Hairdresser by day, Quilter by night!

Eight months later...

2011-08-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

And I'm still here, lurking in blogland and in Facebook. I'm ashamed to say that my time has been monopolized by the ever-so-popular FB. Don't get me wrong..I enjoy reading all the posts on FB and occasionally pop in a few of my own, but I have missed my blog time. I also miss my laptop. I still have it, of course, but since I was lucky enough to become the owner of an iPad, my laptop has sat on the corner of my desk, patiently waiting for moments like these when I finally decide to leave my comfy stuffed wingback chair and come sit in my armless, rolling desk chair. You see, I'm not a big fan of the iPad typepad. I prefer the old-fashioned (giggle) keyboard setup. And so, without further ado, I shall let you see what pretties I have been working on. One more thing...I'm a new grandma! Baby boy Goff was born on August 8, 2011 and we are just ecstatic!
This collection of hats and socks was donated to the hospital nursery in honor of Baby Goff's arrival. In retrospect, I think some of the hats may be a bit big for newborns. But, I hope the families that receive one will enjoy it as their baby grows.

Look at this treasure! This baby quilt was made by a great-aunt who passed not too long ago. Her son gifted me with it since I had moaned and groaned that I had not ever had the chance to buy one of her handmade, handquilted pieces. How sweet was that! It's worn and torn in spots, but I will treasure it! Thanks, Sonny!

Maybe you've noticed that I'm spending my time knitting these days instead of quilting. I have made a baby quilt for a friend and the iPad case at the top of this page. I first made one for Judy and so I had to make one for myself :-). One final picture of my sweet KK. She's a big sister now, ya know!

2010-12-12T20:44:00.000-08:00

Sweetie in one of her many moods. This is how I felt today after working on the following scenes. Jim helped me put up a new drapery rod (ok, Joe and Shannon and Megann stopped by and Joe helped him while I watched) then we hung the new curtains. I want to add larger red bows to them for the holidays.

The Christmas tree afghan on the glider is one I made many years ago. It has become one of my favorite Christmas decorations.
In addition to our stockings, I decided to hang the ones Judy and I made for Mom and Dad before they left us. The stockings are so pretty and I think they should be seen and admired by all of us. Plus, it makes me feel close to them.

The Nativity scene quilt is one I made a few years ago. I had it hanging at the shop last year but I decided to leave it at home. I have it hanging with push pins (I know, a no-no!) but I haven't added a sleeve. I have the perfect quilt rod that I want to hang in my "studio" and will be able to change quilts when I get the urge.

I've been working on a few Christmas gifts so I can't post pics of my projects yet. Must get back to my sewing machine....

Just chillin'

2010-11-30T05:01:00.000-08:00

With Nani's iPad! Chillin' is right because it snowed yesterday. Nothing to write home about, but it sure was pretty while it was falling. Although, it must've just snowed at Rob and April's because Jim said it didn't snow a "flake" at our house! Just 5 minutes away and the weather can be so different.

iPad fun

2010-11-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this from my new iPad. Still so much to learn! Sweetie has enjoyed playing "monkeys" and seems to think it's her new toy lol. I couldn't wait to show it to her.

It snowed earlier for a little bit. Was so pretty but I'm glad it has stopped. When I figure out how to upload pictures here I'll try it. Time for K's nap. Maybe for me, too!

A whole month later....

2010-10-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

It's October and Jack O'lantern time! Jack has his little light shining at the shop. Although, today he has a new home since a friend decided he needed to go home with her. You can always call me for your own Jack!
This smiling Jackie is a fabric postcard, believe it or don't! I've been involved in a fabric postcard swap and the ones you see here are just a few of those that I mailed out this week. I hope their recipients enjoy them.

What would a blog post be without a picture or two of Sweetie? Here she is in front of some furry boas on display at Hobby Lobby. In the last picture, she is not in time out, I promise. Well, at least not this time. lol We were headed out the door and I couldn't resist catching her on camera.

A peaceful Sunday

2010-09-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sweetie spent the night with us last night and she was a very good girl. She did cry a bit at bedtime but that's normal. She slept all by herself, like a big girl, in her own room. About 9:30 this morning I heard a soft little voice saying, "Nanneeee, Nanneee" over and over again. No urgency in her voice, just saying my name. It almost sounded as though she was saying it to herself.
I took these pictures of Sweetie last week when we were here for the day on Tuesday. I love her little fingers holding the "flower". She wasn't being punished in the picture where she's sitting. She looks like she's lost her last friend, though. The camera just happened to capture her expression at that exact moment. The very next second she probably threw up her hands and jumped up to run in the grass. She is non stop these days. Keeps her Papaw on the go.
One more little quilt for the day. A co-worker has a new great grandbaby girl and it's a perfect excuse to build another quilt! lol I can't wait to get this one quilted. It's such a soft, pastel color along with the white. It'll be perfect for a little girl.

Hope everyone had a perfect Sunday. Jim is watching the Cowboys. The season has begun!

Is it Fall yet?

2010-09-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

It has been almost a month since I last posted. Jim asked, "Why?" "Well", I said. "I haven't finished anything I want to share!" And, I've been lazy about writing, truth be told. I want to apologize to those of you not on Facebook. I have been posting pictures there since I'm not expected to write a whole lot. So, I thought I'd update here.

Labor Day weekend has been spent working on several different projects. The pink, green and blue quilt and the circle quilt were both finished last week.
The green, blue and dotted baby quilt was easy enough to do. I finished the top in one day and quilted it the next.

I'd had the cloth book kit in a drawer for a while now so I decided to put it together. Easy enough and since Sweetie loves books, I couldn't wait to make it for her.
Speaking of Sweetie, see her peeking out from behind the couch cushions? She loves to play with her Nani Veronica.

She loves her Ross, too. Her monkey goes with her everywhere these days. We had a coloring session after lunch and before naptime. If one crayon works, two work better! lol
Last, but not least, check out Robert and Jim in front of the backyard shed they built over the Labor Day weekend! Not too shabby, fellas! I've said it before and I'll say it again...I'm proud of you!

I hope everyone had a peaceful and safe weekend.

Stormy morning

2010-08-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

Woke up to pouring rain, thunder and wind this morning. Except for the wind, it sounded beautiful. Would've been nice to stay in bed. But, I've got to get going to go see Sweetie!

I spent the better part of yesterday, Sunday, working on this little quilt. I already had the top done so all it needed was quilting. The binding is nearly done since I stayed up until almost midnight trying to get it finished. Jim says I'm like a dog with a bone when I get started with something. LOL This is a comfort quilt for a little girl and I've got another one started for her sister.

I am sad today. One of our dear online quilting friends departed from this world yesterday. I didn't know Charla in person, but grew to know her through her fun, entertaining posts on Quilts on Review and facebook. We'll miss you, Charla!

Catching up

2010-08-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

How long has it been? A month? I can't remember and I forgot to check the date of my last post before I started this one. So, here's one of my favorite pictures of K and her mama. I took this at dinner last week at Cotton Patch. They were wearing matching colored tops. I had to document that, lol. April, I hope you don't mind that I blogged your picture.

And, here it is! The badge/patch quilt is just nearly finished! It only needs binding and it will be done. And, it only took me 8 months! LOL Well, the actual construction only took about two months, off and on, spread out over the eight months. I hope the recipient enjoys it.

I'm almost finished with a prayer shawl for....me! Yup, I decided to make me a shawl. This one is knitted so it's taken me a lot longer than the crocheted shawls took. I'll have a picture soon so maybe it won't take me so long to blog again.

7:15 on a Saturday morning

2010-07-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

I watched an episode of House last night. For those of you that don't follow that series, it's about a doctor (a diagnostician) who is SO smart. I only wish every doctor had the mad skills this doc has! lol I know, I know, he only plays a doctor on television. Anyway, in the episode I watched last night, (catching up on my DVR recordings) a woman was admitted to the hospital with strange symptoms, as usual. This woman, however, was an addicted blogger. Every move she made was posted for her blogging fans to read and comment on. Even when she had to decide whether to have a pig valve or plastic valve to help her ailing heart she asked her followers to comment to help her decide. Needless to say, her husband was furious with her addiction.

I only relate the previous story to let you know that I am not that diligent about writing about every move I make. Somehow, I don't feel that those of you that read my blog want to hear EVERYTHING. Am I right? So, I will continue to share a pic or two of my K (henceforth to be known as "Sweetie") and pictures of those projects I finish if I remember to photograph them before they go to their respective owners. Case in point..The following is a prayer shawl made for the sweet Angela, my sister's good friend who helped her move. Angela had the misfortune to be at the wrong place at the right time and was involved in a motor vehicle accident. She had to have many stitches on her beautiful face and in her mouth. Luckily, she was in her big honker of a pickup truck and was wearing her seatbelt so things could've possibly been much worse. The truck was totalled. Please keep her in your prayers that she heal quickly. The name of the color of the yarn I used is "chili". LOL. Judy says that's very appropriate for Miss Angela.

And, of course, here is our Sweetie! This is her favorite position to watch a little TV. When she's not on the floor. If you click on the picture you can see the crocheted "belt" I made her on the run. Her britches were not staying on those slim hips of hers so I fixed it. Her most recent word - DOE! Meaning "go!" Ready, set, DOE! Cracks me up every time to hear that little voice say that. Also rhymes with "NO" which she says with regularity. We have so much fun. Thank You, Lord, for this precious bundle and thank you, Rob and April, for giving me the opportunity to watch her grow. I love my jobs!

