks.

I'm going to start playing the electronic keyboard again.

I'm going to finish at least one UFO a month.

I'm going to work up to walking 30 minutes a day.

I'm going to go to my youngest son's graduation from college and not have to worry about how far I'll have to walk to get to our seats.

I'm going to find some kind of volunteer work to do.

And if things go as planned ... I'm going to be a grandma.

Life is good!!

Until next time ...

Terri

Giving Thanks

2010-11-28T21:35:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving weekend is all but over. It's Sunday evening, I've just finished up the last of my work for the day, and have a few minutes to reflect on our holiday.

Most of my work life has been in medical facilities, my mom was an R.N., and now my son is an EMT. All of these professions require working weekends and holidays, we have always worked around when we could get the family together. This year, the Big Guy had to work Thursday and Friday, so we had Thanksgiving dinner at his house on Saturday.

Thanksgiving day was spent quietly, with just the two of us, relaxing, reading, watching movies ... and football, of course. We did cook a turkey breast and had that for dinner, (and we wanted to have some leftovers.) It was a great day!!

I haven't been a black Friday shopper for years. There is not one thing on this earth I need or want enough to go out to the stores on the Friday after Thanksgiving!! So on Friday, I prepared some of the food for Saturday's feast, and didn't even leave the house all day. I think I might have even spent the day in my pajamas!!

Our feast on Saturday was a big success. We celebrate with the Big Guy, his wife KT, whatever family we have in town, and KT's family, and some friends. This year there were about 20 people there. My brother and sister came from up north. My 80 year old aunt was there. The Wonder Child came home from school for the weekend. KT's brothers from Washington D.C. and Chicago,

It's kind of a collaborative effort. KT's mom makes a turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, Big Guy usually deep fries a turkey or smokes turkey breast (this year he smoked 2 turkey breasts) and everybody brings something. We have a great time, and I look forward to it every year.

I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. We always have great food, and great company. And this year, we are especially thankful for so many things.

Until next time ...

A Year In the Life

2010-11-18T20:20:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe it's been over a year since I last posted.

I have to say, it's been quite a year, and I've been rather overwhelmed by it all.

We found out in December we were going to be grandparents. A bright spot in our lives ... hope for the future in the midst of some very difficult times. Sadly, our hopes were dashed by a miscarriage last winter. It was heartbreaking. We still look forward to being grandparents, we'll just have to be patient for a while longer!!

We had to make some hard decisions about our business, and our living situation. We lost our home of 22 years, and moved into an apartment complex. Along with the move, came some serious purging. We were determined to bring to our new home, only the things we needed and loved. If there was no place to put it in the new place, it had to go.

Some of it was easy. I mean, how many sets of mixing bowls or casseroles does one household need? I didn't really need 10 cookie sheets, or 48 muffin tins.

A lot of it was hard. My doll collection, my collection of crystal serving pieces, my silver coffee service, my silver serving dishes, all went. Pieces that had belonged to my mother, my grandmother. It was hard to let them go. I offered my daughters in law anything they wanted and they didn't want any of it.

Life is a lot more casual these days and young people don't use those things anymore. So I let it all go, and hoped that it would go to someone who would treasure owning it as much as I had.

We sold all of our lawn and garden tools, the kitchen appliances, the snowblower. Big Guy came over and took what tools he wanted from the garage and we sold the rest. We sold our boat and our RV, and the truck, becoming a one car family again.

As hard as it was, in many ways it was a good thing. We often don't realize how bogged down we are by our things. Getting rid of a lot of it has given us a sort of freedom. We've pared down, streamlined, decluttered and simplified our lives. We've been humbled and have come to realize that it's all just "stuff" and that the things that really matter in life don't have anything to do with things. It's kind of a liberating experience!!

We've been in our new place a couple of months now ... and we're happy here. No more huge lawn to mow, no leaves to pick up in the fall. No snow to plow in the winter. It's clean and newly painted, with lots of light. We have a pair of cardinals that live just outside our back door, and a bunny who comes to visit every morning. I even have a little space I can plant some flowers in the spring.

I've commandeered a corner of the basement laundry room and I'm working on putting together my sewing room/studio and anxious to get back to being creative. I've missed that. In the move, I found three quilts that my mother had started before she passed away, and I want to finish them this winter, along with some other unfinished projects.

So life goes on, and we continue to reinvent ourselves. The business is still on shaky ground, and we don't know what the future holds ... but we welcome whatever comes. and trust in the Lord to see us through whatever lies ahead.

Someone once told me ..,. if you're going to worry, why pray ... and if you're going to pray ... why worry?

Whenever I find myself feeling anxious about things, I remember that. Praying is so much easier than worrying!!

Until next time ...

Terri

While I Was Sleeping....

2009-10-25T19:27:00.002-04:00

Well, I wasn't actually sleeping ... not the whole time anyway!! But while I wasn't looking, our cooler than usually summer has ended and given way to a quite spectacular fall color display. And I almost missed it!!

Honey and I have been so busy these last few months, struggling to keep our business afloat during these tough times, it seems all we do is work and eat and sleep, and outside our little bubble, the world goes on, the seasons change, and time passes and we hardly notice.

Believe me, that's no way to live!!

Since I last posted, my youngest brother turned 49.

Big Guy and KT celebrated their 1st wedding anniversary.

Honey and I celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary.

The Wonder Child went back to school, is writing a weekly opinion column in the campus newspaper (he's a journalism major) and turned 24.

The Poet had an accident and wrecked his car. No injuries thankfully!!

I finally got our taxes done. We had applied for an extension until October 15. (If you remember, my computer crashed in March and I lost a 9 months worth of financial data for the business). So I finally got those done .. and guess what? When you don't make any money, you don't have to pay any taxes!!! We're getting a refund for maybe the 3rd or 4th time ever!!

I was looking for an appropriate picture to post (because I know it's more fun to look at posts wtih pictures in them), but I can't find my picture files at the moment. I probably lost a lot of those in the crash too!! So I'll just have to take some new pictures!!

Soon ... I'm making a vow to look up more often .... lest my life pass me right by!!

Running in Circles

2009-08-14T12:42:00.002-04:00

I need to get my driver's license renewed. Because of budget cuts, two of the three Secretary of State offices in our town have been closed leaving only one open, that usually involves a very long wait. Last week Big Guy told me that he had his license renewed in a little town about 20 minutes away that has a SOS office and there is never any wait and he offered to take me there.

It was a beautiful day, so the drive was enjoyable, and when I walked in, indeed, there was NO ONE else there. I handed over my paperwork, had a quick eye exam, and then the clerk asked me what my Social Security number was. Apparently, the Federal Government is now linking driver's licenses with SS numbers and tax returns ... some Homeland Security thing, I think.

It turns out, somewhere along the line, probably when switching computer systems or something. Social Security dropped my married name and had all my information under my maiden name. The names had to match exactly, so they couldn't renew my driver's license until I had the Social Security thing corrected.

So, okay, it was a nice day, we'll go back to our town, downtown to the Social Security Office and see what's up. We lucked out and there was no wait there either ... except, that even though I've been married for almost 36 years, and even though I have Social Security card in my possession with my married name on it, they need to see my marriage license as proof that I am, indeed, married.

We gave up and went home!!

Then next day, I went back to the Social Security office with my marriage license, my birth certificate, my driver's license, my Social Security card, and I think I took along my baptism certificate just in case!!

And I got a new Social Security card.

I still don't have my driver's license renewed. All state offices are only open four days a week lately ... also because of budget cuts.

That's going to be a trip for another day!!

The Fruits of Summer

2009-08-10T21:49:00.003-04:00

Honey and I went to the Downtown Farmer's Market this past weekend. They've had this market for years, but it was only a couple of mornings a few days a week, not a good time for us to get away. This year, they've expanded their hours so we were able to go for the first time.

We will most definitely be going again. We bought fresh green beans and wax beans, the juiciest peaches I've found this year, corn on the cob, tomatoes, a huge bunch of basil and some Tuscan bread.

I'm in heaven this time of year with natures bounty!!! These days, you can get most anything year round, but there is nothing better than locally grown. Nothing compares to eating an ear of corn that was just picked this morning, or fresh picked green beans, steamed with butter, salt and pepper.

We've been enjoying pancakes with fresh blueberries and locally produced maple syrup. Pizza with homemade crust, fresh peppers, onions, mushrooms and just picked basil leaves.

I can't wait to see what new things they have this weekend!! It was so much fun ... and we spent less than $10.00. Pretty cheap for so much fun, don't you think??

I haven't been doing any sewing at all, and probably won't until the end of the month when the Wonder Child goes back to school and moves out of my sewing room!! But there are so many other things to do in the summer, I'm just not going to worry about it!!

A Wedding and other stuff

2009-07-01T17:15:00.004-04:00

I haven't died and gone to heaven (or that other place either). I've been so busy lately, I've been living life on automatic pilot. Work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep. That's been my life for the last couple of months. Living like that doesn't make me very happy, and as our mothers always told us ... if you can't say anything nice ..... you get the idea.

I haven't been in the sewing room in a couple of months, except to do some mending. My pile of unfinished projects is still sitting there -- unfinished, waiting patiently for me to have time to pay attention to sewing again. There are so many distractions this time of year!! First there was the yard clean up from the winter debris, trimming the shrubs, pruning the trees. I even mowed the lawn this spring ... for the first time ever!! I grew up with three brothers, and raised three sons, so I've never needed to mow the lawn before. But with the kids all gone, the yard work is too much for Honey to do by himself. Now, understand, we have a riding lawn mower, so it's not like I pushed a mower over our half acre lawn ... but still. It was an accomplishment!!

The biggest news lately is that my oldest son, the Poet, got married on Saturday. He and his new wife live in Florida, but the wedding was here in their hometown. It was absolutely lovely!! Everything went off without a hitch, down to the smallest detail. If I ever need a big event planned, I'm going to call my new daughter -in-law, because she did a wonderful job ... especially considering it was all done long distance!!!

I didn't get any good pictures at the wedding, the lighting in the chapel wasn't ideal from our seats, so this is the best picture I have, but I'll post more when we get the professionally done photos.

We haven't had a chance to get to know Katie very well, but we love her already because she makes Ben so happy!! He's like a different person!!

Today is my birthday. I'm 39 years old for the 18th time!!. Honey is cooking steaks on the grill, and making strawberry shortcake, so I'm going to go have a glass of wine with him and celebrate!!

I won't wait 2 1/2 months to post again!!

Terri
Terri

Easter Revisited and Other Stuff

2009-04-15T19:05:00.003-04:00

The roast leg of lamb for Easter dinner was a huge success!! It turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself. I will definitely do it again. I used the leftovers to make lamb stew, which reminded me of my grandmother. She made the best vegetable soup, but it became a family joke that if she made soup with beef it in, it was vegetable beef soup, and if she made soup with lamb in it, it was lamb stew ... but it was the same soup!! Mine was a real lamb stew and we thoroughly enjoyed it for dinner the next day.

The piece de resistance was this cake. It's a lemon Jello poke cake and it's really easy to make, looks terrific, and is a light refreshing dessert after a big meal.

In other news, I have a new great niece, (number 20 for us - we both come from large families), born on Monday. Her name is Cleo Savannah. I don't have any pictures of her yet, but her mom is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm sure she is too! I did finish the rag quilt I was making for her, so I'll have to get that in the mail soon.

I have something very exciting going on in my life that I can't talk about just yet. Don't want to jinx myself, but if it works out, it's an answer to my prayers!!

And speaking of prayers, I'll be taking off Friday morning for a Christian women's retreat in Sault St. Marie in the upper peninsula. My sister has been going for years. She talked me into going with her one year, and I've been back every year since. This will be my 5th one, I think. Sis is now on the board for the group so she's also roped me in to being a group leader. I feel woefully inadequate to lead a group, but somehow, it always works out!! My husband calls it my weekend "galavanting with God". It's about a 4 1/2 hour drive, and across the Mackinaw Bridge. Every year, the last couple days before I just really don't feel like I want to go ... but I'm always glad I did. I've met some amazing women there, and I come home all recharged and full of faith and hope for the future. It does my soul good ... so I'm going!! I hope to get some good pictures to share next week!!

Terri

Spring Visitors

2009-04-10T10:13:00.003-04:00

Our backyard used to flood every time we had a lot of rain. Sometimes if it happened in the fall, we'd get a cold snap and it would freeze and the kids would have an impromptu skating rink. We put some drain tiles in to help deal with the water, but still, in the spring when the snow melts, and it rains a lot before the ground is thawed, the back of our yard gets flooded. It doesn't usually stick around long these days. This year, for the first time, it provided a resting place for a couple of days for a mated pair of migrating ducks. .

The dogs and cats were in a frenzy, but these were savvy ducks, and they soon realized that the animals were not in love with the idea of getting wet, so as long as they stayed in the middle of the pond, they were safe!

They're gone now ... but we sure had a good time watching them for a couple of days!!

Terri

Singing the Blues

2009-04-10T09:53:00.002-04:00

In case you were wondering, I didn't fall off the face of the earth. I've just been in kind of a blue funk the last couple of weeks, and not in much of a mood to do anything creative. The early spring is full of bittersweet memories for me. We lost my dad on April 1, 2003, rather unexpectedly, and that was the start of a few very difficult years for me, when it seemed like life just ran me over like a steamroller and I was lost for quite a while. It was a long road back.

Many thanks to all of you who offered your messages of sympathy and prayers for my uncle. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on March 26, less than 12 hours after being admitted to the Hospice Center. My aunt was discharged from the hospital the same day, and although her activities were very limited, she was able to direct the funeral preparations. The days since then have been a blur of funeral arrangements, family arriving and departing, making sure Aunt is managing okay after her surgery, and trying to keep up with work.

Now Easter is upon us, which is a reminder of hope and salvation, and time to be renewed and refreshed. That is my plan.

I'm hosting Easter dinner this year at our house and cooking my first leg of lamb ever!! Honey doesn't much care for lamb, so he's having steak, but my Aunt loves it, I love it, and the Big Guy and KT said they would try it. So lamb it is, complete with mint jelly, mashed potatoes and English peas!! Wish me luck. It seems like it would be hard to ruin a roast leg of lamb. I guess we'll see, won't we!!

Terri

Saying Goodbye to Uncle Bill

2009-03-24T19:35:00.002-04:00

I've been blessed in my life to have an aunt and uncle who have been like a second set of parents to me and brothers and sister. My aunt is my mother's only sibling, and she married an only child. They had one son, and then lost two more from birth defects. They never had any more children after that, and sort of adoped us. My only cousin on my mom's side of the family is more like a brother to me and in many ways I'm closer to him than to my own brothers, because we both stayed in our hometown, and the others all moved away.

An avid fly fisherman, he realized a lifelong dream and owned a cottage on one of Michigan's most famous trout streams for 30 years. His own son didn't inherit his interest in fishing, but Bill patiently taught the art of fly fishing to my youngest brother, and my own three sons, and was always as excited as they were when they made a big catch. My oldest son in particular became an avid fisherman and will drop a line in just about any body of water that might have a fish in it. He lives in Florida now, and fishes the ocean, but he fondly remembers those early mornings drifting down the AuSable waiting for a trout to hit.

