Almost a New Decade

These are my two Grandchildren. Taylor and Derek. She is 10 and he is 8 years old. This is going to start going to be another decade for them. The kids don't realize how fast the decades go by. Young today and old tomorrow. I have a birthday in Feb. and my husbands is in Jan. He will be 60 in a few days. I will be 58. I was in high school seems like yesterday. Time flies by fast when you are having fun. I hope everyone has a safe Happy and Merry New Year. Chris

Winter Solstice is here

Today is the first day of Winter. Bah Hum Bug! I want Spring. As you can tell from the sound of this post I don't like Winter. The older I get the worse it gets. I think it is pretty coming down, but then the clean up is more than I care to do and the colder it gets the more I really do not like it. This picture is my back yard this last Summer. My yard could look like that all year long, but I would have to move to another area. I live in NW Illinois and the weather is very unpredictible at times. Hot humid Summers and cold dark and snowy Winters. My neighbor when I was growing up use to say any country fit for corn growing isn't fit for humans. The humid weather it needs to grow in the summer and the cold dormant ground in the winter to regenerate for the next crop. No wonder I quilt. Need the warm quilts to keep us warm when the wind blowes and the snow piles up. Hope everyone has a Great Winter Solstice today. Chris brrrrhhhh!!!!!!

Getting Closer

Well I have a week. Then it is Christmas Eve and it is our Christmas for my family. I have the quilts done. The pillow is done and I also and about done with knitting some neck warmers for my Grandkids. I have two done for sure the third will be done tonight and the fourth will be in the works before bed. Then the wrapping. I still need some little gifts for the kids to open. Taking my Mom to meet my sister tomorrow so she can be with them for Christmas. Where has the year gone? Have a Mery holiday. Chris

Three more pillows done

This it the picture of the pillow I made for the two year old. Her Grandma is my neighbor.

This grandma has twin babies for grandaughters. Their mother decorated their rooms with ladybugs.

Here are pictures of the pillows I did for my neighbors grandaughters. They are all hand embroidered in outline stitch and then I made ruffles and assembled the pillows and stuffed them. They each have their first names embroidered on them. Chris

Been busy and kinda under the weather

This has been a busy time for me. The weather has taken it's toll on the area and I have been doing hand Embroidery. My neighbor has twin grandaughters and I have been making pillows to match for them. The windchill is really bad here and I just can't get warmed up. I am not sick just stressed. Family life is in a termoil in my son's house and I guess it reflects in the way I feel. If I could take an aspirin and make it all go away I would. Been looking for scraps in pink. My grandaughter likes pink but she is more into blue and purple, so my choices are limited. Going to take a nap and get up with a change of direction I hope. Chris

Almost finished

This is the latest quilt to go under the needle. I am making it for my grandson.

This is the quilt I am quilting for my Grandson. He is 8 years old. Derek wanted a gray room so he has a platform twin bed and this is the quilt top his Great Grandfather made before he passed away. Derek wasn't even born yet when it was made.

I chose a deep red for the back and I didn't like the print so I turned the fabric over which read a solid color. I used a red thread in the bobbin and a silver gray in the top thread. I am binding it with the red. I have to place two more bindings on the quilt then check for threads and then wash and dry. Ready to wrap.
My Step Father worked in an office for over 40 years. He did stain glass work for years. He decided my Mom was going to quilt shops so he went along and got intersted. This is one of many he made. Several need quilting yet. Chris

Snow finally made it

It finally happened. Snow is covering everything this morning. But the real kicker is the 6-10inches coming in the next 24-48 hours. Need to get to store and get some milk and I am good to go. So later today will venture out to get that done. Let the crazy people go first. Then I can stay in and quilt. I have my grandson's quilt almost quilted and needs binding. So I have plenty to do. I also can put up my tree. Haven't done that yet. Stay warm . Chris

Finally Done

Here it is. Hand Appliqued and machine quilted. I know I ruined it. But I was runing out of time.

Here is a view of the corners. I wanted something different in the corners of the quilt. It is going on a platform bed and no foot board.

