Happy 2009!

I hope that January 1, 2009, finds you all healthy and happy and looking forward to a wonderful new year. May your lives be filled with blessings beyond your imagination!

Judy and I received these beautiful "snuggies" from Dad for Christmas. They were a bit late in arriving by Fed Ex but they finally got here today. I came home and embroidered our names on them "so we don't get them mixed up!" lol, according to Judy. She came over tonight and we watched "Mama Mia". We thoroughly enjoyed it and even watched parts of it again when we found that the dvd contained a sing-along version of the movie! What fun! We HAVE to buy the movie now.

Before coming to the house, we met Rob and April at Leal's. Jim treated us all to a final 2008 dinner and it was wonderful! Thanks, honey!

Here you see Jim and Judy inspecting the knives that Rob and April gave them (a set each) for Christmas. They, too, came in the mail today. These suckers are sharp! (The knives, that is. lol)

It is nearly midnight as I write this. I'm not the least bit sleepy since I had two cups of coffee to assure that I would stay awake! But, I am a little tired and I want to get up early to head on over to Dad's to fix breakfast. I hope to start a new quilt tomorrow. Happy New Year!!

a Monday at home

A rare Monday at home today was spent in the sewing room with Brittany. She always wants to sew "something, Grama!" So, today she sewed the top of this doll quilt. I quilted it for her but she said we should tell people she did it all. lol Then we made her friend a little box purse, another tea wallet for Brit and one for her mom. Then we embroidered her little brother's initials on a furry blanket. Oh, at 1p.m., we met Judy at Applebee's for a girls' day out lunch. We had a lot of fun.

After Brit and Joe left tonight, I decided I'd finish this needlebook for Judy. I'd already embroidered the "J". I just needed to figure out what else I wanted to do.


I think it came out really well. These little things come in handy when you take your handwork anywhere.

I'm feeling much better but Judy is not. Tonight she's having the night I had about 8 or 9 days ago. I can't believe how long this stuff has hung on. I still cough every now and then. Dad is doing better, still coughing. Jim is recuperating as well.

Another "week interrupted" this week what with Thursday being the first of January. We'll be busy tomorrow as well as Wednesday. Then, back to normal on Friday. So, it's off to bed.

Christmas Day, 2008

An easy, uneventful day. Thank You, Lord. We had breakfast at Dad's (who has a cold now, sorry, Dad :-(. Dad opened his gifts and Rob and I came back to the house. I fixed breakfast for Jim, who is sick, too. Sorry, again, honey! Then, Joe and Rob set Jim's new flat screen TV up and working. Looks great! Thanks, guys! I slept most of the afternoon, not feeling too well myself. By 5:30 we were back at Dad's for dinner.

This is the clock I made for Rob to hang in his golf room. I see now that the hands are almost lost in the golf pattern on the fabric. It'll be a challenge to tell time!

Here is part of Leota's Christmas gift. We decided to exchange gifts tomorrow, Friday, since I wasn't quite through with it. Finished it tonight and even got a label embroidered. The back shows the triangles I sewed into the binding for hanging. <
This runaround purse went to a customer who spends her days in her wheelchair at the nursing home. She's sweet and has told me she doesn't want anyone else to do her hair, ever! lol

It's almost midnight and I still have to get clothes out of the wash. I don't have the luxury of being off tomorrow so I better get to bed. Hope everyone had a peaceful day!

Christmas Eve

Midnight musings and a tribute to Mom

It's more like 3:45 a.m. and I am wide awake, again. I've tossed and turned for what seems the entire night and I know Jim will say that I made plenty of sleep noises. lol Maybe so, but I still do not feel that I get the right kind of sleep.