Bill, has always been just a genuinely nice guy, and you can't help but like him.

In December, he had to have his left leg amputated. At the time, we thought he would spend a few weeks in rehab and be home with a prosthesis in a month or two. But the trauma of losing a leg seemed to start a decline in his mental status and his general health. Four months later, he is confused and largely unresponsive, and after several surgeries over the last few weeks to try to restore circulation to his right leg, it is beyond salvage.

To complicate matters further, his wife of 60 years was admitted to the hospital and had emergency surgery on Sunday for a bowel obstruction. She is doing well after her surgery, but has had to make some tough decisions from her hospital bed.

Today, she made the decision not to put him through any more, and to provide comfort measures only. He will be transferred to a Hospice Center tomorrow, and they will control his pain and keep him comfortable for whatever time he has left. She was taken to his room today in a wheelchair, and was able to hold his hand, and kiss him (she said he kissed her back), and tell him she loves him, and that it was time to stop. I asked him if that was okay with him. He seemed more lucid than he has been for several days, and he answered, "Yah .... yah."

Then the nurse gave him some medication for pain, and told us he will probably be pretty sedated from here on and he drifted off to sleep.

Bye, Bill. I love you.

St. Paddy's Day Memories

2009-03-17T09:37:00.003-04:00

My married name is German, but my heritage is Irish on my dad's side. My maiden name was Frawley and my dad and his brothers were the 3rd generation of our branch of the Frawleys in America. They were of that Irish stock with dark, dark hair, blue eyes and fair skin. Then there was my Uncle Jimmy, red-haired and freckle-faced!! Each of the Frawley boys had at least one red-headed child. I was my Dad's, although I was never really a carrot top red like some of the others, but more of a dark auburn brown. I did have the blue/green eyes and freckles though!!

Looking back in our family tree, almost every male bore some combination of the names John, James, Edward, Patrick, Michael, Joseph or Richard. My dad was John Edward. My uncle was James Patrick. My brother is Patrick John, and so on.

St. Patricks Day was celebrated at our house with the wearin' of the green, corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread and green beer (Kool-Aid for the children). The passing of a family member was always marked with a wake, where the men would share stories of the dear departed between shots of Old Bushmill, often at the gravesite, where for each shot imbibed, one was dumped on the ground for the deceased.

Today, I will make corned beef and cabbage. Honey won't eat it. Neither will any of my kids. My daughter-in-law has never had it, and said she would like to try some. So I'll have it for my dinner, and probably lunch for the next couple of days!! But I can't let the day pass without honoring that part of my heritage. Some things you just never let go.

And later tonight, I'll call my brother Pat, who lives in South Carolina and wish him a Happy St. Paddy's Day. And an Irish Blessing to all of you.

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

Terri

Fabric Finds and a WIP

2009-03-12T09:48:00.002-04:00

Since I'm quilting on a budget these days, I've taken to scouring remnant bins whenever I'm near or in somewhere that sells fabric. Sometimes I come away empty handed. Sometimes I hit the jackpot. I've had a couple of good finds lately. I love this floral fabric. It looks kind of vintage to me. I got 3/4 yard for $2.00
This was my score for the day. Some 1/4 yard solid remnants for under $1.00 each, a little less than a quarter of the yellow polka dots for about $0.50, and the peach fabric for $1.00 a yard. I bought what was left on the bolt which came to just under 5 yards.

Then yesterday, I came across this fat quarter bundle for $8.00. It looks kind of springy, doesn't it?

This is the rag quilt I've been working on. I wasn't sure where I was going with this, and decided it needed to be a bit larger, so I'm going to add three more rows before I finish it off. I used warm and natural quilt batting between the flannel squares, and it's really very heavy. It probably would have been fine without the batting, but this way it's extra cuddly!! Pretty traditional fabrics for a baby girl. I have a hard time stepping outside that box. I'm going to have to really work on that!! I like a lot of the modern fabrics and patterns I see, but it seems like when I'm choosing fabric and design for a quilt to make, I gravitate towards traditional patterns and fabrics. I don't want to ... it just happens!!

Have a great day!!

Terri

A Fair Wind is Blowing

2009-03-09T23:14:00.003-04:00

One of the ladies who works for us lives on the shore of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron, which is about 11 miles from us as the crow flies. We've had some warm temperatures the last few days with some healthy breezes and the ice on the lake has started to break up and blow onto shore. Her view is normally a gently sloping water view. This is what she found outside her window this morning. Fortunately, the wind died down, and as long as it stays that way, it's not likely to come any closer. Some homeowners weren't so lucky, and a few found ice pushed through their windows and piled into their house!!

I guess sometimes a water view isn't all it's cracked up to be!!

I'm still not able to upload photos of my own, but I've been working here and there on a baby flannel rag quilt that I almost have finished and my Cotton Blossoms charm quilt is coming along.

Other than that ... it's work, work, work for me. \

I'm Still Here ... Limping Along

2009-03-06T09:37:00.003-05:00

After spending all last weekend restoring my computer, it became unstable again, so I switched over to my old computer, which we had saved as a spare. My pretty little laptop is going to have to have some warranty work done and will likely be out of service for several weeks.

My old computer is slower, and I can't upload pictures from my digital camera yet, as I have to install the software. I hope to have some time to do that this weekend.

It was another busy week with lots of work, and some time spent keeping my aunt company at the hospital while my uncle underwent some procedures. This is the uncle who had his leg amputated in December. He is in a nursing home for rehab, but he has developed some other medical issues, and his mental status has deteriorated alarmingly, and he's just not doing very well.

We're having some spring weather here, which has been a nice mood brightener. The thing about having nice spring-like weather in March here is that we're still likely to have at least one big snowstorm left before spring gets here for real! You just never know in Michigan!! I've decided to just enjoy it while it lasts!!

Some good news ... March 3 marked 2 months smoke free for me. I'm feeling really good about that, especially given the stress of the last couple of weeks. There were more than a few times when it would have been so easy to go back to it!! But we didn't ... and we got through it.

I think, since it's so pretty today, I might go out and wander around the yard with my camera today and see if I can find any signs of spring. My tulips and daffodils often poke their tips out right under the snow, so maybe I can find a little green. And I think I saw buds on our star magnolia, which usually is the first thing in the yard to bloom ... before it's even warm enough to get out in the yard and enjoy it!!

If It Weren't for Bad Luck ....

2009-03-01T18:01:00.002-05:00

I'd have no luck at all. Isn't that how the song goes???

My computer died on Friday and we had to restore it from back-ups. Except that the back-up of my data file for my accounting program for the business was corrupt. We tried most of the weekend to save it, to no avail. Finally, running out of time, we had to get the computer set up so I could use it for work. I lost 11 months worth of finacial data for our business. Fortunately, I have the records to reconstruct it all ... but it is an enormous amount of work gathering and re-entering it all, and somehow, I have to find a way to get all that done and keep up with my regular work load.

Not having a good time here ..... sigh.

Terri

Finding a Balance

2009-02-24T09:40:00.003-05:00

I've been too busy with work to do anything crafty for the past week ... and there's no end in sight. Honey and I have worked at home for 14 years. That entire time we have struggled to find a balance between work life and home life, and we've never quite been able to manage it. Sometimes it's hard not to be resentful, and I have to remind myself that even though I never get a sick day, a vacation day, or a holiday there are advantages to working at home. I can work in my pajamas if I want to. I can work when I want to, as long as I meet my deadlines. I was able to be at home for my kids when they were growing up. We were able to bring my ailing mother to live with us and care for her during her last days, surrounded by those who loved her, instead of being cared for by strangers. I was able to pack up my work and take it with me so I could be with my sister during her long illness. It's allowed me a lot of flexibility that I wouldn't have had in a 9 to 5 job. But I've certainly paid a price for that. Work still tends to take over my life at times and I don't really know how not to let it. This is one of those times!!

I've been laid low by killer headaches the last week, and it seems like all I've done is work and sleep. My blood sugar is way up, a function of stress, and being so busy I'm eating whatever is handy instead of what is good for me, the low humidity in teh house is giving me nosebleeds, my shoulders and hands are sore from long hours at the keyboard ... and I'm just not a very happy camper!!

All this is my way of explaining why I have no finishes to post, no pictures of new projects. In my blog hopping, I see so many sew alongs, BOMs, challenges and swaps that I would just love to get involved in. But I know I can't commit the time right now ...so I have to pass. And that makes me sad.

Life hasn't been ALL work, exactly. Honey and I went out for dinner on Friday with the Big Guy and KT to a Japanese grill and sushi bar. It's one of those places where you sit around the grill and the chef cooks your dinner right in front of you, flourishing knives, and bottles of oil and sauce, and spatulas all the while. I had sushi for the first time, under the guidance of my daughter-in-law. I quite enjoyed it. I had what she referred to as "beginner" sushi ... California rolls with tuna and soft shelled crab. I had steak and shrimp for dinner ... it was delicious, and I really enjoyed it!!

On Saturday I had to work, but I did manage to take a few breaks here and there and cook.

I made Ina Garten's recipe for Parker's Split Pea Soup. If you haven't tried it, you should. It's the first recipe for split pea soup I've ever seen that didn't have ham or bacon it it .. but this one has no meat. With oregano, carrots and red skin potatoes, unpeeled), its a rustic, hearty soup that just cries out for some crusty home made bread. So I made some of that too. Since Honey doesn't care for pea soup, I made some chicken noodle for him.

The fruits of my labor on Saturday ... pea soup and chicken noodle soup for the freezer, and three loaves of bread.

I thought my week was off to a bad start on Monday when I was fixing my breakfast and absent mindedly dumped coffee creamer in my Egg Beaters instead of in my coffee cup. Things went downhill from there .. until I got the mail and received this darling little quilt from my Swap Til You Drop partner for February. It's paper pieced .. isn't it cute!!

She included some nice goodies too .. some notes, embroidery floss, and Ugly Fabric, although I don't think it's ugly ... exactly!!

So, today is Tuesday. This morning I'm working on lightening my workload so I can have my life back, and it's going to be a better day ... I just know it!!! It's Fat Tuesday, and I'm going to forego the paczkis this year in an effort to keep the blood sugar out of the stratosphere.

Hope you all have a great one.

Terri

Monday, Monday ...

2009-02-16T11:04:00.002-05:00

I spent some time in my sewing room this weekend. I finished the top of the baby quilt I'm making for my newest great nephew. I did a combination of 9 patch and snowball blocks in a blue and yellow pin dot fabric. It was fun to piece and went pretty quickly.
I finished my paper pieced swap quilt for the February Swap Til U Drop. This was made all from scraps and I like it so much, I'm going to do another one for me to keep. It was a lot of fun to make. I'm still a newbie at paper piecing and I wanted something a little more challenging, but not too much. This fit the bill perfectly!!
Last, but not least, I made some 9 patch blocks from two Moda Cotton Blossom charm packs I bought a few weeks ago. I'm going to cut them into quarters to make smaller blocks and piece them together randomly and see what I get!! I'll be posting more pictures of this project as it evolves, I'm sure.
I had a great weekend. We had some record high temperatures here for a few days. It got up to 60 degrees one day. That's unheard of for February in Michigan. All the snow melted, the sun was shining, and it was a much-needed respite from the winter. We did get a little snow Saturday, but the sun was out a lot over the weekend. We have a winter storm warning in the forecast for tonight though, so by tomorrow morning winter will be back with a vengeance, but right now, the sun is shining and I'm going to enjoy every bit of it for as long as it lasts!!

I went to dinner with one of my oldest friends on Friday. She works nights and I work days, and it seemed like we never had a chance to get together. We go to the same hairdresser and a couple of years ago, we started making our appointments on the same day, and then we go out for dinner afterwards. It's a guaranteed way for us to get together regularly and have a nice long visit.

This week shouldn't be quite so busy for work. I sure hope not anyway. I need to do some catch up around the house before it falls down around my ears!!

I've been having some problems with my computer and somehow, my entire Inbox in my e-mail program got wiped out. So if you've commented on my blog, I usually respond, especially to new visitors, but I've lost all your e-mail addresses. Thanks for visiting, and please leave another comment, so I can find you again!!

Have a great day.

Terri

Eight Random Things

2009-02-12T22:52:00.002-05:00

I've been so busy this week with work, that I don't have anything crafty to post. So instead, I'm going to post 8 Random Things About Me that you might not know.

1. I'm 56 years old and not afraid to say so.

2. I have been married for 35 years to my college sweetheart.

3. For two weeks every year my older brother and I are the same age.

4. I played the French Horn for 6 years in school.

5. I've worked from my home as a medical transcriptionist for 14 years.

6. Two of my sons will be married to girls named Katie.

7. I can't wait to be a grandmother!!

8. I collected dolls for a while, until I ran out of room to display them!!

So there you go. Useless facts about me!!

Hope you all had a great week. I sure am looking forward to the weekend.

Terri

Sweet Dreams

2009-02-05T19:11:00.005-05:00

My sleep study went well. Coincidentally, my study was on February 3, which marked one month smoke-free for me. I dont' know if it had anything to do with it, but the pressure settings on my C-Pap machine were lowered, AND I didn't need supplemental oxygen. I've used oxygen at night for 2 years because my blood oxygen levels took a nose dive when I sleep. Apparently, they stay in the normal range now, so I'm certainly happy about that!! I also got a new mask out of the deal, which I like much better than the one I've been using!!

Haven't had much time to sew, though. All I managed to get to this week was some mending for my daughter-in-law, and I worked on the mini-quilt for the February swap for Swap Til U Drop (STUD). The theme this month is paper piecing. I've only done a little bit of paper piecing and they were simple blocks, so I chose something a little more challenging this time. It's going well, but I have to really pay attention to what I'm doing. I'm itching to get back in the sewing room. This is going to be a realy busy week with work, so I don't know how much crafting time I'll have.

On a cheery note, we had record high temperatures yesterday and are looking for more of the same today. The sun is shining, a lot of our snow has melted and my animals are enjoying being able to be outdoors for more than a few minutes. More cold weather and snow is on the way, but this has been a nice and much needed break from winter!!

Hope you all have a great day!!

Terri

A New Project and other Stuff

2009-02-03T13:58:00.003-05:00

I started the quilt for my new great nephew this week. I got a few blocks done on Sunday. I have about 1/3 of them finished. I took the advice of a fellow blogger who told me this is my hobby and it's somethine I should enjoy doing, and that I DON'T have to finish all my other projects before I start something new!!

I received this cute little quilt in the mail from my partner for the January Swap Til U Drop. The theme for this month was Sing It, Watch It, Read It. There were some really outstanding quilts submitted for this theme. You can check them out at the groups Flickr phot stream here

Here's the one I sent to her. It's sort of self explanatory!!

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Busy, busy day today so I'd better get back to work. I get to spend the night at the hospital tonight having a sleep study. Fun and more fun! Trying to have sweet dreams with wires attached to you everywhere!!

Have a good day!!

Terri

An Award Bestowed

2009-02-03T13:42:00.004-05:00

I received this award from Shari at Mumsyblossom's World a couple of weeks ago. I've been so busy that I've been blogging on the fly when I have a few minutes here and there, and I haven't had time to figure out how to post it here. (I'm really not very good at this yet.) I'm ashamed that it's taken me so long ... but finally ... here it is! Thank you Shari and my apologies for the delay in acknowledging it.

