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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Merry Christmas

 
 
Lately it's seems every post I write has a major life event. And this one is no different. 
Last Tuesday my daughter gave me quite a shock - she announced she was moving out. What??  When??  That's when she laid down the second shock - NOW!  And she did.  She got a sweet deal, the Aunt of the girl she is moving in with, is letting them stay in her rental house (just pay utilities) for several months.   
Part of me is thrilled and part is sad.  I'm happy for her to go experience life, yet it's an adjustment for us.  Since she is our youngest - that just leaves me, hubby and the dog at home.
 
 
And in other news - They (the bosses at work) have decided to transfer me back to my other work location.  Really?  After I get all nice and cozy over here?  That will be next week. So that will be another adjustment.  
 
Through it all, I know to just Praise God, as everything will turn out fine.

 
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
 
And the Happiest of New Happy Years!
 
Linda


Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Catching up!

I've had several things happen lately that I haven't had time to post about. 
 So here's my Catch-up Post.

# 1
My Sister came out from Arkansas in October to load up her household goods that were in storage.  She and her husband have been roaming the USA in a 5th wheel and found a lovely spot to buy.  I so enjoyed having her and her husband stay with us for 10 days.  Every morning Jeff had the coffee on and they made the house so lively.  Connie taught me to crochet the ruffle scarves while she was here.
Here she is with her great niece - Scarlett - those two are two peas in pod.  So much alike!
 
#2
The following weekend my other sister, Cindy came to visit from San Francisco. We had a blast too.
She came down to get help with her Setters of Canaan quilt. 
 This is only her 2nd quilt!  I worked on my Civil War quilt.
  
 
#3
One of my co-workers asked if I could make her some doll clothes.  Sure!  What fun to sew up a couple dresses, Right?
WRONG!!
  I work full time and she was quite upset that I didn't finish all 30 outfits in one weekend.
Really??? 
Did she not realize that I had to read the patterns
 and that they were full of details - like the overalls had real pockets? That were lined?
I finished 6.  I thought that was good for a weekend.
I was not going to be chained to my sewing machine. 
I did have fun sewing them. 
 
#4
I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving - I do hope you all had a lovely one.  We spent it with the family.
We played in the leaves - that was so much fun!!!
 
Later we let the babies sleep. 
 
#5
Yesterday, 12/2/14 the day had finally come.  We had to put down our precious Sugar. 
She was such a wonderful dog.  And she had a great life.  She was our show dog and made Champion 5 times and then went on to be a UKC Grand Champion.  She really loved the show life and would jump onto the show table and pose for the judges - so cute.  She was only about 10 inches at the shoulders but could jump a 4 foot fence!  Also she was the fastest Rat Terrier - we put her in several races and she won every time, even against the Champion racer! 
 
 
#6
My place of employment has decided to change my location (again!!!)  Now that I'm used to this new place and all the people, they are moving me back to my original location.
I haven't decided how I feel about that.  I just hope my check finds me - last time it took 6 months to change it. 
 
So Happy Stitching to all of you!
What December plans do you have?
 
Linda


Thursday, November 13, 2014

My Little Gift from God


So – here’s what happened yesterday that  I really wanted to share with you.
 When we were kids we had these really pretty ornaments on the tree –  I really liked one in particular.  I remember hanging it on the tree when I was five.  So I took that ornament with me when I moved out or maybe when it was Christmas, I asked Mom for it .

  I hung it on the tree each year and it was so cool remembering Christmases long ago, each time I saw it. Especially when I was overseas or in NC.   Well, during one of my moves  I packed it in a box with a lot of other decorations and then later decided I didn’t want all those decorations (forgot my ornament was in the box!) and threw it out.  Well, took it to Goodwill.   

 You can imagine my dismay when I realized what I had done.  So instead of being  upset.  I asked God to please give me another one.  Well, I’m thinking God’s a pretty big God and can do that if he wants.  (Not very likely to happen – but what the hay.)   I have been looking for it in antique shops . 

Okay – so I go to Home Goods yesterday and walk down the aisle and see some pretty ornaments. 
I tell Mark, oh it’s nice to see glass ornaments, usually they just have plastic ones.  I looked last year at Michaels and Rite Aid, etc. and couldn’t find any pretty glass ones.   And then I see my ornament I used to have in a box of 12. (WHAT?  Could this really be it?)
 
And then I see the one that I remember as my sister Cindy’s! (Silent Night)   I know for sure these are the ones we had. 
And God has given me back the ornament originally made in 1940  (I know that from the box – it’s a retro set)  Wow! They were super old when I was a kid!
 
And the ornaments have little fuzzy white on designs.  As I touched it, I remembered how much I love to touching them when I was little. Isn’t that amazing?

 This is  my present from God this year.  :-)  I'm doing the happy dance!
 Linda

 

Monday, November 3, 2014

My Neptune/Halloween Update

Okay - so what I didn't tell you in my last post is what a Nut Job Neptune is when she's around others.
 
