Goodies!

Just a couple of pictures to show you the Kindle that Judy gave me and the Advent goodies from Tammy in Virginia. Thanks, Tammy! I so enjoyed opening a little gift every day in December. I hope to pass on the tradition next Christmas.

For those of you that are wondering what a Kindle is, here's a picture of it. It is a wireless reading device. You can access over 390,000 books, including 101 of 112 New York Times® Best Sellers, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs. Wow. Most new releases are $9.99, and you can find many books for less and some are free. Carry it in your purse and you no longer have to sit in a line with nothing to do! I love it! Thanks, Judy! Oh, I made the cover for the Kindle because I didn't want to get it dirty while I showed it off :-).

Today was a day I knew would eventually arrive. Judy, Joe, Brittany and I spent the afternoon going through Mom and Dad's clothes and other things. Most of Mom's clothes had been distributed to those who needed them but we had not even touched Dad's closet. We are, by no means, finished, but have put a pretty good dent in it all. I still want to move some major pieces of furniture but I think we'll have to consider renting a storage shed for a while. We knew we had to get moving on this since Ms. Judy is making her big move to Las Cruces in eleven days!

Time now to hit the sack. A Kerrington day tomorrow!

Christmas 2009

Here are my two granddaughters, ready to open gifts on Christmas Eve.
Brittany saved the best for last. The Wii is from Mom and Dad. Can't wait to play a game with her!
Christmas overload!

We had a most enjoyable Christmas Eve at Rob and April's house. They graciously hosted our gift opening extravaganza even though April worked on Christmas Eve and helped her mom get home from the hospital. (Glad to report that "Gramille" is on the mend and feeling better.) April baked an apple pie and a decadent chocolate brownie delight for us to munch on after Judy's posole and the tamales we bought. April also had appetizers, ie., dip and veggies and crackers. She thinks of everything! After opening gifts, we were all so tired (especially those of us who worked that day ;-) So, we all returned to our respective homes and left Rob and April with most of the mess. Thank you so much for having us again this year, guys!

Christmas Day was spent being lazy, mostly. I worked on a cover for my Kindle (pictures later - I should be getting ready for work) and then Judy came over around 1 p.m. to fix the turkey that Jim won in a drawing during a golf tournament a few weeks ago. We took out frozen chili with pork and dressing from Thanksgiving and had a delicious dinner on the table in no time. Joe and Brit came by and ate with us and Rob, April and K came by later. We got to see K in her cute little pink trench coat that was a gift from Auntie J. Too cute!

Christmas, it's really gonna happen!

 

I didn't think I would decorate this year since it's already the 17th but I got home from work today and decided to "just do it!" Jim had told me several times that he would help so I called on him and he did. Last year I had packed everything and stored it in the spare room closet so we didn't have to get into the attic.

I have many, many Nativity scenes but this year I decided to put up just the one big one that Mom gave me the last Christmas she was with us. She gave Judy one just like it. I set it up under the tree.

 

 

The Christmas tree afghan on the sofa is one I crocheted a long time ago. I love this thing. It was one of the first big afghans I crocheted. The stockings don't have a proper mantel to hang from, but I still like to hang them as best I can on the fireplace screen. Since we don't burn wood in the fireplace, they're pretty safe.

Both my granddaughters will be with us this Christmas so that was the biggest reason I decided to put the tree up. Children need tradition. What the hey..adults do, too!

I had to go the long way around to post this entry and that's why the text doesn't follow the pictures exactly. I figure ya'll can make sense of it, though.

Again with the caps and other things

Amy wanted to see pictures of the caps I've been crocheting. I think I've posted the group pic before, but here it is again. And, of course, two of the caps I've made for Miss K. The brown hat with the flower is her mama's. April is one of those people that can put on a hat and look great. I am not. I also made her a gray hat with a light blue flower that matches her scarf. (Pictured in this group somewhere)I will leave you with these few shots of crocheted items. I've also made nine other caps for clients. Didn't take a pic of them. I'm off to work!




