Baby Quilt for Angela's First Baby

I just wanted to show you the quilt I made for my daughter.  She really does have eyes, (LOL) I just caught her with them closed - sorry.  That is her husband beside her.  So how do you like the quilt?  It's made with Minki and flannel.  Very soft and very girlie.  Boy, oh boy do I hope she has a girl.  LOL

 

Interestingly, no one called me on the fact that I didn't mention what the give-a-way is!  Sorry, I was going to tell you, but I closed the post before I did.

 

I woud like to give-a-way the book " The Double Wedding Ring".  

 

 

Linda

What We are Thankful For & Give-A-Way

Good Morning!

 

Thanksgiving Time is here.  Even if you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving where you are at, I’m sure you have plenty of things to be thankful for.

 
 

So let’s have a round of things we are thankful for.

 

 I’ll start.  I’m so very thankful to God that my daughter,  who had a miscarriage last year, has been able to carry her baby to 6 ½ months. I think she will make it to her due date. 

 
 

 Another thing I’m thankful for is my grandmother teaching me to how to make the best pie crust!  Yum!  But also it carries on the tradition of her excellent food for our family dinners.

 

Of course I’m thankful that we have weathered some health problems this past year and on now on the up swing of being healthy.  

 

And I’m thankful for this platform that allows me to connect with all of you.

 

Okay what are you Thankful for?   I think a give-a-way will be in order!! 

 Linda

 

Good News

Hey Everyone!  It's me!

 I just wanted to stop and tell you my good news.

I'm still being transferred - but my job will not be eliminated.

Isn't that a relief? 

And...I've been reading a great book.  

It's a mystery and it's about quilts.  What more could you want?

I really like Clare O'Donohue's books.  She has a nice easy going style.  Her characters are interesting and the plot moves along at a nice pace.  Just a joy to read.  I do recommend her new book The Double Wedding Ring.  Her main character is Nell, a quilter and hobby sleuth. In this book she is looking for a murderer.  I do like that some clues are laid out for the reader to guess who the murderer is, but not so easy that the book is predictable.  I didn't guess the murder in this story - maybe next time.  O'Donohue also has sub-stories being played out - those are as interesting and the main story.  

And...I cleaned my oven.  

Yep, I know it doesn't sound that exciting but a sparkling clean oven

is so enjoyable.

(Oh darn! I can't get the photo of my shiny oven to upload. I'll update this later if I can get it to work.)

And I did some machine applique - so fun.  But can't get those to load either. :-(  

Ta Ta for Now,

Linda

Well, all good things must come to an end.

I'm being transferred at work and I know with my new duties at work and further time constraints at home,

I just won't have time for blogging. 

So I'm considering ending this blogging adventure. 

I've been thinking how much fun it's been getting to know all of you, 

seeing your wonderful projects,

and learning so much from all of you.

Thanks a bunch for all your kind comments and being so much fun to hang with!

Happy Stitching, 

Linda

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

It's been a week and we don't want to wait any longer for the winner of Jennifer Chiaverini's book, Spymistress - now do we?

So let's get to it..... 

Random Generator do your stuff!

Here's a little funny while we wait.

From Random Generator:

Here are your random numbers:

6

#6 is 

Sunny of Quilting Dreams

Yea Sunny! You Won! You Won!

Sunny's Winning Comment: 

 sunnyOctober 4, 2013 at 8:44 PM

Would you believe I've never read any of her books? Shame on me. Beautiful job on the stocking! It must be such a relief to be so near the finish line. And it's not even Christmas!!

Congratulations Sunny!! 

 I'm sure you will enjoy this book. 

Thanks everyone for playing with me.

Happy Stitching,

Linda

Don't Forget the Give-Away & Finishes

It's been a while since I could sit down and sew. 

 I'm telling you , there's nothing like it. 

Sew relaxing.

While my daughter was doing her homework and asking me Algebra questions, (Like I'm going to remember that!) I was stitching up my Terrier Town BOM  #9

And I finished up the Stocking - This is the last time for seeing it, I promise!

I used white to stitch the front & back together not the suggested blue.

See what I mean? Does that white make it pop or what?

 And gives it that hand stitched look. Better known as "homemade" look.  

Here's another close up of the puppies in the bag.

Tonight I'll be working on Block #10

First thing I said was I need to add rickrack to the eave of the house.

Change the flower colors, maybe add more....or add a cat? Change up that heart 

and the window.  Well, we'll see what I end up doing. 

Now don't forget the book give-away in my previous post. Okay?

Happy Stitching,

Linda

 Linking up with:

Patchwork Times
Sew Can Do

The Spymistress Book - Giveaway

I have some exciting news for you!

I emailed Alison of Dutton Publicity & Marketing and she offered to send one of you a copy of the book. 

YEA!

