Santa’s on his way

The little ones are getting ready for Santa.  Amelia is 3-1/2 and she’s been sick for the last few weeks.  She finally was well enough to visit Santa.  She looks pretty happy.

Then there’s Violet, who is 1-1/2.  She visited Santa a few weeks ago.  She was all smiles watching Santa for a while with other kids on his lap.  Until she got up close and personal.  She and Santa did not bond very well.  

Is it just me or does Santa have extra large hands these days?  (sorry, I couldn’t resist)

The cookies have been made, and there is plenty of milk in the house for Santa.

The decorations are up.   This is my niece Amanda, the mother of the two cuties.

Ahhh, the excitement of children.

I love this picture.

   

C’mon Santa, hurry on over to my house, and please bring Rudolph.

 He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.

Update

This guy is all better.

Yeah, I know, doesn’t he look pathetic?  He’s moved into a new mobile home.  Nothing fancy, but plenty of windows and a good storm door.

For two days, he ate very little.  We opened up can after can of food and he turned up his nose at it.  He would only eat kitty treats.  Boy, did he have us snowed.  Yesterday, after turning his nose up at his food dish again, he didn’t get any treats.  An hour later when we weren’t looking , he decided the food dish was ok.  By the end of the day, the food dish was empty.

He is, ahem, regular again (ewww).  He’s like a teenager with a hollow leg.  Coming up and kneading his paws on you at 3:30 am, wanting his breakfast.  Yes, all is normal again. . .

Christmas Recipe!!

• Take one dumb cat who thinks it’s ok to chew on fake Christmas garland. 
• Said dumb cat then vomits on the carpet.
• Dumb cat then hides all day sleeping in odd places, not wanting to socialize.
• Dumb cat won’t eat or drink, even after stupid humans open several packages of food and treats to entice him.
• Stupid humans go out and buy a thermometer and actually manage to get a "normal" temperature reading (you don’t want to know how). 
• Worry a lot about your sick fur baby.
• Wake up to stupid cat chewing on the garland again.
• Take down Christmas garland at 4:00 am
• Head for 24 hour vet clinic at 5:30 am on Sunday
• Vet’s office first words “you realize we are on emergency hours”
• Translation:  We are going to charge you ridiculous prices to look at your cat.  We know you are desperately worried at this hour and will pay any price.
• Go wake up the vet who sleeps at said office just for “emergencies”.
• X-Rays, office visit, antibiotics for a slightly elevated temperature, anti-nausea medicine, hydrate cat with fluids $275.  But the follow up vet visit is free (I know, it just warms the heart)
• Thank God there was no obstructions or surgery needed.  Stupid cat!
• Cute cat picture:  Priceless

I guess that’s my Christmas present. . .

Pinwheel quilt

It’s been a while since I’ve sewed.  My sewing room was such a mess and I couldn’t think about sewing until I cleaned some of it up.  It is amazing how much better I felt with everything organized.  So, I started to sew.  I got the top border done on my pinwheel quilt.  Here are some pictures.  I set some buttons on the flowers, but I’m going to wait to sew them on until the quilting is done.



The red flower on top of the blue is loose, and will be held on by just the button.  I made the the smaller flowers, like the red one, out of actual 30's prints.  I took a dresden plate block that was partially done and cut it up.  The blue and green flowers are repros.

 

Red didn’t want me to show you the border yet…


When I was cleaning, I found this piece of smocking that I did in a sewing class, playing with the fancy stitches on a Janome machine. 

With the blue and yellow colors, It would be cute in a little girl’s Easter dress.  I love the veriegated thread.  It is about 7” wide and 5-1/2” tall.  I don’t think I’ll ever do anything with it, though.  If anyone out there thinks they’d like to have this and would make something of it, send me an email.

I’d better get busy again tonight.  I’ve pledged to myself to finish this quilt for the New Year’s UFO Challenge on Finn’s blog.  Not much time left til then, eh?