As in - she does back flips.  Wait - I don't think you believe me.  When we come up to another dog, kid or car that she would like to "get to know better" she does twisty, jumpy circles in mid air.  Which is why she is always on a leash.
Angela, Rex and Lilly as Ewoks for Halloween
But you see, I've been taking my other dog, Sugar, with me Trick or Treating every year and this Halloween she has gotten too old to go. (She was happy to stay home.)  So I thought, it's Neptune time to do the job of escorting the little kids. 
 
And knowing ignoring what a Nut Job she is, I bought her a costume and took her with me.  Right , I know -- I'm the nut job! 
Bunny Scarlett and Ewok Lily
AND  - She was PERFECT!!  Not one crazy flip or cartwheel or backflip.  She knew she had an important job and acted accordingly!  YEA NEPTUNE!
Serena - Really could she get more beautiful?  And doing her homework even on Halloween.
Well, now it's on to November.  Let's see what surprises this month holds for us.
 
Happy Stitching,
Linda

Friday, October 31, 2014

Trick Arf Treating

Trick or Treating?
 
Who's ready to go?
 
Neptune!  That's who!
Isn't she adorable in her pumpkin costume?
 
And she really will be trick or treating with the kids tonight.
This will be her first time.  She will be helping them not be scared to go up to the scary houses.
 
Arf! Arf!
Happy Halloween from me and Neptune.
 

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Little Coin Purse Foxes

For the FNSI I worked on these coin purses.
I've already given away two and have two more spoken for.
 
After the first one I've been doing them assembly line style.
 Let me tell you, I've gotten VERY GOOD at putting in Zippers - I can have it in 5 minutes!
 
These have been so much fun to make.
 
And just so that we get enough cutness on this post...
 Here's Lily; being her most cute and adorable self.
 
Happy Stitching,
Linda
 
 


Friday, October 17, 2014

FNSI

Let's get ready to SEW!
 
FNSI
 
 
 
Happy FNSI Sewing,
Linda

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Sugar's Quilt (A Finish with Strange Circumstances)

YeeHaw!  I have a another FINISH!
 

It's 28 x28 inch square - okay so now I'm thinking you are not so impressed - but wait!
I started this a long time ago - in February 2011.  And after 3 years, I finished it in one weekend. Okay now you can be impressed.
 
It looked like this
 
I really didn't like it!  So in the drawer it sat.

Last week I was thinking I really ought to finish this quilt - I got up from the couch, walked into my sewing room...

And this is strange.. and I'll let you decide -

and the box I had it in had fallen out of the top of my closet & was laying on the floor.
In ten years I have never had a box just fall from the closet.

So I thought - hmmm....Is God trying to tell me something?
If so, I better get busy.

So I ripped it apart and put in back together - added more material.  Quilted it.
 
Put the binding on.
I sewed the binding onto the back and flip it over to the front - then sewed it on with a decorative stitch.  Let me tell you it's SUPER FAST.  How do you like that cute little strip for the binding?  I think it adds so much to the quit.
 
And the proof is in the pudding - here's the owner of her quilt enjoying it.
 
(Yikes! Poor quality picture.) She's gotten old and can't jump up on the couch to cuddle and get warm with us.  Sure I could have given her an old towel, but she's spoiled and loves the quilts. I'm happy she has her own little quilt.
 

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Another Finish WHOOHOO! & Finish Along Quarter 3

Have you ever heard the sayings "Life's grand if you don't weaken"?  I had a boss, Barbara, that would say that - and honestly, it didn't do much for me. 
 
As I'm looking back at my Finish Along Quarter 3 Goals  I keep hearing her voice - saying it.
For this finsih - it's so true! 
 
I had the hardest time adding borders (and thereby changing the design) to this quilt. 
 I'm really happy with the borders, thanks everyone for the advise and help. And then I used spray stuff instead of pinning - no that didn't work for me. So quilting it was frustrating! (I didn't smooth out the quilt for this picture.)
But in the end the binding was so fun to put on.
And I'm happy with my quilt.
And so is Miss Neptune - Look at her hiding!
 
You know she's thinking - "If I lie still - Mama won't see me on the new quilt".  I'm naming this "Where's Neptune?"

So that makes 2 finishes for me for The Littlest Thistle -Finish Along (3rd Qtr):
"Where's Neptune?" and my "Flower Wreath". 

Thanks Katy for hosting!

Happy Stitching,
Linda


 

Friday, September 26, 2014

My County Fair Win! WooHoo!!

You know I didn't enter the fair to win anything - and I didn't expect to - but I DID!
 
Boy am I excited!  There were so many wonderful quilts there and I'm honored to receive a 2nd place ribbon.  Isn't that just the best?
 
We also rode the Ferris Wheel and we had Corn Dogs for the 1st time too.
I can't believe I waited so long - they were great!
I'm telling you, we had the best time.
 
Happy Stitching,
Linda


Friday, September 12, 2014

Bed Head and Label

Hello Fellow Quilters
 
I had the unfunniest thing happen to me. But it sounds a bit funny.
 
I fell out of bed and cracked my head.
(No more Monkeys jumping on the bed!)
 