When I first sat down here I noticed that I had not turned over the page on my daily calender -- for two days. It was still on Dec. 18. It was then that it hit me..four years ago, on Dec. 18, our little mom, Carmen, lost her battle with breast cancer. I tell you, I thank the Lord for small favors, again! I was so sick on Thursday, Dec. 18, that not ONCE did that thought cross my mind! At first I was shocked that I did not even think of that day as Mom's death day this year. I was also a little cross with myself that I had been so selfish that I did not even remember! But, just as quickly, I realized that again, our Lord fixed it so I would not be sad on that day...just sick! LOL He has a twisted sense of humor sometimes, but I love it! Normally, Judy and I would have discussed it. She happened to be traveling that day on her way home from Dallas. If she remembered, she never said. Since I didn't visit with Dad that day thinking he was better off without my germs, I don't know if he remembered, either.

Naturally, not a day passes that I don't think of Mom. I'm sure I thought of her on Dec. 18, just not in the context of what that day signifies. Thanks, Mom. I still miss you and love you, probably more as the years pass. Your legacy lives on.

Over the Top

Found this pattern in the newest issue of Quilts and More. A different style, to say the least. Kinda small, too. But, fun to make. I've made so many little purses lately that I think I'll donate them to the Lighhouse or some other deserving group to pass out as Christmas gifts for little girls. My friends and/or relatives have enough of my bags! LOL


What a day. I called in sick this morning because this head cold left me so weak I could hardly stay up for 30 minutes at a stretch. I slept most of the day and at 3 o'clock, Jim took me to the doctor. I have a bad sinus infection with a RED throat (he wondered why I did not seem to have more trouble with it than I was having). Gave me an allergy shot, antibiotic and cough meds. I stayed up all evening working on this little bag. Jim fixed bologne and cheese sandwiches. Why do sandwiches taste so much better when someone else makes them?

Off to bed in hopes that I get a better night's sleep.

Picture this..

This clock is a little different from the ones I made last week. My oldest son decided he'd like for me to make one with pictures of my granddaughter. This is Brittany with her mom and little brother. Hopefully, Lisa won't see this until after she gets it. Joe had lots of ideas for me to try. lol It was his idea to do the embroidery. What a mom won't do for her child!


It finally hit me. I've got a head cold. Jim warned me. But, I can't convince him that you can't catch a cold simply by not wearing a coat when you go from the car into a building. I'm so hot-natured that it's got to be snowing for me to wear a heavy coat. I believe that you catch colds from other people and I see people every day.

Time to go see some of those folks now. Have a good Wednesday.

Party time!

No, no pictures of the actual party, but we did have a great time. We started with dinner at a favorite local Mexican food joint, then we went on to Joy's house for gifts and games! She had lottery scratchers for all of us to reveal. I didn't win but some of the others got up to $10. Not bad. I couldn't wait for them to open their clocks. They were a big hit, I think. If they enjoy them half as much as I enjoyed making them, I'm happy. Dolores had drawn my name, as I had drawn her's. Her kokapelli wallhanging is pictured below, finished. I will be making a trip to WalMart since she generously gave me a gift card! Yay!! Thanks, D.!


Here you see some little bags I made while playing with fabric. Cute and so easy! So, what to do with them now? Maybe fill them with goodies for someone for Christmas?


Another Tuesday and time to get ready for work. Will take Dad to his regular cardiology app't. this afternoon. I hope he's doing as well today as he has been. Maybe they won't have us come back for 6 months this time!

Line Dancers

Okay, so they're not the Rockettes...but the way these dresses are hanging made me think of that. These make such cute little gifts.
I made the five-in-a-row last night. I started them when I got home from work about 4:30 or so. Worked on them until Judy called at 6:15. I turned off the machine and went to dinner with her and a good friend of her's. Had the best time at Applebees. So nice when I get to meet one of my sister's friends/associates! But, I digress...I got home around 8 or so, fixed Jim a sandwich and back to the machine. The dresses were completely done by 10 and I even did a load of laundry in there somewhere! lol

Now it's time to sort our weekly meds (I forgot yesterday) and maybe do a little quilting on my secret pal's wallhanging. Then it's showertime and off to work! Have a great Saturday!