Rambling…

I’m sooo thankful that we managed to dodge most of the big storm moving throughout most of the country.  We got a few inches of snow that promptly went away with warmer temps and rain.  We are getting the really high winds, though.  I asked DH if he has the generator all ready to go in case we lose power and he said we’re all set.

Of course, this would be nice too, with a good book…

Checking the blogs, I can’t believe how many giveaways are going on in blogland.   Click here for a link to one I just had to enter (on 5 different blogs) to win a new HP computer.  It’s a touch screen computer and it really looks neat.

I found the cutest baby quilt called Hugs and Kisses from Quilt Patterns from Seattle   She has a download for a free pattern on her website.  She has a lot of free quilt patterns.  I love the scrappy maple leaf quilt and the autumn in the southwest quilt.

DH sent me this email yesterday. 
Elvis, When he was really "The King" - Martina McBride was digitally dropped in to this track in 2008.
Amazing, simply amazing how good this is, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.  It’s a pretty cool video…Click on link below.
http://release.theplatform.com/content.select?pid=5mCzgDf_lCZ3uKBDkKLY2_dqmD4_S0yF&UserName=Unknown
Elvis - Born January 08, 1935. Died August 16, 1977
Martina - Born July29, 1966 -

Well, it’s off to bed, or as my father used to say, it’s time to go to the blanket show. 

Not much quilting lately…

I seem to go in streaks when it comes to quilting.  Last year, I started making jewelry.  It is very similar to quilting in that the more “stash” you have, the easier it is to make pretty jewelry.  It "requires" hours of stalking the bead section at Joann’s, Hobby Lobby, and Michaels, fondling the baubles and beads.  The good news is that it is not quite as expensive as quilting (as long as you stay away from Swarovski crystals…then it can get more expensive).  It costs less than $50 to get started in this craft.

I found a little bead store not too far away that had Sunday classes.  I decided to check them out one day.  While it was  a nice little store, I was disappointed to hear that their instructor listed in their online class schedule had recently moved, so there were no classes.  And, the store was very warm that day with no air conditioning.  I got discouraged and visited Joann’s where I bought a little cheapo, how-to make jewelry kit and taught myself how to do it.  It really is very easy.  I made several necklaces, bracelets, and earrings over the past year. 

As I was growing up, I would receive charms for my charm bracelet for special occasions.  But over the years, the charm bracelet had become old and tarnished.  Charm bracelets seem to have come back into fashion recently.  While I think charm bracelets are cute, they aren’t very practical for wearing to work when you are working on a computer most of the day.  So recently, I decided to dump the ugly, tarnished bracelet and put my charms on a necklace.

First, I had to find a sturdy chain that would hold the charms and not break.  Hobby Lobby helped with that one.  Then, I simply used my pliers to open some new, shiny sterling silver rings to attach the charms to the necklace.  I felt it needed some updating, so I added some colorful, handmade bead charms.

There’s the bible I received for my confirmation, and the Christmas angel charm.  If you look inside the bible charm, you can see the Lord’s Prayer…

The high school banner, the graduation cap, the violin (that I played for several years), and the charm from the trip to the Grand Ole Opry

Here’s the entire necklace.  You can see the heart charm with my December birthstone at the bottom of the necklace.

I still did not use all of my charms on this necklace, so I could easily make another one.  All of the colors you see are the bead charms I made.  I'm pleased with how it turned out.  I love being able to wear these charms again after all these years.

Thanks for stopping by.

It’s beginning to look like Christmas…

It’s been a while since I’ve posted.  Work has been busy, thank goodness.  I’d rather be busy than bored, and we are going into our slow season where we do all the things we tend to procrastinate about (read..don’t really want to do) during the busy season.

Well, I got into the Christmas mood this weekend and got the house decorated.  It’s always fun to pull out old favorites from the Christmas boxes.  With the 2 cats and no kids, I don’t put up a tree.  Mr. Red loves to climb to high places, and a tree would not last very long in this household.  Now Buster, on the other hand, didn’t really care what what going on.  He’d rather sleep and look cute…

We’ll have to see what Red does to the mantle that was just decorated with my village houses

Once upon a time, when I had better eyes and more patience, I was very much into needlework with embellishment.  I made several felt wall hangings with lots of beads and sequins.  I guess you could say these were my early appliqué quilts that I made when I was in my teens and early 20’s.  I still have a UFO from those days, LOL.  Wonder if I’ll ever finish it?