Weekend at Judy's

2010-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here are only two pictures of the living room and a view to the dining room. We got a lot done, but she still needs a lot more done. I didn't take pictures of the rest of the house because we didn't get all of her wall deco up and there are still boxes in some of the rooms.
But, we made sure she had all she needed for the time being. She has been hobbling around on crutches because of fluid on her knee. I made her sit with her legs up the whole time we were there. Rob and April were a pair of awesome (and I mean that) work horses! They did SO much and I can't thank them enough.
We had quite a rain here yesterday and I couldn't resist letting K. out to play with the dripping water. She had such a good time. Looking back, I wish I'd let her out in the rain since she got soaked anyway.

Odds and Ends

2010-07-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

I made this purse last night to give to one of my Thursday clients. This little lady has carried another purse I made for her for so long now that the handles are fraying. It's nice to see someone enjoying your handiwork so much that it's falling apart! LOL So, I'm going to surprise her with a new one. I took some liberties with the pattern and did not add the outside pockets on this one. I hope she won't miss them.
These are fabric postcards. I will be participating in a swap for the next few months so I've been practicing. The graduation cap went along with a grad gift. Aren't they cute? They're addicting, too. lol As if I needed anything else to occupy my time.
This prayer shawl went to another client who has had a rough month. They were on vacation, actually only the third day out, when she fell and broke her kneecap. They were sent back home for surgery. I gave her the shawl on Saturday when her hubby brought her to the shop. The color is not true in this picture. It's a deep purple and lilac.

Time to get ready for work. I'd rather be quilting!! lol

Stars and Stripes preview

2010-06-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that K. doesn't mind wearing hats! I've had so much fun making them. This little dress was so easy to make. Many of the patterns call it a "pillowcase" dress. Nancy's Notions website has a video tutorial for the dress. If I wasn't on my way to bed I'd post the link. If anyone is interested and can't seem to find it, email me and I'll point you in the right direction. I'm off to bed. Goodnight.

Judy's new home!

2010-06-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

I don't have really good pictures of the inside yet since she's only been in two days. Judy and a friend of hers from Albuquerque worked liked crazy women this weekend to get things set up. Of course, it's not all done, but she's home!

30 minute sunhat

2010-06-22T19:37:00.001-07:00

While home for a bit today, I decided K. needed another sunhat. Stop laughing. This one actually fits! It's reversible, too. I just couldn't rest until I made one that fits her - now. I simply took a bigger seam allowance. I had to put it together in a flash, hence the 30-minute title, because I didn't want K. to have to sit in the glider too long. I didn't figure she'd want to sit there too long, either.
Bless her heart. We ran to the house because I had some things to do so I thought I'd see how fast I could make the hat. I was bound and determined to make one that fits her from the get-go! She was so good to sit in the glider and watch tv while playing with a golf ball, her shoes and a miniature Betty Boop lunch box filled with Scentsy. She loves to smell Scentsy. Granted, she was probably ready for a nap but she was a very good girl while Granma made her a hat. We're not baby-proofed around here so she needs to stay in view at all times. She only tried to get out of the chair one time.

Father's Day, 2010

2010-06-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Missing my dad like crazy today. But, I'm so glad he's not in pain and is dancing on the clouds with Mom!

Jim and Rob spent the day together on the golf course. Jim left by 6:30 a.m. (yikes!). I slept until 8 then spent the day crocheting and sewing as you can see from the pictures. I made Brittany a crocheted purse. An eleven year old needs lots of purses to carry their "stuff". I made one more little sunhat for K. It's a bit big, but I think once it's washed, it'll be fine. Mama April said she needs one, too, so I threw one together for her once they left to go visit her parents. Nothin' fancy, April, but should keep the sun out of your eyes!

Last, but certainly not least, I made Papaw Jim a cake for Father's day. My cough still lingers but not as bad. Maybe I can sleep tonight. I hope all the fathers out there had a pleasant day and didn't get too tired tending the bar-b-que!

Granddaughter delight!

2010-06-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to spend some time at the lake this past weekend with Rob, April and K. Here's K. playing in her pool in the trailer's front yard. She was playing with a coaster, I think. Jim and Rob played golf on Saturday. April, K. and I followed the play around the first nine holes. Since it's only a nine hole course, we opted to go back to the cooler trailer while they finished the second nine. After dinner, we chilled and watched a bit of TV until the storm knocked the satellite out more than it was on. Early to bed on Saturday night since we would be up by 5:30 to get out on the boat before the heat set in. We were out until about 11 a.m. then came in. Jim and I decided to come on home since I wasn't feeling my best. Rob's little family stayed the afternoon to do a little more fishing and swimming. Oh, yes, I have bronchitis again. But, we had a good time getting out of Clovis and making memories with K and her parents.
Another memory-making opportunity showed itself this week when Brittany hit town. My oldest granddaughter, she'll be 11 in August, spent the last two nights with us. And, the last two days with K and me. In this picture, B. is modeling a crocheted cell phone carrier I made for her to house her new phone. I'd noticed she kept misplacing it. What 11 year old wouldn't, right? So, she chose the color of the thread, I modified a pattern I found and added the bling "B" and button. She loves it, of course. Bless her heart, she loves everything I ever make for her. She was missing her daddy so he came to pick her up tonight. We'll probably have a few more nights together before she goes home in two weeks.

I hope my meds hurry up and kick in. I've been coughing my head off the last few days. If I continue to have episodes of bronchitis, the doc wants to test to confirm or deny asthma. Especially since the beta blocker for high blood pressure I'm on is not one they prescribe for asthmatics. Since B. is gone tonight, I better plan to turn in early. Busy day at work tomorrow.

A little summer dress

2010-06-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

I know, there are tons and tons of little outfits to buy for little girls, why go to the trouble of making a dress? Because I can! lol I had to sew for two little boys and that was not near as much fun as sewing for a little girl. Let me have my fun :-)

Originally, I used a hook and eye closure for the back of the dress but I didn't like the way it looked and K. could feel it on her skin. So, and April, I forgot to tell you, I used two small lengths of some ribbon in April's stash and sewed them to the edge of the back opening. It works much better to just tie a little bow and looks cuter. Thanks, April. I couldn't wait to get home to fix it.

Why I can't quilt right now

2010-06-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

Any excuse is better than none, right? This is what my sewing machine looks like these days. I am working on a prayer shawl for a sweet friend/client that broke her kneecap on the third day of a much anticipated extended vacation. She is now in rehab. Actually, this is the fourth try to make her a prayer shawl. I worked on a different pattern one night while watching a graduation online. The next day, in the light of day, lol, I found that the edges were totally and irreparably crooked! So, I "uncrocheted" the whole thing and started another one. This time, I decided I'd knit a simple shawl. Nah. I'm not that experienced in knitting, and although I love the look, just takes me too long. After "unknitting" those few rows, I found a different pattern to crochet.
It's the one you see in this picture. But, after four rows, I realized I was using the wrong size hook. Two sizes too small. I pulled them apart and started over again with the right size hook. Maybe this one will take.

The strange little crocheted item you see in this picture is actually a towel hanger. You drape your kitchen towel through the hole after hanging the whole thing on your stove handle. An alternative to those towel toppers that are so popular.
What would a blog entry be without Miss K? Boring, methinks. Here you see her "exercising". I'm not sure she thinks that's what she's doing but it's just too darn cute to watch her try to sit on her purple ball. I haven't seen her miss it, yet, but I bet she has. Once she's settled, she's just as happy as can be.
The little skirt she's wearing in the picture was a pair of shorts in another life. When Mama April bought them, she thought they'd fit just fine, but Miss K is full of surprises. I took the leg seams apart and made it into a little skirt. Too cute on her.

Remember the online graduation I said I watched while crocheting? Here is a very bad picture of Miss Kailey Vae accepting her diploma. Kailey is Jim's oldest granddaughter who lives in Texas. We couldn't be there for the occasion but were able to watch the whole thing, live, online. The wonders of modern communication!

Soon I will have a post dedicated to my sister's new home. It's going to be beautiful! Her home, not the post. lol Check back soon.

A break

2010-05-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

I took a little break from making the cradle purses. Well, I made one more today, but tonight I finished this little quilt for K's. dolly. After looking at it from a distance, I can see that I should've paid a little more attention to the placement of the squares. Not that it matters. I'm sure K. and her doll won't even notice! It should be big enough to go around the dolls she's currently playing with.

Bedtime. I need to start trying to get at least 7 hours of sleep. That means I need to go to sleep by 11:30 - 5 minutes from now! lol Jim would say that's not a problem for me. Soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm usually out. Unfortunately, I can bet that I'll wake up about 1:30 or 2:00 to go potty. Ah well...

I can't stop!

2010-05-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Making these cradle purses! They are so quick and easy they're addicting. Luckily, I have lots of leftover yarn in my stash. Although, I do have to untangle some of the yarn before use because one special little girl loves to play in Grama's pile of yarn! That's just fine by me. Especially when I can get Papaw to help untangle! lol

The next two pictures just had to be taken. When I saw her standing with her hands behind her back, I thought it was the cutest thing! Then, Auntie Judy reminded me that Mom (Big Grama) used to stand that way! I can just see Mom now, her short, muscular legs, standing with her hands clasped behind her back. Maybe some things are just hereditary, huh?
And, of course, her favorite thing to do when she tires of playing with her toys...dump them all out and get in the basket! That's after she's turned it upside down and tried climbing on it but, since it's a wicker basket, it kept collapsing. Guess she figured it was safer to be IN it than ON it.