The meaning of this award:
This blog invests and believes in Proximity- nearness in space, time and relationships.
These blogs are exceedingly charming.
These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends .
They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement!
Our hope is that when the ribbon of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.
I'm supposed to pass this award on to fellow bloggers, to include the above text in their blog. Since I'm a fairly new blogger, I don't have much of a readership yet, and it seems that those who follow my blog have already received this award.

So, if you're reading this, and you haven't received this yet, consider yourself chosen and feel free to post it on your blog.

Thank you all for being a part of my day!! You can't imagine how much it has meant to me making new friends from all over the world!!

Terri

A Wish Granted

2009-01-28T14:20:00.003-05:00

I had to go to a client's office today to pick up some supplies, and to my delight, the snow stopped and the sun came out, bright and beautiful!! I have to admit, I dawdled a bit on the way, so as to make the most of it. And when I got home, I stood outside and turned my face up to soak it in all in for a minute. Now, it's back to work, but I feel recharged.

Oh what miracles a little sun can accomplish!!

Terri

Fabric Fun and Stash Building on the Cheap

2009-01-28T11:10:00.004-05:00

I went to the grocery store on Monday evening to pick up a few things to get us through the winter storm that was in this week's forecast. I try to make sure we have enough bread, milk, eggs and such to get us through being snowed in for a couple days if necessary. Truthfully, we could very comfortably live out of our pantry for a week or more if we had to, but I like to be prepared!! While I was out, I picked up some fabric for the quilt I'm making for our newest great nephew.

I'm going to do a pattern of my own design that I worked up many years ago, but never made. So we'll see how it turns out!!

I always check the remnant bins when I shop for fabric. It's a good way to build up my stash without spending alot of money. Sometimes I don't find anything, and other times I hit the jackpot!! Monday was a good day. I found all of these 1/2 to 1 1/4 yard pieces for about $1.00 each. I love the chickadees and cardinals, don't you?

And I found these flannel remnants for a dollar and some change for about a yard of each. I see a baby rag quilt in my future!!

That is, if I ever have time to sew again! The rest of my week just got filled with work. We need the business, but it's really hard to work those 18 hour days like we did when we first started out. I don't know how we did it then ... and the kids were still young!! I feel like I'm working harder and getting less done these days and that seems to be all I have the energy for!! And being housebound because of the weather doesn't help any!! Oh, how I long to sit outside and let the sun shine on my face!!

Honey and I are going to try and get away for a weekend soon. I'm still working on that. We both need the break!!

Have a great day.

Terri

Winter Blues

2009-01-26T12:34:00.002-05:00

I didn't mean to go a whole week without posting, but there hasn't been much to post about!! It was a busy week at work, as one of our transcriptionists was out sick all week so I had to do doublt duty. I spent my spare time at medical appointments ... which is not fun ... but necessary. And I watched the inauguration ... which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have a niece that lives in DC and her mom flew out there for the week and they went to the inauguration. I haven't talked to her since she's been back, but I can't wait to hear all about it.

I haven't been in my sewing room at all ... mostly because I need to spend a couple of hours cleaning up in there before I can work ... see what I mean??
What a jumble of mess, huh? Here's more ...
I have managed to get a little knitting done though. I have the back of my sweater finished and I'm about halfway done with the front. I'm liking it more the more I work on it, so hopefully, by the time it's finished it will turn out to be something I'll actually wear!!
I was the lucky winner of a prize in the Whirl Into Winter Giveaway and it arrived last week. It's a kit for a wool felt notebook cover and key fob. I can't wait to get started on it. Many thanks to Angela at The Country Cellar for participating ... and for picking me as the winner!!

Here's my Chloe, looking out the living room window, longing for spring. Me too, Baby, me too. It's still bitterly cold, and we don't go outside any more than we have to. We're all getting cabin fever!!

My oldest son, The Poet, is getting married in June. He and his fiance live in Florida, but the wedding will be here, since this is their home town and both their families are here. So they've been planning the wedding long distance. Yesterday, the mother of the bride and I went to a Bridal Expo open house to check out the food offerings by the caterer, since the bride can't go herself. It was a fun afternoon, looking at wedding gowns, table settings, flowers, but most of all ... the food!! They had almost everything they offer, and we had a taste of it all!! Everything was so good, it was hard to choose our favorites. We both decided we like the prime rib with horseradish sauce and one of the chicken dishes for the entrees. We talked about the wedding shower, which the bride's aunts are doing, and our dresses. I have an idea of what I'd like, now the challenge will be to find it!! Wish I could get away with wearing the same dress I wore to the Big Guy's wedding in September. Finding that one was quite an ordeal!!

This week is going to be another busy one with work. I'm going out for dinner with one of my oldest friends for dinner tonight. We do that every so often. She works nights and I work days, so it's not always easy to get together, so we make a special effort to do it every couple of months.

I'm going to start work on a baby quilt this week. We have a new great nephew, who was born on Inauguration Day and Honey asked me to make a quilt for the baby. Since he's already here, I'll have to get it done quickly, so I can get it in the mail on it's way to New Jersey.

Hope you all stay warm (or cool, depending on where you are), and that you have a great day.

Terri

Lazy Days and Keeping Warm

2009-01-19T10:07:00.002-05:00

It's been bitter cold here, with wind chills as low as -20, and more snow. Even though we have a pretty new, high efficiency furnace, when it's this cold, it's hard to keep the house warm. We keep the shades drawn to keep in the heat we have, dress in layers, and pretty much live in one room that we try to keep the warmest. We go into a kind of a survival mode. No uneccesary trips outside, comfort food, snuggle on the couch under an afghan and watch movies. And that's just what I did this weekend!!

Honey made ribs on Friday with a spicy rub, recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay. It was so spicy ... it cleared my sinuses right up!! On Saturday, I made some great 15 bean soup from the ham bone I had in the freezer left over from Thanksgiving. A good, hearty soup that warms from the inside. I had it for lunch AND dinner on Saturday!! There's quite a bit left, so that's going in the freezer for another day. Yesterday, I made penne pasta with Italian sausage, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and lots of mozzarella cheese.

I worked on knitting a sweater. It's my first sweater and it's a pretty easy pattern, but hey, you have to start somewhere!! I loved this yarn in the store. I kept coming back to it, until I finally bought it. I'm not sure I like it knit up though. I'm reserving judgement until it's finished, so we'll see.

I haven't been doing any sewing. The sewing room is cold, and I've been feeling a little under the weather with the sinuses, so I've been taking naps instead of sewing!! I need to get back in there though. I have several projects to finish, and some new ones I want to start. Sometimes I wish there were more hours in the day!!

Terri

Thoughts on Thursday

2009-01-15T21:00:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry to say I haven't been in my sewing room all week. I've been laid low by the mother of all sinus headaches. I tend to be prone to sinus infections, but this is strange. I'm not congested. My nose isn't running. I have no cold symptoms, no fever and really no symptoms of an infection. I really don't feel sick, except that the whole right side of my head hurts. My face hurts, my ear hurts, my teeth ache!! I've been pushing lots of fluids, taking pain medication, using my Neti pot and warm compresses, and finally, today, I'm feeling some relief.

I'm thinking it could be the weather. We've had quite a cold snap here, with wind chill temperatures nearing 15 below zero. I think there's something about the barometric pressure when it gets that cold that plays havoc with my sinuses!! Between not feeling well, and the bitter cold, not only have I not been out of the house all week ... a couple of those days, I didn't even get dressed!!

The Whirl Into Winter Giveaway ends today. The winner of my table runner is Priscilla, from New Zealand. I think it's so exciting that a piece of my handiwork will be gracing a table on the other side of the world!! What an opportunity this blogging is to make friends all over the globe.

Terri

Sunday Morning Musings

2009-01-11T11:05:00.002-05:00

For those of you wondering ... I'm on day 9 as a non-smoker. It's going well ... better than I expected. I know that there will be hard times ahead that I have to get over, but my confidence that this time I'm going to quit for good builds with each passing day. Thank you so much for all your messages of encouragement. They really help!!

I've been looking for some other places to purchase fabric besides Wal-Mart, Joanne's, Hobby Lobby, and the one little quilt shop I know of in our town. I remember noticing a couple of quilt shops in passing over the years, so I did a little exporing on Friday. Two of them are closed, and one isn't a quilt shop at all, but specializes in needlework and yarns. There are two more places I want to check out. One is a sewing machine repair shop, but I just found out they sell fabric too. After that, I'll have to go to the next couple of towns over. They seem to have several quilt shops each, so maybe one day soon, I'll make a day of it and go check them out.

I did manage to spend some of my Christmas gift money though. I bought the black and white fabrics for a special project I've been working on, which I'll show you a little later. The Peaches and Cream cotton is for some washcloths. I have several medical appointments coming up and they make good little waiting room projects!! I got some Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Autumn Print yarn and I'm going to start knitting my first sweater one day soon. And I couldn't resist the Cotton Blossom charm packs from Moda. I don't have any particular plans for those, but I'm sure I'll think of something!!

This is my Swap Til You Drop swap quilt for January. The theme for this month is "Sing It, Watch It, Read It." I chose a theme that is not only a song from the musical "Chicago," it's also the title of a movie. This little quiltie was a bit of a stretch for me. I have never done applique before, and if I'd thought about it a little more, I might have chosen something simpler for my first project!! I found a picture of the movie poster on the internet, so I downloaded it, blew it up a little with my copier, and traced it onto tracing paper for a pattern. I did a coupld of practice pieces before I tried the final project. I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out. That's one of the things I love about this swap ... it's been pushing me to stretch my wings a little and try new things. Last month, I did the paper pieced chili peppers, which was something I only recently tried for the first time. It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait for a chance to do more paper piecing. Now, I'd like to try more kinds of applique.

I don't know how much sewing I'll get done this week. I have a lot of end-of-year accounting stuff to do for the business, which takes a lot of extra time, and that has to be the priority. The joys of being self-employed!!

Wishing for a great week for everyone ...

Terri

Confessions of an Addict

2009-01-07T10:13:00.002-05:00

I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that my husband recently quit smoking. What I did not mention, was that I did not. Yes. There is it. My nasty, dirty little secret.

I've smoked since I was 18 and although I've tried to quit many times over the years, I have never been successful. I've taken three quit smoking classes, and while I did quit each time, it didn't stick. I tried nicotine patches ... they gave me a rash. I tried nicotine gum ... it made me sick to my stomach. I took a self hypnosis class ... and smoked on the way home. I've tried 3 different drugs to help me quit smoking ... one made me sick, one made me sleepy, and the other made me depressed. When I try to quit I turn into a raving lunatic. I'll smoke my husband's cigarettes, which I don't even like. I'll pick through the ashtray looking for butts long enough to light.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I even watched my mother die from emphysema and held her hand while she poked at the air for a cigarette while taking her last breaths.

Honey and I talked about all the times we've tried to quit smoking, why we failed, what we could do to prevent that in the future, and decided on a plan. We decided that we couldn't both quit at the same time because we get get so short-tempered and anxious and we hit a point where both of us are at our weakest and we go buy cigarettes. The plan was for him to quit smoking first. That made sense, because he won't smoke my cigarettes, or pick through the ashtrays, and I will, so the fact that I would still have cigarettes in the house wouldn't be a problem for him.

He quit smoking 3 1/2 weeks ago. He's been taking some medication he got from the doctor, which has helped him, and I've been trying to be as supportive as I can. He's gotten a little testy from time to time, but basically has done very well and is over the worst of it now. So it's my turn.

I quit smoking on Saturday. This is my 5th smoke free day. There are no cigarettes in the house, the ashtrays have been emptied, washed and put away. I'm doing fine. I don't know what is different about this time, except that I'm really finally ready, I think. I have some nicotine lozenges to get me over the cravings, but mostly, I've just been trying to keep busy. I've got my laundry caught up, started cleaning the basement, knitted a couple of dishcloths, listed a bunch of stuff on Freecycle, and have been sewing 4 patches from my scraps for a scrappy quilt I'll make someday.

It's working. I'm doing it. Soon, I'll be over the hump and I can start enjoying all the good things about being smoke-free. I can sit anywhere I want in a restaurant. My clothes and my house won't smell like smoke any more. I'll be able to have my future grandchildren over with no worries or guilt that I might be exposing them to second hand smoke. And with cigarettes at over $6.00 a pack here, the money I'll save will do nicely to finance my new addiction ... sewing!! It's much less harmful, and a lot more productive.

I'm Terri, and I'm a nicotine addict ... and I've been smoke free for five days.

Terri

Ta-Da!! ... and Other Stuff

2009-01-05T09:46:00.002-05:00

I got the table runner for my giveaway pieced this weekend, so, as promised, here are some pictures. We have terrible light in our house during winter. Even when the sun is shining outsite, it's dark inside and it's hard to get good pictures. Flash is too much light, no flash is too little. I can't seem to find a happy medium!! I'm going to sandwich and quilt it today and then will just need to add the binding and hand sew it down and it will be ready to go in plenty of time to get it mailed out to a lucky winner!!

My oldest son, the Poet, and his fiancee were here last week. They were in a wedding on New Year's Eve, so we didn't see much of them early in the week, but Friday night we had a family dinner with the Big Guy and KT here too. Sadly, the Wonder Child couldn't come, as he had to work, so I didn't get to have all my boys together, but they did have a chance to spend time together as they all went to the same wedding!! We had a wonderful time, a great dinner, some wine, and played some Wii afterwards and just enjoyed each other's company. I'm never so happy as when I'm just sitting back, watching my grown up boys. They've all turned in to such nice young men, if I do say so myself ... and I am thoroughly enjoying the wonderful people they've become. And the two oldest chose a couple of wonderful girls to be my daughters-in-law, and it's been fun watching the two of them become friends as well!! Did I ever mention they have the same first name??

The Poet is getting married in June, and the wedding is here, so they will be home a couple more times before the big day working on the arrangements, so I'll get to see them a little more often this year!!

So I spent the weekend basking in the glow of family togetherness!! What a way to start the New Year!!

Have a great day.

Terri

Inspiration

2009-01-02T10:09:00.002-05:00

It's the beginning of a new year, when we're all thinking about what we'd like to accomplish in 2009. In the last couple of months, I've come across many great ideas I want to try, but with so much "must do" sewing for Christmas gifts, I just started a pile of things I want to do "someday."

I've always loved flying geese and this quilt from the December issue of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine really caught my eye. I think I'm going to do a scrappy version and make this a long term project.
This isn't a wonderful picture, but I fell in love with this quilt in a Plow and Hearth catalog. It was for sale, of course, but I plan on copying the design since it looks simple enough. It would look great in my bedroom!!

I learned to paper piece last year, and I'd like to do more of it. I've already collected a number of paper pieced block patterns to try.

Somewhere in this house, are some blocks and the rest of the fabric for two quilts my mother started. I want to finish those. One, I will keep, and the other I'll give to my brother. The other three of my siblings have a quilt that mom made, but my older brother and I don't, so I want to finish these two so we have one of her quilts to treasure too.

I want to learn to knit socks. I tried a couple of times, with not good results .. but I'm going to give it another try. I took up knitting a little more than a year ago, and I'd like to continue to improve my skills and learn to follow a pattern better.