I gave this one to my grandparents over 30 years ago, and got it back after they passed away.  It’s getting a little frayed around the edges, but I still love it anyway.

I made this one not long after I got married and kept it as one of our first Christmas decorations.  It’s my favorite one.

And I made this Christmas card holder as well.

I’m pretty sure I made a few others and gave them away to family as Christmas gifts, but I don’t have any pictures.  As you can see, I’ve been having a little fun tonight playing with making collages in Picasa.


How’s your holiday decorating coming along?

Take care,

Funny Movie!

DH and I  rarely go to the movies.  Most of the time, the weather is so nice that we don't want to be inside a movie theater.  But today, we went to the movies.  Gee, it has been a long time since we've been to the movies.  When did they start running previews and advertisements a full 20 minutes after the movie is supposed to start???   Yes, some of the movie previews were very interesting, but after a while you start to wonder if they are ever going to start the movie that you PAID for!

Anyway, go see the move OLD DOGS.  It was hilarious.  It was one of those movies that you can see again and again and still laugh at all of the jokes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Reflecting on Thanksgiving, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be blessed with a great life and good health for my family, and to be able to enjoy my quilting and other hobbies.  I thank all the men and women currently serving our country, especially those who are not as lucky as I am to be home sharing Thanksgiving with my family.  I'm grateful for the veterans who have served our country.  I'm grateful for my blogging friends. 

I was having fun looking for Thanksgiving quotes online, and thought I would share some with you.  Some of these quotes put a smile on my face!

(I love this picture!)

Coexistence:  what the farmer does with the turkey - until Thanksgiving.  ~Mike Connolly

There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy.
-- Ralph H. Blum

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.
-- Author Unknown

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets.  I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?  ~Erma Bombeck, "No One Diets on Thanksgiving," 26 November 1981

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare.  They are consumed in twelve minutes.  Half-times take twelve minutes.  This is not coincidence.  ~Erma Bombeck

Ah! on Thanksgiving day....
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before.
What moistens the lips and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie?
~John Greenleaf Whittier

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.  ~Theodore Roosevelt

Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life... a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year - and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God.  ~Ray Stannard Baker (David Grayson)

Thanksgiving, man.  Not a good day to be my pants.  ~Kevin James

Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday.  People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year.  And then discover once a year is way too often.  ~Johnny Carson

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel.  ~Author Unknown

The funny thing about Thanksgiving, or any huge meal, is that you spend 12 hours shopping for it and then chopping and cooking and braising and blanching.  Then it takes 20 minutes to eat it and everybody sort of sits around in a food coma, and then it takes four hours to clean it up.  ~Ted Allen

The thing I'm most thankful for right now is elastic waistbands.  ~Author Unknown

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
~Author Unknown

It’s funny.  I was going to blog about the rough day I had but I started looking at these quotes, and didn’t feel like blogging about it anymore.  With a long weekend ahead, I do believe I’ll be quilting.  You take care and hope your Thanksgiving is a great one!

Favorite Fabric Friday

This is a fun little fat quarter I picked up just because it was all cats.  Who doesn’t like cat fabric?  ‘Nuff said.


Hope you have a Fabulous Friday!

Karen

Kalamazoo Quilt Show #3

I found this post that I had done but never posted.  No matter, it’s never to late to show quilts from a quilt show.

This 3-D baby quilt was adorable.

Nice fall quilt.

I like the background and border.

Interesting use of hand dyed fabrics

Very pretty.

 

Love the ric-rac.

I like the use of ties in this Bowtie pattern, especially the border.

Bought the Convergence book, it’s on my list

I like the fish

Hope you enjoyed the show.  Unfortunately, I don’t see any more shows on the calendar until late winter, so I guess I’ll have to get back to those UFO’s.  Got a deadline to finish them by January 1st.