Oh, the the last picture shows wrist warmers that I took to a Christmas party for an exchange. The lady they were given to was ecstatic since she always has cold hands.

Comfort quilt

Ooh and aahh at this bee-u-tee-ful quilt I received in the mail yesterday! I truly am spoiled this week. Not only did I get a new vehicle to drive, my new laptop came in and I was gifted with this gorgeous quilt. My quilting sisters of QOR made the blocks and quilted this treasure. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I have spent the day watching Christmas movies and crocheting. I'm waiting for 5:30 to roll around so I can call in to see if I will be called to jury duty tomorrow. I can hardly stand the thought of having to deal with that for the next 4 months. :-( I'll have to call again Wednesday night. If it happens that I have to go in on Thursday or Friday, I'll have to go get my appointment book to call my customers.

Time to get back to these hats.

Last of the BOM project

The December Block of the Month is done. Whew! What WILL I do now? I don't need another set of Jan. - Dec. blocks but I really have enjoyed the challenge of completing the wallhanging before the month was out. I guess I'll just have to surf the 'net until I find something I'll enjoy doing for a year.

I spent the day at home today instead of going to work. I am not coughing as much, just take a few spells every now and then. My voice is gradually coming back. I think I'll go to work tomorrow.

Long time no blog

Not because I haven't wanted to, I just haven't had any pictures ready to post. I still don't have pics of the BOM for December and some of the other projects are Christmas gifts so those won't be posted until later. SO! Here are a couple of pics of my new ride!




Over the last 26 years, I have learned to be patient when my husband decides it's time to make a major purchase. You might say I am a compulsive buyer where he is the slow, contemplative, compare-all-you-can shopper. And, he always seems to get the best deal so I don't question his ways anymore lol. I should'a taken pictures of the inside but it's cold out in the garage and I guess since I stayed home from work with bronchitis, I should not be out in it.

Yes, I now have bronchitis after dealing with a nasty head cold all through the Thanksgiving holiday. We spent three days in Oklahoma with my brother Henry and his wife Shanon and had a wonderful time. I wasn't much fun, I'm afraid, since I was always blowing my nose and coughing. So, after hearing my cracking voice, Leota suggested I stay home and I agreed. I'll just sit and watch tv and do some handwork. I don't feel too bad, just tired. Jim just got back from picking up some meds for me as well as Judy. She's got a major sinus infection. I'm not contagious since I'm starting my second round of antibiotics but I didn't want my customers to feel uncomfortable when I have one of my coughing spells. I hope I can get to work tomorrow but it's snowing out now and supposed to continue. I'll let ya'll know by morning if I'm making the trek to the shop. If I have to, I may have Jim drive me in my new car.

Ok, time to take a break. Is everyone done with their Christmas shopping? I've been doing some online and get a package or two every other day. That's how I've come to enjoy shopping. Maybe that's what I'll do while resting today.

A quilt-y post, at last

I decided Sunday was the day I would finish this little quilt for my niece and her new baby girl. The label will tell you all about it. If you click on the picture, you should get an easier size to read. I'm off to see my little K!

A pile of hats

I can't stop! lol Nor do I want to right now. These hats have been a hit with young and old alike. I made these this past weekend. I made another three last night. Once you get the pattern down, it's a breeze. Of course, I get bored doing the same thing over and over again, so I had to find different patterns. I'd like to make maybe a dozen more and then get back to my quilting. For now, I need to use up all the yarn I've bought. Right now, though, I need to get ready for my day job :-) Have a good Friday!

A very lazy Sunday

Kerrington spent the night with Gramma and Grampa last night. Auntie Judy was here until K fell asleep. While she was awake though, Kerrington enjoyed playing with my skein of red yarn. So, this afternoon I made her a red ball with a little black ruffle (to hold on to). I also added, (second picture) about 10 strings of red for her to play with. She seemed to enjoy wrapping the thread around her fingers. Almost as though she was about to start crocheting! LOL



This quilt, front and back, is one that came in Judy's mail on Saturday. Was she ever surprised! I was too, but not so much once I saw it. I remember the bulls-eye blocks and I know how generous my online quilting group can be. Yes, Quilters on Review sent Judy a comfort quilt to use whenever she is missing Dad. Are they not the best quilters in the world? Thank you, all!