One final thought...Need more Scentsy? All orders placed by December 15 are guaranteed delivery by Christmas. Email your order or go to www.scentsy.com/Veronica Order by Saturday, December 13, and I will enter your name in my "Secret Hostess" drawing. Earn free Scentsy!

Friends...I am blessed!

Here is a picture of Crystal and myself taken this past summer. The quilt she is holding is the one I made for her mom, Leota, to give to her for Crystal's birthday. We're just now getting around to getting a picture so that's why I'm posting it now. Crystal has it hanging in her office.

The Santa cross-stitch is a gift to me by one of my favorite clients. Ms. Cynthia T, thank you so much for thinking of me! I will treasure this stitchery always. It just overwhelms me when someone takes the time to make something just for me!


Whoa! Two posts in one day! I just had to show you the cross-stitch and the flipflops helped to warm up an otherwise cold and snowy day. Time to get back to the sewing machine.

More time..

Seven clocks, finished! And with plenty of time left. However, I found these so easy to make that I may have to make a few more. I have a new appreciation for those who make our timepieces now, though. Some of the workings are so tiny and I didn't lose a one!


Next project is to finish the quilting on the kokapelli wallhanging and to do some more of the kitchen towel dresses. Somewhere in there I'd like to, perhaps, set up the Christmas tree?? We'll see..

It's time to get ready for work now.

Christmas blocks

I've been so busy trying to get gifts done that I'd forgotten to make the charity blocks for the meeting tomorrow. We will have our annual Christmas party at the church we've been meeting at. I made cornbread salad to take. Haven't made it in a while and I need more mayonnaise. Will have to make a quick trip to the store in the morning.

Here are two more clocks added to the ones you've seen in previous posts. I'll take two of them for show and tell tomorrow.


My sister had an eventful evening! Her lights went out about 8 p.m. and just now, 11:10, they came back on. Apparently, there was an accident that knocked out power for quite a bit of town. Hope the accident victims are ok.

I'm tired now. Got quite a bit done today. When I woke up at 7, I decided to work on the embroidery on the blankets for a client. Got them done by 9. I made some heart blocks to be sent to friends who lost their mothers in the last few months. Then I finished one of the clocks you see here. I fixed breakfast around 11, took a shower and Judy and I went to Walmart around 2. Shopping for Dad takes a while especially when I'm trying to shop for myself, too. Off to bed..

Time for...bedazzling!

I woke up at 5:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and decided to work on the clock for about 30 minutes and go back to bed. Well, I started putting these little gems on the fabric clocks and time got away from me! lol Actually, I bedazzled the purple and green clock first, then decided I liked it so much, I'd do the pink one. But, that one wasn't bound yet, so I had to do that first. Oh, the purple lines you see in the middle of the pink block are just registration marks made with disappearing ink. At least, I hope they disappear! If you click on the pictures, you can get a closer look.

What do ya'll think? I think I like it much better. The original pattern calls for applique pieces where I've done all the quilting but I thought this would be much faster.

The Santa wallhanging is coming along nicely. I just need to quilt snowflakes in the white area and bind it. I could do the snowflakes with my machine, but since the redwork is all done by hand, I think I'll finish it by hand.


So much I want/need to do and I have to get ready for work. Maybe tonight I can get the rest of the clocks quilted so I can work on putting the mechanisms in tomorrow. These are so much fun! I can't wait for the girls at work to see their little gift.

Time for..

A quilty clock! How about this one? Just a 12" quilted block with a clock mechanism attached. I saw this in a Fons and Porter magazine, December '07 to be exact, and decided I'd give it a try. The block and quilting was a breeze except that I used tissue paper to get the quilting motif on. Well, all was fine until it came time (no pun intended, lol) to remove the paper. It came off easily everywhere but in the stitching. I even wet it down a bit to see if it would help. Nope. Finally, I took the back edge of a craft knife and carefully scraped along the stitching. Came right up! Now, not the sharp end, mind you. The BACK end of the knife. Anyway, I'm happy with it now.