I want to learn to applique. My plan for the January Swap Til You Drop quilt calls for applique, so I'll get a chance to get my feet wet. I just hope I end up with something good enough to give away!!

I have a few UFOs to finish up ... a couple of quilt blocks I want to put binding on and hang as mini quilts, and a table topper I started years ago that I'd like to finish. Other than that, my plate is clean though and I'm looking foward to many new projects!!

I received this sweet little quilt from my partner in the Swap Til You Drop December swap. The theme was Sweet Sour or Savory. It's beautifully done and I just love it!! I'm accumulating a number of mini-quilts so I'm going to start a quilt wall in my sewing room.

I've received so many wonderful comments on my Whirl Into Winter Giveaway post. So much to look forward to in the new year ... anniversaries, birthdays, travel, retirement, new grandbabies, new homes, better health, and lots and lots of quilty plans!! I'm trying to respond to each comment, but it may take me a while!! I'm a little overwhelmed.

Terri

Whirl Into Winter Giveaway

2008-12-30T19:27:00.005-05:00

And the WINNER IS ..... Priscilla, from New Zealand. I've e-mailed you and as soon as I receive your mailing address, your package will be on it's way!!

Thank you everyone for visiting my blog and participating. Feel free to visit again any time!! I have so many new blogs to visit now, how will I ever find the time!!
It's time for the Whirl Into Winter Quilt Bloggers Giveaway and I'm so excited to participate!! As a brand new blogger, I was the winner of TWO prizes in the Fall Into Fall Giveaway in October, so this is my chance to pay it forward a little bit.

Since I didn't finish my Christms gift sewing until Christmas Eve, I haven' t had a chance to get my project for this giveaway done yet, but I'll be working on it in the next few days and will have a picture of it up by Monday ... I promise.

So (drumroll please.....) I'm giving away a table runner, the one on the left in the picture below.

Made from these fabrics ....

Along with some other quilty surprises.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post between January 1 and January 15, telling me what you are most looking forward to in 2009. You do not have to have a blog to win, but please leave me an e-mail address where I can contact you. I will ship internationally, so wherever you are, I'll get it to you. On January 15, I will have Honey draw a name to choose a winner.

Please remember, comments posted before January 1 will be deleted and will not be eligible to win.

Check out the Whirl Into Winter Quilt Bloggers Giveaway blog for links to other quilt blogger giveaways. There are over 50 bloggers participating and I'm sure it will be LOTS of fun!!

Good Luck Everyone!!

Terri

Christmas Quilts

2008-12-25T10:27:00.004-05:00

I wanted to get some good pictures of the quilts I made for Christmas gifts before I gave them away so I recruited Honey to hold them up for me before I wrapped them up.

This one is for my uncle. It was a last-minute gift and I didn't have time to piece anything elaborate, so I kept it simple. He'll be confined to a wheelchair for a while, and is in a rehab hospital. I wanted to make him a lap quilt to help keep him warm. The front is made with a burgundy fabric that's shaded a bit so it looks kind of like suede. I used a burgundy and beige gingham for the accent stripe and the back. It's machine quilted with wavy lines from top to bottom with varigated thread, and after washing, it came out crinkly and soft. We're taking it to him in the hospital this afternoon and I think he's going to love it!!

This is the rail fence throw quilt I made for my sister. I used some of the extra fabric from the blocks to make a pieced back and a coordinating striped fabric for the binding. I made a big boo-boo on this one ... sewed the bottom row of blocks on upside down, and I honestly didn't notice it until I looked at this picture!! No time to fix it, so she got it as is. I'm disappointed, but she loved it, and even with the mistake, it will still be nice to cuddle up with on those cold northern Michigan winter evenings.

This one I made for the Poet and his fiance who live in Florida. I used a Hoffman Fabrics Bali Pop in Butterscotch and used the extra to piece the back. This quilt was made from a tutorial on 2nd Avenue Studio . It was a lot of fun to do, and I think I like this one best of all. I wanted something sort of modern for them and this fit the bill perfectly, and the colors will coordinate with their living room furniture.

They haven't received it yet. They're flying up from Florida on Sunday to stay for a week and I'll give it to them then. They're in a wedding on New Year's Eve, so I don't know that we'll see a lot of them while they're here, but I'm always excited to see my first-born when I get the chance!!

We have a quiet day planned today. A trip to the rehab hospital to see my uncle, and then a Christmas dinner of turkey breast with all the trimmings and pineapple upside down cake for dessert for me, Honey and the Wonder Child. The Big Guy has to work (he's an EMT and works for an ambulance company), and KT is spending the day with her family.

Wishing you all and peaceful and happy day today, whatever your plans.

Terri

Merry Christmas from Our House to Yours

2008-12-24T09:06:00.002-05:00

December Swap Til You Drop Quilt

2008-12-22T20:08:00.003-05:00

My partner received her quilt for the December Swap Til You Drop, so I can post pictures of it now. The theme for December was Sweet, Sour or Savory. Since it's December, and Christmas is coming, and visions of sugarplums are dancing in everyone's head, I figured everybody would do something sweet. Wanting to be different ... I chose savory. It was a good excuse to practice my paper piecing and do these chili pepper blocks. I found the pattern free on line last month. So my quilt is "Hot Chili Peppers."

In doing some research, I found that the chili pepper is a traditional Christmas decoration in Mexico and you can buy chili pepper ornaments for your tree.

The chili pepper is a southwestern American tradition symbolizing warmth and friendship. Clusters of vibrantly colored chili peppers, called chili ristras, add a zesty flair to home décor. When hung near the door, chili peppers ensure a bountiful harvest and when placed in the kitchen, they bring good luck in cooking. Chilies are a spicy addition to many cuisines worldwide

I even found a dark chocolate bar with chili to send along!! I bought one for myself to try, just to make sure it wasn't awful. It's a rich dark chocolate with a little bit of a bite. I wouldn't eat it every day ... but it was a nice change and I did enjoy it. . I also included a couple of fat quarters and some Christmas coasters I made a couple weeks ago.

So that's my December effort ... Hot Chili Peppers.

The theme for January is Sing It, Watch It, or Read It. Hmmmm ... that's going to take some thought!!

Terri

Snow Report

2008-12-22T09:47:00.003-05:00

It continued to snow throughout the weekend, and was pretty windy Saturday night and Sunday, so we have drifts of snow everywhere. I did have to go out to the grocery store on Saturday though, and fortunately, the main roads were cleared pretty well, so getting around wasn't too much trouble. The parking lot was a mess though, with mountains of snow that they had plowed to clear the lot.
This is a drift right across our back deck.

And this is the patio table ... I kind of use this as a measure of how much snow we've had. If you look hard, you can see the path Honey had to shovel so the dogs have somewhere to go when they go out!! We had a blast yesterday watching the cats in the snow. They were chasing each other all over, and pouncing out from behind snow banks. They don't stay out very long, but they sure have a good time when they're out there!!

A Serious Sewing Weekend

2008-12-22T09:28:00.004-05:00

I got some serious sewing time in this weekend and turned this ....
....into this.
And this ....
..into this.
It's a big weight off my mind having them finished. since time is getting short. I have one more to sandwich and quilt before Christmas and one pair of flannel lounge pants to finish and then I'm done!! I'll have to start earlier next year! I haven't done too badly though. Since October 1 I've made six mini quilts, two for swaps and four just because, three table runners, three throw quilts, four fabric baskets, one fabric bin, one set of coasters, six dishtowels, one apron, four hot pads, two knit scarves, a pair of drapes and a Christmas tree skirt. Whew!!

I already have a list of projects for the new year, and I'm looking foward to getting them organized and started, now that I'm not under the gun!!

Have a great day!!

Terri

Snow Day

2008-12-19T19:35:00.003-05:00

We got about 12 inches of snow today. All the schools were closed, and most of our clients were too. It was a good day to stay inside and take a nap!! This was the view out our front door this morning.
And this is Honey's truck.
The deck in the back. This was taken about 9 this morning and the snow on that table is twice as deep now. We had to shovel a path for the dogs so they have somewhere to go when they go out to potty. The snow is higher than they are!!
We're supposed to get snow for the next five days, so it will really be piled up by Christmas!

I've been busy this week talking to contractors getting estimates to have a wheelchair ramp built and some other modifications done at my aunt and uncle's house to make it wheelchair accessible. He's doing very well in rehab, but it will be a couple of weeks before he's ready to come home. Since my aunt spends her days at the hospital, I've been contacting the builders to take that burden off her shoulders. She and my uncle are so cute. They've been married nearly 60 years, and they're just so sweet to each other.

I still have some gifts to finish for Christmas, so I hope to get a lot of sewing time in this weekend. In between, I have laundry to do, gifts to wrap and this place could use a little sprucing up!! But come Wednesday, I'm in holiday mode and plan on doing a lot of relaxing!!

Terri

Pay It Forward

2008-12-17T12:47:00.002-05:00

I signed up for the Pay It Forward Exchange on Mumsyblossom's World

Here are the Pay It Forward Exchange “rules”.
The first three people will be who leave a comment on this post asking to join the Pay It Forward Exchange will be my players.
They are agreeing to post a similar announcement on their blog, and Pay It Forward to three more people, who will in turn agree to Pay It Forward etc.

Shari will send me and her other participants one handmade item sometime in the next 12 months.

In turn, I will send one handmade item to each of the three participants who signed up with me, within the next 12 months.

You will send one handmade item to each of your participants, and so on.

I read about a Pay It Forward Exchange a couple of months ago and thought it was a great idea, so I jumped at the chance to participate in one. Quilting/crafting bloggers are some of the most generous and creative people I know. How nice to have a chance to brighten someone's day!!

My Broken Oven

2008-12-15T09:20:00.002-05:00

I have to confess that the reason the heating element in my oven burned up yesterday is because something had boiled over on it and it needed to be cleaned. I debated about whether I should clean the oven before doing cookies and decided against it. There is a superstition in my family about that, and we never clean the oven shortly before having to cook for a holiday when the oven will get a work-out.

The superstition is borne from an experience when I was a child and we were hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house. The house was full of aunts, uncles and cousins all looking forward to the 24 pound turkey my mom had in the oven. About noon, Mom noticed that she couldn't smell the turkey yet, so she went and checked on it and discovered the oven was stone cold -- and so was the turkey!!

My handyman dad tried to fix it, and after examining it, declared that a wire had broken leading to the heating element and that it would have to be replaced. Since there was no way to get parts on Thanksgiving Day, there would be no turkey cooking in that oven. My mom had cleaned the oven the day before, and apparently when she lifted the heating element to clean underneath it, the wire broke.

My parents checked with the neighbors for an available oven, but, of course, theirs were all in use.

We had Kentucky Fried Chicken for Thanksgiving Dinner that year ... buckets of it.

The next day, my dad fixed the oven, my mom cooked the turkey, and everybody came back for a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

To this day, we still talk about the Thanksgiving we had KFC.

And nobody in my family ever cleans their oven just before a holiday.

Cookie Bake-Off

2008-12-14T21:11:00.003-05:00

Today my daughter-in-law came over and we baked cookies. I had mixed up several varieties yesterday, so we baked them all off today. First up, chocolate crinkles. I wasn't going to make these this year, but Honey requested them special ... so what could I do??

Here's some giant Snickerdoodles waiting for their turn in the oven.
And of course, everybody's favorite, sugar cookies.
Waiting to be decorated.

We were nearing the end of our marathon baking session when I opened the oven to take out a cookie sheet, and the heating element in my oven was burning. We turned off the oven, and Honey went downstairs to turn off the circuit breaker, but it kept burning for a few minutes. It finally went out, after burning up about 4 inches of the element and putting my oven out of commission. KT and I packed up our cookie sheets and the rest of the unbaked cookies and took them to her house to finish them up.

So my oven is broken, and I guess I'm done baking cookies. I said I was going to cut back this year didn't I? Honey has already ordered the new element, so it will be fixed soon and maybe I can sneak in some chewy chocolate cookies and some gingersnaps before Christmas.

Tomorrow I'll start packaging up a few cookie gifts for friends, and I'll put some in the freezer to keep for the Poet when he comes for a visit a few days after Christmas. The Wonder Child will be finished with exams and home from school on Tuesday, so I imagine between he and Honey, they'll make short work of them!!

I'm tired tonight, but I had fun spending the day with KT, and it's nice to be able to cross something off my list of things to do!!

Hope you all had a great weekend too.

Terri

Redecorating

2008-12-11T10:51:00.002-05:00

Although the winter scene is pretty, I decided all that snow and blue background was a little depressing, so I redecorated my blog for Christmas. It's much more cheerful, don't you think? And I didn't have to go down to the basement and dig out boxes of Christmas decorations and haul them up the stairs!! I'll get to that sometime before Christmas, but for now, I can come to my blog for a taste of Christmas cheer!!

November Swap Quilt

2008-12-11T10:35:00.003-05:00

I received my November swap quilt yesterday from the Swap Til You Drop group. My partner was running a little behind this very busy time of year, but it was worth the wait. She does beautiful work!!
She also sent me two fat quarters of red fabric (my favorite color), some hand dyed red buttons, embroidery floss, and the cutest little embroidered red hearts ... and chocolate, of course!!

This is a mini Jacob's ladder pattern. Isn't it beautiful? I have just the place for it, once I can stop admiring it long enough to put it down!!

Terri

2008-12-10T11:36:00.002-05:00

Remember this picuture? It was taken in October when I went along with Honey on deliveries one morning. He had been telling me about the spectacular colors and suggested I go along and take some pictures.
This is the same view today. Honey decided to take the camera with him to get a winter view of the same scene. Stark contrast isn't it?
It's still beautiful, in a different way, don't you think?

Terri

A Little Late ...

2008-12-09T20:56:00.008-05:00

I received this award from Sara at Fabric N Fiber Fanatic last week, so I'm late getting this up. To be honest, I haven't had time to figure out how to do it until today!! Sara was one of the very first readers of my blog, and she's been a faithful reader and a lot of support as I try to figure out the secrets of blogging!! Thanks, Sara ... I'm touched ... especially since I've been at this such a short time.

I'm supposed to pass it on, so here goes:

Shari at Mumsyblossom's World Shari is an Aussie blogger and I wait excitedly for her new posts. She always has something interesting.

Stephanie at Loft Creations Blog. Stephanie is very talentend and her posts never fail to inspire me!!

Terri at Purple and Paisley. This is the "other Terri!" Another very accomplished quilter and crafter, a proud grandma, and lover of all things purple ... and paisley!!

Holly at Fabric Mom. Holly is a proud momma, and dedicated crafter ... and generous. She gives away a fat quarter of fabric every other Friday. I was lucky enough to be a recent winner of her recent 200th post giveaway.

Carol at Carol's Quilting Blog. Although we've never met in person, Carol and I have been "cyber friends" for years. She's just started a new blog to show off her quilting and crafting and she is very talented! I'm looking forward to seeing more of her work!!

The rules of the award are:
1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from in your blog.
3. Nominate 5 blogs. ( I did 6 - cause there was a tie)
4. Put links to the blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

I didn't choose any blog that I regularly read that has already received this award, so if you know you're one of my favorites, don't feel slighted!! I just wanted to spread the goodness around!!