It's almost 10:30 and I should go to bed. In regard to the title of this post, I laid down for a nap at 12 o'clock noon and did not wake up until 3! When I woke up, I thought it was morning! It's not that I had a rough night with Miss K because she did very well with us, but I guess I was just tired. I'll do that some weekends. So, I should go on to bed and get some extra rest. Have a good week!

Yes, I am spoiled

Check this out! I have been a part of two swaps this season and here is what I have received. The first picture is an Advent calendar wallhanging. Full of little gifts! This swap dictated that the swappers gather 24 little gifts to be opened by the recipient, one gift a day from December 1 'til December 25. Then there is one big gift for Christmas Day. Wasn't it smart of Tammy in Virginiato send the wallhanging? I got to looking at it and it's also very cleverly jumbled! So, I have to look for each day before I can open the gift inside the pocket. Thanks, Tammy!
This swap was a Stitcher's Angel swap. We were supposed to make three stitched items and the theme was "roses". I told my secret angel that one of my favorite color combos is pink and green. Look what she did! All three pieces are gorgeous! The picture of the green mouse has a title, in French, "the green mouse". I love it! The big wallhanging has dimensional flowers and a butterfly and applique. Beautiful! The little needle holder is too pretty to put to use. I think I'll just hang it over my sewing machine and look at it every day. She also sent me something I've never seen before. Scented floss! Yup. The back of the package says "Hidden in the core of the thread, the aroma is released when you touch it." The scents are chocolate, apple and roses. I can't wait to try them! Thank you, Agnes!

And the winner is...

Joann at Titus 2 Keeper at Home! Joann, please email me privately with your address. I know I've sent you a package in the past but have misplaced your home address. Congratulations and I hope you enjoy the Bed Pocket! I will get it in the mail this coming week.

Thank you to all of you that visited my blog and asked that your names be entered in the drawing. I was just curious to see how many entries I would get. There were a total of 16. So, your odds weren't too bad lol. This was fun and I hope to do more of it in the future.

Happy Sunday!

November BOM

Here's my adaptation of the Block of the Month. I took the liberty of changing the picture for November. The original pic was a bird holding a holly leaf with a berry. I really wanted a turkey for November, so I made one :-)
Here's a better picture of the pumpkin hat I crocheted for Kerrington. Is it not cute!? I want to make another one.

I spent tonight listening to another Scentsy inspirational webinar. During that time, I was able to get another stitching project ready for stitching. It's 10:30 so I think I'll go to bed. That's earlier than usual for me, but I get too sleepy during the day so when Kerrington naps, I tend to nap, too. I try to work on handwork but I always doze off. I really need to get back to working out.

Halloween 2009

Uncle Henry is a video freak! Here he's captured Kerrington and Grama V. on Halloween night with K wearing her punkin hat that Grama crocheted after work today. Yes, I made it in one hour! I came home and was reading emails when I came across one that had a link to make a crocheted pumpkin hat. An hour later, it was done! I wish I'd had a darker orange yarn, but, hey! This worked.

In this next little clip, Kerrington is wearing her Ladybug costume. Her mama made her wings. Her shoes were a special gift from her Grama Camille (Gramille).

We had a wonderful little get-together at Auntie Judy's house. She made dinner for us..enchiladas, tacos, beans, rice, chips and dip. I made pink fluff for dessert. Those in attendance were Uncle Henry, Aunt Shanon, Grama V., Papaw Jim, Auntie Judy, Uncle Joe, Daddy Robert, Mama April and Baby Kerrington.

Show of hands, please!

I have had so much fun making these bed pockets and, as I found out when photographing this one, you could use it under your sewing machine! I think it might have many useful adaptations.