The petals of the clock are not very visible, but they do indicate the hour. If I make another one, I might "bling" it up a bit and glue some gems where the numbers go.


I haven't fixed spaghetti in ages but tonight was the night. I thought I had a whole can of spaghetti but, instead, it's vermicelli. Oh well, cooked up about the same. I've eaten my share of it so it's time to get back to my machine.

Christmas party gifts

Next Monday starts the round of Christmas parties. Okay, the only two parties I will attend this year, lol. The flute player wallhanging will go to my secret pal at work. I don't think she reads my blog, but if her sister does, don't tell her! Dolores collects all things Indian so I thought this was perfect. I have it laid out on the living room floor right now and hope to get it quilted tonight. In this picture, the blocks have not been sewn together nor have the borders. Once I get it quilted, I'll try to get a better picture.

The block is for the "white elephant" swap during our quilt group party. This is the first time I've ever used a product called "Angelina". I think I may have had the iron a bit hot when I pressed to smooth the star and rays but I like the overall effect.

Girl's day out

"Amarillo by morning" was the song Judy and I were singing (not literally, lol) yesterday morning. We went to Amarillo and spent the day shopping. We found some silk poinsettias to set out on Mom's headstone since December 1 is her birthday. I used to send her a plant on her birthday every year to help start the Christmas season and I don't see why I can't continue. We got home about 5:30 and ran straight to the cemetery to place the flowers. Wasn't quite dark, but almost.

Once home, I fixed Jim a bit of dinner and then I started right in on the potholders you see here.
I had already made the tops so they just needed to be sandwiched and sewn. Took about 3 hours to make 14 of them.

I will not be in the shop today since I have to take Dad back to Lubbock. They want to see him a week earlier because his legs are doing better and I think they just want to keep a close eye on them at this point. Thank God it's not snowing!

Off to pay bills and get deposits ready..

Redwork play and other stuff

Time to work up some Santa gifts. Can't say who these are for yet. The Santa will be a wallhanging and the snowflakes are part of a stocking.




The "tea wallets" are a quick and easy gift. Barb pointed me in the direction of Christy's Creations where you can find this pattern. Run your mouse over Christy and Barb's names to reach their sites.



The collection of things you see here went out in the mail yesterday. Hope my Secret Santa likes all I included in her package. It was a lot of fun gathering it all together.

I spent the night with Dad last night since Joe is still out of town. He will be in tonight. I also took Dad in for his IV this morning at the hospital. Great time to play with the redwork projects. Oh, we had plumbing problems at Dad's. Kitchen sink backed up. The plumber came Friday night but could only change out pipes that needed changing and was not able to clear up the blockage, breaking his snake, twice, in the process. So, he'll be back tomorrow.

Bags and purses

This must be the year of the purse/bag. Here's one I made last night for a client. She requested rooster fabric. I found little rooster buttons, too.




The little bags were made thinking I'll use them as gift bags. They're fast and easy so I hope to make more.

Helen's fireplace

Ta da! Here it is. The mantle cover fit EXACTLY on her mantle! I ran over this afternoon to take it to her and she loved it. I was afraid it was going to be a bit short of the 130" Helen first measured. The cover itself was only about 125". Maybe I didn't measure right, maybe she didn't, but, at any rate, it fit PERFECTLY. I still can't believe it. From end to end, just right! She will take the clock down and put up a wreath and there's no telling what else she'll put up. She's invited us, (Jim, too) back to the house once it's decked out in all it's Christmas glory. I am looking forward to it.

Now it's time to work on other Christmas items and swap goodies. I'd rather take a nap. It has been so cold today! I may just snuggle under my pink ribbon fleece blanket and snooze for 30 minutes or so. That usually recharges my batteries.