Terri

Tis the Season

2008-12-07T18:49:00.002-05:00

We've had a little snow every day this week, so the view from my house is pretty much unchanged from the pictures I posted. It's been pretty cold too, in the teens and low 20s for the past few days. We have a winter storm moving in though, and are supposed to get 6 or 7 inches of snow tomorrow and Tuesday. I think the county is trying to save some money, because they sure have been slow getting the salt trucks and snow plows out. It's going to be a rough winter if that's the case. We have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, so we can usually get around if we need to. Normally, when the weather is bad, I just stay in. But this time of year, you just have to get out to get certain things done, so there's no choice!!

Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes for my uncle. He is doing well. He was a little confused for a few days after the surgery, but I went to see him yesterday and he was his old self. He's already talked to a prosthetist about an artificial leg and will be going to rehab some time this week. He's a very determined gentleman, so I imagine he'll do better than any of us expect!!

I've been busy in the sewing room this week too.

I made the pieced back and binding for the quilt for my son, The Poet, and his fiancee who live in Florida.

And a pieced back and binding for the quilt I'm doing for my sister. Now I just have to sandwich them both and get quilting!!
I spent the hours sitting in the hospital knitting another scarf. This one is a gift for my friend. We went out to dinner last week and she loved the the brown and beige one I made that I was wearing. She wears a lot of black and white, so I decided to make her one for Christmas!!

I pieced this tablerunner for myself this morning. It's made from charm squares that I won in the Fall into Fall Giveaway, and I added a few green and red Christmas fabrics of my own. I also received the pattern as a prize, and there are two more table runner patterns included. I have enough charm squares left to do another one, so maybe I'll do one for my daughter in law if I have time.
I also finished my mini quilt for the December Swap Til You Drop. Can't post a picture of that just yet, but I will soon.

I'm not panicky yet ... but I'm ticking off a list of things I have to do before Christmas, and we're running out of time. We haven't done any decorating yet ... the tree isn't up. I have baking to do, although I'm scaling that back this year ... nobody needs the extra calories ... and I still have Christmas shopping to do and several gifts to finish. Oh yeah ...and Christmas cards!!!

I'm going to have to draft Honey into service I think!! This is going to be sort of a rough Christmas for him. His mom passed away on December 23, 2005, and his younger brother passed away December 26 last year ... then we lost his dad on Valentine's Day. I've been careful not to push the Christmas spirit on him ... but I need some help. He can be a Scrooge while he helps me if he needs to ... but I'll never get done without him!!

Have a great day.

Terri

A Tough Couple of Days

2008-12-03T21:06:00.002-05:00

I've been tied up the past few days. My uncle was admitted to the hospital on Monday. He and my aunt have been like a second set of parents to me all my life, and we are very close. He's had circulation problems for years, and in the last 30 years has had a couple of surgeries to keep the blood flow going to his legs. On Monday, his left leg became cold and painful, and they admitted him to the hospital for tests. He had a five hour procedure on Monday to try to clear the blood vessels in his leg and restore circulation, but it wasn't successful. This morning, the doctor told him there was nothing else they could do to save the leg. This afternoon, he had his left leg amputated above the knee. He took the news better than I would have expected. At some level, he probably knew this was a possibility, so maybe he had prepared himself more than we realized.

He's 81 years old, so the chance of him being able to use a prosthetic leg are not good, and he will probably spend the rest of his days in a wheelchair. We're all still sort of in shock, and just beginning to realize how this is going to affect their lives, and what kind of help they're going to need.

We're a close and resilient family. We'll all pull together to deal with whatever it is we need to deal with. We've done that before, and we'll do it again.

Tonight, I'm just sad, and I'm going to let myself be sad tonight.

And tomorrow, we'll lift up our heads, and do what needs to be done. Because that's what we always do. That's all we can do.

Terri

It's Looking Like December

2008-12-01T09:32:00.005-05:00

This was the view out my back door this morning.

And this is the view out the front door.
It's beautiful, isn't it? It's just barely cold enough to snow so it's the wet and heavy kind. It's not realy the first snow of the season. We got some last week, but it didn't stick around long. We actually have a winter storm warning. It's still coming down and we're supposed to get 3 or 4 more inches today. The schools are all closed. Later in the winter, 6 or 7 inches of snow won't even slow things down!!

Here's a scarf I knitted this weekend from yarn I had left over from my afghan. Just in time too!! It's cozy and warm, and I'll probably wear it later today when Honey and I go snow blow the driveway!!

Except for that, I plan on staying indoors today. It feels like a good day to make soup!!

Terri

Thanksgiving Revisited

2008-11-29T20:51:00.003-05:00

We had our big turkey dinner today at my son and daughter-in-law's house. Big Guy had to work Friday and Saturday, so on Thanksgiving Day, we had my aunt and uncle over for dinner and had ham, and today was our big turkey day instead!! KT's mom cooks the turkey, dressing, potatoes and pies. Big Guy deep fries a second turkey, and I bring corn casserole, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, squash, and cranberry apple salad. It's quite a spread. This is Big Guy getting ready to carve his deep fried turkey.

And here's a close-up of the turkey. He's been doing this for 3 or 4 years, and I think this is the best one yet. He doesn't know if he'll do it next year ... the peanut oil for the turkey fryer was $65.00. For that much money, we might as well buy prime rib!!

We had a wonderful time, tinged with a bit of sadness. Some good friends of KT's family who have joined us for the past few years were absent. The husband of one of the couples passed away this week. He had been ill for quite a while and it was not unexpected, but we missed him in our gathering and we all raised a toast to his memory. My aunt and uncle were also absent, as my uncle was not feeling well. He's 81 and had surgery on his foot recently. He's probably been spending too much time on it, and it was bothering him today, so they decided to stay home.

Last night, after dinner, I curled up on the couch and watched Lord of the Rings, for probably the 10th time!! I was looking for something I could work on while I watched TV, so I grabbed my Warm Up America Afghan that I knitted last winter. I still have a few yarn ends to weave in, but other than that, I got all the rows joined, and it's done. It will be nice to curl up in this winter when the really cold weather comes. It's made from Lion Brand Homespun yarn, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

This is the Christmas tree skirt, all finished and ready to take to KT. I washed it last night and it all crinkled up just beautifully. I gave it to her today, and she loved it!!

Yesterday I worked on piecing the blocks for my Bali Pop quilt for the Poet and his fiance. I got all 35 blocks done. Now I just need to work on the layout and put the top together. I'll get some pictures when I get it all laid out.

Tomorrow is a work day for us, so our holiday is over. Tonight, I'm watching the second Lord of the Rings movie and just enjoying my evening. I hope you all enjoy yours too.

Terri

Swap Til You Drop Two Color Quilt

2008-11-25T09:27:00.004-05:00

I can finally post pictures of my swap quilt for Swap Til You Drop. The theme for November was a two color quilt. I have to admit, I cheated a little. I added a strip of red to the back. Naughty, girl!! The black and white just cried out for red to me!! So I bent the rules just a bit!! That's what rules are for ... right??

This was my first quilt swap ever ... and I have to admit, I was a little nervous. Some of the people in the group do such beautiful work, I wasn't sure mine would measure up. Then, I thought, practice makes perfect, and the only way I'm going to get any better is to keep practicing. My partner seemed to like it, so I guess I did okay!!

Busy Weekend

2008-11-23T23:01:00.003-05:00

I went to Ann Arbor on Saturday to visit my sister. She's doing very well, but was having kind of a down day. I think my being there helped, and then she had some other visitors that helped brighten her spirits. She should be discharged in a couple of days and she'll be much happier once she's out of the hospital!! She hates it there!!

I started quilting the Christmas tree skirt Saturday night. I decided to try free motion quilting again. It went very well until I got about half the center done, and then I started having tension problems again. This time, I was able to recognize it right away, and stopped, so there was only an inch or two to tear out, which wasn't bad. I tried it a couple more times, with the same result, so I decided to put it away and try again on Sunday.

I had to work some today, and then we had to run a couple of errands, so I didn't get back at it until this evening. I changed my needle, cleaned out all the lint from the bobbin area, rethreaded the machine and tried again. It went beautifully, and I got the whole thing quilted in a couple of hours!! I'm really pleased with it and think I'm getting the hang of free motion quilting!! Her it is all quilted. I guess the quilting doesn't show up real good. I'll get better pictures when it's finished.

I think I'm going to cut off the corners to make it an octagon shape ... more like a skirt, and I stil have to cut the center hole and bind it. I'll start that tomorrow.

My next couple of projects are all straight line quilting so I won't have an opportunity to do the free motion again right away, but I'm definitely going to try it again. I love the look of the meandering. Who knows, maybe I'll get good enough to do something besides meandering!!

I have a busy week ahead, so I'm not sure how much sewing I'll get done. I'd like to have the Wonder Child's curtains done by Thursday when he comes home again. We'll see!!

Have a great day.

Terri

Finished by Friday and some New Stuff

2008-11-21T21:44:00.002-05:00

I took a little knitting with me to the hospital with Sis this week. I finished a dishcloth. I love these. They make great little gifts, and I never seem to have enough of them myself. I want to try a pair of socks, but I have to buy some double pointed needles. I'll pick them up this week, as I have to get the fabric for the bedroom curtains the Wonder Child asked me to make for his apartment.

I want to make a quilt for the Poet and his fiance for Christmas and I was looking for something modern. I found this at 2nd Avenue Studio and it's exactly what I was looking for. Even the colors are perfect. So I ordered a Bali Pop in the very same colors from Batiks Plus. It arrived while I was out of town. It came with a nice note from Cookie, who explained that her grandson plays hockey for the Saginaw Spirits, our local hockey team. She sent me these gorgeous batiks as a bonus!! Aren't quilters just the nicest people in the world!! I have a couple things I need to finish up before I start this, so I have to be patient ... but I can hardly wait!!

Also in the mail when I got home were my squares from the Spare Change swap. What an array of fabrics!! I'm not sure what I want to do with them yet. Any ideas?

I did a little sewing today. I made some Christmas coasters and a tiny basket. The basket actually started out as a mistake. I cut a piece of fabric too small, so I decided to see what I could do with it. It turned out pretty cute!! I like to let projects just evolve once in a while and this was one of those. I think I'm going to hang it on my Christmas tree as an ornament!!

I also finished the top for the Christmas tree skirt for the Big Guy and KT. I want to have it finished by Thanksgiving so I can give it to them before they put their tree up. I'm pleased with how it turned out so far. Except for the paper pieced blocks, I didn't have a pattern. I just kind of made it up as I went along. I want to put the batting and backing on and quilt it, and then cut it for the tree skirt and bind the raw edges. This isn't a very good picture. I didn't really have a place to lay it out where there was enough light to take a picture. And I couldn't cajole Honey into holding it up for me!!

The Wonder Child is home for the weekend, so my sewing room gets turned into a guest room until Sunday. I need to straighten it up a bit before he can sleep in there, though. It looks like a fabric factory exploded in there!!

Tomorrow I'm off to Ann Arbor for the day to check on Sis. She's doing well. They took her off her IV pain medication today and put her on oral pain meds. She's still not eating anything but ice chips, but she's been up walking three times today, so that's good!! I'm taking her some chocolate chip cookies that my aunt baked for her. She can't eat them ... but they come in handy as currency to get the staff to come in to her room more often!!

We have a busy weekend and week ahead. We're having two Thanksgivings this year. On Thursday, we're having my aunt and uncle over for dinner. I'm not cooking a turkey though, because we're having our big turkey dinner on Saturday at the Big Guy's house. He has to work Thursday and Friday (he works for an ambulance company), so we're celebrating with them and KT's family on Saturday. On Thursday, we're having ham!! I think that's a first for us!!

We have lots to be thankful for this year, so two Thanksgivings seems kind of appropriate!!

More Stuff

2008-11-19T23:19:00.002-05:00

Now that I've had a chance to get unpacked, and caught up on some work, I have time to write a little more about the last couple of days. Sis got here on Monday about 2 p.m. and we left for Ann Arbor shortly afterwards. It's about a 90 minute drive. We got there, checked inn to our motel, and then went for a short drive to find the hospital. It's a big place, and she had to be there very early in the morning on Tuesday, so we wanted to check it out so we would know where we were going, especially since it would still be dark!! When we got back, we had an early dinner in the restaurant. Sis could only have clear liquids, so she had beef broth and two bowls of jello ... and they didn't charge for it!! I thought that was nice!! After dinner, a friend of Sis's from college, Cindy, who lives in the area stopped by. She and Sis are both musicians, among other things and Cindy brought her guitar, so the two of them took turns playing songs they had written. I wish I was that talented, but all I could do was listen. I didn't dare even hum along, since I can't carry a tune at all!! Cindy left, and we showered and turned in early.

Our wake up call came at 4 a.m. That's the first time I've seen that side of 4 a.m. in quite a while!! While we were sleeping, winter arrived!! It was only 19 degrees in the morning, and the car was covered with a dusting of snow!! I knew it was coming ... but I had hoped it would hold off for a while!!

We found our way to the hospital. I had been worried that I wouldn't be able to handle all the walking. They had valet parking available, so I knew I wouldn't have to walk blocks from the parking garage. I have MS, and coupled with a back problem, I have trouble walking more than short distances. I was pleasantly surprised to see that just inside the door, they had a row of Amigo electric carts for patients and visitors to use. I just had to sign one out and it was mine for the day. What a relief!! I usually use an electric cart to do my grocery shopping and they really are a lifesaver for people like me. I do fine at home, and I do pretty well when I'm out if there are places where I can walk for a little bit, and then sit for a few minutes, and then walk some more. But those long hospital hallways are killers!! It turned out, I didn't need to worry at all!!

Once it got light out, it was one of those bitter cold, clear, sunshiny days that I just love. I find the cold invigorating!! I'm one of those "ladies of a certain age" who carries her own heat source around with her .. so I'm usually too warm. Actually, in my case, heat source is putting it mildly. I have my own personal blast furnace!! I took a couple of breaks from the waiting room to step outside for a bit. It was certainly refreshing!!

The surgery took about six hours. Another friend, Diana was there, so I had company while I waited. And I had packed a tote back with some bottled water, some granola bars, a book to read and some knitting, so the waiting wasn't too unbearable. By 3:30 p.m. or so, Sis was in recovery, and I was allowed to see her. They would only let one of us stay with her, and since Diana didn't have a chance to see her before she went in to surgery, I only stayed a few minutes, and then I left for the motel and Diana stayed with Sis.

Once I got back to the motel, I crashed!! It had been a long day, and I thought I would take a little nap. I fell sound asleep and didn't wake up until Diana called me at about 8 p.m.!! I must have really been tired!! Diana stayed at the hospital until about 10 and then she came back to the motel to spend the night. We both got a good night's sleep and had a nice breakfast before going to the hospital again this morning. Sis was awake, kind of woozy from the pain meds, but her sense of humor was intact, because she was making jokes. She had been up walking a short distance already. I was only there for about an hour, and then she said she needed to sleep. I had planned to stay a little longer, but thought it was kind of silly to sit there and watch her sleep, so I left for home. Diana is staying with her until tomorrow, then another friend is coming on Friday, and I will be back there on Saturday.