This is my Grandaughter's gift for Christmas. I told the parents that I would make something and they could buy the toys. I don't know what they like anymore and way out of my budget. Taylor knows the blocks were done. She helped me trace some of the pieces when I was making the blocks.
I have tried to hide the progress from her the last month or so. Today I made my mind up it was getting done. The blue marker I used needed to be washed out and the project is finished. Chris

Missing in Action

No I am not missing just caught up in the Christmas sewing I should have done months ago. I am getting the Funky Flower appliques all quilted and in quilt form. I have the binding to do today and then a good wash and it will be ready to wrap. Today will be the day. I have other things todo and no time to waste. My son's house is on hold until the drywaller and the carpeting gets done. Then we can go in and get painting done. Grandkids come this weekend and so the house will be full of kids and nothing will get odne. My son works 70-80hrs a week and he is burned out. So more needs to be done, but he needs a little time off to recover. Off to the sewing room. Chris

Well the Games can begin

Shopping. Black Friday is over and the fun and games of Christmas shopping has begun. I don't do Black Friday. I worked retail for 20 years and I have been on the other side of the coin when it comes to Shopping. The day is a nightmare. Shoving and pushing to get a bargain. I am not a Cyber Monday either. I try to get out early in the morning on work days when everyone is at work and take my time. I am sure everyone has a plan for their Shopping Experience this year. Hope you get all the bargains you are looking for. Chris

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone

Hope all of you can have a great meal and fellowship with Family and Friends at this time. We all need to be thankful for our health. The time together with your loved ones is precious. Remember to cherish the day and remember those that can't be home who are over seas and protecting our rights of freedom. I am Thankful for the chance to be intouch with all of you. Chris

Cabinet in the house

This is the new shelf. Now well I see I need to clean the
laundry room. Boy the housecleaning never ends around here.

WE got the cabinet into the house for my cookbooks. It is filled with the books and the extra stuff. The doors are on hold for now. My stepson and his wife came yesterday and said they liked it without the doors. So we will see may still happen. Yesterday I got my Computer room cleaned. It is a computer/toy/cutting room so I had several things to work around. Got all the dust and scraps cleaned out. Still not real pretty but more usable. I am not a good housekeeper just ask my husband. Chris

Ok spending way to much time on computer

Now I have the bug. I love to quilt and I love to knit. I have been looking at the blogs and the knitters are really giving me the urge to get out the yarn and needles and see what I can do. I have always been a plain knitter. I do cables and four needles and knit and purl without any trouble. I think! Well the socks are interesting to me and the turning of the heel is scaring me. I have a neighbor that has done a lot of knitting in her day. She says she will work with me to get through the turning of the heel. But then I have all this quilting I need to do. So now what? Quilt or knit? I guess stay off the computer knit in the morning while having coffee and do my housework yes the dreeded housework then quilt. Does that make sense?? There are two yarn shops about 30 miles in two different directions from my house. Maybe that is a bad thing. I have been trying to get my long over due baby fat off. My son is almost 33 years old. I know LOL! I have lost 22 pounds and still trying. Would like to get to a comfortable size that if I do get something knitted and I like it I can wear it for several occasions and since I don't go anywhere that may take years to get the several wearings out of the road. I am allergic to wool so the run of the mill yarns are all I can use. Oh well they are cheaper to buy also. I can' work any faster. I thought about a diet of coffee, but then I have to run to the toilet a lot. I can't win for loosing. What is a person to do?? knit quilt knit quilt oh well I am going to go stain my cabinet out in the garage. I will ponder the point at another time. Sound like Scarlet O'Hara. Chris

New cabinet for Cookbooks

My husband has been out in tthe garge making me a new bookshelf/cabinet for my cookbooks

This is done other than the doors. He is having trouble with one of them. I have stained it and ready for varnish. It will sit in the kitchen on the floor and house a lot of books and recipes.

This is my Grandaughter Christmas gift. I hand appliqued the flowers and machine quilted in the ditch then added some machine quilting in each block. I used The Cotton Theory to piece the blocks together. I mentioned this in a earlier blog.

Here is a closer look at some of the blocks.