This last picture is typical K. She's a smiley baby and it makes Grama's heart melt.

April and K. came by the shop yesterday and brought me a drink. Thank you! It was such a pleasant surprise to have them come by. Joe had been by a bit earlier and then I saw Rob at the house when he and Jim got home from golfing. So, I was blessed to see ALL my chilluns yesterday! Except my granddaughter, Brittany, whom I think of daily and wish she lived closer than OKC. :-(

I need to get going now. Will meet one of my consultants at the shop for a Scentsy warmer trade and then I think I'll make a WalMart run to see if I can find more dolls for the aforementioned addiction! Have a great Sunday, ya'll!

Cradle purses

2010-05-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

The pretty little pink and white cradle purse is K's. I gave it to her this morning and she spent most of the time putting the doll back in the purse and taking it out again. Then she played with the little blanket by stretching it and placing it on top of her head. lol I think she likes it.
The yellow and white purse I made for K's cousin, M. who had a birthday last week. I'm late with her gift, but I hope she'll forgive me once she sees it. She was two this birthday.

I'm writing this on my laptop at Rob and April's while K is napping. Well, she is not asleep yet, but she's resting in her crib. Yesterday she did not nap until her mama got home after 5. I plan on letting her "relax" in her crib for about an hour and then I can't stand not to have her in here with me when she's awake. So, I'll get her out of her bed and then it'll be almost time for lunch. Although, sometimes when I go in to get her, she's not ready to get out. I'm getting a little heavy-lidded myself. I may take a cat nap before I bring her back into the living room. Or, I'll start another cradle purse...

Monday mending

2010-05-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Before and after shot of a little sundress that had a hole in need of mending. I asked April if I could bring it home and try my hand at it. I think it came out nice! I hope she and K. like it.

This is a typical picture of K. She loves any and all books and will literally drop where she is and start turning pages. I don't know how common it is, but she's 14 months old and she knows when the pages are upside down! Personally, I think that's amazing for her age. I've seen her do it several times while sitting on my lap. If she opens the book upside down, she'll look at it for a quick minute and turn it right side up. Grama thinks she's a genius! lol
I crocheted this little doll blanket for K's dolly. She loves wrapping her up in it. She also has me wrap the doll in a bigger blanket so she can unwrap, etc., etc.. Keeps us busy.

So nice to feel better again. You know, when you're not feeling well, you forget how nice it is to not be sick! At least I feel as though I'm never going to feel normal again when I'm sniffling, coughing and carrying on. I've actually worked on the badge quilt this past week. Not anywhere near finished, but making progress. I feel as if I only had one whole day to work on it, I'd get it done. But, life gets in the way and I end up doing more important things for the moment. Like, keeping K. overnight! We kept her this past Saturday night until Sunday around 2. She was such a good girl. She and Papaw are inseparable while she's here. She loves to run around outside and must have Papaw by her side to help her up and down the curbs. We get our exercise with that baby doll!

Got to get to bed. I've told Jim that I plan on getting to bed earlier but it always ends up being around 11 or so. I wake up at 6:30, if not sooner, so an earlier bedtime would be helpful. Goodnight and have a good week.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-10T05:50:00.000-07:00

And a happy one it was! The entire weekend was very nice. We spent a night in Ruidoso with my sis to celebrate her birthday which had actually been on Tuesday. Birthdays are more fun when you can celebrate for at least a week! We also saw many of our relatives who are locals in the area including my Aunt D. and Uncle T., two of their sons and families and another cousin and his brood. It was so very nice!

There is no place like home, though, and Mother's Day ended with a visit from Rob, April and Miss K. They brought dinner in the form of pizza! Their gift to me (as if I needed more than their presence lol) was a beverage container with K's pictures in it! It's wonderful and I thank you guys!
My Mother's Day actually began on Friday when Joe stopped by the shop with this beautiful bouquet of flowers. What a nice surprise! They are now in a place of honor on my dining room table.

The final gift was a phone call from Brenda, my beautiful step-daughter in Houston. Always so good to hear from her. Thanks, B.!

Time now to shower and get ready to spend eight sweet hours with my little K. Have a great week, ya'll!

Some shots of K this week

2010-05-05T21:32:00.000-07:00

A baby doll! She loves to wrap her dolly in the blanket. I think grama needs to make the dolly a quilt!

Lovin' her car seat. She sure enjoys looking out the window and listening to tunes.

Never too young to start texting? LOL Of course this is her play phone but she has found it very intriguing lately.

Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures. I took them with my phone and it's not the most up-to-date piece of technology I own. But, it's nice to have handy when Sweetie looks so cute!

A short little video of K

2010-05-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

I took this the last time she stayed overnight with us. The picture she's so enthralled with is the one where her daddy is holding a baby.

This pictures shows a pair of crocheted socks I made the other day. The yarn I used is too thick but it made a nice pair of "hanging around the house" sockies.
I'll have to try the pattern with the yarn they actually recommend. I was just being frugal and using what I had on hand.

What are friends for?

2010-04-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

To make your day brighter, of course! Look at the beautiful princess cake my friend, Kathee, made for my birthday. She is one talented mail carrier! In addition to being so cute, it's mmm-mmm good! There is moist chocolate pound cake under that gorgeous skirt. Thank you, Kath!

I am feeling mucho better today. Still coughing a bit, but I hear it's all the rage these days. It seems this bug is a bugger to get rid of. But, I worked all three days even though I didn't work as hard as I like to. Baby steps... Hopefully, next week I can do my usual five days in three.

I got home early today since it was part of my plan to take it easy. I really thought I'd go by Hobby Lobby and spend a little of my birthday card money, but I just wasn't "feelin" it. So, I stopped and picked up lunch for us and came on home. I really would like, and should want, to work on the police badge quilt. Here's a sneak peak at what I've started. I wish these were the only badges they wanted used on the quilt but there are many, many more. I'm still trying to decide how best to attach them to the quilt top. The quilt itself will probably be 6 blocks by 6 blocks. (Each block is formed with the plain light blue in the center surrounded by the darker strips.)

Now that I've caught ya'll up on my week, I'm going to take out my contacts and lay down for a short nap. Perhaps, when I awaken, I will have more energy to work on the quilt.

A little more K

2010-04-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

One more shot of K in her little summer dress. I have not seen this little doll since last Wednesday. I've been sick since I left their house last week! I am definitely feeling much better and can't wait to see this baby girl! Tomorrow! By the way, the "table cover" on the round glass table is my snuggie. It was the closest thing to grab to cover the round glass edges so K won't hurt herself. We have old-fashioned furniture. lol We need what Rob and April have. An ottoman/coffee table covered in leather. No sharp edges.

This looks like the picture of the previous embroidered heart block but it isn't. It's another "shower of hearts" for another grieving online buddy.

I have been lazy, lazy, lazy since Thursday morning. Thanks to Leota and the others at work for covering for me the last part of the week. But, I think I really needed the off-time. Jim has been so patient and helpful. Thanks, honey.

So, I will go have another cup of peppermint tea. Yes, Judy, I finally took your advice :-). Since I have a pretty good sized little patch of fresh peppermint growing right outside my kitchen window, I should've been doing this all along. I really couldn't smell the first cup I had this morning but my senses are slowly returning. Have a good night and stay healthy!

Hello, bloggerland friends!

2010-04-15T05:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still here. First, let me say that taxes are done! Had to get that out of the way. This is the first year I have done them and I have to admit, it wasn't all that hard. With Judy's long distance help, Robert's local help with the 'puter and Jim making sure I didn't forget anything, we got 'er done! So, now maybe I can get back to working on some quilt blocks and crocheting.

I did have to get this little wallhanging done for a friend so it was a priority a few weeks ago. These blocks were made by older relatives in her family. She has two of the blocks and wanted them fixed up in order to gift them to special people.
These next three pictures are of my favorite little person! She got to spend the night with Grama and Papaw last Saturday while Mom and Dad went to the lake. In the first picture, she's looking at daddy holding a baby. I wonder if she thinks it's Kerrington he's holding? Actually it's my first granddaughter, Brittany, when she was a tiny thing. K was enthralled with the picture and would've probably carried it around with her if I'd let her.
The second picture finds her at the front door, knocking on it and calling "dada! dada!" Almost broke my heart. But she didn't cry at all while with us. She and her papaw are great friends.
The little zebra toy in the next picture was given to her by Auntie Judy. Someone gave it to Judy to pass on to K. She really enjoys it. By the way, the little dress is one I made her last summer hoping she'd be able to wear it this summer. Fits just right!

The final picture is a block I finished last night to send to a friend to ease her time of grief. I hope she feels the love we put in all our blocks to her.

Last, but not least. I am STILL sick! I went to the doctor last week and he diagnosed me with strep throat. I have been on antibiotics now for 10 days. The throat thing is a bit better, but I had to go back yesterday because I've been wheezing and coughing. Seems I have a viral infection due to allergies. They gave me a breathing treatment in the office which seemed to help temporarily and caused me to upchuck my dinner last night. Does it every time. I'm not so sure I'm going to work today. I hate to call in sick when I only work 3 days, but this is getting ridiculous! Yes, I rest, a lot, while staying with K, but I think I just need a few good days in the bed with nothing to do, as much as I love being with her. Jim has been so helpful. Bless his heart. He had to clean up my mess last night after he fixed my dinner! Please pray for his patience to continue. He's not feeling too hot either, what with some sciatic pain and all.

