Black and White and Red All Over

Staying with the same color scheme as yesterday, here's another Christmas gift. My eldest son and his sweetie are decorating their apartment in black and red with white accents. I discovered the book Skinny Quilts & Table Runners by That Patchwork Place last February when I was in Houston visiting my friend, the quilt shop owner. The book is a compilation "from today's top designers". The pattern I picked is called Astrological by Marti Michell. I knew then it would work up really nice in their colors but didn't get around to making it until this last trip to Houston. It is also my first attempt at machine quilting(just a little cross-hatching).






















Hubby and I are headed to Toledo today. He's being fitted for a new driver. He may not be able to play golf right now but it doesn't stop him from thinking about it and planning for next season. I'm going along to scope out a couple of quilt shops there. Isn't it nice that quilt season runs from January 1 thru December 31!! I'm hoping to find some great end-of-the-year sales!!

Happy New Year to all!!

Gifts revealed

Life here is slowly getting back to normal. Well, as normal as can be with a new puppy in the house. He's doing great but is so constant. I'm hoping he'll be completely trained by the time school starts again Jan. 5th. (I know I'm delusional!!!) I guess "grandma" will not get much sewing done for a while. ;-(

Back in November I showed you some Loralie fat quarters I brought home from Texas. Here is what they became.


I made my mom a purse, kleenex cover, and a zipper bag for Christmas. She has been wanting a bag like this to carry her Bible to church. I was really pleased with how they all turned out.

Thanks for stopping by!!
Happy Quilting and Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Past is Past!

Can you believe how quickly this Christmas flew by? We have already put away all of our Christmas decorations except the snowmen. They hang around here until about March then off they go into their boxes in the garage until next year. We had a great time with all the kids and their "girls" here. Our oldest brought the "grandpuppies" with him. That always stirs things up nicely. They are both Miniature Pinchers and are full of energy. We just love having all of them here from Florida.

Of course, my Christmas was all about quilting. I got a new chair for sewing and a new 36" X 48" cutting mat. I'm in the process of reorganizing the room so when that is done I'll have pictures of both. I'll also post pictures of all the sewing I've done over the past weeks that got wrapped up for gifts but first...I have to show you the cutest gift received by anyone this year.



















Meet Rudy(shortened from Rudolph(yes, the reindeer - he was after all a Christmas gift.) He is our daughter's. He is a full blood border collie. Isn't he just adorable. He's one big ball of fluff. Oh, and sharp little teeth too! He is 9 weeks old and was adopted from a rescue place in Indiana.
I think he will be keeping all of us on our toes for months to come. Our daughter plans to become a dog trainer as her line of work once she graduates from high school. In order to attend the school of her choice, the National K-9 Learning Center in Columbus, OH, she is required to bring a dog to train - hence Rudy has been added to our family. I think she has her work cut out for her!!

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours!!

Merry Christmas to All!!

Since arriving home from my trip to Houston December 8th I have been in fast forward mode. Note to self -- next year DO NOT plan any out of town trips after Thanksgiving!!! I did, however, get an amazing amount of sewing done while in Houston. So what else happens at a quilt store? Duh!! (Another Duh!! Yes I did bring home fabric and patterns. Those pictures coming after Christmas.)

I did not finish all the projects I had planned for gifts but did get the major ones done and they are wrapped and under the tree(or in route to their prospective recipients). Sorry the gifts are arriving late mom. ;-(

As you can see, I also got some baking done. These nut cookies are a tradition in my husband's family. They are a must every year even if nothing else gets baked. There is more but no pictures of anything else. Really the main reason I am on the computer at all today is to wish all of you who celebrate this wonderful season a blessed Christmas! I hope you enjoy this time of family and friends while remembering the real reason for this season doesn't lie in the decorations, gifts, food or even time with loved ones. Jesus was born one blessed night so that He could live and die to live again so we might have life eternal.