There is pink, blue, purple, and green in the blocks. She has pink walls and pink and green curtains. I think she will like it. Her brother got a new bed when she didn, but she didn't get new bedding. So this will be a treat for her.
I still have borders to place on it and quilt then the binding will go on. The rag doll pillow will go in the room also. I plan on making the Butterfly pillow also for her room. Brother is getting a quilt also, but it is a plainer look. You know a boy thing. Chris

Annnivesary

My husband and I were first married Novemember 14, 1987. We later divorced and remarried not once but twice. We have a couple whom I hae known the husband since high school so over 40 years. They were married on the same day 1/2 hour after us. We are still very close to this couple and talk to them everyday. We have been through thick and thin with them. She was a chicken nut as I was and has since somewhat changed her tastes. She acquired a Rooster area rug and after she got it didn't like it. It is on the computer room floor. She gave it to me after I had made them a quilt for their 20th anniversary. This year would have been 22 yrs. for all of us, but 22yrs. for sure for them. So she was cleaning out things and found these dishes and glasses she had purchased and she uses them no longer. They were taking up cupboard space for her. So she knows I love Chickens so she gifted them to us in celebration of our shared day. She still feels we have been marreid as long as they have. Which in the same sense we have. There never was anyone else just a difference of opinions at the time. I really like them and I have cleaned my cupboard out and now my husband is making a book shelf for me to put my cookbooks on and I can use the empty cupboard for my old dishes which were chickens also. Hope you have a Clucking good day. Chris

Quilting

What goes through your mind when you quilt? My mind thinks about how things were done back in the day. When the day was I am not sure. It could be in the covered wagon days it could be the turn of the last century or it could be in the 70's when the quilting craze erupted again. I love to hand piece and hand quilt. Time doesn't always allow me to do this. In the winter months when the flowers have all faded away I find a comfort in sitting by the fireplace and using my hands to create. The warm colors of the fabric and the shapes they make are the light in my life at that time. Some days the dealings of everyday life can drag you down. When you pick up the fabric feel it take in the colors and the texture you get lost in the moment. Isn't it funny how we can loose our fears and anxious times in a piece of fabric or a book. Life can stand still if you are doing something you enjoy. I have become fascinated with new technics of quilting, knitting and gardening. I think the internet has changed my views of decorating styles and trends in the quilting world. I did a job that I had time for my mind to wander as I was doing my job. I would dream about the next quilting project I wanted to start and I would get lost in the moment. But do you know that the projects I dreamt about I have never done. It was an escape from what I was involved with. Have you seen the movie "The Bucket List" with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholas? Instead of a todo list they made a bucket list of things they wanted to do before they died. I think it is a good movie to watch. Rent it if it is available. You take away from this movie a different look at life after a certain age. Our desires and fears change as we age. We look at life different not through rose colored glasses as we did when we were still wet behind the ears. Life is grand and we make of it what we want. Go forth and have the Greatest Day you can and open your eyes don't miss anything. Painful or not it is your Life. Chris

Early Morning Stars are out

Well it is about 6am CT time. The sky is still dark of course and the stars are twinkling in the sky. Means it is cold out. But it is suppose to get to 68*F today. I love the fall for sleeping weather. Cool at night but halfway nice during the day. Todays twists and turns of the day are unknown to me at this momment. I would like to sew, but we will see. I have to clean the bottom of my iron. I made some curtains for my kitchen and the spray starch decided it liked the sole plate of my iron and it is a mess. Had to clean it off between panels as I was ironing them. Maybe the spray starch is old and it needs to be pitched. Oh boy this brings back memories of growing up with the starched white shirts and the blouses that had to be ironed for school and my Dad's job. My Mom hated to iron so guess who got the job. Am I telling my age now. Well I was born in the beginning of the mid century years. No perma press then. Believe me we were so happy when that fabric became available in the fabric stores. Today a sweatshirt and denim is my favorite appareal. Have a Great Day. Chris