The weather cooperated, and although there were snow showers in the area, the whole drive home was clear and dry. I enjoy driving, and the traffice was light, so it was actually kind of a pleasant trip.

I'm glad to be home though. And glad that this is behind us. It's been a source of anxiety for Sis for a long time. Whether to have the surgery. When to have the surgery. Fear that something would go wrong. When she was in the hospital last year, we started a web page where we would post her progress and her friends could check the website for updates. We're using that again, since so many people are interested in her progress and today I was looking back at some of the old posts. It was one year ago today that she first went back to her own house ... four months after she left to have a surgery she told me was "no big deal."

Life sure has a way of taking some twists and turns you don't expect, doesn't it?

Terri

Home Again ... and Almost Famous

2008-11-19T17:27:00.002-05:00

I'm home from Ann Arbor. Sis's surgery was a complete success. The surgeons said it went better than they had hoped. They were able to use her own muscle to completely close the hernia and just used a small bit of AlloDerm for reinforcement. So we're very thankful!! She's doing very well. There is a lot of pain, but they are managing to keep that under pretty good control. Her kidneys aren't working as well as they'd like to see, and with her history of kidney failure, they're monitoring that very closely, but are not overly concerned at this point.

The team that did her surgery are a general surgeon and a plastic surgeon who work together. The general surgeon does the work on the abdominal cavity and the muscle, and then the plastic surgeon takes over to close the skin. The two of them were at a conference in Rotterdam last week, and they discussed Sis's case at the conference. Out of the 400+ surgeries of this kind that they've done, they said hers is in the top 10 as far as being a difficult case, and while they were confident they could get a good result, they were also very clear about the fact that there was no guarantee. They were both thrilled with the outcome and almost giddy when I talked to them after the surgery was done.

Word had spread through the hospital about her case and I guess there was standing room only in the observation area during her surgery. I told her that her guts are almost famous!!

She'll be in the hospital for a week, and then will recuperate for two more weeks at the home of her good friend ... and family physician (don't you just love small towns!!)

Once again, God has answered our prayers and today we have much to be thankful for. A heartfelt thank you to all of you who kept us in your prayers the past couple of days.

Terri

My Sister

2008-11-15T15:54:00.001-05:00

This is my sister. She's four years younger than me and lives in a small northern Michigan town about 2 1/2 hours away from me. She's a judge, a musician, an artist, a lay minister ... and a miracle.

In June 2007, she went to Grand Rapids, about 5 hours from her home, to have what was supposed to be a routine surgery to repair an abdominal incisional hernia. There were complications and she ended up with a perforated bowel, a massive infection and went into septic shock. She spent three months in the hospital, the first month in intensive care, and several more months recovering at home. She had months of physical and occupational therapy and was on antibiotics for 9 months. While hospitalized, she developed heart problems, blood clots in her lungs and legs, and kidney problems. She had multiple surgeries to clean out the infection in her abdominal cavity and finally, a skin graft close what started out as a dinner plate sized hole in her stomach.

Less than 50% of people with her condition survive ICU. She not only survived ... she recovered, and is thriving. She is a woman of great faith, with lots of friends, and she credits her recovery to the power of prayer. There is lots more to the story, but suffice it to say, we're very lucky to still have her with us, and I'm thankful for that every day.

On Monday, I'll be going with Sis to the University of Michigan Hospitals where a team of plastic and abdominal surgeons will try to reconstruct her abdominal wall and close the very large abdominal hernia that remains on Tuesday. She's been told that her case is one of the more difficult ones they have seen, and the surgery is complicated, with no guarantee of success. She's done an enormous amount of research, and has gotten opinions from surgeons at U of M, Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids and the Cleveland Clinic, and the surgeons at U of M are probably one of 4 or 5 places in the country that could do the surgery she needs. It's something that has to be done, but deciding when to do it was up to her, and she chose now.

I'll be with her in Ann Arbor for a few days, and if things go well, I'll be home late in the week. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Terri

Insomnia

2008-11-14T03:03:00.002-05:00

It's 3 a.m. and I can't sleep. I went to bed at my normal time, and after two hours, I hadn't gone to sleep yet, so I got up. I'm sitting here wide awake, starting to worry that in four hours I have to get up and start another work day, and I haven't ended this one yet!!

I don't normally suffer from insomnia ...at least not often. I probably did it to myself this time.
The truth is, it's probably from the coffee I had after dinner tonight. If I drink coffee later in the day, I usually make sure it's decaf, but I have some Godiva coffee pods for my Senseo and I wanted to try one. It was really good ... but not worth losing a night's sleep!!

The house is quiet. I can hear Honey snoring in the next room. Chloe is sleeping on a shelf above my head, and one of the dogs is whimpering softly, probably dreaming of chasing squirrels in our backyard, a favorite pastime.

I've been up for an hour and a half, and I'm still not sleepy so I guess I'll start some of that work for tomorrow and get a jump on it. Maybe I can fit a nap in later in the morning.

Or maybe working will make me sleepy ....

More Goodies in the Mail

2008-11-13T13:58:00.002-05:00

I was the lucky winner to TWO Fall Into Fall Give Aways and the second one arrived yesterday. Paula, from Coffee Time Stitches sent me a box FULL of goodies.

There was this storage cube with adorable stitchery in the vinyl pocket. This is already in use in my sewing room!

There was a package of rotary cutting blades, and a cute little quilter's bookmark, which will get a lot of use, as I am an avid reader.

There was a cute card wtih a recipe, a pattern for three different table runners, and a package of precut 5 inch squares in my favorite color ... red!!

And, of course, there was chocolate ... which disappeared immediately!!

Thank you so much Paula ... and thanks to everyone who participated in the Giveaway. It was a blast ... and I'm already planning on participating in the Whirl Into Winter Giveaway in January.

Have a great day!!

One of Those Days ...

2008-11-13T13:37:00.002-05:00

Did you ever have one of those days where you sit down to sew and just nothing goes right? I had one of those mornings. Usually, after I realize it's going to be one of those days where I spend more time ripping seams than I do sewing, I give up and decide to do something else. But this morning, I wanted to finish my paper pieced blocks for the Christmas tree skirt I'm working on. So I stuck with it and did manage to finish four more blocks, two candy canes and two wreaths.

Now I just need to figure out how to put them into a tree skirt!! I think that's probably a project for another day, given the fact that "right sides together" is proving to be an impossible skill for me today!!

So I'm going to make some chicken and wild rice soup for Honey for dinner tonight, and maybe I'll make that pineapple upside-down cake I've been wanting for dessert.

Yeah ... that sounds like a plan!!

Win a Free Quilt!

2008-11-11T14:42:00.003-05:00

Dana at Old Red Barn Co is giving away not one ... but THREE quilts. I'd be thrilled to have any one of them. Check it out and leave a comment for your chance to win.

More Paper Piecing

2008-11-11T10:01:00.002-05:00

My new daughter-in-law asked me to make a Christmas tree skirt for her for this holiday season. I looked around for patterns, but I didn't see anything that I thought was really "her" so I came up with my own idea. I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with it yet, but this is what I have so far.

I bought some Christmas fabrics ....

I found some patterns online for some paper pieced blocks. They're simple designs, and it was good practice ... not to mention kind of fun.

I made my share of mistakes ... I think I had to rip out at least one piece from each block I did ... sometimes more. But I'm getting better. I have four more blocks to do (two each of a candy cane and a wreath) and then I have to figure out where to go from there. I know what I want it to look like when I'm finished ... I just haven't quite worked out how to get there yet ... but I will.

I like to do projects that sort of evolve. Sometimes I end up with quite a mess ... but once in a while it ends up to be something spectacular. We'll see which way this one goes!!

What I've Been Working On ....

2008-11-08T17:00:00.002-05:00

I didn't have anything to post for Finished by Friday this week, but it's not because I haven't been doing anything. This week I made these cute little 4 patch blocks. This is going to be a long term project. I want to do a 4 patch quilt, so I'll just make a few blocks here and there, and when I have enough, I'll sew them all together.

I learned how to paper piece. Does this look like a chili pepper to you??

I made another little fabric basket. This one is a bit bigger than the original pattern and I changed the handle placement. It worked out fine.

I practiced my free motion quilting on some little pieces, which bound and turned into hot pads for our kitchen. We never seem to have enough!!

I finished my mini-quilt for November's Swap Til You Drop, but I can't show that until my partner receives it. I think it turned out kind of cute.

Projects I'm still working on ...

Rail fence quilt for my sister.

Little boxes quilt from Pumpkins Gone Wild scraps .. needs backing, quilting and binding.

The December them for Swap Til You Drop was announced, and I had a flash of inspiration, so I started on that already. I was going to sit out December thinking it would be too busy ... but then I got this great idea!!

The Baby Girl quilt ... I'm still working on frogging all that meandering!!!

New projects I want to start

A Christmas tree skirt for the Big Guy and KT (by request)

Lounge pants for all the kids (five pair).

A Christmas table runner for myself.

Curtains for the Wonder Child's bedroom in his new apartment (by request).

A throw quilt for the Poet and fiancee for Christmas.

I guess all that will keep me busy for a while!!

Happy sewing!! Terri

Let's Talk About Stash

2008-11-08T16:44:00.003-05:00

I've never been much of a stash person. I always bought fabric with a particular project in mind, used it for that, and my only stash was scraps and odd pieces which were left over. When I was quilting, I saved those scraps, just in case I might be able to use them in another quilt block sometime. The last couple of months, I've been trying to build up a stash, but I have to admit it's hard for me.

I've never been much of a shopper. Retail therapy is not a concept I understand. I go shopping when I need something. That goes for clothes, groceries, things for the house ... whatever. So it's been hard for me to shop for fabric when I don't have a specific use for it in mind. I've picked up some yardage the last few weeks, but unless I have a specific project in mind, I get so overwhelmed in the fabric shop that it's hard for me to buy anything. I bought the same fabric twice because I forgot I already had some. Once I buy it, I feel compelled to use it for something.

Except for fabric that I purchased for a particular use ... this is my entire stash.

Pretty pitiful, huh? Well, I'm working on it. I guess I'm still not used to the fact that the kids are all gone, and nobody is going to need a new pair of tennis shoes, or have outgrown all their jeans, or need a trip to the emergency room for xrays or stitches or something, and it's okay to spend some money on things just for fun!!

This 'N That

2008-11-06T21:12:00.003-05:00

I've spent most of my sewing time this week working on a mini quilt for Swap Til You Drop, so I can't show that yet, so as not to spoil the surprise. In between, I've been putting finishing touches on a couple of other projects. This is another dishtowel I did. They have these plain white waffle weave dish towels at WalMart, a package of 2 for a couple of dollars, and then I fancy them up. They're fun, and quick to do, and I think they'll make nice little Christmas gifts.

I also took one of my old projects .. the Card Tricks block, put some binding on it and made a mini quilt out of it. I think I'm going to do that with my other odd blocks from years ago. I might as well display them instead of having them sitting in a drawer!! And I've been playing around with designing quilt labels. I've never labeled my quilts, although I did sign a couple of them that I gave as gifts years ago. I designed this one on my computer. I used a label template, inserted some graphics and typed in the information. Then, I ironed some freezer paper onto a piece of muslin, cut it to fit in my inkjet printer and printed it off. You have to be sure and heat set the ink with a hot iron so it doesn't wash out, but it worked pretty well. It's kind of a neat way to have a custom label. I'm still searching for the right graphic to use as my "signature" label. Until I come across just the right thing, I'll just enjoy some variety.
The weather continues to be unseasonably warm. I'm not sure it's going to last much longer, but it sure has been nice. The peak of fall color is past, but there is still a lot of color to be seen. I really enjoy it when fall hangs around for a bit longer than usual. I love everything about it. The brilliant colors, the sounds of flocks of migrating geese, the smell of burning leaves, the echoes of the marching band from the nearby high school on Friday night football games, the crisp morning air. It's my favorite time of year!!

Terri

Sneak Peek and a New Baby

2008-11-04T10:00:00.003-05:00

We've had unseasonably warm weather the last couple of days and I've been thoroughly enjoying it. It's not often we get 70 degree sunny days in November, so I'm making the most of it. It's been absolutely beautiful!!

This is a sneak peek at a secret project I'm working on. It's for a swap, so I can't show too much. Don't want my partner's surprise to be ruined!!

And this is my newest great nephew. Meet Coby Jayse ... born on Halloween!! Baby Coby lives several states away, so I'm not likely to see him any time soon to pinch those fat baby cheeks. I'll just have to ask his Grandma and Grandpa to do a litte extra for me!! I must have had a premonition because we didn't know whether the baby would be a girl or a boy ahead of time, but something told me to finish the baby boy's quilt first and I did that last week ... just in time. I just need to add a label today and then it goes in the mail!!

Don't forget exercise your right to vote today, whoever you decide to vote for!!

Have a great day.

Terri

The Morning After

2008-11-01T09:39:00.001-04:00

Honey took this picture the morning after Halloween a few years ago. Don't you love it?

Anniversary Giveaway

2008-10-31T14:51:00.002-04:00

Katie from See Katie Sew is celebrating her two year blog anniversary with a giveaway. Go read her blog and leave her a comment recommending a favorite new blog for her to check out.

Congratulations on two years of blogging, Katie!!

Goodies in the Mail

2008-10-31T10:42:00.002-04:00

I won two prizes in the Fall Into Fall Giveaway a couple of weeks ago and the first one arrived today. Julie from Floribunda Quilts sent me this paper pieced "Tea with Mom" mini. The picture really doesn't do it justice!! Some of the piecing is pretty intricate, and she did a beautiful job!! I just bought a book on paper piecing and I'm even more anxious to try it now!!

She also sent along a few sheets of handmade paper. Each sheet has a different texture and it's really interesting. I'll have to do a little research on ways to use this to showcase it properly!!

Thanks, Julie. You made my day!!

Finished by Friday and Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-31T10:18:00.005-04:00

Happy Halloween!!

I finished quilting and binding my blue and yellow baby quilt this week. This was my beginner's project to get me eased back into piecing and quilting. It's not perfect, but it did what it was intended to do ... refresh my skills.
And ... I pieced the top for the lap quilt I'm making for my sister. This is the rail fence pattern. It's done using assembly line strip piecing and it goes really fast. I want to finish this up to give to her for Christmas so she can cuddle up under it this winter, and I don't have time for a complicated pattern. This one was perfect. I still need to add the borders and sandwich and quilt it, but I'm counting getting the top pieced as a sort of finish!!

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful Halloween here. It's supposed to get up to 65 degrees and the sun is shining. We don't fuss much about Halloween these days like we did when the kids were small, but we do enjoy seeing all the little goblins in their costumes that show up at our door. I wanted to put costumes on the dogs this year, but Honey wouldn't let me. I found the perfect costumes for them ... a pirate for Scooter, scallywag that he is, and an angel for Peanut (who is anything but). I think it would have been cute!!