Born To Wander

Why is it that I always let Christmas sneak up on me? It's not like it doesn't come around the same time year after year. I love Christmas. I love all the music and the food and the lights. I plan every year to start on Christmas presents in August but it never happens. My house still looks like Thanksgiving. The snow falling outside should be motivation enough for me to dive into all those boxes of decorations out in the garage but I can't seem to stay home long enough to do that.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We left Wednesday to spend a few days with friends back in Illinois where we moved from last year. It was fantastic spending so much time with such good friends. (We really missed you guys, Lynn.) I even found time (of course) to visit the local quilt store where I spent so much time when we lived there. If you are ever in the area around Oblong, IL (yes, it is the only Oblong) you just have to stop in at the Village Stitchery. It's on Main Street. You can't miss it. Lisa and Sherry are the sweetest and they have that place just full of wonderful eye candy and treasures!! Our plan was to come home on Saturday because my sweet hubby and I were due to fly to Houston on Tuesday and back home again on Thursday (him for business, me for a visit). Instead our friends talked us into staying an extra day.

Well, as often happens, yesterday his trip was moved from leaving today back into the middle of January. So, what's a good wife to do? Cancel her visit too? NO WAY!!! I just called the airline and extended my stay. It's a good thing too because I'm such a dope and had made my reservations for Wednesday instead of Tuesday!! God has to work overtime watching out for me!! However, I'm so excited. You see, my best buds back in Houston now own The Quilt Room. Here are a couple of early pics from her place. I'll be sure to get new ones while I'm there.

Since I'll have to go to work with her every day (Aw, shucks you say!! hehe) I'm taking all my Christmas projects with me and will sew, sew, sew. How convenient will that be? All the supplies I could ever need right there at my fingertips. Can you spell H-E-A-V-E-N? So, here I go again back to Texas for the second time in less than 4 weeks.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!!
And Happy Holidays!!

Is There A Doctor In The House?

I have returned from Texas where I had a wonderful visit with both my mother and my grandmother. The weather was fabulous there while here in Ohio the first snow fell. I just love the snow so was a little disappointed but there will be MUCH more of it to come. Woo Hoo!!! I know. I'm a flake!! Ha!!!

I didn't sew a stitch while I was gone but I did finish several great books while traveling. Here are a few of the titles I have finished lately and highly recommend to you.

Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn (I enjoyed every one of the Sisterchicks books)
Sisters, Ink by Rebeca Seitz (If you are a scrapbooker you will especially enjoy these)
Coming Unglued by Rebeca Seitz (#2 in the Sisters, Ink series), and
Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber (all the Cedar Cove stories are great - this one
falls after #8 but can stand on it's own)

I seem to keep my nose buried in a book too many hours of the day and night lately. I'm not sure why. I have always enjoyed reading but recently it seems to be my best tool for procrastinating. I have so many crafting projects in my head that I can't seem to settle down to any one of them. I have projects that I would love to give as Christmas gifts and here it is only one month to Christmas and nary a one has been started. I'm calling it "blog inspiration overload". Have you ever been infected with that disease? I never seem to be able to get it completely out of my system. I really think someone would become very rich if they could develop a vaccine for my malady. Surely, I am not the only sufferer.

Instead of spending time in my sewing room I spend way too much time on the computer drooling over all the beautiful projects everyone else is churning out at record speed. I even have patterns printed out for projects I drooled over last year!! I have it REAL bad! Part of the problem IS my sewing room. For too long now it has been a dumping ground for supplies and partial attempts at projects, so the thought of even walking in there is depressing. I can't even get to my sewing machine. I guess that means I have found #1 for my project list!!

Anyway, on to something fun. While in Texas my mother and I visited a quilt store. Surprise, surprise!! It is called The Enchanted Quilt and is only 4 months old. She had a lot of fabric I had never seen before and much I had as well. My mother has been hinting (not very subtlety either) that she wants a small tote bag to carry her Bible and things in to church. While at the store she fell in love with a fat quarter bundle and I came home with it.
Aren't they cute? These were some of the fabrics I had never seen. They are a mixed bundle - Dear Doggies Tossed and Poodle Party by Loralie Harris for Loralie Designs. Here is one of my favorites. It will probably have to be the inside of the bag since it is so busy but it's just adorable. My mom has a schnauzer so this one will be perfect for her bag.


I guess I should get off this computer and go clean up my sewing room. I won't be able to get anything done until after Thanksgiving since we are leaving town (again) to go back to Illinois and spend some time with some of our friends there(at least the ones staying in town for the holiday - we'll miss you Lynn!!).

To all my US readers - Happy Thanksgiving!!
To all of you across the pond and down under - Happy Quilting!!