So I had to have stitches and I have a concussion. 
That concussion thing is not fun.  I'm often nauseous.
And I haven't been able to quilt - but oh do I ever want to.
Nor can I stand to do much of anything, like write, clean (oh darn!), cook (double darn! hahaha) so that's why I haven't posted in a while.
 
Today is the last day to take our quilts down to the County Fair.
So I sewed a little label last night for it and then thought, why not make it a pocket?
A little pocket to hide something in when it's hanging up. How fun is that? 
 
I'm very happy to finally be putting something in the fair.
 
Happy Stitching,
 
Linda

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Home Improvements

Every year for the past 10 years we have made a home improvement on our house.
 
I really wanted to plant some fruit trees - but it's the wrong time of year.
 
One of the problems with our house is from day one the coloring on the bottom of the house is off color.   This is the outside of the house next to the garage door.
The Builder had repainted it 3 times - and each time it ends up being discolored again.
 
So our solution and home improvement for this year is to add

this stone work. 
(you can see where it is being held up by some extra stones until it's dried)

I love the way it looks!

Linda


Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Stuck - Stuck - Stuck

I love this quilt -
 But....
(you could tell a "but" was coming couldn't you?)
 
But I'm STUCK.  I may love the simplicity of this quilt but I need it to be bigger to be more useful.
  
It has set in my drawer for years waiting for an answer.
 
Borders?  No Borders and live with it being too short?  It's 50 by 60.
 
This morning I was working on it before going to work. 
And yes, that is my foot. :-)
 
Neptune came over and laid on it.  I didn't see her and accidentally stepped on her nose.  Yikes!!  No more quilts the same colors as my doggies!
She wasn't hurt, thank goodness. 

Help!  What are your thoughts?

Hanging by a Thread,
Linda


Thursday, August 7, 2014

Super Easy way to Update a Tee Shirt

What you are about to see will not blow your mind. 
It will however give Troy the styling that he's known for.
 
The New and Improved T-shirt.
 
Rosanna (that's my daughter) added a pocket to Troy's t-shirt.
 To be in style this pocket needs to be of a different print.
 Simple enough, don't you think?
And here's the little man.  He looks quite pleased with it.

Do you think he knows that he's cute? 
No, not yet.  But he will some day.  And then heaven help us!

Let me know if you see this new style around, or if you add some pockets to your shirts.

Happy Stitching,

Linda

 


Friday, August 1, 2014

Done and Done (Flower Wreath Wall Hanging)

 I'm Done! I'm Done! I'm Done!!!
(Can you tell I'm excited?) And I've even turned in my entry form to the County Fair.
May I say there is just nothing like having a finished project to make you want to run down to the Quilt Store and buy 10 more projects!
 
I totally loved doing the swirls on the little quilt.  I'm still surprised.  When I originally started making quilts I did not even want to learn to free motion quilt much less do something intrique like that.
 
I have go now and blask in the joy of my finished project. 
 
Before I leave - here's a picture of Little Baby Lily and her cat, Hobbs.

 
Happy Stitching
and Kitty Cuddling if you've got one.

Linda
 
P.S.  This is one of my goals for Finish Along Qtr 3 (Yea!) 
 

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Working Wednesday

I've been busy working on my wall hanging.  I've so enjoyed quilting it. I'm even considering entering it in our fair, which is right around the corner.  I have my application all filled out. 

Now that I have it all bound and pretty much ready to go - I looked up how to hang a quilt.  The Crafty Quilter has a great method using a yard stick. After seeing her post, I'm realizing that maybe I was supposed to put the hanging sleeve on before the binding.  Well, shoot!  We wouldn't want to do things the right way - would we? 
I hope to have a picture of the finish quilt tomorrow.  I'm thinking of putting two bows on it using this seersucker fabric.  Is that fabric a no-no in the quilting world?  I used this to bind the quilt too.  The color is just perfect.

I have no delusions of winning any prizes - that's not why I want to enter.  I just thought it would be fun to share.  I didn't even realize there were prizes until I got the entry form.
 
Happy Stitching,
Linda 

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

FNSI Results


Happy Times for me.

 My lovely Babylock machine is back at home.
 I do love this machine - it sews like a dream and so quietly.
 
My husband is such a dear – he found the place to have it fixed. He called, delivered and picked it up. I had it back the next day.  Don’t you love that kind of quick turn around.   

Then I had problems with my computer. It would not let me onto blogger!  It's been days! Finally today I deleted everything (cookies, places, passwords) and now I can post.

On Friday night (FNSI) I worked on my quilting.  I was a bit worried I would forget how to do the swirls.  But it's like riding a bike.  And just as fun. Here is what I completed Friday night.
 Is that the worst picture or what? 
 
Oh I forgot to tell you, I did some bedazzeling on it.
 
 Do you see how puffy it is in the center?  I was so worried about that. When I asked my quilty friends they just said "Eh".  (Like what's that suppose to mean? Don't worry about it?)
 
Well it just quilted up smooth as cream; no creases or folds.
 
 Do I need to say I'm just so pleased with this.  Honestly, I had no idea I could even do this.  Now to cut and attach the binding.
 
Happy Stitching,
Linda