Alright, enough of the old folks health rant. I'm going to go shower and see if I feel up to getting to work. Have a great day!

Happy Birthday, Robert!

2010-03-28T15:38:00.001-07:00

26 years ago. Actually, he was three days old in this picture, I think. It was windy that day, too! lol So hard to believe my baby is all grown up. In the next picture, he's holding his own baby girl! We've come full circle as we're intended to do.
Happy Birthday, dear, sweet Robert! We love you with all our hearts. You are an exemplary son! May the Lord grant you many more years of love and happiness with your little family! Love you!

How much do you love Grama?

2010-03-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures of K. It's been a while since I've posted. I have been diligently working on prayer shawls and have finally started the quilt with all the badges. Hopefully I'll have something to show this weekend.

This is a short post because, as I told Jim and Judy the other day, I feel as though I only bore people with the minutiae of my daily life. Suffice it to say that I stay busy doing what I do. The first three days of my week, though, are my favorite! I love my clients, but little Sweetie is my escape from the usual. We have more fun reading, dancing, singing, "getting" each other, eating, etc. She is a joy!

Baker's Rack

2010-02-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

Here's our newest addition to our home. I was able to acquire this beautiful baker's rack from our new renters. They are downsizing to move into town and I was lucky enough to get this nice, nice piece of furniture. I've always wanted one to put right in this spot in the dining room. The turkey platters are the ones we have used at Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. The yellow gravy dish and bowl are two of my favorite pieces from their house. Now I've got to get some barstools that will match somewhat! Our old ones are in dire need of retirement.

The renters will begin to move in tomorrow. It's been a whirlwind of emotions cleaning out the house getting it ready for them. I hope they enjoy living there as much as Mom and Dad did.

Time for bed. Hop on over to April's blog to read about K's boo boo! lol

Short month, long story

2010-02-21T06:08:00.000-08:00

The proof is in the pudding..er, posting - wait, make that "non-posting". I am not a good blogger. lol Maybe at one time I was an excellent blogger, but no more, it seems. Before I begin a long diatribe, I will treat you to a couple of current pictures of our Miss K.

She is modeling a little hoodie vest I crocheted for her. What a joy she is! I told Jim last night that I sure miss the little toot when I don't see her for a few days. How can you not fall in love with a precious baby like this? Especially when you take care of her three days a week and she rests on your chest to fall asleep. Or, when she just lies in the crook of your arm and reaches out to stroke your arm with the softest little hand. Then there are those open mouth kisses that come at you with no request. She's walking now and will toddle toward me with her story book in hand. The return of her mama and daddy at day's end elicits squeals of delight and smiles to melt the stoniest heart. When she hears her Auntie Judy and/or Papaw Jim on the phone, she just wants to kiss the phone. Jude, I try to remember to show her your picture every day so you won't be a stranger when you come home. Next month is her first birthday!

As you can probably guess I could go on and on about Miss K. But, there have been other things happening in the past two weeks since I last posted. Let's see..there's been jury duty, cleaning out Mom and Dad's house to get it ready for renters, a stomach bug, fever blisters, prayer shawls, friends and surgeries, etc. Oh my.

Thank goodness that I have not been chosen to serve on a jury. I've shown up for all but one of my jury summons and have been sent home with others not chosen. Several of the cases have been DUI cases and I have to admit to the lawyers that I am not at all comfortable with a case dealing with alcohol. I have strong opinions on the subject so apparently, I wouldn't be a fair juror. Works for me.

Yes, we are going to rent Mom and Dad's house for now. A friend of the family and her husband had been looking for a place and I am more than happy to be able to help them. I think they will be fine renters and it will be nice to know that the place is being taken care of. Not to mention that it will help with the house payment. So, cleaning out 50 plus years of memories has been a little stressful, to say the least. Since I am the only one left in town to get this done, with a LOT of help from my husband, sons and friends, it's been a little rough. Our living room is filling up with boxes filled with things I'm not quite sure what to do with. We're trying to get the furniture sold to whomever needs what we have before we finally take the rest to a consignment store. I hope I've managed to save things that my sister and brother would like. Judy did specify a few things and I know she wishes she could be here to help. By the way, she is LOVING her job in Las Cruces and I am so happy for her!

I have forgotten to take pictures of the prayer shawls I've made for friends recently. It seems that several of my buddies have had to go under the knife for various reasons, mostly heart repairs. My closest friend will have surgery on Monday to help ease her headaches. It will be neck surgery, the kind where they go in through the front of your throat to work on the back of the neck. Scary stuff.. That's Leota, for those of you that know her. I made her a bright red prayer shawl since she loves red. The sister of a co-worker, Dolores, had open heart surgery so I have a shawl ready for her. One of my favorite clients also underwent heart surgery last week and her shawl is almost ready.

Truth be told, I need to be working on getting my tax info ready for Judy when she comes home in March for K's birthday. So, I will leave you now in order to get cracking on some of that before James wakes up and my day starts. We will spend a good chunk of the day at Dad's house. Until next time..

What's kept me busy..

2010-02-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures I took of K last week. She's growing so fast and is trying to take her first steps. She will let go and walk a step and then fall into the couch or table, whatever is closer. One of these days...
The little rocking chair she is standing near is one that I, her 54 year old gramma, sat in when I was her age. I have a picture somewhere of me sitting in it, but I can't find it right now. The chair has been recovered several times, but it's still the same chair. All the kids in our family have had a chance to sit in it through the years.

I hope my brother does not read my blog until after he receives his birthday package. I made this little wallhanging for him. One of the first quilts I made was one with pictures of Mom and Dad and after Dad passed, Robert asked for it. So, I promised Henry I'd make him one all his own.

No quilting going on

2010-01-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

No quilting going on, except for a little bit of embroidery on quilt blocks, but a lot of crocheting happening around here. My QOR friends are an endless source of ideas and projects. Talk centered around "prayer shawls" a few weeks ago. I showed a picture of the first one I made in a previous post. Here you see a white one I made for a birthday gift. The crocheted rosary is made of the same yarn as the prayer shawl and will go along with the shawl. I found the rosary pattern while surfing for another prayer shawl pattern.

Crochet projects are much easier to pick up, and put down, especially while a person is not feeling up to par. Yup, the old flu bug has hit us. Kerrington came home with it first (at least that's where we think it started. She actually cut another tooth and we thought that might've made her sick). But, then her daddy got sick, I got sick and now her momma is sick. K, Robert and I are about to get over it, I think, but April is still pukey. Check her blog to see a picture of her swollen ankle after her fall.

I've been up about two hours now and I can feel that I'm slowy fading. I will sit in the glider for a while and do some crocheting and then I'll probably go lie down. Jim has been so great in helping me while I've been down. I've had him running back and forth with Tylenol, crackers, ginger ale, etc. I don't know how ya'll do it that live alone. I feel for you. I hope you all are well and don't get this crud!

Staying busy

2010-01-20T14:59:00.000-08:00

Many moons ago (about three or four months, actually) I received a gift card from Homespun Hearth. Remember when I made a top for them when they needed some made up quickly? Anyway, that was my payment and I finally ordered something with it. These two blocks are the beginning of the project that came as a kit. I've decided that having a kit, (all the fabric included) is the only way I am going to get back into the quilting swing. These blocks need to be embroidered and then I'll work on two more. Never mind that I have a truckload of other projects I should be doing. THIS is what I want to do now.
Before I received the quilt kit in the mail, I worked on one more crocheted item. This little sweater went to a friend's niece who is having a little girl in a few weeks. I also made a little hat to match but forgot to take a picture. After I took the pic of the sweater, I added a pink ribbon around the neck. Very cute.

Another crochet project I've been working on is a prayer shawl. Actually, several of them. The gals in my QOR group were talking about them the other day and I was intrigued. So, I did a little research and came up with a pattern to use.
I hope to make up several more to keep on hand. There is always someone who can use a prayer shawl.

"A Prayer Shawl is a knitted, crocheted or quilted shawl. It is made to be given to a person in need with the intent to shelter, comfort and give solace to the recipient. It enfolds the wearer in a warm tangible hug.
Why is it called a prayer shawl? As each shawl is being created, its maker is in prayer for the future recipient. The Shawl Ministry group often prays together for the recipients.
A prayer may start by affirming the Lord’s love and mercy and go on to ask that he show mercy to, or give comfort to the receiver of the shawl. It may ask for restored health or faith for the receiver. The prayers are heartfelt and individual to specific needs." Taken from BellaOnline. Maybe doing this will help me get a bit more centered, too.

I was able to come home early today because K's other grandparents relieved me of my babysitting duties. They had been in Lubbock and stopped by to visit and so I took them up on it. April was home, too, since she severely sprained her ankle last week and was up on it too long at work yesterday. I was going to go get supplies for work, but the wind was too fierce. I decided to come home and blog.

This weekend is my oldest son's 35th birthday. We will probably celebrate by going out to dinner as we do for everyone's birthday. Time to do a Google search for some of the items he requested.