Here it is almost a week since my last post. Time just gets away from me. I have finished the mantle cover and hope to deliver it tomorrow. I'll take a picture of it in it's intended home to show how it looks. Now I'm working on a Christmas gift. Here is a sneak preview of it...I've only got the pieces cut and three blocks sewn together. Still need five blocks, the sashing and borders.

I spent Monday night with Dad since Joe is gone to school for the week. His night caregiver will stay with him until Joe comes home. Dad can probably stay by himself, but I am much more relaxed knowing he has someone with him. He's been doing well except for having to get daily IV infusion for antibiotics. Only one more week of that.

I'm done sewing for the night. Maybe I can finish this project by the weekend so I can start a bag for a client.

Fireplace mantle cover

Finally, I've got it started. I get so lazy when it comes to setting up my embroidery machine but I knew I wanted to do something like this for the mantle cover I need to work up for a client. I still want to work out some little glitches I had while setting up the fabric to be embroidered, but all in all, I'm happy with the way it's looking. I think I have to embroider at least 5 more bells. It's a long fireplace mantle...

Whew! I'm tired again tonight. It's way past my bedtime but I get carried away when doing something I enjoy. I also need to pull out my books and look for a pattern I want to do for my secret pal at work. We drew names today and the party will be Dec. 8 so I'd better get crackin'. Goodnight

Ornament swap

These are the beautiful ornaments I received today from Hanne in Norway. Thank you so much! It will soon be time to get out the Christmas tree and these will be one of the first to go on it. These swaps are so much fun. Waiting for them to arrive is the hardest part but so much fun when they get here.

Remember these?

Actually, these are not the coasters I made a few years ago. Rather, they are potholders made in the same fashion. I have a lot of the thermal batting that I bought at a show a long time ago so maybe I'll make some of these for Christmas. They work up very fast. I made these two in about 20 minutes, including cutting! What takes time is choosing the fabrics. I have enough scrap fabric though, that I can make some in every color.

What flower are you?

I am a Sunflower What Flower Are You? "When your friends think smile, they think of you. There is not a day that goes by that you can't find something good about the world and your fellow human." Gosh, I hope that's true! Sunflowers aren't my flower of choice, but this is not bad.

New hard drive

I am so thankful for sons that can help when I need them! My computer had started acting a little strange, so Rob came over to check it out. He decided I needed a new hard drive. So, knowing how addicted I am to this thing, he took it home, did what needed doing, and by 6 o'clock last night I had my 'puter back. What a guy! Thanks so much, Rob! Of course, now I am finding little things that have changed and that I must re-do, but it's a small price to pay for a working computer.
I am still playing around with ideas for Christmas gifts. Here's a little Log Cabin pincushion. I worked up a whole mess of the blocks last night ala Eleanor Burns technique, "Quilt In a Day" and hopefully will get Jim to help me stuff them. Everyone needs a pincushion, don'tcha think?

It's another Lubbock Monday so I will miss our monthly quilt meeting again. I hope someone lets me know the particulars of the Christmas party. I always try to attend that.

Time to pay some bills and get ready for the day. Good Monday to all!

A few more little things

I am trying to find quick and easy gifts to make for Christmas. Here are a couple of items I've auditioned. The first is a Chapstick cozy. I suppose it could hold a smaller lipstick, too. Definitely not hard to make. If I make any more, I'll probably omit the snap and use velcro or nothing at all. The flap seems to stay where it belongs even without help.
The fabric basket took a little longer to make. The instructions call for piecing the top part so I thought if I used just a piece of fabric, it would go much quicker. It does. But, I'm wondering, as did my sister, what would people do with it? I have plenty of uses around my sewing machine but not everyone sews.
Since it's Sunday morning, I must get dressed and get to Dad's to fix breakfast. I was gone last weekend, so I like to think he missed me :-). Have a great Sunday!