2008-10-30T10:41:00.003-04:00

It's been a busy couple of days. Lots of work, lots of sewing. Honey and I were supposed to go to a football game last night. The Township Fire Department and the coaches at a local Catholic High School played a football game to raise money for breast cancer research. Big Guy was on the Fire Department's team. It was only 34 degrees though, and these old bones aren't up to sitting in the stands watching a football game in that kind of weather, so we sent a check for a donation to the cause and begged off going to the game. I understand a good time was had by all, though, and the Fire Department lost ... (Big Guy says the coaches had some ringers on their team ... former students who are college and professional athletes!!) He's never been a graceful loser!! It was all for a good cause though ... and he didn't injure himself, which I'm thankful for. You know how guys are ... he still has a vision of himself as the high school football star he used to be .... 10 years ago!!

My order from JoAnn's arrived so as soon as I finish the quilt top for my sister, I'll be making lounge pants for the kids for Christmas. I also got this book on paper piecing mini-quilts. I can't wait to try one, but I have some other things to finish first.

This is the fabric I got to make lounge pants for the Wonder Child. He's a sports nut, and a budding photojournalist, so this was perfect for him.
Ladybugs for my new daughter-in-law.
And for the Big Guy, the fire fighter and emergency medical technician .... emergency vehicles!! I can't wait to see his face when he gets these!!
The Poet and his fiance live in Florida, so flannel lounge pants aren't really suitable for them, but I'll find some lightweight fabric to do some for them too ... maybe shorts!!

So, I have plenty on my plate and don't see myself running out of projects any time soon!! If only work and housecleaning didn't eat into my crafting time!!

Have a great day!!

Terri

A New Project and Some Finishes

2008-10-27T10:05:00.002-04:00

This is the fabric I bought to make a lap quilt for my sister for Christmas. She lives in Northern Michigan, where winter seems to last forever, and she's always looking for something to snuggle up with. The colors will go with the new living room furniture she got a few months ago. I'm excited to get started.

Okay, I can't wait until Friday. This is what I worked on this weekend. An apron for my aunt, with some coordinating dish towels and a pot holder.

This is a better picture of the dishtowels and potholder. My aunt is know for her cooking and baking and at 78 years old, she's still going strong. She is my mom's only sister, and all my life, she and her husband have been like a second set of parents to me, so I wanted to make something special for her that I know she will use. I'm pleased with how they turned out. This is a fabric basket and box I made from tutorials I found on line. The tutorial for the basket can be found at Pink Penguin and the tutorial for the fabric box is here Crazy Mom Quilts

Now I'll have to get busy and finish something else by Friday!!

Relaxing Weekend

2008-10-26T23:52:00.003-04:00

It was a cold and rainy weekend, but I didn't have to work, and any weekend I don't have to work is a good one!! I made some homemade chicken noodle soup on Saturday, and we had that for dinner, with some of that crusty bread. Great supper for a cold and rainy Saturday. I spent the afternoon in the sewing room. I decided to leave the free motion quilting alone for a bit, so I worked on a Christmas gift I had planned. Everything turned out really well and I was pleased with what I accomplished. I'll post pictures with my Finished by Friday post this week.

Today, I worked on laundry and packing up my summer clothes, and unpacking and putting away my winter ones. It's time, I guess. We may get a warm day here and there, but winter is on the way. There's even snow flurries in the forecast for this week, although I think if we do get some, it won't accumulate much. Honey and I went shopping for a few things. I got myself a work light for the sewing room. I really needed better light in there, and this really does the trick. I also got some new pajamas, cozy pink fleece with cupcakes all over them!! I had to throw away my favorite pajamas on Friday. I was putting them on, and lost my balance a bit, and my foot went right through the seat of them!! The fabric was so thin, it just sort of disintegrated!! (I did say they were my favorite!!) So Honey said I should buy some new ones ... and I did. Honey calls me "Cupcake" when I wear them!!

I spent some time this afternoon in the sewing room. I worked on quilting the other baby quilt. It's all straight lines, so I didn't have to worry about any problems like I had trying to free motion quilt the other one. I got it about half done and needed to take a break. I hope to finish it this week and have a picture for Friday too.

We had a great dinner! Honey and I like to cook together. We made a pork loin roast, with mashed potatoes, acorn squash and roasted apples. He had work to do this evening, so I cleaned up the kitchen, and then made a cup of coffee and curled up with a magazine. A nice way to end the weekend.

I hope yours was great too!

Easy No-Knead Homemade Bread

2008-10-25T19:14:00.004-04:00

There was a recipe for No-Knead bread featured on the the TODAY show last week and Honey went to their website and printed off the recipe. He's made it three times so far, and it is WONDERFUL ... and really easy to make. You end up with a rustic-looking loaf of really crusty bread that is the perfect accompaniment to homemade soup, chili, or beef stew.

Here's the recipe. Even if you've never baked bread before, you should try this. You'll be hooked!!

Speedy No-Knead Bread By Mark Bittman
Yield: One big loaf
Time: 5 to 6 hours

INGREDIENTS
3 cups bread flour
1 packet (1/4 ounce) instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Oil as needed

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest about 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Lightly oil a work surface and place dough on it; fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest at least 30 minutes more.
3. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 3 to 4 quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under the dough and put it into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

I was raised on homemade bread, and there's nothing like it. In the winter, I used to bake bread once a week. It's so easy with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, and I have the large professional model, so I can do four loaves at once. When the kids were home, one loaf would disappear as soon as it was out of the oven, and the rest would last us the week. Now, with just Honey and me, I usually give one loaf to the Big Guy and KT, and freeze two and it lasts us about a two weeks, so I don't have to bake as often. Honey still has to have a piece hot out of the oven though!!

Finished by Friday ... and a Disappointment.

2008-10-24T18:38:00.004-04:00

Today was a dreary, rainy, chilly Friday. A great day for the chili Honey made for dinner tonight and for curling up on the couch with some wine to watch a movie later tonight. It was also a perfect day for spending the afternoon in the sewing room, which I did ... so I have a Friday finish to share. I completed the top for the mini quilt I did from my Pumpkins Gone Wild Charms. I got two table runners and a mini quilt out of one charm pack, which was on sale for $5.40. A great bargain and I used almost every scrap of it!!

I had a disappointment today too. I've been working on a couple of baby quilts, and I wanted to do free motion quilting on one of them. I've been practicing on small pieces and it's been going well. Until today. I put on some music, donned my quilting gloves, and got my rhythm going, just like more experienced free motion quilters have advised. Everything went fine ... for a while. Then this happened. This is the back of the quilt. The front looks fine. I didn't notice any
difference in the feel while I was sewing, it didn't make any different noises. It's obviously a tension problem, and it did seem to happen right when I "hit my rhythm" so to speak. I had the machine running quite a bit faster than I normally do when piecing or doing other sewing, and the only thing I can think of is that this machine doesn't like to speed!! I'm going to tear all this out tonight and try it again tomorrow, but I'm afraid that maybe my sewing machine isn't up to this kind of sewing and a new one isn't a possibility right now. I have a few ideas to try, and welcome any suggestions you more experienced quilters might have. I was so looking forward to being able to machine quilt. Hand quilting isn't really an option for me any more. Forty years of pounding a keyboard have taken their toll and hand sewing is very painful for me these days.

So, a little setback and a big disappointment. I guess I'll live!! For tonight, I think I'm going to go crack open that bottle of wine and enjoy my movie!!

Have a great weekend.

Terri

Learning to Knit

2008-10-23T13:21:00.004-04:00

Last fall, I decided to learn to knit. I looked up a couple of Learn to Knit sites on the internet, bought myself some needles and a Teach Yourself to Knit book and away I went. I made a dozen or so dishcloths, and hats and scarfs for Christmas gifts last year, and then decided I was ready for something more complicated. I made this neck warmer out of Lion Brand Homespun yarn, which I really love, and I'll be using it myself this winter.

Then I moved on to doing baby hats. These are going to be donated to our local neonatal intensive care unit. They're really fun to do, and I can do one in an evening if I work at it.

A baby sweater was next on the agenda. This was a beginners pattern, and there wasn't much shaping to it, but I was proud of it anyway. I'm going to put this away for my first grandchild. It might be the only one I ever do!!
Lastly, a doll afghan ... with a pattern. I still have a hard time following a pattern, and often end up losing or gaining stitches without really knowing where or how and have to tear out a lot, but I'm getting better. I think I'm going to take a knitting class this winter, as I think I need some help, and I've gone about as far as I can go on my own.
One project I'm still working on is an afghan for my living room. I figured I could handle that big a project, because it's all garter stitch, knit in blocks that you join together. For those of you who are knitters, it's the Warm Up America pattern, which is a charity knitting pattern. You can knit blocks and donate them to be put together into afghans for the needy. Our local JoAnns has a collection box there, and I've made a number of blocks to donate out of scrap yarn from leftover projects. They're nice to do when you want something to do that you can finish up quickly, and it helps that they're for a good cause. They're a good take-along project too for waiting rooms and car trips.

I've tried to teach myself to crochet too ... but I just can't get the hang of it. I guess if I want to learn that, I'll have to find someone to teach me!! For right now, I have enough to keep me busy, but it's on my list of "things to do someday."

More Oldies and a new craft.

2008-10-23T13:06:00.002-04:00

I unearthed some more old projects in various stages of completion. This is a wall hanging I made, probably in about 1985 or so. Have you ever just wanted to sew something, but didn't want to start a big project, or spend a lot of money. This was one of those. I made it from scraps from other projects. It was my first attempt at applique and is hand quilted. It hung on my living room wall for a few years, and then got packed away when I redecorated. I think I'll hang it in my sewing room along with the new mini quilts I'm making now.
The next few are blocks that I made, probably in the late 1980s. I never really had a plan for what to do with these. They were more to practice piecing and hand quilting than to end up in a finished project. I think I'll go ahead and quilt this one, and put bindings on the others and make mini-quilts out of them too. I cant remember what the name of most of these blocks are, but except for the last one, they are all from a Judy Martins Ultimate Book of Quilt Block Patterns.

The next one is Card Tricks. I've always loved this block. I made this from leftover fabrics from a Double Irish Chain baby quilt I gave to a friend in 1990 or so. Again, to practice my piecing and hand quilting. I'd like to make a whole quilt out of Card Tricks one day.

My First Quilt

2008-10-22T10:01:00.004-04:00

I've been sewing since I was in junior high school. I made many of my own clothes, all through school, and after I was married I continued to make clothes, as well as curtains and draperies for my house. I wanted to learn to quilt and my aunt invited me to join a group of ladies who got together one morning a week to work on their quilting and sewing projects. They were all grandmas, and I was in my late 20s, with young children at home, but they welcomed me with open arms. We would meet every Thursday morning, with each member taking a turn hosting, and would work on our projects, gossip, share family stories and have donuts and coffee. I started out making quilt blocks and making them into pillows, and after a few of those, I wanted to try a small quilt. I didn't have much money back then, and some of the ladies in the group donated fabrics for me to use. I wanted my first "real" quilt to be very traditional, so it is all hand pieced and hand quilted. I have to admit that it took me years to finish it off. Another baby intervened, and it got put away for a while, but eventually I did finish it. It's pretty amateurish, but I still treasure it.

I've made other quilts since then, but I soon learned to do my piecing by machine, so this is the only quilt I've ever done all by hand.

This is a quilt I made for my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary in 1992. I machine pieced it, but it is all hand quilted. It's the largest quilt I've ever done. When my mother-in-law passed away in 2005 my sisters-in-law gave it back to me to keep.

This is what I've been working on this week in my "sewing breaks." I just had to do something with the rest of my Pumpkins Gone Wild Charm pack and this is what I decided on. It's not quite finished, but it will be by Friday!! I think I'll hang it on the wall in my sewing room.

I did some online shopping last night at JoAnns and I bought some snuggle flannel that was on sale for $2.50 a yard to make lounge pants for the kids for Christmas. I usualy buy them each a pair but this year, since I'm sewing again, I'm going to make them. The Big Guy is an EMT and a volunteer firefighter and I bought some fabric with emergency vehicles on it for him. He's going to love it!! I also ordered a book on paper piecing mini-quilts, which I'm anxious to receive. I'm really enjoying doing the smaller quilts.

My sewing room is still a work in progress. I've been cleaning out and freecycling to make some more space in there. I gave away four bags of yarn that was given to me and I will never use to a lady who crochets afghans for charity, and some quilt panels that were my mothers, that I didn't especially care for. I found a bunch of empty picture frames from my mom's house, and some recipe cards so I freecycled those too. It's really a tiny room. It was my mom's room when she lived with us, and since she passed away, we've used it mostly for storage, so I have a way to go to get it all cleaned out and organized. But my work space is usable in the meantime, and I try to work on it a little bit every day. I'll get there eventually!!

More Free Stuff!

2008-10-20T14:37:00.002-04:00

There's a Halloween Give-Away at Pumpkin Patch Primitives, and for even more fun, the prize is a secret!!

Rainy Days and Mondays....

2008-10-20T13:30:00.003-04:00

It's Monday, and it's raining. I'm not complaining, as we've had some glorious, crisp, sunny fall days ... more than our share, I'd say. October in Michigan can often be very wet and dreary, but this year has been spectacular.

I had to work most of the weekend, so didn't get much sewing done. To keep myself motivated though, I'd work for an hour or two, then give myself a 10 minute sewing break. Three of those and I had completed another table runner from my Pumpkins Gone Wild charm pack, which I'll give to my daughter-in-law when it's quilted.

Honey and I also gave the kitchen a good cleaning and packed up my china and stemware to make more room in the cupboards. I love china and crystal and have quite a bit of it. We only use it a half dozen times a year though, and it takes up a lot of space in the kitchen that could be put to better use. I bought some quilted cases to store it in and we tucked it away in a bedroom closet, where it's out of the way, but not too difficult to get to when I want to use it.

The Wonder Child came home yesterday. His birthday was last week, and we sent him a card and a gift, but since he was home, I baked him a birthday cake and he got to choose Sunday dinner. He wanted steak (big surprise!!) We had a couple of New York strips in the freezer, Honey grilled them up and I made sour cream and chive mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli to go with it.

So, I didn't work ALL weekend ... but I put in a looooong day yesterday and today I'm feeling it!!

I joined a couple of online swaps and today I got my Spare Change Swap fabrics ready for mailing. Since I'm just back to quilting, I don't have much in the way of stash yet, so I bought a Charm Pack to use for this swap. I like the fabrics and the good part is, I have half of the pack left to use myself!! I see another mini-quilt in my future!!

When I went in the sewing room the get the package ready for mailing, I found Maggie in her new favorite place.

She likes to relax on my work table because she can see out the window, and she likes curling up on soft cuddly things. She's so funny. She loves to be petted and rubbed, but she won't let anybody hold her, except Big Guy, who rubs her all over and puts her into a trance of some sort. She was just a tiny little thing when we got her, less than 1/2 a pound, and sickly. She spent the first few weeks we had her in a kitty cuddler with a heating pad next to my desk, or curled up on my lap while I worked. She got over her "failure to thrive" but she has a few quirks that I think are a result of her rough start in life.

She decided that she wanted to play while I was trying to gather my swap package together. I had to give her a piece of ribbon of her very own to play with so she'd leave me alone!!

I have a busy day of work today too, but the sewing break idea was a good way to keep me motivated!! My reward for working hard!! It's better than nothing!!

Finished by Friday

2008-10-17T20:51:00.003-04:00

A cyberfriend and fellow blogger does a "Finished by Friday" post most weeks with photos of the projects she completed that week. I think that's a good idea, so I'm "borrowing" it. I often don't have any time during the week to work on my projects though, so I don't often finish things during the week.