How sweet is that?

I did have time to sit down and start reading Chiaverini's new book, The Spymistress. 

Can I say, I'm LOVING IT!

Of course I'm a big fan of Chiaverini's Elm Street Quilter's books. I love the way Chiaverini writes, fleshing out her characters, giving each one life like flaws & attributes.  Chiaverini really let's you see things from the perspective of the people that lived during that time frame. She does the same in The Spymistress. I believe she gets better with each book she writes. 

Can you imagine being a woman just before the Civil War starts - being interested in politics, loving your home state & country, seeing them being torn apart and not being able to vote?

Well, Elizabeth Van Lew does something - she becomes a spy. And that's all I'm going to say for now.

So if you would like to be entered into the give-away just leave a comment.

Please note: I was not asked to do a review or to have a give-away.  

And now onto some other exciting news - well, exciting for me.

I finished the front of the stocking. 

I just have to put on the back and the little hanging tab.

I can't believe that I'll be able to finish it this week.

Happy Stitching,

Linda

Linking up with:

Gone Stitchin'
Thursday-favorite-things
Needle & Thread Thursday

October - My List of Wants & Desires

AHHH  October

Don't you just love October?

The fall weather finally reaches Bakersfield in October.

And that's when I start fantasizing about pumpkins.

I have to wait until it's cool enough so I can start baking pumpkin goodies; cakes, pies, biscuits. Whatever! I don't care as long as it's pumpkin. 

pumpkin donuts - The Frugal Girls

Have you seen Pinterest with all it's 

Pumpkin Goodness?

Pumpkin Pancakes - Something Sweet Something Salty

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

Okay, since I can't decide, let's talk about sewing and October's list.

#1

Look how much I gotten done on the stocking? 

I wonder if I can finish this up - I'm at item number 66 and I have 110 items to do. Maybe, just maybe I can complete this if I work every day on it. 

#2

Help Miss Scarlett, and Miss Violet work on their stockings.

It will be fun working with them. And we could make some pumpkin dessert too! 

#3

And last of all, I'm going to do TWO, yes two! BOM on my Terrier Town quilt.

Block #9 & Block #10

I would like to get this quilt finished before I get busy with the holidays.

So what's on your list?

Happy Stitching, 

Linda 

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times. 

Spymistress - Jennifer Chiaverini

I'm so excited!
I was contacted by Dutton Publicity & Marketing about Jennifer Chiaverini new book.

Do you see what they sent me? An advanced copy.  How fun is that?

I totally LOVE her books and I thought Chiaverini did a great job on her book, "Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker".  I'm sure this one will be even better. 

 The back cover of the book says it's about "...Elizabeth Van Lew, a woman who risked everything by caring for the Union prisoners of war - and stealing Confederate secrets." 

I can't wait to read this newest one. I'm thinking some hot tea and this book are on tonight's agenda. 

 I'll let you know how I like it. 

Linda

Dogs Done & Santa - not so much

I decided to put up an new banner. Is is a little better?
These are roses from my garden and depression glass.

Now I want to hear clapping because I finished ALL, yes all those BOMs (through month #9). 

 Including squaring them up.  

(Oh shoot! Shadows in the pictures.)

Here's a close up of Sugar.

I used sequins on the bow collar. And what's that thread doing there?

Here's NipNip (Neptune)

We call her NipNip when we don't want her to know we are talking about her.

And here's KitKat.

She's the worse and funniest  (in real life) of the dogs.

 And in Santa News:

Santa has gone from this

to this!

I suppose that doesn't look like much but it is! 

I'll be back with more later.

Until then; Happy Stitching,

Linda

BOM #6, #7, #8 are coming along!

Are you wondering if I worked on my Terrier Town Blocks?

Yes I did!

Are you wondering if I finished all 3?

Well, no, I didn't.

But I'm so happy with what I finished.

I was so hesitate to try and make those Scotties into Ratties.

But I started with a good foundation that Rosanna drew for me. (THANK YOU Rosanna!)

Added spots in just the right places and 

WAH-LA!!

There go my 3 little ratties romping across the block. 

I need to add a little dark nose on each one. Do you know what kind of pen should I use?

I also finished up block # 8. This one I chose to leave as a Scottie.

I still need to machine embroider these. 

I know it's unbelievable but I also worked on BOM #7

Which are actually 4 different blocks.

I still need to cut the rick rack for stems, iron down everything and machine embroider it.

Sounds like fun right?

What kind of fun are you having?

Linda

Linking up with;

Freshly Pieced
What a Hoot Quilts

Quilty Dogs & a Picture to Make You Smile

I picked up my next BOM for Terrier Town.  And now I have 3 months worth of blocks.  

Now when I started this BOM I promised myself I wouldn't get behind.

  It's only a block each month.  Easy Peasy! 