Unintended Blogging Breaks

Well, I really didn't intend to take a blogging break but here it is almost the middle of November and my first post since October 23. What's up with that???

I wish I could say I have been doing a lot of sewing but that would not be the truth. I did follow the little basket bandwagon and made this.
If you are one of the few who haven't seen these yet the tutorial can be found at the Pink Penguin. They are super easy and fun to make!

I have started on a couple of Christmas gifts but, of course, I can't show those yet!! I haven't done nearly enough but can't seem to get motivated. I have always been a procrastinator!!! Truth be known, I just haven't had much to say. (I know those of you who know me well will be shocked at that since I never used to shut up but it's true.) My vertigo has been acting up lately and that is miserable so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I'm leaving for Texas tomorrow to visit my mom and grandmother. I'm really looking forward to the visit. I'm taking along my grandmother's flower garden hexagons I started on our trip to Florida. I haven't spent much time on them since returning home. I hope to keep all my supplies firmly in my seat with me this time.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!!

Fair and Balanced

I can now say that my coverage of the US election this year has been fair and balanced. I have attended functions for both candidates. I didn't get pictures from the Food and Wine Tasting we attended last month for the Barak Obama campaign. So sorry to you Democrats. I do have to say that the food was delicious but I felt really sorry for the local candidates. (Obama was not there.) Wine tasting and stump speeches just do not mix. They should have spoken much earlier in the evening if they truly wanted the "tasters" to listen.

Yesterday, however, the candidate was there. I am so impressed with Sarah Palin. She was quite a dynamic speaker and since the doors opened to the event at 7 am most everyone was polite and listened to her speech(no wine tasting here). There was one protester who was quickly escorted out the door but all else was calm by mob rule standards.






It is such a privilege as an American citizen to be able to place my vote for the next governmental leaders. No matter which way you vote, Independent, Democrat or Republican, let your voice be heard.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!!

Senior Night

This past Friday night was the last home football game which means it was senior night. Our band seniors get to decorate berets to wear that night. Here are a couple of pictures of Sweet Kid #3's beret.

The colors for the school she attends now are blue and gold with the mascot of Mustangs. The high school she attended her Freshman and Sophomore years were maroon and white with a mascot called the Maroons. Hence, the "M". The "09"(no, it's not a 60!) is, of course, for 2009. Since she wanted to celebrate her entire high school experience, I'd say it was lucky for us that both mascots started with the letter "M".

Another bittersweet moment!
















Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Quilting!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

September left and October has just barged right in. Although the mums are blooming everywhere, I haven't seen very much change in the color of leaves yet. I hope we don't just skip that part of fall. I love all those colors.

The temperatures during the day have been so nice. It's a great time to get out and wander around a corn maze and pumpkin patch. Our church is involved in a ministry called Family Promise. It's a cooperation of churches to help homeless families with children. I have just been blessed by being named one of the Family Promise coordinators for our church.

Last Saturday we took the two families to a nearby farm and had an afternoon of fun. Some of us were lost for several hours in the corn maze.
Some of us were very serious about the duck races.














Some of us got our very first pumpkin ever.

But all of us were blessed by the beauty of God's world.

Thanks for stopping by.

Mums and Fall Pumpkins

When it comes to gardening I am a total failure. Two brown thumbs!! It is so great that the couple we bought this house from were pros at landscaping. I watch in amazement as each season changes to see what the gardens are going to bring forth. Our gorgeous mums are all abloom.
Last year as I began decorating for fall I bought two large pumpkins and set them out in the beds. My true nature took over as winter fell upon us and the pumpkin just melted into obscurity. In other words, as they rotted in the flower beds I did nothing with them. My daughter and one of her friends carried one off to the fields next door and played "smash the melon" until it was pulp. The other pumpkin stayed right where I had placed it.

After our spring bulbs began to die off something else began to appear from under the soil. You guessed it!! We had a pumpkin plant in our front flower bed. Curiosity got the best of us and we left it for the summer.
You can see it has not been cut loose from the vine yet. We need to do this soon as we have just discovered that another is on it's way.
I'm so excited to have a pumpkin for fall decorating with possibly another on the way. The sad fact remains that if I had planted the pumpkin intentionally I never would have gotten one. Mrs. Brown Thumbs is here to stay!!