Life has a way of interfering with my plans

Well my intentions were good. My days were planned and that didn't go the way I wanted them to. I get up in the morning and wait for 7am to show up. Call a friend and talk for a short period of time. Then pretty soon my mother calls she is up and we have to discuss her day. Then the phone rings again and it is the husband of the friend I called for my husband. They are buds and they talk rehash everything she and I talked about earlier. Guy thing. They talk like two old woman. And they say we talk alot. LOL Well then by that time I am ready for a nap. No I don't take one, but my day is 4-5 hours old and nothing accomplished. The next thing is getting cleaned up and ready for lunch. Heck I didn't have breakfast. So now what?? Lunch and then my only soap opera and on to really take a nap. Then up for the rest of my day. Which is shot at this point so who cares. Watch a little TV and Sew a few stitches maybe a load or two of laundry. Oh yeah was I suppose to get something out and started for supper. The phone is ringing again for the afternoon calls. Oh by the way my son has called and said he was online. So I spend an hour on messenger with him. Did I learn anything no. Same old same old stuff. Oh shoot I forgot to get something out for supper. So now what?? Scrambled eggs and toast. But then what will I eat for breakfast tomorrow? Maybe hot dog and pork and beans that are left over from the other day or was that last week and I forgot to throw them out. Ok They are not green so they must still be good. Gee it is 5pm now what do I do the evening news is on. Hot dog doesn't sound good eggs no way, How about a bowl of ice cream and choc sauce. Yippppeee. One question answered and happy with. Oh no it is almost time for bed. Guess what I have to get up and do this again tomorrow. Chris

Sewing but not quilting today

Finally got the fabric I ordered for the kitchen windows. Well it is the eating area of the kitchen. I wallpapered and kept looking for something to put up at the windows and found fabric I like and they didn't have enough. Still have the window over the sink to do and then a Rod for the door window has to be purchased to make them. I have bought fabric for the table cloth and hexagon flowers made to stitch onto the top of it. Looks very Country now.

This was fairly easy to do because it is woven and not printed fabric. So I cut on the weave and got a straight cut each time. It is Ecru and Cranberry Red Check 1/4 inch, or Turkey Red was the color of the thread. It is a Homespun fabric and I like the look for the kitchen. Tomorrow I am off to my son's. He has some new windows that need paint on the trim work on the outside. Also a new door and an old door that need paint. So Mom is the painter. Need to mulch leaves one more time before I put the mower to rest for the year. Next the deck will have to come off and the snow blade will have to go on. Not looking forward to that. Chris

Starting the process of quilting

This is where the Cotton Theory quilting method starts. You cut your backing 3 inches larger than your finished block. Lay the right side facing down.

Cut your batting the finished size of the block and place centered on the backing fabric. Lay the quilt block which is 1/2 half inch larger than the batting on the batting fabric. center all of them. The block will be 1/4 inch bigger on all sides than the batting.

As you can see the difference in the quilt block and the batting. 1/4 inch difference on all sides of the block.

Pin baste them together to get ready to quilt. I am going to machine stitch close to the flower and leaves and stems and then do my machine quilting up to the 1/4 inch seam allownace of the appliqued quilt block. Afte all the quilt blocks are quilted I will then show you the connecting methods that Betty Cotton used From The Cotton Theory Book. She has her book on www.cottonyard.com

I have gotten up the last couple mornings and started to work on this quilt. Today I got a call early that my son's girlfriend was in the hospital. so off to the hospital I ran. she is improving and I went to their house and recieved the deliveries that were coming for the remodel and I am back home. So here are the pictures of the quilt blocks as I sandwiched them together for the quilting process. I will add more pictures as this process gets further along. Chris

Funky Flowers Applique

Funky Flower Applique. These are just some of the blocks I hand Appliqued. They are several more for the quilt. I will show the process of quilting and connecting the quilted blocks in the near future.