Judy's new digs

2010-01-10T18:38:00.000-08:00

If you look closely, you can see the three amigos in the doorway. We were leaving to go to the store and they lined up to say goodbye. There's Paco, Zed, and Sunshine.
Here's a shot of her new kitchen as seen from the hall that goes to the master bedroom. It's a four bedroom house with lots of room for boxes as you can see in the living room shot.

The living room view is taken from the front door.

She has no cable until Tuesday but finally got her internet hooked up. That's her lifeline these days! We get on Windows Live Messenger and can see each other with our cameras and talk in real time. Pretty nifty. I'm talking to her as I type.

Tomorrow is her first day at her new job. We got to meet one of her associates and her husband while we were there. She's in good hands. Thanks, Lorri and Jim, for taking care of her for us! They are the best!

I have jury duty in the morning so I better get my clothes together. I've unpacked but I should do some laundry. I won't get to see Kerrington for another day!

Well into the New Year

2010-01-02T06:31:00.000-08:00

Day Two of 2010 already. Many people seem to think the thing to do is to set goals. Yes, goals. Not resolutions. I'm not any good at keeping resolutions but give me a goal, especially one with a due date attached to it and it's pretty much done. At the moment, my goals are as follows:

1. Start, and finish, Christmas/birthday gifts for my brother and sis-in-law. Time just got away from me and I didn't get theirs in the mail. Their birthdays are in February, so that's my time limit.

2. Continue finishing the BOMs I embroidered and/or appliqued the past year and gave to Brenda, April and Judy. I sent Brenda six months worth of the calendars and April and Judy have the first three months to display. There are my deadlines - Brenda needs hers by June and April and Judy need theirs each month starting in April.

3. I also need to work on a quilt for a client and her brother. She brought me tons of police badges that they want incorporated into a quilt. If anyone has ANY ideas on how I should do this, PLEASE send me your thoughts. I figured I'd quilt-as-you-go since I'm sure it will get extremely heavy with the badges.

Here's a little K picture for your enjoyment. This was taken on Christmas Eve. Rob and April and K spent their New Year's Day with April's family as per their tradition. I hope they got some really good pictures of our baby doll at her first New Year's Day/Christmas family get-together! hint, hint...lol They came over to our house afterwards and we all went out to Shogun's for a final Friday night dinner with Judy until she gets back here for a weekend.

Back to my goals..
4. The most pressing goal is to help get Judy moved to Las Cruces. This coming Thursday will find us on our way there to set her up in her temporary digs. Please pray that the weather stays nice for our trip there and mine back.

There are many, many other "goals" but I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that my sewing room and extra bedroom will get a facelift this year, or else! Jim is very diligent about keeping the rest of the house decent enough for company and I hope he knows how much I appreciate that, especially the appearance of the "dish fairy" every day or so. lol

It's Saturday morning and I need to get ready for work. I will try to get to work early to replace calendars and set out the new Scentsy warmer. Check it out at www.scentsy.com/4886

Oh, last, but not least..I need to take the few Christmas decorations down that finally went up a few weeks ago!

Goodies!

2009-12-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-26T06:35:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-04T21:43:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-23T06:43:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-20T06:24:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-13T14:40:00.001-08:00

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...

2009-11-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-10-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-20T16:58:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-10-17T06:49:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-13T22:01:00.001-07:00

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..

2009-10-09T07:25:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-07T22:33:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

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?)

2009-09-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

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!

Sew, what's new with you?

2009-09-10T06:43:00.000-07:00

Here I've been rambling on about all the "little things" I've been doing and haven't taken the time to catch up on the rest of your lives. Is everyone as busy as I seem to be? I want to start commenting on blogs I read, if only to say, "howdy!" because I know how it feels to write and wonder if anyone reads... Oh, I know ya'll do read because those of you that see me in person tell me you do. I think you enjoy seeing the pictures I post, therefore I try to have at least one or two in every post. Today's pics are a tablerunner I'm making for a friend and another set of Church Dolls for Mattie, Kerrington's little cousin who goes to church with her. I don't want them to fight over their dolls! So, a set for each.

I've been toying with the idea of having a little drawing. It will entail you to leave a comment and it will mean I will have to come up with a prize! LOL Therein lies the dilemma. Stay tuned for details.. How's that for a tease? :-)

Time to get ready for the day. I spent the most wonderful two days with Miss Kerringtotn. She's sitting up on her own now and making the most beautiful sounds. As soon as I can get pictures off of my phone, I'll let you see how big she's getting. Have a great day!

Summer's end sundress

2009-09-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

One more little sundress for Kerrington before the summer is totally gone. Surely we'll have a few more days when she can wear this. Please excuse the sink and counter. We were at Judy's and she was fixing spaghetti for dinner.

I had to add another water picture of Kerrington wearing her sunhat.

It's the little things that count!

2009-09-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

Here I go again. I have a large quilt laid out on the floor waiting for spray basting and quilting but I would rather work on something small. The monkey blanket was made one morning this week before work. It's for a friend's new grandbaby. The "Church Dolls" I made this morning. I made the pouch last night and the dolls this morning. This one is Kerrington's and I plan on making another one for her cousin, Mattie. They go to church together so I want them both to have one. Judy reminded me that the dolls are just the right size for K's mouth so maybe they'll wait until she's done teething before she plays with them at church.

It's after 1 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon and we plan on going to a movie later so I'd better get a move on. I got up around 7, worked on the dolls, made breakfast then did some farming. So, I still need to shower and get dressed. Rob and April are back in town after a quick trip to the lake this weekend. Maybe we'll see Miss K tonight!

More Kerrington and Sept. BOM

2009-09-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

Kerrington has the sweetest little laugh. I thought I was getting the heartiest of her laugh this afternoon until I realized my camera was not in record mode. That's why you see such a bad start to the little bit I did get on video.

This first picture shows her as she was this morning. Bless her heart...her teeth are giving her fits! She was not feeling very well this morning and you could see it in her little face. In the second picture, she's "modeling" the sundress I made her. I had to lay her on the floor to take the picture because she's not quite steady standing on her own yet.

The September BOM is this little apple basket. I used some fabric with apples on it and just cut the apples and leaves then appliqued them to the background, ala Broderie Perse method. I hope to get it ready for hanging tonight.

A Productive Sunday

2009-08-31T06:22:00.001-07:00

This was one of those days when I decided I needed a "me" day. Just to do what I want to do. So, after I fixed breakfast for Jim and Rob (lol, okay, we'll say that's what I wanted to do) I spent a good part of the day finishing up this baby quilt for a friend's new baby.

I did this in the quilt-as-you-go manner but when I put the blocks together, I used a little bit different technique. Well, the same technique as I always used but a bit different in construction. Instead of cutting the front sashings one width and the back another, I cut BOTH front and back sashings two inches wide. When attaching them, I took a half inch seam. Like I told Judy, you can't be married to the quarter inch seam thing when working with these numbers! It really went a lot faster. Oh, I found these particular instructions on sew-whats-new.com.

I also worked on Kerrington's little sundress that I've had started for a while now. I'm doing the hand work around the neck and armholes and will add some froo-froo decorations, I think. I'll take it with me to work on while watching her today.

Judy and I went to see "The Time Traveler's Wife". It was interesting and afforded Judy a few hours in cool comfort since her a/c is on the fritz. She came to our house later and we had leftover tacos and I made a fruit pizza.

Time to get ready to go see Miss K. Have a good Monday.

Weekend notes

2009-08-29T06:37:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday again, and I should be getting ready for work. But, I just had to post these pictures of our little Kerrington. She loves her monkey bouncer and can sit in it for a long time before she wants out. Usually it's because it's naptime! And, have you EVER seen a cuter water baby? I think NOT! lol

It tickled me to see her wearing the little sunhat I made for her. I'm so glad she doesn't mind wearing it! This was taken on a weekend outing to the lake with her mama and daddy and her Grampoo and Gramille Jackson. She loves the water.

On a sad note, please remember my friend Leota and her family today. Her cousin was killed yesterday in a truck accident in Louisiana. I have no more details right now other than they know his rig burned with him in it. Leota is distraught, as you might know, since this is one of her cousins who buried his dad just a few weeks ago in Dallas. Hard, hard time for the family. Our prayers are with you, Leota!

Bookmark

2009-08-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

Maybe I've found a quick way to use up even some of my smallest scraps. This little bookmark was made in about an hour. The hardest part was turning it inside out since it's only about two inches wide. Then I had a hard time getting the opening turned under and sewn. You can't see that part 'cause it's at the bottom of the bookmark.
I bought these little charms a while back and I thought this one looks nice in this space.

It's after 10 p.m. and I didn't get another baby block quilted. Oh well. Tomorrow's another day. Gosh, I was thinking I still needed to give you an update on Dad :-( Goodnight, all.

A lazy Sunday

2009-08-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

Still feel as though I'm forgetting something very important. Not having to take Dad his Sunday morning coffee makes me a little sad. Yet, I still feel his presence. I slept in a little this morning and before I ever sat down at the 'puter, I decided I'd better take care of some paperwork. That done, and breakfast over, I worked on the baby quilt for a while. Then Judy and I met one of my consultants at the shop. Kym attended the Scentsy convention in Utah last week and had lots of things to share and show. She's a sweet girl and is one of my favorite consultants. Actually, she's one of my first ones!

I'd like to take this moment to remind all of you who enjoy Scentsy that all products are 10% off for the month of August. There are quite a few scents that are being discontinued in the Fall/Winter catalog. If you would like to know if your favorite scent is still going to be available, give me a call or drop me a line. You can order online at www.scentsy.com/4886.