This week was an exception though. I finished my first mini quilt! I decided to keep it simple this first time out, so although I did quilt it on the machine, I stuck with straight lines. It's not perfect, but overall, I'm pleased with the results. This was kind of a practice run. I joined the Swap Til You Drop group on Flickr.com and the November theme is a 2 color quilt. I love red, so I thought I'd practice with that.

I needed another red fabric for the binding, so I went to the Quilted Cottage to look for something appropriate. They had all their Halloween stuff on sale for 40% off, so I got a Moda charm pack Pumkins Gone Wild by Sandy Gervais and whipped up this table runner. It's short for a table runner, but I really wanted something for the middle of the table and not a real runner. I practiced my free motion quilting on this and it is getting better, although still not ready for prime time!!

I had to stop working on it to fix dinner, and when I went back to the sewing room afterwards to finish it up, this is what I found. Maggie making herself at home!! She was not the least bit inclined to move and was none too happy when I relocated her!!

I'm going to have to work most of the weekend, but I do want to get my two baby quilts sandwiched so I can work on quilting them this week. It would be nice if I could have them up as finishes next Friday, but I'm not making any promises.

There's No Place Like Home

2008-10-16T12:04:00.003-04:00

Honey asked to to go with him on deliveries this morning to see some of the fall colors. He said they were just about at their peak and if I didn't go soon, I'd miss them. So I took my camera with me, stopped and got a cappucino for the drive and went along for the ride. I'm glad I did.

In years past, we've taken a fall color tour in northern Michigan. It's one of my favorite things to do. This year, with the economy being what it is, and just having had a lot of expenses for Big Guy's wedding last month, we decided to forego the trip and enjoy the colors closer to home. They're magnificent even in our own backyard!! I just love the fall!!

Memories of fall and decisions, decisions ...

2008-10-14T20:11:00.004-04:00

Today was a beautiful fall day and although I would have preferred to be outdoors, I had to work. I work at home though, and my office has a window through which I can see down the length of our street, and enjoy the fall colors and neighborhood activities while I work. I started a big pot of vegetable beef soup this morning and it filled the house with a delicious smell as I worked. I love vegetable soup. I learned to make it from my mother, who learned from her mother, who learned from her mother. There's nothing like vegetable soup in the fall to warm you from within.

One of my fondest memories of growing up is "vegetable soup nights." We'd come home from school and there would be a big pot of soup on the stove and fresh baked bread. We didn't have a regular dinner time on those nights. Everybody just scooped soup into a bowl whenever they were hungry, grabbed at thick slice of bread smeared with butter, and went back for more all evening long. We children always thought of it as kind of a party. It didn't dawn on me until I was much older that it was Mom's way of using up all the little bits of leftovers from the week and it was probably a pretty inexpensive way to fill 7 hungry tummies when the money ran out before payday!!

It's funny that some of my favorite childhood memories are of times when our family had the least. Something to remember in these tough times when more and more people are having to struggle to get by.

Red is my favorite color. The couch in my living room is red. My kitchen would be red, but Honey wouldn't let me. My car is red. The majority of my clothes are red. Right now, my toenails are red!! I just love red!!

I've been working on something with red and white fabrics. I thought I'd make a mini-quilt, since I've never done one before. I made all these little half-square triangles in various red fabrics and paired them with white. Now I have to decide how to put them together. I can't decide which arrangement I like best.

This one is nice ....

Or this one ....

Then there's this ...

Or this ....

But I think I like this one best of all.
What do you think?

Superb Give-Away!!

2008-10-13T19:12:00.002-04:00

Indie Fixx is having an Autum Cornucopia Give-Away with some really neat prizes!! Check it out. And while you're at it, check out some of her sponsors. My favorite is Becky Oh who has some amazing handbags, among other things. Some lucky person is going to win a wonderful package of prizes!!!

Things I Learned at My Sewing Machine

2008-10-13T12:01:00.003-04:00

If you forget to change your straight stitch foot for your zigzag foot when doing a zigzag stitch you WILL break a needle!!

The number of things you drop on the floor is in direct proportion to how stiff you are that day and how difficult it is for you to bend over and pick them up!!

When you are working with white fabric, you will stab yourself with a pin and bleed all over it. (Note to self --- keep a stash of band aids near the sewing machine)

Don't wave a rotary cutter around in your hand (and hit your knuckle with it and bleed profusely .... again). (Another note to self --- switch to the rotary cutter with the retractable blade).

I spent a some time over the weekend reaquainting myself with my sewing machine. and except for the above mentioned injuries, it was very worthwhile. Honey bought this machine for me probably 10 years ago to replace my circa 1972 Kenmore. It does all kinds of things. I've never used it much, except for mending, so I thought it would be a good idea to find out what she can do!! I practiced all the different stitches. Even tried some embroidery and smocking, which was kind of fun!!

I practiced more machine quilting. I'm improving ... slowly, but I sure have a good time doing it!! The quilting is pretty amateurish, but we'll use the placemats, and it was good practice.

I used some scrap fabrics to make some things to help me be organized in my sewing room. I did cozies for my knitting needles and crochet hooks.

I'm in serious stash building mode, and I think I bought about 30 yards of fabric last week. Lots of fat quarters and 1 yard cuts. I also bought a small cutting board that flips over to an ironing surface. Much easier than dragging out the big ironing board when working on piecing small bits. I got a square and a smaller ruler, also easier when working on small stuff. I told Honey that would be it for a while, but I think I lied. I want to hit up a local quilt shop I've heard good things about. I'd like to see what classes they offer and see if there is anything I might like to take.

I'll post some pictures later today.

An Oldie, But Goodie

2008-10-09T09:55:00.003-04:00

When my youngest son, the Wonder Child, was about 4, I was looking for something to sew one day and found a couple of packages of pre-cut 4 inch squares that someone had given me. They were yellow and brown. I made triangles out of them and sewed them together into blocks and then into a zig-zag pattern and made a quilt for him. He stood by the sewing machine all afternoon handing me the triangles to sew together, then handing me the squares to sew into strips, and lastly, handing me the strips to put together into a quilt top. He watched me machine quilt it and sat next to me on the couch while I stitched the binding down. When it was finished, he took it and called it his "Bumblebee Quilt" because the colors looked like a bee, and he slept with it cuddled up by his face for years.

Wonder Child is 23 now. He was home from school last weekend and when I was helping him get his things ready to leave, I found the Bumblebee Quilt in his bed. He says one pillow isn't enough and two pillows is too much, but a pillow and the Bumblebee Quilt folded under his head is just right. It's badly frayed and nearly threadbare, and I offered to do some repair work on it. He forbade me to touch it. "It's perfect just like it is," he said.

I have to admit that it warmed my heart to know that, even though he's much too old to sleep with a "lovey" that he still treasures that quilt we made together so many years ago.

The Bumblebee Quilt ... in all its well worn and very well loved glory.

The binding is frayed. and nearly completely gone! The seams are coming apart.

But the Wonder Child still thinks it's "perfect."

And that dear friends, is just one of the reasons I love making quilts. It's like giving a part of yourself to someone to love and cherish forever ... or until it just disintegrates away from being so well loved!!

Wishing you all a blessed day!!

Terri

Works in Progress ...

2008-10-06T19:44:00.005-04:00

I spent the weekend working on a few projects and starting to work on my sewing room. Honey talked me out of trying do use a corner of the basement. He reminded me how cold it gets down there in the winter and how much work it would be to accomplish, so we settled on the spare bedroom instead. The Wonder Child came home from school for the weekend, so Big Guy came over and they moved some furniture around for me. Big Guy is off work on Wednesday, so he's going to come over and help set up my table. In the meantime, I tried to do some sorting through boxes of fabric and supplies that I've had stored and trying to get a handle on just what I have!!

This is what will eventually be my sewing room. Looks like something exploded in there right now doesn't it?

I did make some time to do a little sewing too. This is a table topper I started on some years ago. I decided it would be a good project to finish up and practice my machine quilting on. I had a LOT of this fabric. I think I bought the whole bolt!! I made a swag valance for my big living room window out of it, a couple of throw pillows for the couch, a solid table topper, six placemats, and this. I still have quite a few good sized pieces left, but I think I'm going to cut them up for scraps. I'm kind of sick of this fabric!!!

I also cut and pieced this quilt top. I need to add borders yet. My nephew and his wife are expecting a baby in November and if it's a girl, I'll send them this one and if it's a boy, I'll send them the other one.

This one would be for a boy. Neither of them will go to waste. I like doing baby quilts. They're small and quick to do and they make nice practice for someone like me, just getting back into sewing!!

Tried free motion quilting for the first time this weekend too. I ordered a darning foot for my machine and it came in, so I put together a couple of practice pieces and went to town. Boy is it fun!!! My pieces aren't worthy of showing anybody yet, but I learned to adjust my tension to get that right, and sort of got the hang of how to move the quilt. I can't wait to do more!!!

I have a busy work week, so don't know how much sewing I'll be able to do, and frankly, it's a bit annoying!! That special project has turned into a longer term thing .. so I'm actually going to have to work full days this week!! Just when I was getting used to half days!! Luckily I can do it in my pajamas!!

I did get a few minutes at the machine tonight and made a pin cushion and a fabric bowl. I need to finish up the hand sewing on them, so no pictures until I do that. I'll finish those up while I watch Heroes tonight.

Later....

Terri

My Human Children

2008-10-02T13:30:00.003-04:00

These are the children I gave birth to and my new daughter-in-law at the wedding September 13. My oldest, The Poet is on the left. The couple in the middle are my second son, Big Guy, his new wife, KT, and on the right is my youngest, The Wonder Child.

The Poet lives in Florida, so we don't see him often. The Wonder Child lives near Central Michigan University, where he attends school, about an hour's drive from here. The Big Guy and KT live about a mile and a half from here and we see them often. I love them all to pieces, and consider them to be my true life's work.

I'm still buried in a special project for work, so no time to sew, but hope to get some pictures up of some projects I did a few years ago tomorrow. And hopefully I'll have something to post for my Finished by Friday post!!

Terri

Cute Little Floor Mat

2008-10-01T10:35:00.004-04:00

This cute little floor mat tutorial was posted bySew Mama Sew . I'm going to have to add this to my "Projects I Want to Make" list.

So much to sew!! So little time. I'm afraid work is going to be interfering with my hobby!! I was hoping to be able to sew this afternoon, but got an unexpected project today with a deadline tomorrow, so I'm going to have to work on that all day!! Poor me!!

Credit Where Credit is Due

2008-10-01T10:00:00.002-04:00

I should have posted links to the tutorials I used for some of the things pictured below. My apologies. I'm new and this blogging thing, and I hadn't yet learned to put links in my posts.

The pin cushion was from Crazy Mom Quilts (please let this work!!)

The fabric basket was from Pink Penguin. These are so cute, I know I'll be making more of these!!

My Furry Family

2008-09-30T23:16:00.005-04:00

This is Scooter. The Old Curmudgeon. He's quite a character. He hates the cats, and every time Peanut and the cats start to play together he breaks it up. He hates Peanut too, most of the time. But let anybody threaten any of his "girls" and he's right there!!

This is Peanut. She's our Princess. She has Honey in serious puppy love, although she's no longer a puppy. She's like having a live teddy bear.

Below, are Peanut and Maggie playing in the grass. They get along pretty well.

This is Chloe. Sitting on my computer. While I was trying to work. She likes it there because it's nice and warm. Makes it tough to get any work done, though!!

And those are our furry children. We have three human children too, all grown now. I'll introduce you to them another time!!

It's a Start

2008-09-30T22:38:00.010-04:00

I found this cute beginner's quilt tutorial and I thought that would be a good place to start. It's a baby quilt, and it just so happens, I have a grand niece of nephew due to arrive in November. It was a lot of fun, although I think the block on the bottom right is a little wonky and I might have to work on that a little before I put it all together.

I also did a fabric basket and pincushion from tutorials I found by cruising quilting blogs, and made a cute little tote bag of my own design with some old fabric I had cut out for placemats years ago, but never put together. I've redecorated the kitchen a couple of times since then, so the placemats would be all the wrong color anyway. I also pieced an odd scrappy block, just for fun!!

The pin cushion tutorial was on Crazy Mom Quilts blog (see link on the side-bar). She also had done the fabric basket, but linked to a tutorial to another webside, and I'm sorry, but I can't find that again right this minute. I will post a link when I do though.

A new life for some old fabric. Just the right size to carry around some knitting!!

My scrappy just for fun block!! So I guess I'm on my way!! I can't believe how much fun I've had the past few days pulling out all my sewing stuff again. My mom passed away four years ago and I had boxes of things from her house in a closet that I've never gone through and I did that yesterday. It was raining outside and a good way to spend the afternoon!! She had dozens of quilt books, templates, and patterns. I was like a kid in a candy store!! Somewhere around here, are two quilts that she had partially pieced, but never finished. I'm going to finish those. One is a blue and white Ohio Star and the other is a Log Cabin in greens, whites and reds. I still miss her every day, and it was comforting in a way to be touching her things, and to use them.

I've been haunting the sale fabrics at WalMart and JoAnns to try and build up my fabric stash. It's pretty much non-existant at the moment. I know that will take time, since the budget is a bit tight right now. There are three or four nice quilting shops in town too, and I've been trying to stay away from those for the moment. I'd go nuts!! I am going to take some hints I found online though, and check out thrift shops for mens cotton shirts. I'll post a picture of some of the fabrics I picked up tomorrow.

Until then .... Terri

The Spirit is Willing ....

2008-09-28T22:20:00.003-04:00

I used to sew a lot. I really enjoyed it. But with Honey, my husband of 35 years, three growing boys, a home-based business, and two dogs and two cats packed into a much-too-small ranch house, there was just no space for a sewing room. I had to drag my machine out and set it up on the kitchen table, gather my tools and fabric from the nooks and crannies where I had stashed it to keep it safe from my hooligans, and when meal time came, I had to put it all away again so we could eat. At some point, it became just too much trouble and I quit doing it.

Our youngest son, The Wonder Child, recently moved out and now we truly have an empty nest. Besides having more space, I have time now. So I've been daydreaming about setting up a sewing room in a corner of the basement. I have a long table in the basement already, and an old butcher-block looking kitchen table to use for a cutting table. I bought myself a new steam iron to replace the 35 year old one we got for a wedding gift (can you tell how much I iron?)

I've been surfing the web looking and quilter's blogs and getting all kinds of inspiration. I went to Wal Mart and bought a bunch of fabric. I'm excited. I want to get started. I can sew on the kitchen table until the sewing room is ready, since we don't eat there anymore.

So this weekend I started sorting through boxes of sewing stuff I've had packed away for years. I found a number of unfinished products, a small stash of fabric, a whole box of zippers, a can of buttons, and all kinds of other fun stuff.

Now, after all that, I'm too tired to sew!!

I have several projects I want to work on this week. In the meantime, I may post some pictures of things I've already done. (I haven't been sewing, but I took up knitting this past winter and found I really enjoy that too!!)

So, here I am, entering the blog world. Re-entering the world of quilting and crafting. After so long a soujourn, I'm treating myself like a beginner again.