A while back I hand appliqued these blocks. They are called Funky Flowers. Adapted from Janet Pittman's book "Applique' The Basics and Beyond" She has a series of blocks in the book and I adapted the corners to make more blocks and will set them together with The Cotton Theory Technic by Betty Cotton. You quilt first and connect second. http://www.quiltyard.com/ . This will be a pickup project and I need to get it done before Christmas for my Grandaughter. Chris

Daylight Savings Time

Oh well I don't really know who it helps. Was suppose to help save money for the schools and the factories. I got up my usual time and now I am ready to go to bed. I have been givien some apples and going to make some apple sauce tomorrow. Haven't done that for several years. Sounds good to me. My Mother is having some trouble with her meds and need to keep an eye on them. She is not feeling the grestest and if it means an extra banana then we will do it. My sewing machine is yelling at me and I never seem to get in there to get anything done. WEll I am going to go in and sit in my chair and relax and hopefully I don't fall asleep. Chris

Happy Halloween

Well the big day is here. Happy Halloween to everyone. I am going to go watch Grandkids till dad gets off of work. So they will be wound up and ready to get going. I will do some more painting while I am there. Trim work needs another coat of white paint. We had 9 trick or treaters. So it was quiet here. Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Tick or Treat night. Chris

Almost Halloween

I went shopping yesterday for the month. I bought Halloween candy for the little ones and I got into it. Shame on me. I have been pretty good and I have lost 20 lbs. Well I hope I give it all out on Halloween so it isn't here anymore. I should have bought something I don't like. Can't change it now I opened it. I have been craving cake lately and I am a good baker but I have walked by the cake mixes and I have looked at the cookbooks for a cake recipe and I have been good over that, but the candy no. Well I am going to do a lot of walking today maybe that candy I had will be worked off today. Chris

Wish I could be sewing.

This summer I wallpapered my kitchen. I got a buy on the paper. It was a heavy vinyl and 8 rolls was $10 at a resale shop.

I made cafe curtains and valances for the windows. Plan on making long panels to compliment the red in the wallpaper and the gingham check has an ecru color with the red. I think it will be really country looking.

This is the North window and it will have the long panels also.

I went and painted more today. I am not going back until Friday now. I am so tired of using a roller over my head and using a paint brush to trim with. It does look nice and really clean, but it isn't my house and I wish I had more done here. I went to pick up my fabric for my kitchen curtains and it had to be reordered. So I wasn't happy about that. Won't be in until Nov 5th now. Not to far off. I will have that room done soon. I painted my husband's room. It is a cinnamon brown and I have a dust ruffle and the Ugly Quilt to finish for that room. Then it will be done. I washed walls in the living room and washed curtains. Maybe next year for that room. I have paint for my bedroom. But not sure that is really what I want in there. Maybe will use it in the sewing room. I would like to redo my bathroom and get new shower curtain. Maybe I should quilt one. Hey good thought! Another notch on my todo list. Maybe I should put it on my Bucket list instead. My todo list keeps getting longer and nothing is getting done on it. Mom needs to learn to say no I am not going to do this for her son. {Note to self} LOL. Tomorrow if the sun comes out I have to mulch leaves and pine needles up in three yards. So that will take up some of my time. Plan on getting up early to square up some blocks to get ready to quilt them. That day is coming sooner than we thing. Do I need to say what it is?? Christmas. Heaven help me I am so far behind. Each year I say I am not going to do this and here we are again. Shame on me. Chris

More painting today.

Replacement front door. Opened up the light in the house.

Replacement window and the walls are stripped for wiring and insulation. No insulation was in the walls at all.

The short wall is coming out to open up the space. No more small rooms

Three windows in a dining room. Neat looking but a pain to install. Then a bench below. Now have to make a cushion for the top of it.

Yes I am going back for more. I hopefully won't fall into anymore holes today. My hubby and son are going to wire and insulate today. Plus a radiator needs cutting down since a wall is coming out. It is dirty and hard work, but cheaper to do than hire it done at this point. Just takes a lot of time. This house it about 121 years old. I think it is about the oldest house in this little town. Also been added onto many times and the old ways aren't always the the best. So patch and repair to get it to be a comfortable home again. I think the outcome will be pleasing and more to the liking of the occupants. Chris

Bad day today

I got up and went to my sons' to do some more painting. He is remodeling his house. Well I got on the ladder and the paint try fell on the floor and red paint all over everything. The carpet is getting replaced so at least that was a good thing. Then I was backing up on my hands and knees to apint the along floor area on the wall. My leg slipped and it fell into a hole in the floor up to my knee. It got turned and I fell forward. My husband said your hair is in the paint I said I don't care about that I couldn't get my leg to move. Finally I got the right angle to move it around and I got up to my knees again. My shin is all scraped up and it is swollen in a couple places. So I will be black and blue and sore for awhile. I came home after that. More time to get some sewing done I guess. It is raining and I think a nap is in order. Chris

Busy couple of Days

This is the quilt I am quilting in sections.