After coming home from my meeting with Kym, I took a nap. Nearly two hours! I guess I needed it. I'm not sleepy now but I really need to get to bed since it's almost midnight. But, before I go, I leave you with a couple of pictures of two of the baby quilt blocks I quilted tonight.
I'm doing this one with the quilt-as-you-go technique. I still haven't decided what fabrics I'll use to connect the blocks. It's a little scary to use a solid color on the back since it is not very forgiving of any mistakes made. But, I really like the feel of this soft cotton fabric. I'm glad I decided to use this quilting "pattern". It's really just a freestyle meandering.

Off to bed so I can see our little Kerrington tommorrow. Have not seen her since last Wednesday when I left their house so I'm needing my Kerrington fix! Have a good week if I don't get back here until the weekend.

This and that and more!

2009-08-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

Is she growing up or what! No, she's not walking yet, but Miss Kerrington likes to stand up. She and Grama V. have some good times on Mon., Tues., and Wed. I need to work on another outfit since Auntie J. said she's getting tired of seeing her in this outfit. lol She meant that nicely, I'm sure.

How about these cute little cup cozies? Kate and her mom, Judy, sent me a book with the pattern in it. Such thoughtful friends I have made through my computer. Thanks, you two!

These are four blocks of a nine or twelve block baby quilt I'll be working on the next few days. I didn't even work on it tonight since I was busy at Farmtown. lol The pattern is the Disappearing nine patch.

And, last but certainly not least, is a picture of Dad. I think he was about 21 years old in this picture. One of Judy's friends photo-shopped (is that a real term now?)it into a background with the flags. Nice, isn't it? Thanks, Howard!

I thought I'd better get this done since it's almost 11:15 p.m. and my eyelids are getting awfully heavy. You wouldn't think that taking care of a cute little angel all day would be tiring. A very good tired, though. I'm still lovin' it!

Remember this quilt top?

2009-08-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

I finally had a block of time to sew these borders back on. I'd taken them off before Dad died and had not attempted to work on them again. So, after getting home from work today, I decided to "get 'er done!"
This first picture shows the top as it looked when I got it. I had laid it out on the floor and realized that the borders were way too wavy to do any quilting.
After removing and re-attaching the borders, you can see a bit of a difference in how much flatter it lays. I cut off 1 1/2" to 2" of each border! I had to really work with the excess fabric of the center and there are a lot of places that have puckers but I think I can disguise it with quilting. That's the problem with so many bias edges within the quilt top itself. I had to be really careful not to stretch it at all.

The next step is to prepare the lining, or backing, as some folks call it. I bought it a long time ago and it has been waiting patiently on the top shelf in the closet. Maybe I can get that started tomorrow because tonight is Kerrington night! Yup, Rob and April are going to the fair so we get to watch sweet Baby K. April won some tickets from a radio show to the Motor Cross races and they'll stay for the concert. I'm hoping we can keep Kerry Berry all night, but we'll see.

Another week gone by

2009-08-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

Another week under our belts and I have not done much of anything except take care of baby Kerrington and work at the shop. I did, finally, get the fleece blankets embroidered and delivered, so I feel as though I accomplished at least one thing. I meant to take my camera to photograph Kerrington and I forgot all three days. She's getting pretty active now and I find myself just sitting and watching her "do her thang" as she bounces up and down in her monkey bouncer or staring at her angel face while she sleeps. Oh, I did help April finish some alterations on pjs for K.

So, here it is, Thursday again. My posts may become even more few and far between now that Judy and I have signed up, again, at the gym. I heard yesterday that the swine flu and obesity may be directly connected. Obesity does NOT cause the flu, they say, but those with a few extra pounds on their frames may be more susceptible to it and end up with more severe complications, ie., pneumonia, etc. So, it's good that Judy and I have arranged to get ourselves back to working out, or "cheerleading" as Dad would say.

Alrighty, then! Time to shower and get ready for work.

Phone pics

2009-08-06T06:05:00.000-07:00

These are just two pictures I've had on my cell phone. I don't have the software to transfer them to my computer, so Rob had me blue-tooth them to his phone and then emailed them back to me.
This is one of my favorite pictures of Dad. We were sitting at the Wound Care Center in Lubbock one day and he was looking so well that day that I couldn't resist taking his picture. He was always a ham when it came to pictures. Unlike a lot of us, he really liked his picture taken.
Here is Kerrington letting everyone know how she feels about her grandma. I am so enjoying my time with her this summer! I didn't even spend this much time with my own boys when they were this age so this is a real blessing for me. I think she is really beginning to recognize me.

August BOM

2009-08-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

A quick post to show you the August block of the month.

I still need to quilt it, but isn't it cute? And, I had found butterflies to decorate the wooden plaque it will hang from at the shop. Since I don't go back to work until Thursday, I don't feel rushed to finish it right away. By the way, I have NOT finished the July BOMs lol. They'll get done.

Zipper added

2009-07-31T07:44:00.001-07:00

These are not the best pictures to show you the added zipper, but maybe it will give you an idea of what I did. The technique I used is one I found in the Lazy Girl Designs pattern "The City Bag". I hope I'm not stepping on any one's copyright toes by posting this, but I just had to share.

First, you measure the top of your open bag, end to end. The zipper should be at least two inches longer. Cut two strips of fabric 4" by length of zipper plus 2". Fold the strips to resemble double fold bias tape. Fold in half, wrong sides together, press. Open casing and lay wrong side up. Fold in edges to meet the fold line, press. Fold in half and press again.

Slip fabric edge of zipper into the casing. Leave at least 1/8" of zipper fabric showing. Use your zipper foot if you need to, or move your needle. The casing should be longer than the zipper at both ends. Stitch through all layers. Do this for both sides of the zipper with one casing piece on each side of the zipper. Press casing smooth. Trim the ends to about 1" longer than where the zipper teeth end. On the back side of the zipper, fold the casing fabric ends to a point keeping the raw edges of the casing away from the zipper teeth. Fold the casing again to form a square edge. Tack the folds in place. The casing should now be the same length as the zipper teeth. This might be the trickiest part, so I may take a few pictures to show how it's done.

Now you have a zipper enclosed in it's casing. This is what you top stitch to the opening of your bag. With the zipper tab UP, find the center of the zipper casing and the center of the top edge of your bag. Match and pin being sure to overlap the casing and bag by about 1/2". Sew the casing in place. Now, the pattern has you do it with the bag pieces still not sewn, but when you have a bag with side seams already sewn, it gets a little harder, but not impossible. Once you have the casing sewn on both sides, you will tack the ends down. I hope you can see in the picture where that is. Oh, when you begin to sew the casing down, leave about an inch on each side because that's what will be tacked down on each side of the bag.

I'm sorry if I got a bit long-winded because it really is an easy technique. I'm much better at showing you in person rather than writing it down. Any questions?

I'm off to work.

Trying to get back to normal

2009-07-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

Normal. What exactly does that mean? Our normal for the last ten years has not been normal for anyone but us. With Dad gone, the feel of each day is so different. I catch myself beginning to plan around "who is going to stay with Dad?" I know I'm not the only one that's doing that. Jim, Judy, the boys and April all have these thoughts, too, I'm sure. It will take time..

In the meantime, I actually worked in my sewing room today. I picked Kerrington up at their house and brought her home for the day. The following pictures show what I worked on. I still want to add a zipper to the top of the bag. I plan on using the technique I use on another bag pattern. I pray it works.

Judy is spending the night with us tonight since she has no power at her house. Kind of nice to have her in the same room while working on our farms. LOL

It's late and time to get to bed to get ready for another three busy days at work. Oh, hop on over to April and Rob's blog for more pictures.

Until we meet again..

2009-07-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

Today we will lay my dad to rest. It has been six days since we took him to the hospital but it feels like a month. I remember feeling this way when Mom died, too. Every day is spent preparing for the services. Every day we see more of the people whose lives Dad touched whether for a moment or for years. I know it will not sink in until all of this hubub is over. It has been hard for me to grieve for Dad because I am so very thankful that he is no longer in pain. He really had begun to hate the fact that he needed our help 24/7 and that he was not able to do much on his own. It is a sad day when a strong, independent person loses his dignity.

The brightest spot in our ordeal these days has been our sweet little Kerrington. We have worn her out every day, going from one pair of arms to another. Everyone wants to hold her and love on her. She has been a healing bundle of joy. Thank you, Kerri Berry! And, thank you Rob and April for being so patient with us and sharing her so freely.

Rest in peace, Daddy. We love you!

A heavy heart

2009-07-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

Dad, Grampo, Big Grampo, Tio, Compa, Friend. Only a few of the words to describe a man loved by so many people. Dad went to his reward last night after suffering through a final bout of congestive heart failure. I just wanted to post this picture of him in his chair. He had finally resigned himself to using the thing because it did help to get him outside and down the street where he could stop and visit with neighbors. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends. We love you, Dad, and you were NEVER a burden!

Farm Town

2009-07-17T07:52:00.001-07:00

Facebook has an interesting game called "Farm Town" Well, it's not so much a game as a time-waster! lol I've built up my farm thus far as you can see in the picture. You earn coins by harvesting and working on other farms then spend the coins at market. It's fun but sure can eat up precious time that would best be used quilting or on other productive activities.