Remember a few posts back I hinted that I might be having a drawing of some sort? How many of you (show of hands, please :-) would like to have a bed pocket made by me? The one pictured here is not the one I'll be drawing for. It'll be a surprise. Leave me a comment here on the blog or, if you have trouble doing that, send me an email letting me know you want your name added to the drawing. I will take comments until Sunday, November 8, at which time I will draw the name of the winner. Even if you don't want or need one, it might just be a perfect Christmas gift.

Thanks to Cori at Chitter Chatter Designs for sharing this pattern with us. She is one of the Stitcher's Angel project designers.

Bed pocket finished

Very happy with the finished product. Now to label it and get it in the mail with the rest of the Stitcher's Angel items.

Quiltlet 2009

I decided to go ahead and participate in this year's quiltlet swap on QOR. For a while I didn't think I'd take the time but the longer I looked at these blocks on my wall, the more I knew I wanted to do something with them. I made the blocks from cut off corners that came from blocks made for the Starlight quilt (still in progress). I hope I can continue to use the cast offs to make other little projects. I made the blocks during those times I would stay overnight with Dad. He would take the cut off pieces and stack them nicely because he said it would help me work faster. He loved helping even in a small way.

I am a little upset that I didn't take more time to match up points, but it's ok. I really enjoyed planning, drawing and working the trapunto.

Now I need to make a label for it and then it will go in the mail. It should be out the door before the end of the week.

Hmmm...

My first attempt at color embroidery. Surely there's a technical name for it, but I can't think of it right now. I thought that the more I practiced the art of embroidery, the better I'd get at it. But, I feel that this piece really shows me how much more practice I really need! I have never been able to do a satin stitch to my liking and some of my lines could be a bit straighter. I used regular Crayola crayons for the coloring. I'm ok with it, but I really want to explore other coloring pencils for this type of work. Looking at the birds makes me think a grade schooler colored them! lol Oh well, it'll work up nicely into a bed pocket and maybe no one will notice the childishness of it. And then, perhaps, that may add to its charm.

It's Saturday so I'm off to get ready for another busy, busy day. Working only three days a week almost leaves me breathless when trying to keep up with all my customer requests. I don't like to say "no" and sometimes it gets me in trouble, timewise. But, most, if not all, my clients are so sweet and patient. Thank you all!

What you do when the baby's sleeping

Kerrington and I spent about two and half hours at my house today. While she took a nap, I made this Bed Pocket. You place the background piece between the mattress and box spring and the pocket holds things that tend to fall off your night stand. In order for it not to slip out, you need to pin it with safety pins or mattress pins. I think I'll use "T" pins. Is that the same thing as a mattress pin? This is my trial project since I want to make one for my Stitcher's Angel project. I will probably do some embroidery on the next one.
Another project for my Angel swap partner. This started out a little bit bigger to fit a composition book. By the time I was finished with it, it was about a quarter of a inch too small. So, I bought a little smaller book and revised the cover to fit. I will have three stitched items to send to her by the end of the month. It's going to Australia so I need to get it in the mail.

I have really enjoyed working on these crocheted hats. I've got a couple more started. Can you say "attention deficit syndrome"? lol I don't know why I tend to jump from one project to another. I really try to finish what I start, but I have a lot of things started!

I am yawning and so I assume it's time to go to bed since it's after 11 p.m. I get started on something around 9 p.m. and I can't put it down. I've really got to learn some discipline. But, I love doing this.

Ask, and you shall receive..

If I have time, that is. :-) Who wouldn't have time to make another one of these little caps? If you read comments from my last entry, April mentioned that Kerrington wanted one of these, too. How can I deny my granddaughter?? I had tried the first cap on Kerrington and could tell it was too small for her (just right for a newborn, I think) so I just used a little larger hook. I want to go by Hobby Lobby and find some of that new-fangled yarn they have out and make a few more. Maybe even for some of our larger heads! LOL

It's Friday again and a busy day ahead. Jim and I took a ride over to the Senior Citizen center yesterday and got our flu shots. It was the first time I'd been there. I saw a few ladies I hadn't seen in a while. Seems like this is the hangout!