This is the back of the quilt. I have decided I will not quilt on a quilt with a plain back again. I think the prints hid any little mistakes better.

This if the middle of the quilt I call the Ugly quilt.

The yard work is on going. I have about two more days to get everything cut back for the Winter. I have little cuts on all my fingers from cutting back ornamental grasses. They have sharp little blades and it feel slike paper cuts. I want to get to the sewing room and need to but I also need to get the outside work done. Drawn between the good and the bad. While I am waiting for the sun to warm things up some today I plan on squaring up some quilt blocks. I need to get some batting cut to do quilting first assembly last. I have seen a new procedure on the TV show Simply Quilts. Which I taped a couple years ago when it was in reruns. It is Betty Cottons technic of taking traditional blocks and quilting then using connecting strips to piece the quilt together. She has several books out and also a website. http://www.quiltyard.com/. I really don't have a large table to wrestle a large queen sized quilt on. I have machine quilted king size quilts in pieces and then sewn together and they are very strong and you can't hardly tell they are pieced together in sections. Marti Michel has a book out on this method. http://www.frommarti.com/. Machine quilting can be scarry for most. It is a task that makes or breaks the over all look of the quilt in my opinion. Well I am not getting anything done sitting here on the puter. Chris

New pillow top

I found the cutest picture in a coloring book and I made a new pillow top. These are so much fun to do and they are fun for the kids when they get them. This one will be fun to look for scraps to match the color choices I used. What Grandma's don't do for their Grandchildren. Need to find some boy things now and get started on them. Three grandson's to make some for. Chris

Embroidery Pillow Tut

Here is the top with the borders on it and the pieced border being the last one.

I made the ruffle with the ruffler. It gathers it to the length you need.

The ruffle has been sewn onto the top at the seam edge.

Here you can see it being sewn at the 1/4 in. seam allowance.

Then the back is sandwiched on wrong sides together and the ruffle to the inside of the sandwich. 1/4 in. seam allowance is made and a slight curve taken at the corners. Makes it easier to turn the bulk when you turn it right sides out. Remember to leave and opening big enough for your hand so you can stuff it after turning it.

Here is the stuffed and finished pillow. Hopefully my Grandaughter likes the finished pillow for her room. This method can be used on regular pieced tops also and if you own a ruffler get to know it you will use it a lot.

Here we go a how to. I like a pillow with a ruffle and I have an attachment for my machine which is a generic piece will fit most sewing machines on the market. I think they cost about $20-24. I embroidered the pillow top and then pieced squares of 30's prints around it like you would if you were putting pieced borders on a quilt top. The ruffler can make a double folded ruffle like I have made or a single ruffle with a hemmed edge. The width of the ruffle is your choice. I use this a lot and also the next project with the ruffler is the sides to a dust ruffle for my queen size bed. Caution No.1 you will get hooked on using it. Will work wonders for apron ruffles if you are into them and also for little girls dresses and ruffled curtains. Caution No.2 this one is important make sure the screw is tight on your needle and on the post where the ruffler is attached to your machine. This tool will be your best friend. If you have a lot of little girls in your life. Chris

Been Busy

I got my painting done and my living room all cleaned up. Now on to the subject at hand. Christmas is around the corner and I am sitting here with UFO's and none of them are done. There is little or no yard work left to do so I had better get my act in gear and get going with some of it. I have quilting to do and pillows to make and some pj's for the grandkids to make also. The embroidery is for a small pillow for my Grandaughter's room. She is 10 and into all the cute little things girls at ten like. I think I am going to use my 30's prints and make borders and a ruffle on this pillow. Plan on showing the progress tomorrow. Chris

Fall House cleaning

No sewing today. The living room is in need of major cleaning. We have so many windows doors and a fireplace and it all is over due. I have the sliding glass door drapes in the washer and going to start on that side of the room. The fireplace needs cleaning inside and out. The stone collects so much dust over the Summer and it takes a good hour just to vacuum it off. I have been neglectful with my duties in the house. The yard was more what I wanted to do so it got done first this Summer. I am getting a recliner tomorrow and need to get the room rearranged to place it in front of the picture window. The Loveseat goes over by the fireplace. More cozy there anyway. I have to get started so will be back after I get some of it done. I don't work as fast as I use to. LOL Chris

Sunday Dinner at Grandma's

This is my Son and Derek. They look alike and even act alike. Heaven help us.