Is this not the cutest little watermelon you've ever seen? My 10 year old granddaughter, Brittany, took this picture with her cell phone. She went crazy taking pics of Kerrington. Brit is going home tomorrow after spending three weeks with us. She is sure growing up!

Dad is still having trouble walking. His feet are swollen and very painful. Hopefully, the pain meds he took tonight will help some. It's just so frustrating to see him in so much pain and not be able to do much about it.

It's been a long day at the shop and then at Dad's this afternoon. We went to Juanito's for dinner (Joe stayed with Dad). It's almost bedtime so I will say goodnight.

Still hot

2009-07-16T05:56:00.000-07:00

This is not my favorite time of year. Thank God the A/C is still running properly and the weather channel promises a drop in temps in the next few days. Maybe I can wear my makeup without it streaming down my face.

August 5 is my granddaughter's birthday. Brittany will be 10 years old! The picture below is a neck bone pillow I made for her last night. I used a pattern from her old pillow to make the three sides. I was going to show you a picture of her old, nasty pillow, but decided against it. It was just too "loved" to be pretty. Suffice it to say that the seam allowance tells the story of what color it used to be! She carried that thing around like a well-loved blankie. I did use the innards of her old pillow and had to add more stuffing to make it really plump. My biggest challenge was figuring out how to attach the handles but I got it done.

Jim and I were able to take a few days and run up to Ruidoso this past weekend. We had a nice, restful time. But, it was even too hot in the mountains! I got to see my Aunt Dolores and Uncle Tony and three of their boys, Joe, Robert and Gilbert and they're respective spouses and on of the grandkids. All in all, it was a very nice trip. We got back Monday afternoon.

Dad is having issues with his feet these days. They are hurting and seem a bit swollen. He has a lot of pain when putting weight on them so he can barely get from the bed to the potty then to his chair. Once in his chair, though, he goes everywhere. He's really enjoying being able to go outside and cruise. As for his feet pain..we think it may have something to do with a new medication, but then again, it may just be the cancer. If this continues, we'll have to get him in to see someone for more relief.

It's time to get ready for work. I need to find a gift bag for Brit's goodies. She's having a little party tonight at a friend's house. I need to leave early today in order to stop at the supply house for some hair color. Have a great Thursday!

Is it hot enough for you?

2009-07-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, 102 and 103 temps! Thank God for air conditioning. I don't even wear makeup on the days I watch Kerrington. I can't see sweatin' it off when she doesn't care if her grama is naked-faced. I may not even make-up my face today when I go to work. No, wait. I will. When I don't, people think I'm sick. Maybe 'cause I'm so fair skinned and I look like I'm about to pass out. LOL

In spite of the heat, I made another blanket last night. These are so easy to make and Kerrington loves being swaddled to sleep. These blankies are not as hot as a flannel blanket would be, I think.
Notice I mitered the corners correctly? I don't know what I did with the previous blanket that caused me to have to re-design the corners, but I like the mitered corners much better. I have a feeling I will be making more of these for gifts.

I also worked on the tablerunner last night. I can't seem to make one of these without making mistakes. When I start one of these, I need to just keep at it until I'm done. Especially when using directional fabric. I stopped to get on the computer for a while and to make the blanket. When I got back to the runner, I'd lost track of where I was. Oh well.. I got it straightened out and hopefully will finish it tonight.

I STILL need to embroider three plush blankets for a client. I just get so lazy about setting up my embroidery machine.

It's shower time and I want to get to work a little earlier. Don't laugh.

"Design Opportunity"

2009-07-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

Also known as a mistake! But, as you can see in the picture, it turned out quite nice. The corners of this receiving blanket were going to be mitered until I made a mistake, on all four corners, and I had to cut them to finish them in this manner.
I made another blanket with this pattern and it was fine. I don't know what I did. I'll have to try another one. The back of this blanket is part of a sheet that Judy gave me to use for this purpose. It's a very soft fabric and worked very well. One queen-size sheet will make four nice size blankets. The front fabric came from a stash that Leota brought me a while back. I WILL get the corners right! lol

I'm at Rob and April's right now and have just put Kerrington down for her morning nap. This child knows exactly what to do once she is swaddled. The trick is to swaddle her tightly because she will pull her arms out if given half a chance. But, if she's wrapped right, she falls right to sleep. No crying at all! Same way with her afternoon nap. She's such a good girl!

Ready for stitching

2009-07-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

I decided all the July BOMs needed to be appliqued since the first one I did turned out so cute. I didn't feel like choosing different fabrics for each one, so they all look the same. Lazy, huh? The little bit of embroidery that is needed for the stems and lettering will finish them nicely and I'll use a blanket stitch with black thread around the applique pieces.

I've spent most of the evening on Facebook. Waste of precious time, believe me! But, it's addicting. I'm building my farm and playing Farkle. lol I did clean off the dining room table to get ready to quilt the tablerunner I cut the other day and I've started another bag. Oh, I did cut and apply all the applique pieces on the BOMs.
I spent the night last night at Dad's. He did well. He didn't even beep for me. I know he got up several times to the potty, but he didn't have to call me. I just kept one eye open, ya know? Now that I think about it, it's time to get to bed. Maybe I'll sleep all night since I'm pretty tired. It's Kerrington time tomorrow! Seems like ages since I've seen her. It's actually been since Thursday.
Goodnight!

July BOM

2009-07-02T19:53:00.001-07:00

A quick note to show you the July Block of the Month. I finished it this morning, just in time to hang at the shop today. Judy and I attended another Entertaining at Home party tonight so I just got home. I have a bad headache so I am going to call it a day. I have to work tomorrow and half a day Saturday, so I'm off to bed.

Quilting? What's that?

2009-06-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Finally! I sat down and actually did some sewing on a quilt tonight. Okay, a tablerunner, but it will be quilted. This is a quilt-as-you-sew project.
I have needed to work on it for several weeks now but so many things have gotten in the way. Actually, I needed to figure out how to make this runner longer as per my client's request and so I've been putting it off. After working with it tonight, it turns out that all I have to do is add more squares and sewn rectangles. The squares along the sides will be cut in half, making triangles and then I'll bind it in black. I call it a tablerunner but my client will use it to cover her piano bench. Thus, the musical note fabric.

I have it all laid out on the backing and backing and hope to get it sewn down by the weekend. I also have several fleece blankets that need embroidered names added. But, I'm off to bed. I had a wonderful day with my granddaughters and my dad. He's doing well and even came home without any bandages on his legs! Yaayyy!! I don't even remember how long he's had ulcers on his legs. This is the first time in almost 5 years, I think, that he is bandage-free! Please pray that he stays this way.

Another week gone by, again.

2009-06-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

Wow. I did not realize that I had not posted since last Monday. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. What kept me the busiest this past week was getting ready for the motor cross event that took place Friday and Saturday. I set up a booth to sell Scentsy but was only able to do it on Friday night. With the wind blowing and the sun so hot, I just couldn't do it on Saturday, too. My thanks to Rob, April, Leota, Chad and Crystal, Judy and last, but certainly not least, Jim. Rob, April and Jim did most of the physical work. Thanks, especially to Jim for sitting with me the whole time we were there on Friday night. My apologies to anyone I forgot.

My oldest granddaughter, Brittany, is here for about 3 weeks. It's her time with her dad and it is so wonderful to have her here. I couldn't wait to take pictures of both of my beautiful granddaughters.

I made Kerrington two more little hats. The white one is an eyelet fabric that April can clip ribbons on.
The polka dot hat will hopefully work with an outfit April has set aside for Kerrington to wear later this summer.

The headbands I made for Brittany. She was going to sell them, along with her lemonade stand when she and her daddy gave away puppies, but they didn't get around to doing that yesterday. So, she's decided she'll either keep them or share with her friends. Brit spent the night with us last night and went with me to Rob and April's this morning. She decided to stay with her dad tonight because I wake her up too early. lol I don't blame her.

Well, let's see what I can work on tonight. I hope I don't wait another week before posting again.

More Kerrington

2009-06-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here she is with her daddy on Father's Day.
At Auntie Judy's office in her "watermelon" sunsuit.
And this is her new hat. It matches the watermelon suit.
I didn't intend for the sunsuit to be a "watermelon" suit, but the addition of the pocket with the polka dots made it look like a watermelon wedge. Oh well, it's summertime!

More little things on Father's Day

2009-06-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't know if it's me or my computer or my camera, but my uploading has become more complicated and sometimes, non-existent. The following is a quick little gift tag I made to go with the photo album you see below. I also took a picture of the inside of the tag, (lift the polka dot flap) but the picture got lost somewhere between uploading and blogger.

This gift was sent to Pam, a soon-to-be new grandma and Erin's mom. Pam and her husband are the sweet couple that opened their home and yard to us for Rob and April's wedding. I also made a little cloth "First Book of Faith" for Ellie, the soon-to-be newest Faubus, but seem to have dropped the ball on taking a picture. Congratulations and best wishes to all of you!

Father's Day, 2009, has started out as usual. I went to Dad's and fixed breakfast. He was doing very well this morning. I hope he feels as well this afternoon since we plan on loading him into the car and taking him over to Rob and April's for a Father's Day dinner. He's never seen the inside of their house and I think it's time he does. I know he will balk at our suggestion, but, hopefully, since it's Father's Day, he'll see it our way. We want to help Rob celebrate his first Dad's day in style! I have been remiss in buying Dad a gift this year. Joe beat us all to the punch and bought him new phones for the house. Not that he needed them or anything lol. Good job, Joe!