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!!

One Last Tale of Florida

This was my take-along project for our trip to Florida (sorry for the bad photo). You know when you fly these days you have to get to the airport and through security long before the flight begins to board. Then, of course, is all that time seat belted into your seat on the plane. I spent an afternoon before we left cutting out fabric hexagons to work on using the Quilt-Pati's I bought at NQA and got started on the grandmother's flower garden quilt I have always wanted. It will take me awhile to get it done but I'm loving it already. The fabric I bought in Jacksonville will also find it's way into the quilt.

One humorous note, on the trip home we were settling into our seats and as we were taxiing (is that really right, spell check didn't buzz me) down the runway I dropped my spool of thread. Since we were in takeoff mode I couldn't jump out of my seat to retrieve it. So just imagine my horror (and especially my sweet hubby's) when as we ascended into the wild blue yonder my spool of white thread went rolling all the way down the aisle to the back of the plane. I could have died. I'm sure I was quite red faced. When the flight attendant approached my seat she said, "I'm guessing this is yours?". If I hadn't been laughing so hard I could have said, "You think?". I just said thank you and tried to hide under my seat for the duration of the flight. Luckily it was the short leg from Jacksonville to Charlotte, NC. The rest of the trip home was without incident.

Enough vacation stories. Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Quilting!!

Quilt Store in Jacksonville

While in Jacksonville we visited the Olde Green Cupboard Quilt Store. If you are in the area and have not been there, shame on you. It is an amazing store with the friendliest staff. They have over 10,000 sq. feet of gifts, home decor, fabrics, patterns, wool, stitcheries, just about anything a quilter could want. I could have spent hours there but had everyone with me and believe me, they were not near as impressed as I was. I could have also spent a fortune there but didn't.

This was a little room all set up with '30's repro fabrics. This is where my money went.
I only bought 12 fat quarters and the purse pattern below. I was really proud of myself. I bought so much at the NQA show in June that I really didn't need to get anything else until I finish some of those projects. Right? Isn't that how it works? HA!!!

I just love this one.
As I mentioned, I could have been there all day. These pictures don't even begin to give you a feel for how big this place is. I didn't even photograph the front quarter of the store where the gifts and decorations were or the classrooms in the back. I have never seen such big classrooms. I guess it's a good thing I don't live in Jacksonville or we would be so very broke!!

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!

Our Florida Trip

We flew down to Jacksonville, FL last week to visit Sweet Kid #1 and His Sweetie. It was so good to spend time with both of them and all their 4-legged babies.

We arrived there Saturday evening to much heat and humidity. I don't miss that southern heat AT ALL!! We had a fantastic mexican meal but sorry, I don't remember the name of the restaurant where we ate.

Sunday we spent the afternoon at the World Golf Village with the majority of that time in the Golf Hall of Fame. I'm not a golfer but after living with one for almost 24 years i have to say that I enjoyed it very much.

Notice that they are even smiling in the shot below. They were so patient while we enjoyed all the exhibits.

Our Sweet Kid #3 is a tall fellow(6' 8") so we were quite amazed to find a driver that was too tall for even him.

After going through the Hall of Fame we played the 18 hole putting course. I almost didn't make it from the heat. I'm such a wimp!! It was a fun afternoon and a beautiful place to visit.

We then drove into San Augustine which is the nation's oldest city. We walked around the city a bit; toured the Castillo de San Marcos; and visited the San Augustine Lighthouse. It was a gorgeous day. I could have gone on sightseeing for hours but....well, you judge whether you think my Sweet Hubby is thinking the same thing.
I'm thinking that I'm glad those cannons in the background don't work anymore cause he was ready to shoot me out of one of them. And let me tell you it got worse. We got back to the car and they all thought we were headed back to Jacksonville. But I lead us on an adventure to see this.
I could see the lighthouse across the bay from the Castillo and I wasn't gonna leave until I got up close. Unfortunately, when we got there it was 25 min. past the time of the last guests being admitted up onto the lighthouse. I was crushed. So, my sweet hubby got out of the car with me and we took several photos. I just love this next one with the gnarly trees. Those trees were so cool!!
That's enough for one day. The trip to the quilt store was the next day. I'll share those tomorrow. Aren't family vacation slide shows just the worst?
Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!!