This is my grandaughter Taylor she is 10 she helped make the meal.

This is Derek. He is 8 years old and loves Grandma's cooking

Yup, we had fried chicken mashed potatoes and gravy green beans and butternut squash. The grandkids were in seventh heaven. Home cooked meal. Taylor and I did some sewing and we made a couple neat things. One was a purse from a jean pocket. She really liked it. Taylor can't wait to get involved some more with the crafts and sewing this Summer. She will be able to be with her dad and me more then. Chris

Gloomy Day

I got up early and heard it raining. They are talking about frost tonight. First for this season. The forecastors say it is early, but I remember snow before Halloween many years in a row. I worked in a Grade/High school as a night custodian and more than once had to shovel snow before a Basketball or Volleyball game was over with. It was going to come sooner or later anyway. I got out some bright fabrics and made some pumpkins from a pattern I made back in the 70"s. I will try and post a picture another time. The ones I made were for gifts and all are gone already. I want to make some shoe skates for Christmas ornamants for the tree. Will have to find all the parts to get them made. My Grandmother made them for all of us. The holidays are approaching fast. Others have their projects started but I just keep fiddling and not getting anything started. The holidays for me have lost their glory. This will be the first year that the Grandkids have moved away and it is hard to think about that. I know other Grandparents have gone through this and I am not the only or last one to face this, but it still bothers me. My want to do list gets longer and I am running out of time. Well take care. Chris

Been sewing up leftovers

Well I have been sewing up leftovers or UFO's. I got some things done I have not finished in two years. Yippppppeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! Funny how you get tired of some things and just lay them down. I have had a stressful couple years and I decided I wasn't going to live this way anymore. I am picking myself up and doing somethings for me. I have no clothing anymore and I have never been this way before. No weight change just not interested. So I have to do something because the World isn't ready for me to wear a barrel. So I am off to the sewing room to make buttonholes. Two shirts one for me and one for hubby. Chris

Hope to get into the sewing room today

My hopes are to get to the sewing room today. I have a dust ruffle to make for a queen size bed. Thank goodness I own and use a ruffler for my sewing machine. I think it was the neatest invention of all the sewing parts for machines. I use it for ruffles for pillows, little girl's dresses and for dust ruffles. I even used it for a ruffle for a quilt. They make a generic model for most sewing machines. I have a goal to get a small sewing business going soon. My intentions are to get a product that will be easy to use and something that most people will use in their daily lives. Maybe a bunch of small things but you will have to stay tuned to see what the outcome will be. Chris

Sewing is a freedom for me

Sewing whether it be hand sewing or machine sewing has become and escape for me from the things going on around me. The colors and shapes that are sewn together make my day go by with a better outlook on the World. The news and the everyday things in life sometimes can make things drag. Sewing has a satisfaction for me that I can make and be happy with my accomplishments. I have recently painted my husband's bedroom. We sleep in seperate rooms because he has Parkinson's Disease and is very restless when he sleeps. I painted it a Cinnamon Brown. He teases me and says it is really brown. Tonight he will sleep in the room for the first time since it was painted. I am going to make new sheers for up at the window to deflect some of the light during the day. I have heavier panels at the window for the cold winter nights that are approaching fast. An extra layer at the window never hurts. I did my Fall cleaning at the same time so it is freshly painted and all the bedding and furniture and windows are clean. I feel pretty good about my accomplishments. Now onto the next three rooms one is the sewing room. OMG it is a mess. I need to really sort and organize in there. About the time I get it cleaned up it will be time to get the Christmas sewing on the road. Well I should have started it all ready. I am bad about putting it off. Pressure sewing is more fun Right??? Chris