Karen

Spring Ahead/Fall Back

So, I’ve been teasing you with Favorite Fabric Friday pictures from my quilt so I thought I would post pictures of the entire quilt.  I made this quilt in 2004 when I first started quilting.  This is a reversible quilt that was made using the quilt as you go method.  I loved this method because as you sew the strips down, you are creating both sides of the quilt as well as the quilting and sashing.  When you are finished with the quilt, all you have to do is sew down one side of the sashing, do the binding, and you’re done. 

I had signed up for a class at the LQS, and knew I wanted to make a blue and yellow quilt.  I spent hours looking for the right blue and yellow fabric that would go with the first fabric I fell in love with as shown here
 
I spent all that time looking for the blue and yellow fabric that I kind of forgot about getting fabric for the other side.  I arrived for class 1/2 hour early and started picking out fabrics for the other side.

I found this focus floral fabric.

I quickly found several fall color fabrics to go with it.  This was the days before I had any stash and had to buy fabric for each quilt I made (those were the days, eh?)  After I got the quilt made, then I had a dilemma in that I had such different fabrics for the front and back that it was difficult to find a binding that would match both sides.  I ended up with a green binding and even that was difficult to match the green color.

  Here is the back of the quilt.

Here is the front of the quilt.  It looks much better up close than it does in the picture.

This shows both sides

Funny how I spent all of that time looking for blue and yellow fabrics, and now I find that the back side with the fall colors is my favorite side.  Which side do you like?

I named the quilt Spring Ahead/Fall Back for the daylight savings time change.  I’ve been thinking about this because the recent time change has been kicking my butt.  I am still waking up an hour earlier than I need to even though I go to bed at a reasonable hour.  Coming home in the dark doesn’t make it any easier, and work has been a bit busy.  So I’m seem to be exhausted during the week.  Thank goodness for the weekends when I can catch up with a few naps here and there.  OMG, I must be getting old…

Hope everyone had a good weekend.  Another (mostly) great weather weekend here in Michigan. I can’t believe it is still so warm in the middle of November.

Karen

Favorite Fabric Friday

When I first started quilting, I wanted to make a blue & yellow quilt. 

I fell in love with this fabric.

It is such a lovely bouquet of flowers that it makes me think of spring every time I look at it.  Red decided that he wanted in on the act as I was taking the picture, so I let him play.


Here he is with a piece of bias string fabric.  He loves to play with this so I had to give him his own “toy” so he wouldn’t mess with my sewing.

I think he’s humiliated having been caught in such a stupid pose.

This weekend, I’ll have better light to get pictures of the entire quilt to show those of you who have asked to see it.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Karen

What a Wonderful Day!

I was feeling a little down this morning because DH had to work today.  Then I decided that sunny skies, a pleasant breeze and 65 degree weather meant it was too nice to stay indoors.  This weather won’t last too much longer before the dreaded snow and ice gets here.  So, I called my mother and asked if she was dressed and would she be ready to go somewhere in 15 minutes?  She asked where we were going, and I told her I wasn’t going to tell her.  I said, “just be ready for me to pick you up”.

We went here (check out that blue sky)

For some of this (click to enlarge if you can’t read the sign)

 

The cider was sweet and the doughnuts were warm

and full of cinnamon…yum

The town was picturesque, the water flowing over the rapids with the white church steeple showing through the trees.  People were out enjoying cider by the stream.

Apple pie, anyone?

How about some sweet, crunchy apples?

I am glad we went.  My mother enjoyed herself very much.  She hasn’t been getting out much lately because my dad is having a hard time walking.  She definitely needed a break…


And, I scored some brownie points with DH when I brought him some cider and doughnuts to share at work.  When he gets off work, I think we'll be taking a drive somewhere to enjoy the rest of the day.


Today was one of those days when you feel thankful for your health, family, freedom, and to be alive.  With  thoughts of veterans day later this week, a day to reflect and thank all of the service men and women, past and present, for serving their country.


How was your weekend?  Great, I hope.

Karen