Our heater is on the blink. We're trying to decide if we should continue to have repairmen come and "fix" it (which hasn't happened after three or four visits) or just bite the bullet and have a whole new unit installed. Bet we end up having to get a new one. It was 36 degrees outside this morning and 69 inside. I don't mind it, but Jim needs a little more warmth. He's not menopausing! lol But, I surely don't want to be caught with subzero temps outside and no heat to speak of.

Off to finish getting ready. Have a good weekend!

More crochet than quilting

Yes, I know. Kerrington has enough hats. This one is earmarked for a newborn. Might be a bit big, but it'll fit a one to two month old, I'm sure. I found the pattern here. I added the flower on a whim. You can find just about any tutorial on You Tube. Here's the link to the crocheted flower. All the crochet patterns you've seen on my blog lately have been found on the Crochet Pattern Central page. The hats were found under "baby hats". This particular one is titled "Bordering on Adorable Cap".

Halloween decorations

Here you go! The October BOM is finished. I cheated again in that I had fabric with pumpkins on it and so I did not have to make my own applique pieces. I just ironed fusible onto the back of the pumpkin fabric, cut it out, ironed onto a square and buttonhole stitched to attach. This is the Halloween deco I have at the shop. Notice the Scentsy Jack o'lantern on the counter. I'm not a great Halloween lover so this is the extent of my holiday decoration. Click on the picture to get a closer look.

Crochet

I've been trying to find a pattern for a crocheted hat that works up quickly and is cute. I may have just found it! I made this one last night in an hour and a half. I know how long it took because I was listening to my Scentsy training audio and that's how long it lasted. By the way, the training session I was in on last night had 1,000 people hooked up to it! The largest session Scentsy has ever had. They were instructing us in the new website changes. Can't wait to place my first order on the new site!

Finally, a finish

Here's the yellow background quilt I had been asked to finish for a client/friend. The top is very, very old. I don't know exactly how old, but I would imagine at least 50 years. Some of the seams of the stars were coming apart so I had to mend them. I hope they will be happy with the design I decided on for the quilting. It feels good to finish a larger project for a change.

I've started a quilt for my niece's baby to be born in November. It will use blocks that Mom and Aunt Dolores painted many years ago. I'll post a picture as soon as I get them put together. If you look closely, you can see a snippet of the pieces of the quilt in the left bottom corner.

It's chilly outside!

Yes, it's 48 degrees as I write. The little hat I crocheted actually fit little Miss Kerrington. She left it on long enough for me to take a picture but as soon as I left her alone, off it came. It took a minute, but she managed to pull it off. Then she tried to put it back on. That was too cute. Then again, anything this little angel does is too cute! I posted the second picture so you can see how pretty her eyelashes are growing in.

I've been working on an afghan for a baby gift. Although, tonight I had to cut some fabric for a project I committed to last week. The quilt top must be done and out of here before October 1. Wish me luck! I cut over 200 squares tonight in about 45 minutes and decided I was tired. I don't want to make any mistakes so I'll finish cutting tomorrow.

Time to head to bed. Jim will get up early to hit the links. I hope it's not much colder than it is now!

Bits and pieces

The newest addition to my sewing room is this 22" flat screen, Phillips television. I was having some issues with my old TV so I decided to treat myself to a new one. I love it!
Sew, what's this, you say? A jelly roll? No. One of those MRI pictures sliced to show the inner workings of our brain? lol No. It's part of my collection of odds and ends of bindings. When I make binding for a quilt, big or small, I never measure so as to come out "just right". I like to have some left over so I can use the pieces on scrap quilts. I love the effect of a scrappy binding.