So what happened?  I bet I'm not the only one that gets behind on a simple project. 

So you see those three Scottie Dogs romping on that block?  Cute huh?

Well, my DD Rosanna, turned them into Rat Terriers. 

We have three little Ratties. One doggie with a black spot, one doggie with tan spots and one doggie with dark brown ones.

Won't that just be adorable?

I love changing up a design and making it personalized.

Yes, Mommy it should be me on that quilt - see I'm keeping you safe from these Rouge Stuffed Animals!

So there you have it - my goal for this weekend: do all three BOMs

and if I don't completed them, then I'll change it to be my goal for the month. LOL

Okay one last picture to make you smile

What a picture! Rosanna captured him jumping into the Jazuzzi.

Love you all!

Happy Stitching,

Linda

Up-Styling My Chairs

A little up-styling was needed on my dining room chairs.

I've had the fabric for a while - remember when Walmart discontinued their fabrics?  Well, I bought enough to recover my chairs. However, I just dreaded doing the job. 

I waited until the cushions were not longer cushy - they needed the foam replaced. And I waited so long they had holes! Oy Vey!

Is that bad or what?

So one day while on vacation I flipped those chairs over, unscrewed the bottoms, cut the foam and stapled fabric to them. (I used 2 1/2 inch foam - So comfy!)

Wow what a difference! 

Do you like it?  I love it! 

And BIG BONUS - the new upholstery goes well with my bar stools which I bought several years after buying the fabric.

I've been working on the Santa Stocking, I'll show you that later.

I haven't been sewing - just having fun with the family. 

Happy Stitching,

Linda 

Santa's Coming Along Quite Nicely

 I just wanted to share with you that I've been working on the stocking.

Look! Santa has an arm!

Next he's going to get a beard. 

And a cute little mouth.

I hope to be taking a trip with my daughter up to Oregon to visit with my Mom.

 I'm going to get DD started on her own stocking. Won't that be fun?

Oh, do you see the little LaLa Loopsy doll? 

My granddaughter brings her over when we sew on our stockings together. 

Happy Stitching,

Linda

Friday Night Sewing - August

On Friday Night I did sew. 

I also have been having internet problems and haven't been able to post.

We have the Cable Guy coming out today.

(Do you think he'll tell us some jokes?)

Oh my! I had so much fun sewing away on Mark's Stocking.

It went from this: 

To this: (Sorry for picture quality - it was late at night)

In the middle of all that sewing I had some cuties show up at my house.
We got out the donut maker

and made some donuts. It took hardly any time with all this help!

Really aren't they cute?
Scarlett (far left) Me, Troy and Violet

Wait - Don't go.  I have one last picture

I think I should call this picture
"Happiness"

Or maybe...
"Hurry, take the picture I want to eat this Donut!"

Happy Stitching,
Linda

Friday Night with Friends

Let's get sewing!  

Here's the link to sign up : 

Gone Stitchin' 

Linda

Great Times & Aug Goals

Does this happen to you?  I think I'm going to post - but first I read a blog and then another and another, 2 hrs later, I don't have time to write my post!

So we took a little trip to Las Vegas.  We met went my husband's family and had a great time. We stayed here:

I have always wanted to stay at the Flamingo - just because it's so pretty.  The have the most beautiful pools.  And the rooms had just been redone.  And best of all they had the most comfortable bed.  

View from our room on the 20th floor. You can see one of at least five pools.

We ate lunch when we first got there at a pizza place in the hotel - next to the ponds with Koi fish, turtles, birds and other wild life. Oh and the pizza was Fabulous! It was so good we hit that spot again.

This pool below was my favorite. Can you see the Flamingo fountains?

Here's a close up.

 Mostly we ran around and had a good time.  My sister in law wanted to go to Ross. I didn't, but to be nice I went with her.  (Wow it was a great store and I bought a purse!)
We met a woman that had tons of clothes in her shopping cart. We got to talking and she said when things are bad she shops. Yikes! By the looks of her basket she was having a doosey of a day!  In reply I just ran over and hugged her.
She started crying.  (Yikes! I didn't expect that!)
After some encouragement and reminders about God being the one to look to, she went off much happier and with only one dress.  

(Don't Tell the Ross People they may not let me back in the store!)

Wait, wasn't I going to write about August Goals?  Okay.  I'll cover what I did in July in another post. 

Did you want to see the purse?

Nothing special 

Except the inside!

I love those dots!  It is a nice purse - very soft and lots of pockets.

August Goals

1. Finish those BOM's that I haven't worked on in the last two months.

2.   Work on the Christmas Stocking. 

I think that's it.  I have to go up to Oregon in August.  Also I have some vacation time I must take, so we may go to the Grand Canyon.  

Happy Stitching

Linda

Linking up to Judy's Get er Done