Time to get some things done. Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there!

Still here

2009-06-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Yes, I'm still here. For those of you that follow my blog, I apologize for not updating for a whole week now. I haven't done much sewing so I don't have any pictures. If you want to see some cute pics of Kerrington, though, hop on over to April's blog. Click on her name to get you there.

Dad's doing well and I'm enjoying my time with Kerrington. I'm still coughing a bit but feel much better. I need to get going and get some bills paid before I get ready for work today so I'll try to post more this weekend.

Kool Chick

2009-06-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

Another little receiving/swaddling blanket for Kerrington. She's getting so long, (she's 3 months old today!) that she may not take to being swaddled much longer. She does sleep soundly, though, when she's wrapped up nice and warm.

I've tried to upload a little video I took of her the other day, but Blogger is not cooperating. Here she's sitting in her little bouncy seat.

I finally finished the little sunsuit last night. It needed the snaps and I couldn't find the tape with snaps on it. So, I made my own, sorta. It'll work for now.

I have not talked myself into working on some of the bigger projects on my list. Soon.. Right now I'm trying to get all my Scentsy ducks in a row since I made Director last month. My downline is waiting for me to give them guidance. lol Good luck. I need guidance! I know where to get it, though. I'm feeling a bit better every day, but I'm still coughing at night. Not feeling well has been my excuse, uh, reason for not doing much, but I'm getting better.

Dad seems to be doing well. He still has trouble walking but that's why we have his motorized chair. His pain is all but gone, thanks to the shot they gave him for the prostate cancer. He's able to do more for himself lately.

Tomorrow is Friday and a busy day at work. Goodnight, all.

Once a seamstress...

2009-06-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

Seamstress : a woman whose occupation is sewing. Alright, so my occupation is not sewing, but I do enjoy it as a hobby, pasttime, obsession, passion, whatever you might choose to call it. Before I was a quilter, I did sew a few garments. In high school, my favorite class, after English, was Home Ec. I remember starting out with an apron. By the time I graduated, I'd made dresses and a suit made out of double knit. It was so comfortable! lol Stretched every which way. I even made my first wedding dress. Uh, my only wedding dress because Jim and I had a very casual ceremony at the courthouse. But, I digress.

See the pattern picture above? Notice the one on the left. In the upper right hand corner, you can see a price of 85 cents! I bought this pattern back in 1975 to make the pantsuit for Joe. The one on the right I bought yesterday and was somewhere in the vicinity of two or three dollars but there are others to be had out there for fifteen to eighteen dollars!! I was shocked. I knew pattern prices had gone up, but, seriously, from 85 cents to nearly $20??

But, I had to try my hand at making Kerrington a little something. The bubble dress in the bottom picture is made from the "old" pattern and is too big right now. It's a size 3. I figure maybe she can wear it next year. The little pink and green suit is made with the "new" pattern and may fit her right now. I still need to add a "snap tape" (didn't even know there was such a thing, lol) to the bottom so we can change her diaper easily. I bought three other patterns to try and they have sunbonnets, or hats, that coordinate with the outfit.

You might ask, "Why would you go to the trouble of MAKING a cute little outfit like this when you can hop on over to WalMart and pick one up for a mere $5? Good question. I agree. But, where's the fun in that? I thoroughly enjoyed crafting these little sunsuits and they are definitely one-of-a-kind. They may only last one season (lets face it, I'm a better quilter than clothes-maker lol) but it makes me happy.

Before I get back to working with the cute fabric and patterns I found yesterday, I've got to finish the bullseye blocks. Deadline to send them in is rapidly approaching.

I'm still coughing but feel better. My blood pressure and heart rate are the lowest they've been, well, ever, that I can remember. I've got to get back in to see Dr. Hassan to get an echocardiogram (he thinks I should get that done) and then get my meds regulated for good. I'm thinking that maybe the dosage he's got me on for now might be a tad too much since the cold medicines are no longer playing havoc with my electrolytes. I still want an allergy shot!

I didn't go to Dad's this morning. I told Joe that I just need to slow down for a bit. I was hoping to sleep late, but habits die hard. I was up by 7:30. I didn't even get to sleep until after one a.m. since I was watching a movie. Okay, maybe I didn't watch it all, but I was trying.

So now I'll either nap, shower or work on the bullseye blocks. We'll see what happens first..

Feeling better tonight

2009-06-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

I think I'm seeing a light at the end of the sinus infection tunnel tonight. I'm still coughing a bit, but not as intense as last night. I certainly hope I can sleep better tonight. My blood pressure and heart rate are staying exactly where they should be.

Here is the June BOM. I wasn't sure about it when I first saw it. I did think, "It'll be fast!" lol. This one will hang at the shop tomorrow. The cricket is what threw me when I first saw it. But, it actually makes the whole thing cute.

My day with Kerrington was wonderful, as usual. She's beginning to try to mimic things you do and is definitely reaching for things. She is turning over onto her tummy every time you lay her down. I stopped by the shop for a minute and the ladies just love to see her. One lady exclaimed, "She gets prettier every day!" I agree. :-) I'll have to keep myself busy for the next five days because I won't see her until next Tuesday!

Dad seemed to have a better day today, too. He doesn't have as much pain as he has had but still has trouble moving his legs. We had to get some fluid weight off of him, too. He hates it when we pull out that little yellow pill for him to take.

Been a bit under the weather

2009-05-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

To all of you that remembered me in your prayers the last few days, "THANK YOU!"

So, here's what happened...I worked all day Friday knowing I would run to the after-hours clinic to see if they could give me something (again) for this sinus thing I've had going on for a few weeks now. When I got into the inner office, the PA asks, "What brings you here?" I tell her about my sinus problem and she says, "That is the least of my worries right now. I am worried about your elevated (135) heart rate and blood pressure. I want you to go to the Emergency Room, RIGHT NOW!"

Well, being the obedient and about-to-freak patient that I was at the time, I rushed on over to the ER. I called Jim on my way and he met me there. Judy was watching Kerrington and Dad at the time so she couldn't be there, but Robert came on over. April was off work and at her grandfather's since her step-grandmother had passed away that very morning. Joe was working and couldn't come right away. Needless to say, I wanted ALL my family around me at that time! LOL And, they put me in the ER room where Dad nearly died! I told the nurse I didn't like that room and she said "there are no other rooms available". Ok, fine. I'll deal.

There I am, tethered to heart monitors and O2 machines and doctors and nurses coming in to do their thing. When my heart rate reached 150 (I had just had a coughing fit and was extremely frightened) the doctor suggested that he could give me a shot of a medicine that would shock my heart back into rhythm. Get this..the shot stops your heart for an instant. He actually said, "You'll die for a second." Can you believe it?? Um, I said, "I don't think so! At least not until Dad's cardiologist has a chance to see me first!" Instead, they tried several different high blood pressure meds injected into my IV and one of them brought it down sufficiently. Whew!

They admitted me for observation for the rest of the night and things settled down, thank God. Ultimately, it seems that all the meds I'd been using to try to get my sinus problem under control finally took their toll on my heart. I'm not supposed to use Sudafed anymore and no more caffeine. After taking the 'scripts Dr. Hassan prescribed, everything looks a lot better.

I can't wait to get back to normal tomorrow and see my sweet baby K-akes. I'm in Kerrington withdrawal! Speaking of Kerrington, here's a blanket I fixed for her. I just added the satin binding.

A final note...If you're needing any Scentsy, please get in touch with me this evening. I'm placing one more order before midnight tonight. Thanks!

May is winding down...

2009-05-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

As I eagerly anticipate the unveiling of the June BOM, I finally finish stitching my May blocks. These have been very portable and a wonderful project to have on hand while sitting with Dad and/or Kerrington. One of these days I'll gather them all together and actually quilt them! lol
Since Kerrington is growing so fast, she has outgrown nearly all of her swaddling blankets. I decided to try my hand at making one. The pattern I used called for two layers. Not a good idea with summer coming up. It came out alright and will be a nice weight for cooler days, but I want to try again with one layer and maybe some different edging styles.

Got to dry my hair and try to put on my face. I've been sweating so much these days that I've gone makeup-less most of the time. But, I'll be seeing lots of folks today so I'd better get presentable. My little Miss K. doesn't care that her gramma comes to see her with a naked face! LOL

Saturday snippets

2009-05-23T06:44:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to show you what I did last night. This zebra print purse will be a good friend's gift to her granddaughter on her 15th birthday. The young lady is into all things zebra these days. I also made her a zebra headband.

Dad has not had anything done as of yet. The shot that will begin to work on the prostate cancer will be given to him on Tuesday unless he can convince the doc that he really wants the surgery. These shots are given every 3 months, are very expensive and apparently have the same side effects as chemotherapy. The surgery will do the same thing that the shots are designed to do, but on a permanent basis and, of course, is only done once. I'll update as soon as I know. In the meantime, we're doing pain management. Dad seems to be handling the whole situation about as well as can be expected. He has his low moments but he has been more like his old self every now and then.

Please keep my daughter-in-law and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Her step grandmother has taken a turn for the worse and is in the hospital in Lubbock in critical condition, as I understand it. April and Rob will head there this morning. That, of course, means that Auntie Judy gets another day with Miss K. since I have to work - boo hoo. But, I get to watch her when I get off work.

Time to get ready. Have a great Memorial Day weekend and be safe!