Alright, I admit it. I didn't feel like working on the quilt tonight so I found some stray pink yarn and worked up this little beanie cap. After all, it's getting cooler outside and little heads with little or no hair will need to keep warm. I hope this one fits Kerrington. If not, it will go to a certain not-yet-born baby girl in OKC :-)

We all went to dinner tonight at Applebees. Judy, Joe, Robert, April, Kerrington, Jim and I. We had an enjoyable time and the food was good. Jim might have something to say about that since the veggie on his plate was (gasp) broccoli! But, I am proud to report he ate it all. He was hungry! lol

Off to bed in anticipation of another Saturday morning. Busy day ahead of me. Thank you, Lord! It's also massage day!

An angel surprise

A quick note as I am walking out the door. I received this angel in the mail yesterday. Many, many thanks to my friends at QOR (Quilts on Review). It touched my heart to know that someone I have not even met has taken the time to make something for me to ease my sorrow. Thanks again to whomever requested this little angel and to the kind lady, Elaine, who crocheted her.

Wordy, but informative (says who?)

Well, I've got the quilt ready for quilting! Picked it up off the living room floor. I had not spray basted it after laying it out for a week (or more) so this morning I decided it just HAD to be done. Jim was gone to play the second day of his golf tournament so I had the house to myself. Have I started quilting on it? No. I think I've decided on the pattern I'm going to use, but I have a feeling the quilt itself is going to give me some trouble. Remember I had to re-do the borders because it was too wavy to quilt as it was when my client brought it to me. But, the inner part of the quilt is so loose because of bias edges, I don't know what it's going to do. I only hope that the quilting will help to lay it flat. Please send a prayer and all the good wishes you have to help me get this done! I only have about two weeks to finish it.

Here's a new little pincushion I worked on tonight. Not my best work, but it holds pins. I need to get a few things together for my swap pals and just can't seem to settle on any projects. I hate it when I get in these slumps. I started, and stopped, a little embroidery piece because I just can't seem to get the satin stitching right. I'll try something else.

Remember I said Jim was gone to play in a tournament? He won first place in his flight! He was excited. Won a little bit of money for his efforts. And, let me tell you, it was an effort! This morning his tee time was 7:10. Therefore, he had to get up at 5:30! He didn't even do that when he was working! LOL I didn't wake up since I decided to sleep in the other room so I didn't hear the alarm. I appreciate that he didn't expect me to get up with him. I'd made muffins the night before so that's what he took for breakfast. He even went a bit further with his spoiling of me in that we went to Chili's for lunch/dinner! We had a nice time.

Right after we got home, Joe stopped by to visit for a minute. Needless to say, I didn't get to the gym again. Will have to make an honest effort to do so this week. I'm thinking that three times a week may be all I can do for a while. Maybe the idea of going 6 days a week, like we did last time, is playing games with my mind. I need to start slow.

I've been feeling sorry for myself all day in spite of all the good things that have happened. Yesterday afternoon, after I got up from my nap in anticipation of going to dinner with Jim, I had to rinse my contacts. In doing so, I inadvertently squirted heavy duty CLEANSER on my contact and proceeded to insert it into my eye! Ouch! And double, Ouchh! In all the 30-plus years I've worn contacts, I've never done that. Boy, did I feel the burn! My eye swelled, turned red and hurt like crazy. Could not put my contacts back in, of course. On top of that, I'd come up with a fever blister on my lip that morning. So, the whole of the right side of my face was/is a total mess! LOL My eye is much better today but I still only wore my glasses. The fever blister has been tended to all day with Abreva. Here's hoping that all the hype about Abreva is true! Let's see, I started applying it on Saturday morning, as soon as I felt the tingle, and it's now Sunday. I'll let you know how long I have to deal with it. Normally, I think my fever blisters last about 5 - 7 days, sometimes longer if they get out of hand. Once, the blister spread from my lip to my chin! I know, TMI..lol Jim and Judy have reminded me, several times, no grama kisses tomorrow! :-( Kerrington won't know how to act if she can't plant a few kisses on grama's nose! lol

I guess I should've known I'd come down with the blister since I've had a couple of "down" weeks. Just haven't felt like myself. Felt lazy and it was all I could do to get done what needed doing. Sometimes even that was left undone for a day or two. Let's hope the coming week finds me in better spirits and more energetic!

Have a good Monday!